The leader was Shen Qingge's brother, Shen Qingfeng.
"Kill!" Shen Qingfeng gave an order, and the old members of the Shen family joined the battle.
The situation reversed in an instant and the men in black were defeated.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhao Cheng turned around and tried to escape.
"Want to run? Not that easy!" Ying Yuan roared and chased after him.
Zhao Cheng was so panicked that he bumped into a pillar of the dilapidated temple and fainted.
Ying Yuan stepped forward and pierced Zhao Cheng's heart with a sword.
Zhao Cheng, a treacherous minister, died here.
This bloody storm finally came to an end.
However, Ying Yuan could not be happy. He looked at the guards and former members of the Shen family lying in a pool of blood, and his heart was filled with grief.
"Qingge..." Ying Yuan walked to Shen Qingge and gently picked her up, "Let's go home..."
Shen Qingge slowly opened her eyes and saw Ying Yuan's concerned look. A smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"His Majesty……"
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the beams of the dilapidated temple, and a huge beam fell towards Ying Yuan and Shen Qingge...
"Your Majesty!" Shen Qingge's weak voice came from Ying Yuan's arms, pulling him back to his senses. At that critical moment, Ying Yuan caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, and almost instinctively rolled to the side while holding Shen Qingge. With a loud bang, a huge beam fell where they were just now, and wood fragments flew everywhere.
Ying Yuan protected Shen Qingge tightly, but the flying gravel still scratched her arm. Shen Qingge groaned and her face turned even paler.
"Qingge!" Ying Yuan was extremely anxious and tore off his robe to bandage her wound. Seeing her weak appearance, Ying Yuan felt a sense of fear. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, the consequences would have been disastrous.
"Your Majesty, I'm fine..." Shen Qingge forced a smile and comforted him.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Ying Yuan hugged her tightly, like a treasure that was lost and found again.
Outside the ruined temple, Shen Qingfeng led his men to clear out the remaining black-clad men. Soon, the battle was over. He walked into the ruined temple and saw the mess on the ground and the injured Shen Qingge in Ying Yuan's arms. He immediately knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Get up, Qingfeng. This time it's all thanks to you." Ying Yuan helped him up. "I'm fine. It's just Qingge who was injured."
"I'll go get the doctor right away!" Shen Qingfeng immediately stood up and prepared to go out.
"No need," Ying Yuan stopped him, "This place is not far from the capital, let's go back to the palace as soon as possible."
Ying Yuan held Shen Qingge in his arms and left the dilapidated temple under the protection of the former members of the Shen family.
On the way back to the palace, Ying Yuan held Shen Qingge tightly, fearing that something unexpected would happen again. He looked at Shen Qingge's pale face, and his heart was filled with self-blame.
"Qingge, I will definitely find out who is behind this and avenge you!" Ying Yuan whispered in her ear.
Shen Qingge leaned in his arms and nodded weakly.
After returning to the palace, Ying Yuan immediately summoned the imperial physician to treat Shen Qingge. After the diagnosis, the imperial physician said that Shen Qingge only suffered skin injuries and was not seriously injured, but had lost too much blood and needed to be properly nursed back to health.
Only then did Ying Yuan feel relieved and took care of Shen Qingge personally, never leaving her side.
In the next few days, Ying Yuan took care of Shen Qingge while secretly investigating the mastermind behind the assassination. He suspected that there was a bigger conspiracy behind this incident.
Although Zhao Cheng was dead, the power behind him still existed. Ying Yuan knew that if he could not completely eradicate this power, he would never have peace.
At this time, an unexpected person appeared in the palace. This person was Prime Minister Li Si.
Li Si was a founding father of the Qin Dynasty and also Ying Yuan's teacher. After Ying Yuan ascended the throne, Li Si had been assisting him wholeheartedly and was one of Ying Yuan's most trusted ministers.
"Li Si, why are you here?" Ying Yuan was a little surprised.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Li Si looked solemn.
"what's up?"
"I have found some clues about this assassination." Li Si said in a low voice, "The mastermind behind this may be in the court."
"What?!" Ying Yuan's face changed, "Who is it?"
Li Si hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I suspect... it was Hu Hai."
Hu Hai was Ying Yuan's younger brother and the second prince of the Qin Dynasty. He had always been eyeing the throne and had a very tense relationship with Ying Yuan.
"Hu Hai?" Ying Yuan narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
He had always suspected that the assassination was related to Hu Hai, but he had no evidence. Now that Li Si also said so, it seemed that his suspicion was not groundless.
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"Li Si, what evidence do you have?" Ying Yuan asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I have found out that Zhao Cheng and Hu Hai have always had secret contact. Moreover, before the assassination, Hu Hai had summoned Zhao Cheng privately." Li Si said.
"Humph, it's him!" Ying Yuan snorted angrily, "This rebellious son, I treated him well, but he dared to do such a thing!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down," Li Si advised, "Now is not the time to be angry. We must find solid evidence to bring Hu Hai to justice."
"You're right." Ying Yuan took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. "Li Si, I'll leave this matter to you. Remember, you must find solid evidence and don't wrongly accuse him."
"I understand, old minister." Li Si bowed and retreated.
Ying Yuan looked at Li Si's departing back, with a complicated look in his eyes. He didn't know whether Li Si was really loyal to him.
But now, he has no other choice. He can only choose to trust Li Si.
Because, what he needs to do most now is to find out the mastermind behind the scenes and avenge Shen Qingge!
At the same time, in Hu Hai's mansion, Hu Hai was conspiring with a man in black.
"How is the matter going?" Hu Hai asked.
"Your Highness, the plan has failed." The man in black knelt on the ground and said with his head down.
"What? Failed?" Hu Hai was furious. "Useless! A bunch of useless! Can't even handle such a small matter!"
“Your Highness, please calm down. Ying Yuan was lucky this time. Someone saved him.” The man in black explained.
"Who is it?" Hu Hai narrowed his eyes.
"They are old members of the Shen family." The man in black replied.
"The Shen family?" Hu Hai sneered, "It seems that the Shen family should also disappear..."
...
Ying Yuan stared at Li Si coldly for a long time before uttering one word: "Okay." He did not completely trust Li Si. The emperor's mindset was to avoid completely trusting anyone. Li Si might be loyal, or he might be calculating his own chess game. But Hu Hai's actions undoubtedly touched his reverse scale. Shen Qingge's injury was like cutting a piece of flesh from his heart, and blood was dripping.
After Li Si left, Ying Yuan came to Shen Qingge's bedroom alone. She was still unconscious, pale, like a fragile porcelain doll. Ying Yuan sat by the bed, gently holding her hand, feeling her weak pulse. His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible big hand, and it became difficult to breathe. (End of this chapter)