Chapter 96 – Bamboo Blossoms in the Imperial Study Room

There was no doubt that Chen Pingping was an expert, or more accurately, he used to be an expert, and to be more accurate, it would be better to say that Chen Wuchang, one of the small eunuchs who were permanent guards of the palace back then, although he was not as good as that genius and stunning Eunuch Hong Si Itchy, after all, he was also a character who was ranked in the sequence, and he had a martial arts cultivation that was not to be belittled.

If it is not a strong person, how could it be possible to fight against that powerful Sean in the north in the turbulent situation of the world back then, and how could it be possible to build an eerie supervisory institute under the hostile gaze of a full dynasty. If Chen Pingping was not a strong man, how could he have led the Black Riders like a black storm on the continent in those thousands of miles of raids that shocked the world.

However, time and experience is the world’s most tormenting sharp weapon, the years have gone by too long, Chen Pingping has aged, the most unfortunate thing is that, in the middle of the raids that year to catch Sean back to the capital, Chen Pingping was seriously injured, half of his body was paralyzed, and he no longer had any consciousness below the waist, and his cultivation was also blown away by the winds and rain and no longer left behind in half.

This was the history that all the subjects and people of Qing knew, a fact that they either lamented or rejoiced in, so when the decree to arrest Chen Pingping and return to the capital was passed out from the palace, no matter whether it was Ye Chong, Gong Dian, Eunuch Yao, or the general Shi Fei who was personally responsible for this matter, including He Zongwei, who was the last to know about this great secret, none of them cast their vigilant eyes on the body of Chen’s old dean, or the black wheelchair in which he was seated.

Because they knew that Chen Pingping himself was just an invalid, and could not have any personal power at all, they were aghast in their hearts with alarming fear and trepidation, not because of how powerful Chen Pingping’s physical body was, but rather, they had a hard time resisting the thoughts of the intrigues and plots that were in the old cripple’s head and the power of the powerful Supervisory Yuan that he was able to manipulate.

Chen Pingping returned to the capital single, the Supervisory Yuan was under close surveillance and the strong cooperation of a certain big shot inside, these important ministers beside His Majesty the Emperor breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, as long as Chen Pingping was unable to make use of the dark power that his withered fingers were involved in, then the imperial palace would be safe.

Because of this judgment, they did not worry that Chen Pingping would do any harm to His Majesty in the imperial study. Even if Chen Pingping was still the same powerful person who was on the black warhorse back then, it was impossible to have any power of counterattack in front of His Majesty, the world’s number one expert. And as for that black wheelchair? This wheelchair under the old dean had been sitting for many years, and all the people were used to the existence of the wheelchair, and even saw this wheelchair as a part that was one with Chen Pingping.

The power of habit was strong, so strong that it could make people completely ignore it. Therefore, when Chen Pingping entered the Imperial Study Room in the black wheelchair, everyone, including Eunuch Yao, did not develop any sense of alarm. These big shots had made a big mistake.

Similarly, His Majesty the Emperor made a mistake the moment his mind returned to indifferent calmness after the long conversation set against the gloomy autumn rain of this morning. When the pale-faced Chen Pingping looked at the snow-white walls of the imperial study behind him and softly called out that woman’s name, his mind was slightly relieved and followed Chen Pingping’s gaze backward, while ignoring the movement of Chen Pingping’s arms propped up on the black armrests of her wheelchair.

In all the small time, perhaps have played this kind of childish and cute little game, a little friend pretend to see behind him came a serious elder, or powerful teacher, exclaimed, his heart was shocked, turned his head to look, but the body with a hard fist, then two people laughing and cursing chased in the yard ran away.

Such childish tactics, but used in the Qing Emperor, the most powerful person in the world, have to say, Chen Pingping’s mind is very strange, very wonderful, and …… very effective. Perhaps it is also because of the relationship that His Majesty’s mind has shaken in this moment, perhaps it is because His Majesty, in the present day when the Bitter Lotus Sigu Sword has died and Ye Liuyun has gone out to sea, his entire body and mind are caught up in a state of mind that is absolutely confident, and he does not care about anything at all. Because he didn’t care, he turned his head.

