After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

……

August 24th.

The sky was clear and the air was fresh.

Prince Xin, accompanied by jade and gold artifacts, sacrificial boxes, and many roasted pigs and sheep as sacrificial offerings, first went to Xuanwu Lake to pay homage to the Grand Prince Consort who fought in the Yangtze River naval battle, and then went to Zhongshan to visit the imperial tomb.

The imperial procession departed from the Prince's Mansion and headed west along Datong Street.

Crowds surged on both sides of the street, with the elderly and children helping each other, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" and setting off firecrackers while kneeling to welcome him.

One by one, they jostled and pushed forward, eager to catch a glimpse of His Highness's face.

Looking around, it seems as if the people have been won over with food and drink.

On the high-rise buildings on both sides, squads of soldiers patrolled to prevent assassination attempts.

Soldiers lined up neatly along the street, armed with knives, to escort the procession and maintain order, preventing ignorant civilians from colliding with the imperial entourage.

Half an hour later, the imperial carriage arrived at Taiping Street and then headed north.

Compared to Datong Street, Taiping Street was even more deserted, with a deafening roar of voices as the crowd cheered for the imperial procession, shouting, "Long live Your Highness! Victory to Great Liang!"

After a certain presumptuous man shouted "Long live the Emperor!", everyone else followed suit.

The officers and soldiers looked troubled. They didn't know whether to stop him or not. They turned their heads and saw that their superiors hadn't given any orders and seemed to be pretending not to hear them, so they also remained expressionless and let it be.

The procession moved slowly, and it took an hour to reach the Taiping City Gate.

Outside Taiping Gate lies Xuanwu Lake.

……

After learning of this earth-shattering disaster from Liu Zhengyang and Zheng Ming at the foot of Qingliang Mountain, Ning Nan was struck dumb and stood there for a long time.

The brutality of the struggle for the throne has always been undeniable.

That Princess Xin, who is a woman, is supposed to ascend the throne in just three days.

The ritual of visiting the mausoleum on the 24th was already a rehearsal for the enthronement.

Who could have predicted that such a thing could happen under such circumstances?

My wife, a mere clerk, hasn't returned because she's been caught up in this disaster... She's been implicated by a group of traitors who wanted to seize power and take her place, and they've all been captured and are hiding somewhere in the capital, their fate unknown.

Ning Nan gritted his teeth, and only after a slightly sweet taste filled his mouth did he slowly calm down and ask the steward of the Tang Prince's Mansion in the capital for more details.

Liu Zhengyang had visited the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office many times, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's response was always to reassure him and let him go back to his residence. They said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office and the Brave Guard Battalion had conducted a thorough search of the entire city, so it was impossible for them not to find him.

The Tang Prince's mansion was also ransacked by government troops, but he endured the humiliation in order to rescue the princess.

However, after several days, the princess was still nowhere to be found, and the people he sent out could not find any clues at all. So he couldn't help but come to the Embroidered Uniform Guard again to question her.

Beside the stone lion.

After listening to the other party's words in their entirety, Ning Nan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Putting aside His Highness Prince Xin for the moment, the arrest of Princess Tang and the officials of the Eastern Palace is actually a good thing.

Regardless of who is plotting to usurp the throne, the latter two should not be killed. Killing the Prince of Tang and the Princess would offend the foreign vassals, and killing the officials of the Eastern Palace would be too unscrupulous and would affect the trust of the civil service group in him.

The current emperor is still alive, and judging from the other side's decisive transfer of the Yongwei Battalion to the capital, the emperor still firmly holds power in his hands.

Cui Cui, a mere clerk, mingled with the officials of the Eastern Palace, and her usefulness was pitifully small. However, perhaps because she was a female official and a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she was somewhat favored by Prince Xin, so she wouldn't be killed by the thieves at will... Ning Nan breathed a sigh of relief, trying to think of things in a positive light.

With Prince Xin's ascension to the throne imminent, the person behind it is most likely to want to hide Prince Xin and the officials of the Eastern Palace. If Prince Xin is unable to ascend the throne after August 29th, it would be a loss of national dignity, and he would lose his position as crown prince.

The arrest of the officials of the Eastern Palace was probably because the emperor feared that these officials, whose future and interests were inextricably linked to Prince Xin, would be used by the emperor and that he would no longer wait for the new emperor to bestow favors upon them, but would directly place them in positions of power in the court, so that Prince Xin could be reinstated at an opportune time...

