HCB Chapter 224: The Marquis’s Smile, Life and Death Are Unpredictable (1)
Chapter 224: The Marquis’s Smile, Life and Death Are Unpredictable (1)
The main hall of the Marquis's mansion.
Zhuo Luo Dalala sat in the guest seat, with four guards in golden helmets and armor standing side by side behind him.
Baili Chengfeng sat down below Baili Luochen, also in armor, with a cold brow.
Baili Luochen was smiling and exchanging pleasantries with Zhuo Luo. After a cup of tea, Baili Luochen finally got straight to the point:
"The eunuch just said that he was ordered by the emperor to come to Qiandong City to announce the decree to an old man like me. If that's the case, then announce it!"
Zhuo Luo was not polite when he heard this. He stood up, took the brocade box from the eunuch serving behind him, took out the imperial edict and said loudly:
"Marquis of Zhenxi, Baili Luochen, receive the order!"
Baili Luochen smiled slightly and continued to sit upright as usual.
At this moment, a young Jinwu Guard behind Zhuo Luo couldn't stand it anymore and shouted in a low voice:
"Baili Luochen, the eunuch is announcing the decree, why don't you kneel?"
Baili Luochen didn't even look at him. At this time, Baili Chengfeng sat up suddenly, holding the sword at his waist with one hand, staring at the Jinwu Guards behind Zhuo Luo!
Seeing this, the Jinwu Guard was the first to draw his sword and shouted:
"Baili Chengfeng, do you want to rebel?"
Zhuo Luo turned around and said in a deep voice:
"Back off! The Marquis of Zhenxi has made great military achievements. His Majesty has long since granted the old marquis special permission to enter the palace with sword and sandals, and not to kneel before the emperor. What do you know?"
Upon hearing this, the Jinwu Guard sheathed his sword and glared at Baili Chengfeng, questioning:
"If the Marquis doesn't kneel, then Baili Chengfeng won't kneel either? How can that be justified?"
Zhuo Luo glared at him sideways:
"You useless thing, didn't you hear me? Get out of here!"
The Jinwu Guards had no choice but to lower their heads and step back a few steps. Zhuo Luo unfolded the yellow imperial edict and said in a pinched voice:
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, declares—"
"Marquis of Zhenxi, Baili Luochen, disregarded the imperial order and privately mobilized troops. He plundered the treasuries of four prefectures, amounting to tens of millions of taels of tax silver, without reporting to the emperor. This act is tantamount to treason and he deserves death! The Imperial Censor's investigation has revealed that the officials of the four prefectures did not die at the hands of local nobles, but rather at the instigation of the traitor Wen Yanzhao! For Marquis of Zhenxi Qingtian's meritorious service in protecting the emperor and defending the southwest, I will spare his crimes! I order the Imperial Supervisor Zhuoluo to accompany Marquis of Zhenxi, Baili Luochen, to the capital for trial. I decree..."
After Zhuo Luo finished reading the imperial edict, he looked at Baili Luo Chen with a sinister smile:
"Old Marquis, please accept the order!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"
Baili Luochen burst into wild laughter, his laughter was as loud as a bell or a reed, and it made the eardrums of the Jinwu guards feel a little painful.
The laughter died down, Baili Luochen stood up and slowly walked towards Zhuo Luo:
"Interesting, interesting! What's coming will come sooner or later!"
"I, Baili Luochen, have been guarding Beili Southwest for over ten years, right? Yet, His Majesty still doesn't trust an old soldier like me. He's using the same trick he used on Ye Yu back then, and now he's using it on me, Baili Luochen. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the world?"
"Go back and tell the one who issued the imperial decree that I will definitely go to Tianqi City, but I will not go with you..."
Zhuo Luo saw Baili Luochen approaching, so he freed the hand holding the imperial edict and placed it behind his back, gathering his inner strength and shouting:
"Baili Luochen, are you seriously planning a rebellion? This is a heinous crime punishable by the death of nine generations of your clan. You'd better think it over carefully!"
Seeing this, the four Jinwu Guards behind Zhuo Luo simultaneously drew their swords and pointed them directly at Baili Luo Chen, shouting:
"How dare you, Baili Luochen, disrespect the imperial envoy!"