In today’s world, there shouldn’t be anyone who could hurt this powerful His Majesty, even if Fan Xian, Haitang, Wang Thirteen Lang, Yun Zhilan, Wolf Peach, plus Shadow, these six absolute powerhouses on the Ninth Grade appeared inside the Imperial Study at the same time and delivered a fatal blow to the Emperor, I’m only afraid that His Majesty wouldn’t be the slightest bit moved.

However, when he turned back, he only saw a snow white and empty, his pupils shrunk slightly, and when he twisted his head to look back at Chen Pingping in the wheelchair, he saw the hands …… that Chen Pingping had been holding on the armrests of the wheelchair clench the inside of the armrests in death, and his small arms fiercely shrunk backward!

With a crunching sound of ka, the two smooth and black armrests of the wheelchair suddenly scattered to the sides, emitting a series of wonderful sounds of metal machine springs. Along with the two loud bangs that sounded almost simultaneously, two powerful air currents erupted out of the two hollows that suddenly appeared at the front end of the armrests.

Bang Bang!

Crisp and clean, without any delay, indifferent, cold, Chen Pingping gripped the armrests of the wheelchair, these two armrests that he had touched for countless years, and gouged the trigger.

Countless iron shavings, steel balls, in the powerful gunpowder spray force, holding a powerful and incomparable might, blasted towards Emperor Qing’s body.

The black wheelchair opened up two colorful, soul-capturing sparks!

There was no one in this world who could hurt His Majesty the Emperor, but that didn’t mean that there were no things that could hurt him. At least both the Emperor and Chen Pingping knew that the black box that had always seemed incredibly mysterious could definitely pose a threat to the Emperor. And today, the wheelchair that Chen Pingping had been sitting in for decades seemed to be playing an extremely similar role.

This black wheelchair was a wheelchair that had been crafted decades ago by the inner treasury and the three divisions of the Supervisory Yuan, while the pair of firearms that had harbored countless years of anger was the woman who had died a long time ago, and had personally built it for Chen Pingping.

At that time, Chen Pingping was crippled, and she was worried about his well-being, so she mobilized all her energy and extremely secretly arranged such a best life-preserving magic weapon for him. Over the years, this black wheelchair’s seat ring, backrest, do not know how many times to change, and it is this pair of armrests have never been changed.

Many people knew that Chen Pingping had a habitual action, he liked to gently caress this pair of smooth armrests, and people like Fan Xian who were close to him, even more so, knew that whenever he was quiet and alone, the dean liked to gently tap the armrests with his knuckles, and the armrests would every now and then emit a humming sound, just like hollow bamboo in general.

Bamboo has knots, strength, and bones, and so does Chen Pingping.

Two sparks exploded in front of the wheelchair armrests!

After the two loud muffled sounds that sounded almost simultaneously, it was the sound of countless steel beads and iron dust gunpowder spraying on the flesh of that Nine to Five that sounded, crackling, like rain hitting the beach, like hail falling on the earth, hitting a thousand points of pits, breaking countless banana leaves.

Smoke filled the imperial study, but dispersed exceptionally swiftly, gradually revealing the figure of His Majesty the Emperor sitting on top of the soft couch.

Emperor Qing was a great master, yet great masters were not gods after all, their flesh was still mortal flesh, their mind was incomparably powerful, yet it was impossible to make god-like reactions.

When Chen Pingping gouged the trigger on the wheelchair, he was close to Emperor Qing’s distance, while the shrapnel sprayed out from the front of the armrest was exceptionally strong covering half the breadth of space, even if Emperor Qing swept away in a flash like an immortal, he couldn’t escape from the lethal range of these rapidly shooting soul-devouring sharpshooters.

