Tang Chen: Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

It's a whistling arrow!

Shen Ce was greatly alarmed.

The Crown Prince's residence is separated from the western palace wall of the Imperial Palace by only one wall. Once the arrow whistles, the soldiers under the Crown Prince's residence will surely know in advance.

If they fail to fulfill their military orders by then, all eleven of them will face certain death.

At this moment, Shen Ce didn't care about being exposed or not, and immediately got up and ran quickly towards the shore.

To kill an armored imperial guard with a crossbow, one must be within fifty paces.

At this moment, the dragon boat was still twenty paces from the shore, and he needed to move forward another thirty paces to be within range. As Shen Ce sped along, he quickly thought of a countermeasure, knowing he only had a few breaths left.

Twenty steps to go.

It was clear that the man had already changed the arrowhead.

Ten steps.

The man had already begun to draw his bow.

It's over, it's too late. Shen Ce felt utterly hopeless. With the sound of the whistle, all his previous efforts were in vain.

In his desperation, or perhaps some divine intervention, he blurted out, "There's an assassin!"

Upon hearing the sound, the man instinctively loosened the bowstring and turned around. Halfway around, he realized something was wrong. Without looking for the source of the sound, he immediately drew the bow again.

In the span of a single breath, Shen Ce had already entered the range of the crossbow.

Freeze, aim, fire—all in one smooth motion.

hum.

The crossbow bolts whistled as they hurtled toward the dragon boat. The imperial guard, seeing the bolts coming, did not flinch. He only had this one chance. If he dodged or was injured, the other guards on the dragon boat would not give him a second chance to draw his bow.

Before the Imperial Guards could fully draw their bows, the crossbow bolts pierced through their chests. Instantly, the bowstrings deflated like punctured balloons, and the arrows whistled a few times like birdsong before disappearing into the air.

Blood slowly seeped through the armor and began to ooze out, gradually spreading a red stain on the lake surface.

Only then did the people standing at the bow of the dragon boat see that someone was trying to assassinate the emperor on the shore. They hurriedly protected the emperor and hid in the cabin.

Shen Ce, panting heavily on the shore, wiped the cold sweat from his hands on his trouser legs, placed his hands on his knees, and looked up at the dragon boat after seeing that the person in the water had stopped struggling.

"This is treason! Your entire family, including your nine generations, should be executed!" came the emperor's furious roar from the dragon boat.

Shen Ce completely ignored the shouts on the boat: "Could the Crown Prince have planted two spies in one place?" Shen Ce thought to himself, but he dared not be careless. After reloading the crossbow, he slowly disappeared into the reeds.

The business of "Qian" involved the execution of nine generations of a family. I wonder if the historian Yan Shigu took out a notebook to write it down on the ship.

Hidden among the reeds, Shen Ce dared not be careless after what had just happened. Looking at the sky, he estimated that it had been almost half an hour, and the matter with the King of Qin should have ended by now.

He also wanted to see what the crown prince looked like after his head was cut off.

Just as he was lost in thought, the sound of rapid hoofbeats reached his ears.

Is anyone else there?

It shouldn't be his guards. If they were his men, they certainly wouldn't be so reckless, riding in with such fanfare, and there wouldn't be just one person. Shen Ce thought to himself.

If General Yuchi had returned victorious, he wouldn't have come alone to force the emperor to abdicate.

Could it be that one of the messengers who delivered the order escaped?

His relaxed state of mind tensed up again, and he unconsciously gripped his crossbow tighter. He followed the slow sound forward, quickly crossed the reeds, and approached step by step, leaning against the giant cypress tree to peer out.

Perhaps because he was too eager, a sizable embankment blocked his way, and he and his horse tumbled down it.

The man quickly scrambled to his feet, straightened his crooked headdress, and ran frantically forward, not knowing where he was going.

Only then did Shen Ce get a clear look at the person's attire. The gold-embroidered turban was particularly dazzling in the sunlight, and the luxurious purple pleats were covered in bloodstains.

He wasn't a member of the Imperial Guard; he must be a nobleman.

