Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 1216 The Possible Consequences of Hong 4's Death!

Hong Sixiang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a very faint smile.

Then, he closed his eyes.

The wind is still blowing, the plum blossoms are still falling, and the blood is still flowing.

The entire Jingxin Courtyard returned to silence.

This time, however, there was true silence.

After an unknown amount of time, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Immediately afterwards, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and several guards in black robes rushed in. The leader immediately saw Hong Sixiang lying in a pool of blood, and his expression changed drastically.

"My Lord Steward!"

He cried out in alarm and rushed over, bending down to check on Hong Sixiang. He checked for breath; it was gone. He felt for a pulse; it had stopped beating. His hand froze, and he felt as if struck by lightning.

The others also gathered around, and upon seeing this scene, their faces turned ashen.

"Quickly...quickly report to His Majesty!" the leader finally snapped out of his daze and hissed.

One of the guards turned and ran away.

The remaining few exchanged bewildered glances, none daring to speak. Who was Hong Sixiang? He was Emperor Qing's most trusted confidant, one of the top experts in the palace, a near-Grandmaster level figure. Such a person had died in his own courtyard, so quietly, so inexplicably.

How could this be? But the facts were right before their eyes, leaving them no choice but to believe it.

The leader crouched down and carefully examined Hong Sixiang's wound. A penetrating gunshot wound to the lower abdomen, fatal from a single shot. He looked in the direction Hong Sixiang had fallen and saw several shallow scratches on the ground.

"what is this?"

He bent down to take a closer look and recognized the two characters.

Ran Min. "Ran Min?" he murmured, his brow furrowed. "Who is that?"

No one could answer him.

This name remains a mystery at this moment. But soon, it will spread throughout Kyoto and the entire Qing Kingdom, becoming an inescapable nightmare in the hearts of countless people.

A cacophony of footsteps echoed outside the courtyard, as more and more people poured in. There were guards, eunuchs, and palace maids; everyone who saw the scene inside gasped in shock.

Hong Si was itching terribly.

This news was kept extremely secret, so much so that even the head eunuch in the Empress Dowager's palace was unaware of the details, believing that the reclusive Eunuch Hong was simply recovering from a relapse of an old illness in his bedchamber. No more than five people truly knew the truth—Qin Ye was among them.

Qin Ye stood under the corridor, gazing at the overlapping palace eaves in the distance, his gaze as still as a stagnant pool. Behind him stood a man in black, who had just come from the direction of the inner palace, still carrying a faint scent of blood.

"Is it cleaned up?" Qin Ye asked without turning around, his voice extremely low.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, everything has been taken care of." The man in black spoke without any change in tone. "The eleven guards, maids, and eunuchs on duty have all been... properly arranged. To the outside world, we will only say that Eunuch Hong has caught a cold and needs to rest. No one is allowed to disturb him."

Qin Ye nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Has the message been delivered to His Majesty?"

"It has been sent out by secret intelligence, using the fastest route. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, it should reach His Majesty within three days."

“Three days…” Qin Ye murmured, repeating it over and over, his gaze fixed on the distance, the direction in which Emperor Qing was returning to the capital.

Three days later, Emperor Qing will learn that the person he was closest to and most trusted by has died in the deep palace.

In these three days, Qin Ye must stabilize the court, the people's hearts, and the seemingly calm but actually turbulent capital.

The man in black withdrew. Qin Ye remained standing motionless under the eaves. A sudden autumn breeze stirred, ruffling the hem of his robes, but he was oblivious. His mind was filled with the monstrous upheaval that would ensue if this matter were to be exposed.

Who is Hong Siyang?

On the surface, he was merely an old eunuch in the Empress Dowager's palace, having served the royal family for decades and enjoying their deep trust. But the world knew that this reclusive Eunuch Hong was very likely the legendary hidden grandmaster of the Qing Kingdom. For years, spies from Northern Qi and undercover agents from Dongyi City had been trying to uncover the truth about this "Eunuch Hong." The Qing Kingdom, on the other hand, was happy to let them guess—the deeper their guesses, the greater their fear, and the stronger the Qing Kingdom's deterrent power.

Grandmaster, what kind of existence is that?

Of the four great grandmasters in the world, Northern Qi has Ku He, Dongyi City has Si Gu Jian, and Southern Qing has Ye Liu Yun. Within the Qing Kingdom's imperial palace, there has always been a legend of an unparalleled hidden grandmaster—Hong Si Yang. This legend has circulated for countless years, highlighting the immense advantage Qing Kingdom has gained in terms of grandmaster-level intimidation. The reason Northern Qi and Dongyi City dare not act rashly, besides Ye Liu Yun's presence, is even more so because they fear this enigmatic "Eunuch Hong."

But now, Hong Si is itching to death.

He died in the palace, silently and without a trace.

Qin Ye closed his eyes, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. He dared not think about the chain reaction that would follow if this matter got out.

First of all, the fact that Hong Siyang is not a Grandmaster can no longer be hidden.

What is the concept of a Grandmaster? It's the pinnacle of martial arts, a legend among men. At that level, unless it's a fight to the death, and all opponents are of equal caliber, it's virtually impossible to kill. Ku He of Northern Qi stayed in Northern Qi, and Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City stayed in Dongyi City; neither of them even set foot on the borders of Qing Kingdom. Hong Si Yang, however, died in the palace—if he truly was a Grandmaster, who could kill him? No one. The only explanation is that he wasn't.

Once this conclusion is confirmed, the "hidden grandmaster" trump card that Qing Kingdom has cultivated for so many years will instantly become a joke.

Qin Ye raised his hand and rubbed his temples, his mind already contemplating the consequences of the information leak.

The first possibility is that the people of the world discover that the Qing Kingdom has no hidden grandmasters at all, and that everything they have done is just boasting.

What will Northern Qi think? What will Ku He think? What will Dongyi City and those small, opportunistic vassal states around it think?

The reason they've been so polite to the Qing Kingdom all these years, besides being wary of its military strength, is more importantly because they're wary of the two Grandmasters—Ye Liuyun in public and "Hong Siyang" in private. With these two Grandmasters in charge, anyone who wants to touch the Qing Kingdom has to think twice about whether they have the guts.

But if "Hong Siyang" is fake, then Qing Kingdom will only have Ye Liuyun as its Grandmaster.

Ye Liuyun was indeed a citizen of Qing, and indeed a Grandmaster. However, his relationship with the royal family was far less close than that of Ku He to Northern Qi, or Si Gu Jian to Dongyi City. Who in the court didn't know that the Ye family was driven out of the capital? It was Emperor Qing himself who orchestrated it. Although Ye Liuyun ultimately chose loyalty to Qing, could that resentment truly be erased?

If war really breaks out, will Ye Liuyun intervene? Probably. But will he fight to the death? That's hard to say.

As long as there is one Grandmaster who can hold Ye Liuyun back—no need to defeat him, just hold him back—the Qing Kingdom will be dragged into the quagmire of all-out war.