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

When Ning Baixuan tried to leave the delegation at Hai Shi (9-11 PM), he was intercepted by Tianye, and the two sides went to war and remained deadlocked for a long time.

When Yue Le arrived, Ning Baixuan said that someone had given him a secret letter saying that the delegation would be attacked that night, and that the attackers were Rakshasa people and another group of people conspiring together.

It was at this moment that the mission was attacked, fires raged, and the roar of explosions nearly shook the entire city. At the same time, fireworks were set off in three locations within the city, suspected to be a gathering of people by the Heavenly Principle Sect to start an uprising.

The bandits stormed into the delegation, kidnapped the Prince Jing of the Southern Dynasty, and then scaled the western city wall. They were followed by a group of men wearing Plain White Banner armor. They attacked the Dalu of the Plain Red Banner with knives, killing the Dalu and defeating the others...

…………

"How is Ning Baixuan?" After hearing the general outline of the matter, Han Chang calmly asked, holding his tea.

Mu Shu bowed:

"Your Highness, rest assured, when the incident occurred, Ning Baixuan, Yue Le, and Tian Ye were at the north gate. He was protected by more than a dozen Imperial Guards. When he stormed into the embassy to protect the Southern Dynasty's envoys, Tian Ye sent people to follow him."

"King Tianye himself charged in and sent men to cover their retreat. Although the men who had taken King Jing hostage escaped, the others were likely cornered by King Tianye."

"The people from the Southern Kingdom's embassy escaped through the east gate. They said Ning Baixuan and Yue Le were behind them and should be coming out soon. The servants from the embassy have been arranged to go to the Siamese embassy to keep a close watch on them."

"Don't hurt Ning Baixuan," Han Chang warned again.

"Your Highness, rest assured," Mu Shu bowed even lower, "His Majesty has also sent someone to give instructions on this matter, and this servant would never dare to disobey his master."

"Did Father Emperor give the same order?" Han Chang frowned slightly, puzzled for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions, and just secretly noted it down.

Mu Shu stood respectfully before Han Chang, her head bowed and eyes lowered.

Han Chang glanced at him, knowing he had a question, and before the other could ask, he spoke directly to him:

"Those fireworks weren't from the Heavenly Principle Sect; they just looked like them."

Mu Shu immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for informing me, Master."

But he frowned sharply.

The prince only said that the fireworks were not set off by the Heavenly Principle Sect, but he didn't say... whether the Heavenly Principle Sect was involved in the matter tonight...

Just then, someone came to report from outside the door.

Mu Shu was about to take his leave to attend to other matters when he saw the person who had come in had already walked around the screen. Mu Shu was taken aback; the person was an eunuch.

Upon seeing Han Chang, the eunuch's face lit up with joy. He wiped the sweat from his brow and hurriedly stepped forward to kowtow.

"This servant kowtows to Your Highness, wishing you good health. I am acting on His Majesty's orders to summon you to the palace immediately! His Majesty said there was no time to lose, so I ran myself ragged to your residence first. The servant there told me Your Highness had arrived at the Yonghe Temple. And so, of course I rushed here!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Shu felt a chill and immediately bent down and stepped aside to make room for the Prince.

Han Chang's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded and turned to Mu Shu, saying:

"The one who kidnapped Prince Jing must not be from the Heavenly Principle Sect! Immediately send men to search for Prince Jing, before dawn..."

Before he could finish speaking, just then...

Another series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

"My lord! My lord!"

Someone screamed and rushed in, clutching a cloth bag, as they hurriedly bypassed the screen.

Mu Shu's expression darkened slightly.

This man, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, remained deathly pale, raised the cloth bag in his hand, and bowed tremblingly, saying:

"My lord, my lord... Lord Yue Le... Lord Yue Le..."

A thick stench of blood filled the study. Mu Shu glanced at the blackened cloth bag at the bottom, frowned, and said:

"Yue Le? What happened to Yue Le?"

The newcomer's forehead was beaded with sweat, and tears welled in his eyes. He stammered a few words, not daring to speak plainly, and only kowtowed, saying:

"My lord... Ning Baixuan, the deputy envoy of the Southern Dynasty, has arrived outside the Yonghe Temple and requests an audience with you!"

…………

The moon climbed high in the sky.

Flames filled the sky over Dongjiang Rice Alley.

The street was bustling with people.

"Water! Water! Firefighters from Qipan Street, go through the east gate! Follow the guards! Just in case any thieves are still alive!"

"Lift the manhole cover! Quickly! There are four wells in the main courtyard of the Southern Embassy! Four wells! The fire station in Bafu Hutong, go to the well in the third courtyard!"

"Carry the body! Carry the body! Someone come quick! Come quick!"

"This way, this way!"

"Don't let a single thief escape!"

Footsteps, shouts, noises, the clanging of armor, and the clatter of wooden buckets and fire extinguishers hitting the ground mingled together in the South China Embassy in Dongjiang Rice Lane.

