Sima Lan is getting older and has many things on his mind. He slept very late every day in Beijing. Now in Pinglin, he naturally sleeps even later.
However, time is not forgiving, and the energy is far less than before. In the middle of the night, while sitting in the tent, he fell into a deep sleep. The soldiers guarding the door did not dare to wake up, until they heard an urgent cry, Sima Lan woke up with a start, and when she opened her eyes, there were several more people in the tent.
Sima Lan suddenly became a little unhappy.
When he was alone, he never liked people coming in without telling him. Although he had seen that these people were his trusted ministers, his face still didn't look good.
Seeing Sima Lan wake up, someone had already handed him a hot towel. Sima Lan took the towel and wiped his face. Only then did he realize that the people who came in had serious expressions. They vaguely felt that something was wrong, and frowned: " What happened?"
"It's... the emperor!" Huangfu Zheng took a step forward and whispered: "My lord, the emperor has been assassinated!"
"Assassinated?" Sima Lan was startled for a moment, then his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly got up and said: "Where was he assassinated? How is the emperor now?"
Huangfu Zheng said softly: "Eunuch Liu just sent someone to report, but he saw that the Duke was sleeping and did not dare to wake up. Xiaguan's tent was right next to it, so he went over to report to Xiaguan." After a pause, he continued. He said: "Half an hour ago, the emperor returned to the main tent. Eunuch Liu sent someone to say that the emperor seemed to be injured."
"What time is it now?" Sima Lan asked in a deep voice.
Chen Lanting said from the side: "It's already time to be ugly."
"Chou Shi...!" Sima Lan frowned and said, "Didn't the Emperor go hunting at night? Why was he injured?"
"It is said that there was an ambush by assassins in the mountains and forests." Huangfu Zheng lowered his voice and said: "The emperor was shot by an arrow, but the injury was not serious, just some bruises on the flesh."
"Assassin?" Sima Lan realized something was wrong: "Ping Lin has already cleaned up. Where did the assassin ambush come from? Has the assassin been caught?"
Huangfu Zhengdao: "I heard that almost all the assassins have been killed. One assassin was injured and was brought back. Now he is in the hands of the Guards, who are interrogating him."
Sima Lan narrowed his eyes and the lights flickered. He pondered for a moment and then said: "I want to see the emperor." He walked straight out of the tent, but Huangfu Zheng had already stopped him and said: "My lord, please wait!"
Sima Lan stopped and turned around. Huangfu Zheng came forward and said: "My lord, the emperor has mobilized troops and horses and sealed off the camp. All officials are not allowed to enter or exit without authorization. Anyone who disobeys the order will be considered guilty of treason." The crime shall be punished.”
There was a look of surprise in Sima Lan's eyes. He immediately walked out of the tent and looked around. He saw only a few officials scattered around the camp who had come out of the tent and were whispering to each other.
Sima Lan looked solemn and walked towards the emperor's tent, followed by Huangfu Zheng and others. Sure enough, after walking a short distance, he saw officers and soldiers holding spears and knives surrounding the outer circle of the camp.
Sima Lan stepped forward, and the soldiers immediately saluted. Sima Lan glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing?"
Immediately he saw a general running up to Sima Lan, saluting Sima Lan and saying: "My lord, the emperor has been assassinated. In order to prevent the assassin from sneaking into the camp and hurting the officials, the emperor has decreed to strictly protect this place."
Sima Lan nodded slightly and moved forward. The general raised his hand and said: "My lord, you...!"
"You are so bold, you dare to stop the Duke!" an official behind Sima Lan shouted: "How many heads have you grown?"
The general said: "My lord, the emperor has a decree. In order to ensure everyone's safety, no one is allowed to leave this place without authorization. My lord...!"
Sima Lan sneered and stared at the general. The general lowered his head, obviously in fear. Sima Lan didn't waste any time and walked over. The officials behind him wanted to follow. There were soldiers nearby who were "choking". The sword came out and blocked the way. Huangfu Zheng said angrily: "Get out of the way!"
The general said in a deep voice: "My lords, do you want to resist the decree? The emperor's orders are on your side, and those who disobey the holy orders will be killed without mercy!" Although he did not dare to stop Sima Lan, he was rude to the ministers.
Sima Lan turned around and said, "You guys wait here."
Sima Lan walked all the way to the emperor's camp. Before he got close to the emperor's tent, he felt the atmosphere was tense. A large number of soldiers were guarding the camp. Looking at their armor and attire, they were all officers and soldiers of the Royal Guards.
He hesitated for a moment, vaguely feeling that something was wrong, but he still walked into the camp. When the Duke of Zhen entered the camp, no one dared to stop him. Until he got to the emperor's tent, he saw Chi Fengdian standing in front of the tent door, pressing his hand. Wearing a knife hilt at the waist.
Seeing Sima Lan coming, Chi Fengdian stepped forward to greet him, cupped his hands and said, "I will pay my respects to the Duke!"
"How is the emperor now?" Sima Lan asked: "I heard that the emperor was assassinated while hunting. What happened?"
Chi Fengdian hesitated for a moment and stopped talking. Sima Lan's face darkened, and Chi Fengdian hurriedly said: "Report to the Duke, tonight the emperor suddenly became interested and wanted to go hunting in the forest. Both the general and Chu Cangge are accompanying him. Driving. After entering the forest, the emperor went deep into the forest in order to chase an elk, and was suddenly injured by an assassin ambushing in the forest. Fortunately, we arrived in time, otherwise...!"
