Chapter 201: Grief-Stricken

Liu Zheng's eyes were splitting, his heart in unbearable pain.

Qin Zhangfeng let out a roar, as if a tiger were howling in the mountains, and ignoring the group of assassins around him, he brandished his long saber and reached the bridal sedan.

However...

This sword thrust directly from behind, piercing into Sikong Jing's heart with extreme precision.

This daughter of the Hanzhong Sima, just sixteen years old and a well-known talented woman of Hanzhong, took one last look at her husband with those sorrowful, despairing eyes, and thus passed away.

"Jing'er!"

Tears streamed from Qin Zhangfeng's eyes, his grief agonizing; when he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot, his hatred soaring to the heavens. With a loud cry, he became like a dancing demon, his long saber in hand, instantly tearing those few assassins who had killed Sikong Jing into shreds.

"Retreat!"

The remaining assassins, seeing that Sikong Jing was dead, gave the order and retreated in unison.

The Yinzhou soldiers pursued them, but only left behind a few corpses.

In an instant, the entire scene was plunged into grief.

Liu Zheng had not even reacted, staring blankly at everything.

He was stunned.

Everything happened so fast, and ended just as quickly. Yet, Sikong Jing no longer had breath. He was struck as if by a thunderbolt.

"Jing'er!"

Qin Zhangfeng, holding the red wedding-clad Sikong Jing, knelt on the ground and wailed.

Two of the bridesmaids had also died, and the other survivors were all deathly pale with terror and immense pain.

The laughter and joy along the journey came to an abrupt end.

Liu Zheng clenched his fists, his face ashen: "What are you standing there for? Investigate! Investigate for me! This is the territory of Kezhou, investigate!"

The crowd was alarmed, and soldiers scattered to send word.

That such a major incident could happen within his own jurisdiction was something Liu Zheng could not accept.

"Jing'er..."

Qin Zhangfeng was plunged into immense grief, unable to recover for a long time.

Jiang Xuan also stood to the side, his face covered in tears: "Sister-in-law!"

He had only been calling her sister-in-law for a few days, previously in a joking tone, but now...

Sikong Jing, who was often teased into a coquettish pout by that title of "sister-in-law," had passed away.

No one could accept it.

No one could.

A girl who was just sixteen, just married, and in Liu Zheng's eyes, still innocent and naive with so much room to grow, had just like that, suddenly lost her life.

He almost forgot to breathe, kneeling on the ground as well, filled with self-reproach.

How could he answer to Hanzhong, how could he answer to Sikong Zhen?

"Roar!"

Liu Zheng let out a roar to the heavens, his eyes filled with a murderous glint: "No matter who the murderer is, I, Liu Zheng, will make them regret coming into this world!"

The wedding procession wept along with him.

The joyous occasion had turned into a funeral.

"Zhangfeng..."

Liu Zheng did not know how to console him.

He knew that Qin Zhangfeng did have feelings for Sikong Jing. Love in ancient times was actually just that simple. Although the two had only met in passing, this bond was sacred in Qin Zhangfeng's heart.

Qin Zhangfeng shook his head, his voice strained: "Young Master, no need to persuade me. I want to take Jing'er back to Yinzhou, take her back to Yinzhou... is that alright?"

Liu Zheng trembled all over and nodded heavily.

The crowd watched as Qin Zhangfeng, still holding the deceased Sikong Jing, mounted his horse once more.

Everyone could not help but wipe away their tears as they followed behind.

At this time, two thousand soldiers from Kezhou arrived to beg for forgiveness.

Liu Zheng was in low spirits, shaking his head without a word, not wanting to hear any explanations. The two thousand soldiers, also heavy-hearted, escorted the procession all the way to Yinzhou.

"What are you saying? Sikong Jing was assassinated?"

Yintan City.

Qingyang Shuo's expression also darkened.

Hu Xi'er wiped her tears: "Father, Qin Dage has already fainted from grief several times. Who could have done this? Could it be the King of Shu!"

She gritted her teeth as she finished speaking.

