The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"You saw Lord Marquis kill Yang Yan with a single stroke, didn't you?"

Qi Tianchen paused for a moment, then looked at Yan Qingfeng and said.

"I saw it."

Yan Qingfeng said honestly.

After saying that, Yan Qingfeng realized what was going on and said with a look of sudden understanding, "What you mean is that with the Marquis's current strength, you don't need to take action to suppress him at all, so you came back."

"I originally wanted to give you a beating."

"But, never mind..."

"Even if I beat you up, you still won't be able to catch up with the Marquis."

Qi Tianchen sighed deeply and said with a look of disappointment.

"..."

Yan Qingfeng was dumbfounded. No, you see that the Marquis is exceptionally talented, so you want to beat me up?

I'm already so old!

Thank goodness you gave up in the end, otherwise I would have been too ashamed to face anyone!

"Kneel down. You can get up when I've calmed down."

Qi Tianchen remained silent for a long while before speaking to Yan Qingfeng.

Pfft!

Yan Qingfeng immediately knelt down without the slightest hesitation.

It's better to kneel down than to get beaten up by Qi Tianchen.

The Ministry of Personnel.

The duty room in the east wing.

Yang Tao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was sitting upright at his desk handling official business.

A man dressed in black suddenly appeared in the east wing's duty room.

This man in black is none other than the Commander of the Shadow Guards.

"Shadow Guard?"

Yang Tao's eyes narrowed, and his heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and said in a deep voice, "What brings you to the Ministry of Personnel?"

As a direct descendant of the Hongnong Yang clan and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he not only knew of the existence of the Shadow Guards, but also recognized their commander at a glance.

of course.

He only recognized that the Shadow Guard Commander's status and position within the Shadow Guard must be extremely extraordinary.

After all, the aura emanating from the Shadow Guard Commander posed a significant threat to him.

It should be noted that although his strength is not as great as his elder brother Yang Yan, he has already reached the peak of the seventh level of the Earth Immortal Realm.

As a true scion of a prominent family, and a direct descendant of one, holding the high-ranking and powerful position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was a true pillar of the Hongnong Yang clan, and his strength was naturally considerable.

"Yang Tao, your scheme to bribe Qi Yan, the general of Yizhou Army and General of Yangwu, and collude with the barbarians has been exposed. I am here on behalf of His Majesty to arrest you."

The Shadow Guard Commander looked at Yang Tao indifferently and said, "Are you going to surrender, or do you need me to take action personally?"

"How will His Majesty deal with our Yang family?"

Yang Tao paused for a moment, then looked at the Shadow Guard Commander and asked.

"Crush the Yang family and exterminate the ancestral land of the Yang clan in Hongnong!"

The Shadow Guard Commander spoke with a chilling aura.

Yang Tao's expression changed drastically, and he revealed a bitter smile, saying with a wry smile, "I was too hasty. I am still not as good as my elder brother, and I have dragged down our entire Hongnong Yang Clan."

After saying that, Yang Tao moved and soared into the sky.

Boom!

The roof of the east wing guardhouse shattered instantly, and Yang Tao leaped into the air, trying to escape.

He knew very well that only by surviving could there be hope.

Surrendering at this point would only lead to certain death.

If he didn't escape, he would definitely die at the hands of the Shadow Guard Commander.

There's still a chance to survive if we fight!

This commotion instantly alarmed the entire Ministry of Personnel.

One after another, figures emerged from various parts of the Ministry of Personnel, looking at Yang Tao who had appeared high in the sky with astonishment.

"Unbelievable!"

With a cold shout, the Shadow Guard Commander, wielding a longsword, attacked Yang Tao.

This sword strike was incredibly fast, like a thunderclap.

"Assassins! Protect Lord Yang!"

"Protect Lord Yang!"

"quick……"

Upon seeing this scene, the officials in the Ministry of Personnel felt their scalps tingle and shouted urgently.

The imperial guards responsible for protecting the Ministry of Personnel wanted to leap into the air to protect Yang Tao.

No one expected that an assassin would attempt to assassinate Yang Tao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, right in the Ministry of Personnel's office.

If this matter were to spread, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty would likely be shaken.

Not bad.

Although in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Six Ministries were usually guarded by Imperial Guards.

However, very few of the Imperial Guards actually knew of the existence of the Shadow Guards.

"Stop!"

"This is His Majesty's shadow guard..."

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel hurriedly shouted at the group of Imperial Guards, stopping them from going to protect Yang Tao.

Ordinary officials of the Ministry of Personnel and soldiers of the Imperial Guards might not recognize the Shadow Guard, but it was impossible for him, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, not to recognize him.

"Shadow Guard?"

The officials of the Ministry of Personnel and the soldiers of the Imperial Guards were stunned.

Even if Yang Tao committed a crime, and Empress Murong Si wanted to take him down, she wouldn't need to send out the Shadow Guards, would she?

What heinous crime did Yang Tao commit that prompted Murong Si to mobilize her shadow guards?

"Here comes the sword!"

Seeing the Shadow Guard Commander's sword coming at him, Yang Tao's expression became extremely solemn. He grabbed with his right hand, and a long sword worn by an Imperial Guard soldier flew up and landed in his palm. He then swung his sword at the Shadow Guard Commander.

laugh!

however!

Yang Tao's strength was no match for the Shadow Guard Commander.

A human head flew off Yang Tao's neck, and bright red blood gushed from his headless neck.

With a swift movement of his left hand, the head fell into his palm, and he held it in mid-air by the hair.

Fresh blood dripped from his head.

At this moment.

His head fell towards the Ministry of Personnel, crashing heavily into the building.

"Yang Tao secretly colluded with Xiao Yu, the leader of the Maitreya Sect, to help Xiao Yu rebel. To this end, he sent someone to bribe Qi Yan, a general of the Yizhou Army. With Qi Yan's help, he went out of the pass to contact the barbarian tribes and asked them to send troops to threaten the important border areas of our Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"He deserves to be punished for his crime!"

The Shadow Guard Commander stood high in the sky, looking down over the entire Ministry of Personnel, and spoke with murderous intent.

"...What? The barbarian invasion is actually related to Yang Da...Yang Tao?"

"No wonder! I was wondering why the barbarians attacked right after Xiao Yu rebelled. It turns out it was that traitor Yang Tao!"

"The Yang family of Hongnong is finished!"

"Hehe, this Yang Tao relies on his lineage from the Hongnong Yang clan. He has always been the undisputed leader in our Ministry of Personnel. People who don't know him would think he is the Minister of Personnel. Who would have thought he would have such a day!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the officials of the Ministry of Rites began to discuss among themselves, and they all loudly condemned Yang Tao.

Regardless of their true intentions, the fact that the Shadow Guards killed Yang Tao made them realize one thing: this matter was definitely not just about Yang Tao; the entire Hongnong Yang Clan was doomed.

Since the Yang family of Hongnong is about to perish, they naturally want to show their loyalty at this time and completely sever ties with Yang Tao.

With a slight movement, the Shadow Guard Commander, carrying Yang Tao's head, disappeared above the Ministry of Personnel and headed towards Yang Tao's residence.

Although he had already dispatched a large number of shadow guards to the Yang residence, he still needed to personally oversee the operation to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

Now that Empress Murong Si has entrusted Yang Tao and the Yang family to him, he absolutely cannot allow anyone from the Yang family to escape alive!