Therefore, Emperor Qing did not dodge, he was still sitting on top of the soft couch. The wall around him had been beaten into a rotten sore, gray stone and broken bricks were rustling down, and a few pieces of broken wall skin were hanging in mid-air. The short collapse beneath him had already shattered in half, and the desk table in front of him had even been struck into a piece of broken wood.

Many holes appeared in that dragon robe on His Majesty’s body, tiny, torn, holes that appeared in different shapes and trajectories, with a slightly charred feel to the holes.

A pair of hands covered his face, the index finger of his left hand was slightly flexed, the thumb was slightly cocked, and that small verdant porcelain teacup was in the tiger’s mouth, not moving in the slightest.

Even the teacup is not broken, the face of the son of heaven is naturally unhindered.

In fact, all this happened, are in a very short moment, His Majesty the emperor body’s strength is like substance, such as the wind whistling up, and his fingers between the celadon teacups, snorting sound broke the air and flew out.

With two crunching sounds, the black wheelchair was rushed by the powerful recoil and slid backwards at an oddly fast speed. The wheelchair squeaked and rubbed against the floor of the imperial study, as if it was going to grind out sparks, and finally crashed hard against that wall of the imperial study with a muffled sound.

Chen Pingping’s face was indifferent, her pupils shrinking slightly, yet she was too late to make any movements before she saw the emerald green color that was reflected in her eyes.

With a crunching sound, the teacup that flew from the sky nailed Chen Pingping’s skinny chest, and I don’t know how many of her sternum bones snapped.

The countless porcelain shavings that shattered into powder were like countless hair needles that pierced into Chen Pingping’s body, the pain and itch of which was unbearable to any human being.

A mouthful of black blood sprayed out from Chen Pingping’s lips, wetting her chest. Immediately after that, an invisible and massless majestic true qi surged in the air, restraining the remaining three meridians and six veins in his body in an instant, controlling the operation of each of his muscles, rendering him unable to speak, unable to move, and unable to understand his own life.

What was even more horrifying was that the royal qi of the king’s true qi, was actually through the air, through the clothes, swiftly seeped into his body, along his meridians to walk in all directions, and in an instant, the old dean had long taken the poison slowly forced out.

In the air, it was like there was an invisible giant hand, tightly holding Chen Pingping’s withered body, lifting him up from the black wheelchair, hovering in mid-air, and it looked like the scene was particularly bizarre.

Chen Pingping’s white hair has long been messed up, dazzlingly scattered in front of his forehead, gently over the deep wrinkles of his face, his clothes are all east a west a crack, the whole person’s vitality, within a moment, was suppressed to the edge of death.

However, this old man’s eyes were cold, cold, without the slightest fear, just with a hint of regret, a hint of disdain, gradually, even these emotions were gone from his eyes, only calmness.

Heavy footsteps resounded within the imperial study, His Majesty the Emperor slowly and heavily stepped on the gravel of the ground and walked towards him.

The Emperor’s right hand was open in the air, and several powerful true qi broke through the air, strangling Chen Pingping’s skinny body in mid-air with a death grip.

The Emperor’s eyes were cold and tinted with a trace of furious blood-red color.

The emperor’s hands were slightly trembling, and all of them were covered with blood and horrible wounds.

Those small holes on the emperor’s dragon robe began to bleed outwards, constantly oozing towards the outside of his body, washing away the iron shavings and charred gunpowder residue on the wounds, and the dragon robe had been smoked into a black paste color.

The emperor was seriously injured, and those steel balls that can penetrate the lapis lazuli should still stay in his body, but he is not dead after all …….

The shards of the celadon cup were within Chen Pingping’s body, and he also began to bleed, perhaps the blood in his body was already not much, and the speed of the flow was not fast, but it also turned to wet his tattered black Supervisory Yuan official uniform.

The Emperor walked over to Chen Pingping’s body, his chest rising and falling slightly. The two of them, the ruler and the minister, looked very similar as all of their bodies were covered with small cracks that went deep into their flesh and bones, pained to the core, and blood flowed non-stop.

