Xie Ming

Li and Ma confronted each other in the hall, their words becoming increasingly offensive. Qiu Weizhen seized the opportunity, thinking that with his cunning, he could regain the initiative.

However, despite his grand plan, Li Shichun refused to comply and did not take the bait.

When confronted directly, Grand Secretary Qiu was speechless for a moment.

At this critical juncture, Ma Shiying once again leaped out, and the muddleheaded should respond in kind.

"Li Erhe, you fucking hypocrite, have you no shame at all?"

"It's true that you don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until you manage a household."

"All you do is sabotage and undermine, but what kind of solutions can you come up with?!"

"Empty talk harms the country!"

"Your Excellency, why waste your breath on such a piece of trash?"

Ma Shiying retorted sharply, showing no leniency or indulgence whatsoever.

Upon hearing this, the old man was too old to interrupt, and Li Shichun was not so easy to deal with, so he kept pressing him.

"I bother!"

"Ma Shiying, you despicable scoundrel."

"Am I a traitor who harms the country with empty talk?"

"Huh? I'm talking nonsense and ruining the country?"

"In my opinion, what you're doing is harming the public interest for personal gain, and settling personal scores under the guise of public duty!"

"Humph!"

"Don't think that we are all blind and deaf, and that you are the only one who has schemed and plotted."

"Don't drag everyone else down with you because you're holding a grudge against that kid surnamed Xiao!"

"Isn't it just that in the Changzhou incident last year, Xiao Jingchuan filed a complaint against you and brought your confidant to justice?"

"The interests of the imperial court and the nation are paramount."

"And you, being so vindictive is not the behavior of a gentleman."

"You're going to great lengths to kill this talented commander who's in charge of troops outside the capital."

"If this really causes a mutiny in the Nanjing army, allowing the Jurchen troops in the north to advance rapidly and destroy the country."

"You, Ma Shiying, are the number one sinner of our Great Ming Dynasty, a national traitor!"

All the old, rotten things were thoroughly investigated and dealt with.

When Li Shichun gets stubborn, he doesn't care about saving face and is very willing to make accusations.

Upon hearing this, it became clear that a fierce battle between Li and Ma was imminent.

Such behavior in the palace is truly unbearable to behold.

Seeing the situation, Qiu Weizhen, who was sitting nearby and was also getting impatient, frowned and had no choice but to grit his teeth and try to get involved again.

"Okay, okay, cough cough cough."

Unfortunately, I am old and nearing the end of my life, and though I have the will, I am powerless.

He could only shout a couple of times before he was back to coughing and wheezing.

At this moment, the two empresses on the bed, Chen Wanxuan and Shen Yuzhen, were also embarrassed and powerless.

The baby Zhu Shaotan in his arms was startled by the noise and started crying again. His face turned pale, which was very distressing.

"Li Erhe!"

"Okay, okay, okay."

"I, Ma Shiying, am a sinner for all time, aren't I?!"

"How come you, Li Er, have become a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Damn it, a sinner is a sinner."

"What can you do?"

"I'm determined to kill Xiao Jingchuan."

"Once we capture this man, I'll skin him alive, tear him apart, and chop him to pieces."

"In just a few days, you'll see that traitor's head hanging high on the city wall of Hangzhou!"

"So what? What can you do to me?!"

Ma Shiying was in high spirits. He rolled up his wide sleeves, put his hands on his hips, and looked ready to fight. He was fearless and didn't hold back.

But, suddenly!

Just as tensions were rising and it seemed the cabinet members were about to start a fight in court!

Suddenly, Gao Hongtu, who had been standing at the end of the line and rarely spoke, noticed that in a corner not far away, the palace lanterns were flickering, and suddenly seemed to be dark shadows flashing, and the flames were disturbed and erratic.

Immediately, he felt a chill run down his spine, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he cried out in surprise.

"kindness?"

"Who?"

