The pageboy was so frightened that he ran away in a flash.
Upon hearing Li Yao's words, Wei Zhongxian's eyes immediately widened like copper bells.
He glanced at the embroidered spring knife in Li Yao's hand, then looked Li Yao up and down, and said in a shrill voice, "You're a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? No, I've never seen you before. How do you know his master is Zhao Jingzhong?"
Li Yao knew, of course, that the pageboy was a pawn that Zhao Jingzhong had placed beside Wei Zhongxian.
Wei Zhongxian had long known that the pageboy was Zhao Jingzhong's man.
In fact, Zhao Jingzhong was Wei Zhongxian's adopted son, a pawn placed by Wei Zhongxian beside Emperor Chongzhen.
Wei Ting is a pawn.
Xu Xianchun is a pawn.
The three Shen brothers were also pawns.
Even Wei Zhongxian was just a pawn in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen.
They exploit each other, or are exploited by others.
The three Shen brothers were the most innocent.
They were the emperor's killing tools, originally low- to mid-level government officials. However, because they were as insignificant as ants, they were chosen by Zhao Jingzhong and inexplicably drawn into a treacherous conspiracy.
In the end, Jin Yichuan died tragically under the gun, while Lu Jianxing was beheaded and his head displayed to the public, leaving only Shen Lian alive.
How tragic! How lamentable!
Li Yao looked at Wei Zhongxian with a pitiful gaze.
Once upon a time, Wei Zhongxian held immense power in the court, acting arbitrarily and decisively. With a single word, he could decide the life or death of others.
Now, Wei Zhongxian is nothing more than a decrepit old man on his deathbed, a far cry from his former glory.
What about power?
What good is wealth?
It's all just fleeting smoke!
Wei Zhongxian read coldness, pity, and mockery in Li Yao's eyes...
He felt a chill run down his spine, and sensed that death was approaching.
He hurriedly and shakily opened a wooden box at his feet, revealing a whole box of gleaming gold ingots.
He picked up a gold ingot, a fawning smile spreading across his face, and said in a strange tone, "If you let me go, all the gold here is yours. This place is full of gold, hahaha..."
Bang!
Li Yao was too lazy to watch Wei Zhongxian's superb performance.
He drew his right hand like a knife and slashed directly at the back of Wei Zhongxian's head, knocking Wei Zhongxian unconscious.
Then, he glanced around and picked up the attribute orbs that had fallen from the guards.
Although it's rare, even mosquito meat is still meat.
After picking up the orb of light, he looked around and noticed two horses.
He picked out the best horse, and then used the tip of his knife to make a sharp cut on the back of another horse.
The horse neighed and galloped wildly towards Fucheng County.
He then placed the unconscious Wei Zhongxian on the back of the remaining horse and packed a whole box of gold onto the horse's back.
Then, he rode the horse away via another path and returned to the capital.
After an incense stick's time, the three brothers, Chen Lian and his companions, arrived with a group of Imperial Guards.
This morning, they received orders from Zhao Jingzhong, the director of the Eastern Depot, to come and kill Wei Zhongxian.
Of course, they didn't know that Zhao Jingzhong was actually Wei Zhongxian's adopted son.
Zhao Jingzhong worried that if Wei Zhongxian were alive, he would reveal his secrets, and Zhao Jingzhong's wealth and even his life would be lost.
Therefore, Zhao Jingzhong falsely conveyed an imperial edict, ordering the three Shen brothers to kill Wei Zhongxian.
In fact, Emperor Chongzhen only wanted to capture Wei Zhongxian alive and extract information from him about the whereabouts of his wealth to fund the army.
The three brothers, Shen Lian and his brother, discovered the corpses scattered on the ground and Wei Ting, who had been cleaved to death with a single blow. They exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, someone beat us to it!"
They immediately dismounted and searched among the corpses to see if they could find Wei Zhongxian's body.
If they could find Wei Yan's body, they could finally complete their mission.
As a result, after a search, Wei Zhongxian's body was not found, but a guard who was not quite dead was discovered.
Lu Jianxing shook the guard immediately and asked urgently, "Who did this?"
The guard said weakly, "It's...it's...it's the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"
Embroidered Uniform Guard?
The three Shen brothers looked at each other, wondering if Zhao Jingzhong had found another group of people to hunt down Wei Zhongxian, or if there were others who also wanted Wei Zhongxian dead.
Lu Jianxing quickly asked again, "How many Imperial Guards are there, and who is in command?"
