Chapter 1450 Lin Gong's Death, Chen Pingping Returns to Beijing

Li Yunrui seemed to have guessed what Zhou Chen would say, and answered calmly and without panic.

"I said that I can pay you. As far as I know, when Fan Xian was assassinated, he spent 80,000 taels of silver to ask you to save his guard."

"Yes, that's true, so you also want to buy me with silver?"

Zhou Chen's words made Li Yunrui nod slightly: "The huge Zhenguo Mansion has a lot of daily expenses, and the Zhenguo Mansion has few ways to make money. Otherwise, why would you, a great master, save a small guard?"

"I want to ask you to kill Lin Gong in Kyoto. You can directly name the price."

Holding the three major districts in Jiangnan and relying on the financial power of the inner treasury to smuggle with Northern Qi, Li Yunrui dare not say anything else, but in terms of gold and silver, she is definitely one of the best in Qingguo.

She felt that Zhou Chen was short of money, otherwise he would not have saved an insignificant guard, but Fan Xian was the only fool in the world who would spend 80,000 taels to save a guard.

Zhou Chen was short of money, and what she lacked the least was money, so she felt that she should be able to persuade Zhou Chen.

But she didn't understand that Zhou Chen's house didn't have much money, but it didn't mean that he was short of money. He just didn't want to bother doing business in Qingguo to make money, not that he really couldn't make money.

Even if we take a step back, would a grandmaster be short of money?

Li Yunrui was capable, but her vision was ultimately bound by this world. She was a similar person to Emperor Qing. She didn't follow the grand and righteous path, but was good at conspiracy and intrigue.

"Saving people for money and killing people for money are two completely different concepts."

"So, the Duke of Zhenguo is going to refuse?"

"Yes."

Zhou Chen gave his own answer. Whether it was saving people or killing people, for him, it all depended on his mood.

My fate is determined by me, I will do it if I want to do it, and no one can force me if I don't want to do it.

This is the reflection of his inner feelings now.

Li Yunrui frowned and asked: "Why? You have seen my thoughts. If this is done well, it will definitely make His Majesty uncomfortable. Isn't this what you want to see?"

Zhou Chen said: "I really want to make him uncomfortable, but I only do what I want to do. Let me give you an analogy. You do things based on interests, while I do things based on my mood. I don't want to kill Lin Gong, not because the interests are not enough, but simply because I don't want to. Do you understand?"

Li Yunrui tilted her head and looked at Zhou Chen with a strange look. She understood what Zhou Chen said, but she couldn't understand it.

Do things based on mood? Is this something a normal person can say?

Everyone said she was crazy, but she felt that Zhou Chen was even less normal than her.

Sometimes he would take revenge for a slight grievance, and sometimes he would be indifferent. Even the emperor didn't care. Looking at what Zhou Chen did, it was completely unlike the behavior of a normal person.

Are all great masters so abnormal?

But she understood that since Zhou Chen refused, he would not regret it.

"That's a pity. It seems that I still don't know you well. If possible, I really want to know more about you."

Li Yunrui looked at Zhou Chen with a special look. Although Zhou Chen rejected her, she was not annoyed. Instead, she found Zhou Chen interesting.

As the eldest princess, she was destined to have a high standard. You can say she is crazy, but you can't say that her vision is problematic.

She is absolutely professional in looking at men. The men she has slept with are all outstanding.

But Zhou Chen is different from the men she has met before. His temperament, attitude, tone, etc. are all so different.

After a few short contacts, she knew that she had been attracted to Zhou Chen. It was an impulse that moved her. She hadn't had this feeling for many years. After all, she was no longer a teenage girl.

But she also felt very clearly that when Zhou Chen faced her, he had a strong sense of alienation, which made her, who was arrogant, very uncomfortable.

Could it be that she, the eldest princess of Qing, was not as good as a prostitute from a brothel?

Of course, this was just a trivial thought in her mind.

Zhou Chen said coldly: "It's not necessary to understand. I have a clear distinction between public and private. When I talk about interests, I don't talk about feelings, and when I talk about feelings, I don't talk about interests."

Li Yunrui's expression froze. He didn't know how to continue, so he could only change the subject.

"Are you on good terms with Fan Xian?"