"Who's over there?!" Minister Gao Hongtu shouted, ending the argument. His sudden shout silenced the previously chaotic and noisy atmosphere in the hall.

A flurry of suspicious and wary eyes swept over that spot.

Snap snap, snap snap—

As if a storm was about to break, the noise in the hall suddenly stopped.

All that could be heard from the shadows was a sudden, sharp, metallic scraping sound of armor plates rubbing against each other!
The tense atmosphere intensified, and as the ministers held their breath, suddenly...
Xiao Jingchuan suddenly emerged from the shadows at the corner of the palace!

It stood before everyone, its angry eyes blazing!

Such a fright is no less than the appearance of an evil spirit in the middle of the night.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the main hall was as if it had fallen into an ice cave.
However, the reason why Xiao De appeared in the hall so quietly and ghostly was actually related to the increasingly heated argument and noise of the group of people who had just left.

Once someone shouts loudly, being inside the hall means their ears are blocked by noise, making it difficult to pay attention to what's happening outside.

Xiao Jingchuan led his troops into the palace, and among them were the most elite and valiant soldiers.

His skills were superb, and his movements were swift.

So he headed straight for the main hall, dealing with a few eunuchs and servants along the way as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

It's normal that there was no advance warning.

Now, the north wind is chilly. If we open the palace doors and let the wind blow inside, it will be too late to recover what has been done.

It is not surprising that the cabinet members were greatly alarmed and fearful.

The sight of everyone's eyes widening in shock and falling silent in the face of the moment was truly remarkable.

The first to come to his senses was the elderly Qiu Weizhen.

The Grand Secretary felt a chill run down his spine, sensing a murderous aura emanating from Xiao Jingchuan, and he couldn't help but tremble with fear as he answered.

"Ah! Xiao!"

"Xiao Jingchuan, you, you..."

Speechless, could it be that the whole story was lost?

His fingers trembled, and at that moment, his cane slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a few clanging sounds.

Upon seeing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Xiao Jingchuan was filled with murderous intent, his brows furrowed in anger as he charged through the gate.

In the silence, I glanced around.

"Ah!"

"Keep arguing, don't stop." The cold words were mocking and disdainful.

But no one dared to respond to his words at that moment.

With a cold snort, Xiao Zhui took another step forward, heading straight for the horse.

"Ma Shiying, Minister Ma!"

"Speak up, or you'll kill me!"

"Now that you've seen me, what are you going to do, stab me to death right here in the hall?"

With an intimidating and imposing aura, and his right hand resting on the sharp sword slung across his body, the leader of the group gritted his teeth, and a chilling aura pierced the bones of all the officials in the court!
"Ah, you, you, you!"

"Help! Help!"

"Catch the traitors! Traitors! Traitors storm the palace!"

Ma Shiying was terrified. He took two steps forward with Xiao Jin, while the others, unaware of his trembling legs, retreated in unison.

But the more terrified a person is, the more likely they are to unleash a furious, impotent rage.

So all that was left was his stubbornness, and he frantically shouted towards the palace gate in vain.

However, seeing the person's appearance, Xiao felt even more that he was hateful, despicable, and pitiful.

He was immediately stopped for his ineffective actions.

"Alright, stop shouting."

"Now that I'm standing right in front of you, do you think anyone else will come to save you?"

Upon hearing these words, all the cabinet ministers in the hall felt a chill run through them.

The tide has turned; what's done is done.

"Ah, this, this, this..."

"No way, absolutely impossible."

"Don't listen to this man's nonsense!"

"Xiao Jingchuan, you, you, you traitor, you, you traitor!"

"Breaking into the palace at night, what is your intention?"

"A general from outside the capital is not allowed to return to the city, the capital, or the palace without an imperial edict. This is disobedience, an act of trespassing, and you deserve to be executed!"

Ma Shiying maintained his usual demeanor, feigning weakness while trying to appear capable. (End of Chapter)