Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 41 Ambush at Shiqiao
The long street was completely silent.

The once bustling market was now deserted, and the cold wind, carrying snowflakes, felt like knives cutting into people's faces.

In this kind of weather, poor people huddled at home, using their body heat to fight off the cold, praying that they could get through the winter.

Unlike the deathly silence outside, a grand honor guard was slowly making its way through the snow.

The bright yellow dragon flag fluttered in the wind and snow, and the Imperial Guards, clad in heavy armor, stood guard on both sides of the extremely magnificent imperial carriage, their imposing presence commanding respect.

Chen Ye sat upright inside the imperial carriage, gazing indifferently at the snow scene outside through the thick glass windows.

The journey from the palace to the Temple of Heaven is not far. After crossing this long street and then a stone bridge called Changning, you will arrive.

As the grand procession stepped onto the bridge, a sudden change occurred!
"Whoosh whoosh!"

Dozens of sharp, piercing sounds suddenly rang out as the ice beneath the bridge was violently broken, and dozens of assassins dressed in white leaped out of the icy river.

Using the bridge piers as cover, they wielded powerful crossbows, pulled the triggers, and countless poisoned bolts rained down on the imperial carriage like locusts.

"Escort!"

The Imperial Guards on the perimeter roared and raised their shields.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The crossbow bolts struck the thick, specially designed walls of the imperial carriage, leaving only white dots; they failed to penetrate at all.

When their first attack failed, the white-clad assassins, fearless of death, leaped up from under the bridge, their long swords gleaming with a chilling light, and frantically pounced on the imperial carriage.

The few assassins at the front moved with incredible speed, breaking through the hastily formed defense line of the Imperial Guards and rushing straight towards the gate of the imperial carriage.

One of them had a sinister grin on his face, and he raised his long knife high, about to cleave open the car door.

But at that moment, a cold glint flashed out from the gap in the carriage curtain.

puff!
The assassin's sinister grin froze on his face, a throwing knife no more than three inches long appeared between his eyebrows, and then he fell straight backward, his warm blood splattering on the snow, particularly glaring.

Immediately afterwards, several more streaks of cold light flew out, each one precisely taking a life.

The assassins who rushed forward didn't even see who was inside the car before they followed in their companion's footsteps and fell into a pool of blood.

This bizarre scene caused the subsequent attacks of the assassins to falter.

In that split second, a large number of Imperial Guards appeared on the street in the distance and arrived at an extremely fast speed, quickly encircling the stone bridge and turning the group of white-clad assassins into dumplings.

The group of white-clad assassins were clearly caught off guard by the ambush and were thrown into chaos.

Although they were all skilled fighters, they had no chance of winning against the Imperial Guards, who outnumbered them several times over, were well-equipped, and were well-prepared.

The battle was almost entirely a one-sided massacre.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the shouts of killing had subsided, and the bridge was littered with corpses lying haphazardly, the crimson blood staining the snow on the bridge a shocking dark red.

Tong Lei strode to the imperial carriage, knelt on one knee, and said in a booming voice, "Your Majesty, all the traitors have been executed!"

The carriage curtain was lifted by a slender hand, and Chen Ye slowly stepped out. He stood on the carriage, looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, and said calmly, "Search!"

"Yes!"

The Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and began searching the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

Soon, an officer came running to report: "Your Majesty, we have found the waist badges of the Cui and Wang families on these traitors!"

As he spoke, he presented several wooden waist tokens stained with blood with both hands.

These words caused an uproar among all the soldiers present.

The Cui family? The Wang family?
These two powerful and influential clans dared to assassinate the emperor?!

Of course, all of this so-called evidence was prepared in advance by Chen Ye's men and then found by Tong Lei's confidants.

Regardless of whether these white-clad assassins were sent by the Cui and Wang families, the blame must be placed on them.

After all, what Chen Ye wanted was a legitimate reason; nothing else mattered. He glanced at the waist token after taking it, then threw it on the ground, his tone chilling.

"Cui Lang and Wang Yuanzhi plotted to assassinate the emperor and commit treason, their crimes are equivalent to betrayal of the country!"

"I hereby declare that the Cui and Wang families are both traitors and rebels!"

"Tong Lei, listen to my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Tong Lei replied loudly.

"I hereby order you to immediately lead the Imperial Guards to raid the residences of the two traitors, Cui and Wang. Anyone who resists within their residences shall be killed without exception!"

"General, I obey your order!"

At a single command, thousands of Imperial Guards swiftly split into two groups, charging menacingly towards the residences of the Cui and Wang families.

Meanwhile, inside the Cui residence.

Cui Lang and Wang Yuanzhi were waiting for good news from the front.

In their view, the plan was flawless.

With hundreds of trained assassins trained since childhood, plus a surprise ambush, how could that young brat possibly survive?

"Hehe, once the news comes, we can say that His Majesty was killed by refugees and rioters. Then we can support a new, obedient ruler to ascend the throne, and the world of Da Zhao will be ours for the taking." Wang Yuanzhi held his teacup, his face full of undisguised smugness.

Cui Lang stroked his beard and smiled, about to speak.

Suddenly, deafening shouts of battle erupted outside!
The two of them changed their expressions at the same time.

"what happened?"

A steward stumbled in, his face filled with terror: "Master, it's terrible! The Imperial Guards... the Imperial Guards have attacked! They've surrounded our manor!"

what? !

Cui Lang and Wang Yuanzhi were struck dumb, and the teacups in their hands fell to the ground with a crash, shattering into pieces.

Royal Guards?
How could they have arrived so quickly? Could it be that the plan was exposed ahead of schedule?

But how is this possible?

Before they could figure out the key to it, a loud crash came from the direction of the mansion gate, accompanied by the screams of countless servants.

One after another, cold arrows flew over the high walls, mercilessly piercing through the servants and guards who were trying to put up a last-ditch resistance.

With just one volley of arrows, the Cui family's resistance was completely shattered.

Boom!

After the heavy gates of the mansion were forcefully smashed open, the Imperial Guards soldiers, clad in heavy armor, rushed in like wolves and tigers.

"It's over...it's all over..."

Wang Yuanzhi's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Cui Lang, being more experienced, grabbed Wang Yuanzhi and said sternly, "What's the panic? As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Let's go out through the secret passage."

The two of them ran towards the back of the house in a panic.

But just as they reached the entrance to the inner courtyard, a squad of elite, menacing soldiers arrived from behind.

The leader was none other than Tong Lei, the commander of the Imperial Guards.

He had received instructions from Chen Ye beforehand, knowing that to capture the thief, one must first capture the leader. Therefore, as soon as the gate of the mansion was breached, he immediately rushed towards the inner courtyard.

"Lord Cui, Lord Wang, where are you headed?"

With a cold, mocking expression, Tong Lei slowly drew the sword from his waist. "His Majesty has decreed that I invite you two... to the Imperial Prison for a cup of tea."

(End of this chapter)