Zhu Ci stared at the paper for a long time before finally putting it away along with the land deeds, acting as if nothing had happened while continuing to admire the scenery outside the window, though his mind was racing.
Clearly, the Empress also knew very well that Zhu Ci's current situation was not safe; even though he seemed to be deeply loved, in reality, he had been walking a tightrope all along.
Zhu Yousong could not bear to see anyone else in the position of Crown Prince, because his own throne was unstable. He knew he was absurd, he was even more worried that if the Crown Prince were excellent, he would be supported by those ministers.
If it weren't for the fact that deposing two successive Crown Princes had caused dissatisfaction among the court officials, Zhu Yousong wouldn't have dared to act so recklessly; he feared he would have died suddenly in the Eastern Palace long ago.
The Empress noticed this and prepared some things for her son to take with him when he left, but it seemed this was all she could do; the rest would have to be left to her son's own efforts.
This made Zhu Ci feel very strange.
The Empress seemed to care about the Crown Prince, yet at the same time, she didn't seem to care at all.
Handing over the deeds to the farmland and properties was merely providing a way out, allowing her son to live on under an assumed name, but the real difficulty lay in how to leave safely—a point she seemed to have not considered at all.
The feeling it gives people is that I have given you a choice, you'll have to figure out the rest for yourself.
There was maternal love, but not much.
Zhu Ci did not dwell on this matter too much; instead, he felt very grateful to the Empress, as this gave him another layer of cover, he even had draft notes, so he didn't have to worry about starving to death.
As for the property deeds used for his previous disguise.. he would set them aside for now; he wouldn't be going there in the short term, especially not to Songjiang Prefecture. He had no other virtues, except for being one who listened to advice.
Since the Empress told him not to go, then he wouldn't go. The world is vast; it's not as if Songjiang Prefecture is the only place.
Moreover, once the Qing army marches south, let alone Songjiang Prefecture, there will be no safe place in the entire land of Shenzhou.
You have to realize that the so-called Third Prince Zhu in history lived in seclusion until he was over seventy, even after his identity was accidentally discovered, he was still killed, his entire family was not spared.
Hiding one's identity is not necessarily useful; building up one's strength is the fundamental key.
Zhu Ci pretended to be flipping through a book while contemplating what could be exploited about Xi Hua's identity, when he suddenly heard two short cries, followed immediately by two men in black lunging into the tent.
Fu Chunsheng, who was attending him, suddenly cried out in alarm, "Assassins! There are assassins! Someone, help!"
Author's Note:
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Zhu Ci: Is it that urgent? Who is it? Someone has leaked the news! *Cat-cat grips the hilt of the blade at his waist and looks around warily. jpg*
Next update tomorrow at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 18
While the Fu siblings were in a state of panic, Zhu Ci could still see out of the corner of his eye that the two of them were exceptionally skilled at dodging.
It was located in a position that was perfectly concealed yet could cover the entire tent.
However, at this moment, he didn't have enough energy to focus on them. The moment the men in black appeared, he did not choose to dodge; instead, he stood up with great decisiveness, flipped over the writing desk in front of him, charged forward, using the desk as a shield.
The assassin clearly hadn't expected his reaction to be so fast; caught off guard, the two of them immediately dodged, but since the desk was very long, they were still bumped even after moving aside.
One of the assassins reacted quickly as well; seeing that the table only blocked the upper half of Zhu Ci's body, he immediately crouched down, attempting to slash at Zhu Ci's feet while dodging.
However, although Zhu Ci charged fiercely, he had no real intention of relying on the table to knock the assassin away.
It was mainly due to a lack of strength; the fact that he could even lift this writing desk was already the result of his recent training.
The foundation of this body was truly a bit poor; two months of time was not enough to make his physical constitution improve by leaps and bounds.
Of course, the main reason was that he also did not feel secure leaving his back to the Fu siblings.
Zhu Ci stopped after colliding with the two people, smashing the table directly onto the ground, forcing the assassin who was attempting a low sneak attack to dodge.
However, he was ultimately a step too slow. The Willow-leaf blade he thrust out with both hands was pinned beneath the table. Just as he was about to pull it out, Zhu Ci stepped firmly onto one of the Willow-leaf blades.
