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

Gongsun Heng sat with her arms and knees folded around her chest, her heart pounding wildly. Her left knee, which was tucked close to her heart, felt cold and numb.

She covered her mouth, glanced at her master lying on the ground, her eyes wide open, and after a long while, she shook her head.

Ning Nan chuckled softly.

He rolled over and sat up.

He poked his head out of the cave and looked at the tightly closed door.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the female disciple who was trembling like a quail.

"It's good that you're not afraid," he said with a smile. "...Come...Master will teach you something good besides Go."

The boy, regarded as a Go master by the female disciple, went outside.

He picked up the black wooden stick from the ground with his right hand, which held the white pieces.

Peng Liangang stretched out his greasy right hand, picked up an expensive antique rattan cup, glanced at Feng Shusheng who was pretending to recite the Heavenly Principles Sect scriptures, and without saying a word, only sneered.

Shen Bushou is right. If the brothers in the church are not allowed to vent their anger, how can they fight for their lives?

Peng Liangang sneered, "Shen Bushou is absolutely right. We'll be cutting Ning Baixuan into a thousand pieces to use as a sacrifice for Master Xiao anyway. What's wrong with letting Yu Dayong and the other two collect some interest?"

The tall, thin man cursed, "My mother's name is Shen Shou!" Everyone drank and ate meat while laughing heartily.

Peng Liangang snorted, "A lowly name is easy to live with. I'm sixty this year. You think you'll live to this age after all this rebellion?"

Shen Shou spat, but inwardly he was convinced. Old Man Peng was quiet and unassuming, with mediocre abilities but great courage.

After all these years of daring to fight and kill, this dog is still alive. It's just that he's disrespectful to his elders and narrow-minded, unlike Old Ge who commands respect.

He glanced around and saw that the water offerings that the imperial court had made for that so-called Southern Dynasty Grand Prince Consort had been almost finished in the past few days. Right now, they were devouring the remaining large roasted pig, chatting and laughing as they ate.

The offering boxes were dismantled and piled up on the left side of the room. We'll burn them before we leave.

"I'll go take a look. These people have become a bit disorganized since Xiao Chun died. I should keep an eye on them."

Shen Shou used a dagger to cut some pork and some beef tongue, piling them on a plate.

Carrying the plate, they walked from the bright and spacious main room to the inner room.

Lift the bed board in the inner room, and underneath is an earthen ladder.

He went down the earthen steps.

"Master Shen."

"Master Shen."

Two people were sitting at a square table. One had a fleshy face and a thick waist, while the other was rather thin and had a butcher's knife tucked into his waistband. Both of them stood up.

"Xu Huliu, Gao Du."

He called to the two men and placed the food on the table. Seeing that Master Shen had brought them food, the two hurriedly thanked him. Seeing that Yu Dayong was not there, Shen Shou cursed, "You damned bastard, is Ning Baixuan still alive?"

The two nodded quickly, saying that Brother Dayong was just teaching him a lesson, how could he dare to delay the Right Protector's important matter? Shen Shou was still a little skeptical, but seeing that there were no screams coming from behind a wooden door not far away, he was relieved and said, "Keep an eye on things, we'll be leaving soon." The two nodded immediately.

After Shen Shou left.

Only an oil lamp remained in the cellar.

The two men exchanged a glance, and upon hearing the panting coming from behind the door, they smiled wickedly. Gao Du said, "She's covering her mouth." Xu Huliu, whose face was full of scars, also smiled, his eyes showing envy.

Then, "Squeak~ Squeak~"

The closed door suddenly opened.

The two were taken aback.

I thought Brother Yu had come out, but when I looked back, there was no one there.

Standing up, they saw that the candles inside had gone out, and it was pitch black. A blurry outline was kneeling on the ground, with half of its body inside the low hole where the two people were imprisoned.

The sound of a woman crying and slapping herself came from inside, "Waaah," which made the two men's hearts flutter.

The two men looked over and saw the figure wearing Brother Yu's clothes, his leg twitching on the ground, shouting in a hoarse, low voice, "Come here, come here, help me! I can't hold him down by myself!"

Their eyes lit up immediately.

A man in black wearing a Kitchen God mask pushed open a heavy wooden door.

The lights inside were dim and bright.

Brush brush brush brush!

