Chapter 168: Birthday Banquet Murder (Part 1)
"Auspicious signs have come to the world, auspicious signs have come to the world!"
"May all the gods and Buddhas bless our Great Zhou!"
"Long live His Majesty!"
Looking at the chaotic scene in front of the main gate of the imperial palace, like a group of demons dancing wildly, and then looking at the several hot air balloons floating on the city gate tower, Sun Shaozong was speechless and in admiration.
This hot air balloon was clearly a tool for political enemies to escape, but Emperor Guangde turned it into an auspicious sign to praise him!
He even invented a method of using hot air balloons to pull banners without any instruction.
Looking from afar, the red silk and golden characters fluttered in the wind, just like a supermarket chain opening a business to attract customers.
Not to mention, in terms of liveliness, they are really on par!
However, this scene of universal celebration was not a good thing for Zhao Liben and his subordinates.
With just a glance, you can see the busy figures of officials from the Salt and Iron Bureau.
As for Sun Shaozong, his only task now is to guard the hundreds of sedan chairs and escort the old men home after the birthday banquet.
Those ordinary old men naturally did not need him to escort them personally, but among them there were several senior officials who were important officials in the court. If he arranged for yamen runners or clerks to escort them as well, it would seem too disrespectful.
Stop talking nonsense.
But as the night grew darker, it was almost time for the party to end.
Sun Shaozong stood up and said, "Please remember the names of the elderly people you want to pick up! When Inspector Zhou and the others call out their names three times, if no one responds, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
All the yamen runners and sedan chair bearers responded quickly.
Just to pick up and drop off the two hundred or so old men who came to celebrate the birthday, the sedan bearers had already practiced the process six or seven times. Moreover, there were two yamen runners assigned to look after every ten sedans. If something still went wrong, they would be hopelessly stupid.
Sun Shaozong gave another look, and Zhao Wuwei and several constables began running around to ask the sedan bearers to take care of their physiological problems first so as not to delay their work.
Sun Shaozong himself went to find Zhao Liben and asked him to clear out a large enough space on the west side of the main gate of the imperial palace.
When everything was ready, Zhou Da shouted at the top of his voice, "Bring up the sedan chairs!", and more than 200 sedan chairs were loaded onto his shoulders, trembling and swaying, as they headed straight for the Meridian Gate.
When they arrived in front of the Meridian Gate, the sedan bearers, under the command of the yamen runners, roughly arranged the sedan chair in the shape of a fan.
Just like this, about a quarter of an hour passed before a large number of white-haired and gray-bearded men rushed out of the brightly lit city gate tower.
Zhao Wuwei hurriedly waved the colorful flag on his shoulder, and hundreds of sedan chair bearers and yamen runners shouted in unison: "Shuntian Prefecture is ordered to respectfully welcome the old birthday stars back to the palace."
Welcoming and seeing off this group of old men was originally a difficult and thankless job, so Sun Shaozong specially rehearsed this scene. After all, it could be regarded as a way to make his presence felt under the imperial city.
When the old men heard the roar, they slightly adjusted their direction and walked towards this side.
As they walked, they saw that many people were staggering. At first Sun Shaozong thought they were drunk, but when he got closer, he found that was not the case.
After all, the old men are already in their seventies and eighties, and are said to be in good health. However, it is understandable that they would be exhausted after attending a birthday banquet that lasted for several hours.
Sun Shaozong hurriedly led a dozen clerks to help, and helped the one who could not hold on any longer to the sedan chair first.
Zhou Da asked for everyone's name one by one, and the clerks nearby immediately reported in unison. Every time a name was announced, a special sedan bearer would come forward to receive them.
As for the senior officials of the court, they had already been greeted.
As soon as he left the palace, he headed straight for the large green velvet sedan chairs carried by four people. Not only were the furnishings inside much better than others, they even had some specially prepared hawthorn preserves and other snacks to help digestion.
"You two should do your job well!"
But when Sun Shaozong saw that everyone was here, he gave instructions to Zhou Da and Zhao Wuwei, then he also got on his horse and said loudly: "I am Sun Shaozong, the judge of Shuntian Prefecture, and I will escort you gentlemen back to the palace."
The carefully selected sedan bearers immediately carried the sedan and followed Sun Shaozong steadily.
No conversation along the way.
By the time they had sent the six old men away according to their ranks, the moon was already high in the sky.
Sun Shaozong took out his pocket watch and looked at it. He wanted to go back home to rest, but he was still worried about Zhou Da and Zhao Wuwei, so he asked the sedan chair bearers and servants to disperse and rode to the Meridian Gate alone.
Who knew that before he had run far, he saw a team coming in the shadows in front. The twenty or so people in the front were wearing shining helmets and armor, and they seemed to be soldiers from the Huben Camp. Behind them was a large group of people wearing black dragon-swallowing cloud robes, and they were dozens of Dragon Guards.
And in the center of dozens of Dragon Guards was a bright yellow sedan chair!
In the dead of night, the Tiger Guards and the Dragon Guards teamed up to stage such a grand display...
Sun Shaozong didn't think twice and prepared to turn his horse around and retreat.
Who would have thought that just as he turned his horse sideways, he saw a team catching up with him . Judging from their attire, they looked like the people from Shuntian Prefecture escorting the old man.
It’s so damn unlucky!
Sun Shaozong cursed inwardly, but immediately turned his horse's head and galloped towards the ragtag army, shouting at the top of his voice: "There is an ambush ahead, retreat quickly!"
The forty or so yamen runners who were responsible for leading the way had all met Sun Shaozong before, but the two men opposite holding Shuntianfu lanterns were both strangers!
In addition, when Sun Shaozong , he clearly did not see any team.
Therefore, those people either sprinted directly over at the speed of a 100-meter race, or they had been lying in ambush in the dark for a long time and only lit lanterns temporarily until the ragtag army on the opposite side appeared.
These two points combined are enough for Sun Shaozong to make the correct judgment!
After hearing Sun Shaozong's loud warning, the opposing team immediately became chaotic. Then several people dressed as Dragon Guards stepped out and shouted, "You are..."
Buzz~buzz buzz~
Before I could hear clearly what those idiots were asking, I heard the sound of bowstrings on both sides!
There's an ambush on the roof too!
Sun Shaozong was greatly alarmed and quickly hid himself in the stirrup and shrunk under the horse's belly!
Duh~
At the same time, there was a muffled sound from the horse's back, and it turned out to be a sharp arrow that was nailed to the saddle!
That was a close call!
Fortunately, I dodged in time, otherwise...
Sun Shaozong was feeling thankful when he suddenly felt something sticky and hot flowing down his fingers to his wrist.
Blood?!
Sun Shaozong was shocked again. You know, his saddle was not a cheap one, and it would be difficult to pierce it with an ordinary sword.
There are only two possibilities for being able to shoot through this saddle with an arrow.
First, the bow was extremely powerful and the archer's arm strength was also extremely strong; second, he used the armor-piercing spike that was only equipped in the military!
But no matter which one it is, it doesn’t seem to be good news for Sun Shaozong!
