Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

For the next three days, people in Jinyang City were in panic.

Because their son-in-law Yang Xingye began to investigate the assassination case with great fanfare.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the wooden door of a house in the west district of Jinyang City was kicked to pieces by iron boots.

More than a dozen armored soldiers rushed into the house like wolves and tigers, the cold light of their unsheathed swords flickering under the dim oil lamp.

"Search! Dig deep into the ground to find that son of a bitch assassin!"

The leading captain had a distorted face and his eyes were burning with terrifying rage.

The sword in his hand split a pottery jar with a "swish", and the fragments flew everywhere.

The old couple in the house were so scared that they hugged each other and trembled.

Just as the old man was about to speak, the captain hit him in the face with the back of his knife, and blood immediately gushed out from the corner of his broken mouth.

"General, spare us! We really don't know anything..."

The old woman knelt down and begged, but was kicked to the ground by a soldier.

"General Yang was assassinated, the whole city is under martial law!" Roars came one after another from the streets.

The light of the torches shone through the window lattices, illuminating the entire street as if it were daytime.

More soldiers poured into the neighboring houses, and the sounds of smashing cabinets and rummaging through boxes were heard constantly.

A young woman was dragged roughly onto the street, her thin clothes torn during the struggle, revealing large areas of skin.

"Tell me! Where is the assassin hiding?" the soldier grabbed her hair and asked sternly.

The woman shook her head in horror, tears mixed with blood streaming down her face.

The soldier raised his knife with a stern smile, "You don't want to tell me, right? Then don't blame me for being rude--"

"stop!"

A loud shout came from the corner of the street.

The captain on horseback had a sullen look on his face: "The general has ordered that innocent people must not be killed indiscriminately. Keep searching!"

The soldier let go of the woman angrily, turned around and kicked open the door of the drugstore next door.

The medicine cabinet collapsed with a loud bang, and the precious medicinal materials were trampled into mud by military boots.

The shopkeeper knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead was covered in blood.

"Sir, this small shop really can't hide anyone..."

There was a sudden commotion coming from the south of the city.

Several soldiers came over, escorting a ragged boy whose face was covered in bruises and who walked with a limp.

"Sir! This kid is sneaking around in the woodpile!"

The captain rode forward and whipped the boy's face with his whip, leaving a bloody mark. "Tell me! Who ordered you to assassinate General Yang?"

The boy opened his eyes wide in horror.

"I, I just stole a piece of cake..."

Before he could finish his words, the barrel of the gun of the soldier next to him hit him hard on the back.

The young man screamed and fell to the ground, then was pulled up by his hair.

"Keep beating him! Beat him until he tells the truth!"

The captain's voice was as cold as ice.

The screams were particularly harsh in the night. The windows of nearby houses were closed tightly and no one dared to turn on the lights.

The captain came out of the tavern with his men, carrying a waiter with a bruised face and nose.

"This guy said he saw a strange face. Take him back and interrogate him slowly!"

The light of the torches shone on the soldiers' hideous faces. Their armor was stained with blood, and the anger in their eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

The entire Jinyang city trembled under the iron hooves, and every brick and stone was soaked in fear.

At this moment, Jinyang City was in complete chaos.

For three whole days, people were being arrested everywhere in Jinyang City.

No matter if they are strangers or not, anyone who is suspicious will be arrested.

This also caused the Jinyang City prison to be overcrowded.

For a time, there was resentment in Jinyang City, and many people began to curse Chu Ning and the Chu army.

They felt that all this was caused by the Chu army.

This also directly led to the reputation of Chu Jun and Chu Ning plummeting.

Three days later, at the Jin Palace.

As soon as the morning light penetrated the clouds, the vermilion palace gate slowly opened with a heavy creaking sound.

Eight guards carried a brocade-covered stretcher and marched in orderly steps through the long corridor.

On the stretcher, Yang Xingye was lying on his back, his face as pale as paper, and his lips were an unnatural purple color due to excessive blood loss.

The bandage on his chest was soaked with blood, and glowed dark red in the morning light.

"stop."

The leading guard raised his hand to signal, and the stretcher stopped steadily at the jade steps in front of the Taiji Hall.

