Chapter 24 The Assassination

On the stage in the middle of Imperial Garden, Fifth Princess was dancing beautifully. She had been learning how to dance since childhood, and all her movements were so graceful. When she was dancing, she always made eyes at Yun Zhi. Her bold affection was so charming and it revealed how possessive she was. Yun Zhi wore a black robe. He looked handsome and righteous. Yun Zhi had been elegant and peaceful, but he felt annoyed when he saw Fifth Princess. She had done horrible things, and today she even wanted to bully Princess Xi whom he wanted to protect. He hated her so much, but the only thing he could do was to drink wine. Yun Zhi totally ignored the beautiful princess who tried so hard to seduce him. King Yun saw the performance of Fifth Princess and revealed a satisfied smile. He wanted to make use of his adopted son Yun Zhi. To control him, he did not mind sending his daughter as a gift. The dancing of Fifth Princess was intoxicating. When it was about to end, all people applauded. Everyone was in high spirit and cheered. Suddenly, a group of soldiers rushed in. They wore guard uniforms of the Kingdom of Yun. However, they were heading in the direction of the throne. Obviously, their target was King Yun. No one knew what was going on, including King Yun. However, the king's confidential guards appeared on time and fought with those guards. When people saw soldiers fighting against each other, they finally realized something was wrong. People roared and shouted. Many women were crying out loud. "Soldiers of the Kingdom of Yun" were equal with the king's confidential guards in terms of power. Both sides attacked desperately. These confidential guards were all masters of martial arts. "Soldiers of the Kingdom of Yun" swung their broadswords. Soon blood stained Imperial Garden. This was not a funny game, but a real battle. The leader of the "soldiers" was a bearded man with a pair of mature and sharp eyes. His martial arts were very extraordinary. He slashed many confidential guards one after another. Obviously, other "soldiers" were clearing the way for him. They consciously used their body to stop confidential guards next to them. They were covered with wounds and badly mutilated. However, they still raised their broadswords towards confidential guards to win a chance for the bearded man to attack King Yun. Soon the bearded man left the bloody crowd. The sword in his hand was pointing to the throne in the middle. King Yun was scared and he stood up. The man's sword was so powerful and swift. He was about to stab in the king’s bright yellow imperial robe. In such a critical moment, a lithe sword stopped the bearded man. Crown Prince Yun Su stood in front of King Yun. He still looked as gentle and harmless as water. King Yun also practiced martial arts. However, in these years, he lived so comfortably that he was not skillful anymore. Staring at his son in front of him, he felt relieved. King Yun shouted, "Protect me! Protect me..." His confidential guards couldn't be in two places at once. They wanted to protect him, but they were stopped by desperate "soldiers". As an extreme case, a "soldier" was covered in blood, and his body had been stabbed several times. However, he was still dragging a confidential guard desperately. The confidential guard kept stabbing him. However, he still couldn't get rid of the "soldier" who had the willpower to support him. Yun Zhi wanted King Yun to get hurt. However, since Yun Su came out to protect the king, he also had to act immediately as Senior General. Therefore, he stood up and picked up a sword from the ground. Yun Zhi moved swiftly to protect King Yun and fought against the bearded man together with Yun Su. The bearded man was a master of martial arts in this fierce battle. However, it was still difficult for him to fight with two men who were also good at martial arts. He was stabbed several times. For him, it's just some skin traumas. His clothes had been torn, the color of his skin was not as rugged as his beard. His skin was fair. The man was bleeding and his blood stained his guard uniform. It was a draw between them, but he could not get any closer to King Yun. The hall had been messy. Some childes who practiced martial arts also joined the battle to help confidential guards fight with the "soldiers". There were some other childes trying to protect ordinary people. Some young ladies were scared and trembling and hugging each other. Noisy voices and screaming kept ringing. It was so chaotic. There was a white figure in the chaotic crowd which had never moved. Her eyes could not help looking at the bearded man since he showed up. She always felt that he was so familiar to her, but she did not want to think. The bloody situation made her recall her childhood. She smiled bitterly. After so many years, she was still stuck in the shadow of her painful history. She thought she had moved on. However, every time she saw a bloody battle, she still got lost in painful memories. Yun Xi closed her eyes, trying to isolate herself in this battle. If she knew Yue was here, she would act like a spoiled child. However, he was not. No one would care about her and no one would help her. Everything was just as what happened when she was nine years old. Yue was missing... and she hoped he was missing. Yun Zhi and some childes had joined the battle. As a result, desperate "soldiers" who were dominant