One must know, the King of Shu had always wanted to obstruct this marriage to prevent Hanzhong from gaining a strong ally in Yinzhou.

Qingyang Shuo shook his head: "Give the order, keep the festive decorations along the route, no need to take them down."

"General Qin must also want to give this Miss Sikong a proper final resting place."

"Alright!"

Hu Xi'er's tears fell like rain.

Yinzhou City.

At the gate.

It was still a sea of red, a red prepared spontaneously by the people days ago to welcome the wife of their Yinzhou hero, the Great General, Qin Zhangfeng.

Yet today.

This red carried a touch of cold loneliness.

The scene that should have been filled with joy, yet the commoners had eyes turned red.

The wedding procession had finally returned.

"Great General..."

"General Qin!"

Someone could not help but burst into tears.

However, they still tried their best not to make a sound, so as not to disturb Qin Zhangfeng, who was holding Sikong Jing all the way back home.

Eyes brimming with tears.

Grief permeated the air.

Qin Zhangfeng was nearly voiceless at this moment; when he saw Qingyang Shuo, Hu Xi'er, Zheng Yue Ru and the others at the city gate, as well as his own parents, Liu Dahao, and the commoners of the city, he lowered his head gently and smiled: "Jing'er, we're home, we're home..."

Everyone remained silent.

When Qin Zhangfeng reached the city gate, he finally could not hold on any longer; his vision went black, and he collapsed with a boom.

"General Qin!"

"Zhangfeng!"

Liu Zheng watched, closing his eyes tightly.

These past few days, Qin Zhangfeng was too tired. He had not eaten or drunk the whole way, just holding Sikong Jing like that; he was too tired, too much in pain...

"Young Master..."

Back in Yintan City, Liu Zheng sat heavily on a chair, not wanting to move at all. Qingyang Shuo sighed from the side: "Young Master, this matter still needs to be reported to Hanzhong."

Liu Zheng said powerlessly: "How do I say it?"

"I promised the Prince of Yong that when Sikong Jing married into Yinzhou, it would be with the treatment of a Princess!"

"How do I say it, how can I say it!"

He clenched his fists tightly, his anger surging to his heart.

Zheng Yue Ru hurried over, placed her hand on Liu Zheng's shoulder, and gently soothed him.

Liu Dahao was also persuading him from the side.

No one wanted to see this happen. This was not just a tragedy, but also a provocation against Yinzhou!

Qingyang Shuo said: "Things have reached this point, and it is always unavoidable. Young Master, this matter should not have been the work of the Prince of Shu..."

Liu Zheng glanced at him: "How can you tell?"

Qingyang Shuo said: "Although the Prince of Shu does not like the marriage alliance between Hanzhong and Yinzhou, it is already a done deal, the heavy gifts have already been sent, and the matter is settled; no matter what he does now, it is already irreversible. Furthermore, although the Prince of Shu has a violent temper, he is still known throughout the world for his character and is not such a petty person."

Hu Xi'er said: "Could it be those Xiongnu!"

"Qin Dage killed one of their Chanyu; it must be this bunch of Barbarians!"

Everyone nodded.

That was indeed very possible.

Liu Zheng sighed: "After this incident happened, the entire city of Kezhou was thoroughly searched, yet these assassins seemed to have vanished into thin air. If it were the Xiongnu, they would not have such ability. I saw those assassins that day, and their figures were no different from Han people..."

Qingyang Shuo's eyes flickered: "Could it be that you already have a suspicion in your heart, Young Master?"

Liu Zheng sat up straight, the killing intent in his eyes fully revealed: "Sir, if I, Zheng, wanted to slaughter all the Barbarians of the Western Regions, what are the odds of success?"

"What?"

Everyone was startled.

Even Qingyang Shuo was shocked: "This..."

Liu Dahao looked bewildered: "Zheng, Zheng, what is this? Don't scare your old man."

Liu Zheng suddenly shuddered all over, and then, with an expression of disbelief, he looked abruptly at Qingyang Shuo, clenching his fists tightly: "Sir, the one who killed Sikong Jing should be the current Emperor."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.

