With hands pulling back their bows and preparing to fire ten thousand arrows, the Jin Wu Wei could already see that Li Zhongqian had no weapons on him and were waiting for the right moment to swarm him.
The sound of shouting and yelling became a mess.
The guards were afraid of hurting someone, so they hastily retreated.
Prime Minister Zheng flew to Li De's side and found him strangled to the point that he had fainted with his eyes rolled up. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, his whole body shook.
The Crown Prince lost his mind, and Grand Duke of Wei openly killed his father. If His Majesty died at this time, Great Wei would be in chaos!
The ministers were on the side, burning with anxiety.
The imperial physician arrived in a hurry, examined Li De's injuries, and slapped him a few times on the chest. Li De coughed a few times from deep in his throat. He woke up, his eyes gradually regaining clarity, and sat up with the help of the Jin Wu Wei.
The ministers were in shock, kneeling and kowtowing on the ground, shouting long live. Some people wept with joy, bawling.
Li De's face was as gloomy as water. How many tempests and tides have come over, but he actually nearly capsized in the water1.
He did not expect Li Zhongqian, wounded like this, would still have the courage to attack him in public.
A storm occurred in the blink of an eye and ended a moment later. The lower-ranking officials outside the hall had not yet reacted and some ministers had just withdrawn from the hall, and before they could inquire, the storm was over.
Several imperial physicians were ordered to re-check Li Zhongqian's pulse. After whispering a few words of discussion, they reported to Li De: Li Zhongqian's martial arts were indeed ruined.
His sickly act just now was not for show.
The Prime Minister and the others were silent.
In the past few years, many people have assassinated Li De, but no one has been able to really hurt him. Li Zhongqian, whose martial arts skills were completely ruined, actually dared to assassinate Li De in such a desperate way!
He knew he was doomed to fail but still risked his life to try. That sudden outburst of strength was not him deliberately restraining his strength previously, but his full potential erupting in a moment; he was fighting for his life!
After all, Princess Wenzhao was his biological sister!
Prime Minister Zheng let out a long sigh and his eyes signaled the Jin Wu Wei to hurry up and take Li Zhongqian away.
The other ministers' reproachful eyes fell on him: Grand Duke Wei dared to commit regicide, and he still wanted to protect Grand Duke Wei?
Prime Minister Zheng looked at everyone and silently spat out the names of two people.
Xie Wuliang, Li Yaoying.
For the sake of the Xie family, for the sake of Princess Wenzhao, leave Li Zhongqian's life.
Everyone was taciturn and moved their eyes away, acquiescing to his small gesture.
Their eyes fell on Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen.
Li Xuanzhen stood aside, with an unconcerned expression from beginning to end, seemingly not caring at all about Li De's life and death.
The crowd sighed silently, each with their own thoughts.
Li De did not punish Li Zhongqian on the spot.
Li Zhongqian was taken away by the Jin Wu Wei and cast into the palace prison.
Two days later, Zheng Jing went to see him: "Many cabinet ministers pleaded for your mercy."
The entire Xie family were martyrs, Princess Wenzhao perished in her most youthful years, and Li Zhongqian fought for the Great Wei in the north and south. His martial arts skills were ruined, and the ministers appealed to Li De for leniency, saying that he had lost control after his sister's death which was pardonable.
The Eastern Palace was uncharacteristically quiet this time and did not take advantage of the opportunity to hit a person who was down.
Zheng Jing sent the jailer away and asked the question in his mind, "Erlang, did you really want to assassinate His Majesty at that time?"
Even his golden hammers, he couldn't lift. He was checked before entering the palace for the banquet, and he didn't have any weapons. How did he dare make such a move? If the arrows were fired, he would have been a sieve in a matter of seconds! Moreover, Li De himself had martial skills. As soon as he had the opportunity, he could have shaken him off.
Li Zhongqian, lying on the stack of hay, was expressionless: "If it succeeded, then we would have died together."
His tone was flat, not caring at all about the shocking upheaval his success would bring.
Zheng Jing sucked in a breath of cold air. Li Zhongqian really wanted to kill his father!
He was silent for a long time and said, "But you failed."
Li Zhongqian sneered, "Sanlang, do you think that if I kept to myself, they would truly let me go?"
Zheng Jing's eyes flickered.
The most heartless was the imperial family.
With Princess Wenzhao dead, Li De knew that Li Zhongqian could not let go of his hatred. Whether he laid low or went crazy like the night before, Li De would not leave him, this hidden danger. The emperor was suspicious. Li De would clear all obstacles for Li Xuanzhen at any cost, in order to avoid the turmoil that would come when Li Xuanzhen ascended the throne.
Li Zhongqian knew Li De's ruthlessness, and Li De also knew his nature. If he truly concealed his strength, Li De would not only not drop his guard, he would be even warier and immediately eliminate him.
In the end, Li Xuanzhen was a man of his word and did not rush to harm him, but Li De was not reassured and was eager to summon him back to the capital to test him.
So, he might as well fight.
In any case, the worst outcome was nothing more than losing his life.
There was nothing for him to lose now.
Zheng Jing sighed quietly: "You have already tried. Do not have such thoughts in the future. His Majesty dares to let you return to the capital, so he is not afraid that you will assassinate him again. Princess Wenzhao's memorial hall was built not long ago; His Majesty will not dare to take your life for the time being... Erlang, what are you going to do in the future?"
After his recent assasination attempt, Li De would instead put down his guard against Li Zhongqian. A hot-tempered prince was indeed easier to deal with than a deep-scheming one, but he couldn't be completely at ease.
Li Zhongqian looked at the damp brick ceiling at the roof of the prison cell: "Sanlang, prepare dry rations and horses for me."
Zheng Jing was stunned: "Where do you want to go?"
Li Zhongqian calmly said, "To Helong. I will ask His Majesty for permission to go to Helong."
Li De would agree to this request that was to his benefit.
Zheng Jing frowned: "Erlang... Princess Wenzhao is no longer here. The Hu people saw with their own eyes that Helong is now occupied by the Northern Rong. The situation is grim."
Li Zhongqian said softly: "She died, and I want to bring her back. She is timid, and she'll be afraid on her own. I want to bring her home. I promised her that no matter where she is, I will find her."
Zheng Jing felt that Li Zhongqian was acting completely whimsical: how could one find a person's bones in the vast expanse of the world?
He didn't know how to persuade Li Zhongqian. Thinking of the Seventh Princess who died outside of the country, his heart felt like it was pierced by needles, and it hurt immensely. Li Zhongqian was the Seventh Princess' biological brother, and would only feel more pain than him.
But how was Li Zhongqian going to find her?
"Your martial arts skills..." Zheng Jing wanted to say but stopped.
Li Zhongqian's face did not change: "Can't hold a golden hammer, I can change and wield a long knife, change to a dagger, change to a spear... I once abandoned martial arts for literature, then abandoned literature for martial arts. The damage left by a few poisoned arrows can not destroy me."
He could not collapse before he found Little Seventh.
Zheng Jing sighed long and hard.
No matter how many words of dissuasion he uttered, Li Zhongqian was deaf to them. He could not stop Li Zhongqian from leaving Great Wei.