Chapter 495: The start of unrest (1/2)
Chapter 495: The start of unrest
The sudden explosion in the middle of the night alarmed the entire city! Gu Qishao had no idea where it came from when he jumped to his feet, but seeing that the Han Estate was unharmed, he simply laid back down again.
He had never been a curious type, nor did he have the time to spare for frivolous pursuits. Even if all of Tianning’s capital city fell into chaos, or the entire country descended into madness, or Cloud Realm Continent lost all reason, it had nothing to do with him. His childhood reverie had been interrupted, so it was unlikely he’d visit those memories again aside from dreams. He could never allow himself to think of them while he was still conscious.
His pupils reflected the clear, star-filled skies as his world grew still. But after this explosion, all of Tianning Country descended into an unstable crisis! A groggy Han Yunxi was jolted from her sleep and assumed she’d been having nightmares, but when she heard the commotion outside, she realized something major had happened. The explosion was so intense that it rocked all the houses in Tianning capital. Without a doubt, the location of the explosion was someone near the city, perhaps even within the walls themselves.
The explosion at Sky Domain Black Market was enough to alarm the capital, much less one right by their doors. Han Yunxi rushed outside in time to see that the rest of the Han family were all awake as well. Meanwhile, the streets were filled with all sorts of clamor and uproar.
“Xu Donglin! Xu Donglin, come out!” Han Yunxi shouted. She knew there were guards stationed nearby.
As expected, Xu Donglin materialized instantly. “Esteemed wangfei, I hope you didn’t suffer a fright. Shall we go back to the estate? It’s safer there.”
“What’s going on?” Han Yunxi asked instead.
“This subordinate isn’t clear. His Highness ordered us to guard here without budging an inch.” Xu Donglin was clearly spewing lies. His status amongst the guards wasn’t high enough to speak directly with His Highness Duke of Qin!
But Han Yunxi didn’t see through his lies and said anxiously, “This is serious. Hurry back to the Duke of Qin’s estate and see how His Highness is doing. Check to see if there’s explosions there, too.”
Xu Donglin suddenly grew alarmed himself, and ordered a few guards to watch the place while he hurried off.
Where did the gunpowder for the explosion come from?! Han Yunxi creased her brows in thought. Perhaps the search parties had forced the Chu Clan’s people into a corner, thus making them retaliate against Long Feiye with explosions. Aside from Great General Mu’s estate, the only other people in possession of gunpowder would have to be the military Chu Clan.
Currently, Long Feiye had just arrived back at the Duke of Qin’s estate. He too, was shocked by the turn of events.
“Your Highness, it came from the military depot on the west side of the city,” one of the guards reported promptly.
“The military depot…very interesting.” Long Feiye’s pupils glimmered with the light from the explosions as he fell silent. Finally, he ordered, “Tell Chu Xifeng that your lordship is going into seclusion for two days and divvy up forces to look after the Han Estate.”
So speaking, he headed for his quarters without mentioning the explosions again.
Does His Highness Duke of Qin have no views on something so serious? The guard was very curious, but he would never chase to ask his master. He rushed off to find Chu Xifeng instead.
The entire capital city was bathed in lights. Both the civilians and the nobles were all filled with fear. Of course, Emperor Tianhui was panicking most of all. He had just been in the imperial study, asking Great General Mu and Mu Qingwu about the turncoat guards, when the sound of an explosion caused him to drop his tea. The cup shattered into pieces on the ground. Great General Mu immediately sent people out to investigate, thus leaving the occupants of the room in silence.
Emperor Tianhui was sitting bolt upright, his hands clutching his armrest as his taut, cold face turned stern. He had allowed Great General Mu to send off his men without a murmur until now. Before him stood the crown prince Long Tianmo, Great General Mu, and Mu Qingwu, all of them with their heads bowed and ghastly expressions on their faces.
Leaving aside the mystery of the culprits behind the explosion, the very fact that it’d happened at the capital made for a heavy strike against Mu Qingwu, the head commander of the imperial guards and capital city security. Moreover, Emperor Tianhui had found out about the traitor guards right before this explosion happened and was lecturing Mu Qingwu on the incident. At such a critical juncture, another explosion had occurred—so wouldn’t he accuse Mu Qingwu of dereliction of duty?
The room was silent. Emperor Tianhui’s breathing was heavy and labored, while Long Tianmo and the Mu father and son were shaking with fright inside their hearts, anxious and alarmed. The imperial guards had yet to return with a report, so they were still unclear on the current situation. How could anyone keep calm in this state?
Of course, Long Tianmo was the most nervous of all, sensing a faint uneasiness within him. Over the past few days, he and Mu Qingwu had exerted effort to convince the emperor that the crossbow archers were connected to the black market gunpowder case. Their purpose was to threaten the capital city itself. But someone had been whispering into the emperor’s ear until he summoned the Mu father and brother to the palace to ask in detail about the turncoat soldiers. After they’d turned traitor, Mu Qingwu had killed their young commander in a fit of impulse. The two captains had been detained and interrogated in turn. Everyone knew about this, but who would care while they were preoccupied searching for the crossbow archers?
The emperor had only given the incident a cursory glance in the past and told the torturers to take care of interrogation without any further input. But now he suddenly wanted to know all the details. Moreover, there had been an unexpected explosion tonight. Wasn’t everything too much of a coincidence?
Suddenly, hasty footsteps sounded from outside the study, the sound of the guard back from his scouting. In a flash, the nervous group grew even more tense. What’s the situation now?
Eunuch Luo had hardly showed the guard inside before Emperor Tianhui snarled, “Where was the explosion? Just what’s going on?”
“To reply Your Majesty, it was the military depot in the western part of the city that exploded. The explosion ruined two storehouses’ worth of weapons and armor. They’re still counting the deaths and injuries, but the army doctors are already hurrying over to the scene.”
Long Tianmo, Mu Qingwu and Great General Mu all raised their heads at the same time, shocked until their faces turned white.