Chapter 73 – Blood Splattered Five Steps

Zhu Jin and the others were silent, still not knowing what kind of drugs Zhang Anshi was selling in his gourd.

But just then, there was a violent rumble.

Earthquake.

This is at least five hundred paces away from the Shen Family Village, but it still feels like a thunderous noise.

In the distance …… a cloud of fire and smoke rose.

At this moment, Zhu Jin’s brain buzzed, knowing that he had been shocked several times in the past month or two, and today was the third time.

Damn …… they really dare to do anything!

Subconsciously …… Zhu Jin felt that his knees were soft again.

With that, he snapped and knelt directly at Zhang Anshi’s feet, “Your Excellency is just too powerful.”

The other stewards and merchants, too, have been as if they were dirt, and have bowed down and said, “The small …… people are admired by the …… people.”

Their only thought is that this person is very bad to mess with, is a crazy person, anything can be done ah!

Of course the most important thing is that the other party’s background, which is really profound, can not dare to offend.

Zhang Anshi at this time, on the contrary, only through a smile, the mouth does not say anything.

……………

This time the Shen family manor up and down, has been chaotic.

The nearby county courthouse, too, seems to have been rattled.

Soon, from the Five Cities Military Division, to the Yingtian Prefecture, and even the Jinyiwei’s Tie Riders, they began to infest the area.

It’s serious, so serious that it simply won’t end.

Then …… a Yingtianfu official appeared in the Shen family, and immediately after, this person took a horse and hurriedly went to the East Palace.

Someone from Yingtianfu is seeking an audience with the Crown Prince.

Zhu Gaoqi was surprised when he heard about Yingtianfu.

Although he is the crown prince, occasionally Zhu Di will also ask him some views on national affairs, but after all, the crown prince can not personally act in fine affairs, and Zhu Gaoqi in order to avoid suspicion, but also will do their best and Yingtianfu people to leave the relationship.

Now that there was a sudden visit from a person who claimed to be the Minister of Yingtian Prefecture named Zhou Jing, Zhu Gaoqi couldn’t help but slightly frown, but he still called the person in.

“I …… have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.” Zhou Jing was the Minister of Prefecture, equivalent to being the adjutant of the Prefect of Yingtian.

Zhu Gaoqi looked careless and said, “What is the matter that Mr. Zhou is here for?”

Zhou Jing, however, looked warily at the eunuch beside the Crown Prince and said in a low voice, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, could you lend a hand?”

Once these words came out, Zhu Gaoqi felt that things were very strange, he fixed his mind and felt that he should listen first.

So he stood up and led the way to a small hall off to the side.

This small hall is the hunting room of the Eastern Palace, relatively remote, mainly furnished with some bows and arrows, as well as some skins from hunting.

Zhu Di loves to hunt, and Zhu Gaoqi is not enthusiastic about it, just to please Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoqi also learned from the example.

Once inside, Zhu Gaoqi turned his back to Zhou Jing, his eyes falling on the finch-painted bow hanging on the wall as he said on one side, “What is the matter?”

At this time, Zhou Jing only said, “Your Highness, just now, someone blew up Qixia Shenzhuang.”

“Which Shen family?”

“In the Song Dynasty, a family of two scholars, children and grandchildren are many officials, in the Yuan Dynasty, and even included in the imperial class, to my Ming Dynasty, but also the famous Qixia Shen family.”

When Zhu Gaoqi heard this, he was surprised, “His ancestor, he was also the same Shen family that had annotated the New Meaning of Shangshu. Who did this when such a family was bombed?”

“I received the report, the first time the fire rushed to the Shen family to check, inside a mess, half of the manor is going to burn down, dead or injured fourteen people, mostly guards. Your Highness …… the Shen family …… is a prestigious family …… I checked into the murderer used gunpowder, and the last time against the Han Wangwei hundred used gunpowder is the same, gunpowder power very Fierce, just I do not know …… how the murderer is this gunpowder into the manor, but because of the great power, the Shen family up and down, only the remains of the walls, very miserable.”

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoqi said, “Related to the three murderers in the capital?”

“Exactly, I also inquired, the capital three murderers only released today …… and …… I also heard that the one who went to meet them out of prison was precisely …… Cheng En Bo Zhang Anshi …… minister inquired about a person …… said that Cheng Enbo was infested in the vicinity, and that person …… was greatly frightened, because he had previously seen Cheng Enbo, so he recognized it. ”

Zhu Gaoqi’s heart went cold as he listened.

He looked at Zhou Jing and said sharply, “Does anyone other than him know?”

Zhou Jing said, “When I inquired at that time, I felt that there was something fishy, so I dismissed the left and right, as for the person who inquired, I have already given him some silver, sent him away, and told him that he must never make a sound. As for other people …… I let the servants carefully probed, and there is no other traces.”

Zhu Gaoqi was slightly relieved, “You did things well.”

Hearing the prince’s praise, Zhou Jing smiled, then said, “But …… I came here, but there are some words of advice.”

Zhu Gaoqi said, “You say.”

“Crown Prince, Cheng Enbo this son …… is indeed not a good person, this son today dares to do such a big thing, sooner or later one day to implicate the Crown Prince, His Majesty has great expectations for the Crown Prince, but once he learned that the Crown Prince condones the family members to act in an unruly manner, I am afraid that he will be greatly disappointed. ”

Zhu Gaoqi frowned up, “What do you want from this palace?”

