Chapter 341: Has the Emperor’s Sword Broken?

Seizing Lu Feng’s vital point, Wang Darong was in an especially good mood that day. He certainly knew Lu Feng had some fierce and competitive subordinates, but even the strongest dragon can’t overpower the local snake—didn’t he have even more people at his disposal? Thus, now that he was free, he naturally had to comfort Wang Quanbin, who had come from afar only to be ignored by him for several days. He took him to the Wanren Market to find some fine items as compensation. After all, the position of eunuch in charge of defense was highly coveted, and all kinds of relationships couldn’t be neglected.

Upon spotting Zhang Yue, he immediately frowned, then heard Wang Quanbin’s words. He didn’t care about the other words, but the mention of firearms caught his attention. He glanced at the knives worn by those men and then noticed a young man who looked like a servant also carrying a sword.

With just one glance at the sword scabbard, he immediately remembered the diagram sent by the eunuch of the Imperial Secretariat, Huang Yan, along with a silhouette of someone else—his heart tightened. As he studied the young man at the head of the group more closely, he found him increasingly similar, so he immediately abandoned his plan to find an excuse to vent on Wang Quanbin and walked up with a smile.

“I was wondering why Lord Lu hadn’t arrived in Ningbo Prefecture yet, since Lord Zhang wasn’t here either. Who would have thought Lord Zhang would arrive quietly without causing a stir? It seems he deliberately wanted to embarrass me.”

Noticing Wang Darong’s earlier gaze, Zhang Yue glanced sideways at Qiu Hen’s sword at her waist and secretly sneered. He had carried this sword throughout his journey, so it seemed it had indeed drawn attention. If someone was paying close attention, it wasn’t strange they would recognize him. Without even looking at Wang Quanbin, who stood there dumbfounded, he nodded with a smile.

“I also arrived just yesterday, planning to stroll around for a couple of days before troubling Lord Wang. Who would have thought we’d meet so coincidentally today? I heard Ningbo Prefecture was in decline for a while, but now it’s thriving. The Maritime Trade Office must have played a significant role, and Lord Wang has also worked hard. If the sea ban is lifted and ships start arriving in large numbers, the Maritime Trade Office will likely become even busier.”

Having been a self-proclaimed “emperor” in his domain for so long, Wang Darong was used to hearing flattering words, but he still beamed with joy and quickly offered a few humble remarks. Seeing Wang Quanbin standing there awkwardly, caught between two choices, he remembered the foolish words the young man had said earlier. He thought it was fortunate he had sharp eyes and good information. So, out of courtesy to that family, he could only laugh it off.

“Just now, Wang Xian failed to recognize your importance. Please, Lord Zhang, do not take it to heart. In fact, if we count it, he is still related to you—his father is the younger brother of the Duchess of Yingguo and is currently the chief transport officer in the Two Huai Salt Administration. He came here to ask our family to handle a shipment of goods overseas, so they can be sent to Beijing to congratulate the Duke of Yingguo on the safe birth of his legitimate son.”

Zhang Yue, who had been away and hadn’t had time to inquire about matters at home, immediately showed unmistakable joy upon hearing that Lady Wang had given birth safely. After all, since he left, he had received much care and help from the Duke and Duchess of Yingguo, and he deeply hoped that this couple, who had no children of their own, would have one to bring joy to their home. So, despite disliking the domineering Wang Quanbin, when he saw the latter apologize at Wang Darong’s urging, he chose to let it go and left the jewelry shop with Wang Darong.

Since Zhang Yue had revealed Ma Qinjiu and Fang Qing’s identities, Wang Darong couldn’t help but glance at them before saying with a smile, “This is easy to handle. As long as our family remains in charge of the Ningbo Maritime Administration after the sea ban is lifted, we won’t make things difficult for them when issuing trade permits. Lord Zhang, to be honest, though the Maritime Administration seems powerful now, it’s actually just an empty shell. Usually, taxes are levied on goods other than those designated as official tributes, but the emperor said this would harm the nation’s dignity, so that rule was waived. As a result, there’s little income throughout the year. If the Maritime Administration can impose taxes on merchants, it will quickly bring substantial revenue to the treasury.”

Fan Xiyan, who was following behind, listened as Wang Darong talked at length about how to levy taxes, set tax rates, issue trade permits to manage seamen, and establish shipping routes to prevent unscrupulous merchants from exploiting loopholes. After hearing all this, she couldn’t help but think that although Fan Tong had served in the Maritime Administration for much longer than this eunuch, he was still a complete fool in comparison. Judging from Zhang Yue’s increasingly engrossed expression, it was clear that Wang Darong’s words had impressed him.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back and shoulders, and before she could hold on, she collapsed forward. Zhang Yue, who was right in front of her, was caught off guard and felt a soft body press heavily against his back, almost making him stumble. Immediately afterward, he heard Hu Qi shout, “There’s an assassin!”

