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Chapter 74 Zhu Chunchen vs. Pang Yugui—Killing someone to silence them isn't easy! (Available next Wednesday)

Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shivered and snapped back to reality. No, he couldn't just sit and wait to die!
He was, after all, a descendant of the Zhu family, and that ruthless streak surfaced in that crucial moment. His only chance of survival was to eliminate Zhu Chunchen, this root of trouble, before the Embroidered Uniform Guard could search his residence!
Murder to cover it up, then destroy the evidence!

As long as Zhu Chunchen cannot be found, the Emperor cannot do anything about him. At worst, he can simply pay a sum of money to avoid trouble. Although the princes of the Ming Dynasty do not have much real power, their status is noble, and it is not so easy to punish them.

Thinking of this, the king no longer hesitated and kicked Pang Yugui, who was lying on the ground, twice.

"Useless thing! Stop crying!" he said in a low, vicious voice. "Hurry up and take some men to deal with that murderer! Watch your hands!"

With that, he strode to the wall, took down a decorative sword hanging there, and shoved it into Pang Yugui's hand: "Take it! Go now!"

Pang Yugui was kicked and felt a sharp pain. He took the sword, his hands still trembling. But seeing the prince's fierce determination, he knew this was the only way out. He scrambled to his feet, called to two trusted eunuchs, and hurriedly ran to the backyard.

Watching Pang Yugui's retreating figure, the Prince of Dai steeled his resolve and led a group of officials and guards from his own palace quickly toward the palace gate. He needed to block their path ahead, delaying them for as long as possible to buy Pang Yugui some time.

The Prince Dai's mansion was vast, and one had to pass through several layers of halls and corridors to get from the Yin'an Hall to the outermost Chengyun Gate. But he had only just reached the square in front of the Chengyun Hall, still far from the gate, when he heard a commotion ahead.

Immediately afterwards, he saw that the guards of his palace had already opened the gates of the palace!

A large group of people surged in. Leading them was Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War who had come to Datong to inspect the border. Beside him were Tian Ergeng, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; Zhang Zongheng, the Governor of Datong; Liu Wenzhong, the garrison eunuch; and others. Behind them was a dense mass of Embroidered Uniform Guards from the capital and local Datong garrison soldiers!
What terrified the Prince of Dai even more was that Wang Zaijin was holding a Shangfang sword wrapped in bright yellow silk!
What chilled him even more was that the few officials of the Prince's mansion who were usually obsequious to him—Zhou Ren, the Left Chief Secretary, Zhao Dequan, the Clerk, and Chen Yong, the Commander of the Guards—were now bowing and scraping around Wang Zaijin, Tian Ergeng, and the others, pointing obsequiously towards the depths of the Prince's mansion and muttering something under their breath.

The way they eagerly sought to prove their loyalty and rushed to lead the way made the Prince of Dai's liver tremble!

"Your Highness..." The little eunuch beside him said in a trembling voice.

Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai felt a rush of blood to his head, and his vision blurred. It's all over! These traitorous dogs!

Even murder and silencing someone takes time! How did these people get in so quickly?!
He suppressed his panic, gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and adopted the air of a prince, giving a wink to the ceremonial officer accompanying him.

The master of ceremonies immediately shouted in a high-pitched voice, "His Highness has arrived!"

This shout finally quieted the noisy scene temporarily. All eyes turned to the Prince of Dai, who was standing in front of the Chengyun Hall.

The Prince of Dai took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, tried his best to appear dignified, and swaggered forward to greet him.

When Wang Zaijin saw the Prince of Dai, he remained expressionless. He first handed the imperial sword to a guard beside him, then took out a roll of bright yellow silk from his sleeve, raised it high, and loudly proclaimed, "Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai, receive the imperial decree!"

The sound was like a thunderclap, making the Prince of Dai's ears ring.

His face paled. He looked at the imperial edict, then at the menacing soldiers behind Wang Zaijin, and his knees buckled. He involuntarily knelt down. The officials, guards, and eunuchs of the Wang residence behind him also knelt down in a clatter.

"Your subject... Zhu Naijun receives the decree." The Prince of Dai's voice trembled slightly.

Wang Zaijin unfurled the imperial edict and read aloud in a loud voice: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have ascertained that the wanted criminal, Duke Zhu Chunchen, has fled to avoid punishment and is currently hiding in the Prince of Dai's residence in Datong. The Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, Wang Zaijin, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Tian Ergeng, the Governor of Datong, Zhang Zongheng, and the Garrison Eunuch Liu Wenzhong are hereby ordered to lead troops into the residence to search for and arrest him, and to thoroughly investigate the collusion between the Prince of Dai's residence and the traitor Zhu Chunchen. This is the imperial decree!"

After the imperial edict was read aloud, Wang Zaijin rolled it up and looked at the Prince of Dai, who was still kneeling on the ground. His tone was calm but unquestionable: "Prince of Dai, please rise. You have heard the Emperor's decree. Please cooperate with us in the investigation and lead the way to bring out Zhu Chunchen."