before now were in a disadvantaged status. Both sides were in a dilemma when the bearded man suddenly sneered. When everyone was killing frantically, no one had noticed "soldiers" also prepared other tricks—palace maids and court eunuchs surrounded King Yun in silence. They were about to kill him. It seemed to be the end, and King Yun was doomed to die. However, something unexpected happened. Everyone in the hall began to fall down, including King Yun. The only one standing was Crown Prince Yun Su. He still looked so gentle and harmless. One of the "soldiers" realized something unusual about his body. He ruthlessly stabbed himself to keep sober and run to protect the bearded man and attack Crown Prince Yun Su. The bearded man also soon noticed something was wrong. He stabbed himself. The man did it relentlessly without hesitation. Relying on his last perseverance, he did not fall down. When the other man was killed by Yun Su, he took the opportunity to escape. The bearded man looked sad. His most loyal man had been killed. Besides, people present were men who he had trained himself. However, now he could only leave facing such a situation. Yun Su kicked off the dead "soldier" in front of him. He stood in the hall where everyone had fallen. His body was not stained by blood, and the bright yellow Crown Prince clothes made him look more handsome. He still looked so gentle. Yun Su seemed to be a nice guy, but now no one would think he was harmless. Crown Prince Yun Su blew a whistle towards the sky, and Qi Yuan appeared with a large group of real soldiers of the Kingdom of Yun. They began to arrest assassins in guard uniforms of the Kingdom of Yun. They now couldn't move at all. Everything was under control, and they captured all the assassins. However, these assassins were not afraid of death. To keep secret, all assassins committed suicide by biting off their tongues. No one gave in to the Kingdom of Yun. The scene was so heroic. Soon some palace maids brought antidote with bowls. Yun Su went to help King Yun stand up and fed him a bowl of antidote. All the people present, except the assassins, had taken the antidote and slowly regained their strength. King Yun stood up slowly. At this moment, he was furious. Just now, he was almost killed in this place. Thinking of today's situation, he couldn't stay calm. He thumped on the table and made a very loud sound. Everyone knelt, except for the girl in white. She was still sitting in her seat. Yun Su glanced at her. He suddenly thought she was so cute. Yun Su soon distracted King Yun. On the surface, he was rescuing everyone. In fact, he did it only for her. "Father, calm down." Yun Su knelt before his father on purpose. King Yun looked at Crown Prince and he felt satisfied. Luckily, his eldest son was here. He calmed down and asked Yun Su, "Su, what is going on?" "Father, I also didn't know the details. Today, I realized I had never seen the palace maids and court eunuchs in the hall. Besides, there were so few of them. I thought something was about to happen. Therefore, I asked Ayuan to bring these incenses which could make people powerless. He also brought soldiers outside the imperial palace. I had taken the antidote in advance." "You are my good son, so calm and masterful. Excellent!" "Father, you have been through so much today. I didn't notice as soon as I could." "Don’t be so modest, my son. I am going back to my palace. Crown Prince will take care of everything here." "Aye." "Your Majesty, take care." King Yun left Imperial Garden, and the terrible pressure finally disappeared. Crown Prince Yun Su arranged everything in an orderly manner. He was still wearing a gentle smile. "Everybody, please stand up." Hearing Crown Prince's words, everyone stood up. Of course, the white figure was not one of them. This was the reason why Yun Zhi was not ready to take action before he made sure everything was prepared. Now he was still not mature enough. Yun Zhi knew Crown Prince very well. After all, Yun Su and he grew up together. Crown Prince was like a smiling fox. He looked harmless, but he was actually a calculating person. King Yun’s sophisticated mind was well-known. In contrast, Crown Prince Yun Su always had a harmless smile, but he was also manipulative. After King Yun left, everything was back to normal gradually. Yun Xi recovered, and she left the bloody hall immediately. She completely ignored the place behind her. So many bodies were lying on the ground, and the air was filled with the smell of blood. It made Yun Xi about to collapse. She fled back to her room desperately. Without Yue, she could only hide to heal her wound alone... Besides, she felt so uneasy. Crown Prince Yun Su saw the girl in white leaving without a word. He continued to arrange everything. Yun Su had to stay here even though he didn't want to. After all, he was Crown Prince who had to deal with everything. Fifth Princess saw Yun Xi leaving and she wanted to make trouble. Crown Prince warmed her with his gentle eyes. She was frightened. Fifth Princess clenched her fists but dared not do anything else. Yun Zhi was also concerned about the girl. Yun Zhi told Crown Prince he wanted to take officers and soldiers to search each room. Yun Su knew what Yun Zhi wanted to do and he felt unhappy. However, he still allowed it. After all, the safety of Yun Xi was more important. Yun Zhi received Yun Su’s order. He soon led people to Xiyan Palace.