Chapter 1234

Li Mingju was frightened until his face turned ashen, his whole body trembling like a sieve; only after a while did he calm down, his voice shaking as he said, "Why do you want to kill me…?" Still shaken, he stared at Hu Xiaotian, of course understanding that the one who wanted to kill him was certainly not Hu Xiaotian, but someone else.

Hu Xiaotian's expression turned unusually grim; being able to save Li Mingju's life from that arrow just now was pure luck. The assassin who came to kill Li Mingju must be a master of the Luoying Palace, perhaps Tang Jingyu himself. He patted Li Mingju's shoulder and said, "Rest assured, with me here, you'll be fine." He turned his gaze toward Haiyun Lou and whispered, "Who invited you to the banquet tonight?"

Li Mingju said: "Gu Jiayuan…"

"Take me there!"

Li Mingju brought Hu Xiaotian to the room they had arranged beforehand. Hu Xiaotian pushed open the door, only to see Gu Jiayuan lying there with his head tilted, an arrow deeply piercing his chest. Hu Xiaotian shook his head, gesturing for Li Mingju to wait outside, and had his attendants provide close protection before carefully approaching Gu Jiayuan. On the lattice opposite Gu Jiayuan there was a hole; someone must have fired a cold arrow from the roof of the opposite building, piercing the lattice and killing Gu Jiayuan.

Hu Xiaotian felt inside Gu Jiayuan's collar and pulled out a banknote for ten thousand taels of silver. Knowing Gu Jiayuan's circumstances, he had hardly any money; otherwise he wouldn't have fallen into borrowing high-interest loans from Yu Wan Li. It seems someone bribed him to lure Li Mingju here and then shoot him. For a mere ten thousand taels, to betray a brother—this person deserves death.

Hu Xiaotian examined the arrow shaft closely; it bore no special markings. Outside came the sound of horses—it was the constables rushing over after hearing the news.

Hu Xiaotian quietly withdrew from the room. Arriving was Jian Tieshou, famed as the number one constable of Bohai State. Li Mingju was the son of the Minister of Justice. His exalted status prompted the arrival of the nation's top constable. Jian Tieshou was also quite courteous toward Li Mingju, after all, the Minister of Justice Li Changxing was his direct superior.

Li Mingju clearly had not yet steadied himself from the successive frights, stammering and unable to express himself. Seeing his state, Jian Tieshou had someone take him downstairs to sit and rest, then approached Hu Xiaotian to inquire in detail about what had happened. Hu Xiaotian recounted the events from beginning to end.

After listening, Jian Tieshou's expression also grew grave. From the scene, it was clear the assassin had no intention of leaving any witnesses; originally, perhaps some clues could have been gotten from Gu Jiayuan's mouth, but now he too is dead. The remaining clues are only the arrows and the banknote. The arrows are all ordinary, with no special markings on them, and the banknote is the usual type circulating in Bohai State. It is hard to find any leads from these pieces of evidence. Physical evidence is one thing, testimony another; given that the physical evidence is of little significance, Hu Xiaotian's observations become extremely important. After all, he was the one who rescued Li Mingju from the arrow.

"Hu Caidong, did you get a clear look at the assassin's appearance?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "It's raining outside. The night is pitch black; he's hiding in the darkness, so I couldn't possibly see him."

Jian Tieshou obviously felt a bit disappointed: "Hu Caidong, did you find anything?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "The assassin's martial arts are strong, his archery superb. He has already reached the level of wielding qi with arrows."

Hearing "wielding qi with arrows," Jian Tieshou couldn't help but feel a secret shock; probably few in the world can attain such a level.

Hu Xiaotian, deeming the reminder sufficient, glanced at Li Mingju not far away and said, "From an outsider's perspective, this may not necessarily be aimed at Young Master Li."

"What do you mean?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "I am merely a merchant; I dare not rashly discuss state affairs, but Young Master Li's safety requires caution."

Jian Tieshou nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Hu Caidong. You won't be leaving Wanghai City anytime soon, will you?"

Hu Xiaotian knew Jian Tieshou surely suspected him as well, and gave a light smile: "I won't be leaving lately; Constable Jian, if you have anything you want to know, you can always come to Zhichun Garden to find me."

Hu Xiaotian had no faith in these constables' abilities, so he decided to personally escort Li Mingju home; the assassin's archery was truly formidable, and if it weren't for his happening to be present, Li Mingju would likely be dead by now.

Jian Tieshou also showed considerable concern for the safety of the minister's son, specially assigning ten constables to accompany him. The party delivered the trembling Li Mingju to the Li residence, but as they reached the Li mansion gate, they heard wailing that shook the heavens; Hu Xiaotian's heart sank, and he immediately realized something had happened at the Li household.

Zhou Yong leisurely trimmed his nails with a gold knife the size of a willow leaf; his hands were handsome, fingers long, skin snow-white and lustrous, without a single blemish.

Tang Jingyu sat opposite him, a heavy gloom shrouding his face: "I killed Li Changxing!"

