Please call me the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

Zhu Youjian looked down and saw that the person kneeling on the ground was none other than Sun Chuanting.

"You may rise, no need for formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Sun Chuanting stood up, he greeted Zhou Ling'er and Zhang Guoji, and then stood respectfully to the side with his hands at his sides.

Zhu Youjian said to Sun Chuanting: "Liang Tianqi of the Dali Temple has thoroughly investigated the case and sentenced Tian Ergeng, Sun Er, and Song Ba to death. They will be executed in three days."

Just in case.

"I hereby order you to lead the Divine Machine Battalion to guard the execution ground in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

"Your Majesty, I obey your command. Rest assured, everything will be foolproof," Sun Chuanting said firmly.

Zhu Youjian had a good impression of Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting was both a scholar and a warrior, highly skilled in martial arts and courageous. Most importantly, he was loyal to the court and was not on the same side as Wei Zhongxian and his ilk.

Zhang Guoji suggested: "Your Majesty, Wei Zhongxian has many cronies."

Their methods are endless. Currently, the Dali Temple is imprisoning Ke Shi, Tian Ergeng, Sun Er, Song Ba, Wang Shaohui, and Wei Liangqing and his wife, among others.

These people are all part of Wei Zhongxian's faction, and they are very important to Wei Zhongxian. He will surely do everything in his power to rescue them. Your Majesty, please send men to protect Lord Liang.

Zhu Youjian thought Zhang Guoji's words made sense.

"General Sun, send two hundred soldiers from the Shenji Battalion to protect Liang Tianqi."

"Yes, sir!" Sun Chuanting replied.

Zhu Youjian crossed his arms, gazed out the window, and asked, "If Tian Ergeng is punished, who do you think is suitable to succeed him as Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Zhou Ling'er stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think Wu Mengming is both loyal and capable, so it would be more appropriate for him to serve as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Wu Mengming?"

Zhu Youjian searched his mind for the name.

"Yes! His grandfather, Wu Dui, once served as Minister of War. During the Wanli era, his father, Wu Youfu, was granted the hereditary title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was of impeccable lineage."

"Summon him when you have time, so I can take a look at him."

night.

At Wei Zhongxian's residence.

Wei Zhongxian summoned Cui Chengxiu, Sun Yunhe, Xu Xianchun, Wei Guangwei, and others to discuss countermeasures.

Sun Yunhe was one of the "Wang Biao" and had a good relationship with Tian Ergeng.

He suddenly stood up: "Your Excellency, we can't wait any longer."

In three days, Tian Ergeng will be executed.

We can't worry about that now. I'll lead a thousand men to rescue Tian Ergeng from prison.

They also rescued Madam Ke, Wang Shaohui, and the Wei Liangqing couple.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian asked, "What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Chengxiu quickly stopped him: "No! This is not a battle between two armies. You must know that leading troops to break into the prison is a capital offense."

"What should we do then?"

"Are we just going to stand by and watch Tian Ergeng lose his head?" Sun Yunhe asked rhetorically.

"Please calm down! Let's think about it again!"

Wei Zhongxian was so anxious that he paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

Because he increasingly felt that Zhu Youjian was not easy to deal with.

Although Zhu Youjian was still young, he was very experienced, just like Sun Quan back then.

When Sun Quan took over Jiangdong from his elder brother Sun Ce, he was only eighteen years old. People thought Sun Quan was too young and easy to manipulate, but in reality, Sun Quan was not simple at all.

Wei Zhongxian thought to himself, "It seems that Zhu Youjian is even more capable than Sun Quan."

Since Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, a series of combined measures have left him somewhat bewildered.

Although he holds great power, he feels as if he can't exert his strength.

Wei Zhongxian looked at the crowd and said, "Say something!"

Wei Guangwei was Wei Zhongxian's nephew.

He became one of the Five Tigers through nepotism.

He thought to himself that he had to say something too, otherwise it would seem like he got his position because of his uncle.

Thinking of this, he coughed and said, "Uncle, everyone, I think the root of the problem lies with Liang Tianqi."

That guy is completely unyielding.

We've talked to him many times, hoping he'd join my uncle's service, but he's too proud to admit it.

They disdain to associate with us.

It would be better to send someone to assassinate Liang Tianqi.

Once Liang Tianqi is dead, we'll arrange for our own people to take over the Dali Temple.

"Wouldn't Ke Yinyue, Tian Ergeng, Wang Shaohui, and others be saved then?"

Cui Chengxiu shook his head again: "The risk of doing this is too great. Last time, we sent Tian Ergeng to assassinate Empress Zhang, but we failed."

Having learned from past mistakes, how could they not be on guard?

If the assassination fails, we'll be at a disadvantage.

