The emperor was really angry and ordered all the people who were in charge of guarding today to conduct a strict investigation, vowing to find out who had given instructions to the thief and who had let him in.
Zhang Cheng, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard who was guarding the outer altar, came with his men to escort the emperor out of the palace and back to the palace.
The emperor had a gloomy face, ignoring the people kneeling in the palace, and walked out surrounded by the imperial guards. Zheng Cheng and Gu Ruizhou followed closely behind the emperor.
After safely walking to the entrance of the main hall, he saw the dense guards outside the hall and the nervous-looking Gu Hongzhang family. The emperor's tense mind was relaxed. As soon as he stepped over the threshold higher than his knees, something unexpected happened again.
The imperial guard in front of the emperor's right side had just stepped out of the hall door. He suddenly drew his sword and stabbed the emperor's chest. The incident happened so suddenly. When Zheng Cheng, who was on the emperor's left side, reacted, he hurriedly pulled the emperor's arm. , using himself as a backing, he fell towards the ground.
Everyone inside and outside the palace who saw this scene stood up and exclaimed:
"And assassins!"
"His Majesty!"
"Father, be careful!"
"Hurry and help!"
When the emperor saw that the tip of the knife was about to touch his chest, his heart was high and his eyes were wide open. Just as he was grabbed by Zheng Cheng, he stretched out an arm on his right side and blocked the tip of the knife that was about to penetrate his chest with his shoulder. , the emperor fell on Zheng Cheng and let out a muffled groan.
When he was helped to sit up, the guard who was drawing the sword had already been captured by brothers Zhang Cheng and Gu Ruizhou. In order to prevent the guard from committing suicide, Gu Qingyun stepped forward and removed his jaw.
"Father, are you okay?"
"Your Majesty, did you fall?"
Everyone rushed over in a hurry, lifted the emperor up and came forward to check.
Gu Hongzhang drew the guard's knife and placed it in front of the palace door, glaring angrily and saying:
"There are assassins among the Imperial Guards. All Imperial Guards must retreat and are not allowed to come near His Majesty!"
Zhang Cheng pushed back the Imperial Guards and had the Imperial Guards who drew swords be tied up. He knelt down in panic in front of the palace to plead guilty.
After three critical moments in a row, the emperor's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He angrily waved his sleeves and waved away the crowd around him. He stepped out of the hall and kicked Zhang Cheng on the shoulder:
"Didn't Yan Zongqi order you just now to kill the Imperial Guards you don't know?! Why can this guy still swing his sword at me?! What's the use of you!"
Zhang Cheng, who was kicked over, hurriedly crawled back on his knees, cold sweat dripping from his temples:
"Reporting to Your Majesty... This person's name is Li Zhao, and he is a centurion of the Imperial Guard. He has been in the Imperial Guard for many years, and only then did he take advantage of him."
"Good! Very good! An assassin can become a centurion of the Praetorian Guard! Where else is a safe place?! Do I have to open one eye when I sleep in the future to prevent accidents?!"
The emperor lost his temper angrily, and everyone knelt down to apologize. Looking at the imperial guards who were kneeling on the ground in front of them, the emperor said in a deep voice:
"All the Imperial Guards who came here with me today are banned from the Shanchuan Altar. They are going to Xuanjin Guards to mobilize the city guards to escort me back to the palace. I want to conduct a thorough investigation! General Gu and his family will follow me into the palace."
While waiting for the Golden Guard to send troops, Gu Yichen quickly went to the bathroom to get Hui Ruizhou's coat and put it on him. The emperor looked at the imperial doctor who had bandaged Gu Ruizhou's wound, suppressed his anger and said with concern:
"Is General Anbei's injury serious?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. General Anbei is a man of great fortune. If the tip of the knife is even an inch to the right, his life will be in danger. Whoever has a deep wound now will be fine as long as he recovers well."
Gu Hongzhang: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Zhou'er has a strong body and suffered numerous injuries while fighting on the battlefield. It will only take a few days to recuperate from his injuries."