"Normally, we don't have much friendship. You don't need to test me."

Hearing Zhou Chen's answer, Li Yunrui felt relieved. If Fan Xian and Zhou Chen had a good relationship, she would really have to be more cautious when dealing with Fan Xian. She didn't want to follow the footsteps of the Queen Mother.

"Duke Zhenguo, I think we can get closer in the future. After all, we have a common goal."

She thought Zhou Chen wanted to take revenge on Emperor Qing just like her. Zhou Chen just smiled and didn't explain. Since she wanted to misunderstand, let her misunderstand.

Fan Xian struggled at home for a whole day and night, but still didn't make up his mind. He even told Fan Ruoruo the truth and asked Fan Ruoruo to help him think about it.

In Fan Ruoruo's eyes, her brother is the most important. Lin Gong dared to assassinate Fan Xian, which was a heinous crime. Of course she wanted Lin Gong to die, but she knew Fan Xian's mind, so she thought for a long time and did not say anything extreme. She let Fan Xian make his own choice. She just said that she didn't want Fan Xian to be in danger again.

After suffering for a long time, Fan Xian finally thought it through. This matter must be resolved. Just like Teng Zijing said, if Lin Gong could kill him once, he could kill him a second time.

So he had to eliminate this possibility, but the way he thought of was not to kill Lin Gong, but to confess to Lin Gong.

He felt that Lin Gong killed him for the prince and for the power of the inner treasury. In this case, he confessed that he did not want the power of the inner treasury, but only wanted to marry Lin Wan'er and then return to Danzhou to live.

That's right, he thought about it for so long and felt that Kyoto was really not suitable for him. He didn't want to participate in the fights of those big men. He just wanted to marry his chicken leg girl and then take the people he cared about back to Danzhou to live their own lives.

This was the best way he thought of. As long as I quit, you would have no reason to stare at me anymore, right?

At this stage, Fan Xian had not experienced any great hardships, so his thoughts were still a bit naive.

Just when he made the decision to have a good sleep tonight and go to find Lin Gong tomorrow, Wu Zhu suddenly came back, which made him very excited.

Since he came to Kyoto, he hasn't seen Wu Zhu for a long time. If Wu Zhu was there during the assassination on Niulan Street, they would not be in danger at all.

In fact, he didn't know that Wu Zhu had come back when he was still struggling. He knew that he was assassinated and watched him struggle for a long time.

After Wu Zhu told Fan Xian about his trip to Jiangnan, he disappeared again. He was following the orders of the lady to protect Fan Xian. Whoever wanted to kill Fan Xian, he would kill him.

So, he was going to kill Lin Gong.

Lin Gong left the prince's East Palace in a bad mood and prepared to return to the Lin Mansion.

Today, the prince asked him to go over in the hope that he could leave Kyoto temporarily. Fan Xian failed to pursue Si Lili, which was something everyone knew, but no one knew what happened specifically, so the prince was still not at ease.

So he asked Lin Gong to go over and let Lin Gong temporarily leave Kyoto, just in case.

Lin Gong was naturally not happy, but he was under the command of the prince, and he could not refuse the prince's order, not to mention that the prince also promised him that he would do everything possible to cancel Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er's marriage before he returned to Kyoto.

In the end, Lin Gong chose to obey the prince's order, preparing to rest for a night and leave Kyoto tomorrow.

Although Lin Gong was the son of Prime Minister Lin Ruofu, the two had different political views. As the head of all officials, Lin Ruofu did not care about the prince at all, but Lin Gong was different. He did not want to rely on his father's wings, so he chose his own way out, and the prince was the object of his loyalty.

As the son of the prime minister, he would bring enough guards every time he went out, and his guards were all masters of the seventh rank.

Sitting in the carriage, Lin Gong thought of Fan Xian again, especially when he thought of Fan Xian's secret meeting with his sister, he was filled with infinite anger.

The environment he grew up in made him understand the nature of this world. He was a person who valued family affection, especially his sister Lin Wan'er, who was the pure land in his heart and the person he wanted to protect, so he would never let his sister suffer any grievances.

"Huh? Why don't you leave?"

He lifted the curtain in confusion, and then looked at the blindfolded man in black standing in front of him with a surprised expression.