He glanced down at the miserable wounds on his chest and abdomen, and the corners of his eyebrows twitched gently for a moment, as if he hadn’t thought that in today’s world, there were still people who were able to bring themselves so close to death. An uncontrollable resentment and anger began to ferment and rise within this monarch’s body.

The emperor’s hand strangled Chen Pingping’s throat, stared into his eyes, flashed a touch of resentment that chilled one to the bone, and said word by word, “If I don’t let you die, you can’t die.”

Several gray shadows flashed outside the glass window of the imperial study, and several people violently crashed through the wooden door of the imperial study and rushed in. At the garden gate, Ye Chong Yao Eunuch and a few other big shots avoided the imperial study from afar, but were able to clearly hear the two loud bangs. They knew it was not good and rushed over to protect the emperor as fast as they could, however, they were still too late.

Ye Chong arrived the fastest, Eunuch Yao came second, however, when they entered the imperial study and looked at the bloody scene in front of them, they remained silent at the same time, because the scene burned their eyes too much.

They saw His Majesty the Emperor, who was covered in blood, strangling Elder Dean Chen, who was covered in blood. Their hearts shook with horror and they did not know how to speak.

The Emperor let go of his hand and allowed Chen Pingping’s body to crumple and fall from between his hands, falling to the floor with a muffled thud. He looked at the old comrades, old partners, old slaves under his feet with a strange look, and said in a voice that was cold and resentful to the extreme: “Escort to the prison of the Supervisory Yuan, and tomorrow this traitor will be lynched to death. If this old dog is allowed to die before the 36,000 blades, you and the losers of the Imperial Hospital will be buried with him.”

Ye Chong and Eunuch Yao were like falling into an ice cellar, while He Zongwei, who had just run outside the imperial study with a face full of trepidation, was even more terrified when he heard these words, so much so that his body trembled. It was not just because of the shocking scene in front of them, nor because of Chen Pingping’s crime, nor because of His Majesty the Emperor’s cold-to-the-bone, angry-to-the-bone decree.

In the thirty years of the national dynasty, there has never been a minister of the highest quality who has been executed by lynching, which is the most humiliating and cruelest way to die, not to mention, this decree refers …… to Chen Pingping.

However, these three people did not dare to say anything at all, they just immediately knelt down, kneeling at the feet of His Majesty the Emperor, not daring to have the slightest admonition.

His Majesty the Emperor took one last look at Chen Pingping who was looking at him with a sneering look, and suddenly felt a fiery pain in his chest and abdomen.

How many years has it been since I have been injured? The emperor thought this in his heart, then his body shook.

“His Majesty has been assassinated, quickly summon the Imperial Physician!”

The Imperial Study Room resounded with the terrified and anxious shouts of Grand Maester He, Ye Chong was at that moment full of fear as he supported His Majesty’s Jade Mountain’s body that was about to fall, subconsciously slightly sidestepping his head and squinting at this Grand Maester who had vicious intentions.

The palace was in a panic, the eunuchs were fishtailing in and out of the palace, and from time to time there were pale-faced palace maids and eunuchs carrying golden basins in and out of the palace, and the water in the basins had already been dyed red with blood.

Eunuch Yao was serving His Majesty the Emperor after his injury inside the palace at this time, Gong Dian led the forbidden army and the inner court experts to surround the whole imperial city to death, while Ye Chong was guarding the outside of the palace after issuing a few orders to the Privy Council.

The Medical Zheng of the Imperial Hospital came out of the palace sweating profusely, Ye Chong looked at him coldly and asked, “How is His Majesty?”

Seeing that it was him, the Medical Zheng of the Imperial Hospital responded in a trembling voice, “Back to Master Ye, although His Majesty is injured, his pulse is thick and strong, he should be unharmed, just ……”

Ye Chong’s brows frowned and snapped, “Just how?”

“Just …… those iron shavings stuck in the flesh and blood of His Majesty’s skin have been removed, but I look at the wounds on His Majesty’s body, there should be some sharp objects still remaining within His Majesty’s body, injuring the internal organs and organs, if these sharp objects are not taken out, I’m afraid that … …”

“I’m afraid of what? Will Your Majesty be in danger?”

“Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune and is not a mortal,” the Imperial Hospital’s medical doctor said in a trembling voice, describing His Majesty’s Great Master’s realm in a different way, “I’m sure that nothing will go terribly wrong. But who knows if there will be any effects in the future.”

“Then don’t even think of a way to take it out!” Ye Chong’s body was short and fat, and he had always given people a gentle feeling, yet right now, the fury on his face was incomparably terrifying.

“I …… really don’t have this kind of good means.” Medical Zheng watched Ye Chong’s face become more and more unsightly, he hurriedly swallowed his saliva and snatched his words, “However, little Lord Fan had presided over a similar medical case in the palace back then, please your lordship quickly summon little Lord Fan back to the capital, with him presiding over this matter, I think it won’t leave behind any hidden dangers.”

“Lord Tanya?” Ye Chong cackled when he heard this name, and his heart went half cold. Today, since morning until now, inside and outside of Kyoto, in the imperial study of the imperial city, too many things had happened that he had not yet fully digested, and it was only at this time when he heard Fan Xian’s name that he thought of the great impact that Chen Pingping’s assassination of His Majesty would potentially bring to this part of the kingdom of Qing.

Ye Chong’s lips were a little dry, and after a long time, he slowly said, “Little Lord Fan can’t come back for a while. Is there another method?”

“Miss Fan, who is now practicing medicine at the Tanya Medical Center, has studied under Qing Shan, and has Little Lord Fan’s own hand ……”

Ye Chong’s eye pupil cold aura appeared, directly said, “Quickly summon her to the palace!”

After the medical Zheng led the guards away, Ye Chong suddenly felt a large wet patch of cold sweat all over his back. It was only at this moment that he had time to analyze the situation at hand, as Medical Zheng mentioned Fan Xian’s name, and he couldn’t help but think that in a short while, this young powerhouse was going to return to the capital with the credit of having annexed the Eastern Barbarians in his hands.

However, by that time, if Fan Xian found out that Chen Pingping had been lynched by His Majesty, how would he react?

Ye Chong felt a chill enveloping his body. At this time, His Majesty was seriously injured, Chen’s old dean’s life was at stake, and another group of eunuchs were treating him before he was escorted into the prison of the Supervisory Yuan overnight.

He knew clearly why His Majesty finally ordered Chen Pingping to be escorted into the middle of the Supervisory Academy, the emperor’s mind, at such a moment, still did not forget to show his chill. Now that the entire Kyoto defense force was all in Ye Chong’s hands, of course he did not have the slightest intention to rebel against His Majesty’s will, only that he felt a trace of heaviness that was difficult to bear, if the Supervisory Court really rebelled, what should he do? It was good that His Majesty was only injured and not really unconscious.

There was no need to pay attention to what exactly happened between His Majesty and Old Dean Chen, but within the Imperial Study Room, Old Dean Chen’s assassination of His Majesty was something that everyone saw, and no one could or dared to intercede on behalf of Old Dean Chen. Assassinating His Majesty would have been a capital offense of capital punishment.

Ye Chong’s heart gave birth to a trace of coldness, he understood very well the relationship and affection that His Majesty and Chen Pingping had once had, and he was only afraid that His Majesty was also angry and disappointed to the extreme, and only then would he grant Chen old dean such a miserable end.

Just …… since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, although the imperial power is as difficult to shake as the thousands of years of history of this continent, His Majesty’s successive emperors of the Qing Dynasty have held a mild attitude towards their subjects, especially in the past few decades, the Qing Law has been revised several times, and countless tortures have been abolished, that is, for the rebellious generation, it is often just decapitation to exterminate the family.

Especially for the scholars and ministers, His Majesty has always been gentle, even three years ago in Kyoto, the rebellion, the final death of the thirteen city gate division commander Zhang Deqing only one.

