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

The heat and the scorching heat made Yue Le break out in a cold sweat.

"Go!" he shouted suddenly, sweat beading on his forehead.

He leaped up, stepped over the raging fire of pine resin, and jumped toward the east courtyard.

…………

"kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The flashes of swords, the sparks of fire, and the shouts of battle rose up in front of us!

Upon hearing this sound, Khotan, clad in white armor studded with nails, felt his blood boil.

He drew his sword and led thirty men into the west courtyard, rushing towards the source of the shouts of battle!

As they raced along, rockets shot up from the sky, occasionally exploding or bursting into flames.

"You all better watch out!"

Tianye shouted and ordered a dozen archers to draw their bows and nock their arrows, ready to fire as soon as they saw the bandits.

The west courtyard has only three sections. After passing through a large garden with a pond and a storeroom, you arrive at the place where the servants, young men, and soldiers live.

As soon as you step into the courtyard, a wave of heat hits you.

At this moment, cries rang out: "Save King Jing of the Southern Kingdom! Save King Jing of the Southern Kingdom!"

To Konno's surprise, a loud shout came as soon as he entered the area.

Tianye saw three people rush out from a place about forty feet away. The two on the left and right held the middle man, who was wearing a python robe, with their knives and led him straight to the west side wall. There was a staircase and a platform on that side wall for climbing over.

Following behind the three were nearly twenty Northern Dynasty soldiers dressed in black armor with studded caps and white trim on the edges of their armor, who were chasing after them with swords in hand.

These people were covered in blood, and some even had arrows stuck in their bodies, clearly indicating that they had been through a bloody battle.

"Who are you?!" Before Tianye could ask, the leader of the group of dozens of people shouted.

Tianye's forehead was covered in sweat from running, and he frowned:

"People from the Plain White Banner?"

The leader on the other side shouted, "I am Tumu, a Qianzong of the Pingnan Camp in Huainan, and a subordinate of Amurtu, the deputy commander of the Plain White Banner." This person had a Huainan accent.

He quickly continued, "I was ordered to escort the northern and southern delegations back north! Under orders from the Commander of the Nine Gates, I patrol the capital at night, and will travel south again in three months. Tonight, I've arrived here to apprehend the thieves!"

The man gripped his knife and shouted sternly, "Who are you?! State your names at once!"

Just then.

The two men in black had already taken the man in the white python robe hostage and scaled the city wall, exiting the Southern Kingdom's embassy. A group of Xuanjia soldiers shouted, "Release the Southern Kingdom's King Jing!" and followed suit, scaling the wall one after another.

Tianye's heart skipped a beat: "Amurtu?"

Amurtu was indeed the deputy commander of the Plain White Banner, and a very famous figure among the Eight Banners.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "A man from Amurtu?"

He glanced at the two men in black; the white-robed man they were holding hostage must be the Prince Jing of the Southern Kingdom.

Khotan had already ordered Darlu to come and cut off the bandits' retreat. They scaled the wall and ran into Darlu. Khotan felt a slight sense of relief.

He took out an iron token from his pocket, held it high, and, frowning, demanded, "Do you have a night patrol token?"

The captain shouted, "Of course I have it!" and reached into his robes.

When Tianye saw him reach for his token, he let out a slight sigh of relief and shouted again, "Today's password: Changbai Mountain."

The patrol password was changed daily, and was announced by the Nine Gates Commander's Office at the end of each day.

If he says "Changbai Mountain," the other person should reply "bear."

The general opposite him pulled an iron plaque from his robes, raised it, and shouted:

"Today's password..."

He opened his throat:

"shot!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly lunged to the side.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

.........

Smoke and dust filled the air.

In the east courtyard, a group of officials dressed in scarlet robes, along with their maids and servants, were covered in dust and looked utterly shaken.

When Yue Le arrived with his men.

Just then, they saw the person in the moon-colored cloak draw a longsword wrapped in a vermilion wooden scabbard, brandish it, and roar at the group of scarlet-clad officials: "Where is Prince Jing?! Where is His Highness Prince Jing?!"

A scarlet-clad official, panting heavily, hurriedly clasped his hands and exclaimed, "Your Highness... Your Highness... Your Highness has been captured by thieves!"

The official in scarlet robes pointed west: "Prince Jing was taken west by them. The Plain White Banner soldiers came in through the main gate and drove back those bandits... They... they went after them..."

"Grass!"

Ning Baixuan cursed loudly.

At that moment, bugle calls sounded all around the embassy.

It seems that the patrol soldiers from the surrounding area, as well as the fire brigade responsible for extinguishing the fire, have rushed over.