"Why are there assassins in the forest?" Sima Lan frowned and said, "You are responsible for protecting the Holy One, but you let the Holy One be assassinated. Do you know your guilt?"
"My lord, Chu Cangge was with the emperor at that time." Chi Fengdian's eyes became cold: "Chu Cangge claimed to be familiar with hunting and was good at finding traces of prey. It was he who led the emperor deep into the forest...!"
Sima Lan's expression changed slightly, he looked around and asked, "Where is Chu Cang Ge?"
"We are also looking for him." Chi Fengdian's voice was cold: "We arrived in time and immediately hunted down the assassins. Chu Cangge and several guards stayed with the emperor to protect him. We thought everything was safe, but... we didn't I thought that Chu Cangge actually harbored evil intentions and suddenly attacked the emperor."
Sima Lan's face changed drastically, his body shook violently, and he said sternly: "What did you say? Chu Cangge... assassinated the emperor?"
Chi Fengdian did not answer immediately. He pondered for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty knows that the old Duke of Guo is coming. The Emperor is raising children. He has decreed that no one will be seen for the time being. But if the old Duke of Guo comes, Lingbei will take him with him." Go see something.”
"what?"
Chi Fengdian raised his hand and said: "Please, Duke!" Without any nonsense, he walked away. Sima Lan looked solemn and suspicious in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, but still followed Chi Fengdian and walked away. Arriving at a small tent on the side, Chi Fengdian opened the tent door and Sima Lan entered the tent. There were two fire pillars in the room, which were very bright. Sima Lan only saw a sheet of fire on the ground in the center of the tent. There was obviously a person lying on the mat, but it was covered with a black cloth.
Chi Fengdian followed him in. Sima Lan glanced at him and asked, "Who is this?"
Chi Fengdian cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I would like to ask you this, have you ever heard of the saying of ten swords and five swords?"
"Ten swords and five swords?" Sima Lan didn't understand why Chi Fengdian suddenly mentioned this at this time. He nodded and said: "I have heard a little bit about it. There are rumors in the world that there are ten famous swords in the world, Tianchu ranks first, and there are five great swords. Among the famous swordsmen, Kunwu ranks first, Chi Fengdian, why did you mention this?"
"The prince naturally knows that among the five famous swords, the second one is called the Inu Shen Sword!" Chi Fengdian's eyes were as bright as fire and he said solemnly: "And the current owner of the Inu Shen Sword is Chu Cangge!"
Sima Lan's eyebrows tightened, but he still nodded and said, "Yes, the Dog Divine Sword is indeed in Chu Cangge's hands."
Chi Fengdian walked to the mat, knelt down and said, "This man is one of the Guards warriors accompanying you tonight. His name is Liang Xiong. He is thirty-one years old and has served in the Guards for four years. His Background files can be found in both the Guards and the Ministry of War."
Sima Lan frowned and said, "Liang Xiong? He... is dead?"
Chi Fengdian lifted the black scarf, and Sima Lan immediately smelled a strong smell of blood. He couldn't help but raise his hand to cover his nose and get closer. The corpse was wearing hunting clothes. It was indeed a middle-aged man. Under the light of the lamp Below, there is a knife mark on the neck of the corpse, which is clearly visible and very conspicuous.
"This is...?" Sima Lan vaguely guessed something.
Chi Fengdian covered the body with a black cloth and said: "The Dog God Sword ranks second among the five famous swords. It is extremely sharp. It is a first-class magic weapon. This kind of magic weapon is naturally different from ordinary weapons. The blade it draws , and easy to identify.”
"Is this person killed by Chu Cangge?" Sima Lan said coldly.
Chi Fengdian nodded and said: "Exactly. When we were chasing the assassin, Chu Cangge suddenly attacked the emperor. The guards guarding the emperor tried their best to protect the emperor. When we heard the movement, we immediately came back to help. At that time, Chu Cangge We have already killed Liang Xiong, and we know that he is very skilled in martial arts and used arrows to deal with it, but Chu Cangge was crazy and used Liang Xiong's body as a shield to resist."
Sima Lan frowned and said, "Where is Chu Cangge now?"
"This man is cunning and took advantage of the chaos to escape. The emperor has issued an order to dispatch manpower to search for him." Chi Fengdian raised his hand to ask Sima Lan to leave the tent, and then continued: "This autumn hunting, we encountered something like this. The emperor was furious. , decreed that the real culprit should be found and punished severely."
"The real murderer?" Sima Lan's eyes twitched.
Chi Fengdian said: "Pinglin is heavily guarded. Why were the assassins able to sneak in? When did they sneak in? Did the emperor happen to run into them tonight on his night hunt, or did they already know about it in advance, so they lurked in the forest? These assassins Who sent him, and why did he have to assassinate the emperor?" After a pause, he continued: "Chu Cangge is the commander of the Black Knife Battalion and is deeply favored by the emperor, but why did he take the opportunity to assassinate the emperor? These are all natural reasons. Check it out."
Sima Lan's face turned ugly and he stared at Chi Fengdian, but Chi Fengdian did not look at him and continued: "The emperor went hunting tonight and did not tell you all. Logically speaking, no one would know in advance. Setting up an ambush, but if someone around the emperor leaks the news and someone knows the emperor's whereabouts, then it is very possible to set up an ambush in advance." He sneered and said: "The emperor has ordered a thorough investigation of the eunuchs around him, take a look Did these eunuchs leak the news, and if so, who did they leak the news to?"