Chapter 317 Two Groups of Assassins
Early winter.

The cold is coming.

Yuzhou.

Inside the residence of Yuzhou Tuanlianshi.

Zhao Zong looked at the map on the wall with a worried look on his face.

Soon, his son, Zhao Ceying walked in from outside.

Hearing the sound of Zhao Ceying coming in, Zhao Zongquan just turned his head to take a look, and then continued to sigh at the map on the wall.

"Father!"

Zhao Ceying had dismissed his attendants before entering the house. Seeing his father's worried look, he could not help but say:

"It's a great joy that the government thinks highly of us. Why should we be so sad every day?"

Some days ago.

Zhao Zongquan suddenly received a secret imperial decree from the Imperial City Bureau, which first praised Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Ceying, and then instructed them to assist the two new monarchs wholeheartedly after they ascended the throne.

The sudden arrival of a secret decree immediately disrupted the peaceful life of the father and son.

The meaning of the emperor's sudden secret decree was very clear, that is, the position of the crown prince of the Great Zhou had been decided, and he sent a special letter to appease Zhao Zongquan and ask him to cooperate with the new emperor's orders in the future and not to disobey them in private.

And because the secret decree does not have the legal basis of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it should just be a reminder from the emperor in advance, and most likely a formal decree will be issued soon.

By then, both father and son will most likely be given a slight promotion.

The reactions of Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Ceying, father and son, to this incident were completely different.

Zhao Ceying is young and energetic, and is full of enthusiasm for progress and advancement.

He originally thought that because his family was a descendant of Emperor Taizong, his future career would most likely be the same as his father's, so he just spent his time in the local area.

As a result, his family suddenly caught the attention of the officials!
Zhao Ceying naturally did not want to miss this opportunity. He was only thinking about waiting for the official decree from the emperor so that they, Yuzhou, would be the first to show support for the future new emperor.

But Zhao Zongquan is different.

Perhaps it was because of the years of negotiation, or maybe it was because he was just a steady and cautious person, but Zhao Zongquan was not happy about the secret decree from the emperor. He feared it like a snake and scorpion and avoided it like a flood and a beast.

In Zhao Ceying's view, it was a great thing that his family had caught the attention of the government.

But in Zhao Zongquan's view, if he had caught the emperor's eye, wouldn't he have also caught the eyes of Prince Yong and Prince Yan at the same time?
Zhao Zongquan was of the same age as Prince Yong and Prince Yan. Logically, he also had a chance to compete for the throne, but because his power was too small and his identity was slightly awkward, he was not retained in Bianliang by the government, and so he has never been heard of in the world.

But after all, he does have the legitimacy to compete for the throne!

Presumably this is also the reason why the emperor specially issued an imperial edict to him.

According to the contents of the imperial secret decree, it seems that the candidate for the position of crown prince has been decided.

However, although the situation seemed to be settled, Zhao Zongquan was still not very reassured.

This is an opportunity to ascend to the throne, and from now on all your might will be under the control of a single word!
The one who was not chosen, can he really resist this temptation? Will he not give it a try?
And the position of crown prince is not irreplaceable.

Especially a prince chosen in this way...

If the emperor lives for a long time, he will naturally dislike the prince more and more as time goes by (he has to be wary of his own prince, let alone an adopted one).

The future prince must be aware of this change in his concerns.

It is not easy to carve out such a path. No one will let go easily and will do their best to defend their rights.

So, will he come up with some strategy to prevent future troubles?

For example, after being chosen as the crown prince, he immediately prepared the staff for the Eastern Palace.

For example, eliminating other "alternatives" and making yourself the only choice for the government?

Thinking of this made Zhao Zongquan, who had already accepted the fact of living in a remote corner, even more uneasy.

Although it is an opportunity, it also contains more potential risks!

This is why Zhao Zongquan often looked at the map and calculated the journey from Bian Jing to Yuzhou in his mind.

"What do you know!"

Zhao Zongquan had heard a lot of Zhao Ceying's complaints in the past few days, and he couldn't help but refute:
"You only see the good, but you don't care about the risks!"

"What's there to worry about?"

Zhao Ceying really didn't understand why his father was worried:
"We in Yuzhou are neither a strategic place nor a wealthy place. Even if the two in Bianjing are wary of the kings outside, they will never worry about us."

