Chapter 431: Dead Man

That old man had remained silent since Tang Lanzhou entered the door. It was only when Tang Lanzhou spoke to him that he raised his head and let out a long sigh.

"Lord Tang, what is the need for this?"

Tang Lanzhou shifted his gaze.

"As the head of the Ministry of Justice, I naturally have to perform my duties faithfully. Seeing those who rebel and usurp, I naturally have to execute them. I just didn't expect Lord Ke to collude with that rebel Yan Song."

After he finished speaking, a middle-aged official in the crowd shouted angrily.

"No evidence! You are just doing groundless things!"

"We have not formed cliques for private interests, and have had no dealings with Lord Yan at all! It's just that there is chaos in the capital today, and we were afraid of being killed by the rebels, so we gathered here under Lord Ke's leadership to guard our lives! What rebellion! We have never had such a thing!"

His words were righteous and stern.

The reason also seemed to make sense.

But both the old man and Tang Lanzhou did not speak, nor did they respond in the slightest.

After a long while, when he was tired of speaking, Tang Lanzhou waved his hand.

"Kill."

Squish!

A fine head flew up, and a fountain of blood sprayed from the torso.

The leader of the Imperial Guards looked coldly at all the other officials until they tightly closed their mouths and swallowed all their words back, only then did he give a cold laugh and sheath his blade.

The old man sighed.

"Lord Tang, is this seeking death?"

Tang Lanzhou nodded.

"Yes."

"Did your wife die?"

"Yes."

The old man sighed again.

"Blame me. I originally thought that Lord Tang's family only had you and your old wife, and usually seeing you cautious and timid, and your official position was just right, so I thought using your head to launch the second forced abdication would be more appropriate."

"If I had known Lord Tang still retained some of the sharpness of his youth, I should have let Lord Yan and Yingzhou agree to send more people to kill you... but I didn't expect to leave Lord Tang in the world to waste time, I am really sorry."

Tang Lanzhou was expressionless.

These words of the old man had already laid his cards on the table.

Ke Hongwen, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, veteran official of two reigns, one of the ministers entrusted by the late Emperor, head of the scholars. The Ke family of Jiangnan, the literary sect of Great Ming, if Yan Song was the head of civil officials, then he was the head of scholars in Great Ming.

Such a person naturally would not be as naive as that middle-aged official. He hid in the mansion of the person Tang Lanzhou wanted to kill; just this point alone meant he couldn't fool anyone.

Evidence?

Does Tang Lanzhou look like he's here to judge a case?

Ke Hongwen felt some regret.

Of course, he didn't regret sending people to kill Tang Lanzhou, nor did he regret killing Tang Lanzhou's wife... He just regretted betting wrong that Yan Song would win, and betting wrong on the place he should have hidden.

A long sigh.

"Lord Tang, since the outcome is decided, I admit defeat. Why not untie me first, I am willing to work with you to execute everyone involved in colluding with Yan Song, how about that?" Ke Hongwen said.

Tang Lanzhou looked at him silently.

He did not speak, not at all.

Until Ke Hongwen's mouth pursed.

"Lord Tang, don't be foolish!"

"Doing this today, you are clearly being treated as an abandoned pawn. When the hundred officials react, Zhu Zai will take your head to appease the situation. For Zhu Zai, the most important thing is always the Zhu family's world, he won't protect you—but I can."

Ke Hongwen said sincerely.

"Once Yan Song dies, I will be the head of the civil officials. I can mobilize the hundred officials to submit a petition to exonerate you, and even completely remove you from this matter."

"I also have connections with scholars everywhere, you don't have to worry about public opinion..."

He rambled on, getting more anxious as he spoke.

Tang Lanzhou, however, seemed to be suddenly awakened by him, his body trembled, and his eyes refocused on his face.

Just now he thought of his wife, and his heart twitched in pain again, and only now did he come back to his senses.

He did not listen to Ke Hongwen's words, but walked to an Imperial Guard on his own, reached out to take the crossbow from his hand, took an arrow from the quiver, and turned back to the front of the crowd.

First, he looked at Ke Hongwen coldly, then lowered his head to press the crossbow against the ground, panting, stepped on the trigger, and painstakingly loaded the arrow.

This made Ke Hongwen's soul fly away in terror.

He shouted urgently: "Lord Tang, don't be impulsive. You might be able to use groundless crimes to kill others, but I am different. I am a loyal minister entrusted by the late Emperor, and the Ke family of Jiangnan is the head of scholars in the world. If you kill me, how will you explain it to the scholars of the world! How will His Majesty block the mouths of the public!"

"Is Lord Tang angry because of the assassination attempt on you last night? As long as you spare my life, the Ke family of Jiangnan will follow your lead in the future. In the future, you will be Yan Song. Will that satisfy Lord Tang?"

As Ke Hongwen spoke, he saw Tang Lanzhou load the crossbow, but instead, he stopped and just lowered his head, panting heavily.

