Assassination

  The Great Qi Dynasty, during the Qianyuan era, mid-July.

  In the afternoon, after the rain, the sun shone brightly with a gentle breeze. The cicadas were still chirping, and there was a hint of coolness in the air after the rain. It was late July, the hottest time of summer, but the Mou Rong Marquis's mansion was bustling with people, extremely lively.

  Today is the birthday of the master of Murong's mansion, and everyone in the mansion is busy entertaining guests. It can be said that Murong's mansion was personally granted by the Holy Ancestor as a fixed national marquis, with the intention of pacifying the country and stabilizing the nation, which is a highly praised compliment.

  Murong Jin is now the Lord of the Hou Mansion and also a great general who holds the military power in the northwest. He has won numerous battles and is deeply trusted by the Emperor. Just the other day, he returned triumphantly from the northwest, coinciding with his birthday. He invited guests to a banquet, taking the opportunity to connect with relatives and friends in the capital, so as to keep up with the latest developments in the capital.

  When it's a family member's birthday, we naturally want to make good preparations. In the days leading up to this day, everyone has been busy for several days, just to ensure that everything goes smoothly and joyfully on this special day without any mishaps.

  Red walls and green tiles, passing through the second gate can see the corridors on both sides, the corridors are filled with various flowers and red lanterns, bird cages have parakeets, etc., walking through the corridor to the right can see a large garden, in the garden of Murong Fu, inside and outside are filled with long wooden tables painted red, the seats are full of guests, the winding stream banquet is set up, female guests and male guests cleverly use flowers and wood to make some shelters, which will not offend the female guests, but also facilitate conversation between each other.

  Seated in the middle, right-handed position is an elderly lady with a gentle and dignified appearance, wearing a golden crown adorned with pearls, dressed in a crimson embroidered five-blessings brocade robe, paired with a large red auspicious cloud eight-blessings skirt; exuding wealth and nobility, with some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, a pair of eyes that appear sharp and majestic.

  This is the birth mother of Marquis Mu Rong Jin, now a first-class noblewoman.

  On either side of her stood two women, one on the left with a gentle and elegant appearance, looking dignified and beautiful; wearing a golden hairpin adorned with rubies and pearls, dressed in a crimson satin jacket with a large red "fu" character, paired with a scarlet underskirt. This was the elder lady's eldest daughter-in-law, also the legitimate wife of Master Murong Jin, Madame Li.

  The woman on the right side is slightly younger and more beautiful, with high nose wings, vermilion phoenix eyes that are slightly sharp, wearing a cummerbund of golden pearls, dressed in a large red embroidered peony flower patterned brocade jacket, rose-colored eight auspicious Hunan skirt, luxurious and rich. This is the second daughter-in-law of the old lady, who is the legitimate wife of Muyong Qing, the eldest son.

  Next to him sat a young woman, with delicate and lively eyebrows and eyes, wearing a sky-blue outfit that made her look very spirited. This was the third daughter-in-law of the old lady, Zhao Shi.

  On the other side, a middle-aged man with an air of majesty and elegance sat in the main seat, his eyebrows flying into his temples, a pair of eagle eyes that seemed to be full of ferocity, his temperament appeared to be somewhat too hard, the whole person was like a treasured sword out of its scabbard, carrying a sharp edge, making people not dare to underestimate him.

  This is the master of the Murong Marquis Manor, the current marquis, Murong Jin.

  Next to him on the left sat a young boy who looked only three or four years old, with eyebrows and eyes somewhat similar to Murong Jin's. This was Murong Jin's eldest son, Murong Li.

  On his right side sat two brothers, one was Murong Qing, the second eldest brother by birth, who looked similar to Murong Jin with three or five points of resemblance but lacked a few points of evil spirit and had more gentle demeanor. The other was the youngest in age and also exceptionally handsome, with elegant appearance and refined temperament, he was his younger half-brother Xing San, who was a former Exploratory Flower and now worked as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy.

  Today, Murong Jin held a grand feast for his guests, which was very lively. Since Murong Jin was also an imperial favorite for many years, the guests naturally gave him face and everyone ate and drank while taking the opportunity to build relationships.

  After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the male guests all put aside their reserve, playing drinking games and chatting, making a lively scene.

  When everyone was having a lively time eating and drinking, Murong Jin picked up a wine jug and walked towards the female guest. First, he knelt down in front of his mother and kowtowed, "Your son is unfilial and cannot serve by your side, so I'll kowtow to apologize." Murong Jin first poured a cup for his mother and toasted her.

  Mrs. Murong's eyebrows opened with a smile, her eyes full of kindness and affection, "Alright, good child, don't worry about home while you're away for so long, I have several daughters-in-law taking care of things here, it's all very well. You should give your wife a toast, she's not easy to get along with." She let out a soft sigh.

  When she said this, Li turned her back and smiled as she wiped away tears, her face slightly red, and instead felt a bit embarrassed.

  Murong Jin poured a cup of wine and toasted his daughter-in-law, chuckling, "Daughter-in-law, you take care of my mother at home, I know it's hard work, so here's to you."

  Li stood up, her gentle face full of blooming smiles, and her eyes sparkled with a few more captivating charms. "Look at what Master said, this is all I should do, Master works harder than me outside, please take good care of your body." After finishing speaking, she drank it all in one gulp.

  "It's all right, as long as you're safe and sound, I'm happy." The old lady smiled happily.

  The second daughter-in-law saw this scene and felt a little teary-eyed. They were all legitimate children, so why was she so much worse off than the others? It was already unbearable that her husband was not as good as theirs, but now it seemed even their kindness couldn't compare to hers.