The figures in the cells on both sides sprang to their feet and surged toward him.

"You scoundrel!"

"You scoundrel! How dare you detain an official appointed by the imperial court!"

"You ignorant beast!"

"Release us! Release His Highness Prince Xin! You treacherous dog! You treacherous dog!"

The Kitchen God stared straight ahead, and the officials dressed in blue, green, and even scarlet robes rushed to the iron fence, cursing at him and banging on the fence, creating a series of annoying noises.

Thump, thump, thump, he walked down the corridor with two young men carrying swords, ignoring the angry and sharp gazes directed at him.

The Crown Prince's Assistant, Liu Zhi, pounded on the iron bars and cried out in grief and indignation, "You treacherous dog! We'll eat your flesh and sleep on your skin sooner or later..."

The crowd erupted in curses.

Xu Longdao, with his honest and simple face, sat cross-legged on the dry grass. He glanced at the courtiers of the Eastern Palace pounding on the railing ahead, then turned back to look at the old man sitting cross-legged in meditation, and said with concern:

"Master Sun, what can we do? What can we do..."

Sun Chengshan closed his eyes to rest, remaining seated quietly.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Since there's nothing we can do, let's just sit quietly."

Xu Long rubbed his face in frustration and sighed several times.

On the 23rd, Sun Zhanshi took sick leave, and His Highness Prince Xin arranged for him not to attend the tomb visit on the 24th, but to visit Sun Zhanshi on His Highness's behalf. However, he insisted on doing something else, thinking that he could not miss this important occasion, so he went to visit Sun Zhanshi on the evening of the 23rd.

However, Grand Tutor Sun said that he was not ill and could accompany His Highness to visit the mausoleum the next day, which made him secretly happy.

Who would have thought... that such a disaster would befall us on the 24th!

They've been locked up in this godforsaken place by that scoundrel Mu Ziying, who deserves to be torn to pieces. They don't know how many hours have passed. If it's already past August 29th... His Highness's coronation day... then all will be over!

Xu Longdao's eyes were filled with complex emotions, and he couldn't help but mock himself. Right now, he didn't even know if he and His Highness could survive, so how could he talk about ascending the throne or not? What about the great cause or the small cause?

The man in black wearing the Kitchen God mask pushed open the inner door, which contained the prince and a group of female officials. The officials cursed even more loudly!

But they could only feel helpless, as the Kitchen God didn't even glance at them once from beginning to end.

At that moment, the Kitchen God's hoarse, low voice came from inside: "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Xin."

His Highness's voice was equally hoarse: "Traitorous officials, whose people are you really on my side?"

"Whose person it is is not important, Your Highness. I have come here to inform you that I have captured someone who is very important to you."

Behind an iron fence.

Wearing a bright red open-front jacket with a round collar and dragon pattern, Prince Xin wore a crown with nine phoenixes adorned with pearls and jade, and his face was covered with a purple veil. His almond-shaped eyes were stern and imposing, and his voice resonated with an undeniable imperial aura.

Two maids stood on either side of him, glaring angrily at the Kitchen God outside the iron bars.

"Important people? My life is already in your hands. Even if you capture someone important to me, what can you force me to do for you from this prison?"

Prince Xin's voice was cold, but his eyes trembled involuntarily a few times. He was secretly groaning in his heart... What does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with me? As he groaned, the words of the woman with her chin raised, "Who else but my sister?" echoed in his mind. He was filled with sorrow and bitterness.

The Kitchen God shook his head and calmly said, "We only have one request for Your Highness."

His Highness Prince Xin's gaze pierced the other man like lightning. After a long pause, he said calmly, "You want me to abdicate? Ha, tell me, to whom do you want me to abdicate?"

Ning Nan pulled out the butcher knife that had been plunged into the skinny man's abdomen.

The hand covering the skinny man's mouth was released.

He glanced at the other person lying on the ground, unable to make out the details in the darkness, and reached out to touch the other person's neck, feeling the blood gushing out. He exclaimed in admiration, "This female disciple learns things so quickly. I only taught her where the major artery is, and she hit it right away."

After feeling relieved, Ning Nan turned to Miss Gongsun, who was vomiting in a dark corner, and said helplessly, "You're like this for your first time killing someone... hurry up and finish vomiting."