Zong Luo was very fast.
With just a flash, his Qixing Longyuan sword was already unsheathed and a clear and cold flash of light passed through the air like a wandering dragon.
At the same time, Zong Chengsi’s dagger also appeared in his hand, and he stepped forward to press it against the servant’s neck.
He had also learned martial arts, and even better than Zong Yuanwu.
Although Emperor Yuan was usually lacking in basic warmth and care for the princes, he was never stingy when it came to their education. The palace’s Shaofu were all winners in literary or debating competition in the Baijia Banquet, while the martial arts instructors were famous swordsmen, knife-wielders, or generals. Mu Yuanlong’s family and the old general of the Dingbei Marquis’s mansion were both famous and retired veterans who occasionally came to the palace to give pointers.
Zong Chengsi’s teacher was the same as Zong Yuanwu, but he was used to hiding his talents and rarely showed them on the surface. However, in the face of an assassin, he clearly couldn’t afford to think too much.
The Fourth Prince squatted down and cooperated with Zong Luo to quickly capture the servant.
“Speak! Who sent you?!”
Zong Chengsi had just asked the question when the assassin’s eyes rolled back, his legs kicked, and he spat out blood foam.
Zong Luo calmly sheathed his sword. “It seems a man of sacrifice, with poison hidden in the teeth, it’s impossible to get any information.”
It was clear that Zong Chengsi had also thought of this, and his expression suddenly became ugly.
“Someone!”
The male servants of Nanfeng Xiaozhu didn’t know what had happened, only heard the Fourth Prince say that there was an assassin. They were all filled with fear, and knelt on the ground in panic.
“Seal off the entire building, search one by one!”
There were only a few people in the Imperial City who had the ability to raise men of sacrifice, and they could be counted on one hand.
If Zong Luo had really lost his memory, he might not have been able to react. But he hadn’t lost his memory, he just felt that there were many doubtful points.
The prince in white’s probing gaze fell on the person in front of him, then quickly disappeared.
Unless he had coincidentally stumbled upon someone else’s attempt to assassinate Zong Chengsi today.
To sum it up, these assassins were definitely not here for him. Not to mention that even if he appeared to be blind, his martial prowess was still present, and even a hundred assassins would be useless against him. In addition, tonight’s outing was a sudden whim, an impulsive decision.
Zong Chengsi had recently revealed his intention to seize the throne, and the struggle between the Sixth and Fifth Princes for the throne was intense, with many menkes and talents with various specialties, assassinations and men of sacrifice were common occurrences. At this moment, any one of them could have taken the initiative to eliminate the Fourth Prince as a competitor for the throne.
Zong Luo felt that things were not as simple as he had imagined, on the contrary, it exuded a strange aura.
While he was pondering, the garrison troops patrolling the streets of the Imperial City also arrived upon hearing the news.
“Third Highness, Fourth Highness!”
The leader of the guards quickly bowed and saluted, his expression respectful.
Upon receiving Zong Chengsi’s approval, he immediately commanded to go down.
The garrison troops quickly sealed off the entire Nanfeng Xiaozhu, ensuring that not even a fly could escape.
The madam, who had just been laughing and smiling, now had a bitter expression as she crouched on the ground, repeatedly saying, “Lords, please be gentle! Oh dear! That servant is not one of our Xiaozhu’s male servants, I don’t know how he got in here.”
“Shut up.” The leader of the guards said coldly, “You dared to collide with two princes and still dare to argue here. I think you want to go into prison and experience the punishment of our Great Yuan?”
As soon as he mentioned this, the madam’s face turned pale with fear, and she immediately closed her mouth, not daring to say another word.
Everyone knew that the Great Yuan’s criminal law was the most brutal and merciless.
Poisoning was a privilege enjoyed only by the powerful individuals, and decapitation may not be too painful. But the subsequent punishments of cutting someone in two at the waist, crucifixion, tearing a person asunder by five carts, flaying, and Ling Chi, all sounded chilling just by listening to the introductions.
It was said that after being thrown into prison, a whipping was the lightest punishment, and a heavier one would be branding, even if the person didn’t die, a layer of skin would still have to be peeled off. In other dynasties, prisoners could be held in custody until the autumn and then executed, but in the Great Yuan, batches of prisoners were executed every month, at a fixed time and locations in the vegetable market.
It was precisely this strict law that ensured relative peace during this period of rebellion in the neighboring countries.
Compared to the level of turmoil in other countries, the people of Great Yuan could even leave their doors unlocked at night.
While these people were searching diligently, Zong Luo silently looked around and walked up to the third floor.
Nanfeng Xiaozhu had three floors in total. The first floor had a stage surrounded by seats, the second floor was a teahouse, and the third floor was a quiet room for listening to music. Apart from the differences in layout, there was actually not much difference inside.
When Zong Luo arrived, the garrison troops had already searched the third floor and below stood a handsome man dressed in blue and holding a guqin in his hand.
This man had a feminine appearance, with a beautiful face and a look of resentment or anger. Unlike other male servants who wore makeup and powder, instead, he had carefully drawn eyebrows and tried to look more towards the feminine direction.
“Sir Shi, the soldiers are searching for assassins. You just came back, don’t go up there,” the guard said.
“Assassins?” The man exclaimed in surprise. “I just came downstairs and it seems that I did hear some sounds.”
As he passed by, Zong Luo took a glance under the cover of the white veil.
With just one glance, he thought that the person was a girl. If it weren’t for the prominent Adam’s apple, he would have mistaken him for a girl.
Zong Luo was puzzled and couldn’t help but associate himself with another person.
Both had the same elegant style, but Yu Beizhou’s beauty was striking and highly aggressive, yet without any hint of gender ambiguity. Compared to this man, it was like night and day.
The garrison soldier guarding the door saluted him. “Third Highness.”
“We’ve searched the third floor, including the closets and under the beds, but we haven’t found any suspicious traces,” he reported.
Zong Luo spoke warmly. “You’ve worked hard. You guys go downstairs now, I’ll go in and take a look.”
Since the Third Prince had spoken, no one dared to say anything more.
Therefore Zong Luo lifted his foot and walked up to the third floor.
The third floor was quiet, and all the room doors with bamboo curtains were open, allowing the wind to blow in and gather in the corridor, making it feel cold.
Zong Luo’s hand slid onto the hilt of his sword, and he was on high alert.