Shen Ce gripped the crossbow tightly, his mind racing as he considered countermeasures. Of all the dignitaries present today, only three princes were there.

Is this the Crown Prince or the Prince of Qi?

King Qi must have had an ugly head.

Could this person be... the Crown Prince?

He should have been shot through the neck by the King of Qin and died, so how did he end up here? Shen Ce was filled with doubt.

Shen Ce was already satisfied with his military duties, which didn't require bloodshed and even offered him merit, but by a twist of fate, the lonely Crown Prince appeared before him.

Having been influenced by movies and TV dramas, Shen Ce neither signed up, nor shouted "Watch the arrows!" nor did he even think about capturing the enemy alive.

They simply waited for the prince to enter their firing range, then fired the crossbow bolt without hesitation.

Ding

The knocking sounds from the machinery were particularly jarring in the quiet jungle.

The man suddenly turned his head, as if trying to find the source of the sound.

There were no screams, no dying words, only the buzzing sound of the armor-piercing arrow as it pierced through his body and remained embedded in the tree trunk.

Seeing the man fall and be hit by an arrow, Shen Ce quickly threw away his bow and crossbow, drew his sword from his waist, and strode closer.

Shen Ce stared at the blood flowing on the ground, held the knife to his neck, took a deep breath, pulled his hair, and forcefully straightened his head.

Yes, yes, it's the Crown Prince, hahaha, it's his destiny.

Without hesitation, Shen Ce swung his sword and severed the prince's head. The gushing blood sprayed onto his face, causing his tense body to tremble violently.

He smeared the blood haphazardly on his face, desperately suppressing his inner fear and physical reaction, and pulled on his hair to lift the prince's head high above his head.

"The Crown Prince is dead! The Crown Prince is dead!"

Shen Ce stood still, mustered all his strength, and shouted into the distance. The distant woods seemed to be responding to him, whispering his words back.

...

"Stop shouting, we know you killed the Crown Prince." Yuchi Gong, who was riding on horseback, used his lance to lift up the "Crown Prince's" head and handed it to the King of Qin behind him.

The surrounding guards burst into laughter, looking at Shen Ce with gratitude. They had thought that the Crown Prince had escaped and that all their efforts had been in vain, but they never expected that he would seize the opportunity and achieve such merit.

"Young man, you're lucky. You're a blessed general," Li Er said in high spirits after confirming that it was indeed the Crown Prince. He even joked with Shen Ce.

"It is Your Highness's destiny that has given me the opportunity to prove what I said yesterday," Shen Ce knew that if he didn't flatter him now, when would he?

Li Er looked at Shen Ce below, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I will hold General Yuchi responsible for the Crown Prince's death."

Yuchi Jingde frowned. He had no habit of taking credit for his subordinates' work. He immediately spurred his horse, preparing to speak to the King of Qin, but was stopped by Li Er's wave.

When Shen Ce's soldiers heard Li Er say this, their faces showed disappointment, but they quickly recovered.

Only Shen Ce knelt on the ground excitedly upon hearing Li Er's words: "I thank Your Highness for your great kindness, and I also thank General Yuchi."

Killing the crown prince is a hot potato; it's better to pass it on and let the King of Qin remember it. If the credit is also attributed to him, it could cause huge trouble in the future.

If Li Chengqian were to ask him in the future, "Why did you enter officialdom?"

Shen Ce: "Kill the Crown Prince..."

After dealing with the Crown Prince's affairs, Li Er set his sights on the dragon boat on Nanchi Lake.

"Yuchi Jingde".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Go and tell the Sage what happened today, and invite him to the Taiji Palace. I will be waiting for him there."

"Yes, ma'am."

Yuchi Gong watched Li Er's departing figure, burst into laughter, then grabbed two heads from the ground with one hand, picked up his spear, and strode towards the dragon boat.

Shen Ce stood on the shore, muttering cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have rebelled, and the Prince of Qin has already raised troops to punish them. I was afraid of alarming Your Majesty, so I was specially sent to guard you."

Even if I don't go, I know what Yuchi Laohei is talking about. With the heads of his two sons right in front of him, how can I disturb the Emperor?

But... is this the price of gaining the world?