gnovel Chapter 11: A Beautiful Woman's Arrival, Mysteries of the Great Qian Dynasty, Assassination Att
Chapter 11: A Beautiful Woman's Arrival, Mysteries of the Great Qian Dynasty, Assassination Att
Upstairs in the Dream Pavilion, a beautiful woman's lips curved slightly as her slender, jade-like fingers plucked the strings of her zither, producing melodious tunes. The music shifted dramatically: sometimes bright and cheerful, like the laughter of a girl next door; sometimes delicate and lingering, as if expressing the deep longing of a lover for her wandering lover; and sometimes desolate and forlorn, like an aging mistress recounting the sorrows of her past years. When the music ended, everyone in the room was deeply moved.
"Thank you all for coming today, gentlemen. I am very grateful." A figure in green robes walked gracefully out from the tent. She had no makeup but her face was beautiful. She was tall and voluptuous, with a calm and aloof gaze and a melodious voice. Her graceful bow evoked a thousand feelings of pity in people.
"I have lived a life of hardship and witnessed all the charades of this world. After wandering for half my life, all I want is to return to my roots, to go back to the Han land, to find a kindred spirit, and to spend my leisure time reading and writing, living out my remaining years in peace." Her soft voice was already tinged with sobs.
The commotion downstairs erupted again. Some people sympathized, some felt sorry, some mocked, and some pretended to be disdainful, but everyone's eyes were filled with greed.
"Miss Tiwan, I am the nephew of Consort Zhou. I am willing to expel all my concubines and spend my life with you." Under the scornful gazes of the crowd, the young man with his arms in slings said nonchalantly.
This nephew of Consort Zhou had spoken rudely to Liu Xiao in the street some time ago, and that very night he was beaten half to death with a sack over his head. Now he comes here wounded, and his lustful desires are truly admirable.
"Please be patient, gentlemen. I have 32 tickets here. You can try to impress Miss Tiwan with your talents, or... the highest bidder wins." Madam Qin's face was plastered with a greedy smile.
Liu Xiao: Damn it!
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The Great Qian Dynasty, the Imperial Palace.
With a crash, the imperial desk was violently overturned to the ground, and a small mountain of memorials and documents fluttered and tumbled forward, spreading across the magnificent hall. Emperor Qian, still enraged, threw everything he could at the Crown Prince.
If Liu Qi, the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, was a cunning and ruthless viper who would always lie in wait for an opportunity when he encountered someone in power, then Huangfu Tiancheng, the crown prince of the Qian Dynasty, was a simple-minded yet stubborn calf who, once he set his mind on something, would push forward relentlessly even into a dead end, and not even nine oxen could pull him back.
"Fool! Useless! Unfilial son! You killed members of a noble family for the sake of a few cronies you made in the martial world. Who instigated you? And who gave you the audacity?" Emperor Qian had worked diligently for thirty years, only to be met with such an unfilial son at the end. How could he not be angry?
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong. The Lu family's纨绔 (wan ku, spoiled brats) forcing women into prostitution and oppressing the people is wrong. Brother Sun and the others are doing the right thing by eliminating harm for the people! Father, does this mean that bullying the weak is right? And eliminating harm for the people is considered a sin?" Huangfu Tiancheng, though kneeling on the ground, still stubbornly raised his head to question, even though his head was bleeding.
"Weakness is the original sin. Knights use their martial arts to break the law. The court has its own laws to reward good and punish evil. They saved one or two people and left, but hundreds or thousands of people will die!" Emperor Qian roared in exasperation.
"Your subject disagrees," Huangfu Tiancheng said in a low but firm voice, enunciating each word clearly.
"Get out! Get out of here! Do you believe I'll cripple you today? Du Zhongyou, are you stupid? Throw him out now!" Emperor Qian said angrily.
"Your Highness, I apologize." The towering man scratched his head, strode forward, and lifted Huangfu Tiancheng onto the corridor as if he were a chick.
Emperor Qian, still furious, sat down on the steps, gazing blankly at everything before him.
"What did you find out?" After a long while, Emperor Qian asked softly in the empty hall.
"Lu of Fanyang, Lin of Yubei, Huang of Jingzhao." A figure dressed in a gray robe slowly emerged from the shadows. If any martial arts practitioners were present, they would surely recognize this as Yin Twelve, the young sect leader of the Demon Shadow Sect, which had been destroyed many years ago.
"Who is the mastermind behind this?" Emperor Qian thought to himself, as expected. He took a deep breath and suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his heart.
"Jian Changhong, Gu Cangsheng, or perhaps the one from the grasslands? I can't tell," Yin Shier said in a low voice.
"Back then, you attempted to gather all the demonic sects in the world to establish a demonic cult. You were already courting death. I have no say in your grudges. I just want to cut off their heads one by one and place them in front of her grave." At this moment, Emperor Qian seemed to have lost all his wisdom and composure, and said with a violent and fierce expression. He would never forget that rainy night thirty years ago, and the girl who fell into his arms.
Since then, Emperor Qian has completely changed. He has never smiled again. He has become a cold political machine, using every means to fight for the throne and to reform and strengthen the country. Now, the Qian Dynasty has become the de facto leader of the ten dynasties, and it can still handle three-front wars with ease.
"What does Xie Wuji mean?" Emperor Qian asked again.
"He remains imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison and refuses to come out. If he cannot reach that level, he will die inside for the rest of his life." When mentioning this former Holy Son of the Demonic Sect, Yin Twelve's expression became complicated.
"I have promised the Demon Sound Sect that, regardless of success or failure, I will let them go, and all past events will be wiped clean." Emperor Qian stood up and left, with the towering man Du Zhongyou following closely behind. Only Yin Twelve remained standing there, his expression even more complicated.
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As dusk settles, the candlelight flickers red, the candle flame sways, and the night grows still.
Liu Xiao pushed open the door, causing the candlelight to flicker, followed by the fragrance of incense. After a competition, Liu Xiao recited five poems from his previous life, finally winning first place and, amidst envious and jealous gazes, taking the beauty home.
[Ding! Limited-time mission five, Hidden arrows are hard to guard against. For each God-level talent killed or captured (excluding Charisma), an additional 200 Summoning Points will be awarded; for each Heaven-level talent killed, an additional 30 Summoning Points will be awarded.]
Time limit: one day. The conscientious system has issued another task.
At this moment, Liu Xiao had no time to look at anything else. He was only staring at the beauty in front of him, who was wearing a dark red brocade dress. A white jade hairpin was casually inserted in her loose hair. The red candlelight reflected on her face, which made her look even more shy.
"My husband," the beauty murmured softly, as if she could melt the man's bones.
"My beauty, don't be nervous. Tonight, I will pamper you properly," Liu Xiao said with a lewd grin as he stepped forward and rubbed Ying Ti's small hand.
"But my beauty, how come your hands are so rough after growing up in brothels?" Liu Xiao asked with a grin.
Ying Tiwan's face stiffened, and just as she was about to reply, she heard a soft clatter of tiles from upstairs. "You audacious thief, how dare you cause trouble here!" A loud voice echoed throughout the Prince's residence. Qian Zhenggang had made his move.
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I feel the pacing is a bit slow, and I will adjust it appropriately in the future. Please feel free to offer your feedback and bookmark this page. Thank you in advance.