Zhao Ceying almost said directly: Dad, can you have a little self-awareness? With our limited strength, who would take us seriously?

We are just benefiting from this, why should we worry so much?
Zhao Zongquan naturally understood what Zhao Ceying meant.

But it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Over the years, Zhao Zongquan has developed a cautious and steady character.

To use Zhao Ceying's secret complaints behind his back, as long as it rained heavily outside, his old father would not dare to go out.

"You don't understand. People are most afraid of suspicion!"

Since the imperial decree came down, Zhao Zongquan has not slept well for a while. He looked a little tired and said:

"Besides, we are Taizong's descendants, so there are many things involved!"

Zhao Ceying was speechless and could only say:

"But now that His Majesty's decree has arrived, it is useless for you to worry."

"It's better to sleep soundly and see the results later."

Then, Zhao Ceying suddenly asked:
"But why have you been staring at the map these days?"

"I'm calculating the schedule from Bianjing to Yuzhou."

"what?"

Zhao Ceying looked surprised.

Why calculate the distance from Bianjing to your home?
Could it be...

Could it be that my old father, who has been cautious all his life, still has some drive in his heart?

Seeing his son's suspicious look, Zhao Zongquan immediately glared at Zhao Ceying:
"I came here to see Bianjing, not from here to Bianjing!"

"Oh."

Zhao Ceying nodded obediently.

At this time, the schedules for the two round trips are not completely consistent. After all, if there is a water route on the way, you have to choose between going downstream and upstream, and then the water route and land route have to be weighed.

So there may be a difference of a few days.

"It's only been a few days, what's there to see?" Zhao Ceying immediately asked the doubts in his mind.

Hearing this, Zhao Zongquan sighed:

"Although the angel came with a secret decree, who knows if any news leaked out along the way."

If the emperor was in his prime, even if he chose a crown prince, Zhao Zongquan would not worry that the secret decree would be known to others.

But it just happened that the emperor was in poor health at the time, and he had chosen a prince who was not his biological son. He then sent a secret decree to himself, the candidate for the imperial reserve.

The father and son knew that this secret decree was used to appease, but others didn’t know!
Once other people knew that the emperor had given him a secret decree, who would be sure to guess that it was the "succession decree"?

Although the possibility is very small, there is always a possibility!
However, the father and son could not reveal the contents of the secret decree to anyone, otherwise they would be impeached for not keeping secrets.

The descendants of Emperor Taizong were already neglected. If they were charged with a crime, they might even be stripped of their titles. It was even more impossible for them to blame the emperor, after all, the emperor was there to show his warmth.

Being an emperor is like this. If you have something on your mind, you just need to issue an edict, but as a minister, there are many things to consider.

"The news leaked?"

Zhao Ceying paused, then realized what was going on, and hurriedly asked Zhao Zongquan:

"So you are looking at the Assassin's pace?"

Zhao Zongquan nodded silently.

"Counting the days, the angel's time away is just enough for a round trip. If the secret decree has really leaked out, the assassin is likely to have arrived by now."

After saying this, Zhao Zongquan turned to Zhao Ceying and said:

"This is why I hurriedly summoned you from the military camp. In the next few days, you should conduct strict inspections in the mansion and send more people to prevent any assassination."

"Yes!"

Zhao Ceying bowed repeatedly and responded:
"I'll arrange it right away!"

Seeing that Zhao Ceying had listened, Zhao Zongquan nodded slightly, then turned his head and continued to look at the map on the wall, and said slowly:

"Hold on. Once you get through this period, if nothing unexpected happens, the future you're looking forward to will be within your reach."

"I just hope I'm just worrying too much."

But it was obvious that Zhao Zongquan's worries came true.

The next night.

Zhao Zongquan finally fell asleep early and was holding his wife in his arms when he was awakened by the sound of weapons colliding.

Just when Zhao Zongquan was panicking, after a while, he heard the noise outside suddenly stop.

When Zhao Zongquan was feeling doubtful and had just put on his fur coat, he heard Zhao Ceying's voice coming from outside.

After comforting his wife, Zhao Zongquan hurried out and saw Zhao Ceying standing at the door in armor.

"what happened?"

Zhao Zongquan looked outside for a few seconds and asked hurriedly:

"But there are assassins? Why is there suddenly no sound?"

