She was about to draw her sword to fight the enemy, but she saw the enemy kicking towards her, with the tip of his toes also shining with the cold light of a blade.
Xi Heng reacted quickly and instead of retreating, he moved forward, slamming his left arm to the side and hammering his elbow into the opponent's shin bone, making a bone-breaking sound.
The assassin groaned in pain and spat out another blade from his mouth, slashing towards her neck.
The girl dodged the hidden weapon and spun around to strike the enemy in the chest.
As the sound of broken ribs continued to ring out, the powerful force in the palm of his hand sent the assassin flying back several meters.
The slender figure hit the wall with a dull thud, and then the whole body went limp and slowly fell to the ground.
It was not until this moment that the guards outside the door heard the sound and rushed into the room. Seeing that His Majesty was standing there safely, and the maid who was still holding the knife in her other hand had fallen to the ground, they first breathed a sigh of relief, then knelt down nervously and said respectfully:
"I am late in coming to your rescue! I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
"Don't talk nonsense, handcuff this man." Xi Heng said coldly.
"Yes!" The guards quickly took action.
Xi Heng turned his head to look at the Imperial Master on the bed, only to find that he had lost his breath.
"Is he dead now?"
The girl turned around and looked at the assassin who was knocked unconscious by her, and a stream of black blood flowed from his lips.
The captain of the guards slowed down his movements when he was putting shackles on the other person.
After hesitating, he said, "Your Majesty, this man's heart has stopped beating. He has committed suicide by taking poison."
Xi Heng pressed his temple. A lot happened in just a few minutes.
"Drag him away and bury him." She waved her hand.
"Yes."
Watching the assassin's body being dragged away by the guards, Xi Heng sighed: "Are these people so decisive... Revenge comes so quickly."
She no longer looked at the dead imperial teacher beside her, and walked out of the courtyard directly, returning to the carriage guarded by the palace guards, and asked them to drive her back to Taixiao Palace.
Sitting comfortably on the soft cushion in the carriage, Xi Heng yawned and felt drowsy.
"I didn't rest yesterday, so I'll go back to my room and sleep after I finish dealing with the memorials today..."
"If someone assassinates me again while I'm sleeping, please make it quick." Her head became increasingly dizzy, so heavy that it seemed as if it would pull her whole body to the ground.
"No... I'm in such good health now, how could I suddenly be unable to suppress my sleepiness?" Xi Heng shook his head and looked around, and saw green smoke slowly emanating from a corner of the carriage.
“…Incense?” She opened her eyes and shouted, “Stop the car!”
The driver outside pulled the reins hard, and the carriage stopped suddenly. The inertia of the carriage caused her to lean forward.
"Your Majesty! What do you want me to do?" asked the guard outside.
Xi Heng pinched his arm, using the pain to suppress his sleepiness, held his breath, picked up the incense on the ground, pushed open the purple curtain and threw it out, saying:
"There was a drug in the carriage. Who approached the carriage when I got off? There are assassins among the Royal Guards!"
The captain of the guard immediately became serious and shouted angrily:
"Who approached the carriage just now? How dare anyone among you forget the grace of the Horse Commander?!"
The other red-armored guards outside looked at each other, and no one answered for a moment.
At this moment of hesitation, the driver suddenly shouted "Gee!" and swung the reins in his hand.
The three BMWs neighed in pain and galloped forward at full speed.
The clattering sound of horse hooves was like a series of firecrackers. Xi Heng was in the carriage at the back, so sleepy that he was unable to react.
"Stop!" She turned her head back and saw the imperial guards approaching as quickly as possible through the window.
But the full speed of the three horses is faster than a person's lightness skill, and the driver in front is still whipping the horses.
The sound of slapping continued, and Xi Heng pinched his soft flesh until it bled, and only then did he barely muster up some strength.
Just as she was trying to stand up and jump out of the carriage, the three horses in front suddenly turned at the alley entrance, and the unrelieved inertia led the purple-gold carriage behind to smash fiercely towards the dark red wall of the palace.
With a loud bang, the side of the wooden carriage was smashed into countless pieces, and all kinds of precious decorations were scattered all over the ground like flowers from the sky.
Xi Heng fell due to inertia and tried to raise his arms in front of him to withstand the impact. The next moment, he was bounced to the other side of the carriage. In this carriage where the direction was already confused, he couldn't stand firmly after several attempts.
The horses outside began to neigh again, and after turning, they continued to gallop, pulling the half-damaged carriage.