"Oh?" Zhou Yong said offhandedly, reaching out to examine the candlelight back and forth, then resumed trimming the unsatisfactory spot: "Wasn't the plan to kill Li Mingju?" Killing Li Mingju would cause Li Changxing to panic, giving an excuse to have the Bohai Prince remove him from his post as chief magistrate; anyone who took over that position, seeing Li Mingju's fate, would surely take heed. Zhou Yong pondered repeatedly before making this decision.

Tang Jingyu whispered, "Big brother, I'm useless; I encountered a master when trying to assassinate Li Mingju."

"A master? What kind of person could you call a master?" Zhou Yong's gaze still did not turn toward his brother.

Tang Jingyu said, "He has reached the stage where blade qi emanates outward!"

Only then did Zhou Yong raise his head; a flicker of surprise crossed his deep eyes. Blade qi emanating outward indeed marks a first-rate master, and he could use blade qi to block Tang Jingyu's sneak‑attack arrow, so this person's martial skill might even surpass Tang Jingyu's.

Tang Jingyu said: "Hu Dafu!"

Zhou Yong frowned; Hu Dafu turned out to be a master—this fellow indeed came prepared. Although I had already given him sufficient attention, I still hadn't fully gauged his strength. Now it seems Xue Lingjun's favor toward him is no coincidence; though his appearance is ordinary, he possesses extraordinary talent.

"Could he be from the Python Flood Island?"

Tang Jingyu shook his head and flatly denied: "Impossible; Python Flood Island absolutely has no such blade master. Even if his skill doesn't match Yan Tianlu's, it's not far off. I think he is likely a man of Xue Lingjun."

Zhou Yong said, "Xue Lingjun's entourage shouldn't have such a master, but Xue Shengjing is another matter." He rose, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced slowly a few steps: "Since the Ju Bao Zhai was sealed off, the behind‑the‑scenes boss Xue Shengjing has taken no action at all—this in itself is highly unusual. Perhaps he refrained from intervening for fear of leaving evidence, but his not personally involving himself doesn't mean he is indifferent; he could have others settle this trouble."

Tang Jingyu said, "Big brother, why not strike at Yanhui Tang?"

Zhou Yong chuckled and said softly, "Our Luoying Palace is merely a tool being used by others now. Although Li Chen Zhou made us promises, his word may not be reliable. Yanhui Tang is the foundation of Xue Shengjing's power; if we move against Yanhui Tang now, we would merely be doing Yan Dongsheng that good‑for‑nothing a favor. We must keep a couple of trump cards for ourselves."

Tang Jingyu said, "But relying solely on the Ju Bao Zhai probably isn't enough to topple Xue Shengjing."

"If one wants to add a crime, what lack of pretext? Xue Daohong is determined to eliminate Prince Yan and the Grand Princess; Li Chen Zhou has come this time precisely for that purpose. Xue Lingjun is already fish on the chopping block—getting rid of her would be a breeze. The reason Li Chen Zhou hasn't acted against her yet is merely that he's waiting for the right opportunity."

Tang Jingyu said, "Little brother is foolish; I don't quite understand."

Zhou Yong said, "Based solely on the Ju Bao Zhai, at most we can prove Xue Shengjing's greed; even adding Yanhui Tang changes nothing. Although Li Chen Zhou's actions appear on the surface to be dragging Xue Lingjun into this case, his real aim is to implicate her and then eliminate her."

Tang Jingyu said, "If she's going to be implicated, why then eliminate her?"

Zhou Yong said, "Only by eliminating her can all the blame be shoved onto Xue Shengjing. Although Prince Yan's status is noble, his private coffers are full—at worst his wealth could be confiscated into the state treasury. With Empress Dowager Jiang as his birth mother, Xue Daohong would hardly dare kill him. But if Prince Yan, to protect his own secret, silences witnesses, and the person killed happens to be his own blood‑sister, who else could protect her?"

Tang Jingyu sucked in a breath of cold air; if things really are as Big Brother analyzed, Xue Daohong is truly vicious.

Zhou Yong said, "Everyone has his own calculations. I think Li Chen Zhou's motives aren't pure either. Soon after Xue Daohong took the throne, he urged Xue Daohong to eradicate his paternal uncle and aunt; in the short term this might shock the court and countryside, but who knows whether it won't make every royal relative feel endangered."

Tang Jingyu said, "We don't concern ourselves with Da Yong's affairs; as long as we help him succeed this time, Big Brother will smoothly replace Yuan Tianzhao and ascend to the premiership, and Bohai State will be in our grasp."

Zhou Yong smiled and said, "Yan Dongsheng that good‑for‑nothing, used by others without even realizing it—if Bohai were in his hands, it would surely be doomed!"

Tang Jingyu said, "Will the Li Changxing affair stir up too great a turmoil?"

Zhou Yong slowly shook his head and said, "With Yan Dongsheng's wit, the first suspicion will surely fall on Python Flood Island. Since this has already happened, it cannot be changed; Li Changxing's death is also a good thing. I want to see who will take over Yuan Tianzhao's case."

Two updates delivered; recently the Monthly Ticket has been lackluster, Zhangyu's updates this month have been fairly steady, there are no stockpiled chapters lately, the writing has been rather taxing, and I hope everyone will give more support! (To be continued~^~)