Chapter 549: Chaos Before Entering the Capital

"My lord... another letter has arrived from the Empress."

Shangshu Mansion.

Zhu Zhen sat beside the tea table, watching the wisps of smoke curling from it, lost in deep thought.

The person behind him spoke in a low voice.

"Burn it!"

Zhu Zhen commanded decisively.

The servant dared not say another word and quickly withdrew.

Defeated.

Defeated meant defeated.

Zhu Zhen never dragged his feet. Regardless of whether Xie Ling could successfully intercept and kill Governor Liu and Longyang Princess this time, he had already lost. In the entire Longyan Dynasty, Zhu Zhen was likely the person who could best understand the mind of Xie Tianyao.

The Crown Prince was borrowing a knife to kill.

Was he not also borrowing a knife to kill?

Governor Liu was truly too dazzling.

Dazzling to the point that one could not look directly at him.

No one, not even Xie Tianyao, could ignore the massive changes he had brought about for the Longyan Dynasty.

Therefore.

Even at the cost of sacrificing a Longyang Princess, Xie Tianyao was unwilling to let this variable, Liu Zheng, continue to survive.

For the past few days, Zhu Zhen had been pondering.

Having lost the Third Prince, how should their Scholar-official Group face this crisis?

It was very clear that the Crown Prince, who had been watching the show from the Eastern Palace and advocating that "no mistakes is a merit," had now gained the upper hand. This time, the Crown Prince, sitting firmly in the Eastern Palace, had truly demonstrated the great wisdom of the Think Tank behind him.

However...

Zhu Zhen still felt that the Crown Prince was actually a bit conservative.

For this interception at Yang'an Pass, he had not arranged any assistance. If—and he meant if—Governor Liu and Longyang Princess could survive this desperate situation, then this incident would certainly become a thorn between the Crown Prince and Governor Liu.

A thorn that could never be removed.

Was it possible?

Was it possible for Governor Liu to walk out of Yang'an Pass alive?

Zhu Zhen believed that there was nothing impossible in this world.

He had been able to lead the Scholar-official Group to where it was today, standing on equal footing with the Noble Class and the Feudatory Kings in the Longyan Dynasty, precisely because his mind was meticulous.

He would not let go of any possibility.

He liked to hypothesize, then slowly verify, to arrive at the result most suitable for himself.

"Governor Liu entering the capital is a major event for the world..."

"No one can sit still, no one at all."

He finally took a sip of the tea he had brewed himself and chuckled, "Those ladies in the inner palace can no longer hold back... when a drum is broken, everyone beats it! The Empress has lost her family's influence; it will be very difficult for Zheng Yuxing to make a comeback this time. Did she really think the Emperor tacitly allowed the Third Prince to kill Governor Liu and Longyang Princess? Not at all, not at all. In the eyes of the Emperor, the Third Prince is already a discarded piece!"

"Do you understand what a discarded piece is?"

"If he can exert a little residual heat in the final moments of his life, that is certainly good."

"Regardless of whether he can kill Governor Liu or not, he has already been discarded, discarded. It is not worth going to great lengths anymore..."

The few old men beside him looked at each other.

Although emotionally they found it hard to accept, they also knew that this was reality, this was the struggle for the succession.

"Then we..."

"Why not look at the Eleventh Prince?"

"Should we adjust our attitude toward Governor Liu?"

"Dong Guifei has taken the lead in the inner palace this time and suddenly launched an attack, showing the style of a rising master of the inner palace. The Dong Family is a powerful clan that rose alongside the Emperor, unlike those Noble Class. Why don't we test the waters?"

Zhu Zhen pondered for a moment: "Wait!"

Wait.

Everyone was waiting.

The interception at Yang'an Pass involved too broad a field.

Military reports regarding Yang'an Pass were also flying toward Jinghua one after another.

General Luo looked at these military reports, and he too fell into deep thought.

A single Governor Liu.

Had not even entered the capital yet.

And he had already caused many in Jinghua to lose their composure, starting to form cliques and switch sides.

This was the power of Governor Liu.

This was the power of Liangzhou.

He crumpled the letter in his hand and looked toward the battlefield again.

"Listen to my command!"

He suddenly raised the half of the Tiger Tally in his hand. He and Cheng Anguo each held half, and only when the whole Tiger Tally was together would the garrison obey all orders!

However, now.

Cheng Anguo was already on the battlefield, and only General Luo remained here.

The crowd naturally roared their assent.

"Exit the pass, twenty li!"

"Yes!"

Twenty li of land.

One could advance or retreat.

The cautious General Luo was waiting for an opportunity.

"Princess, watch out!"

"Protect the Princess!"

The sudden appearance of Shi Ke left everyone shocked and pale.

No one had expected that this Shi Ke not only possessed astonishing skills but also such meticulous thoughts. It turned out he had been hiding by the side of Cheng Anguo all along, just waiting for Xie Chan to be unable to hold back and jump out herself.

A Dagger.

Had already appeared in mid-air.

The cold glint it brought forth made one's heart tremble with fear.

The speed was extremely fast.

Steady, accurate, and ruthless!

At this moment, Xie Chan was already in the middle of assassinating Cheng Anguo, and the long sword in her hand was about to pierce Cheng Anguo's back. But at this time, she was locked onto by the killing intent of Shi Ke, and her delicate body could not help but tremble.

It came.

He had come after all!

Too fast!

Too ruthless!

Xie Chan had almost no room to retreat, because she knew that if she could kill Cheng Anguo at this time, it would be the greatest help to Liu Zheng.

This was also the biggest reason she had risked danger alone!

Make a feint to the east while attacking in the west!

Her goal was even more focused on the attack in the west!

To kill Cheng Anguo!

"Kill!"

In this very instant, she made a decisive choice.

Ignore Shi Ke!

She had to kill Cheng Anguo first!

For a moment, her heart was free of distractions, and in her eyes, there remained only the back of the completely defenseless Cheng Anguo.

If this sword went in.

It would be able to pierce through his heart!

"Watch out!"

"Pei Qianyun, protect the Princess!"

Shi Ke was truly too fast.

Experts like Feng Sanniang and Grand Eunuch Zhou had not been able to rush over in time.

Liu Zheng could only shout out to Pei Qianyun.

Pei Qianyun was currently locked in combat with Cheng Anguo, and at this moment, he also suddenly sensed the aura of an expert beside him.

Shi Ke!

His expression changed as well, and the pair of hammers he was smashing toward Cheng Anguo were forcibly pulled back by him. It was common knowledge that such forced retraction of power was, for a martial artist, simply a huge devastation to oneself. Yet this Pei Qianyun, not only pulling them back, actually used his full strength to smash these two hammers toward Shi Ke's Dagger!

"Go!"

These two moves caused Pei Qianyun to spit blood directly from his mouth, but he still disregarded everything, wanting to protect the Princess.

Shi Ke's Dagger had already reached the neck of Xie Chan.

Xie Chan's long sword had already begun to pierce into Cheng Anguo's back.

"Do not harm my sister-in-law!"

Seeing that he was still a step too slow, Pei Qianyun's eyes were splitting with rage, and he roared out.

He acted like a madman, throwing his large hammer over, and then threw his entire body toward them...

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

"Stab!"

"Chan'er!"

"Pei Qianyun!"