He thought this was a sign of Tang Lanzhou's wavering.

So he hurriedly continued.

"Lord Tang, about your wife's matter... how about this, I will take charge and have the Ke family—"

Tang Lanzhou said calmly.

"Noisy."

Whoosh—squish.

Ke Hongwen felt his shoulder go cold first, his whole body was carried backward, and as he lay on the ground, his shoulder felt hot, and then sharp pain came.

"Uh!"

He looked at the arrow inserted into his shoulder in astonishment, and then looked at Tang Lanzhou. Tang Lanzhou said calmly.

"My health is not good, I shot wide, Lord Ke, please forgive me."

After saying that, he loaded another arrow into the crossbow, panting, pulled the trigger, and dragged the crossbow toward him.

"Lord, Lord Tang!"

Ke Hongwen was pulled by the sharp pain, stammered, and endured the urgency to say.

"Did I say something wrong just now?"

"I didn't participate in the forced abdication, nor did I send anyone to kill you. I just chose wrong for a moment, wanting to see what Yan Song could do—I didn't do anything against you!"

"Let me go, I can save your life, and I can also suppress public opinion for His Majesty, minimizing the impact..."

Tang Lanzhou approached step by step.

Suddenly, Ke Hongwen had a flash of inspiration.

"Is it... your wife's matter?"

He stared at Tang Lanzhou's eyes.

When he said this, Tang Lanzhou's eyes fluctuated.

Clearly, whether he was talking about the general trend of the world or about saving Tang Lanzhou's life, Tang Lanzhou's eyes were dead silent. But at this moment, they indeed fluctuated.

"Is it really because of your wife?"

Ke Hongwen's eyes widened.

"A... woman?"

He couldn't understand, he felt Tang Lanzhou had gone crazy.

Although Great Ming had the influence of "Jianghu," the social atmosphere was more open than the Great Ming of Li Miao's previous life, but in the final analysis, it was still a feudal dynasty, and a feudal dynasty that had reached its peak, so the status of women could not be high.

Tang Lanzhou, a person who had reached the peak of the officialdom, gave up power, the world, and even his life for a woman?

You've read too many storybooks, you old fool!

The higher one stands, the more one understands how cheap "people" are. Beauty, talent, temperament, physique—traits that ordinary people can't get—are just labels on playthings in the eyes of people like Ke Hongwen, small dishes that can be taken at will.

Tang Lanzhou's behavior, in Ke Hongwen's eyes, was as ridiculous as dying for one's pet.

Summer insects cannot talk about ice.

It wasn't until Tang Lanzhou panted and pressed the arrow against his forehead that Ke Hongwen suddenly woke up.

"No, Lord Tang, think again!"

"Consider it again, think clearly! It's just a woman, I can compensate you with the most famous talented woman, the most beautiful—"

"Lord Ke, stop for a moment."

Tang Lanzhou said.

"You are wrong, you said a lot of nonsense."

Ke Hongwen said tremblingly.

"Where am I wrong... Lord Tang, I can change."

Tang Lanzhou shook his head.

"You are wrong in trying to persuade a dead man."

Click.

The trigger was pulled.

Blood sprayed out.

The arrow pierced Ke Hongwen's head.

"For a dead man, do life, the world, power, or desire have any meaning?"

"I am tired. No matter how many things you prepare in the human world, I only want to say goodbye as soon as possible and take some gifts to see my wife."

Tang Lanzhou looked at Ke Hongwen's corpse and said calmly.

"Lord Ke saved me a lot of trouble. Now the charges of forming cliques for private interests, conspiring to rebel, secretly raising dead soldiers, and privately storing crossbows don't need me to rack my brains to make up."

He waved his sleeve and turned around.

"Cut them all."

"Take the heads and send them to my house. Build a firewood pile in front of my wife's mourning hall and build a Jingguan on it."

"My wife was afraid of the cold when she was alive, I want to make the fire bigger, the bigger the better."

The leader of the Imperial Guards bowed in agreement and waved his hand back.

Blood light soared into the sky.

Tang Lanzhou walked out of the mansion and leaned against the door frame to catch his breath.

Just now he had suppressed his anger, and his heart had throbbed with sharp pain several times. He knew very well that his time of death was near.

But Ke Hongwen had saved him a lot of time.

Tang Lanzhou looked into the distance, toward the east side.

The officials here were basically gathered by Ke Hongwen. The east side was Jiang Mi Lane and Chang'an Street, where officials were most gathered. There were still many heads waiting for him to take.

Tang Lanzhou watched, and two figures suddenly flashed in his vision. One chasing and one fleeing, they disappeared in a flash.

His pupils shrank.

He didn't recognize the person fleeing.

But he would never forget that face of the person chasing, even if it turned to ash.

Yingzhou Heaven-Man, fake Li Miao.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 432 =====