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

Dusk is falling and the wind is as cold as a knife.

Jia Yu and Ling Haoran hurried to the East Palace, following the still wet water on the palace road.

The hurried footsteps of the two men attracted the attention of the surrounding guards, who wondered what had happened to make the two important officials so anxious.

"Hurry up!"

Jia Yu turned back to urge Ling Haoran, the white breath he exhaled condensing into frost mist in the cold night: "This matter cannot be delayed!"

Ling Haoran wrapped himself tightly in his sable coat and followed breathlessly.

His official boots creaked as he stepped on the snow, but beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

The two of them turned the corner of the palace wall, and the towering palace of the East Palace was before their eyes. The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind, making the night even more solemn.

In front of the East Palace gate, eight guards in golden armor stood holding spears.

Jia Yu showed the Imperial Guard's ivory card and said sternly, "Minister of the Cabinet, Jia Yu, Commander of the Imperial Guard, and Ling Haoran, Minister of Justice, wish to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on an important matter!"

The leading guard clasped his fists and saluted, "You two gentlemen, your arrival is inopportune. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was invited to a banquet at the Sixteenth Prince's residence half an hour ago."

"what?"

Jia Yu's pupils suddenly shrank, and his right hand unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the knife.

Seeing this, Ling Haoran hurriedly held down his arm, but felt that his muscles were as tight as iron.

Ling Haoran forced himself to remain calm and asked, "Do you know who is accompanying them?"

The guard replied, "General Zhao Yu is leading twenty of the Eastern Palace's personal guards to escort the Emperor."

Jia Yu's face looked very gloomy under the light of the palace lanterns.

He turned around abruptly, grabbed Ling Haoran's wrist and walked away quickly. He lowered his voice and said after he had passed the palace wall:

"The Sixteenth Prince is desperate! Zhou Mingde is his man, and now that the truth has been revealed, he will definitely harm His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Ling Haoran stumbled from being dragged, but he knew the situation was urgent. "Brother Jia, calm down! General Zhao Yu is a skilled warrior, and he has brought with him twenty elite guards. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should be fine for a while. The most urgent task is to mobilize troops and head to the Sixteenth Prince's residence immediately."

At this time, the drizzle in the sky slowly turned into snow grains.

The cold wind blew up the snow on the ground and hit the two people's faces.

Jia Yu took a deep breath, and the cold air calmed him down a bit. "You're right. I'll go back to the Jinyiwei Yamen to mobilize the best troops. You go to the Ministry of Justice to gather reliable officers."

"Remember, this matter should not be made public to those you trust!"

"understand!"

Ling Haoran nodded: "We will act separately and meet outside the Sixteenth Prince's Mansion. If we are stopped..."

A cold light flashed in Jia Yu's eyes: "Kill without mercy!"

The two parted ways outside the palace gate.

Jia Yu jumped on the horse and kicked its belly. The black horse rushed towards the Jinyiwei Yamen like an arrow.

The cold wind cut his face, but he didn't feel cold. Various terrible scenes kept flashing through his mind - the prince was poisoned, assassinated, placed under house arrest, etc.!

"Gee!" Jia Yu whipped his horse whip hard, and the horse's hooves broke the silence of the long street.

At the same time, Ling Haoran rushed to the Ministry of Justice in a sedan chair.

He kept urging the sedan bearers to speed up, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees.

A corner of the sedan chair curtain was blown up by the cold wind, and he caught a glimpse of icicles hanging from the eaves of the houses on the street, which were as cold as knife blades in the moonlight.

"Faster!"

Ling Haoran opened the sedan chair curtain and shouted. He was burning with anxiety. The Sixteenth Prince was known for his sinister nature. If he really did something bad for the Crown Prince...

He didn't dare to think about it any more.

The lights in the Ministry of Justice were on, and the night watchmen were all surprised to see the Minister returning so late at night.

Ling Haoran jumped down from the sedan chair before it even stopped, shouting, "Pass my order. Gather all the guards on duty, prepare their weapons, and set off in half an hour!"

The chief hurried forward and asked, "Sir, what happened?"

Ling Haoran said sullenly, "Don't ask any more questions. Go and get ready! Get another fast horse. I need to go ahead."

Although the yamen runners did not understand what was going on, seeing the serious expression on the Shangshu's face, they did not dare to delay and immediately took action.

Ling Haoran changed to a fast horse and set off first with two trusted constables. The remaining yamen runners, led by the chief officer, followed.

On the long street, Jia Yu had gathered fifty elite Jinyiwei soldiers.

These men, dressed in Feiyu uniforms, each wore an embroidered spring sword on their waist and carried a powerful crossbow on their back. They stood as still as pine trees in the cold night. Only the white breath they exhaled showed that they were living people and not sculptures.

"Obey the order!"