Wei Guangwei was unconvinced: "Then what's your solution?"

Cui Chengxiu stroked his beard and said to Wei Zhongxian, "Your Majesty, I think this matter requires your personal attention."

We should prioritize courtesy before resorting to force.

What was Liang Tianqi after in order to become an official?

Isn't it all for money and beautiful women?

As long as the Ninth Prince is willing to spend money, and some beautiful women are sent to him, I don't believe he could refuse.

As long as he accepts the benefits from the Ninth Prince.

He could then overturn the convictions of Tian Ergeng and others.

At this moment, Wei Zhongxian stared intently at Cui Chengxiu and asked, "How come we heard that Daishan has arrived at your residence?"

And how did you manage to take Consort Wang away from your residence?

"This—," Cui Chengxiu hesitated for a moment, "Replying to Your Majesty, I am also puzzled by this matter. I clearly saw Daishan come to my residence."

Unexpectedly, he heard Consort Wang's voice and took her away. Strangely, we saw Consort Wang again in the hall of the Dali Temple.

Isn't this strange?

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was furious, thinking to himself, "Cui Chengxiu, oh Cui Chengxiu."

You often call yourself a Confucian scholar, yet you are lustful.

Don't you know that Consort Wang was one of Zhu Youxiao's concubines?

This is outrageous! This is a capital offense!

No wonder you said Tian Ergeng had those kinds of feelings for Zhang Yan; it turns out you two are cut from the same cloth.

"Did you lose any evidence?"

Cui Chengxiu thought for a moment and said, "Didn't we sign an agreement with Daishan before this regarding the capture of Shanhaiguan?"

"Yes, where is that agreement?"

"Dai Shan took it."

"Why? Don't they have copies?"

Daishan said that he had already handed over the previous copy to Huang Taiji.

He worried that Huang Taiji would deny it.

He needs to take this copy to Huang Taiji to fulfill his promise.

Everyone who heard this felt that something was amiss.

Wei Zhongxian said in a shrill voice, "Are you sure that person is Daishan himself?"

Hasn't he already returned to Shengjing?

How could he possibly be in the capital again?

Does he have the ability to create clones of himself?

"I also have some doubts, because I feel that he is shorter than before and has lost a lot of weight."

Sun Yunhe introduced to everyone, "There's a kind of disguise technique that allows you to impersonate someone just by knowing their appearance. Could it be that the Dai Shan you saw was a fake?"

Cui Chengxiu thought for a moment and said, "At that time, because it was night, I couldn't see very clearly either."

Strangely, when Daishan took Wang Liangfei's hand, she did not refuse.

"Could it be that Consort Wang Liang has fallen in love with Dai Shan?" Wei Guangwei interjected.

"Nonsense," Wei Zhongxian frowned upon hearing this. "Then it means that Consort Wang has already discovered that it is not Daishan."

"If it's not Dai Shan, then who could it be?"

"It's hard to say right now, but we can say that the person and Consort Wang have a very close relationship," Sun Yunhe analyzed.

After hearing what they said, Wei Zhongxian was troubled again: "According to what you say..."

That agreement has already fallen into Zhu Youjian's hands.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Hearing Wei Zhongxian say this, Cui Chengxiu's shoulders trembled slightly. At this moment, he also felt a little scared.

Wei Zhongxian said irritably, "Lord Cui, how can I possibly address you?"

You're just blinded by lust.

If that agreement falls into Zhu Youjian's hands, he'll come after you sooner or later.

Not only are they going to settle scores with you, but they've dragged us into this too.

Cui Chengxiu wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Your Majesty, this is my fault. I was infatuated with Consort Wang's beauty and made a mistake in a moment of confusion."

That night I was careless and didn't realize that the charitable person was actually someone else in disguise.

What is certain now is that the person was definitely not Dai Shan.

As for who he is? I don't know now either.

Let's talk about this later; first, let's figure out how to rescue Tian Ergeng.

It was the third watch of the night.

Liang Tianqi reorganized the materials from today's case hearing.

He has a habit.

He meticulously organizes and archives all relevant case files for future reference.

He had just finished these matters when a servant came to report to him, "Wei Zhongxian requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, Liang Tianqi was taken aback, wondering what Wei Zhongxian was doing here so late.

Liang Tianqi, dressed neatly, said to the servant, "Let him in."

"promise!"

The servant agreed and turned to leave.

Not long after, Wei Zhongxian walked in from outside with a cheerful smile, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Lord Liang, I'm so sorry to bother you so late."

Liang Tianqi's face was ashen: "Eunuch Wei, why didn't you say what you had to say in court during the day?"

"There are some things that are not convenient to say."

"If it's a private matter, I think there's nothing private between us to discuss."

If it's official business, we can discuss it in the court tomorrow morning.