The weather gets colder in the north in late autumn.
The population in Zhongzhou is gradually increasing.
As the capital center of the Da Ning Dynasty for a hundred years since its founding, it is naturally more prosperous than remote prefectures and counties.
On the official roads of Zhongzhou, the number of merchants and escorts traveling north and south gradually increased. Among them were people from all walks of life, and many wore strange clothes.
A small town sat on the official road connecting the north and south. Unlike the other towns along the way in Linzhou and Yanzhou, this one was bustling with activity, bustling with people. Merchants hawked their wares and acrobatics were heard everywhere on the streets.
The town is home to numerous restaurants, inns, shops, and brothels. Travelers from all over the country often stop by to rest.
In a restaurant in the small town, business is good, and the bartender and waiters are busy shuttling around.
"This damn weather is getting colder and colder!"
On the third floor of the restaurant, next to a table by the window, a complaining voice was heard.
There were several men sitting at the table. They were wearing coarse linen clothes, had burly builds and dark skin, and they looked like wandering people.
"That's right. The weather in the north is much colder than in the south. Looking at the situation, it might snow heavily this winter."
"Tsk, it looks like we ordinary people are going to suffer again this winter!"
"What are you saying? When have we ordinary people not suffered?"
An angry, sneering voice chuckled from the side: "Even if the world is at peace, have we ordinary people ever had an easy life? In times of chaos, we can't even get enough to eat, and in times of prosperity, aren't we still oppressed and enslaved by those corrupt officials?"
"Hush, don't say that!"
The people nearby quickly grabbed his accomplice and tried to cover his mouth.
"What are you afraid of? If you and I are still afraid of this and that while we're out there, how can we be considered heroes?"
The man's tone was still indignant: "Not to mention here, even if we were in the capital, at the feet of the emperor, I would still curse you!"
Perhaps because he had drunk too much, his face flushed red and he was furious. "Nowadays, the eunuchs in the imperial court of Daning are interfering in government affairs, and the people are living in misery... They are allowed to do it, but I am not allowed to say anything?!"
Before this person could continue speaking, his accomplices covered his mouth together, called the waiter to settle the bill, and hurriedly dragged his accomplice who was talking nonsense away.
After the few people left, the restaurant was briefly quiet for a while, and then the sound of people talking came from the tables next to them.
"Those few people just now were really brave!"
"Who says it's not true? But they're not wrong. Isn't our court now completely controlled by that eunuch?"
"Alas, before, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was able to check and balance that eunuch, but a while ago, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly fell ill. I'm afraid no one in the court can control that eunuch..."
"Your Majesty is foolish and favors eunuchs, handing the Secret Department over to an old eunuch. The young eunuch took advantage of the situation to settle personal grudges, killing countless loyal officials... Just recently, this old eunuch raided the home of Xu Zheng, the Minister of War, on charges of treason."
"Isn't Xu Zheng Prime Minister Zhao's man? How dare that old eunuch touch Prime Minister Zhao's men?"
"Oh, that old eunuch doesn't even take His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seriously, so how could he take Zhao Xiang seriously?"
"My Daning Dynasty is being corrupted by this eunuch. I'm afraid it will be destroyed..."
“…”
People were coming and going in the restaurant, talking in low voices from time to time.
This place was not far from the capital, so news of the situation there naturally spread quickly. Ever since the emperor became seriously ill and neglected state affairs, the court had been in a state of fragile equilibrium between the three opposing forces.
On one side is the force headed by Chen Zhao, an old eunuch who is favored by the emperor, controls the capital's top intelligence agency, the Secret Intelligence Service, has many followers in the court, and is extremely powerful. On the other side is the Crown Prince Party headed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Li Ci Ning. The last force is the neutral faction headed by Prime Minister Zhao Chuan'an, a veteran of several dynasties and with extremely deep experience in the court.
The three forces confronted and checked each other in the court, and they were barely balanced.
But ever since the Crown Prince suddenly fell ill some time ago, the situation at court has changed dramatically. If it weren't for Prime Minister Zhao's staunch support, the court would have long since become a place where eunuchs have absolute control.
"That dog eunuch deserves to die!"
On the third floor, near another window, Shen Lingjun's angry voice was heard.
She listened to the people in the restaurant talking about the situation in the court, and mentioned the various evil deeds of the dog eunuch who framed loyal officials and brought disaster to the court. She immediately became furious and wished she could take the dog eunuch's life with her own hands!
"When I get to the capital, I'll make sure that castrated dog gets punished!"
Shen Lingjun looked indignant and made a secret decision.
"With your current state, you might die before you even see that eunuch!"
Sitting by the window opposite, Lin Jiangnian glanced at her and chuckled.