The guard shook his head and said, "I...I don't know him. He...he's all alone."
After saying this, the guard's eyes rolled back, and he died.
The three Shen brothers exclaimed in unison, "Only one person?!"
That's impossible!
They all knew that Wei Zhongxian's bodyguards were all top-notch martial arts experts, handpicked from among hundreds.
Who could kill so many martial arts masters all by themselves?
Even with deep training, there's no guarantee of success.
Subsequently, the three brothers, Shen Lian and his brother, followed the messy footprints on the official road and tracked Wei Zhongxian all the way to the place where Li Yao had abducted him.
Looking at the carriage that had been split in two, Shen Lian said in a deep voice, "It seems that someone beat us to it and kidnapped Wei Yan."
Jin Yichuan looked around, pointed to the official road leading to Fucheng County, and said, "Big brother, second brother, there is a set of fresh hoof prints here. It seems that the people who kidnapped Wei Yan are heading towards Fucheng County."
Lu Jianxing nodded and quickly said, "Let's hurry and chase after them; maybe we can still catch up."
Immediately afterwards, the three Shen brothers, along with a group of Imperial Guards, chased after Fucheng County.
They chased him all the way to Fucheng County before realizing they had been tricked.
They immediately returned by the same route, and by the time they got back to the place where Wei Zhongxian had been abducted, it was already late at night.
In addition, the heavy rain washed away all traces at the scene.
Jin Yichuan looked at Lu Jianxing and Shen Lian, and asked with disappointment, "Big brother, second brother, what should we do next?"
If they failed to find Wei Yan, it would be tantamount to botching their mission, and they would have a hard time explaining themselves to Zhao Jingzhong and the emperor.
Lu Jianxing was at a loss for what to do, and turned his gaze to Shen Lian.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Lian said, "Since the other side is deliberately creating a diversion and leading us towards Fucheng County, it means they may be doing the opposite. If we return to the capital immediately, perhaps we can still catch up."
As expected of someone with profound experience, he quickly came to an accurate judgment.
Lu Jianxing and Jin Yichuan exchanged a glance, both agreeing with Shen Lian's words.
Immediately, the three Shen brothers mounted their horses and, leading a group of Imperial Guards, chased after the capital.
Chapter 25 A Tyrant's Possession, A Promise Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold
The next day, around noon, in front of the abandoned gate of the Zhou Mansion.
Li Yao, leading a horse, said to a farmer pushing a cart, "Let's stop here. Wait for me here for a moment."
The farmer responded honestly, standing still, but his eyes looked around curiously.
Li Yao led his horse, pushed open the gate, and went inside.
At this moment, Ding Xiu, with a piece of straw dangling from his mouth, swaggered over from the main hall. "Uncle-Master, where did you go yesterday? Why are you only coming back now? I was really worried that you rode off on your horse, and then I'd have to pay for the horse myself."
As Li Yao tied the horse to a tree, he said, "Twenty taels of silver is enough for you to buy a horse."
Ding Xiu chuckled, but suddenly his expression changed. He stared at the horse and said in confusion, "This isn't the same horse as yesterday!"
After tying the horse up, Li Yao turned and walked towards the gate. "This horse is much better than the one from yesterday. You can give it back to your friend; maybe you can even squeeze some money out of him."
Ding Xiu followed behind Li Yao, his face serious, and said, "Uncle-Master, you underestimate me too much. Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
Li Yao laughed and said, "If you remove the word 'ma,' you're that kind of person."
At this moment, Li Yao had already arrived at the gate.
He took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and tossed it to the farmer pushing the cart, saying, "This is for your hard work."
The farmer accepted the ten taels of silver with both hands, both surprised and delighted. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he held the silver.
He had never seen so much silver before.
Ten taels of silver is equivalent to one or two years' income for these farmers.
The young master in front of me is really generous.
Ding Xiu followed them to the gate. He stared at the cart with astonishment and asked, "Uncle-Master, this... this coffin, did you get it?"
Li Yao nodded, his eyes scanning the coffin lying on the cart, pondering how to move it inside.
The farmer quickly put away the ten taels of silver, rubbed his hands together, and suggested, "Young master, let me help you carry the coffin inside."
Li Yao shook his head and said, "No need, I can manage on my own."
The farmer quickly said, "This coffin is so big and heavy, one person definitely can't move it..."
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes widened, and he couldn't say anything more.
Because he saw Li Yao lift the coffin with both hands as easily as lifting a stool.
Wow... that's incredibly strong!
Ding Xiu's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, his expression filled with disbelief.