The Prince of Dai was helped to his feet by his attendants. His face was deathly pale, and he still managed to shout, "Injustice! Minister Wang, Commander Tian, ​​this is a huge injustice! I have no idea where Zhu Chunchen is. How could he possibly be in my residence? This must be a frame-up! I will petition the Emperor to clarify this injustice!" Wang Zaijin ignored his cries for justice and simply nodded to Zhou Ren, the anxious Left Chief Secretary of the Prince's residence, beside him, "Lead the way."

"Yes, yes! Sir, esteemed officials, please follow me. Eunuch Pang's residence is over there!" Zhou Ren hurriedly responded, leading the way.

At this moment, Xu Xianchun, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stepped forward with a smile and gestured to the Prince of Dai: "Your Highness, why don't you come and take a look too? If you find Zhu Chunchen, you can ask him directly and find out the truth, so that no one will say that we Embroidered Uniform Guard framed him, right?"

He spoke politely, but two tall Imperial Guards stood on either side of him, seemingly respectful but actually forceful, "sandwiching" the Prince of Dai between them.

The Prince of Dai felt his legs go weak, and he was practically being carried forward. His heart was ice-cold, and he could only pray incessantly: "May our ancestors protect me, and may Old Pang be quick and efficient enough to get things done..."

The group quickly passed through several courtyards, and just as they approached the entrance of the secluded courtyard where Pang Yugui lived, they heard a fierce argument and fighting coming from inside!

A furious roar was exceptionally clear: "You surnamed Pang! You spineless eunuch! You dare to kill someone to cover it up? Aren't you afraid that my people outside will expose all the dirty deeds your Prince Dai's Mansion has been up to in smuggling weapons and gunpowder to the Tartars?!"

Then came Pang Yugui's shrill and urgent voice, panting: "Zhu Chunchen! You damned scourge! The men who arrested you have already entered the Prince's mansion! The Prince... even the Prince can't protect you! You're going to die anyway, so let me give you a quick death!"

Upon hearing these words, Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai felt dizzy and his vision went black. He made a gurgling sound in his throat, his body went limp, and he fainted.

Xu Xianchun's eyes lit up, and he cursed, "How dare you! You even dare to kill someone to silence them!" He kicked open the half-closed courtyard gate and rushed in with several fierce-looking imperial guards.

In the courtyard, Zhu Chunchen and his steward Zhu An, each holding a fire poker they had somehow found, were leaning against the corner of the wall, facing off tensely against Pang Yugui, who was holding the sword bestowed upon him by the Prince of Dai, and two eunuchs holding knives.

Pang Yugui had clearly never done anything like killing before; his hands trembled violently, the tip of his sword wavering wildly, and he didn't dare to actually stab. Zhu Chunchen and his servant, though disheveled, managed to temporarily protect themselves with the two pieces of the stick.

Xu Xianchun rushed in and was greeted by this absurd scene.

He paused for a moment, then grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth: "Oh, quite a show, isn't it? Duke Zhu, Eunuch Pang, what's going on here?" Before he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards behind him pounced on him like hungry tigers, quickly knocking the weapons out of Pang Yugui and the little eunuch's hands, and pinning down the limp Eunuch Pang and the shocked and furious Zhu Chunchen and his servant.

"Xu Xianchun! You..." Zhu Chunchen tried to struggle and curse, but a rag was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, and he could only make muffled sounds, his eyes filled with despair.

Almost at the same moment, hundreds of miles away, outside the border wall of Datong, deep in the southern grasslands.

On the vast, white plains, a Ming Dynasty cavalry force of about three thousand men moved silently across the desolate landscape. Both riders and horses wore gags, the sound of their hooves minimized by the thick snow and their skillful horsemanship.

The two leading generals were Li Huaixin, the garrison commander of Datong Town, and Ma Chengen, the deputy garrison commander. Li Huaixin's face was resolute, his gaze sweeping across the distant horizon like that of a hawk. Beside him, Ma Chengen, the head of the Ma family generals, had his eyes slightly narrowed, as if sniffing out something in the air.

A night watchman galloped back from the front ranks, dismounted, and hurriedly reported in a low voice: "General! Master Ma! A large camp has been discovered fifteen miles ahead! Thousands of felt tents, countless cattle and sheep. Judging from the flags and the number of chimneys in the woods, it looks like a winter camp of a large Han tribe!"

Li Huaixin and Ma Chengen exchanged a glance, both seeing the glint in each other's eyes.

Ma Chengen licked his slightly chapped lips and whispered, "Judging from its location and scale, it looks like a Wanhu Ordo... Damn it, we finally caught them!"

Li Huaixin nodded heavily, without the slightest hesitation, and suddenly drew his saber from his waist, swinging it fiercely forward.
(End of this chapter)