The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 332 Charge
Now, let's talk about this Lord Luo.

Although he appeared calm and collected, ever since he saw the body of the Imperial Guard, his heart had been pounding incessantly in his ribs, and his hands inside his robe sleeves were constantly sweating.

I almost couldn't help but squeeze out a "tsk" from between my teeth!
Before being relegated to Guangxin Prefecture, he was an Assistant Director of the Personnel Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel! He was in charge of the selection and appointment of officials, making him the most important official in the capital.

Although he was kicked out of Shuntian Prefecture, the connections and experience he had accumulated there over the years would not disappear. He knew very well what the current system of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was all about.

At the end of last year, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly held a grand feast that was strange in every way.

No one knows exactly what happened at the imperial mausoleum that night, but from that night onward, almost all the officials in the capital felt a change radiating from the emperor himself, gradually altering everything in the Da Shuo court.

The most obvious point is that the Da Shuo clan, which had been suppressed since the time of the Jianwen Emperor, gradually returned to the center of power with the support of the emperor himself.

The most outstanding among them was Zhu Zai, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This old member of the imperial family, who was thought to be about to "retire" last year, suddenly gained the emperor's complete trust and unconditional support.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, which had gradually relinquished its power to monitor the court to eunuchs and was now only responsible for overseeing the martial arts world, purged almost the entire palace overnight, using the heads of hundreds of eunuchs to declare one thing—

The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) of today are no longer "knives in their hands," but "those who wield the knives."

The imperial family members, who had been kept on a pedestal and were simply waiting to die, rushed forward at the emperor's command to fill the vacancies and replace the eunuchs.

He was a junior official in the Ministry of Personnel, but because he was involved in the struggle between the civil service group and the imperial family, he was treated as a pawn and was promoted in name only but demoted and driven out of the capital.

Unfortunately, at this critical juncture, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard died within his jurisdiction.

What would Zhu Zai think if he found out? What would the imperial clansmen, who were fighting tooth and nail with the civil service, think?
Did you do it on purpose, or was it accidental?

Unfortunately, he did indeed have some connections with the Kongming Sect, which couldn't withstand scrutiny at all!

So he made his choice after just one glance—he had to immediately distance himself from the Kongming Sect and steer the matter towards a江湖 (jianghu, martial arts world) feud. Who the murderer was didn't matter, but he couldn't be involved in anything related to them!

These three rootless outlaws standing right in front of us are the only option!

"kill!"

The wide sleeves suddenly fell down, making a crisp sound.

Armor, long swords, and sharp blades surged forth like a tide!

Blood suddenly appeared!
"Brother Cao, I'll lead the way! You take Uncle Li and follow!"

Gao Anyu snatched the longsword with a swift motion, then plunged it into the chest of the person in front of him. He flipped over to dodge the weapons thrusting from all around, and in mid-air, he kicked the hilt of the sword, piercing two people together and knocking down a whole group of them.

Following the gap that had been smashed open, Gao Anyu charged left and right, forcefully smashing a narrow passage through the crowd with his fists!

Simply piling up numbers is useless! Rather, these soldiers and the disciples of the Kongming Sect are not familiar with each other, hindering each other and making it easier for Gao Anyu to kill them than before.

But Gao Anyu knew that the murderous intent surrounding him had already manifested.

Right in front of you!
A glint of cold light emerged from under the armpit of the guard in front of him, and in an instant, it was right in front of him!
It is Hua Zhi Qiu!
Although Gao Anyu was prepared, he was ultimately outnumbered. He barely managed to dodge the sword by tilting his head, but was still grazed and left with a bloody mark.

He laughed in anger, raising his hand to throw a punch, intending to use his family's secret technique to break Hua Zhi Qiu's longsword.

Hua Zhiqi revealed a smug smile, and with his other hand, he reached behind his back and pulled out Gao Anyu's black ruler, holding it horizontally in front of Gao Anyu's fist.

clang! ——

Gao Anyu stumbled back several steps, his face flushed. "You!"

Hua Zhi Qiu threw his sword on the ground with a backhand motion, handed the black ruler to his right hand, and twirled it with a showy flourish.

"You really don't know? No wonder you dared to throw this weapon on the ground so casually, letting me pick it up."

"You can sever weapons, you can sever flesh and bones, but you cannot sever this black ruler. This weapon is most suitable for your lineage, yet it is also the weapon in the world that most restrains your lineage!"

Having said that, Hua Zhi Qiu took a closer look at Gao An Yu and let out a soft exclamation.

"You're the madman who's been wandering around Guangxin Prefecture lately, asking around about his origins?"

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is! You really didn't know anything! You have no fellow disciples, so killing you won't cause any trouble!"

"It's a pity that your two companions, who were dragged into this mess, will also die because of you—what a pity, what a joy!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Gao Anyu wanted to retort, but before he could even open his mouth, the disciples of the Kongming Sect and the guards had already surrounded him.

While Hua Zhi Qiu was distracting him, the two groups had already divided their tasks. The soldiers formed a battle formation, forcing Gao An Yu to limit his maneuvering space; the Kongming Sect disciples infiltrated among them, taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Furthermore, the elders of the Kongming Sect, whose cultivation levels were no lower than Gao Anyu's, and Hua Zhiqi also joined the attack!
This is the standard method used by the imperial court to eliminate martial arts masters: masters hold them back, the military formation keeps advancing, and finally exhausts all of the opponent's room for maneuver, trapping and killing them!

Gao Anyu's plan to fight his way out had completely failed. He looked anxious, but secretly glanced behind him.

There is still one way to break the deadlock: he can restrain the opponent's experts while Cao Hanyan takes the opportunity to kidnap the prefect.

With this fourth-rank official in hand, it's uncertain whether the Kongming Sect will hesitate to act, but the local soldiers will definitely back down. The fact that their superior officer died tragically under their protection is a capital offense.

Although the two did not communicate, Gao Anyu believed that Cao Hanyan, with his intelligence, would definitely be able to think of this.

"Brother Cao must have already rushed over—hmm!?"

Gao Anyu's eyes widened suddenly.

Cao Hanyan was indeed charging towards the prefect as he had expected, and his progress was extremely rapid. In just a short time, he had already closed the distance to within ten zhang.

But strangely enough, he shouldn't be able to go that fast.

The two are of similar skill level and have sparred quite a few times recently. What Gao Anyu couldn't do, Cao Hanyan probably couldn't do either.

Gao Anyu focused his attention again and finally discovered the clue.

Cao Hanyan was less about killing someone and more about trying to slash the corpse with her knife.

His opponent had already become a corpse before he could even make a move.

Gao Anyu shifted his gaze to what was behind Cao Hanyan.

His "Uncle Li who doesn't know martial arts" was leisurely stepping over a corpse with his hands behind his back, following behind Cao Hanyan as if he were strolling through the streets, heading towards the prefect.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, "Uncle Li" turned his head and gave him a playful smile.

(End of this chapter)