I hid under the table and saw the emperor subconsciously glance at the frightened palace beside me, and Concubine Ying, who was not far away, had no Praetorian Guards to protect her, only two maids around her to protect her. The knife whistled and hit a maid in the heart. The maid fell to the ground, and the other, who was still sensible, screamed and fled on his own, and before he had run a few steps, he was struck in the neck by the guard who was wielding his sword indiscriminately to fend off the throwing knife.

Concubine Ying squatted in place completely exposed, calling for help again and again, but no one could take care of her. Another firework burst into the sky, and knives whistled down. I watched several knives go straight for Concubine Ying, and for a moment I had nothing else in mind, so I jumped into her unprotected body, grabbed her waist and pulled her under the other table.

"Mother, be careful!"

"Crown Princess, you..." Concubine Ying didn't know whether she was surprised by this sudden disaster, or surprised by my such skill, she was a little stunned for a while, "You... Beware! ”

However, where can I take care of myself, I looked behind me in a panic, and I saw the emperor staring at my face in surprise - he really saw me flying to save Concubine Ying.

Before he could think about it, there was already a sharp stabbing pain in his right arm. I turned my head to look, only to see that my shirt had been cut open with a bright red bloodstain. I had no choice but to leap under the watchful eye of the emperor again, roll twice in a row, grab a chair to protect my head, and try to curl up to avoid the flying knife.

I don't know how long it took, but the bombardment in the sky finally fell silent. Before everyone could calm down, two Praetorian Guards had already walked over from the direction of the Yuanwu Palace, escorting a man dressed as a civilian, with a ball of cotton cloth in his mouth in his mouth.

"Your Majesty, this is the craftsman who made today's fireworks, and he is also responsible for setting them off in front of the Yuanwu Palace. When Weichen arrived, he was about to commit suicide, and what he was holding in his hand was a flying knife like a firework. ”

The emperor took the flying knife of the Praetorian Guard and was silent in thought, his face was already pale. Another guard came to kneel down and said, "Back to the emperor, the counts of the ministers and others have been completed, and the princes are not injured; Five members of the palace were slightly injured; Thirty ministers were lightly wounded, sixteen were seriously wounded, and twelve were killed; Casualties among the Praetorian Guards and palace guards were not counted. The deceased has been carried to the side hall, and the injured should not be moved, so they have been sent to the nearby Qingjiao Hall to wait for the imperial doctor to heal. ”

"It's hard work, let's go down first." Seeing that the emperor was still silent, Gong Yu said softly, "Fortunately with the help of the Praetorian Guards tonight, it was the foresight of the Hou Ye, as if he had expected that there would be a maniac assassination in advance. Something happened at this end, and the Praetorian Guards swarmed up from everywhere, faster than the palace guards. ”

"The Fourth Highness said this, and the righteous woman was aggrieved for the Hou Ye." I walked over with Concubine Ying and said, "Although the Praetorian Guards are raised in the Hou Mansion, their duty is to guard the Imperial City of Karzhou. Today, hundreds of officials enter the palace, the crowd is dense, and the Hou Ye should bring soldiers into the palace to ensure the safety of the emperor. ”

Gong Wei smiled and wanted to say more, but when he saw Gong Wei frowning slightly, he also stopped talking. The emperor threw away the flying knife, slowly walked up to the man and said, "I will give you a chance to speak." It's just that you have to think about it, and after a while, you take out the cotton cloth, and if you dare to talk nonsense, or bite your tongue and kill yourself, I will call your whole family and the whole family to bury you alone. ”

The emperor said every word very lightly, but the power of the Son of Heaven was terrifying. By the time the guard took the cotton cloth out of the man's mouth, he was trembling uncontrollably. He suddenly screamed, and threw himself in the direction of the palace, but his body was tied up with flowers, and he was pressed to the ground by the guards before he could stand up.

"Your Highness save me... Your Royal Highness the Prince, save me! ”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked. It was the emperor who reacted first, and said in a deep voice to the eunuchs around him: "Send all the concubines back to the harem, and the ministers will move to the Yuanwu Palace for placement first, and no one will be released!" ”

Concubine Li wanted to say something when she heard this, but seeing that the emperor looked gloomy, she had to leave with everyone in the harem. The eunuch had to be ordered, and after a while, only the emperor, the marquis, the three princes, the pyrotechnic master who was tied up, and I were left in front of the Qingxu Palace, which was still crowded with people.

It was the palace curtain that took the lead and said sharply to the craftsman: "What did you just say, you yourself committed a heinous crime, why do you want to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for help?" ”

"Your Royal Highness's question is unreasonable." I rushed forward and said, "This matter has not yet been ascertained, and it is still unknown whether the master is the real culprit." If he is just used by others, now that disaster is coming, he will naturally ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is looking for him to enter the palace for help! ”

"Sister-in-law is confused. The guards had clearly said that when they found him, he was about to kill himself with the throwing knives in the fireworks. Gong Hao said unhurriedly, "If he is not a murderer, why does he have a flying knife as a murder weapon?" If he wasn't the murderer, how could he have committed suicide in fear of sin? ”

I was dumbfounded by Gong Hao's question, looking at the craftsman who was only shrunk and trembling on the ground, and I didn't know where to start......

