NIP #118 - Chapter 118 Double Assassination
#118 - Chapter 118 Double Assassination
Suddenly.
The leading man in black suddenly pushed off the ground with his feet and lunged towards the Marquis of Longxiang.
The long saber at his waist was already drawn, and a cold light, like a crescent moon, slashed down towards the female Marquis's neck.
This saber was too fast; even Zheng Biao, who was bowing and reporting to the Marquis, didn't notice it.
He only felt a cold wind behind him, and the blade had already grazed his head, slashing towards the Marquis of Longxiang's neck.
The black-clothed man's attack took everyone in the room by surprise.
The one who came was clearly an officer from the Martial Virtue Department of the imperial court, so why would he assassinate the Marquis of Longxiang?
The personal guards on the scene, and even the General of Xinzhou, were stunned.
At this time, it was too late to stop him.
Even the Marquis of Longxiang herself was shocked by the scene before her.
Watching the blade rapidly slash towards her.
The female Marquis's heart sank, and she could only close her eyes and resign herself to fate.
Suddenly, a huge force came, and the female Marquis only felt that she was being embraced and her body was retreating rapidly.
In just an instant, the Marquis of Longxiang's body was quickly dragged back three steps.
The black-clothed man's blade barely grazed the female Marquis's nose.
At this time, the female Marquis didn't need to think to know that the only person who could save her in an instant was Li Yuan.
After the saber missed, the black-clothed leader was stunned.
His saber actually only wanted to wound the Marquis of Longxiang, but he didn't expect that the other party would evade it so strangely.
Just as he was about to raise his leg to launch a second attack, Li Yuan's battle saber had already slashed towards the black-clothed leader's neck.
The speed of the blade startled the black-clothed leader.
But this person's martial arts were quite remarkable. Seeing that things were not good, he suddenly twisted his waist to dodge.
However, Li Yuan's saber speed was too fast. Although the black-clothed man's body dodged it, his left arm was chopped off by Li Yuan's saber, and he also cut open the man's side abdomen.
The black-clothed leader was seriously injured by Li Yuan's attack and directly lost his combat power.
Li Yuan ignored him, but continued to charge forward, waving his saber to slash at the other two black-clothed men behind him.
"Speak, who sent you here!"
But before he could finish speaking, the man had already drawn a dagger with his only arm and unhesitatingly slit his own throat.
Seeing the other party commit suicide so decisively, Li Yuan's eyes narrowed.
It was too late to stop him.
Bright red blood flowed from the man's neck.
The black-clothed leader, with a strange smile on his face, staggered and died.
This series of events actually only happened in an instant.
At this time, the three Sword-Bearing Guards of the Martial Virtue Department were all killed by Li Yuan.
The scene became silent.
All the Longxiang personal guards drew their sabers and surrounded the female Marquis.
Their eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
And they also intentionally or unintentionally separated the people from the Xinzhou government office.
At this time, General Pang Ruhai of Xinzhou was also frightened, his fat trembling.
One was because the assassination just now was extremely dangerous. He was not far from the Marquis of Longxiang, and the black-clothed man's attack made him feel death was near.
Secondly, this banquet was arranged by him, Earl Changxin, Pang Ruhai.
If the Marquis of Longxiang really died in his banquet.
Then he, the General of Xinzhou, would really be unable to explain himself.
Once the imperial court blamed him, he would be in deep trouble.
Now he didn't even have the strength to get angry at his subordinates, he just kept wiping his cold sweat.
He looked around in horror, fearing that another assassin would jump out.
Fortunately, there were many guards on the scene, and the Longxiang guards and the state government yamen guarded the entrances, exits, and windows.
It was almost impossible for anyone to approach the Marquis again.
Zhao Yong walked to the black-clothed man's side and bent down to check the body.
He groped on the body for a while, but did not find any suspicious items, except for the Martial Virtue Department waist牌 (waist牌, a kind of identity plate) hanging on his waist.
Zhao Yong could only untie the waist牌 from the black-clothed man's waist and present it to the Marquis of Longxiang with both hands.
At this time, the female Marquis was closing her eyes to adjust her breathing and calm her chaotic emotions.
The black-clothed leader's fatal saber strike still made the female Marquis's heart beat wildly.
At the moment she saw the blade, the female Marquis really thought she was dead.
But fortunately, at the critical moment, Li Yuan took action to save her again.
The female Marquis's heart was very chaotic now. She didn't understand who wanted to put her to death.
This group of people first disguised themselves as waiters to assassinate her, and after the failure, there were people claiming to be from the Martial Virtue Department to assassinate her a second time.
The plan was meticulous and the attack was ruthless.
If the mastermind behind the scenes was not found, then this kind of assassination would never be the last time.
Was she going to live in this fear of being assassinated at any time?
Thinking of this, the female Marquis's breathing became unconsciously heavier.
But she also felt a bit of luck.
She was glad that she had met Li Yuan early on.
If it weren't for him taking action several times, she would have already become a corpse in the Chishui River.
Counting carefully, Li Yuan had saved her no less than three or four times.
And each time was extremely dangerous.
She really couldn't imagine what it would be like if Li Yuan wasn't by her side.
Fortunately, Li Yuan was still by her side, and the female Marquis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But then she thought, wait.
This guy seems to be taking a concubine tonight, and the one he's taking is her own younger sister.
For some reason, the female Marquis's mood became lost again.
And Li Yuan, who was standing aside, watched the expression on the female Marquis's face constantly changing.
Sometimes nervous, sometimes relieved, and sometimes inexplicably anxious.
This made Li Yuan a little confused.
He thought to himself, the female Marquis might have been stimulated by the assassination just now and was a little mentally unstable.
Just then, Li Yuan and the female Marquis were interrupted by Zhao Yong's voice.
"Reporting to the Marquis."
"The assassin's body has been searched, and nothing was found."
"The only thing that could be found was this waist牌."
At this time, the female Marquis also turned her thoughts back.
She reached out and took the waist牌 that Zhao Yong handed over.
She took it to her eyes to check.
The waist牌 was made of copper and coated with black lacquer. It felt very textured. The front of the waist牌 was engraved with four seal characters [武德忠军] (Martial Virtue Loyal Army), and the back was eight regular script characters [奉天巡御，监察百将] (Appointed by Heaven to Patrol and Supervise Hundreds of Generals).
The Marquis of Longxiang had also been in the military for many years, and she knew with a touch that this waist牌 was definitely genuine.
The female Marquis's eyes narrowed. The Martial Virtue Department was now controlled by Assistant State General Zheng Tianxiong.
Could it be that the one who wanted to kill her was that Assistant State General in Shangjing?
Thinking of this, the Marquis of Longxiang was shocked, and then her eyes showed a cold light.
Could it be because she defeated the Tiele people in the Chishui River, shaking the foundation of the noble family, and wanted to get rid of me quickly?
If so, how should she respond?