My father, Gao Huan, is an invincible prince!

Chapter 46 Slaughtering the hopes of the Gao family and establishing the prestige of the Gao clan!

The three remained silent for a long time, feeling a myriad of thoughts churning within them.

After a moment of careful consideration, he finally exhaled a breath of stale air.

Immediately, Duan Shao looked up at Gao Cheng first, and said in a complicated tone, "Your Highness has great foresight, and I have learned a great deal."

Hulü Guang then clasped his hands in respect, sincerely admiring him: "This humble general has also learned much from your teachings."

Seeing the two of them like this, Gao Yang pursed his lips, then composed himself and cupped his hands, saying, "Brother, I cannot match your magnanimity."

Seeing the three of them like this, Gao Cheng remained calm and composed, simply nodding slightly: "Now that you all understand, do you still have any doubts?"

Upon hearing this, the three remained silent for a moment before shaking their heads in unison.

Immediately, Duan Shao took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and asked, "Your Highness just mentioned giving the aristocratic families a warning. In your opinion, how should they be warned?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang and Hulü Guang both perked up their ears, eagerly awaiting Gao Cheng's explanation.

Gao Cheng smiled slightly, beckoned to the three of them, and gestured for them to come closer.

The three exchanged a glance and quickly stepped forward.

Upon seeing this, Gao Cheng didn't keep them in suspense any longer and immediately lowered his voice, whispering a few words in their ears.

Upon hearing this, the three of them widened their eyes in shock, their faces filled with horror, as if they had heard something utterly unbelievable.

After a long while, Fang Qiqi swallowed hard, feeling a deep sense of fear.

Seeing the three of them like this, Gao Cheng said nothing more, only smiling and asking, "Is it still urgent?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them quickly shook their heads, like rattles.

Before he could express his stance, Hulü Guang asked in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, do you truly intend to do this? The Zheng family of Xingyang is a powerful clan that has been established for generations. If they are suddenly executed, it may cause an uproar throughout the land."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang and Hulü Guang nodded in alarm.

Upon hearing this, Gao Cheng merely sneered, "What is there to fear? Ever since Erzhu Rong massacred more than two thousand nobles and members of the imperial family in Heyin, those aristocratic families have long been spineless dogs and cowards."

"The power of the Gao family today surpasses that of the Zhu family. If we do not eliminate the prestige of this clan, will they truly believe that the Gao family is easy to bully?"

"Moreover, the Zheng family of Xingyang instigated a popular uprising, which is tantamount to treason. I have only executed the ringleader, which is already an act of benevolence beyond the law."

Upon hearing this, the three wanted to speak again.

Gao Cheng seemed to understand the three men's meaning and continued, "My mind is made up, gentlemen, there is no need for further discussion."

The three looked at each other, and in the end, they did not dare to offer any further advice.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded to indicate that he understood.

Seeing this, Gao Cheng said nothing more and immediately said, "Now that it is clear, you may leave. Tomorrow I will go to the palace to meet the Emperor. You may all go about your business."

The three exchanged glances for a moment, then finally bowed in unison and replied, "Yes!"

He then turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, before he could even step out the door, he suddenly heard Wang Hong's anxious voice from outside the courtyard: "Your Highness, be careful! There's an assassin!"

The moment these words were spoken, the expressions of the three people who were about to leave changed drastically.

Gao Cheng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Before the three could speak, another "clang" was heard from the courtyard, the sound of a sword being drawn, sharp and piercing, breaking the silence of the night.

Immediately afterwards, shouts of battle rose and fell, the sounds of clashing weapons and heavy objects falling to the ground were incessant.

"My three gentlemen, protect the young master!"

A moment later, Liu Taozhi's cold, hard voice came from outside the door, carrying a chilling aura.

Gao Yang was the first to come to his senses. He rushed to the door and grabbed a table to block it from behind.

Upon seeing this, Hulü Guang and Duan Shao hurriedly searched for something to block the doors and windows.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, it was too late. Before the people could block the windows, several wooden windows had already been violently broken open.

