Chapter 681: Death Knell (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
These rumbling hooves were like drums that had been beaten, hitting everyone’s hearts.
“T-t-t-t…”
One of the teams quickly approached the west gate with the galloping of horses.
At the forefront, General Hong, the Dragon and Tiger Grand General, produced a golden token and announced loudly to the soldiers guarding the city gates, “Upon His Majesty’s passing and by decree of Her Majesty, the city gates are to be sealed, and all individuals are strictly prohibited from entering or exiting until His Majesty’s funeral procession!”
The citizens who were waiting to enter and leave the city outside the city gate also heard these words and were momentarily stunned. Many people stood on the spot, not knowing if they should continue to leave the city or just go home.
On the city wall, a round-faced general hurriedly walked down the stone steps. He frowned and looked at General Hong, who had a short beard on his horse. He asked hesitantly, “Seal the city gate?”
The capital was an important place. The time to open and close the city gates had always been fixed. In the past 50 years of the Great Jin Dynasty, the number of times the city gates of the capital had been closed in advance could be counted on one hand. Every time, it was personally issued by the current Emperor.
General Hong pulled the reins, and the horse under him spewed white gas. He held the token engraved with the phoenix pattern in his hand and leaned closer to the round-faced general. He said, “Her Majesty’s phoenix token is here!”
“His Majesty just died and everything is still reasonable. In order to prevent the people from being unstable, Her Majesty gave the order to seal the city gate!”
General Hong said righteously. He frowned tightly and felt impatient.
“His Majesty died?” The round-faced general casually pushed up the helmet on his head and asked with a crooked face, “Who said that?”
General Hong frowned even more. He originally thought that this errand was very simple, but he didn’t expect this kid to dawdle.
He waved his horse and rode two steps closer to the little general. He said condescendingly, “The death knell just rang 45 times. This is the sound of a funeral. Didn’t you hear it?”
“Funeral?” The round-faced little general leaned lazily on the city wall, but he had a heroic aura.
He said casually, “I didn’t count the number of bells just now. Perhaps Her Majesty died.”
As he spoke, he casually threw the two loquats to a bearded city guard beside him and asked with a smile, “Right?”
The bearded man caught the two loquats with a smile and jeered, “Commander Fan, I didn’t count just now… Third Brother, did you count?”
The bearded man threw one of the loquats to another city guard with triangular eyes. That person also shook his head seriously and said, “I didn’t count either.”
“I reckon the death knell just now should have exceeded 20 rings. Perhaps Her Majesty really died!”
General Hong was extremely angry. He gritted his teeth, and his face turned green and white. It was quite ugly.
He had long heard that the Commandant of the Capital guarding the city gate was the same as the army division of the five cities. There were many ignorant and incompetent rich heirs in the families of noble generals.
Seeing it today, it was indeed so!
General Hong tightened his grip on the reins and said fiercely in anger, “If you disobey the decree, you’ll be killed without mercy!”
“You guys better think carefully!”
He raised his hand and made a gesture. The dozens of imperial guards he brought swarmed forward aggressively.
They all took out their personal sabers in a show of force, their intimidation obvious, as if they would bleed on the spot if they disagreed.
“Who are you going to kill?” A cold male voice suddenly sounded from behind. It seemed to be snorting or sneering.
General Hong felt that this voice was a little familiar.
Who was it?
He subconsciously looked up at the city wall and saw another young general looking down at him high up in the air from the city wall.
Under the backlight, the little general’s face looked a little blurry under the helmet. He was tall and slender.
He casually took off the heavy helmet, revealing his smooth forehead and a handsome and somewhat sharp face. His long and narrow eyes shot out cold light.
Under the blue sky, the sunlight behind the young man was dazzling. General Hong subconsciously narrowed his eyes.
This person seemed to have just been standing on the city wall, and yet also not there.
General Hong’s pupils moved quickly, and his body seemed to have frozen. He couldn’t move and looked at the little general in disbelief.
Gu Yuan!
Why was Gu Yuan here?!
General Hong’s mind was buzzing, as if countless bees were charging around in his mind. He couldn’t think calmly at all.
Shouldn’t Gu Yuan have gone to the State of Yue to welcome the marriage with the Eldest Prince?!
If Gu Yuan was here… Then, did that mean…
General Hong’s heart beat faster, and his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He almost didn’t dare to think about it..