Jia Yu's voice was as deep as thunder: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince may be in danger. We will immediately go to the Sixteenth Prince's residence to protect him."

"Remember, if you encounter an obstacle, don't ask for instructions, just take it down!"

"Yes, sir!" The Jinyiwei responded in unison, their voices shaking the night sky.

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, and the Jinyiwei team rushed towards the Sixteenth Prince's Mansion like a black torrent.

Jia Yu rushed forward, his cloak rustling behind him. Turning a corner, he saw Ling Haoran, accompanied by two constables, riding towards him.

"What's the situation?" Ling Haoran reined in his horse and asked anxiously.

Jia Yu's face was gloomy. "My men have surrounded the Sixteenth Prince's residence. A spy just reported that the mansion is brightly lit, but there is no sign of the Crown Prince's carriage."

Ling Haoran's heart tightened: "Are we too late?"

"will not."

Jia Yu gritted his teeth and said, "General Zhao Yu is no ordinary man. If something unexpected really happened, he would definitely send a signal. Let's go, let's just rush in!"

The two men rode side by side, followed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the runners from the Ministry of Justice who arrived one after another.

The Sixteenth Prince's residence was not far away. The vermilion lacquered gate was closed, but there was no one guarding the door. This abnormal scene made Jia Yu's heart alarm bells ring.

"Something's wrong." Jia Yu raised his hand to signal the team to stop. "It's too quiet."

Ling Haoran squinted his eyes and suddenly pointed at a corner of the wall: "Look there!"

Jia Yu looked in the direction of his finger and saw a red shadow flash by on the wall - it was the red tassel on the helmet of the East Palace guard!

"It's Zhao Yu's people!"

Without hesitation, Jia Yu drew his embroidered spring sword and swung it forward: "Jinyiwei, listen to my order, attack!"

At this moment, a sharp whistle suddenly came from the Sixteenth Prince's Mansion, followed by the clanging sound of weapons clashing and shouts of killing.

Jia Yu and Ling Haoran looked at each other and urged their horses towards the gate at the same time.

"Protect the prince!"

The Jinyiwei rushed towards the mansion gate like a tide, and broke open the vermilion lacquered door with a loud bang.

Jia Yu rushed into the courtyard first, and the scene before him almost froze his blood - in the courtyard, the East Palace guards were fighting with a group of men in black. There were seven or eight corpses on the ground, and the blood had dyed the snow red.

"Where is the prince?" Jia Yu asked sternly.

A wounded guard pointed to the inner courtyard and said, "Your Highness... there's an ambush in the inner hall..."

Jia Yu did not hesitate any longer and led a team of Jinyiwei to rush towards the inner courtyard.

Ling Haoran commanded the criminal department officials to assist the personal guards in clearing out the men in black.

The sounds of fighting and screams filled the night sky, and the sparks from the clashing of weapons were particularly dazzling in the darkness.

After passing through two moon-shaped doors, Jia Yu finally saw the scene in front of the inner hall - Zhao Yu was covered in blood, holding a sword to guard the door of the inner hall, with five or six corpses of men in black lying in front of him.

At the bottom of the stairs, the sixteenth prince was dressed in gorgeous clothes, holding a long sword, with a ferocious look on his face.

"Zhou Mingde is such a loser!"

The Sixteenth Prince Chu Bin roared hysterically, "If he hadn't been incompetent, why would I have to take action myself?"

Jia Yu shouted, "Sixteenth Prince! How dare you murder the crown prince!

The sixteenth prince turned around when he heard the sound and saw that it was Jia Yu who was leading his men to kill him. His face turned pale instantly.

He turned around suddenly and was about to rush into the inner hall, but was blocked by Zhao Yu's sword.

"Don't even think about hurting the prince!" Although Zhao Yu was injured, his sword was still sharp.

Jia Yu led his men forward and surrounded the sixteenth prince.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Sixteenth Prince suddenly burst into laughter: "It's too late! It's too late! Chu Ning..."

Before he finished speaking, the door to the inner hall suddenly opened and Chu Ning walked out slowly, followed by two Jinyiwei guards escorting a man in black who was tied up.

"Sixteenth brother!"

Chu Ning's voice was terrifyingly calm: "Do you really think that I would go to your Hongmen Banquet without any preparation?"

Seeing this, Jia Yu breathed a sigh of relief and knelt on one knee: "I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Chu Ning raised his hand slightly: "Lord Jia, please stand up. You have arrived just in time."

He turned to the ashen-faced Sixteenth Prince, his eyes gleaming coldly like a blade. "Now, let's talk about Zhou Mingde, the Marquis of Pingyuan, and... all of your schemes."

The cold wind howled, blowing up the bloody snowflakes in the yard.

This thrilling night banquet finally unveiled its bloody veil.