Yang Xingye struggled to prop up his upper body, and beads of sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.

He gritted his teeth and pulled a black cloak over his shoulders, barely covering the blood-stained bandages.

"Sir Yang, your injuries..." The guard beside him hesitated to speak.

"It doesn't matter."

Yang Xingye's voice was hoarse, but very firm: "Help me up!"

When Yang Xingye, supported by two guards, climbed up the thirty-six jade steps step by step, the hall was already filled with civil and military officials.

The whispering stopped abruptly the moment he appeared.

Countless eyes fell on him—some were filled with shock, some with pity, and most were filled with unfathomable scrutiny.

"Your Highness, your Highness...Yang Xingye...is here to pay his respects to you." He broke free from the guards' support and knelt heavily on the shiny gold bricks.

This action caused the wound on his chest to move, causing him to feel a sharp pain and he almost fell down.

Chu Ning leaned slightly on the dragon throne, tapping the armrest rhythmically with his right index finger, his eyes lingering on Yang Xingye's pale face for a moment.

"Lord Yang is seriously injured, so please excuse me."

Chu Ning said calmly, "Please take a seat."

An eunuch hurriedly brought a brocade stool, but Yang Xingye shook his head: "Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness, but I... have something important to report."

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly, motioning for him to continue.

Yang Xingye took a deep breath, and this simple action caused him to feel a tearing pain in his chest.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I have already investigated the assassination case in Jinyang City."

He took out a blood-stained confession from his sleeve and had the eunuch present it to the emperor.

"We captured five assassins in total. After interrogation... they all confessed that they were dissatisfied with me for handing over Jinyang City, so they... assassinated me."

There was an uproar in the hall. Several old officials exchanged glances, and the Minister of War Li Chongyi frowned.

"Oh?"

Chu Ning unfolded his confession and glanced at the crooked signatures: "Is it that simple?"

Yang Xingye put his fist to his lips and coughed a few times, with blood faintly visible between his fingers:

"I think... this matter can be settled here. Jinyang has just surrendered and the people are still unsettled. If we start a war..."

"boom!"

Chu Ning suddenly slammed the table and stood up, and the confession fell to the ground.

The emperor, who had been calm just now, now had a frosty expression on his face, and the anger in his eyes almost became real:

"Yang Xingye! Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"

This roar was like thunder, and everyone knelt down in unison.

Yang Xingye also trembled violently, the wound burst open again, and blood gradually soaked through his outer robe.

"Five street thugs were able to break through the heavy guards and almost take your life?"

Chu Ning strode down the steps and said in a cold voice, "The timing, the route, the weapons, which one of them was not carefully planned? You tell me that this was a spur-of-the-moment idea of a few reckless men?"

Yang Xingye rested his forehead on the ground: "Your Highness, please understand. I..."

"Three days!"

Chu Ning raised three fingers, his voice as cold as ice: "I gave you three days, and you made a fool of yourself like this?"

He suddenly leaned over and grabbed Yang Xingye by the collar: "Do you think that I can't find out the truth without you?"

The pull hurt Yang Xingye's wound. He groaned but did not dare to struggle.

Blood dripped down the lapels of the clothes and onto the gold bricks, making a slight "tapping" sound.

The hall was deathly silent.

Everyone held their breath and no one dared to speak at this time.

Chu Ning let go of his hand and watched Yang Xingye stagger back to his knees, a barely perceptible complexity flashing in his eyes.

He turned and walked back to the dragon throne, a gust of cold wind coming from his sleeves.

"Since Lord Yang is not capable enough..."

Chu Ning slowly sat back on the dragon throne, his voice returned to calm, but it was even more frightening than before.

"Let Jia Yu handle this matter."

As soon as this name came out, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop suddenly.

Several officials shuddered unconsciously.

Jia Yu, who was standing in the middle of the train, stepped out upon hearing this. He was thin and his dark blue official uniform made his face look very sinister.

"Your humble servant obeys your order." Jia Yu's voice was as hoarse as a knife scraping rusty iron.

Everyone knows that if Jia Yu takes action, there will be bloodshed in Jinyang!