Shen Lingjun naturally refused to accept this and snorted coldly, "It would be easy for me to kill a castrated dog!"
Lin Jiangnian said slowly, "If you want to kill him, you have to enter the palace. Do you think you can sneak into the palace where there are so many experts?"
Shen Lingjun gritted her teeth: "There is always a way!"
"Even if you can sneak in, how can you guarantee that you won't be discovered? How can you find that eunuch... Even if you can find that eunuch, how do you know that he doesn't have a master protecting him?"
Lin Jiangnian spoke cheerfully.
Shen Lingjun's face gradually turned darker and he fell silent.
"That eunuch is a scourge to the court. Many people must want to kill him, but he's still alive and well. This proves that he's protected by at least a top expert..."
At this point, Lin Jiangnian glanced at her and said, "Can you do it?"
Seeing Lin Jiangnian's indifferent and contemptuous look, Shen Lingjun was filled with anger. But when the words came to her lips, she couldn't say a word.
What this bastard said was unpleasant, but it was the truth.
She gritted her teeth, looking aggrieved.
"That eunuch isn't as kind-hearted as this prince. If your assassination attempt fails and you fall into his hands, what will happen to you? Tsk tsk..."
Lin Jiangnian sighed with a half-smile.
Shen Lingjun's face gradually turned pale, obviously frightened by Lin Jiangnian. His face was pale for a long time, and then he stared at him with gritted teeth: "Then what do you say we should do?"
"What to do?"
"What can you do with that castrated dog?!"
"Who said we were going to deal with him?"
Lin Jiangnian was puzzled: "What does he have to do with me if he causes chaos in the imperial court?"
"you……"
Shen Lingjun was stunned, and then she realized something. This dog prince didn't even think about dealing with the castrated dog?
That’s right, he is the same kind of person as that eunuch, so how could he be so kind?
Thinking of this, Shen Lingjun glared at him fiercely, turned his head away, and stopped talking to this bastard.
Lin Jiang laughed young, his eyes fixed on the window, scanning the busy traffic in the town with half-closed eyes.
Chen Zhao?
Eunuchs interfering in politics?
The people and the court hated this eunuch who interfered in politics, but Lin Jiangnian was extremely happy about it.
With the internal turmoil in the court, there is naturally no time to take care of other things. This is undoubtedly good news for the Prince Lin's Mansion.
Lin Jiangnian naturally hoped that the court would be more chaotic, the more chaotic the better.
It doesn't matter if the situation gets chaotic, it has nothing to do with him anyway.
"However, this Chen Zhao is probably not simple either."
Lin Jiangnian squinted his eyes and muttered to himself.
A eunuch who could gain the favor of the emperor and cause chaos in the court was definitely not an ordinary person. Under heaven, any eunuch who could cause chaos in the court was not simple.
"This person is very dangerous."
Just as Lin Jiangnian was thinking, the soft, neither cold nor indifferent voice of Zhiyuan came to his ears.
Lin Jiangnian turned his head and saw Zhiyuan looking at him with a hint of worry in her eyes.
"How do you say that?"
Zhiyuan whispered, "There's a rumor circulating in the martial arts world that Chen Zhao's martial arts skills are quite impressive!"
"Is your martial arts not weak?"
Lin Jiangnian was stunned.
A eunuch with strong martial arts skills?
Does this scene seem familiar?
"Is he practicing the Book of the Golden Flower?" Lin Jiang asked with a young smile.
"Sunflower Manual?"
Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, thinking about it carefully, with a puzzled look on his face. He had never heard of this martial art.
However, she remained silent for a moment before saying, "Although no one has seen him take action, he is indeed very dangerous... You must be careful of him."
Lin Jiangnian smiled nonchalantly, "I don't know him, and I have no connection with him, so why should I be careful?"
Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but just looked at him quietly, as if he had already seen through something.
Seeing this, Lin Jiangnian sighed softly: "You are too smart and not cute at all!"
Zhiyuan turned his head away and said nothing.
Lin Jiangnian smiled.
"Okay, it's almost time to get on with the journey."
After leaving Lu Ma Town, they continued on their journey and finally entered Zhongzhou.
Once we arrived in Zhongzhou, we were not far from the capital.
The group took a short rest in the town and then prepared to continue on their journey.
In the restaurant, apart from Lin Jiangnian Zhiyuan, there were only Shen Lingjun, Xiaozhu and Lin Qingqing who had been guarding behind them. There were not many people and they were not conspicuous.
However, when Lin Jiangnian and his companions arrived in the town, they did attract a fair amount of attention, but that was all. Zhongzhou Town was full of strange and bizarre people coming and going, so no one paid much attention.
Lin Jiangnian stood up and led everyone downstairs.