At the same time, he crouched down to evade the other person's Willow-leaf blade, pulled out a dagger with his right hand, twisted his body in an incredibly inconceivable movement to stab the standing assassin in the spleen.
The spleen is one of the vital organs of the human body; once injured, it causes not only intense pain but also massive hemorrhaging, leading to shock or even death.
After stabbing the opponent's spleen, Zhu Ci decisively twisted the dagger in his hand.
After feeling the intense pain, the assassin looked down at Zhu Ci in disbelief. Upon meeting his cold and murderous gaze, he couldn't help but fall into a daze.
This was not what they had planned before.
However, after confirming that he was injured, Zhu Ci shifted his attention to the other assassin, directly drawing his dagger and flipping over the table to thrust it toward the other assassin's right wrist.
Left with no other choice, the assassin could only abandon his Willow-leaf blade, which Zhu Ci naturally picked up immediately.
Right at that moment, Fu Qiulu suddenly shouted, "Your Highness, watch out!"
After shouting, Fu Qiulu rushed straight over.
Although Zhu Ci was fighting these two assassins, he actually kept a part of his mind focused on the Fu siblings, ensuring that no matter what his movements were, the Fu siblings remained within his peripheral vision.
Therefore, he immediately noticed Fu Qiulu rushing forward, he directly gave up the chance to press his advantage, twisting his body to dodge her path.
And at that moment, the injured assassin desperately lunged with a knife, aiming it straight at the charging Fu Qiulu.
“Little Sister!” Fu Chunsheng immediately rushed forward as well and collided with Fu Qiulu, forcing her to dodge the vital spot, leaving her with only a wound on her left arm.
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes slightly as he retreated.
In that brief moment, the assassin's Willow-leaf blade paused slightly; otherwise, even if Fu Chunsheng had rushed over, that Willow-leaf blade would have inevitably pierced Fu Qiulu's shoulder.
At this moment, the sound of footsteps outside the tent grew louder and louder, Zhu Ci no longer took the risk of confronting the assassin.
However, it was obvious that the uninjured assassin also knew the situation was unfavorable for them, so he bypassed the Fu siblings and headed straight for Zhu Ci.
There was only one assassin, since Zhu Ci only needed to dodge, it would be much easier.
The Jinyi Guard finally arrived, albeit late.
Shen Fangxin, a Thousand-man Commander of the Jinyi Guard, rushed in with his subordinates, shouting, "Protect the Crown Prince!"
After entering the camp, the Jinyi Guard quickly subdued the two assassins.
However, Shen Fangxin felt a chill run through him.
At this moment, the Crown Prince's hair was slightly disheveled, his fair face was dotted with small spots of dark red blood. He held a Willow-leaf blade in one hand and a dagger in the other, with blood even dripping from the dagger.
He stood there so calmly, his expressionless face and tranquil gaze feeling more terrifying than someone panicking, screaming, or even raging in fury.
Shen Fangxin steeled himself as he walked over, cupping his hands in greeting, said, "This general arrived too late to provide protection; I ask for His Highness's punishment."
Zhu Ci's tone was also very calm as he said only one word: "Investigate."
Shen Fangxin lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
Zhu Ci paid him no further attention, instead looked at the hurriedly approaching Ge Xudong and asked, "Where have you been?"
Ge Xudong knelt on the ground with a pale face and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, the food and drink of the eunuchs and my subordinates were tampered with today. As soon as night fell, they suffered from incessant abdominal pain. I failed to protect Your Highness, I deserve death."
Zhu Ci looked thoughtful. "All the eunuchs' food was tampered with?"
Ge Xudong was no fool; he immediately said, "Your Highness, there must be a traitor working within the mission!"
Zhu Ci looked at Shen Fangxin and asked, "Did you hear that? Do you know how to investigate it now?"
Sweat was about to drip from Shen Fangxin's forehead as he gritted his teeth and said, "This general understands."
Zhu Ci waved his hand and said, "Go. I do not care how you investigate; I only want the results."
