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

"This man was dressed in all black, and his swordsmanship was truly superb. Brother Yue Le was unable to dodge in time and was beheaded by him with a single sword strike."

"Besides this man, there were two men in black carrying knives and one man in black carrying a spear. They leaped out from the top and side of the wall respectively, and the four guards also died tragically from their weapons."

"When Ning saw this, his eyes widened in fury, but his men were immediately routed in the first exchange of blows."

"I acted decisively, ordering my Imperial Guards to form a battle formation and not to scatter, fighting and retreating simultaneously. That's how I avoided being harmed by those men. To be honest, sir, I was both relieved and ashamed at the time."

"Fortunately, Brother Yue Le made timely arrangements. Horns sounded outside, and the men in black, hearing the horns and footsteps getting closer and closer, and knowing that they had already kidnapped our Prince Jing, no longer wanted to fight and retreated..."

The deputy envoy of the Southern Dynasty looked with a sigh at Yue Le's severed head on the desk, his voice becoming sorrowful:

"When Ning rushed back to the courtyard, Yue Le and his brother were staring at me with their eyes wide open. Ning quickly picked up their heads, held them in his arms, and was overcome with grief."

He pointed to his collar, which was stained with blood:

"Lord Mu Shu... Even the dull-witted Emperor Hui of Jin knew: 'This is the blood of Attendant-in-Ordinary Ji, do not remove it.' I, Ning, am not heartless, how could I not know this? I have only known Yue Le for a short time, and since he died for the ministers of my Southern Dynasty, how could I, Ning, allow such a hero to die so carelessly?!"

Ning Nan, facing Mu Shu opposite him, her eyes reddened, clasped her hands in a gesture of apology and said:

"Therefore, Ning ordered all officials in our court to declare that the Yue brothers died heroically in battle, so as not to dishonor the valiant names of these fine men!..."

During the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin, Ji Shao, a court attendant, often advised the emperor, who had once said, "If the people have no grain to eat, why don't they eat meat porridge?" Emperor Hui of Jin never listened and ignored him.

During the Battle of Dangyin, Ji Shao was shot and killed by a flying arrow while protecting Emperor Hui of Jin, and his blood splattered onto Emperor Hui's clothes.

Afterwards, when a eunuch offered to wash Emperor Hui of Jin's clothes, the emperor, known for his "dullness," said, "This is Ji Kang's blood; do not remove it." He refused to have his clothes washed.

These words from the top scholar of Liang were a strong expression of Yue Le's loyalty and righteousness.

Thump, thump, thump. Mu Shu's eyes suddenly reddened, and she immediately emerged from behind the sandalwood desk, her voice choked with emotion, and bowed deeply:

"On behalf of my nephew Yue Le, Mu Shu thanks Vice Envoy Ning for his great kindness!"

Ning Nan looked flustered and quickly bowed, respectfully returning the greeting.

"I wouldn't dare!"

……

……

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Yinzhen, who hadn't slept, leaned against the dragon throne covered with mink fur, holding a hand warmer covered with a fox fur coat.

In recent years, he has become somewhat sensitive to the cold. As the number of stoves added to the Hall of Mental Cultivation outside the underground dragon pit increased year by year, his sense of urgency also grew stronger.

Ortai, Grand Councilor and Minister of War, respectfully reports:

"The Shangyu Emergency Response Office handled the situation promptly, and Mu Shu did a good job. Your Majesty can rest assured. Aqitu, the Commander of the Nine Gates, has also arrived at the yamen. This servant has given the order for the guards of the outer city to be on full alert. With an inescapable net, these thieves will have no chance of escape."

Yinzhen gave a disdainful sneer: "My dear minister, who do you think is opposing me?"

The delegation arrived in the capital on the second day, and before they even had a proper audience with the Emperor, this unacceptable incident occurred. This fueled his intense hatred for those behind the scenes.

Especially since the peace talks hadn't even started yet, and the Southern Dynasty's envoy, King Jing, had already lost his position? This directly shook his years-long strategic plan.

If, in ten days or so, the peace treaty is signed and the news reaches the south, allowing the armies of Jiangpu and Liuhe of the Southern Dynasty to leave those two tortoise-shell cities, then even if he personally killed Prince Jing, he would have been fine, but instead, he lost the city as soon as he entered it.

Yinzhen's head began to ache slightly.

Ortai said in a steady voice:

"Your Majesty, based on Mu Shu's memorial, I have also analyzed it and found several possibilities. The first is that the Rakshasa people went back on their word and wanted to intercept and kill the envoys from the Southern Kingdom, thus provoking a war between the North and the South, so that they could reap the benefits."

Yinzhen shook his head: "The Rakshasa are impossible. Vladivostok and Aigun are in their hands, but Yaksa is in our hands, and we can cut off their retreat at any time. Moreover, they are now extremely interested in the Southern Dynasty."

Ortai thought so too, but he naturally had to bring up the whole situation so that his master could refute it, lest his master think that he had not thought things through thoroughly enough.

"The second possibility," Ortai bowed, "is that some people in our dynasty... who are unaware of the true situation, are unwilling to ally with the Southern Dynasty and have acted on their own initiative..."

"The Plain White Banner? The Three Great Camps?" Yinzhen's tone turned serious. After thinking for a moment, he hugged the stove and said disdainfully:

"I think even if they had the will, they wouldn't have the guts. They might have the guts to complain, but attacking an envoy..."

He shook his head and said:

"Even if someone from the Three Great Camps had such audacity, they wouldn't be foolish enough to strike in the capital. If they wanted to assassinate the delegation, they should have done so after passing Huai'an. Striking in Jinan or Cangzhou would have been far better than striking in the capital."