But just as Lin Jiangnian passed by a table, the two gangsters who were originally sitting at the table suddenly attacked.
The knife on the table was unsheathed in an instant, a cold light flashed, and the two men's faces showed ferocious light.
"Prince Lin, prepare to die!"
A sharp voice sounded, and the two men swung their long knives at Lin Jiangnian's neck.
At such a close distance, the sudden attack is hard to guard against.
Lin Jiangnian seemed to be stunned on the spot, motionless, as if he was frightened silly.
They both looked surprised.
The Prince of Lin is no better than this.
But just as their knives were about to touch Lin Jiangnian.
"boom!"
It was as if an invisible force burst out, and the two men's swords were fixed in mid-air, unable to move forward even a single step.
Both of their pupils shrank at the same time.
What’s going on?!
Their internal energy surged wildly, and they wanted to strike with this blow to take the life of Prince Lin.
But the next second, this invisible momentum suddenly became violent and blasted out like a rebound.
"Bang!"
The two were knocked out at the same time and fell heavily on the table beside them, smashing the table to pieces.
In an instant, the restaurant was in chaos.
The other guests, noticing what was happening, immediately stood up and hurried away from the scene. For those who live in the underworld, the best way to survive is to stay out of other people's business.
The two men were dazed and struggled to get up from the ground, their faces filled with astonishment. They had never expected that their sudden attack would be dodged by the other party.
Not far ahead, Lin Jiangnian, dressed in a brocade robe, stood there, gazing at them with a smile. The angelically beautiful woman in white beside him had a blank expression, her eyes as cold as ice.
"Die!"
After their eyes met for a moment, they chose to attack again, gritting their teeth and attacking with knives.
However, this time, they couldn't even get close to Lin Jiangnian.
A green figure silently stood in front of the two men, blocking their swords, and a cold light flashed.
The two men felt a chill in their hands, their swords already falling. Then, they felt a sharp blow to their chests, their vision went black, and they nearly fainted. They stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.
All this happened in an instant.
"Your Highness, what should we do?"
After easily dealing with the two, Lin Qingqing turned to look at Lin Jiangnian and asked.
Lin Jiangnian glanced at the two people on the ground: "Who sent you here?"
The two men had fierce eyes, but they gritted their teeth and said, "Kill me if you want to. Don't even think about letting us say a word."
"Okay then, I'll grant you your wish."
Lin Jiangnian waved his hand calmly: "Drag him out, chop him up and feed him to the dogs."
The two were immediately frightened and looked panicked, as they had not expected that the Prince Lin would be so decisive and would not give them any chance to regret.
Seeing Lin Qingqing approaching with a sword, the silver blade gleamed coldly, and the two of them were shocked and angry: "You, you don't want to know?"
"Kill us, and you won't know who sent us."
Lin Jiangnian sneered: "If you don't tell me, will this prince not be able to find out?"
Their pupils widened.
"Get it clean."
Lin Jiangnian turned around, too lazy to pay any more attention to them. They were just two minor characters, not worth mentioning.
But at this moment, a cold shout suddenly came from outside the window.
"Prince Lin, prepare to die!"
Just as he finished speaking, several figures rushed in from windows on all sides of the third floor of the restaurant and surrounded them.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the restaurant became tense.
Lin Qingqing dropped the two people in her hands and approached His Highness calmly. Even Shen Lingjun looked alert and worried. Looking at the dozen or so martial arts masters who suddenly appeared around him, he subconsciously grasped the hilt of his sword.
Zhiyuan remained calm as he stood beside Lin Jiangnian, seemingly not taking these people seriously.
Lin Jiangnian looked at these people with interest: "Tsk, there are quite a lot of people here this time, quite interesting!"
The people in front of him were dressed in simple and ragged clothes, with fierce eyes and strong aura, all of them looked like people who roamed the world.
"Prince Lin, today is the day you die!"
A burly man with a sinister grin stepped out from the crowd. When he saw the women surrounding Lin Jiangnian, a flash of surprise flashed across his eyes, followed by a surge of jealousy.
How come Prince Lin is surrounded by so many stunning women?
This bastard prince has taken up so much by himself, it’s such a waste!
Damn it!
He felt a little more murderous towards the Prince Lin.
Lin Jiangnian looked at the man, with a half-smile on his face: "I am quite curious, who wants to kill me?"
"You wouldn't know."
He sneered and stared at Lin Jiangnian. Could this delicate and tender Prince Lin withstand his punch?
Once he kills Prince Lin, won't these beautiful women around him be his?
Thinking of this, his heart became even more heated, and he sneered: "Prince Lin, it is an honor for you to die at the hands of Zhang Meng of the Iron Fist Sect!"
"Die!"
…