activa-t Chapter 57 Arrest Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian!
Chapter 57 Arrest Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian!
Being suddenly attacked inside the palace, especially when his guards were at their weakest, Zhu Houzhao was understandably flustered.
But he still tried his best to remain calm and thought about how to break the deadlock.
Although he was already invulnerable to swords and spears and immune to all poisons, he was still not confident that he could withstand the strange and unusual martial arts of these martial arts masters.
Liu Jin, who was standing next to Zhu Houzhao, was so frightened that his face turned pale, his legs went weak, and his whole body was trembling slightly with fear.
Cao Zhengchun was still shaken. He could sense that the martial arts skills of these four assassins were all below his own.
If he attacked them one by one, he was confident that he could kill them within thirty moves.
However, these four assassins had mastered a magical martial art that could neutralize his internal force attacks.
Faced with such opponents, Cao Zhengchun was not confident he could withstand their attacks.
But at this moment, he was the only one by Zhu Houzhao's side, and no matter what, he could not back down even a step!
"Get out of my way!"
Enraged, Cao Zhengchun attacked again, blocking the attacks of the four assassins. However, just like last time, Cao Zhengchun's "All Rivers Return to the Sea" did not cause them any real harm.
After Cao Zhengchun's "Ten Thousand Rivers Return to the Sea" struck the four people, it vanished without a trace the next moment, leaving the four completely unharmed.
The four fought Cao Zhengchun for a while, but neither could gain the upper hand. If this continued, their efforts would be in vain once Zhu Houzhao's other guards arrived.
The four men exchanged glances and immediately sent two men to attack Zhu Houzhao, while the remaining two stayed behind to entangle Cao Zhengchun.
"How dare you!"
Cao Zhengchun was shocked and, after forcing the two men back with his own injuries, immediately rushed back.
But the two men moved like ghosts, rushing towards Zhu Houzhao with incredible speed.
"stop!"
Cao Zhengchun was furious, but it was too late.
Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, preparing to withstand an attack from the two assassins.
At this moment, to everyone's surprise, Liu Jin, who was almost terrified, suddenly rushed to Zhu Houzhao, opened his arms, and shielded Zhu Houzhao behind him.
"Your Majesty, please leave quickly! This old servant will buy you some time!"
Zhu Houzhao was somewhat taken aback: "Liu Banban..."
With tears in his eyes, Liu Jin roared, "Your Majesty, run!"
At this critical moment, an iron spear suddenly cut through the wind and pierced towards the two assassins with the speed of a meteor.
"A stunning shot!"
The iron spear suddenly exploded upon contact with the two men, using its powerful internal force to repel the two who had ambushed Zhu Houzhao.
When the shockwave landed on Zhu Houzhao, it was as gentle as a breeze.
The next moment, Zhuge Zheng, the commander of the Six Doors, descended from the sky and stood in front of Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, I have arrived late to save Your Majesty! Please punish me!"
Zhuge Zhengwo was filled with shame and dared not look directly at Zhu Houzhao's face.
Zhu Houzhao breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing Zhuge Zhengwo arrive, and coldly gave the order.
"Take down those four first."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhuge Zhengwo glared at the four assassins, drew his spear from the ground, and launched a fierce attack on them!
"kill!"
The next moment, four figures appeared from the palace wall, and together with Zhuge Zhengwo, they attacked the four assassins.
Seeing that the crisis was over, Liu Jin's initial enthusiasm vanished, and he plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.
He was sweating profusely, his back was soaked with sweat, and there was a foul smell of urine coming from his lower body.
When Cao Zhengchun saw that Zhuge Zhengwo had stopped the assassin's attack, his heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled down.
Then, Cao Zhengchun, filled with resentment, attacked the four assassins with equal ferocity.
The situation on the field reversed instantly, and the six of them joined forces to attack the four assassins with all their might.
Seeing that their mission was doomed, the four assassins decisively abandoned their attack and fled the palace with ghostly agility.
Cao Zhengchun and Zhuge Zhengwo feared this was a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, so they dared not pursue it further.
"Ruthless, Iron Hand, Cold Blood, and Life Chaser, give it your all! You must capture them no matter what!"
"Yes, Uncle!"
The four constables, upon receiving the order, immediately gave chase to the place where the four had fled.
Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Wuqing possesses the best lightness skill among the Four Great Constables.
He left the three behind him far behind, caught up with the four assassins alone, and fought them relentlessly, trying to stop them.
Meanwhile, Cao Zhengchun and Zhuge Zhengwo were already kneeling before Zhu Houzhao, begging for forgiveness.
"Your Majesty, this old servant failed in his duty to protect you, and nearly caused an irreparable disaster. I beg Your Majesty to punish this old servant!"
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue, and I beg Your Majesty's punishment!"
Zhu Houzhao looked at the two men with his hands behind his back. Before he could speak, a squad of Imperial Guards rushed over and surrounded him, protecting him closely.
A moment later, Yu Huatian rushed over in a panic: "Your Majesty!"
Yu Huatian was relieved to see that Zhu Houzhao was unharmed.
The next moment, Yu Huatian knelt at Zhu Houzhao's feet, his head hitting the ground heavily.
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die! I failed in my duty to protect Your Majesty, please punish me."
A moment later, Shen Lian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also ran over in a panic and knelt down to beg for punishment.
"This humble servant is useless, causing Your Majesty to be in grave danger. This humble servant deserves to die a thousand deaths. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
As they spoke, the Eastern Depot, Western Depot, Embroidered Uniform Guard, Six Doors, Wuteng Guard, and Tengxiang Guard all arrived, protecting Zhu Houzhao tightly and without any gaps.
Zhu Houzhao did not pursue the matter of the escort, after all, he had arranged for Shen Lian and Yu Huatian to go out and do other things.
However, they cannot escape the charge of neglecting supervision!
This was the second time Zhu Houzhao had been assassinated in the imperial palace.
Last time, it could be explained that it was because Empress Dowager Zhang colluded with the assassins from within and without that they had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
What about this time?
He only held one lantern festival in the palace, yet these criminals managed to sneak into the palace, burn down his Qianqing Palace, and attempt to assassinate him.
If this can be forgiven, does that mean Zhu Houzhao will be unable to hold any activities in the palace from now on?!
"Who is in charge of monitoring those entering the palace today?"
Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian were filled with shame: "Your Majesty, it was this old servant, your humble subject."
"Drag them all away! Lock Cao Zhengchun in the Western Depot, and Yu Huatian in the Eastern Depot. Give them each a hundred lashes—give them the hardest you can!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The agents from the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot dared not hesitate and immediately stepped forward to arrest the other party's depot chief.
Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian gritted their teeth, kowtowed heavily to Zhu Houzhao, and then allowed his men to arrest them.
"Zhuge Zhengwo, Shen Lian, this has nothing to do with you. Get up."
"Zhuge Zhengwo has rendered meritorious service in saving the Emperor, and I shall reward him by appointing him as Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince."
Zhuge Zhengwo hurriedly expressed his gratitude and accepted the imperial decree: "Zhuge Zhengwo kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your grace!"
"And Liu Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial..."
Zhu Houzhao bent down, reached out his hand, and personally pulled Liu Jin up from the ground.
"For his meritorious service in protecting the emperor, he is rewarded with a four-clawed python robe, the privilege of riding in a sedan chair within the palace, and ten acres of imperial estate."
With tears welling in his eyes, Liu Jin accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"