Zhou Jing said: ”This matter, although no outsider knows about it now, there is no guarantee that things will not be leaked in the future. At that time, how will His Highness the Crown Prince deal with himself? His Majesty is as cynical as he is vengeful, if he knows that His Highness is hiding and harboring, how disappointed will he be.”

After a pause, Zhou Jing added: “So my suggestion is that Your Highness should take advantage of this time to expose Zhang Anshi, so that both and Zhang Anshi completely clear the relationship, the future, even if he causes any trouble, and Your Highness has nothing to do.”

“Your Highness is the world’s rare benevolent and virtuous Prince, the hope of thousands of subjects are sustained in your Highness, your Highness must not be a small Zhang Anshi, and incurred a bad disaster ah.”

Saying that, Zhou Jing carefully observed Zhu Gaoqi’s face.

Obviously, he’s here to pitch in.

Although he was only a small government minister, the titular prince would never look at him more than once on weekdays.

But this time is an opportunity, on the one hand, he has the evidence of Zhang Anshi’s crime, but it is hidden, which is tantamount to giving His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a meet-and-greet gift.

On the other hand, he painfully stated that he hoped that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would take this opportunity to expose Zhang Anshi, and in so doing, he showed his wisdom.

After all, …… there is an unstable hidden danger beside the crown prince, it is like adding many variables to the future competition for the reserves.

He believed that the Crown Prince might accept his suggestion, after all, compared to a small wife and brother, this throne was the crucial one.

You know, throughout the dynasties, how many royal sons and grandsons have killed each other, fathers and sons, brothers and brothers, for the sake of the throne.

As long as the Prince adopts the suggestion and takes the initiative to apologize to the Emperor, he will have the initiative. Instead of implicating the Prince because of Zhang Anshi, the Emperor will think that the Prince is just and upright and has no selfish thoughts.

Zhu Gaoqi heard, surprised to look back at Zhou Jing: “You want the Palace to do this?”

Zhou Jing said, “Everyone in the world wants Your Highness to do this.”

Zhu Gaoqi reads, “People of the world ……”

“Your Highness, when the time comes to make a decision, it’s not a good idea. Please also ask your highness to think twice ……”

Zhu Gaoqi murmured: “What you say is not unreasonable, just …… this palace ask you, really …… the world and then no one else knows about this matter?”

Zhou Jing confidently said, “Your Highness rest assured, I acted meticulously, as soon as I arrived at the place, I began a detailed and thorough investigation, and even grabbed the brocade guards before ……”

He talked about it here ……

Suddenly, the obese body of Zhu Gaoqi, who had his back turned to him, suddenly turned around.

Meanwhile, in Zhu Gaoqi’s hand, he held an iron arrow drawn from the arrow pot in the hunting room.

The iron arrows were like daggers and were held in a deadly grip by Zhu Gaoqi.

In the next moment, Zhu Gaoqi raised the iron arrow high, and just as Zhou Jing was still bending over, the sharp edge of the arrow ruthlessly angled into the side of Zhou Jing’s neck.

“Uh …… uh ……” Zhou Jing slightly opened his eyes wide, looking at Zhu Gaoqi incredulously.

He didn’t see any scowl or anger on Zhu Gaoqi’s face.

At this time, Zhu Gaoqi, however, had a face of fear and timidity.

Zhu Gaoqi was still still holding the shaft of the arrow, his hand trembling desperately.

“Your Highness …… Your Highness ……”

Zhu Gaoqi’s face was pale.

That arrow sticking down had used up all his courage.

When he saw the blood, his courage melted away, and was replaced …… by cramps in his belly that were about to sicken, and by fear.

He kills people.

First kill.

Zhu Gaoqi is a kind person, although when Zhu Di Jingwu, Zhu Gaoqi stayed in Beiping, was besieged by the army of the court, people say that he led the troops to defend, will be defended as solid as a golden soup.

But in reality, he had always been protected, surrounded by countless military generals who stayed in Beiping to serve him, even his birth mother, Empress Xu, personally draped herself in the citadel to guard the city.

Zhu Gaoqi, the eldest son, instead stayed in the Beiping royal residence, responsible only for the logistical and scheduling aspects of the work.

Now …… is the first time that Zhu Gaoqi kills someone, and the distance is so close that he clearly sees the pain and distortion on Zhou Jing s face.

See the blood begin to ooze out of the wound from the arrow’s tuft.

Zhu Gaoqi’s face showed fear and he sat down on his butt.

And at this time, Zhou Jing, has also collapsed, his body is still twitching and writhing, spitting blood foam from his mouth, and letting out rough breaths, interspersed with his unwilling voice: “Your Highness …… Your Highness …… why …… Why ……”

Zhu Gaoqi, whose face is no longer bloodless, only wants to vomit, and he sits paralyzed on the ground, desperately stomping his legs, as if he wants to kick Zhou Jing s body away from some, but soon …… he found that Zhou Jing did not die to the end.

So Zhu Gaoqi restrained his inner fear, and almost like a dog crawling, he slowly crawled towards Zhou Jing, and then gripped the arrow shaft with both hands, and fiercely pulled it towards the back.

Arrow drawn.

Blood arrows shot out with it.

Zhu Gaoqi did not feel relieved, and only looked at Zhou Jing on the ground with his eyes lifelessly, looking at the blood spattered all over his body.

Vomit …… Vomit ……

Zhu Gaoqi finally couldn’t stand it and vomited filth out of his mouth.

Blood and water mingled with the smell of filth.