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

Early morning, inside Lanxin Palace.

The rain outside the window has stopped, but the air is still filled with damp chill.

Chu Ning sat next to Feng Mulan, and the two were having breakfast. The second prince Chu Ying was sleeping soundly in the cradle, his little face rosy and his breathing even.

"Your Majesty, today's porridge is well cooked. Please use more."

Feng Mulan said softly, scooped a spoonful of porridge and handed it to Chu Ning.

Chu Ning smiled slightly and was about to take it when he heard hurried footsteps outside the hall. Then, Zhao Yu's low and tense voice came:

"Your Majesty! The Imperial Guards have sent urgent news. Something has happened to the Emperor!"

"Snapped!"

Chu Ning slammed the chopsticks in his hand on the table, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he stood up suddenly.

He walked quickly out of the hall and closed the door behind him to prevent the cold wind from blowing in and disturbing Feng Mulan and the child.

"What happened?" His voice was as cold as a knife.

Zhao Yu knelt on one knee, his face solemn. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have just sent an urgent report. The Emperor… was murdered in Qingshan Forest!"

"What?" Chu Ning's aura suddenly exploded, his eyes blazing with anger. "Who did it?"

"The Royal Guards are investigating, but there are currently no definite leads!"

"Send a message to the Minister of Justice, Ling Haoran, and have him lead his men to Qingshan Forest immediately!"

Chu Ning gave the order in a stern voice, then strode out with his dragon robe fluttering and a murderous aura.

Zhao Yu hurriedly followed, waving his hand to signal the imperial guards to prepare their horses.

A team of white horse cavalry escorted Chu Ning out of the imperial city. The horses' hooves stepped on the wet streets, splashing mud and water.

Shortly after leaving the city, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from behind - Minister of Justice Ling Haoran was galloping over with the elite troops of the Ministry of Justice.

"Your Majesty!" Ling Haoran reined in his horse and approached, saying in a deep voice, "After receiving the news, I immediately mobilized the coroner and elite troops without delaying for a moment!"

Chu Ning nodded coldly: "Let's go!"

The two teams joined together and headed straight for Qingshanlin.

Although the rain had stopped, the mountain road was still muddy, and mud splashed as the horses' hooves stepped on it.

Chu Ning's face was gloomy, and the coldness in his eyes became more intense.

The emperor is dead.

Moreover, he was assassinated.

This matter is by no means simple!

Deep in the green mountains and forests, there was dead silence.

Chu Ning stopped his horse and glanced around with lightning-like eyes.

The forest was filled with a faint smell of blood, and the ground was littered with broken arrows, shattered pieces of armor, and large patches of dark red blood, but—

There was not a single body of the Imperial Guards.

There was only a lonely corpse lying under an ancient tree.

Chu Ning dismounted and strode forward.

When he saw the face that looked somewhat like his own, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The retired emperor Chu Huai had his eyes wide open, and a hideous knife wound pierced through his chest, and the blood had already solidified.

In his hand, he still tightly grasped a blood-stained sword, the blade of which was full of notches, obviously having experienced a brutal battle.

"Investigate!" Chu Ning's voice was low, but it was as loud as thunder: "I want to know who did it!"

Ling Haoran immediately waved his hand: "Coroner, perform an autopsy! The rest of you, search the scene. Don't miss any clues!"

The people from the Ministry of Justice quickly dispersed and carefully checked every inch of land.

An hour later, Ling Haoran was the first to report back, "Your Majesty, the bloodstains at the scene are extremely widespread. It's clear that all the imperial guards escorting the retired emperor were killed, but their bodies... were taken away by the murderer."

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes: "Take away the body? Why?"

Ling Haoran said in a deep voice: "Either it is to cover up the identities of certain people, or... to create greater chaos."

At this time, the coroner stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Emperor had thirteen wounds on his body. The fatal wound was the knife in the chest, which pierced the heart directly. But it is worth noting that—"

He pointed to Chu Huai's right hand and said, "The sword in the hands of the Emperor is in a forward thrusting position. This means that before his death, the Emperor used the sword to pierce the throat of an enemy."

"The blood on the blade hasn't completely dried yet, which means the opponent might be seriously injured, or even... dead."

A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes: "In other words, the murderer did not escape unscathed?"

"Exactly!"

Ling Haoran added, "Also, judging by the footprints and arrows at the scene, there are at least a hundred of them, and they were ambushed here in advance. This is clearly a carefully planned assassination!"

Chu Ning sneered, "More than a hundred elite assassins ambushed the imperial guards outside Kyoto, killed them, and took away their bodies... What a big move!"

He slowly stood up, his eyes as cold as ice: "Ling Haoran."

"Chen is here!"

"I give you one month to thoroughly investigate this matter! Anyone connected to this case, regardless of rank, will be apprehended! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Chu Ning took one last look at Chu Huai's body, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

Does he hate Chu Huai?

hatred.

Chu Huai had attempted to murder him many times and even nearly killed Feng Mulan and her unborn child.

but--

Chu Huai shouldn't have died like this.

You shouldn't die at the hands of others!

"Go back to the palace!"

Chu Ning jumped onto his horse and said in a cold and hard voice, "I want to see who dares to stir up this bloody storm under my nose!"

Afterwards, everyone returned to the city.

In the imperial palace, when Chu Ning stepped into Fengyi Palace, Empress Shen Wanying and Vice Empress Wu Zhao had already been waiting in the palace for a long time.

When Shen Wanying saw him come in, she immediately stepped forward, her eyes filled with worry: "Your Majesty, I heard that something happened to the Emperor?"

Chu Ning's expression was gloomy, and he nodded slightly: "The emperor was assassinated in Qingshan Forest. I have ordered people to suppress the news."

"What?" Shen Wanying's face suddenly changed. She covered her red lips with her slender hands, her eyes full of disbelief.

Wu Zhaoying frowned, a cold light flashed in her eyes, and she said in a cold voice: "It seems that someone wants to use this matter to make a fuss and target Your Majesty!"

Chu Ning's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean?"

Wu Zhao said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, please think about this. You just sent the retired emperor to the imperial mausoleum, and the next moment, he was assassinated on the road."

"What would others think?"

She paused, her voice growing colder, "People will only think that Your Majesty can't tolerate the Emperor Retired, and secretly sent someone to silence him!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wanying's face turned pale. "What's more, the Grand Emperor had previously plotted to murder Concubine Lan and the Second Prince. This is known to everyone in the court and the country. If someone were to use this to fan the flames, I'm afraid rumors would spread everywhere!"

She didn't continue, but the three people in the hall all understood the pros and cons.

A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes, and he slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white due to the force.

He said in a deep voice: "It seems that this opponent is more difficult than I expected!"

The candlelight in the hall flickered, illuminating the solemn faces of the three people. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was almost suffocating.

After a pause, Chu Ning suddenly looked at Wu Zhao and asked, "Who do you think did it? Is it possible that someone from the Tang or Han Dynasty did it?"

"Hard to say."

Wu Zhao frowned and said, "There are no clues right now. Let's wait for the Ministry of Justice to find some clues."

Chu Ning snorted coldly: "No matter who it is, I will definitely wipe out his entire clan!"