The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 141 Kill them all

“Okay, I agree.” Shi Qingyu agreed without hesitation.

Shi Houqiong looked intently at his daughter, whom he had never paid much attention to before, and realized that she had been raising a venomous snake. He knew that Shi Qingyu had agreed now, but might turn around and kill Shi Guangbo with her own hands. His gaze swept over the traitorous guards behind Shi Qingyu. If the infighting continued, none of them would escape.

He turned to his guards and instructed them to hand over the items to him. He then led them to the secret passage of the manor, opened it, and released about ten guards, Shi Qingyu, and Shi Guangbo.

Madam Shi also wanted to go with them, but Shi Houqiong grabbed her and, under Madam Shi's desperate pleas, destroyed the mechanism that could open the secret passage: "We are husband and wife, and we should live and die together."

After speaking, Shi Houqiong slowly walked to the prepared fireworks, took out a tinderbox, squatted down, and lit it herself. The blood-red fireworks bloomed brilliantly in the sky like the flowers of the underworld, and there was only one of them.

Xu Tianxing and Cheng She, who were closing in on the Shi family, captured many of Shi Houqiong's men. The two groups met at the city gate. Xu Tianxing rescued Shang Jinliang, and Cheng She rescued Prefect He. The two men, riding on tall horses, looked at each other. Before they could say anything, they saw a cluster of fireworks at the same time. After seeing the direction, their expressions tightened.

Xu Tianxing immediately took out his token and ordered the city gate guards to open the gate. He led his men and ran away. Cheng She, who was lagging behind, caught up a few steps, reined in his horse, and turned to ask, "Have you found out the route that Du Zhong took with Madam Shang and Madam Shang to escape?"

"Second Master, we've found out." The subordinate pulled out a route map from his pocket. "Du Zhongying was prepared in advance. His route kept changing. Based on his movements, we deduced that he would eventually meet up with Third Sister."

Upon hearing this, Cheng She's gaze instantly turned serious: "This is bad."

On his way back, he found out everything. The downfall of the Shi family was due to the concerted efforts of the merchants, Prefect He, and Xu Tianxing to set up a scheme. Xu Tianxing even risked his life to persuade the imperial envoy to help cover it up. Du Zhong had been trying to lull Shi Houqiong into a false sense of security from the beginning. He seemed to be afraid of Shang Mingshu and fled with Shang Zishu and Shang Wenshu, but in reality, he was afraid that the two would fall into Shi Houqiong's hands. He poisoned Shi Guangbo, and Shi Houqiong was thus controlled by Du Zhong.

At this moment, Shi Houqiong revealed his true intentions; the fireworks display that had just been used to send a message might have been a death knell for Du Zhong and the others.

"You take men and escort the prefect back to the city." Cheng She immediately turned his horse around.

Shi Houqiong cared deeply for his two sons, but now only Shi Guangbo remained. He should have sent his top military force to pursue Du Zhong, capturing him alive if possible, and not giving them a chance to live if they couldn't.

Nowadays, can Shi Houqiong still not think of the uses of Eucommia ulmoides?

He now wishes he could drag Du Zhong and the two Shang sisters down with him!

As for Du Zhong, Shi Houqiong took the initiative to seek him out, just like Wen Yan had done before. However, Shi Houqiong was naturally suspicious. Even though everything had gone smoothly before and the spies he had placed in the merchant's shop had not found anything amiss, he still harbored a sliver of doubt about Du Zhong, especially after Du Zhong poisoned Shi Guangbo.

He sent his most capable men to pursue them, but Chi Wulang refused to obey his orders. Otherwise, he would have sent Chi Wulang to capture the Du Zhong and Shang Wenshu sisters as well.

Despite making thorough preparations, Du Zhong used the terrain he had scouted beforehand and some medicine to shake off the assassins who initially did not intend to kill them. Even so, their escape was extremely chaotic.

After a vibrant red firework exploded in the sky, these people suddenly became ruthless. "Du Zhong, you take my elder sister and continue on. I'll go the other way," Shang Zishu said, dressed in tea-picking attire. "I know this terrain well. I can avoid them. If we don't separate, we'll all be caught in one fell swoop!"

Du Zhong, holding Shang Wenshu's hand, watched the battle in the distance. His men were still putting up a stubborn resistance, but they were in a state of decline and would not be able to hold out for long.

“No, we must go forward together. Third Sister is surely on her way. If you separate from us, how will she be able to save you in time?” Shang Wenshu grabbed Shang Zishu and continued forward. She knew that her sister wanted to leave the hope of life to her.

"You never believe me. If it were Third Sister today, you would surely feel at ease leaving with Du Zhong." Shang Zishu's accusatory words startled Shang Wenshu. Seizing the opportunity while Shang Wenshu was distracted by her eagerness to argue, she broke free from Shang Wenshu, nimbly darting into the nearby bushes. Without looking back, she shouted, "Du Zhong, the antidote is in my hands. You think you can catch me—"

“Zishu…”

"Don't let Second Madam down, Wenniang, let's trust Second Madam this once." Du Zhong pulled Shang Wenshu, who wanted to chase after Shang Zishu, and continued forward.

The three of them waited for Shang Mingshu, but she never came. Du Zhong could only keep praying in his heart that Shang Mingshu really had a way to buy time...

Shi Houqiong did not tell the people she sent that there was a problem with Du Zhong, or that they must capture Du Zhong and obtain the antidote. They had heard Shang Zishu's words earlier and were not unaware that this was a distraction tactic, but they could not gamble that Shang Zishu definitely did not have the antidote.

Of the three, only Du Zhong knew martial arts. The leader made two hand gestures, and four of them chased after Shang Zishu, while the remaining eight, led by their leader, continued to pursue Du Zhong.

Du Zhong, carrying Shang Wenshu, was soon caught up. Facing eight opponents alone, Du Zhong protected Shang Wenshu behind him. He dared not attack and could only defend. Even as wounds appeared on his arms and chest, he stood firm and stood in front of Shang Wenshu.

Shang Wenshu bit her lip, watching the man in front of her gradually turn into a blood-soaked figure. She never imagined that one day, someone would protect her like this. Tears filled her eyes, and she dared not make a sound, for fear of distracting Du Zhong.

Several blades flashed from the side. Du Zhong, with Shang Wenshu's waist around him, turned around and blocked the cold blades with his iron sword. With the combined force of several people, Du Zhong almost lost his grip on the sword hilt. The wound on his arm tore open, and blood gushed out.

At this moment, Shang Wenshu revealed her true form, and the assassin who had been waiting seized the opportunity to slash at her with his knife. Du Zhong's pupils constricted, he threw away his sword, squatted down with Shang Wenshu in his arms, and the falling knife slashed across his chest, while a knife cut deeply across his back. Only Shang Wenshu in his arms was unharmed.

"Du Zhong!" The overwhelming stench of blood enveloped Shang Wenshu, and she could no longer hold back, screaming at the top of her lungs.

A bloodstained hand covered Shang Wenshu's eyes: "Don't look."

Knives were aimed at them from all sides. In the end, he couldn't protect her. Du Zhong pressed a mechanism on his waist. It contained poisonous smoke. Once it was released, no one could survive within a step.

He waited for their blades to pierce his body, so he could take them all to hell with him.

When Shang Mingshu arrived, she saw this scene. She leaped off her horse, her long sword flying out, and at the same time, she drew two muskets with both hands.