Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 374 An Unexpected Death, The Emperor's Mind

Having searched for his father's killer for so long, the final moment had finally arrived, and Li Xunhuan naturally couldn't possibly be absent to witness it.

He had considered killing Zhu Wushi himself to avenge himself in the past, but Zhu Wushi was a powerful expert at the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top level. Even if Li Xunhuan attacked him secretly, the chances of killing him were slim.

Moreover, as the current emperor's uncle and the head of the Dragon Guard Manor, Zhu Wushi is not someone who can be met so easily.

Even if Li Xunhuan wanted to make a move, he simply couldn't find an opportunity.

That's why he turned to other methods.

Especially after the major bribery case, he hoped to find evidence of Zhu Wushi's imitation and kill Zhu Wushi by having the court convict him.

That was the only option available.

However, the final result of this investigation was not satisfactory. Li Xunhuan thought he would miss this opportunity, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came to him again.

Moreover, it was a chance for him to personally kill Zhu Wushi!
As an observer, he was actually quicker to notice the unusual situation on the battlefield than Zhuge Zhengwo, who was present at the scene.

The masters of the eight major sects seemed unwilling to take that final, ruthless step, afraid to bear the guilt of murdering a member of the royal family.

Li Xunhuan didn't find it strange at all.

Recalling what Zhou Ming had told him before he set off, Li Xunhuan knew that this was the reason he was here!
The masters of these sects, each bearing the mission of their respective sects, all have various responsibilities and concerns.

But as a wandering swordsman, he naturally wouldn't care about such things.

With a throwing knife already in his hand, and his spirit and energy focused, the world-renowned Little Li Flying Dagger was about to be unleashed.

At the same time, Zhuge Zhengwo also had the same thought as Li Xunhuan.

As a minister of the court and a prince bestowed by the late emperor, he was naturally obligated to be loyal to the court and share the emperor's burdens.

Gripping his spear tightly, Zhuge Zhengye prepared to unleash his ultimate move to kill this royal relative.

Zhu Wushi, surrounded by enemies, was unaware of this.

Just as the two, one in the light and one in the shadows, were about to make their move, Zhu Wushi's expression suddenly changed, and his figure froze for a moment.

In that instant, his eyes suddenly widened in fear, then in a flash turned to surprise, followed by a hint of understanding and smugness.

So many emotional shifts, almost all happening in the blink of an eye.

The changes were so numerous and rapid, coupled with the scene of being surrounded by everyone, that no one could clearly see the changes in Zhu Wushi's eyes at that moment.

At this moment, it was Abbess Miejue of the Emei Sect who launched the attack.

Although Abbess Miejue had a great reputation, she was not very strong herself, only a Grandmaster.

However, she held the divine weapon Yitian Sword in her hand, which was extremely sharp and could pierce even the qi of an ordinary grandmaster. In addition, Zhu Wushi was in a very bad state at the moment, so she posed a considerable threat to Zhu Wushi.

She also did not want to kill the royal family. Seeing Zhu Wushi pause, she quickly tossed the Yitian Sword aside.

But then, something unexpected happened to everyone present.

Zhu Wushi's body stiffly swayed to the side, and he bumped right into Abbess Miejue's Heaven-Slaying Sword.

Logically speaking, the sharpness of the Heaven-Slaying Sword is naturally not an obstacle to the qi of a general master, but it is somewhat insufficient when facing the qi of a Three-Flower Master.

However, at that moment, Zhu Wushi took the initiative to withdraw his protective qi, determined to use his physical body to fight against the Heaven-Slaying Sword.

He wasn't some grandmaster or expert in external martial arts; once his protective aura dissipated, how could his weak physical body possibly withstand the sharpness of the Heaven-Slaying Sword?

The sword tip pierced Zhu Wushi's chest with ease.

Instantly, everyone present was stunned.

It wasn't just because Abbess Miejue's Heaven-Slaying Sword pierced Zhu Wushi, but also because everyone present could see that Zhu Wushi had clearly deliberately run into the Heaven-Slaying Sword!

In other words, Zhu Wushi was actually deliberately seeking death?

what's the situation?
Everyone, including Zhuge Zhengwo and Li Xunhuan who were already preparing to take action, was momentarily stunned, unable to understand the reason behind it.

Zhu Wushi sensed the life force draining from his body, his eyes flashing with terror, yet also turning into triumph: "Hehehe... In the end, I am the winner!"

As he spoke, he suddenly lost all life.

Pfft!
Zhu Wushi's body lay on the ground, but in that instant, the expression on his face changed from smugness to terror.

