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Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Chapter 40 Assassinating Yongxing
“I know my mistake. In the future, everything will be up to you.”
Zhao Xian looked ashamed. Since he was young, Emperor Hongchang had commented that he was
naturally stupid and useless. After coming of age, Zhao Xian had always wanted to do things to prove
himself. In the end, he ended up in the Cold Palace.
“My old bones won’t last much longer. Once His Highness has secured his position, I’ll asked to return
home to retire.”
Zhang Zhengyang had been calculating gains and losses all his life. He would always seek luck and
avoid calamity to plan for the long term. Before he died, he went against his heart when it came to his
children.
In his opinion, pushing Zhao Xian to the throne was not a good thing. The bad thing was that his eldest
son was of the Zhang family’s bloodline.
No matter how generous an emperor in the world was, he could not tolerate an outsider taking charge
of the country for two consecutive generations. At that time, it would be hard to say if the surname of
the Fengyang Kingdom would be Zhao or Zhang.
On the contrary, if they followed the will of the previous emperor, the Zhang family would still be a
prominent family no matter how lonely they were.
Once they participated in manipulating the succession of the throne, even if they won a complete
victory, it would be a disaster for their future extermination.
Zhao Xian noticed Zhang Zhengyang’s changing expression and asked, “Father-in-law, when should
we make a move? The longer we delay, the more stable my brother’s throne will be.”
“This matter can’t be rushed. Your Highness’ greatest stain now is that the late emperor issued a
decree to depose you. The late emperor announced it in his posthumus. Who would dare to disobey
him?”
Zhang Zhengyang had to explain this matter to Zhao Xian in case he acted on his own again and
ruined the plan. “So even if Your Highness overthrew Zhao Yuan and ascended the throne, it will be
very difficult to obtain the recognition of the imperial family.”
Zhao Xian said anxiously, “What should we
do?”
“Wait!” Zhang Zhengyang said, “We’ll wait for Zhao Yuan to take action and destroy Prince Chu, Prince
Han, and Prince Jing before overthrowing him.”
Zhao Xian asked in confusion, “Then the imperial family will acknowledge me?”
“At that time, His Highness will be the only son of the late emperor. Be it the imperial family or the
imperial court, they will have to accept it.” Zhang Zhengyang said, “As the ruler of the country, they
have the eldest son of the first wife, but they allowed the collateral branch to ascend the throne. He will
definitely be labeled as disloyal and unfilial in the history books!”
Zhao Xian asked, “Can Zhao Yuan be so ruthless?”
“Of the six sons of the late emperor, only Zhao Yuan was born suspicious and cold. He has always
been vengeful. Otherwise, why would I choose him for no reason?” Zhang Zhengyang said, “Of course,
personality is only a prerequisite. There are still other ways to lure Zhao Yuan into killing the three
princes.”
Zhao Xian asked, “Father-in-law, please enlighten me.”
“A few days ago, rumors were raging in the capital. The various prefectures were recruiting experts
from all over the world. I was the one behind the scenes…”
Seeing Zhao Xian’s confused expression, Zhang Zhengyang rubbed his forehead helplessly and could
only continue explaining.
“The purpose of this is to create an illusion. Firstly, there are few experts in the martial world and it’s
difficult to recruit them. Secondly, experts can determine small-scale wins and losses. the hidden
meaning is that it’s beneficial to fight for the throne.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Zhao Xian said, “When I heard about this, I also sent people to recruit a few
experts.”
Zhang Zhengyang raised his eyebrows and said a few names. “Hong Luo, Wang Yizhang, Monk Mercy,
Old Qu…”
II
Zhao Xian’s face turned red. No matter how stupid he was, he knew that these were all Zhang
Zhengyang’s men. “The others are also like His Highness, following the trend and recruiting experts
everywhere. I heard that someone even promised a title!” Zhang Zhengyang said slowly, “To dare to
make such a promise, he must have great ambitions. When the palace saw this, they had no choice
but to recruit them as well, lest the experts of the various prefectures enter and leave the palace
wantonly and endanger Zhao Yuan.”
Zhao Xian looked confused. What did this have to do with seizing the throne?
“Corrupt scholars like Liang and Xie have long become stupid from studying. They naturally won’t bend
down to meet the uncultured. Therefore, this task will definitely fall on Li Defu. Li Defu is only an inner
eunuch. He doesn’t even come out of his mansion often. How can he recognize any martial arts
experts?” Zhang Zhengyang said, “The experts under me have long been on good terms with Li Defu’s
relatives. They successfully entered the palace without arousing any suspicion.” “Hiss!”