However, compared to the old President Chen of the Supervisory Yuan, what is Zhang Deqing worth?

Ye Chong slowly closed his eyes, and could not help but think of the words shouted out in a loud and mournful voice by Grand Maester He when His Majesty fell into his arms earlier, and the corners of his lips could not help but flash a trace of coldness.

The news of Chen Pingping’s assassination of the Emperor, through He Zongwei’s shout, instantly spread throughout the entire palace, startling all the people in the palace, and then naturally became news known to everyone in Kyoto.

His Majesty the Emperor might have thought about the smoothness of Qing’s imperial court afterward, about the attitude of Fan Xian and the officials of the entire Supervisory Academy, or …… about all the achievements that old Dean Chen had made for Qing over the years …….

No, Ye Chong understood His Majesty’s temperament, even if he wanted to grant Chen a more honorable death, it couldn’t be because of the affection between His Majesty and this old dean, after the ringing sound of that weird weapon in the imperial study, His Majesty had nothing but anger and resentment towards Chen Pingping, but nothing else.

The only thing that could possibly make His Majesty withdraw his decree of lynching could only be for the sake of the future of the Kingdom of Qing, for the sake of Fan Xian as well as the mood of the Grand Prince who was being stationed in the city of Dongyi, for the sake of this river and mountain.

There were many ways to die, and compared to the humiliation and cruelty of lynching and the white damask and poisoned wine, the former would surely make the Supervisory Yuan, Fan Xian, and the Grand Emperor feel more resentment.

However, all of this, because of the “just right” exclamation of the great scholar He, became impossible to do, because the son of heaven has the dignity of the son of heaven, the son of heaven’s anger.

Ye Chong sighed, staring blankly at the imperial city under the autumn rain, his heart mixed feelings, I do not know how many stories will happen within the square building of the Supervisory Yuan tonight, himself and Shi Fei were ordered to escort the tens of thousands of elite soldiers outside the Supervisory Yuan, will not really need to kill a big one.

Autumn rain slowly fell, he gently coughed a few times, knowing that his majesty’s anger under the will is unlikely to change, just hope that when Fan Xian came back, the matter has been finalized, otherwise who knows what kind of chaos in this country of Qing Dynasty will become.

Outside the square building of the Supervisory Yuan, the autumn rain was also falling, getting colder and colder. Yan Bingyun stood indifferently by the window, the black cloth that had been covering the window had been torn off by him and thrown under his feet.

He quietly looked in the direction of the palace, calmly but forcefully issuing a command. With Chen Pingping’s and Fan Xian’s trust, he had already grasped a lot of power in the Supervisory Court, however, with this power, he was still unable to suppress the ghostly flames that were burning ghostly inside the Supervisory Court.

From the hearts of these officials who wore black official uniforms, black ghost fires were born.

Good thing that before the incident, Yan Bingyun has done enough preparation, the senior officials, for Chen old dean incomparably loyal to those officials, has been his advance branch to the Western Liang and Jiangnan Dongyi places, they have left Kyoto, otherwise the situation is more difficult to control.

The news from the palace had already reached the courtyard, and the news of Old Dean Chen’s assassination of His Majesty had also become a fact. His Majesty was seriously injured? Yan Bingyun didn’t know if this was His Majesty’s excuse, or if Old Dean Chen, whom he had always admired immensely, had really done something that many people were unable to accomplish.

However, none of this mattered, he coldly turned his gaze and looked at the elite troops of the Qing Empire in those streets and alleys outside the Supervisory Courtyard that did not hide their traces, and shook his head, he had to keep this courtyard, especially at a time when Chen Pingping was bound to die, and Fan Xian had not yet returned.

No one could fight against His Majesty, against the powerful state machine of Qing, even if the Supervisory Court was the most powerful link in that machine.

Yan Bingyun turned his head and looked at the seven organizing lords in the room, and said quietly, “Prepare to take over ……” His brow furrowed, and after a slight pause, he finished the sentence with great difficulty.

“Chin prisoner Chen Pingping.”