Chapter 229 Chance to Shine

Chapter 229: An Opportunity to Step Up

"Your Majesty, I only have this one son. Liuzheng was escorting Princess Jiu back to the palace when he was ambushed. No matter what, you must give me an explanation, or else I will come to the palace every day to cause trouble."

Emperor Jingyang knew that Xie Jinrong was difficult to deal with, but he never expected him to be so relentless, even daring to confront him.

Yet he understood in his heart that until the assassin matter was resolved, the capital would remain in a state of unrest.

Not to mention that within less than two days, two waves of assassins had appeared in the capital.

And both groups were targeting his children, which made Emperor Jingyang feel an unprecedented crisis.

He frowned and tried to appease Xie Jinrong, "My good minister, calm your anger. The Heir Xie was injured while saving Princess Jiu, and I will not stand by idly no matter what."

"Be patient and return home for two days. I will order the Ministry of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation and capture the assassins."

Xie Jinrong's face was ashen, and he snorted coldly. He had no faith in the Ministry of Justice's ability to handle it.

"And if after two days, those useless officials of the Ministry of Justice cannot catch the assassins, how will Your Majesty answer to me?"

Emperor Jingyang: "..."

Emperor Jingyang: "!!!"

For the first time, being confronted so directly by his own minister, he almost pounded the table in anger.

True, Xie Liuzheng was injured, but no one had ever dared to demand an explanation of him.

What gave Xie Jinrong the nerve to speak to him this way?

Emperor Jingyang had no desire to go back and forth with him. He said angrily, "If the assassins are not found within two days, I will have the Minister of Justice deliver his head to me."

Hearing this reply, Xie Jinrong was finally satisfied. He turned and strode out of the palace.

Enraged, Emperor Jingyang ordered the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the matter and capture the assassins.

Meanwhile, at the Changle Palace.

"Useless, useless! So many people, and still they couldn't even kill Luo Qingge, and they wounded my Heir Xie! These bastards shouldn't be called the Blood Rain Sect anymore—they should be renamed the Useless Sect!"

Upon learning that Luo Qingge was still alive, Luo Qianxue flew into a rage, smashing things wildly in the Changle Palace while screaming.

Not vented enough, she even took an axe and chopped up the ten ornamental chickens she kept in the courtyard.

Qiu Tong was terrified, kneeling on the ground trembling.

She felt that Luo Qianxue was becoming more and more violent, venting her anger on the chickens in the back courtyard at the slightest annoyance.

At this rate, will she start killing people next?

Qiu Yu, being bolder, stepped forward and snatched the axe from Luo Qianxue's hand, said in a low voice, "Tenth Princess, calm your anger. Don't let the axe cut you."

"Although we didn't harm Luo Qingge this time, at least it let out some of your pent-up anger."

"Moreover, we hired an assassin organization from the underworld. You paid them, and they did the job. Even if they investigate, it won't trace back to you. At most, the Blood Rain Sect will take the heat."

Luo Qianxue's rationality returned a bit. Clenching her fists, she said angrily, "What you said is true, but it's a shame that the fifty thousand taels I spent have gone down the drain."

Yesterday, after Luo Qingge hit Luo Qianxue in the palace, Luo Qianxue decided to get even.

So she hit upon the idea of hiring assassins.

There were many assassin sects in the underworld, and the Blood Rain Sect had remained unshaken for ten years. Luo Qianxue chose them without hesitation.

But their fee was exorbitant—the higher the target's status, the more silver required.

The price for Luo Qingge's life was at least fifty thousand taels.

Luo Qianxue didn't have that much money. After some thought, she found an excuse about illness and got thirty thousand taels from Consort Li, adding twenty thousand of her own to meet the amount.

She had thought Luo Qingge would surely die this time.

But she never expected that Xie Liuzheng would be on that carriage and would sacrifice himself to save Luo Qingge.

And all one hundred assassins of the Blood Rain Sect were wiped out, not a single survivor.

This made Luo Qianxue furious enough to choke. In her anger, she felt a sharp pain in her chest again.

It felt as if she were being pricked by countless needles, causing her great discomfort and turning her face pale.

Qiu Shui was extremely worried and quickly came to support her.

"Princess, the lady physician said you must not get angry. Getting angry will worsen your condition. Let me help you back to your room to rest."

Luo Qianxue did not argue and allowed Qiu Shui to help her back to her room.

When Ji Yuntang heard about the assassination attempts on Xie Liuzheng and Luo Qingge, she became extremely worried.

Upon learning that both had come through unscathed, she let out a sigh of relief.

She called for Xuan Bing, gave him some healing ointment, and asked him to deliver it to Xie Liuzheng.

"Go to the Duke Rong's residence and give these ointments to Meng Fan. Tell Heir Xie to apply them to his wounds every day. In a few days, he'll be hopping and jumping without a single scar."

"Yes, Princess," Xuan Bing replied, taking the ointment from Ji Yuntang and leaving.

In two days, the Ministry of Justice indeed turned up some leads.

The assassins were strewn dead everywhere. By comparing their clothing, appearance, accessories, and tattoos, they finally identified them as from a notorious assassin organization from the underworld.

It was the Blood Rain Sect, known for stirring up blood and rain wherever they appeared.

Emperor Jingyang was furious. The imperial court and the underworld had always been irreconcilable—the latter refused to submit to the court's authority, and the court could not control them.

He had once sent troops to suppress some bandit dens that committed atrocities, but the result was both sides suffering heavy losses, with the court's soldiers taking heavier losses.

The reason was simple: the bandits chose their strongholds in naturally defensive positions.

It is easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to defend against an arrow in the dark. Against these desperadoes who lived by the blade's edge, even the court reaped little benefit.

And the Blood Rain Sect was even more dangerous and cunning than those bandit dens.

They were professionally trained assassins who made a living by taking lives—as long as someone paid, they would take the job.

Emperor Jingyang had thought that as long as these underworld sects stayed out of the capital and didn't provoke him, he could turn a blind eye.

But now, with assassins appearing in the capital for two consecutive days and targeting Luo Feizhou and Luo Qingge.

This made Emperor Jingyang suspect these jianghu groups were plotting to rebel, seeking to overthrow the imperial court.

Upon hearing this news, Luo Jingshen was secretly thrilled, knowing that his chance to distinguish himself had arrived.

Now, Luo Feizhou and Luo Junhe were both severely injured and bedridden, and Luo Sinian was a useless waste of a man with zero ambition.

As for the other princes, some were out of the capital, while others had no real power—none of them could compare to him.

Now, it was the perfect chance for him to shine.

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