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

"Someone sent Ning Baixuan a secret letter saying that the 'Rakshasa' are conspiring with others to launch a surprise attack on the Southern Kingdom's delegation tonight... Who... who sent the letter?"

"Ning Baixuan said he was going to meet a guest at Liuye Studio on Chaoyangmen Inner Street? And he said it was this person who delivered the letter... Who is he meeting? Who is it? Who exactly is it?... "

"We'll have to send someone to investigate and verify the facts..."

"The Southern Kingdom's embassy was indeed attacked... gunpowder... so much gunpowder... Mo Dan was bombed like this... there must have been a lot of gunpowder used, how could they have brought it in?...

"The Nine Gates Admiral, Prince Yi... these traitors are making baseless accusations... could they really be traitors from the Heavenly Principle Sect?... But... this shouldn't be..."

"Prince Jing has been captured? Prince Jing has been captured by these traitors. Is it really to sabotage the North-South peace talks? Could it be... that Mu Ziying, the Right Protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect, is acting on his own?... Or have the Rakshasa people truly gone back on their word?... No, impossible... Yaksa is still in the hands of the Plain Yellow Banner..."

"..."

As the second-class guard, praised by the emperor as having "unparalleled talent" and "bravery surpassing even that of a warrior," was frantically analyzing the situation of the night, a flash of white light disappeared without warning from his neck.

Clean up the chaos of tonight, apprehend the mastermind behind it all, keep watch over the Southern Dynasty delegation, skin the traitors alive, lead the army south in a month, and achieve unparalleled feats... At this moment, all such ambitions came to an abrupt end.

Yue Le's head flew up under the moonlight. His last sensations were a sharp pain in his neck, a tightness in his throat, and the wind scraping his noodles. His face turned ashen.

The last thing Yue Le saw was a young man in a moon-colored robe and cloak, holding a sword horizontally. He was slowly rising, getting smaller and smaller. Yue Le then saw a headless corpse standing in front of the young man, with blood gushing from its neck.

A thick, fur-trimmed skullcap was flung through the air, revealing a bald head.

thump.

The head, with its eyes open and lifeless, fell straight to the ground with a thud, rolling several times on the muddy ground of the yard before finally stopping after hitting a large rock and swaying a couple of times.

Under the cold, pale moonlight.

From the moment the Imperial Guards shouted "The thieves are coming!" to the moment Yue Le and the others turned around, only a breath had passed.

As Yue Le turned around, Ning Nan suddenly swung his arm back in a slash, and only a breath had passed.

From the sudden beheading of Yue Le in Ningnan to the dozen or so Imperial Guards drawing their swords and slashing at the remaining four guards in melon-shaped hats, less than half a breath had passed.

Before Yue Le could react, the four guards realized what was happening the moment the blood blossomed. Their pupils constricted, and their faces paled in shock, but the words "My lord!" were still on their lips.

Qian Sijin's spear had already pierced one man's throat. The other three only had time to draw their swords, but not enough to parry. In the blink of an eye, they were hacked to death by several swords coming at them.

The bugle calls outside came one after another, and footsteps could already be heard; their time was running out.

With a few warm bloodstains on his face, Vice Envoy Ning's expression was as cold as ice. He flicked his wrist, shook off the blood from the Flowing Water Sword, and with a clang, she sheathed the sword.

"I have today's night patrol pass!"

He rushed forward and held up an iron plaque as the Imperial Guards searched the five men, exclaiming in surprise.

Zhen Susu stood back beside Ning Nan, bent down and reached out to take the waist tag with the ferocious beast head embossed on it. She frowned and said urgently:

"Is there a yin-yang symbol?"

The three Imperial Guards, sweating profusely, rummaged through Yue Le's body, finding a pile of tokens and some secret orders. Zhen Susu put them away in a cloth bag, glancing at each item before shaking her head at Ning Nan with narrowed eyes.

The shouts outside, "Enter!", "Save the water!", "Form ranks!", "Kill all the traitors!", "Don't let a single one escape!", made everyone feel as if they were hearing a death knell, and they dared not slow down their hands even for a moment.

Three night patrol badges were found on the five men, along with other bronze and wooden badges of unknown purpose.

However, the Yang Fu, which allows entry and exit from the inner city, was not found.

Ning Nan's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat, and he immediately said, "Never mind if you don't have any!"

Thump, his thighs tensed, he stepped forward, and said:

"Take Yue Le's head. Let's go!"

The inner city of Beijing has nine gates, each bearing a unique yin-yang symbol. Each gate holds one of these yin symbols.

The Yang Fu was kept in the palace or by some important people.

To leave the city, one must obtain the corresponding Yang talisman from the palace, rush to the city gate, and match it with the Yin talisman held by the city's general. After the two copper plates are put together, the words "Imperial Edict" on the inside must fit perfectly before passage can be granted.

"Yue Le's rank is still too low."

Ning Nan, sword in hand, stepped over the corpses on the ground.

Zhen Susu, dressed in black with a black cloak and a hood, hurried beside him, saying:

"How about we try wearing Yue Le's clothes? Impersonate him? Qian Baihu's height is similar to his."

Ning Nan shook his head and said, "I won't change it."

Within the inner city alone, there were no fewer than several thousand elite Eight Banner troops patrolling at night, as well as spies from the Sticky Pole Bureau, not counting the city gates.

Let alone the fact that they only have waist tags and no passwords, even if they had passwords, if they ran out from here, they would be exposed in an instant if any patrolling soldiers on the way suspected them, and everything would be over.

The accent, tone of voice, whether the clothes fit, the way one walks, certain habits, whether the language is appropriate, whether one kowtows to the "master"... even the slightest clue can make others feel that something is wrong, and it's only a matter of time before one's true colors are revealed.

After all, if anyone let the thief go, it would be a disaster that would result in the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan, so these soldiers naturally dared not gamble.

If the soldiers on night patrol were like this, then the city gate officers guarding the city would be even more so. If they were to risk their lives and change into clothes or armor that were obviously ill-fitting, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream to slip out of the city right under their noses.

Zhen Susu followed nervously behind the young man with the sword. As he took large strides, her pace unconsciously quickened.

The other party has set out several plans, but these are only general outlines. So far, some of what has happened has been expected, while others have been unexpected.

For example, being stopped at the gate was expected, but the fact that so many soldiers had already surrounded the delegation was unexpected.

"We can only adapt to the situation." Earlier in the study, when the other person finally put down their pen, they exhaled and said this.

The moonlight was clear and bright, but the Southern Kingdom delegation was still engulfed in flames.

A dozen or so Imperial Guards followed closely behind her and the sect leader.

As they hurried away from the east courtyard and entered the main courtyard, a commotion arose from the south main gate. Patrolling soldiers and firefighters from nearby areas entered.

Ning Nan continued walking, passing through the main courtyard and entering the west wing.

They happened to witness Tian Ye, dressed in white armor, leading a dozen or so remaining men in a fierce battle against a group of servants dressed in black armor with white trim.

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes and lifted his robe.

clack.

He pulled a flintlock pistol from a leather pouch at his waist.

Holding the gun with both hands.

Aim.

Pull the trigger with your right index finger.