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

The movements were fluid and seamless, executed in one go.

"Bang!"

Gunpowder exploded in the powder box, and the bullet was launched from the gun barrel. In the blink of an eye, it passed through the air invisibly and shot straight into the back of the head of the third-rank military officer who was raising his sword and shouting.

Before Khotan could even turn around, caught up in the heat of the battle, his eyes went unfocused and his body went limp and he collapsed.

With a series of swift movements, the Imperial Guards behind Ning Nan also drew their muskets from their waists.

……

"Your subordinate is incompetent, please punish me, young master..." Because of his outstanding ability to imitate the northern accent, Zhang Shuijing, the servant in charge of impersonating the captain of the Plain White Banner cavalry, had a knife wound to his right arm. He stepped over a group of corpses and hurriedly came up to apologize.

Ning Nan shook his head and said, "Tonight, everyone has done good and is innocent."

The armor worn by Zhang Shuijing and his men was captured when they defeated the Thirty Riders of Amurtu at Tiger Crouching Mountain.

It wouldn't be surprising if Khotan discovered them; they just needed to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, there weren't enough muskets; only about ten were distributed to the servants.

Time was of the essence, so he didn't linger here.

Stepping over the corpses in Tianye, he led the dozen or so people brought by Zhang Shuijing toward the west courtyard.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, which was a scene of broken walls and ruins, a dozen or so suits of black armor were climbing over the wall to return, under the moonlight.

The two rascals, wielding sharp knives, and the three strong leaders, holding golden gourds, were the leaders.

Erlai remained calm, while Sanzhuang excitedly clutched a human head.

Ning Nan asked quickly and calmly, "Has 'Prince Jing' been sent away?"

Wearing a black helmet, Er Laizi wiped his face, which was smeared with blood, and solemnly said:

"Don't worry, brother. We fought off those who tried to block our way. We also saw Prince Jing off; quite a few people witnessed it."

"it is good."

Ning Nan immediately turned to face north and shouted, "Disarm yourselves as you march!"

"Yes!" the remaining twenty-odd servants replied in a deep voice.

Despite their extensive preparations, they had lost no fewer than ten men in several battles.

The air was thick with the smell of burning as the group walked through the hissing inferno.

Ning Nan led the way, with Qian Sijin and Zhen Susu following beside him.

More than ten Imperial Guards followed closely behind.

The remaining twenty-odd servants removed their armor and followed closely behind the Imperial Guards.

We arrived at the stables in the second courtyard of the west wing.

Erlai shouted loudly, and all the servants went to the stable to fetch the horse.

From the second courtyard to the third courtyard, then turn into the main courtyard and the fifth courtyard.

Finally, we returned to the dilapidated north gate.

Several men in black jackets and a row of armored soldiers holding torches stood outside.

A man in a black jacket saw Ning Nan and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He felt a little uneasy when he saw that the man was followed by a group of men who looked like imperial guards and servants.

The man in the black jacket said with a cold expression:

"I am Wang Hui, a fourth-class imperial guard from the Imperial Guard, and I am here on the orders of the Grand Minister to protect the delegation. I, Wang Hui, have met with Vice Envoy Ning."

The fourth-rank guard from the Sticky Rod Office bowed slightly and continued:

"We have already escorted your envoys to the Siamese embassy. We are also sending people to pursue Prince Jing, who was captured by the bandits. We will bring Prince Jing back soon, so Vice Envoy Ning can rest assured. Now, I would like to trouble Vice Envoy Ning to accompany Wang Hui to the Siamese embassy."

Ning Nan's face was a mixture of blood and sweat, which looked both ferocious and disheveled under the moonlight.

A large patch of blood stained the chest of the moon-colored robe, and after walking around the extremely hot embassy, ​​the blood had turned black from the heat.

Ning Nan reached out and took a gray cloth bag from a Jinyiwei guard behind him. The bag was small, and blood was seeping from the bottom.

Wang Hui narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ning Nan picked up the cloth bag, stuffed it into Wang Hui's hand, and calmly said:

"It's extremely urgent! Take me to the Yonghe Temple immediately. I need to see the Minister in charge of your Imperial Supplies Office."