And that was the final expression that froze on his face.

Zhuge Zhengwo frowned deeply.

On the one hand, they couldn't understand why Zhu Wushi would deliberately crash into the Heaven-Slaying Sword.

On the other hand, it was because of the last words Zhu Wushi uttered before his death.

That laughter, that tone... it didn't feel like Zhu Wushi at all; rather, it sounded very much like someone else who had also died on this battlefield...

Zhuge Zhengwo suppressed this thought, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you all for joining me in capturing the fugitive. It's a pity we didn't arrive in time. Iron-Blooded Marquis has already been killed by Cao Zhengchun, and Cao Zhengchun was also seriously injured by the Marquis."

As soon as he opened his mouth, although what he said was completely untrue, no one present objected.

Because everyone knows that this is the final verdict.

This conclusion, of course, was not something that Zhuge Zhengwo could make.

There is only one person qualified to draw a conclusion on this matter.

No one has an opinion.

They didn't even want to get involved in killing Zhu Wushi, let alone something as important as this.

Abbess Miejue's complexion improved slightly.

But it's only a little bit.

It's obvious that a secret can only be called a secret if only one person knows it; the more people who know it, the greater the risk of it being exposed.

Moreover, there are nearly twenty people present.

With so many people present, the truth of this matter cannot be concealed at all.

So she really got caught up in the mess of killing the Iron-Blooded Marquis.

But what can be done now that things have come to this?

We can only suffer in silence.

Subsequently, the group brought Zhu Wushi's body back to the capital, where Zhuge Zhengwo reported the situation to the emperor.

Li Xunhuan, on the other hand, returned to the Pei residence.

At this time, the emperor had already left the Pei residence, leaving only Zhou Ming and Lu Xiaofeng waiting for him.

"Congratulations! Your revenge has been achieved!"

Lu Xiaofeng handed him a glass of wine.

Li Xunhuan accepted it with a smile.

Zhou Ming said, "I've often heard that after someone avenges a great enemy, they always feel a sense of emptiness. Brother Li, now that you've ended your father's revenge, I wonder what your thoughts are?"

Li Xunhua thought for a moment and said, "I do feel a little empty. But it's not deep; instead, it's accompanied by a sense of ease."

Lu Xiaofeng said, "The problem that Old Zhou is talking about is those people who have spent ten or twenty years of their lives seeking revenge. After such a long time focusing on one goal, they will naturally feel empty when that goal is suddenly achieved."

Zhou Ming said, "No wonder. Brother Li only realized there was something wrong with his father's death a year ago, and then the problem was solved in just one year. So naturally he doesn't feel empty anymore."

Li Xunhuan forced a smile: "It was also because I was really foolish in the past."

"Alright, let bygones be bygones. Let's talk about the present."

Lu Xiaofeng put his arm around Li Xunhuan's shoulder: "Today's battle must have been incredibly exciting. Tell me about it quickly." "Okay."

Li Xunhuan was in a genuinely good mood and described the matter in great detail with great interest.

However, when he arrived, it was actually the last part of the great battle between Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wushi, so although it was described in detail, it was not very long.

However, when Lu Xiaofeng heard about Zhu Wushi's bizarre death, he was also stunned for a moment.

"You mean Zhu Wushi ultimately... committed suicide?"

"Pretty much, everyone was quite surprised at the time."

Lu Xiaofeng quickly guessed a possibility and looked at Zhou Ming in surprise.

Zhou Ming also showed the same surprised expression, saying, "I never thought that in the end, Zhu Wushi would still die at the hands of Cao Zhengchun."

"Ok?"

Li Xunhuan asked in confusion, "Didn't Zhu Wushi die by the Heaven-Slaying Sword himself?"

Lu Xiaofeng chuckled and said, "Old Li, do you know about the Living Buddha of the Great Yuan Kingdom?"

The sensational bribery case of the Iron-Blooded Marquis, which shocked the entire nation, finally came to an end in a way that was incredibly shocking.

Cao Zhengchun, the supervisor of the Eastern Depot.

Zhu Wusi, the Iron-hearted Divine Marquis.

These two renowned masters of the Three Flowers Sect, powerful figures in the imperial court, actually perished in this incident!

Such an event can be described as a bombshell suddenly exploding in the entire martial arts world.

This left many people stunned.

However, no matter how big the turmoil in the martial arts world is, most people are ultimately just watching the show.

The court was truly and immensely affected!

When the late emperor passed away, he left behind three trusted ministers to assist him: Cao Zhengchun, Zhu Wushi, and Pei Ju.

