Chapter 26 - 2#

After taking everything they could, they killed the horses, pushed the bodies and the prison cart off the cliff, and then quickly left with Nitta.

Meng Zhongtong was very cautious. He had his men, who were laden with spoils, find a place to hide first, while he and his second-in-command went to hand over the person.

After waiting for an extra half an hour at the designated place, Meng Zhongtong was about to lose his patience when he finally saw the person he was supposed to meet arrive late.

Seeing that it was the same person as last time, Meng Zhongtong breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also a little dissatisfied.

“We agreed on a time, and I brought the person to you. But why are you so slow?”

You know, they were taking a huge risk!

The other party’s attitude towards the transaction gave Meng Zhongtong a bad premonition. He had struggled between life and death too many times, and whenever he had this premonition, something bad would happen.

He unconsciously gripped the knife at his waist.

The second-in-command was very familiar with Meng Zhongtong’s reaction and immediately drew his knife as well.

The newcomer was a short, fat man with two guards behind him.

He said to Meng Zhongtong with a grin, “Boss Meng, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was preparing a big gift for you, that’s why I’m late.”

He waved to the guards behind him, and one of them immediately went back to the carriage and brought out a large box.

A moment later, the box was presented to Meng Zhongtong.

Meng Zhongtong’s ominous premonition grew stronger. He gave his second-in-command a look, and the second-in-command stepped back, blocking Nitta.

Now this person was their hostage.

At such a close distance, if they made a move, the second-in-command could kill him in the fastest time possible.

If the deal fell through, they would kill the hostage.

They had done this kind of thing before.

Click—

Meng Zhongtong opened the box, stood up with a clang, his face full of ferocity.

In the large box were the heads of his dozens of brothers!

Without exception, all the ones who were alive before were in there.

Meng Zhongtong shouted, “A Xing, kill him.”

Swish—

The second-in-command didn’t even turn his head, and a large knife slashed towards Meng Zhongtong’s neck.

Blood splattered out.

Meng Zhongtong had never thought that he would be betrayed by his own brother.

Every time he attended negotiations, he always trusted his second-in-command with his back, but he never thought that one day, he would be attacked from behind.

A Xing’s movements were ruthless and fast. Meng Zhongtong was killed with one blow, and died with an expression of disbelief.

The short, fat man laughed and clapped his hands, “A Xing, thanks to you for passing on the message, otherwise, we wouldn’t have known where those brothers were hiding so quickly.”

A Xing expressionlessly sheathed his knife and pushed Nitta in front of the short, fat man, “The deal.”

The short, fat man clapped his hands, and someone handed over another small box.

“This is a brand new identity. From now on, you can enter and leave the town freely, no one will check, and all the wanted notices have been withdrawn.”

A Xing nodded and took it silently.

This deal looked very similar to Meng Zhongtong’s deal, but in fact, there was a huge difference.

That is, Meng Zhongtong’s deal was fake.

A Xing knew from the beginning that this was a last meal. No matter who made the deal with Meng Zhongtong, there was a high probability that they would not want Meng Zhongtong to live.

“A Xing,” the short, fat man suddenly called out to him as he was about to turn and leave.

A Xing turned his hand and showed his weapon, saying hoarsely, “You want to kill me too?”

The short, fat man faced the blade at his neck and said with a smile, “Of course not, it’s just that I have another deal… I wonder if you’d like to hear it?”

A person who could analyze the whole story from just a few words, and even know how to deal with the aftermath, and even found a way to bypass Meng Zhongtong to contact them, and did not hesitate to destroy the entire village…

Such a ruthless, decisive, and resourceful person, the short, fat man had some thoughts of recruiting him.

Otherwise, why would he have killed so many people, but only left A Xing alive? Wasn’t it because he was happy to see a good hunter?

Such a person is difficult to use.

But just like Nitta, if used properly, it can be an extremely sharp knife.

Half a month later, King Rui received the news.

“Hahaha…” he laughed and coughed, spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, “Good, good.”

He was happy.

The medical officer next to him came forward, “Your Highness, please don’t move around anymore.”

They had been attacked ten days ago, and King Rui had almost been killed. This time, he was stabbed in the waist and abdomen. The closer they got to their territory, the crazier the wave of assassinations became.

Seeing that they would be in their fiefdom in two days, everyone around King Rui was extremely vigilant, afraid that another fatal attack would come out of nowhere.

King Rui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and laughed loudly, “No, you don’t understand.”

For him, as long as he left the capital, many things had changed.

This change meant that “memory” was not unchangeable!

The medical officer was helpless. Yes, he didn’t understand.

He bent down to help King Rui with his injuries. As soon as he lowered his head, he saw a pair of hands grabbing his throat.

Looking at the seriously injured King Rui, he had the strength to grab his throat, laughing and bleeding at the same time.

“Poison? That’s a good idea.”

Before King Rui could break his neck, the medical officer’s head had already drooped silently.

He threw the person away, and the body rolled to the ground, revealing the black blood at the corner of his mouth.

Soon someone came up to dispose of his body.

Wang Zhao came over with a sigh, “Your Highness, the emperor’s move this time is much more ruthless than expected. It seems that he really wants to kill you.”

“No.” Unexpectedly, King Rui shook his head, “His Majesty, he doesn’t really care.”

Wang Zhao was slightly stunned. If such an attack was not considered caring, then what was considered a thorn in his side?

King Rui recalled the memories of “before” and said softly, “If he really cared, hehe, even if he didn’t care about his own life, he would let everything burn. Now… it can only be considered an appetizer.”