Seeing that I had a dumb tongue, Hou Ye said quietly on the side: "Even if this person is the murderer, how can I ensure that he is not planting a blame for asking His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for help?" If His Highness really hired him to commit murder, he should have instructed him not to show himself in advance. Isn't it a fire to be shaken out so easily? ”

I cast a grateful glance at Master Hou. Xu was flustered because of the suitability, and Hou Ye had a trace of gray hair scattered down, showing a bit of old age that he had never seen before, consistent with his real age.

Gong Wei finally realized that the spearhead was already pointing at him at this moment, and he was so anxious that he kicked the craftsman on the ground three times: "You madman! I haven't confessed who I was instructed to do, what are you doing biting this palace! ”

"Your Highness, help... Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, help......"

I hurriedly helped the irritable palace curtain, and said softly: "Your Highness is angry! Whoever instructs him, the master craftsman must have been instructed by that man, and whoever asks him or whatever he asks, he asks you only to save his life. If you kick him to death, there will be no proof of your death, and no one will be able to prove your innocence! ”

Everyone held their breath and stopped talking for a while. I can't help but wonder - if this matter is planned by the two of them, they will inevitably fall into the well at this moment, in order to confirm the crime of killing the king and killing the father as soon as possible......

With this in mind, I looked at the palace curtain beside me. But when I saw him, his expression was like a layer of mist, and it was even more complicated than usual, and I couldn't see the slightest hint of joy and anger. Look at the emperor again - I was surprised to find that the emperor was also observing the expression of the palace curtain without moving at the moment.

Xu noticed that I noticed that he was looking at his son, and the emperor withdrew his gaze, and turned to the pyrotechnic master who was lying on the ground and said coldly: "You think clearly, if you refuse to spit again, you will inevitably have to suffer some hardships." ”

"Old killer! This palace advises you to get acquainted, if you bite this palace again, this palace will use all kinds of torture on you one by one, and you can't help but think about your few taels of cheap bones——"

"-Father!"

The voice of the palace was drowned out by an urgent call from afar. Everyone followed the prestige, but saw that it was the palace banner that ran over, ran to everyone, stopped suddenly, and threw himself at the emperor.

"Father! Erchen thought about it in the Wangqi Palace, but who expected that the mother concubine would return to the palace early and inform Erchen of what happened at the right time. "Miyahata was out of breath, obviously rushing all the way." The sons were worried about their father, so they came without being summoned - as long as they saw that their father was safe and sound, they were willing to accept any punishment! ”

After Gong Wan finished speaking, he fell to his knees with a pop, and everyone was speechless for a while.

The emperor was also quite surprised, as if he never thought that his young son would be so concerned about his safety. He was stunned, then raised his hand to signal Gong Wan to get up, and his tone was a little unnaturally gentle: "It's okay... Get up. ”

Miyahata's expression was as surprised as his father's, as if he hadn't thought that his father didn't blame. He was stunned, then stood up, turned his head and bowed to the rest of the people one by one: "Master Hou and all the brothers are fine, it's really good!" ”

Suddenly, I saw his gaze linger on me for a moment, unintentionally. It suddenly dawned on him that he might not be worried about his father and brother when he came this time.

"The banner came at night, it is pure filial piety." The Hou Ye cast an approving glance at the palace flag, and then turned to the emperor and said solemnly: "It's just the emperor, but the most important thing at the moment is this one on the ground." The old minister watched from the side for a long time, and this person did not have the heart and courage to plan the assassination alone. And the person who instructed him was thoughtful, and obviously had already reconciled his words after being arrested. The old minister thinks that he can't ask anything tonight, and you are also frightened, so it is better to detain the people first, and then interrogate them tomorrow. ”

"Father!" Hearing what the marquis said, the palace maid hurriedly bowed down and said hurriedly, "This person has slandered his son, and he also asked his father to allow his son to take him back to the prince's mansion, and he will be tortured to extract a confession, and he will definitely try the real murderer behind the scenes this morning!" ”

"- Father, what the suspect said is directly in the East Palace, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should really avoid suspicion!" Gong Wei hurriedly said, "If the father thinks that the son is quite appropriate, the son invites him to take the suspect back to the palace of Prince Huan, and carefully take him into custody for you to interrogate at any time!" ”

"Yes, the third brother's Prince Huan's mansion is tightly guarded, and it is the safest to contain the suspects." Gong Yu echoed, "Father, the son said a word, the eldest brother is not light or heavy, but I am afraid that before I can ask the real culprit behind the scenes, it will hurt people's lives!" ”

"Fourth! What do you say—"

I pinched the back of the palace. He looked down at me with some confusion, but when he saw that I looked secretive, he thought he was speaking abruptly, so he was silent.

The emperor silently took in the look of the palace maid looking at me, but he didn't have a seizure, and only whispered to the Hou Ye: "What do you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, it is a blessing for your Majesty that the princes are loyal to their fathers. It's just that this is a family matter of His Majesty, and the old minister is a foreign minister, and he really doesn't dare to say anything. The Hou Ye smiled at the emperor and said, "It's just that the old minister doesn't understand, at this time, taking the initiative to ask His Majesty for orders to take people will inevitably arouse suspicion, why should the children take such initiative?" ”