The cold wind blew in from the hole punched in the side of the car, causing her tightly tied gray-black hair to spread out.
After shaking for a while, the carriage finally regained some stability. Xi Heng quickly struck the hole in the side of the carriage, and countless fragments burst out again.
Seeing that the hole was already big enough for a person, Xi Heng simply pushed himself through it and jumped off the running carriage.
The ground seemed to be dragged back continuously, and she could only try her best to keep her feet on the ground, but the next moment, she had to take another step forward due to inertia.
This time he stepped on the hem of the thick imperial robe which was not suitable for moving around in. The robe was pulled violently, causing his entire upper body to fall sideways with a crash.
"Woo..." Xi Heng fell straight to the ground.
She also wanted to catch up with the purple-gold carriage that was still fleeing rapidly in front of her, but the imperial robe she was wearing was so restrictive that even standing up was quite difficult for her.
"Your Majesty!" The guards finally arrived and quickly helped her up.
"Don't worry about me, just chase him!" Xi Heng ordered immediately.
Half of the guards continued to follow, but the distance between them was getting farther and farther.
"Your lightness skills can't even outrun a horse..." Xi Heng held his forehead with his hand.
Just as she was about to untie the thick imperial robe that restricted her movements and chase after him herself, there was a sudden heavy thud ahead, and at the same time the galloping horse stopped with a neigh.
The sound of the whip still continued, but the beaten BMW refused to move forward a few more steps.
Hearing the sound, Xi Heng walked over with his wide coat lifted up, and saw a familiar old eunuch blocking his way.
This person maintained the gesture of slapping out with his palm, and directly slapped the neck of a tall white horse into a bloody mess, with blood continuously oozing out from the wound.
The white horse fell to the ground with blood spitting out of its mouth and nose. Its throat was blocked by the blood and it could only let out muffled cries of pain.
After two or three seconds, the white horse even stopped trembling, and fell to the ground with its eyes rolled back.
Seeing Xi Heng approaching, the old eunuch bowed and said, "I am late in coming to your rescue, Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Why can he only say this? Hurry up and tie up the driver. Don't let him commit suicide by taking poison." Xi Heng urged.
"Yes!"
The guards who followed nearby rushed forward and immediately subdued the stunned coachman.
"Suppress this man and interrogate him thoroughly to find out who is trying to assassinate me!" Xi Heng gave the order, turned around and walked directly back to his Fuqing Palace, no longer wanting to deal with the memorials.
A small team of red-armored guards took the man away, and more guards still followed Xi Heng, always alert to the surrounding situation, fearing that other assassins would suddenly attack.
The old eunuch followed Xi Heng and whispered:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Your Majesty has made too many enemies in the palace. You should find a way to escape. Otherwise, such behavior will continue in the future."
"Why do you think I have so many enemies?" Xi Heng glanced at him:
"I know, but I'm not getting away."
Before she came to the palace, she had already prepared for her death.
And because she had practiced the Life-Taking Technique again yesterday, her lifespan was getting shorter and shorter, and her cultivation speed was gradually slowing down due to her deteriorating health. Even if she left the palace, she would not live long - it would be better for her to kill the enemy who wanted to murder her before dying.
"Your Majesty, I have a way to create a fake death for Your Majesty." The eunuch wanted to persuade again.
"No matter what the reason, anyone who wants to kill me must die." Xi Heng said coldly: "Don't mention getting away again in the future. Now help me find out who arranged this assassination!"
The eunuch was silent for a while, and finally stopped and nodded.
Xi Heng waved the sleeves of his imperial robe and strode back to his Fuqing Palace at a brisk pace.
However, the old eunuch behind him was staring at Xi Heng's back silently, with a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
………………
Chapter 44: Spiritual Test
The place where the carriage was damaged was not far from Fuqing Palace. Two or three minutes later, Xi Heng returned to his bedroom.
Having seen the death of the national teacher and having experienced the assassination just now, she had a murderous intent in her heart all the way.
I just want to find the mastermind immediately, draw my sword and chop off his head.
But now we can only wait for our men to find clues.
"I hope the guards can find out something."
She slowly walked back to the bed, took off the loose dragon robe that had caused her to trip, and threw it to the ground.
As his mind relaxed, the strong sleepiness that he had tried so hard to suppress came back to him again. Xi Heng lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Xi Heng got up early, had a simple tidying of his appearance with the help of the master of ceremonies and the palace maid, went to the court to handle some simple government affairs, and went to the back of the hall to check some remaining memorials from yesterday. At this time, an officer from the Imperial Guard came to deliver a message.