Baili Chengfeng shook his wrist and drew the long sword from his waist. His figure turned into a gust of wind and stood in front of Baili Luochen.
Zhuo Luo's expression changed:
"Traitor Baili Chengfeng, you dare to draw your sword against me? Aren't you afraid that I will kill you first and ask for your permission later?"
Zhuo Luo used 50% of his strength with one hand, waiting for Baili Chengfeng to make the first move and then counterattack to take him down!
"Oh!"
At this moment, a huge hole was created in the window of the main hall by something, and a dark, heavy broadsword rushed towards Zhuo Luo!
Zhuo Luo's pupils instantly tightened like needles, and he barely dodged the big knife by turning his body to the side, but the front of his clothes was cut by the blade...
After the knife cut through Zhuo Luo's clothes, its power did not diminish and it penetrated more than a foot deep into the side wall of the main hall!
When Zhuo Luo came back to his senses, he heard a young man outside the hall say loudly:
"You damned eunuch, how dare you disrespect the prince? Aren't you afraid that I will chop you off with one blow right now?"
When Baili Luochen heard this voice, he immediately changed into a different person. His face, which was originally dignified without anger, also broke into a smile:
"Oh, Dongjun is back. I missed him so much!"
Baili Dongjun rushed into the hall and pounced on Baili Luochen:
"Grandpa, your grandson is back late, and this dog has caused trouble for you!"
Zhuo Luo had been repeatedly humiliated, and now he was forced back by Baili Dongjun's sword and was called a dog. He could no longer bear it and shouted in anger:
"Rebellion! Baili Luochen, I think your family is sincerely plotting a rebellion. Come, arrest that brat!"
The four Jinwu Guards looked at each other, and just as they were about to step forward, they felt dizzy and then their bodies went limp and fell on their backs.
Before Zhuo Luo could be surprised, a young man rubbing his fingers walked into the hall.
The four Jinwu Guards had already been poisoned by Wen Yanzhao and fainted instantly. Wen Yanzhao spared them not out of mercy but simply to test his technique of poisoning people.
Zhuo Luo took a closer look and saw that it was Wen Yanzhao who had defeated Zhuo Qing and poisoned the imperial guards in Tianqi City!
"Great, so you've all been in cahoots for a long time. When I report this to His Majesty, even if you, Baili Luochen, have three heads, it won't be enough to atone for your crimes!"
Zhuo Luo was also very afraid at this moment. He was naturally aware of Wen Yanzhao's methods. It was simply wishful thinking for him to fight against four people alone now. However, he was usually arrogant and domineering, and he would not give in at all.
Baili Luochen smiled but said nothing when he heard this. However, Baili Dongjun was filled with murderous intent! With a single move of his hand, the dust on the wall instantly flew up and pointed directly at Zhuo Luo:
"You damn eunuch, do you think there's still a chance to report this to that damn emperor?"
The cold sweat on Zhuo Luo's back had almost soaked his clothes, but he was confident of his extraordinary skills and still wanted to fight to the death to win a chance of survival!
He threw the imperial edict towards the four people with one hand, and then the hand that had been hidden behind his back suddenly slapped Baili Dongjun with a powerful palm!
"Buzz!"
However, he didn't know that when he slapped out his palm, the palm force was actually stopped by a wall of air half a foot in front of Baili Dongjun!
It’s a pity that Wen Yanzhao’s realm is much higher than his. In Wen Yanzhao’s eyes, the palm he just made was no different from slow motion.
Zhuo Luo knew that he was no match for his opponent, so he stopped and tried to escape from the broken window. However, just as he jumped into the air, Wen Yanzhao flashed by and knocked him to the ground with a palm.
Baili Dongjun held up a knife and slowly walked in front of Zhuo Luo. Seeing Zhuo Luo spewing blood, he prepared to chop him down with the knife:
"You bastard, I want to see how many heads you have!"
Wen Yanzhao flashed to Baili Dongjun's side and pressed down his knife-holding hand:
"Cousin, don't use the knife... This damn eunuch is at least as weak as a Fuyao cultivator. If I turn him into a medicine man, he can defeat a thousand people at once!"
……