As Ning Nan thought about it, his face darkened.

He told Liu Zhengyang and the others directly that his wife was a female official serving Prince Xin, and that she was likely captured by the bandits along with Prince Xin.

Liu Zhengyang and the others were immediately taken aback.

Ning Nan didn't delay and directly told Liu Zhengyang that it would be useless for everyone to put pressure on the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was already overwhelmed with problems. Liu Zhengyang was well aware of this, but it was impossible for him to stay at home and wait for news.

Not to mention that Her Highness the Princess usually treats them very kindly, even if the King of Tang knew about this, he would probably skin them alive for standing by and watching.

Ning Nan clasped his hands in greeting and said, "If Uncle Liu and Brother Zheng trust me, they might as well lend me a hand and help me follow the route we took to the mausoleum that day to investigate and see where my wife and your princess might be trapped."

Liu Zhengyang and the others were already very grateful to Ning Nan for saving the princess. The princess had also praised Ning Gongzi's talent and wisdom on several occasions. In addition, the Embroidered Uniform Guard seemed to be making a big show of things, but after several days of fruitless efforts, they had failed.

Upon hearing that the other party intended to investigate personally, he was both surprised and delighted, hoping that this young master Ning could find some clues. So he abandoned his trip to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and rode off with Ning Nan.

After listening to Liu Zhengyang recount the route of the imperial procession that day, Ning Nan led everyone back to Datong Street on horseback, and went home to retrieve writing materials.

He then walked with the others along the Prince's Mansion, Datong Street, and Taiping Street, searching the surroundings for any possible weak points that the thieves might exploit to switch things out. He also made notes on paper to review later.

After walking along Taiping Street, you will arrive at Taiping Gate.

Then I heard a somewhat familiar barking sound.

As soon as they stepped out of the city gate, they saw Shangguan Xiuxiu, the Grand Commander, walking from the lakeside to the main road.

……

"This is Xuanwu Lake. If you walk further ahead, you'll find the residences of princes, their husbands, and princesses... Prince Qi's residence is also over there."

"Xuanwu Lake is huge. During the day, there are fishermen, tourist boats, and even buildings built on boats. It's very lively..."

"Look, over there, to the north, very far north, there's a sluice gate called Wumiao Sluice Gate. Passing through Wumiao Sluice Gate, you'll reach the Pearl River. The boat travels along the Pearl River for three or four miles, and you'll reach the Qinhuai River... This Pearl River was built at the end of the Han Dynasty, when Sun Quan established his capital here, over a thousand years ago. Back then, this place was called Jiankang... The Pearl River was truly connected during the Six Dynasties period..."

"Look, behind you, to the east, that mountain is Zhongshan, also called Zijinshan... It has three peaks. From that side, it looks like a pen holder. The tombs of the founding emperor and Empress Xiaoci are on the east peak, which is Xiaomaoshan... That day, after His Highness paid homage to the Grand Prince Consort of the Yangtze River naval battle at Xuanwu Lake, he went from here to Zhongshan..."

Under the night.

Ning Nan gazed at the calm lake surface as Shangguan Xiu introduced him to Xuanwu Lake, which had existed for countless years, and Zhongshan Mountain, which they would be visiting later.

But what he was most curious about were the mansions located on the north side of Xuanwu Lake... the mansions of those princes.

Ning Nan thought for a moment and asked, "The residences of these princes..."

"The entire area has been searched." Shangguan Xiu looked at the distant lights with a complicated expression and said directly, "I heard it was searched several times... After all, this time the Emperor's anger is not just a simple matter of being furious."

Ning Nan thought about it and decided to go and take a look. Having stayed in the capital for so long, he naturally knew most of the things.

The three princes, Qi, Wu, and Jing, and the two powerful vassal kings, Tang and Gui.

In his mind, among the princes who were most suspicious, one was Prince Qi, another was Prince Gui who wanted to support Prince Qi, and the third was... Prince Tang, who could not be ruled out as having staged a self-inflicted injury.

Ning Nan's eyes shifted slightly as he walked along the main road to the residences of the princes to the north.

The mansion with the three black characters "Qi Wang Fu" in gold on a black background had its gate wide open.

A general, carrying a sword, led his soldiers out in single file through the night.

Ning Nan and Shangguan Xiu both narrowed their eyes slightly upon seeing the general's face.

This face...

They are really close friends.