"Soldiers from the Plain White Banner?" Yue Le wondered as he walked over. "Are they the patrol soldiers from nearby?"

"Go! Go, go, go!" Ning Nan shouted, "Vice Envoy Jia, quickly take them out of the embassy to seek refuge! I'm going to find Prince Jing!"

As he spoke, he casually pointed to two Imperial Guards wearing cloaks and with faces covered in soot, saying, "You two, take men and protect the delegation!"

The two Imperial Guards replied in unison, "We obey the Grand Prince Consort's order!"

The order has been given.

Ning Nan turned around, the beads of sweat on his forehead glistening in the moonlight. He was about to turn and lead his group of Imperial Guards straight west to chase after them.

Yue Le's heart skipped a beat, and he shouted, "Vice Envoy Ning, please wait a moment!"

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken, because once he did, the Southern Dynasty delegation noticed him as the man in the black jacket.

"Thief! Thief!"

Jiang Heng, the white-haired Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, jumped up from the ground and shouted:

"What do you mean by this? What do you mean by this? Do you intend to slaughter my Southern Liang tribe?! Prince Jing... if Prince Jing suffers even the slightest harm... I will smash my head against the Zhengyang Gate and die beneath the true gate of my Great Liang! To rest with the spirit of my fallen heroes! When my Great Liang launches its northern expedition one day, the sons of Great Liang will come to collect this withered bone of mine!..."

Jiang Heng's white hair and face were now completely black, and he pointed at Yue Le with trembling fingers, cursing incessantly.

The other envoys from the Southern Dynasty were also deeply moved and jumped up to curse angrily.

Yue Le bowed and said, "Lord Jiang, please rest assured, gentlemen. We have already deployed heavy troops to surround His Highness Prince Jing. He will surely return safely!"

He said in a deep voice, "Now, I trouble Vice Envoy Ning and all the lords to go out through the east gate with me. We have already arranged people at the east gate. The embassy will be on fire, and the patrol soldiers and firemen will arrive in an instant. Yue Le will ensure the safety of you and Prince Jing."

The Ningnan Sword remained unsheathed, its snow-white blade gleaming under the moonlight.

He sneered:

"Lord Yue Le! I told you long ago that I received a secret order that the Rakshasa traitors were about to destroy the North-South Alliance. I came to the embassy to investigate this matter. But you bunch of insects wasted your troops blocking me outside the embassy, ​​giving the traitors an opportunity!"

"When I have an audience with your Emperor tomorrow, I will definitely submit a memorial impeaching you!"

The other officials of the Southern Dynasty also cursed loudly, some saying they would submit a memorial to the emperor tomorrow, and others saying they would return to the south tomorrow.

Ning Nan was covered in sweat. He snorted and ordered the two Imperial Guards to quickly lead the envoys out through the east gate without delay.

Jia Shi'an also shouted, and all the officials hurriedly ran out of the Zishui Pavilion.

Especially when a burst of gunfire, clearly from a musket, came from the west courtyard, everyone was terrified. Someone shouted, "It really is a Rakshasa musket!" and hurried their footsteps, running even faster.

Ning Nan, sword in hand, wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and ordered his men to cover the rear.

Yue Le, accompanied by four vigorous guards, followed behind Ning Nan, narrowing his eyes slightly, and asked, "Vice Envoy Ning... where did you get the information that the so-called Rakshasa people were going to attack the Southern Kingdom's embassy?"

Ning Nan said, "Our Great Liang is in Beijing..."

Before he could finish speaking, a member of the Imperial Guard responsible for covering the rear suddenly cried out in alarm:

"Your Highness! The thieves are closing in!"

Yue Le and the four guards behind him immediately raised their eyebrows and turned around sharply.

The bright moon shone in the sky, while gunshots and shouts of battle echoed from the distant west.

The sound of horns and cannons rang out from all around the embassy, ​​clearly indicating that the Northern Dynasty's night patrol soldiers were close at hand, and some had even already entered the embassy.

Yue Le turned around and saw the Southern Dynasty's Imperial Guards, who were covering the rear, scattered around him.

"Is someone chasing us?"

He looked toward the darkened corridor.

At that moment, a flash of white light appeared in the corner of his eye.

Yue Le felt a sudden chill on her neck.

My heart sank suddenly. I strained my neck, and just as I was about to turn it back, a sharp pain shot through my neck.

His gaze shifted slightly, the ground began to recede from him, his head rose half an inch, and with the force of inertia, his head turned back, his pupils beginning to lose focus.