"Who are you and what do you want to do?"

The person standing in front was Wu Zhu, who asked Lin Gong: "Lin Gong, things in the world have their own beginnings and ends. If you want to kill Fan Xian, I will kill you."

Lin Gong asked: "Are you sent by Fan Xian? Forget it, there is no need to ask, just kill him."

The men around him immediately stepped forward, drew their swords and chopped at Wu Zhu, but Wu Zhu was faster. At the moment he was about to be hit, he moved.

The iron bar in his hand turned into the sickle of the god of death, harvesting everyone's life.

Lin Gong was about to put down the curtain, but the next moment, his movements froze, and he looked at the men who were killed in surprise.

Because they were in Kyoto, Lin Gong only brought eight people. Although they were all masters, they were no different from children when facing Wu Zhu, who was a great master.

In the next street not far away, a group of men in black were hiding in the darkness. They were sent by Li Yunrui to kill Lin Gong.

Knowing that the prince summoned Lin Gong today, they ambushed here in advance. This place is far away from the palace and is a must-go place to return to the Lin Mansion.

But they waited and waited, and never saw Lin Gong coming. The leader couldn't wait any longer, so he immediately led people to explore the front.

After walking a distance, they did find Lin Gong, but he was no longer alive.

More than a dozen men in black stopped walking, and the leader's pupils shrank, and then he realized that something was wrong.

"Not good, retreat!"

But it was too late. A large group of people from the Inspection Institute, led by Zhu Ge, the chief of the first group, and Yan Ruohai, the chief of the fourth group, arrived at the scene and blocked their retreat.

Neither side expected to meet each other at this moment, but in just a moment, both sides made a choice.

The black-clothed man wanted to evacuate quickly, and the people from the Inspection Institute tried their best to chase him.

A moment later!

Zhu Ge and Yan Ruohai stood together, looking at the bodies placed on both sides, clearly separated.

"Who are these black-clothed people? They are so decisive. After knowing that they can't escape, they all chose to commit suicide."

"They should be dead men, all of them are dead men of the eighth rank. The people behind the scenes are not simple."

Zhu Ge asked: "What do you think?"

Yan Ruohai replied: "It was the other party who killed Lin Gong. The purpose of these men in black may also be to kill Lin Gong, but someone got there first."

Zhu Ge took a breath and said in surprise: "In Kyoto, two parties attacked Lin Gong at the same time. This is a big deal."

"In any case, take the bodies of these people back to the Inspection Institute first, and then report to His Majesty immediately."

…………

In Guangxin Palace, Li Yunrui has not slept all the time. She is waiting for news.

Letting Zhou Chen kill Lin Gong is the safest way she can think of. Zhou Chen can come and go freely in the palace, and killing Lin Gong is not a piece of cake.

It's a pity that Zhou Chen didn't agree, but Lin Gong must die in Kyoto, so she can only change another method. This time, the people sent out are all dead men. Whether they succeed or not, people will not associate her with them.

"The moonlight tonight is beautiful, and tomorrow will be a good day again."

The person who reported finally came. Li Yunrui was very surprised after hearing it.

"Did our people encounter the Inspection Bureau? Was Lin Gong not killed by our people? Was there another party?"

"Who would want to kill Lin Gong at this time? Who dares to kill Lin Gong in Kyoto?"

The first person that came to Li Yunrui's mind was Zhou Chen, but he quickly threw it out. This was impossible. That was.

Fan Xian?

Lin Gong, the son of Prime Minister Lin, was assassinated in Kyoto. The news spread quickly throughout Kyoto like a gust of wind.

The night in Kyoto was once again in turmoil, and countless people were awakened from their sleep, including those bigwigs standing at the top of power.

Because Lin Gong left the Prince's Mansion, the Prince received the news very quickly. The moment he received the news, he was stunned.

First he was angry, then he was nervous. Lin Gong was a very important subordinate of his. Lin Gong's death was a huge loss for him.

Also, Lin Gong was killed after he left here, and he seemed to be related...

He was also wondering who killed Lin Gong, and soon he came up with an answer.

Fan Xian.