Wang Zhao watched as King Rui said this and was still laughing, and couldn’t help but be silent for a while.

Not to mention that Emperor Jingyuan was a bit ruthless, King Rui also seemed a bit perverted.

In any case, the fiefdom was right in front of them. As long as they could hold on for the last two days, they would be safe.

…

The journey was long, and the transmission of information was extremely difficult. It sometimes took several months to travel from south to north. Even with a fast horse, it would take ten days or so.

By the time the Empress Dowager received the news that King Rui had arrived at his fiefdom, it had already snowed several times in the capital. The entire imperial city was wrapped in silver, and the biting cold made people afraid.

This winter was much colder than last year.

However, in Shou Kang Palace, it was as warm as spring.

The Empress Dowager was looking down at a letter.

Beside her, there were several female officials, either massaging the Empress Dowager’s knees, or pounding her shoulders, and some were picking fruits for the Empress Dowager to eat.

However, this peaceful scene was broken by the Empress Dowager in the next moment.

She carefully read King Rui’s letter again and again, her face showing obvious anger.

King Rui had indeed arrived at his fiefdom, but he was carried in. The imperial physician of the fiefdom had rescued him several times before he was barely saved. The hardship involved need not be said.

After reading it, the Empress Dowager was naturally furious.

She was so angry that she wished she could rush to Qianming Palace right now and scratch Emperor Jingyuan’s face.

The Empress Dowager took a few short breaths and barely suppressed her temper. She looked down at it a few more times, and after confirming that King Rui’s body was indeed recovering, she finally felt a little relieved.

If it were in the past, the Empress Dowager would definitely have flipped the table.

However, a few days ago, Old Madam Huang had just come. The Empress Dowager had not been afraid of anyone these years, except for her mother.

Old Madam Huang was old but vigorous. Her hair was silver, but her majesty had not diminished at all. The Empress Dowager was always inexplicably weaker in front of her.

Old Madam Huang didn’t say much, but she specifically pointed out that the emperor’s malice towards King Rui all came from the Empress Dowager.

At that time, the Empress Dowager retorted with dissatisfaction.

“My son almost became the emperor back then. Helian Rong will definitely not forget. Now he hates my son for this reason. Mother, how can you say it’s my fault?”

The Empress Dowager was wholeheartedly convinced that she was doing everything for King Rui. How could she deliberately harm him?

Old Madam Huang’s tone was sharp, “Not you? Then why did you let the Huang family take in that Huang Yijie? Didn’t you just take a fancy to her family’s bloodline, which can both train Gu and is good at poison.”

The Empress Dowager: “But, I didn’t do anything…”

“Enough.” Old Madam Huang’s voice was grim, “Empress Dowager, the Huang family has come to this day not entirely because of your position, but also because of King Rui’s existence. If something happens to King Rui, your and the Huang family’s roots will be gone.”

The old woman’s eyes were a little blind, but her heart was not.

“King Rui’s foundation is not enough right now. If you act rashly again, you will only be digging your own grave!”

After being scolded by her mother, the Empress Dowager was very dissatisfied. However, she still listened to what she said.

The current Emperor Jingyuan was no longer the prince who could be easily manipulated. After becoming the emperor, the power he possessed was enough to deter everyone.

Since they didn’t take his life before he ascended the throne, how difficult it was to do it now.

It’s not that the Empress Dowager didn’t understand this, but she was just unwilling.

Her thoughts turned again and again, and she finally suppressed her anger. Looking at the letter, she couldn’t help but start to ponder about Emperor Jingyuan.

Since he ascended the throne, although he had taken in so many concubines in the harem, according to the Empress Dowager’s observation, Emperor Jingyuan was not interested in most of them, and he had only had contact with a few.

And those concubines who belonged to the Empress Dowager and worked for her, as far as she knew, were all virgins.

Although Emperor Jingyuan’s harem had been lively these years, this person could be considered to be pure-hearted and desireless, and had not touched any of them. Naturally, there were no children.

Both Consort De and Concubine Xu had worried about this. After all, they had married the emperor, and they could not leave the palace for the rest of their lives. If they didn’t have a prince or princess to accompany them, what would they do in the future?

Although they were used by the Empress Dowager, their interests were not completely the same as the Empress Dowager’s.

They still hoped to have their own children.

The Empress Dowager was very satisfied with this. Emperor Jingyuan’s knee was empty, and the fewer children he had, the more unstable the throne would be. After a few more years, the court officials would definitely not be able to sit still.

As for… what Huang Yijie said about having someone in his heart…

The Empress Dowager had screened the entire harem several times, but she could not find a palace concubine who could fit this possibility. All the concubines in the harem were selected by the Empress Dowager, and naturally they were all watched by her people, but she had never seen the emperor contact them privately.

She didn’t think Huang Yijie would deceive her.

Her entire family was in the Empress Dowager’s hands. Unless she could disregard everything and not care about her own family, Huang Yijie would not dare to betray her.

If Huang Yijie’s words were correct… then it was not a palace concubine, but a palace maid?

A look of disgust appeared on the Empress Dowager’s face. Why would he not want a noble concubine and instead like those lowly palace maids?

However, this was more or less a direction.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Empress Dowager couldn’t place people around the emperor, why would it be so troublesome to investigate.

She pondered for a moment, then beckoned to a female official and gave her instructions.

…

“Have you heard? Something big has happened.”

On this day, Shi’en spoke to them in an extremely exaggerated tone.

After a whole day of work, Jingzhe and the others were starving and were eating. Only Huiping looked up at him.