After a day of interrogation, the imperial guards actually found some clues - the killer who poisoned the imperial teacher and attempted to assassinate the emperor was actually a hidden agent under the former prime minister Li Shimei, and it was the former prime minister who arranged her to serve tea and water to the imperial teacher.
But even if there is a clue, it becomes confusing to continue investigating. I don't know which official in the court ordered her to assassinate the imperial teacher after Li Shimei's death. It can't be that the other party is so scheming...
Another driver who also wanted to harm Xi Heng was caught, but he was mentally disturbed and could only say strange and confusing words. There was no clear logic in his words, and it was unclear whether the information he obtained was true or false.
Xi Heng waved his hand to let the guard who delivered the message leave, and sighed softly:
"It's really troublesome to want to kill a few people."
After dealing with several memorials in the palace, he ordered the imperial guards to go to the Imperial Guards' Mansion to pass on the message, asking their commander Ma Yi to come to the Taixiao Palace for an audience.
After being summoned, Ma Yi, who was setting up a banquet and enjoying a feast in the mansion, ran over quickly. When he arrived at the hall, he knelt down in front of Yu Xiheng and asked:
"Your Majesty, what instructions do you have for me?"
"In your opinion, who did what happened yesterday?" she asked.
Ma Yidao, the tall and strong commander of the imperial guards wearing full armor, said:
"When your majesty ordered me to kill the bandits, there were so many officials who showed murderous intent that I couldn't identify them."
He probably had guessed that Xi Heng called him here to ask about this matter, and he answered quite fluently.
“Who is most likely?”
"Weiyuan Jiedushi Zhu Xun, Jianxiu Taifu Liang Cegong, and Jianyi Dafu Li Yuan, these three people are in cahoots with the three former prime ministers killed by Your Majesty before. They are also extremely treacherous and evil people in the court. However, compared with Li Shimei, Wang Xiangfu, and Cai Yuan, they have less influence and are still useful, so they were not included in the imperial decree to be beheaded." Ma Yi said bluntly:
"The day before yesterday, His Majesty killed an official in court. The people who were most terrified were these three. They were afraid that His Majesty would issue another imperial decree one day. They even refused to come to the court recently... The assassination of His Majesty was probably arranged by one of the three of them, or it could be a joint plot by these three."
"You are so timid." Xi Heng snorted and said, "I want to kill them again. Is it possible?"
Ma Yi just smiled bitterly:
"Your Majesty, I cannot accept your order... In order to fulfill the late emperor's will, I have already killed the traitor in the court without caring about my own life and offended too many people. If I lead the guards out of the palace again, I am afraid that I will be surrounded by experts halfway and die in a dark alley."
“……”Xi Heng was speechless.
She also couldn't force the commander of the imperial guards to die. If she did so again, she was afraid that the only two imperial guards in the palace who still listened to her would be out of control.
As an emperor who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, she could not do anything on her own.
Xi Heng turned around silently, looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and realized that he had reached a dead end.
Without the corresponding strength, he sat on the throne of the emperor. Sure enough, there would be no good ending...
"That's all." Xi Heng comforted himself in his heart:
"I killed Zhao Qianyuan and used him to make a blood spirit stone. I also read the four books on Huajin martial arts in the palace and used the heads of several prime ministers to satisfy my murderous desire. My dark power has also been improved to a certain level. This trip is considered to be very profitable."
"In this life, there is no need to think about how to save Da Zhao..." she sighed.
Although as an emperor she has the duty to save the country, it is simply impossible to do so with the resources and power she controls.
"When a country is going downhill, someone has to step on the accelerator..." Xi Heng made up a random sentence to convince himself. He didn't say anything more to Ma Yi beside him. He left Taixiao Palace directly and returned to his residence in Fuqing Palace.
After returning to the palace, she no longer wanted to deal with the difficult problems in the court. She sat down directly at the desk, picked up four books on Hua Jin martial arts and began to recite them.
After an afternoon, Xi Heng, who had a good memory, had almost memorized the whole book.
These martial arts secrets are relatively thin, and the core techniques are mostly just short paragraphs that are easy to memorize. It is relatively simple to just memorize them without having to deeply understand them.
After memorizing the next chapter, Xi Heng put down the secret book to rest, took out his blood spirit stone from the drawer, and looked at it from left to right.