Feeling a pair of strong arms support her soon, Fan Xiyan let out a sigh of relief. Yet, a severe dizziness hit her abruptly. At that critical moment, she bit her tongue hard to retain some sense. Then, she heard a gasp beside her ear.
“Hand-thrusting swords?”
“It’s… this thing…” Fan Xiyan managed to speak with difficulty before struggling to pull out a silk pouch hidden against her chest. “This sword… is poisonous. Feed me… the pills inside…”
Seeing how hard it was for Fan Xiyan to speak, Zhang Yue quickly tore open the pouch. Inside were two dark pills. He picked one and stuffed it into her mouth, relieved to find she could still swallow. Then he glanced around. He saw Wang Darong sitting not far away, looking panicked; Wang Quanbin, Fang Qing, and Ma Qinjiu hiding behind a vendor’s cart on the side of the road; and civilians and vendors scrambling everywhere. His gaze then shifted to the guards blocking off several assassins, only for his view to be blocked.
“Young master, go quickly! I’ll hold them off!”
Faced with this sudden attack, Lingxi and Hupo were stunned, their faces pale. Although they had encountered pirate attacks before, they had been in the safest place then and hadn’t even seen any dead bodies. But now, it was real assassins. It wasn’t until they saw Qiu Hen holding her arms in front of Zhang Yue that they snapped out of it and rushed over.
Seeing them trying to imitate Qiu Hen, Zhang Yue quickly said, “Come, help me carry Miss Fan over to that spot by the wall first. Qiu Hen, don’t be stubborn. I’m not used to having women in front of me.”
After giving orders to Lingxi and Hupo, he grabbed Qiu Hen’s arm and pushed her behind him without hesitation. Though he wasn’t sure whether the hand-thrusting swords were aimed at Fan Xiyan or if the throw had missed due to a tremor, now wasn’t the time to overthink it. He drew his sword from Qiu Hen’s waist. Seeing Hu Qi have already taken down two assassins and been running back with a knife, he immediately shouted, “Old Hu, protect Lord Wang and come over here!”

Everyone fears death, and Wang Darong, who held a high position, feared it even more. That’s why he always brought along several skilled guards whenever he went out, and this time was no exception. Yet, when he saw those men dressed in dark blue tight clothes, looking fierce and fiercely attacking his guards, he found himself alone with no one by his side. His heart sank to the bottom. So, when he suddenly heard a voice and someone grabbed his arm to help him up, he was both shocked and relieved.

Finally, he managed to reunite with Zhang Yue and the others. He quickly wiped his shiny forehead with his sleeve and stammered, “Lord Zhang, they seem to be ninjas from the Wa!”
“Just because they dress like ninjas doesn’t mean they are ninjas,” Zhang Yue said with a cold laugh as he watched the assassins retreating. “If they really were Wa ninjas, would they use such brute-force tactics? Throw a handful of poisoned shuriken, and most of us would be dead. At the very least, they would disguise themselves as ordinary people to approach and assassinate us. If it’s…”
Before he could finish, he saw figures appear on the rooftop across from them, followed by an extremely sharp sound. Almost at the same time, he felt an irresistible force on the long sword in his hand, causing it to fly out of his grasp. Fortunately, Hu Qi reacted quickly, lifting his sword to deflect the flying sword tip, which flew high into the air. The arrow, still moving fast, grazed Amber’s right shoulder before embedding itself in the dirt wall.

Although Zhang Yue’s wrist was numb, seeing his long sword broken into two pieces made him gasp in shock. It was clear that the precision needed to hit the sword’s spine, combined with the strength to break it, meant that if they really intended to assassinate him, he would have no chance of survival. Looking at the now-empty rooftop, he asked Hu Qi in a daze, “Have they chased after them?”
Even though Hu Qi had deflected the sword tip, he still felt overwhelming fear. Whatever Zhang Yue could think of, he could too. Thinking that his three brothers were lurking in the shadows, always on guard, yet such an unexpected threat had appeared and almost taken Zhang Yue’s life, even he, usually so bold, was trembling.

Regaining his composure, he took a deep breath and said, “Lord, rest assured. They’ve all gone after them. That guy won’t get away!”
“It doesn’t matter if they escape. I just hope they don’t push themselves too hard and return safely.”

Zhang Yue really didn’t want to lose his only trusted men to such an unknown enemy, so he gave a wry smile. Seeing that the fighting over there had ended with seven or eight corpses on the ground and the remaining assassins fled, he stepped forward to pick up the broken sword and its blade. Examining the neat break, he suddenly frowned before recalling a similar experience from before. The only difference was that it had been a warning back then, while this time its meaning was unclear. Just as he was filled with confusion, a sudden cry came from beside him. Wang Darong, who had been terrified by the sudden arrow, swallowed hard and stammered, “Lord Zhang, your Imperial Sword… How could the Imperial Sword just break like this?”