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

Zhu Enzhen... the name of the King of Wu.

Whether as the daughter of the Tang King, a vassal state, or as the niece of the Wu King, it was extremely disrespectful to address the Wu King by his given name.

The woman wearing a pearl and jade nine-phoenix crown spoke these words in a cold tone, without any regard for the consequences.

The person wielding the knife was clearly the Kitchen God in black, yet she blamed the King of Wu, who was bound from the waist up and pinned to the ground, for killing her. It was utterly unreasonable and indiscriminate.

The Kitchen God, who was only three feet away from her, narrowed his eyes and stopped, lowering the knife in his hand, though the blade remained sharp.

The King of Wu raised his head, his eyes filled with tears, and exclaimed in surprise:

"Niece, what are you saying? Have you been so frightened that you've lost your mind?"

Zhu Jiamu sneered, "Uncle Wu, your tricks are truly impressive, almost flawless. It's just a pity you didn't put on a white face. Heh... Uncle Wu, forgive my bluntness, but you can fool the officials of the Eastern Palace outside, but you can't fool this useless niece of yours, much less His Highness Prince Xin."

The princess's words were fierce and sharp.

The King of Wu narrowed his eyes.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened.

A few wisps of wind, carrying a slightly fishy smell, drifted in through the cracks in the window.

The beaded curtain on Zhu Jiamu's crown swayed slightly.

Her face remained indifferent, but her heart was pounding, and she secretly groaned.

She didn't know whether Prince Xin knew about the problem with Prince Wu; in any case, she didn't know before.

Not to mention in the capital, even in Guangdong, King Wu was known for his virtue, saying that he followed the rules of Xiao He and Cao Cao, treated the virtuous with respect, and had the appearance of a wise king.

Prince Wu was the biological son of Emperor Longchang and Empress Dowager, while Emperor Hongjing was the eldest son of Emperor Longchang and Empress Yi. After Empress Yi passed away, the current Empress Dowager was made Empress by Emperor Longchang.

When Emperor Hongjing passed away and the throne was passed to the current emperor, rumors circulated in the court and among the people that the Empress Dowager, who was devoted to Buddhism, felt that the country would inevitably be unstable if a young emperor succeeded to the throne, and the Northern Dynasty might take advantage of the situation to invade. She suggested that it would be better for the throne to be passed down from brother to brother, with an adult member of the royal family taking control of the imperial power.

Such rumors spread like wildfire, causing a great uproar. Not only in the capital, but also some regional princes in other places had prepared to submit memorials.

Despite her apparent lifelong devotion to Buddhism, the Empress Dowager was an extremely capable figure. When Emperor Hongjing first ascended the throne, she served as regent for three years. Senior ministers like Qin were promoted to the cabinet during her time as regent.

However, as time passed, the regent Qin and other ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor naturally sided with Emperor Hongjing. The other regents refuted the rumors, Emperor Tianqi secured his throne, and the matter was eventually dropped.

Zhu Jiamu sighed inwardly, sat up straight, his back taut, and placed his hands in front of him, his fingers intertwined.

That statement was seven parts questioning, but also three parts probing.

King Wu said with a bitter face, "Niece, your uncle really doesn't know what you're talking about. It was clearly King Qi who ordered these rebels to arrest you and the ministers of the Eastern Palace, and they even wanted to kill you and me. Instead of standing with your uncle King Wu in hatred against this enemy, you're siding with the rebels and accusing me. What kind of logic is that?"

Zhu Jiamu ignored him and said frankly, "Uncle Wu, do you really think I'm a fool?"

Jia Mo doesn't know whether Qi Wang Shumou plotted a rebellion, but Wu Wang Shumou is probably already determined to rebel.

She spoke eloquently: "When Uncle Wu entered the prison, he shouted that Uncle Qi had rebelled, saying that Uncle Wu was arrested here because he refused to submit a petition urging Uncle Qi to ascend the throne. Is that true?"