  The second daughter-in-law, Wang, thought about it and became more and more unhappy. She turned her eyes and smiled, saying: "If we say that the eldest brother should give a cup of wine to the eldest sister, then the eldest brother is going to have an addition soon. I heard it's twins! Is that right, Eldest Sister? Call them out and let us take a look. I really want to see a pregnant woman with twins for the first time." She looked at Li with a smile that was not quite a smile.

  You want me to be happy but I'm not going to satisfy you, let me remind you that you're about to have a child out of wedlock, don't be too smug.

  Li smiled calmly, "What's so strange about it? It's just that your mother's generation had twins, maybe there's a reason for that too. Come out and let them take a look."

  He Yinniang was a maidservant who had been with the Li family since she was young, and her character was introverted and honest. However, she looked like a beautiful flower reflected in water, with skin as white as snow and a face as lovely as a flower. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she could charm a nation or a city.

  The old lady subtly furrowed her brow, casting a sharp glance at Wang Shi that was like a knife, with a warning in its keenness. Wang Shi involuntarily shrank his neck and stopped provoking further.

  The aunt held her big belly and swayed out, walking behind Li's body in a position that was one step wrong and refused to move forward again. Her belly was indeed very large, looking like twins at first glance, but she still looked well-maintained, with no change in her appearance, not a single pregnancy mark, but instead became more radiant and gentle, exuding the unique warmth and elegance of motherhood all over her body, making it impossible for people to look away.

  At this time, her belly moved slightly. If there were cultivators present at this moment, they would discover that her belly was surrounded by a thin layer of cloud and mist, inhaling and exhaling to absorb the essence of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, which is why she could nurture Madame He so well. This is because one of the children in her womb is a true cultivator who has been reborn, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth in the womb to nourish his prenatal energy for his own use, and this strange phenomenon appeared during his cultivation. Unfortunately, as ordinary people, they cannot see these things.

  Li's only son ran over, gently stroking her belly in front of He Yiniang, shouting in a clear and bright voice, "Sister, sister come out and play with me." He jumped excitedly, curiously touching He Yiniang's belly.

  "Li scolded her son with a smile, 'You little monkey, come here quickly, don't make trouble for your aunt, if you trip up your aunt, it's going to be a big deal.'"

  Murong Jin was also very pleased to see his wives getting along harmoniously. He smiled and asked his son, "Why did you say it's a younger sister and not a younger brother?"

  Murong Li tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Sister dear, I'll buy you flowers to wear, but brother is too mischievous and doesn't listen." He shook his head, seemingly not very fond of his brother.

  Mr. Li naturally knew why his son said that, the second child of the family was one year younger than Lige, but he was very arrogant and mischievous, often snatching things from Lige, sometimes Lige didn't want to give in, grandma was a bit biased towards the youngest, Lige was also the eldest son, so sometimes he would be at a disadvantage, this made Lige, who was also a child, very unhappy, feeling that his brother was very annoying and always snatching things from him.

  Mr. Li continued to guide Lige carefully, "How about having a younger brother as your arm in the future? Will you teach him to read?"

  Lige tilted his head and thought for a long time, with a hesitant expression on his face, obviously reluctant to part with his toys and unwilling to share them.

  At this time, He Yiniang smiled and said: "Young master, now that you have a younger brother, you can be the older brother. Let him do what he wants, if he doesn't listen to you, scold him, you are the older brother after all." Her smile was bright and radiant with kindness.

  Lige thought for a long time and finally nodded, "Okay, then one younger brother and one younger sister it is. But there must be a younger sister!" He seemed to reluctantly accept the fact of having an additional younger brother, only accepting it because of the younger sister.

  The little guy's appearance made everyone laugh, and Murong Jin was also very happy. His son was well-behaved, nothing could make him happier than this. There were a few more genuine smiles on his face as he stroked his son's head, "Lige wants to be a good brother, Dad knows you're a good kid."

  Liu Ge, who was praised, couldn't help but stick out his chest, his big eyes staring at Murong Jin, with admiration and worship for his father in his eyes.

  Just as everyone was laughing and congratulating Murong Jin, and people were toasting him with jokes, suddenly a man and a woman rushed out from among the servants and maids, and with a loud crash, they threw a tray upwards, revealing a dagger underneath, which was thrust at Murong Jin.

  "Murong Jin, you're going to die." The speaker was a man dressed as a small servant, with a strange accent that didn't sound like a local, and his words were slightly slurred.

  Murong Jin pushed his son to Li Shi, rushed forward and protected his mother and wife and children, "You retreat." His voice was stern and calm.

  "Ah! Assassin!" Everyone was in a state of panic, scrambling to get up and run away. In the chaos, chairs and tableware were knocked over, producing a series of clattering and crashing sounds as dishes shattered on the floor.

  Mrs. Li hugged her son and wanted to run out, but unfortunately everyone was squeezed together in an instant, and it was impossible to get out. He Yiniang was also scared and hugged her belly as much as possible to shrink back.

  There were two assassins, one of whom was a woman. Seeing that Murong Jin's solid hard skills couldn't break through, she took the initiative to see Murong Li, went forward with one knife and wanted to get rid of Li, stabbed to death this troublemaker, in order to capture Murong Li and coerce Murong Jin.

  "Be careful, madam." Hollander's wife cried out in surprise and subconsciously pushed Li Shi, her body swaying to one side, her large belly protruding as she stumbled towards the assassin.

  The female assassin was enraged, and with one swing of her knife, He Yini's blood flowed like a river. Her back had been slashed by the blade, and she stared with wide eyes, full of shock and disbelief.

  "Good grief." Li was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body.

  As the female assassin came again to capture Li Ge, her dagger was aimed at Mrs. Li and stabbed without hesitation, putting the mother and son in a precarious situation.