Nangong Yue swayed his white robe and left the chamber. If he were to consider his responsibilities, he had no desire to kill the current emperor.
He did not want to be emperor. Even if he killed the emperor and caused chaos among the populace, what would it matter? Could the previous dynasty be restored?
Furthermore, he had heard of the previous emperor's licentious and tyrannical rule, so the dynasty's demise was only a matter of time. Nangong Yue did not understand why he had no desire to avenge his parents.
Was it because he was cold-blooded? Now, his very breath seemed to beat for Liu'er. As he exhaled, the two young maids standing behind him cautiously asked their master.
"What is it, Master?"
"Luyi, keep an eye on your godfather's two subordinates secretly. Stay far away from them, as your internal energy is not as powerful as those fellows. Be extremely careful when acting."
Nangong Yue always felt something was amiss with his godfather. Was he truly trying to help him restore the country? Why did he sometimes feel that his godfather only wanted to kill the emperor?
"Yes, Master," Luyi bowed and accepted the order. Nangong Yue flickered and led the two maids away from the small courtyard.
As soon as Nangong Yue left, a heavy impact echoed in the chamber. Nangong Yu, consumed by rage, swept his hand across everything in the room. This detestable creature! If it weren't for his usefulness, would he have allowed him to be so presumptuous?
Nangong Yu called out towards the outside, "Enter."
His two capable subordinates walked in and respectfully asked, "Master, what do you require of your subordinates?"
"Increase their medication dosage slightly. Let's see if they dare to be so arrogant. Also, send people to monitor the movements of that woman in the palace at all times. The moment she shows any weakness, take her life immediately."
Nangong Yu spoke coldly. He would not keep that woman for that dog! That was merely a delaying tactic.
Once their medication was increased, everyone would obey his commands. They would merely become puppets. Nangong Yu chuckled sinisterly.
"Yes, Master. Your subordinate will attend to it immediately." The subordinate walked out expressionlessly. His actions were swift, but his demeanor showed no emotion, making one doubt if they possessed feelings at all.
The small courtyard returned to peace. In the dark chamber, Nangong Yue's sinister laughter echoed.
Because of the Thirteen Iron-Blooded Eagles, two were dead, one captured, and several others were trapped in hidden rooms, unable to emerge.
For a time, the capital fell silent. Although it was not as bustling as before, at least the vendors who needed to make a living returned to the streets to conduct business, and the main streets became lively again.
From the imperial family's iron-fisted handling of the matter, the person behind the Thirteen Iron-Blooded Eagles also felt apprehension and dared not act rashly, as any move would attract attention.
General Sima Pingxiang, the Protector of the Nation, was one of the Thirteen Iron-Blooded Eagles. This man, who had made distinguished contributions to Tianfeng, was actually one of those devilish killers. This deeply angered the people of the capital.
Therefore, when Sima Pingchao was imprisoned in a cangue and paraded towards the execution ground for public display, the people lining the streets were filled with hatred. The crowd became agitated, and everyone threw things at Sima Pingchao.
Stones, rotten vegetables, and eggs.
In an instant, Sima Pingchao was reduced to a beggar, his head and body covered in eggshells, egg yolk, and rotten vegetables, making him look neither human nor ghost. His eyes were glued shut with egg whites, preventing him from glaring at the commoners.
The cangue was escorted towards the execution ground. The Emperor attached great importance to this matter, so he personally dispatched two high-ranking officials to escort the cangue: the Minister of Justice and the Grand Master of the Court of the Imperial Entertainments.
Both were skilled martial artists, and hundreds of experts from the imperial palace's inner court followed behind them, demonstrating the Emperor's level of concern.
At the execution ground outside the city, as soon as the prisoner arrived, he was placed on the scaffold. The supervising official took his seat at the central table, gazing at the sun's movement.
Once the appointed time arrived, the execution would commence. For such a high-ranking criminal, it was best to execute him sooner rather than later.
If he were to let the prisoner escape, he would not survive. Although it was a cold winter day, sweat beaded on the supervising official's face. Finally, the appointed time arrived, and he let out a loud shout.
"The appointed time has come, execute!" He threw down his execution token, and the executioner immediately raised his great saber and swung it towards the prisoner's head.
Although the crowd hated Sima Pingchao, many did not dare to watch the bloody scene and quickly lowered their heads and closed their eyes.
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered overhead, and a strong wind began to blow, rustling the executioners' clothes. In a flash, thudding sounds were heard. The executioners were instantly killed.
More than a dozen dark figures leaped from the sky, all rushing towards Sima Pingchao.
Someone was raiding the execution ground! Once everyone understood what was happening, the crowd erupted in chaos, scattering in all directions, with people being pushed down, crying out for their mothers, and some even being trampled to death.
In an instant, only a dozen black-clad figures remained on the execution ground. As these figures put down Sima Pingchao, they noticed something was amiss. The leader of the black-clad figures spoke in a cold voice.
"How dare you! Who are you? This is not Sima Pingchao at all."
The person who was supposed to be Sima Pingchao struck the nearest black-clad figure with lightning speed. A muffled grunt was heard, and the person immediately fell to the side.
Due to this sudden turn of events, one of the black-clad figures was struck. The others immediately drew their swords and attacked. At this moment, the fake Sima Pingchao let out a chilling laugh to the sky, and with the laughter, many people leaped out from all directions, surrounding the black-clad figures.
The fake Sima Pingchao unhurriedly tidied his messy hair, a wry smile on his face, inwardly cursing his bad luck.
This person turned out to be Prime Minister Liu Ting. The usually gentle and refined prime minister uttered vulgar curses, clearly driven to madness by anger.
Liu Ting channeled his fury into fiery resolve and waved his hand, ordering the large contingent of guards behind him, "Go! Take these people down immediately!"
"Yes, Prime Minister!"
Respectful voices replied. Immediately, a fight broke out, filled with shouts and soaring killing intent. The supervising official, being a civil official, had never witnessed such a bloody scene.
Despite being the supervising official, he had never seen anyone dare to openly raid an execution ground and openly kill people. He was already hiding behind the table, peeking out with a trembling body.
The raiders, seeing the scene unfold, realized that even the prisoner was fake. It seemed this was a carefully designed trap, and they had foolishly fallen for it. Taking a step back, they sternly ordered their men to retreat.
How could Liu Ting let the prey slip through his grasp? Moving with his men, he leaped before the leader of the group, his palm strike directed straight at him. The opponent cleverly dodged, and a sharp offensive followed. Liu Ting did not evade. In a high-level duel, even a slight margin made a difference. The black-clad man used a feint to the east and attacked to the west, swiftly disengaging himself.