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Zhao Xian gasped in shock and joy. He was shocked that the officials were so sinister, and he was
happy that the most sinister person was one of his own.
“Not only that, my men have also become consecrators for the three princes.” Zhang Zhengyang said,
“In a few days, the experts of the Prince Chu’s Mansion will infiltrate Shangyang Palace for
assassination. Do you think Zhao Yuan will be ruthless to the three princes after he’s injured?”
Zhao Xian nodded repeatedly and said in surprise, “Where did you recruit so many experts?”
In the martial world, people were arrogant and difficult to tame. No one expected Zhang Zhengyang to Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
be able to subdue so many experts as sacrificial warriors.
“It’s a long story. When the Heavenly King was captured back then, the Uniform Guards were unable to
interrogate him for his cultivation technique. Everyone thought that the inheritance was broken.” Zhang
Zhengyang said, “But I’ve been secretly paying attention to this matter. I finally found the Cang family in
Jiangnan. Then, under the cover of Buddhism and Daoism, I finally obtained the Heaven Devouring
Demonic Technique!”
Zhao Xian said in surprise, ‘This cultivation technique can mass-produce experts?”
em
“What they’ve learned is only a remnant. It won’t only shorten their lifespan, but they also don’t have
the method to fuse inner Qi.” Zhang Zhengyang said, “The entire cultivation technique will be handed
over to Your Highness in the future. You can give it to your servants to cultivate. I guarantee that the
imperial family’s connate grandmasters will not die out for generations.”
“I will never forget your kindness!” Zhao Xian pointed to the sky and swore, “In the future, the heir to the
throne will definitely be the eldest son, Rong’er. The Zhang family will enjoy glory for generations and
rest with the country. If the Zhao family fails, the country will collapse and the bloodline will be severed!”
Zhang Zhengyang nodded slightly. “There’s no need to make such a solemn oath. It’s good that you
have this intention.”
The imperial court was deep and he had long stopped believing in oaths. The foundation of promises
and oaths was that the benefits were not great enough.
Zhao Xian had heard of Zhang Zhengyang’s plan and felt that the throne was close at hand. “Why don’t
you just assassinate Zhao Yuan and the others to death?”
“You can’t hide what you’re doing from the rest of the world. Evidence or no evidence, you’ll end up
with a reputation for murdering your brother to usurp the throne.” Zhang Zhengyang said, “On the other
hand, if you overthrow the tyrant, Zhao Yuan, it will clear up the root of the matter. If you ascend the
throne under everyone’s expectations, it will be very useful for you to rule the imperial court in the
future!”
Zhao Xian’s eyes turned red when he heard this. It sounded like he was making arrangements.
Zhang Zhengyang coughed twice and said, “Don’t worry, I can still hold on for two to three years. At the
very least, I can find you a prime minister who can take charge of the overall situation.”
Zhao Xian bowed almost to the ground, his eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Minister!”
Early July
Emperor Yongxing was assassinated and severely injured.
The assassin committed suicide by taking poison on the spot. After careful investigation by the Uniform
Guards, he was consecrated by Prince Chu’s Mansion.
When the news spread, all the officials were in an uproar!
The Ministry of War mobilized the Imperial Guards to surround Prince Chu’s Mansion. The Uniform
Guards searched carefully and found dragon robes and seals.
Emperor Yongxing was furious and ordered the execution of Prince Chu’s lineage.
The Imperial Clan Court stepped forward to plead for leniency. They said that for hundreds of years, no
prince had been sentenced to death in the country. In the end, they removed the title of prince and
exiled him to the northern border as a commoner.
Sky Prison.
Section B of the prison was filled with prisoners who were implicated in the Prince Chu’s assassination.
His relatives, distant relatives, officials, and so on were all imprisoned. Even the three families of the
butler were arrested. This was enough to show Emperor Yongxing’s anger.
It was rumored that if the assassin’s dagger was shifted by another two or three inches, today would be
a national funeral!
“Old Zhou, fortunately, you refused that day!” Lieutenant Lu had a look of fear on his face. “The person
who asked me to rope you in is the butler of Prince Chu’s Mansion, that old man from the seventh
prison. I have to go and calm down later!”
After failing to rope in Zhou Yi that day, Lieutenant Lu turned around and pondered carefully. He also
rejected the butler’s attempt to rope him in, which let him escape a calamity.
Zhou Yi shrugged and whispered, “Old Lu, we’re going to be busy these days. This is just the
beginning!”