After Shen Fangxin led his men away, Zhu Ci glanced at Ge Xudong and said nonchalantly, "Find someone to clean this place up, then call an Imperial Physician to treat her injuries, while you're at it, prescribe a few doses of anti-diarrheal medicine for you all as well."
Ge Xudong had originally prepared himself for punishment, but he hadn't expected the Crown Prince to brush it off so casually. He looked up at Zhu Ci, feeling somewhat incredulous.
Zhu Ci met his gaze and asked, "What is it? Do you have more questions?"
Ge Xudong immediately lowered his head and said, "This Eunuch will go and handle it at once. I beg Your Highness to go to my tent to rest for the time being."
Zhu Ci naturally would not object; his own camp was already a total mess, there was no way for the servants to tidy up anywhere else.
Once inside Ge Xudong's tent, Ge Xudong immediately ordered his young eunuchs to attend to various tasks, while he himself stayed closely by Zhu Ci's side, attending to his washing and refusing to leave for even a moment.
Zhu Ci's mind raced as he cleaned the blood splatters from his face and changed his clothes.
Only at this moment did he have the leisure to speculate about the purpose of this assassination attempt and the mastermind behind it.
First, the Emperor, Gao Hongtu, Ma Shiying must be ruled out.
For the Emperor, simply killing him was not cost-effective; the most efficient way would be to wait until Zhu Ci was with him and then eliminate both the Crown Prince and him at once to ensure safety.
Even if we take it to the extreme, Zhu Yousong indeed did not like having anyone in the Crown Prince's position, even if it was his own son.
But compared to Zhu Ci, he was far less of a threat to him.
After all, Zhu Ci was the legitimate heir. If Zhu Yousong did not want to abdicate, he would have to recognize Zhu Ci's status as Crown Prince and promise to let Zhu Ci ascend the throne in the future.
Even so, the Donglin Party might not necessarily agree. Even if Zhu Ci is only one year older than Zhu Yousong, he is no longer young; furthermore, Zhu Ci underwent his capping ceremony when he was ten years old. Regardless of how old he is now, legally speaking, he is already an adult.
As for Gao Hongtu, he was even more eager; he hoped to confirm Zhu Ci's identity as quickly as possible so that a legitimate Crown Prince could be enthroned, allowing the Donglin Party to regain their influence and continue to control the imperial court.
As for Ma Shiying.. although this man's attitude was contradictory, he had no reason to kill Zhu Ci.
In other words, as far as Gao Hongtu and Ma Shiying are concerned, he, as the Crown Prince, carried little weight.
Then, who could it be?
These two assassins might even know the Fu siblings; just how many layers of identity do the Fu siblings actually possess?
Zhu Ci had originally intended to wait for the investigation results, but he didn't expect that after Shen Fangxin took the assassins away, a report would be sent stating that the two assassins had no tongues.
Zhu Ci..
These are death soldiers; they cannot speak and most likely cannot read, so you can't ask them anything.
Zhu Ci looked at the Jinyi Guard kneeling below and said nonchalantly, "The Jinyi Guard's methods shouldn't be limited to this, right? Send orders to everyone to stay here for a few days. Ge Xudong, get the original title; I wish to submit a memorial to my Imperial Father."
The Jinyi Guard bowed deeply and withdrew, delivering the news to Shen Fangxin.
Having heard the news while having someone investigate the assassin's identity in detail, Shen Fangxin let out a long sigh of relief and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent. You all must do your utmost!"
Under normal circumstances, regardless of who the mastermind was, a group of people would have to die because the Crown Prince was assassinated; not a single one of the eunuchs or Jinyi Guards on duty would have escaped.
Since Zhu Ci has not spoken yet, their lives are temporarily spared.
Even if the assassins cannot speak, it does not mean that nothing can be found on them.
Moreover, when the assassination occurred, there was unexpectedly no one guarding the outside of His Highness the Crown Prince's camp, creating a brief lapse in security. How this lapse occurred and who arranged it can surely be uncovered by following the clues.
Actually, Shen Fangxin wanted to interrogate Ge Xudong, but seeing that Ge Xudong had been staying by the Crown Prince's side, he hesitated for a moment before going directly to the Crown Prince and saying, "Your Highness, this general has questions for Manager Ge."