Looking through the broken window, everyone saw dozens of men in black wielding sharp blades fighting with Liu Taozhi's guards in the courtyard.

Beneath the bright lights, all that could be seen was the glint of swords and the clash of spears.

In the blink of an eye, three more men in black broke through the guards' defenses and leaped into the study through the cracked window.

Gao Yang's expression changed, and he subconsciously reached for his sword to meet the attack, but he forgot that he didn't have a sword at his waist. He could only instinctively raise his hand to block.

At the critical moment, Hulü Guang rushed forward, shoved Gao Yang aside, and drew the sword hanging on the wall, slashing at the three men.

With a flash of light, the first man in black was cut down before he could react.

Upon seeing this, the other two men's expressions changed drastically, and they turned to flee.

But Hulü Guang was not about to let them go. He immediately pounced on them and with two more slashes, cut them both down.

At that moment, Duan Shao, who was standing nearby, saw the three men being killed, and he also jumped out of the window with his knife and joined the battle.

"Second Brother, protect the young master, I'll be right back!"

After cutting down the three men, Hulü Guang made sure to give Erlang some instructions before leaping out after him.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yangfang hurriedly stood up and moved to Gao Cheng's side with a wary expression.

Gao Cheng alone, even when he was in danger, did not move an inch throughout the entire process, only watching the fighting outside the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, with the addition of two fierce generals, Duan Shao and Hulü Guang, the fighting in the courtyard gradually subsided.

After the last man in black was cut down by Liu Taozhi, the night returned to silence, with only the strong smell of blood lingering in the air.

Inside the study, Gao Cheng saw through the window that the fighting had ended before slowly getting up and stepping out of the study. He then looked at the corpses scattered on the ground and frowned slightly.

Upon seeing Gao Cheng leave, Liu Taozhi immediately sheathed her sword, knelt on one knee, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, there were twenty-eight assassins in total, and all of them have been killed. Three guards died and eleven were wounded."

Upon hearing this, Gao Cheng nodded and was about to speak when he heard a hiss behind him.

Looking back, one could see Gao Yang clutching his left arm, with bright red blood seeping through his fingers.

"Are you injured?"

Gao Cheng frowned and strode over.

Gao Yang grinned and said nonchalantly, "It's just a minor ear injury, nothing serious."

Gao Cheng was too lazy to waste words with him. He ripped open the man's sleeve and saw a three-inch-long wound on the man's left arm. The flesh was now torn open and blood was flowing freely.

It was precisely when he was facing the assassin empty-handed that he was cut by a sharp blade.

While not fatal, it was not a minor ailment either.

Gao Cheng frowned slightly and immediately turned to Liu Taozhi, saying, "Taozhi, immediately summon the physician of the manor to examine and treat the Second Master and the other servants."

"only!"

Wang Hong was also injured, but upon hearing this, he quickly accepted the order and left.

After Gao Cheng saw him walk away, he squatted down and carefully examined the corpse on the ground. Duan Shao and Huli Guang saw this and hurriedly went forward to examine it together with Gao Cheng.

However, even after searching the assassin's body thoroughly, the three men found nothing to identify him. Upon discovering that he had no tongue, they realized he was a trusted assassin, and Gao Cheng's brows furrowed even more deeply.

But just as he was about to give up, Wang Hong suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, there's a clue!"

Gao Cheng turned around at the sound, only to see Liu Taozhi prying a pair of boots with cloud patterns off the corpse of one of the assassins.

Gao Cheng took the body and examined it for a few moments. He then squatted down and continued searching among the other corpses. Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed suit.

As expected, the group found the same cloud pattern on several more corpses during their search.

Although no one knows its origin, at least we have a direction and are not completely clueless.

After all the clues had been searched, Gao Cheng's brow furrowed even more.

But seeing that the physician had arrived and that people were eager to be comforted, they ultimately did not want to waste their energy on him.

He handed all the clues to Wang Hong and solemnly instructed him, "Use all your undercover agents to investigate the origin of this cloud pattern. I need the results before dawn."