Over the years, these three men have continuously consolidated their power and have become the three most powerful figures in the court.

The fact that Iron-Blooded Marquis was imprisoned due to a bribery case was already extremely shocking.

Unexpectedly, two of the three giants suddenly turned on each other and perished together!
When this was announced, all the ministers in the court were completely dumbfounded.

However, matters of this caliber obviously cannot be decided by any one person, not even the emperor.

The truth must be revealed through investigation and evidence before a verdict can be presented to convince people.

Therefore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Divine Marquis's Office, and the Court of Judicial Review formed a joint investigation team to investigate the truth of the matter.

Because it involved the eunuch agency Dongchang, which implicated the imperial palace and even members of the royal family, the emperor also dispatched Xichang to participate.

They have no power to investigate, only the duty to supervise.

Anyone with eyes to see can see that this is the emperor using this opportunity to promote his own faction within the court.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Divine Marquis's Office, and the Court of Judicial Review are all fine.

Firstly, they already have the authority in this regard.

Secondly, these institutions had long been an integral part of the imperial court's ecosystem.

Only the Western Depot, although it was established long ago, was only set up before the late emperor's death, so its power was small and no one in the court cared about it.

Before that, it could even be described as an empty shell.

When it was revealed this time, the ministers realized that the Western Depot had already reached a certain scale.

Its existence naturally aroused dissatisfaction among the court officials, who submitted numerous memorials.

As an emperor who had risen tenaciously amidst the attacks of three powerful ministers, he was no slouch either, directly confronting these petitions and holding out for several days.

A few days later, the case had a preliminary result.

First, there's the investigation results regarding Cao Zhengchun. Needless to say, his terrible reputation throughout the Ming Dynasty was well-deserved.

Some things, once he did them, he simply did them.

Not only did they hunt down ministers who lost in court struggles, they even targeted the elderly and children in their families. Their crimes were too numerous to list.

This severely disrupted the unspoken rules of the imperial court.

But most importantly, this method brought to light many people who had colluded with Cao Zhengchun.

The emperor then manipulated a system of killing some, suppressing others, and letting others go, eliminating the most corrupt, greedy, and incompetent among them. Those less capable were suppressed, while the rest were spared.

In this process, he also suppressed some of the ministers who had petitioned him to prevent him from promoting the Western Depot.

Zhu Wushi may have been much more cunning than Cao Zhengchun, but as an ambitious man who coveted the throne, he couldn't withstand scrutiny.

Many court officials were also implicated with him.

The emperor was treated the same way.

As a result, the momentum immediately diminished.

With three powerful ministers in the court, there were naturally three major factions. The other two factions were suppressed, leaving only the civil officials' faction led by Pei Ju.

The emperor chose to reason with these people.

Just like the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Court of Judicial Review, the Eastern Depot has evolved into an integral part of the imperial court's ecosystem.

The emperor is now preparing to suppress the Eastern Depot and replace it with the Western Depot in the court. In this way, the power and interests of other ministers will not be infringed upon.

Even because of the deaths of Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wushi, he was still able to get a share of the pie, which naturally satisfied the last faction of ministers.

Although the Western Depot is currently only the supervisory group for this case, it is a rising power in the court that will be able to suppress the Eastern Depot in the future.

To this, Liu Xidu has to say "damn it."

He thought that with Cao Zhengchun dead, he could take over the throne, but the emperor not only wanted to suppress the Eastern Depot, but also wanted to promote the Western Depot!

What use would it be for me to sit in the position of Director of the Eastern Depot?

Just as he was getting annoyed, Iron Claw Eagle showed up at his door.

"My lord, I have just obtained some top-secret information."

"what news?"

"The reason why the eight major sects took action is because of the Battle of Taihu Lake twenty years ago, where the Iron-Blooded Marquis..."

Iron Claw Flying Eagle, with a cautious yet probing tone, said, "...So, the fundamental technique cultivated by Iron-Blooded Marquis is actually the Absorption Technique..."

"What? The Absorption Technique!"

Liu Xi's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, and moreover, the Iron-Blooded Marquis cultivates the complete version, not the incomplete version like the Steward's!"

Iron Claw Flying Eagle said, "Steward, you actually managed to obtain this merit from the Divine Marquis... Could it be that you are... an undercover agent planted by the Divine Marquis?"

"Nonsense, how could I possibly..."

Liu Xi was about to retort when he suddenly paused, his eyes lighting up.

"That's right, I'm an undercover agent! I'm an undercover agent planted by the Iron-Blooded Marquis!"

(End of this chapter)