"Yes... the one who harmed our young master..." Ah Si whispered.
Zhu Chunming? Gu Shiba Niang felt like her breathing had stopped.
"Did you hear it wrong?" Gu Shiba Niang asked in disbelief.
"Really, I spent a couple of silver to find out from the concierge of the official's house on East Street..." Ah Si jumped to his feet and said.
"How is this possible..." Gu Shiba Niang murmured, still looking in disbelief.
The most cursed official in the world is Zhu Chunming. If the curse could come true, Zhu Chunming would have died countless times, and there would be many people who wanted him dead. There would be successive assassins every year. , but Zhu Chunming was very guarded against this, and he lived in the capital and rarely went out. Even when he went out, he was surrounded by countless secret guards. It was really not that easy to kill him.
What's more, in the important place of the capital, at the feet of the emperor, the assassination of a high-ranking official of the current dynasty is simply a scandal in the world.
"Go out and ask around again..." Gu Shiba Niang said.
"Yes, Miss..." Ah Si responded immediately, with a smile on his face and lowered his voice, "Miss, it would be best if this old guy died. Now no one will bully our young master..."
Gu Shiba Niang was stunned.
"Wait a minute." She looked solemnly and called Ah Si who was about to leave. "No one in the family is allowed to go out and inquire about any information. Anyone who violates this rule will be expelled and sold off immediately!"
Ah Si was startled and didn't understand why she suddenly changed her mind. Gu Shiba Niang didn't look like she was joking, so she didn't dare to ask more questions and answered quickly.
"By the way, go get the Lingbao back!" Gu Shiba Niang said again.
Ah Si hurried out and conveyed the order.
Gu Shiba Niang was sitting in the room, her expression getting heavier and heavier, repeatedly echoing the news from Ah Si, and thinking about the noise last night, she was sure that the news was most likely true.
Zhu Chunming...was assassinated? Was it a shock or an injury? Or... dead
In any case, this means that a bloody storm is about to break out in the capital. Taking the opportunity to eliminate dissidents is the best way for the Zhu family to use it. It has never been the habit of the Zhu family to suffer losses.
And Gu Hai is an alien in Zhu Dang's eyes. Will this time...
Gu Shiba Niang couldn't help clenching her hands.
The front door of the Gu family was locked, and the originally open corner door was carefully closed by the two courtyards, making a snapping sound, indicating that it was locked from the inside.
At this time, on the street, they noticed the unusual smell in the air. Pedestrians unconsciously shrank their shoulders, sleeves and hands, and quickened their pace. Merchants poked their heads out of the shops one after another, but they did not dare to whisper, and looked at the crowd with horrified eyes. Troops of heavily armed guards galloped through the streets.
"What's the fuss about... This kind of thing doesn't happen two or three times a year... There are dozens of people around dad, both covert and covert, and not even a fly can fly in..." Zhu Xu lifted his scarlet cloak and said, With a bit of impatience, he was surrounded by his subordinates and walked out, with a hint of a smile on his face, "It's those damn ghosts Ye Zhen's old subordinates who did it again this time, right? That's fine, thank them, I'm worried about a few of them." I can’t deal with the unpleasant guy!”
"Young Master!" A guard stumbled towards him, his face was like gold paper, "My lord... I can't do it anymore..."
"What?" As soon as these words came out, everyone in the courtyard was stunned.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Zhu Yan was furious and kicked the guard twice. An uncontrollable panic suddenly surged in his heart.
The guard kowtowed, his eyes showing fear, and the nightmare-like scene from last night once again appeared in his blood-red eyes.
This time was one of the few times that Zhu Chunming left the capital in the past. Not many people knew the news, and when everyone thought that Lord Zhu was still living in the county government, Lord Zhu's motorcade was about to enter the capital.
But when the convoy passed through a forest, something changed suddenly.
Black shadows jumped out from the forest, and arrows shot through the air at the same time. The guards on the left and right immediately fell to the ground.
The sword was unsheathed and the war horse neighed.
"There's an assassin!"
Zhu Chunming's team was not confused by this, but quickly changed their formations and closely guarded the two carriages. Zhu Chunming always traveled with two carriages to confuse the audience.
With the help of bright torches, one can see a dozen people pouring out from both sides, all wrapped in black clothes and covered with black scarves, with only a pair of eyes exposed. They are all dressed like killers.
"Kill!" the guards shouted, pointing their bright bows, arrows and scimitars at these desperadoes.
Seeing that the Forbidden Army guards were calm in the face of danger, these dozen killers did not panic. One of them, who looked like a leader, stretched out his finger and pointed towards the two carriages surrounding them to the north.
"We will punish the evil and bring justice to the world!" he shouted.
Accompanied by this shout, more than a dozen people shouted at the same time, rushing towards the imperial army like moths, trying to carve out a bloody path with their own bodies.
These people move quickly and advance and retreat in a well-organized manner, which is quite similar to these strictly trained Imperial Guards.
"Kill!" The guards formed a formation, like a net covering these incoming moths.
The sound of swords sounded and blood splattered everywhere.
Half of the killers who flew over fell down during the ups and downs, but half of them rushed through the defense line and rushed towards one of the carriages.
Suddenly, ghosts appeared from the ground around the carriage. There was a buzzing sound, and spears shot out from the back of the carriage like meteors, piercing the approaching people. The force was so strong that they flew backwards, and they were firmly attached. nailed to a nearby tree.
This scene was extremely shocking. In the blink of an eye, all the killers approaching the carriage were dead.
The surrounding Imperial Guards had expressionless faces, forming an encirclement and pounced on the remaining killers. Everyone's attention was focused on these killers.