Zhao Ceying also looked strange at this time:
"I don't know why, but I just heard the sound of thieves coming from the yard, so I immediately put on my armor and went to fight. But as soon as I left the house, I saw the thieves retreating quickly. I didn't even see them clearly."

Zhao Zongquan frowned:
"Did one or two people stay behind?"

Zhao Ceying shook his head and replied:
"That group of thieves were well-trained and had good martial arts skills. They only managed to escape from the mansion with injuries in the end, leaving some blood behind, but no one was injured. Instead, several servants in the family died."

Zhao Ceying's words made Zhao Zongquan frown even deeper.

Are there still such assassins today?
He only killed a few servants in his family, but was unwilling to even risk his own life?
"Um?!"

Zhao Zongquan suddenly felt a chill in his heart and asked hurriedly:

"Where did the thieves come from?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ceying was also startled, and immediately replied:

"Study! They climbed over the wall to get in from the side of the study!"

"study?"

Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Ceying immediately looked at each other, and both of them showed understanding in their eyes.

The secret decree has been leaked!
I'm afraid that the group of thieves who came tonight came just for the imperial edict!

However, although he knew the thief's purpose, there was no trace of panic on Zhao Zongquan's face.

Which good person would put important secrets in the study?

The solution would definitely be to find a secret room to hide it in, or at worst dig a hole and bury it.

"It seems that what my father worried about has come true."

Zhao Zongquan showed his worry, and then a puzzled expression flashed across his face, and he said:

"But since these thieves came here for the secret decree, why... why are they so afraid of death?"

Who would send people to do such a beheading thing, wouldn't they send death squads?

In the end, you started well but ended badly, and didn't even want to leave a corpse behind?

The person who came tonight is more like someone who came to warn us rather than an assassin - the secret decree has been exposed, so you should protect yourself quickly!

Zhao Ceying also smiled:
"I think the people sent here are not the two from Bian Jing, but other families outside the capital."

Zhao Zongquan also nodded.

Today's matter was handled so roughly, it was definitely not done by the two powerful men, Prince Yong and Prince Yan.

No matter which of the two was made the crown prince, his current strength is definitely enough to make him suffer a lot, and his life might even be in danger. It is impossible for him to be like tonight.

I thought to myself that it could only be someone like him who was idle and was a "spare tire" outside the capital.

"I didn't expect this to happen..."

Zhao Zongquan showed a cheerful smile on his face. If there were always stupid thieves like him tonight, he could rest easy...

"Hey~!"

There was a sudden rustling sound beside his ear. Before Zhao Zongquan could feel the ridicule in his heart anymore, he saw that among the servants who had gathered not far away, the four men in the front suddenly pulled out four daggers from their waists, looked ferocious, and rushed towards him.

"This is not a secret decree, this is to kill me!"

Zhao Zongquan looked shocked for a moment.

Zhao Ceying reacted immediately, turned around to protect his father behind him, and then faced the four assassins who suddenly appeared with a sword in hand.

The four assassins dressed as servants looked unfamiliar, and I guess they must have sneaked in recently.

Zhao Ceying concentrated his attention and responded.

The four assassins in front of them were obviously completely different from the group of thieves just now. Even though Zhao Ceying stabbed them with his sword repeatedly and the servants behind them reacted and attacked them from behind with knives and sticks, there was no sign of hesitation on their faces.

He is a complete desperado who has completely disregarded life and death!

Although these four assassins did not care about their lives, Zhao Ceying was wearing armor and had a huge advantage. He also had a group of servants armed with weapons behind him to support him. After a short while, all four assassins were killed.

After dealing with the assassin, the surroundings became a mess.

Zhao Ceying slowed down, and then at Zhao Zongquan's signal, he stepped forward and used his sword to push aside the assassin's clothes, trying to find some clues, but found nothing.

Just as he was about to bend down to take a closer look, he suddenly saw out of the corner of his vision a pair of servant's shoes walking towards him from behind.

? ?
With the lesson just now learned, Zhao Ceying looked up at the person who took a step forward.

Another unfamiliar face!

No, more than one!
When Zhao Ceying looked up, he saw another unfamiliar servant walking out from the other side of his father.

"Father, be careful! There are still assassins!"

Zhao Ceying immediately shouted loudly, then immediately stepped forward and stopped the assassin in front of him.

(End of this chapter)