Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 30 A Surprise Attack with Flying Knives (Please continue reading)

The person who came was naturally Chen Ye.

He was naturally aware that the barbarians from the grasslands were knocking on the gates and their troops were heading straight for the capital.

He came here to see how these powerful and wealthy families would react.

Should we stand with the nation through thick and thin, or surrender before the battle even begins?

As he expected, these powerful families had no backbone whatsoever; they were already considering surrendering before the army even arrived.

Thinking of this, a cold smile couldn't help but appear in Chen Ye's heart.

With his current strength, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to sneak into the study and kill all the Lin family members in the room.

But Chen Ye didn't want to do that.

Because that makes no sense.

For someone like Lin Hong, death is definitely not the most terrifying thing.

The most terrifying thing is watching helplessly as everything you've built up throughout your life—the glory of your family, your immense wealth, the future of your descendants—vanishes into nothingness and is crushed into dust.

That would be the most heart-wrenching revenge.

And now is an excellent opportunity.

Emperor Yang Zhao, who was in the palace, was in a situation just like a trapped beast cornered.

The inability to capture the Moon-Treading Bandit had already caused him to lose face, and the barbarian army's approach to the city and the garrison's inaction only made him more uneasy.

The emperor desperately needs a victory, even if it's just an internal one, to restore his crumbling authority and deter those disobedient ministers.

Therefore, as long as I present the evidence of the Lin family's treason, Yang Zhao will definitely pounce on them without hesitation, like a shark smelling blood, and tear the Lin family to pieces!

Of course, these powerful and influential families in the capital have always been closely connected and deeply intertwined. Under normal circumstances, even if Yang Zhao wanted to take action against the Lin family, other families would most likely step in to mediate, ultimately minimizing the impact of the incident.

But Chen Ye knew that the so-called unity was only based on the premise that there was no fundamental conflict of interest.

In reality, these powerful families were also rife with intrigue and power struggles.

Furthermore, once the Lin family falls from power, their vast assets and even the vacant positions of power will become a huge piece of meat.

At that point, those so-called allies will be even more eager than the emperor to pounce on him and devour him.

The only difficulty in the whole matter was how to present this evidence to the emperor in a reasonable and justifiable way.

We must find someone with sufficient status and influence, and most importantly, someone with a deep-seated hatred for the Lin family, to be the one to take the lead.

I handed him the knife, and he stabbed me.

But in the capital, who would have such a deep grudge against the Lin family?

A figure instantly flashed into Chen Ye's mind.

Just as he was pondering, Lin Hong's voice rang out again, "Here is a letter, Ade. This matter is entrusted to you. Take it with you immediately and leave the capital for the front lines to deliver the letter to Yelü Khan on the grasslands."

"Yes, Master!" A deep, steady male voice came from inside the room.

"Don't worry, I made contact with Yelü Khan's brother through trade routes two years ago. They won't make things difficult for you since you're from the Lin family."

These words sent a chill down the spines of not only the Lin family members in the study, but also Chen Ye on the roof.

Lin Hong is quite the schemer, with such deep cunning!
They had actually started planning as early as two years ago, preparing an escape route for themselves.

With such powerful families corrupting the foundation of the nation in the imperial court, how could the Great Zhao dynasty not perish?
However, none of this mattered to Chen Ye. A dynasty like the Great Zhao Dynasty was no longer worth missing once it was gone.

What interested him was the letter Lin Hong had given to his subordinate named Ade. Chen Ye continued to wait, lying on the roof ridge. After a moment, he saw a burly man walk quickly out of the house and then leave in a hurry.

Chen Ye moved swiftly and then silently followed.

Ade rode straight to the city gate. It was late at night, and the city gate had already been closed because the emperor had previously ordered martial law.

The Lin family has been operating in the capital for a century, and their influence has long since permeated every aspect of life.

Instead of going through the main gate, Ade went around to a relatively secluded spot under the city wall. There, a general guarding the city had been waiting for some time.

After a brief handover, the officer waved his hand, and several guards immediately stepped forward, quietly opened a corner of the city gate, and let Ade out.

Once outside the city, Ade spurred his horse on, and the steed galloped off into the northern wilderness.

Shortly after this man left the city, Chen Ye jumped down from the city wall and followed closely behind him.

Despite not riding a horse, Chen Ye's speed was by no means slow.

Like a wisp of smoke skimming the ground, it rapidly closed the distance to the steed ahead, hidden by the wild grass and the cover of night.

As the distance drew closer, Chen Ye suddenly raised his hand, and a small knife flew out, turning into a streak of silver light that flashed and disappeared into the night.

A muffled thud.

The man running ahead of him, Ade, froze, a knife tip suddenly protruding from his throat.

Then he fell off his horse, convulsed a few times, and then fell silent.

The horse, having lost its master's control, galloped forward for dozens of meters before slowly coming to a stop, turning back to look at its fallen master with a puzzled gaze.

Just then, Chen Ye's figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

He came to Ade and found that his head was already crushed, and he was obviously dead.

Chen Ye bent down and quickly took out a wax-sealed letter tube from his pocket. After confirming that it was correct, he turned around and ran towards the capital.

Despite the heavy security at the city gates, this posed no obstacle for Chen Ye. After easily entering the city, Chen Ye went straight to the residence of Vice Minister Lu in the north of the city without hesitation.

Meanwhile, in the residence of Vice Minister Lu, Lu Ying, the Minister of Personnel, was sitting blankly in his study.

His son, Lu Jingcheng, did not study today either, but sat gloomily to the side.

After a long silence, Lu Jingcheng couldn't help but say, "Father, the country is now in such a state of decline that the steppe cavalry could arrive at any moment. If the capital falls, it will surely be a catastrophe."

Lu Ying also sighed, "Of course I know that once the city falls, the people will suffer terribly and become slaves to the foreign invaders."

"Among all the officials in the court, hasn't anyone thought of a solution?" Lu Jingcheng couldn't help but press.

“A method?” Lu Ying smiled bitterly. “Today in the court, His Majesty asked each family to donate some silver to be used as military pay. And what was the result? Not a single civil or military official in the entire hall spoke up.”

"In the end, it was only after His Majesty forced them that the Duke of England and his family reluctantly each paid a thousand taels of silver."

"Heh, a thousand taels! You know, these guys probably spend more than that on a single meal!"

Lu Jingcheng fell silent.

He harbored a strong ambition to bring peace to the world, but the more he did so, the more powerless he felt when facing the utterly corrupt Zhao court.

Just as the father and son were speechless, a cold light suddenly shot in from the window and, with a thud, embedded itself firmly in the pillar of the study!

The father and son were so frightened by this sudden turn of events that they trembled and jumped to their feet.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was a throwing knife, the blade still humming, and a letter was tied to the hilt!

(End of this chapter)