A figure appeared in front of one of the carriages, and a cold snort that pierced his bones made him freeze.
"Strictly guard the surrounding area." Lingyuan whispered.
The threat faded slightly.
"Yes, young master..." Someone replied in a low voice. Before he could finish his words, he saw Lingyuan suddenly raise his hand and stab the carriage with a spear.
Accompanied by the bang of the carriage being punctured, a scream sounded from inside.
This unexpected action made everyone around him stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of this stunned moment, Lingyuan used both hands to shatter the carriage door.
"Let's go!" The killers on the periphery shouted when they saw that he didn't take the opportunity to escape, but went to check the carriage.
"Sir!" The Forbidden Army no longer cared about these killers and rushed towards them, and a dozen figures suddenly appeared around the car. The person closest to Lingyuan flicked the sharp blade in his hand, with a cruel feeling. The meaning stabbed into Lingyuan's back.
Lingyuan groaned, but did not dodge. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and threw himself into the carriage. The smell of blood was strong.
Zhu Chunming, who was wearing an official robe, had a spear pierced through his chest. His eyes were wide open and he was holding a spear that penetrated his body.
"You...you...beast..." He snarled a few times.
Puff, the sound of sharp blades piercing flesh kept ringing, and in just the blink of an eye, Lingyuan's arms received numerous wounds.
Lingyuan's eyes were bloodshot, and his face had a mixture of sadness and joy. Tears and blood flowed down his face.
A spear with cold light was aimed at Lingyuan's back. At this moment, a man rushed over and blocked the spear with his body. At the same time, the knife in his hand also penetrated the guard's chest.
"Let's go!" He tried his best to push Lingyuan away.
"Where is that dog thief?" Hearing this, Zhu Xun burst into laughter like a night owl, which made people shudder. "Cut to pieces with a thousand knives! Whip the corpse! Shatter the body into pieces! Bruise the bones and spread ashes!"
"Run away..." the guard replied shaking his body.
Zhu Yan's laughter stopped suddenly, and his whole body began to tremble violently.
"Search for me! Search for me! I can't catch these traitors! Bury them all with me!" He raised his hands and roared like a beast, his voice piercing the sky above the entire capital.
"The Lingbao is missing?" Gu Shiba Niang stood up in shock and looked at Ah Si who looked pale.
"Yes..." A layer of sweat broke out on Ah Si's forehead in the middle of winter, "The people in the store said that she went out right after work last night, thinking she was going home. But she didn't come today, and people were wondering what happened. What’s going on…”
It was him! Gu Shiba Niang felt a bang in her ears and couldn't help but fall down on the chair.
"Miss?" Ah Si was startled.
Gu Shiba Niang waved her hand and motioned for him to go out first.
"Ah Si..." She called him again and whispered, "Did you know that Lingbao has a brother?"
Most of the servants who came from Jiankang knew that Lingbao had an older brother, but only their family and Ah Si knew about the second young master of the Zhu family, Lingyuan.
Ah Si had vaguely guessed the relationship between this, and he couldn't help but swallow.
"I know, little one." He said, "But it's a pity that I was sold because of gambling. I really don't know where I am now..."
Gu Shiba Niang nodded, "Okay, you go down. If anyone comes to ask about Lingbao, you..."
"Miss Lingbao is not a slave of our family. She originally lived in our family. Now she has found a way to make a living and has moved out for a few days. As for her whereabouts, we really don't know..." Ah Si said thoughtfully.
Gu Shiba Niang nodded, "Yes, Lingbao hasn't come back for several days. Let people look for it. If you can't find it, report it to the official..."
Ah Si responded yes, bowed his head and went out.
The room returned to silence, so quiet that one could hardly hear Gu Shiba Niang's breathing.
Crazy...crazy...
Gu Shiba Niang clenched her hands tightly and hit the table hard, again and again, and the dull thumping sound echoed in the room for a long time.
The incident of Zhu Chunming's death in the attack quickly spread, causing a storm in the entire Zhou Dynasty. The emperor was furious, and the Zhu family was furious. Because the murderer still escaped, a search was launched around the capital, regardless of civilians. Neither ordinary people nor the homes of high-ranking officials and princes were allowed to resist the search. This was unprecedented, which showed the emperor's pain and anger at Zhu Chunming's attack. People were constantly being imprisoned as accomplices, and these people were basically related to the Zhu family. Those Qingliu officials and scribes who were against them made everyone in the capital feel in danger for a while. No matter whether they were high-ranking officials or noble families, they were all cautious, fearing that they would be implicated.
"Catch them all! Catch them all! Even if these people didn't do it themselves, they are always cursing my father in their hearts!" Zhu Xang threw out the list handed over by his subordinates.
The list was quickly handed over and sent to the emperor. The emperor, who had not been involved in political affairs for a long time, sat on the dragon bed and listened to the prince next to him read it out one by one.
"Ning Jiang, the right minister of the household department, Wang Weixing, the left minister of the military department, Zheng Tong, the right minister of the criminal department..." Prince Wei's calm voice echoed in the room, soothing the irritable emperor a little.
"...Lizhou County Magistrate Gu Hai..." Prince Wei said the name with a slight pause in his voice.
The emperor frowned slightly.
"Lizhou?" He opened his eyes, waved his hands a little helplessly, and murmured, "This is too obvious...".
This is naked cleansing….
"I hooked this..." the emperor said, "Gu Hai is far away in Lizhou, and he is not that capable of reaching out to the capital... The most important thing now is to find out the murderer and the behind-the-scenes, and don't mess with those useless things. of….."
Prince Wei nodded and bowed in agreement, a trace of clarity flashed in his eyes.