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

The night wind blew through the camp, carrying the smell of blood, and the light and shadow of the torches danced on Chu Ning's cold face.

He signaled the imperial guards to withdraw their defense line and allow the frightened civil and military officials and princes and ministers to come forward.

The ministers gathered together in a panic.

Some had their official hats askew, some had their robes torn, and several elderly ministers had to be supported by their servants to stand steadily.

The look in their eyes when they looked at Chu Ning was a mixture of awe, confusion and relief at having survived the disaster.

"This time I used myself as bait, which made the assassin show up. Thank you all for your hard work." Chu Ning's voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.

The ministers were shocked when they heard this.

The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue opened his mouth wide and almost dropped his jaw in shock, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple widened his eyes, and even the usually calm Liu Shouren showed an expression of disbelief.

"This... this is actually your majesty's plan?" The Minister of Personnel Lu Xiuwen's beard was shaking and his voice was trembling.

Liu Shouren was the first to recover. He smiled wryly and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, there's nothing wrong with what you're doing. Now that you've apprehended these assassins, why not hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation?"

Minister of Justice Ling Haoran immediately stepped forward. There was a cut on his right arm and the blood had already solidified.

At this moment, his eyes were burning with anger, and he said with a folded hand: "This humble official will definitely pry open their mouths!"

He had just narrowly escaped death at the hands of an assassin, and now he wished he could cut those people into pieces.

Chu Ning waved his hand and said, "No need. I have already figured out the identities of these people."

His eyes were like lightning, sweeping over the crowd: "Lord Ling, do you still remember the injuries on the Emperor?"

Ling Haoran's expression was stern: "It's due to the unique swordsmanship of the Green Snake Sect!"

"good."

Chu Ning nodded slightly, his voice suddenly turning cold: "Tonight's group of assassins also come from the Green Snake Sect!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers were immediately in an uproar.

"People from the Jianghu?" Minister of War Feng Anguo was incredulous. "How dare they attack Your Majesty?"

"This is simply lawless!" The Minister of Works was furious: "We should send troops to wipe out this sect immediately!"

"Search all the property and exterminate the clan!" Several ministers who almost lost their lives shouted with gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty, please issue an order immediately to have these traitors executed by slow slicing!"

Amidst the crowd's outrage, Chu Ning raised his hand to signal for everyone to be quiet.

He looked around and suddenly changed the subject: "The scene was so chaotic just now, I wonder if any of the adults are in trouble?"

Only then did everyone remember to count their colleagues.

Soon, cries of alarm were heard from all directions: "Your Majesty, Director Wang of the Ministry of Justice... has been murdered!"

"Two officials from the Ministry of Personnel were seriously injured!"

"Where's Master Zhang? Where did Master Zhang go?"

As Chu Ning listened to everyone's reports, his brows furrowed more and more.

He suddenly looked towards the direction where the royal family was and raised his voice to ask, "In such a chaotic situation, I wonder if the old King Qin is okay?"

This question was like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's heads.

The old King of Qin is the uncle of the late emperor. He is nearly 80 years old and has been plagued by illness in the past two years. He rarely even leaves the palace on weekdays.

With the chaos tonight, how could an elderly man with limited mobility be safe and sound?

Just as everyone was looking around, an old, hoarse voice came from the back of the crowd: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. This old king can still hold on."

The crowd automatically separated into a path.

I saw the old King of Qin sitting upright in a wheelchair, being slowly pushed over by a strong servant.

What was surprising was that the elderly prince was not only unharmed, but even his clothes were as clean as new, without a single wrinkle.

Chu Ning sneered, "Old King Qin is truly lucky. There was such a commotion just now, and all the nobles were in a state of disarray, but Your Highness was the only one who looked perfectly dressed, with not even a hair out of place."

These words exploded in everyone's ears like thunder.

The ministers then noticed that even the officials from the Ministry of Rites, who were most particular about their appearance, were now in dishevel.

Not only was there no stain on the old King Qin's clothes, but even his wheelchair was spotless.

The old King of Qin slowly raised his head, and his usually dull eyes were now shining with brilliance.

He looked directly at Chu Ning, his voice suddenly becoming full of energy: "When did Your Majesty start to suspect me?"

"My Jinyiwei are not here to eat and do nothing."

Chu Ning stood with his hands behind his back, the moonlight gilding him with a silver edge. "Besides, the Green Snake Sect's swordsmanship is so unique, it won't be difficult to find them."

Chu Ning took a step forward, his aura suddenly fierce: "Following the clues to find out the connection between the Green Snake Sect and the prince, it will be easy as pie."

The scene was completely silent, and everyone was shocked by this sudden change.

Who could have imagined that the sickly old King of Qin was the mastermind behind the assassination of the retired emperor and the emperor?

The old King of Qin suddenly burst into laughter, and there was an indescribable desolation in his laughter.

"The victor is the king, the loser is the bandit. Since I have lost to you, you can kill me or chop me up, it's all up to you!"

The old King of Qin stood up straight, how could he look sick at all?

He stared at Chu Ning with a burning gaze: "I'm just curious, how did you predict the future and set up an ambush in advance?"

Chu Ning sneered: "Today's drama is just a trap to lure you into making a move!"

"Since you assassinated the Emperor, there must be some reason that compelled you to take such a risk."

"In that case, the Emperor's funeral and my departure from Kyoto City are your best chance!"

The old King Qin's pupils shrank slightly.

"So that's how it is!" The old King of Qin sighed. "I thought I was acting in secret, but I didn't expect that every move I made was under your watchful eyes."

Chu Ning said no more and waved his hand to signal the imperial guards to come forward and arrest the man.

At this moment, the old King Qin suddenly pulled out a soft sword from the armrest of his wheelchair. The sword light was like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, and it went straight for Chu Ning's throat!

"Your Majesty, be careful!" Zhao Yu exclaimed and drew his spear.

In a flash, Chu Ning's body slightly turned, and the soft sword brushed past his neck, leaving a trail of blood.

At the same time, Zhao Yu's spear had pierced the old King of Qin's shoulder and nailed him to the back of the wheelchair.

"Hehe...hehe..."

Blood oozed from the corners of the old King Qin's mouth, but he still sneered: "Chu Ning, do you think this is the end? I have been in the court for decades, and I have followers everywhere. You never know who will be the next to kill you!"

Chu Ning wiped the blood from his neck and said coldly, "Take him away and keep him under strict guard!"

When the imperial guards took the old King of Qin away, the ministers were still immersed in shock.

Everything that happened tonight was too horrifying - the emperor pretended to be unconscious to lure the snake out of its hole, and the sickly old King of Qin was actually the mastermind behind it. What's even more terrifying is that there may be other rebels lurking in the court.

Liu Shouren was the first to kneel down on the ground: "Your Majesty is wise! I, your humble servant, was so stupid that I almost let the traitor succeed!"

The other ministers knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".

Chu Ning looked up at the gradually brightening sky in the east and murmured to himself, "Daytime is almost dawn!"

Then, he waved his right hand and said, "Set off immediately and return to the court!"