Jinghua Imperial Palace.

Another day of morning court.

The civil and military officials were waiting in the "Nine Ministers Chamber" again.

Prince of Qin, Xie Zhao, was beaming today: "The Emperor's health is in good condition, which is a blessing for the world; why does Lord Zhu look so unpleasant?"

Minister of Personnel Zhu Zhen gave a slight hum.

Everyone knew that the Prince of Qin had been very proud lately, and for no other reason. That ninth Commissioner, the Western Regions Commissioner, had successfully married into the Prince of Yong's Hanzhong; this counted as the Noble Class winning another city in the struggle for the Commissioners, so how could the Prince of Qin not be happy? Furthermore, this Prefect Liu had sent generous gifts that shocked the world.

The battle of Hanzhong had once again demonstrated the unparalleled combat power of the Yinzhou Army, which made these Scholar-officials of the Nine Ministers even more anxious.

How long had it been since the Longyan Dynasty produced someone so capable of fighting?

The Prince of Wei's Qingzhou Army had soldiers that dominated the world.

And now this Noble Class had another Prefect Liu?

The Scholar-officials felt crises arising everywhere.

The Prince of Qin naturally had something to boast about.

"The universe is at peace, the Emperor is in good health; the morning court begins on the sixth day of the eighth month of the Metal-Rat year, announce the civil and military officials to have an audience!"

A eunuch sang out with modulation.

Everyone stood up and entered the hall in order.

The shouts of "Long live, long live, long, long live" reached the Nine Ministers Chamber.

Xie Tianyao was on the throne and changed the era name to Pingyu; this year was exactly the thirty-first year of Pingyu.

"Submit your memorials if you have matters, retire from court if you have none!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou shouted at the top of his lungs.

The crowd habitually almost yawned. One by one, eyes turned toward the very end of the two rows of civil and military officials.

Sure enough.

A short civil official stepped out and shouted, "Long live, long live, long, long live our Emperor! Your subject Ma Yong has a memorial to impeach the Yinzhou Liu Family, Liu Dahao and his son Liu Zheng, for privately altering laws, acting against the natural order, and manufacturing and selling illicit salt. Their crimes are a Great Evil, harming the foundation of the state. Your Majesty must investigate strictly!"

The civil and military officials almost burst into loud laughter.

Every day was like this at court.

This Ma Yong was merely a sixth-rank official, yet he impeached this person or that person every single day.

People called him "Ma One-Memorial," as he never missed a day.

However, those he impeached were either high-ranking ministers of the court, powerful Feudatory Kings, or at the very least, the rising Liu Family of Yinzhou.

When had he ever succeeded?

Consequently, people just let him be and did not pay much attention to him.

It was enough to just watch the spectacle.

The Emperor would only say, "We have noted it," and the matter would pass.

Who would have thought.

Today was different.

Hearing Ma Yong's impeachment, the old Emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne straightened his body slightly, a flash of killing intent in his tiger eyes: "Absurd! Is there really such a thing? Under the bright light of the Dragon Flame, how can such a deceitful and rebellious scoundrel be tolerated! Ma Yong, We command you to take the Imperial Edict, go to Yinzhou, and thoroughly investigate this matter!"

The laughter of the entire court of civil and military officials came to an abrupt halt.

Ma Yong had habitually intended to return to his place after finishing his memorial; he had turned and walked a few steps, but then his whole body jolted as he finally realized—the Emperor had issued an oral edict?

This, this, this...

He was so unaccustomed to this!

How should this procedure go? Should he kneel first, or do something else?

Forget it!

The opportunity had arrived!

He turned back in pleasant surprise and knelt on the ground: "Your subject obeys the decree!"

The crowd looked at one another in dismay.

What did the Emperor mean by this?

"Oh my, why does the Prince of Qin's expression look a bit unpleasant?"

After the court was dismissed.

Now it was Zhu Zhen's turn to retort with sarcasm.