Half of the inner city was thrown into turmoil, with people living in constant fear and unrest.

The soldiers patrolling the streets wave after wave, shouting and checking waist tags and passwords. Some civilians who came out to watch the excitement were arrested without mercy. What used to be a few lashes of the whip became imprisonment tonight.

The Siamese Embassy is located diagonally opposite the South Korean Embassy.

The sweltering heat naturally drew anger to the Siamese embassy.

The Siamese who remained behind looked slightly embarrassed as they faced the disheveled Liang envoys.

Siam was located south of Daliang and was a vassal state of Daliang.

However, they would also travel by water or land to pay tribute to the Northern Dynasty. When they saw that the suzerain state was in distress in the capital of the Northern Dynasty, they would rush to curry favor, ordering people to set fires and ordering maids and servants to boil water and bring clean clothes for the Southern envoys to change into.

The courtyard where they were located was extremely quiet and secluded.

Dressed in a scarlet robe and with a face as black as ink, Jia Shi'an shouted at the Siamese servants:

"Get out! Get out of here immediately!"

Jia Shi'an flicked his sleeves and addressed the assembled Southern Dynasty officials with righteous indignation:

"We'll be like this until Prince Jing returns safely! Isn't the Emperor of the Northern Dynasty supposed to see us tomorrow? Since Prince Jing hasn't returned, we'll go looking like this!"

Jiang Heng, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, whose white hair had been burned off and whose right side of his head was now charred black, immediately stood up from his chair and shouted:

"Vice Envoy Jia is absolutely right! A subject dies for his sovereign's disgrace! We have traveled thousands of miles to enter this old and new country, and if we do not shed tears at the tombs and spill our blood in the old capital, we can hardly be called loyal and virtuous. Tonight, we have also lost Prince Jing. How can we face returning south?! How can we face His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus?!"

The white-haired old minister wiped his face haphazardly: "This is how I am, this is how I am... If Prince Jing does not return, I will go to see the Grand Ancestor in this state!"

The officials of the Southern Dynasty immediately responded, leaving the Siamese envoy with no choice but to obediently order tea and pastries to be served, saying, "Please, gentlemen, fill your stomachs first."

Ning Nan left two Jinyiwei guards, whose faces were also dark, to guard this place.

The person was tall with broad shoulders and a large build.

The other was of medium build, with a dark complexion but a more delicate appearance. He was slightly bent over, looking somewhat tired.

Jia Shi'an glanced at the somewhat handsome Imperial Guard and ordered him to come out with him to report on Vice Envoy Ning's situation. The Imperial Guard hurriedly replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, Lord Jia!"

A hot wind blew in from outside, and the fire at the embassy in the south burned half the sky.

Several bare tree trunks were planted haphazardly in the courtyard. The soil on the ground was a bit slippery, so Jia Shi'an couldn't help but put some pressure on his feet.

The handsome, young Imperial Guard, upon reaching Jia Shi'an's side, couldn't help but smile wryly, sigh softly, and whisper:

"Lord Jia... what exactly... what exactly..."

He knew nothing and was still being manipulated by his nephew-in-law surnamed Ning and the man in front of him, Lord Jia.

Jia Shi'an said in a low, solemn voice, "This matter is of great importance, please be patient, Your Highness..."

As he spoke in a low voice, Jia Shi'an sighed with trepidation.

The capital was heavily guarded, with the Imperial Guard alone numbering 15,000 men, and the Fifth Patrol Battalion having nearly 20,000 men. In addition, there were the ubiquitous Sticky Rod Offices.

The inner city of Beijing had nine gates: Chaoyang Gate, Dongzhi Gate, Chongwen Gate, Xuanwu Gate, Fucheng Gate, Xizhi Gate, Anding Gate, and Desheng Gate. Each gate was guarded by a large number of soldiers from one of the Eight Banners.

As for Zhengyangmen, this "national gate," it was guarded by the Eight Banners in rotation.

Beyond the inner city, there is an outer city with equally tight defenses.

It was absolutely impossible for them to escape from Beijing, which was surrounded by heavy city walls. Even if their forces were ten or even a hundred times larger, it would still be impossible.

About an hour and a half ago, in that ordinary, dimly lit study.

Jia Shi'an then said to the Grand Prince Consort Ning, "Aren't we doomed to have no chance of escape?"

The other party nodded and said, "Escape is impossible. But if you don't escape tonight, you won't be able to escape later."

Jia Shi'an's face turned deathly pale. As the Right Vice Minister of War, he was well-versed in the defenses of the capital and instinctively said:

"Without night travel passes and passwords, we can't go out on the streets. Without the Yin-Yang Combination Talisman, we can't leave the city. If there's a disturbance in the city, even with the Yin-Yang Combination Talisman and passes, we still won't be able to leave. We might need the Nine Gates Commander's order, or even the Northern Dynasty Emperor's order."

The prince consort nodded: "That's right."

"so,"

The prince consort squinted at him.

"We can only ask them to take us out of the city."