While saying "it's extremely urgent," the other party's tone was extremely calm.

Wang Hui frowned, took the cloth bag handed to him, and looked down. As expected, it contained a human head.

Wang Hui's expression turned cold. Heads? A demonstration?

Anger welled up within him. With one hand holding the cloth bag and the other grasping the braid that held the severed head, he lifted it up to take a closer look... The severed head's eyes were wide open in a daze. Upon recognizing the severed head, this fourth-rank guard from the Imperial Guard turned pale and was utterly terrified!

…………

Yonghe Temple.

The sounds of gongs, drums, footsteps, and horns turned the usually quiet and serene Yonghe Temple upside down.

Mu Shu, the first-rank minister in charge of the Sticky Rod Office, sat behind his desk, watching his subordinates come in one after another to kowtow and report, flipping through one intelligence report after another, his brows furrowed.

"Send a letter to Admiral Aqitu, the Commander of the Nine Gates, requesting him to go to the yamen immediately and personally oversee the capital."

"twitter!"

"Issue the commanders of the nine gates, especially the one guarding Zhengyang Gate, to guard the gates. Without the Yang Fu (a type of official seal), my order, and the order of the commander of the nine gates, no one may open the gates or enter or leave, regardless of who is missing any of these three orders. This order must be given not only to the generals but also to the deputy generals. There must be no mistakes."

"As you command, sir!"

"Order all fire squads in the inner city to be mobilized and extinguish the fire at the embassy immediately. Order all embassies, taverns, and shops in Dongjiangmi Lane to stand by and prepare well water in buckets and basins. Bring all dry grass, timber, jars of wine, and other items into their houses or cellars. Be careful to prevent the wind from spreading the fire to their homes."

"twitter!"

"Take the portrait of Prince Jing and request the Commander of the Nine Gates and the entire Infantry Commander's Office to conduct a city-wide search! You must find Prince Jing of the Southern Kingdom! Under no circumstances should he be harmed!"

"twitter!"

"A group of people wearing Plain White Banner armor? Killed Darlu? And covered for that band of thieves?"

"My lord! That's right! Whether it's the surviving soldiers of the Plain Red Banner Guard or our scouts, they all saw that the gang of thieves escorting Prince Jing into Bafu Alley..."

"Investigate! Send men to strip those guys of their armor, investigate them thoroughly!"

"twitter!"

"Also! Immediately order Yue Le to guard the entire Southern Kingdom delegation to the death, making sure no one is missed, especially the Southern Dynasty's Grand Prince Consort. Send them all to the Siamese embassy, ​​either alive or dead, and make sure each one matches the description."

"My lord, Lord Yue Le has already led his men into the embassy to attack and kill those Heavenly Principle Sect traitors."

"Whom did Yue Le entrust that place to?"

"The east side was assigned to Lord Ming Dongming, and the north side to Lord Wang Hui. The west and south sides were each assigned to two fourth-rank guards."

"Then go and order Mingdong to do as he says and send me the completed list of envoys as soon as possible!"

"twitter!"

"Send someone to invite the Third Prince..."

…………

One figure after another entered with intelligence, and then left with orders.

Not long after.

Someone came to report, "The Third Prince has arrived." Mu Shu was taken aback. Judging from the time, he knew that the Third Prince must have come on his own, rather than Mu Shu sending someone to invite him.

The announcement had just begun.

A figure dressed in a light green mandarin jacket had already arrived outside the door.

When Mu Shu saw that the handsome and refined-looking prince was about to step over the threshold, he quickly threw down the rat-whisker pen in his hand and sprang up from the sandalwood chair.

He hurried forward, kowtowed, and said, "This servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be well!"

To the left of the entrance to the study is a screen and a tea room for receiving guests.

"Rise," Han Chang said.

As he spoke, the prince, wearing a melon-shaped hat, did not stop for a moment. He went straight around the screen and headed for the tea room. The tea room had a main seat and guest seats. He sat down directly in the main seat and addressed the first-rank minister who followed him in with a bow:

"Speak, pick out the important points."

"Yes, ma'am!" Mu Shu nodded.