When the second prince heard the news, he was also confused. He knew that Lin Gong was the real murderer behind the assassination of Fan Xian in Niulan Street, and he also thought that Fan Xian would cause trouble for Lin Gong.

But he never expected that Lin Gong would be killed quietly in Kyoto, which would have a greater impact than the previous assassination of Fan Xian.

Fan Xian was assassinated, but he was fine, but Lin Gong died, so the meaning was naturally different.

Fan Xian.

"Could it be Fan Xian? Does he have the ability?"

Fan Xian didn't sleep very well tonight, because he had decided to go find Lin Gong tomorrow, so he couldn't fall asleep, and then he saw Fan Jian coming to him with a serious face.

"Lin Gong is dead."

"What?"

Fan Xian was shocked. Before he could say anything, Fan Jian asked again: "Does Lin Gong's death have anything to do with you?"

Fan Xian pointed at himself in astonishment: "How can it be related to me? I..."

Suddenly, he thought of Wu Zhu, but soon returned to normal.

"I have been staying at home. How could it be related to me? Why is it related to me?"

Fan Jian stared at Fan Xian for a long time. He didn't see any problem, but he was still worried.

"It's best if it has nothing to do with you. Starting tonight, don't go out. Lin Gong was assassinated in Kyoto. Kyoto is going to be in chaos again."

"Who is so bold to be assassinated in Kyoto?" Fan Xian pretended to be shocked, with an incredible look on his face.

"Who knows? Don't worry about it. Just do what I tell you to do. Don't go out. Do you hear me?"

"Got it, Dad."

After Fan Jian left, Fan Xian was still shocked. He looked around and found no one. Then he dared to shout in a low voice: "Uncle Wuzhu, Uncle Wuzhu..."

After Zhou Chen woke up, he heard about Lin Gong's murder and was also very surprised. He thought Li Yunrui was a good woman. She killed Lin Gong in Kyoto at such a fast speed.

But after listening to the report from his subordinates, he soon found something wrong. Both groups wanted to assassinate Lin Gong?

"Wuzhu?"

Li Yunrui wanted to kill Lin Gong. He knew that on the other side, he could think of the one who had the ability and motivation, and it was most likely Wuzhu.

"Interesting, after all the twists and turns, the final result is still this, but this time it's probably going to be a bigger fuss."

Lin Gong's assassination was a big deal, and being assassinated in Kyoto was even worse, and it was impossible not to cause chaos.

So, at the morning court that day, many people stood up to impeach him.

There were many targets for impeachment, including the Inspection Bureau, Kyoto Garrison, City Guard, etc. All departments responsible for guarding Kyoto were impeached, especially Chen Pingping of the Inspection Bureau and Ye Chong, the Kyoto Garrison, who impeached the most people, making the entire morning court chaotic.

As for Lin Xiang, the head of all officials, he didn't even come to the morning court today.

Emperor Qing sat on the Diaoyutai, watching the chaos in the morning court, his mind was almost calm.

After he knew about this last night, he had already thought a lot. He was originally troubled by Zhou Chen's affairs, and suddenly such a thing happened, which naturally made him very unhappy.

But after thinking deeply, he suddenly felt that Lin Gong's death could be used as an excuse, and it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Let alone Lin Gong's death, even if Lin Ruofu died, as long as it could help his overall situation, Emperor Qing would not think it was a problem.

In his heart, everything was based on his imperial power, and everything else, even his own son, was just a pawn in his hands.

Fan Jian didn't want Fan Xian to go out, but at dawn, someone came from the palace and said that Emperor Qing had summoned Fan Xian, so Fan Xian had no choice but to follow him to the palace.

At the same time, Zhou Chen received another piece of information from Luo Xingfeng.

"Chen Pingping has returned to Beijing, and it's a good time."

Thinking of the previous meeting between the two, Chen Pingping had to invite him, but they didn't meet again later, and a few months passed in a blink of an eye.

Zhou Chen knew Emperor Qing's ambition very well. Emperor Qing might hate him and want to kill him, but compared to ambition and country, Emperor Qing would definitely choose the latter at this time.

Lin Gong's death just gave Emperor Qing an excuse to go to war with Northern Qi, and he would never miss such a good opportunity.

I feel a little uncomfortable today, so I will update once!