The King of Wu said with a bitter face, "If it weren't for this, how would I have ended up in such a state? And why would these rebels want to kill you and me?"

Zhu Jiamu said, "That's the biggest problem."

The King of Wu was taken aback.

Zhu Jiamu looked directly at the King of Wu with his almond-shaped eyes and said, "The biggest problem is... if these bandits were truly ordered by the King of Qi, why would they want to kill me?"

She then asked, "How dare they kill me?"

"Without informing Uncle Qi or receiving his orders, how dare this traitor immediately draw his sword and try to kill me?"

"The King of Qi wants to usurp the throne and wants your petition to ascend the throne. Does he not also want the King of Tang's petition to ascend the throne?"

Princess Tang spoke sternly and sternly.

No matter who is plotting a rebellion, there is no reason to kill her. However, if one person openly rebels and another secretly rebels... in such a situation, killing her would become a good thing to frame someone else.

"unless……"

Zhu Jiamu continued, his face as cold as frost:

"The person who ordered them is right in front of them! And he just gave them the order to kill me!"

The iron bars of the prison cell were icy cold.

"Uncle Wu, you're quite the schemer! If you hadn't ordered this traitor to kill me, but instead sent him back to report to King Qi, I might have actually believed you! Unfortunately... Uncle Wu, you were too hasty!"

Zhu Jiamu let out a cold laugh and said hatefully:

"When Uncle Wu saw that he hadn't actually captured Prince Xin, but only me, Princess Tang, he decided to go all the way and kill me, Zhu Jiamo... No matter who is now in charge of the capital, the vassal kings will probably become suspicious. If you were to present some kind of imperial edict, wouldn't the vassal kings rise up to purge the court of corrupt officials... You, Prince Wu, are humble by nature; perhaps they would then submit to you as their master!"

She guessed and gambled, not caring whether her guess was right or wrong. With her life at stake, she angrily revealed the other party's entire scheme in one breath.

The long knife in the Kitchen God's hand moved with the dim yellow light.

The snow-white blade reflected the handsome face of the King of Wu, a face that was originally filled with anxiety, unease, sorrow, and a hint of grief and indignation.

At this moment, the expression on the King of Wu's face gradually turned from pale to ashen.

After a while.

His expression finally calmed down. He glanced at Princess Tang and said softly:

"So what if you know?"

……

……

A cold, white light shone from the mountain moon onto the leather bag tossed into the air.

"Snapped!"

Ning Nan reached out and took the leather bag.

The bag was very heavy, and the force of the impact caused his hand to ache. He gritted his teeth and swung it away, dissipating some of the force in mid-air.

"kill!"

Xu Tianji, who was closest to him, had no idea what was inside.

At this point, he didn't care anymore and roared.

Once you capture the opponent, cut off their hand, and change horses, you can escape the danger.

He rolled on the ground and his right hand was scraped by the sand and gravel, leaving several bloody marks, but it did not affect his grip on the ring-pommel sword.

Peng Liangang, whose ankle and thigh were stabbed by Ning Baixuan, said that Ning Baixuan was very strong and ruthless. Fortunately, he had no martial arts skills. In a one-on-one fight without any tricks or schemes, Ning Baixuan was no match for him.

Xu Tianji's eyes darkened, and his boots left a trail of footprints on the sand.

Old Man Peng was at least giving himself face in his words, so Xu Tianji would not underestimate Ning Baixuan because of it. He gritted his teeth and thought about how to strike later.

It was at this moment.

Xu Tianji's pupils contracted.

Ning Baixuan, who was about seven or eight zhang away from him, suddenly took out a long object from the leather bag.

Having just suffered a great loss from muskets, he naturally recognized what it was. Xu Tianji's expression changed, and he shouted, "Watch out! Muskets!" Everyone was stunned.

Xu Tianji was less than five zhang away from Ning Baixuan when the latter took out a fire tumbler from his leather bag.

He gritted his teeth, brandished his sword, and said, "I can catch up!"

When the enemy raises his musket, the knife in my hand will surely have already severed his hand!