Joy of Life: Many Children, Many Blessings; Intercepting Si Lili

Li Chengqian was shocked and slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table.

"What happened?"

He stared intently at the servant kneeling on the ground, his face extremely grim.

The servant swallowed hard and replied in a trembling voice.

"I just received news that the street is awash in blood."

"All of our men were killed in one blow, their deaths were extremely gruesome, and not a single one escaped alive."

Li Chengqian was deeply shocked.

"The third brother is nothing but a good-for-nothing who can't even kill you bunch of idiots?"

The servant kowtowed repeatedly, and bloodstains quickly appeared on his forehead.

"Your Highness, please calm down!"

"My subordinates have investigated and found that some passersby saw a mysterious person wearing a straw hat make a move."

"That person moved with ghostly speed, directly displaying the terrifying pressure of a Grandmaster!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The teapot beside him was shaken off and shattered on the ground.

"How is that possible!"

"The number of grandmasters in this world is very small, and each one is a national treasure."

"How could the third brother possibly have a Grandmaster as a bodyguard?"

He paced back and forth in the main hall, completely baffled.

Even the royal family of the Qing Kingdom would find it extremely difficult to persuade such an unparalleled expert to come.

How could the Third Prince, who always hides his true abilities, possibly get a Grandmaster to serve him?

The more Li Chengqian thought about it, the more terrified he became.

Could it be that tonight was just a coincidence, and some grandmaster happened to be passing by and rescued the person?

If that's the case, then the third brother's luck is simply too good.

But if a grandmaster really does join forces with the third brother, then the situation in the capital will change drastically.

His position as crown prince would likely be under great threat.

The sheer power of such an unparalleled expert is enough to shatter the balance of the entire imperial court.

……

Not long after.

The news broke that the Third Prince Li Chengye and Fan Ruoruo had encountered assassins on the street.

It quickly spread throughout the entire capital.

Various factions were secretly plotting and sending out spies to find out the details behind it all.

Inside the Second Prince's residence.

Li Chengze leaned lazily against the cushioned couch.

Holding a crystal-clear grape in his hand, he slowly and deliberately put it into his mouth.

After listening to his subordinate's detailed report, Li Chengze couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It's obvious without even guessing that this was definitely Crown Prince Qian's doing.

"My elder brother, the Crown Prince, is truly an impatient fool."

The guards beside him lowered their heads and listened quietly to their master's instructions.

Li Chengze shook his head and casually tossed the grape skins into the silver plate beside him.

"Having just lost face at the poetry gathering, the third brother immediately sent men to assassinate him in the street."

"The methods used are far too despicable; it's as if he's afraid others won't know that he did it."

In his view, the Crown Prince's actions were utterly foolish.

Not only did they fail to kill their target, they also made a huge fuss about the incident, giving others ammunition to criticize them.

But this is for the best.

Since the Crown Prince has completely offended the Third Prince, he has inadvertently given himself an excellent opportunity to win people over.

After all, the third brother's performance at the poetry gathering today was truly remarkable.

That poem, "Ascending the Heights," is enough to impress all the scholars in the world.

If he could bring the third son under his command, it would definitely be a great help in his struggle for the throne.

Thinking of this, Li Chengze sat up from the bed and carefully straightened his luxurious robes.

"Since the third brother has suffered such a great fright, it is only right for me, as the second brother, to personally visit him and see what's wrong."

With a smile in his eyes, he strode towards the outside of the mansion.

"Prepare the carriage. I'm going to the Qi Prince's residence myself to properly appease my third brother."

The backyard of the Fan residence was brightly lit.

Fan Jian strode in from outside, covered in sweat, without even having had time to change out of his court robes.

He had just received a secret report from his subordinates that the Third Prince and his daughter had been assassinated on the street.

Upon hearing this news, Fan Jian broke out in a cold sweat and rushed straight to Fan Ruoruo's boudoir.

Fan Ruoruo had just changed out of her slightly dusty clothes and hadn't even sat down properly when the door was pushed open.

"Ruoruo, is the Third Prince alright?"

Fan Jian looked anxious and blurted out this sentence.

Fan Ruoruo looked at her own father with a speechless expression.

"Father, I am your biological daughter."

"You came in without even glancing at me, and immediately started showing concern for His Highness. Anyone who didn't know better would think His Highness was your own son."

She couldn't understand why her father would care so much about this usually unassuming third prince.

Fan Jian looked slightly embarrassed and coughed to cover up his embarrassment.

"You're standing right here, aren't you? As your father, I can see you're not hurt."

"Don't interrupt, quickly tell Father, is His Highness Prince Qi injured?"

Fan Ruoruo sighed, her mind flashing back to Li Chengye's godlike figure as he slaughtered his way through the streets.

That domineering aura and sharp sword finger still make her heart race.

But since Your Highness has been holding back, you must have your own plans.

She immediately suppressed the admiration in her eyes and shook her head.

"Your Highness is alright, we didn't even get a scratch."

Fan Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, he frowned, his eyes filled with deep doubt.

"Those were more than a dozen highly skilled assassins. How did you manage to escape with just those ordinary guards around His Highness?"

Fan Ruoruo remained expressionless and directly shifted the blame to someone else.

"A mysterious person wearing a straw hat suddenly appeared on the street."

"That person didn't even show his face; he just made a few moves and killed all those assassins."

"His Highness and I were terrified. By the time we came to our senses, the person had vanished without a trace."

Fan Jian was stunned after hearing this.

A mysterious person wearing a straw hat?

To be able to kill more than a dozen well-trained assassins in an instant, such skill is by no means ordinary.

Who exactly is protecting His Highness in secret?

Could it be someone sent by Chen Pingping?

Fan Jian paced back and forth in the lobby, completely baffled.

……

Deep within the palace, in the imperial study.

Emperor Qing, dressed in a loose-fitting casual robe, leaned against a soft couch, toying with a specially made armor-piercing arrow in his hand.

The eunuch bowed deeply, barely daring to breathe, and carefully recounted the events of the evening.

"The third brother was assassinated?"

"What happened?"

"..."

Emperor Qing stopped what he was doing, a perfectly measured look of concern appearing in his eyes.

"Is he injured?"

Grandpa Hou responded quickly.

"Your Majesty, Prince Qi is safe and sound. He was just a little frightened and has already returned to his residence to rest."

Emperor Qing nodded slightly, not in a hurry to get angry, and casually asked about the cause of the matter.

"What exactly happened?"

Eunuch Hou dared not conceal anything and recounted everything that had happened at the poetry gathering.

He recounted everything, from Li Chengye slapping Guo Baokun away to reciting the poem "Ascending the Heights" in public.