Ortai nodded repeatedly, agreeing, "Your Majesty is wise! Your few words have hit the nail on the head, dispelling the doubts in my heart."

Yinzhen chuckled and said, "Even if I fart, you always treat it like a fragrant fart. Sooner or later, I will be blinded by your narrow-mindedness."

Ortai said solemnly, "Your Majesty's achievements in civil administration rival those of Emperor Wen of Han, and your military prowess will one day rival that of Emperor Taizong of Tang. How can a humble subject deceive you with a little flattery?"

Yinzhen immediately laughed heartily. The word "flattery" revealed Ortai's sincerity. He smiled and said:

"People always say that Qin Shi Huang was tyrannical and Emperor Wu of Han was warlike and aggressive, and they dare not compare their emperors to him, but only to flatter Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang. But I am different."

This emperor, who forcefully promoted the "equalization of land tax and poll tax" and the "equalization of corvée labor and tax payment by gentry" during his reign, stirred up a great deal of turmoil throughout the land, yet his throne remained as stable as Mount Tai. He laughed, shattering the fallacy that "barbarian rule cannot last a hundred years."

"Time is of the essence, my dear minister, there is no need to test me with the situations you have already rejected. For example, if you were to say something like someone from the Southern Dynasty ambushed the delegation to undermine the alliance between the North and the South, I would truly take your flattery for granted, and you would have wasted your breath."

Within the Southern Dynasty, there were naturally those who supported the alliance and those who opposed it. But the people of the Southern Dynasty simply lacked the capability, the courage, to organize troops in the capital to storm the envoy's camp!

Ortai gave a perfectly timed, sarcastic laugh: "With the Holy Emperor before us, how dare this humble servant presume to teach him a lesson?"

He coughed lightly:

"Your Majesty, after eliminating these possibilities... the only one capable of infiltrating the delegation at night and with the intention of undermining the North-South alliance... is... the Heavenly Principle Sect."

The smile on Yinzhen's face vanished: "Is it possible for the third prince?"

Ortai shook his head and said, "It could never be the Third Prince."

The Grand Councilor stated confidently:

"As the Left Protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect, the Third Prince has been continuously expanding the sect's reach southward in recent years. Several months ago, Gu Xichuan requisitioned grain in Huguang, causing widespread suffering among the people of Xiaoxiang counties."

"The Third Prince immediately ordered Chen Fu of the Heavenly Principle Sect to rebel in southern Hunan, and the rebellion has not been quelled to this day. In addition, the Heavenly Principle Sect has also gathered followers to rebel in Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, causing turmoil and instability in the puppet regime. The Third Prince's loyalty to the Emperor is as clear as day."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen nodded, remained silent for a few moments, and then sighed, saying:

"He was my most beloved son, and also the son I feel most indebted to. Those ten years were a hardship for him."

Ortai said, "His Majesty's blessings are boundless; the purple aura will surely protect the Third Prince as he returns."

Yinzhen remained noncommittal, frowning as he asked, "Is that Mu Ziying? Or perhaps..."

The emperor on the dragon throne drew out his words, his tone turning slightly colder:

"That most despicable yet still clinging to life traitor of the Heavenly Principle Cult..."

"Han Qing, leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect!"

……

……

Yonghe Temple.

The candlelight flickered in the study of the First-Rank Minister. Mu Shu stopped sobbing, patted Ning Nan's hand as he came to support him, and said gratefully:

"Brother Ning, having you as a friend is truly a blessing!"

Ning Nan also said solemnly, "Brother Mu Shu, you're too kind. Let's be frank. We brothers have truly opened our hearts tonight."

"You have to give an explanation to the Southern Dynasty, and I, your brother, also have to give an explanation to the Emperor."

"Yes," Ning Nan said with a wry smile, "we're in the same boat. If we can't find Prince Jing tonight... we'll lose her own uncle..."

Ning Nan said with a mournful face, "Brother...brother, my marriage to the Empress of the Southern Dynasty...I'm afraid...I'm afraid..."

The phrase "It might not even be possible that it will fall through" stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say it for a long time.

Mu Shu clicked her tongue and said, "That's truly a pity!"

Ning Nan's face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "That's why I, brother, must perform this merit tonight and bring Prince Jing back!"

Mu Shu said solemnly, "My brother's head is in my hands now!"

Ning Nan immediately clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother Mu Shu, rest assured!"

"Now that things have come to this," Mu Shu's eyes shifted slightly, becoming anxious, and her tone became urgent as she changed the subject:

"Brother, could you tell me who warned you tonight that someone would attack the delegation? And who invited you to meet so late at night?"

Ning Nan gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "There's nothing I can't say."

"To be honest, elder brother! That man wrote a secret letter to me, several thousand words long, talking about the distinction between Chinese and barbarians, and about the great principles of the world."

They said they wanted to uphold the principles of Heaven in the world, to extinguish the calamities of the Red Sun in this life, and to welcome the White Sun to cleanse the world.

"You shamelessly advise me, brother, not to form an alliance with your dynasty! I urge you to return to the capital immediately, and once back, I will lead troops on a northern expedition. Their million followers will surely lend their full support!"

"Finally, they even threatened that if the brother did not comply and did not arrive by a certain time today, they would show him their power and come to the embassy to invite His Highness Prince Jing out of the city for a hunt in the northwest and a watering of the Great Wall!"

Mu Shu's eyes changed, and he thought to himself, "He really is a traitor from the Heavenly Principles Sect!"

Ning Nan grasped Mu Shu's somewhat limp hands, his eyes gleaming, and gritted his teeth as he said:

"Brother! Eldest brother!"

"That scoundrel...that scoundrel...that scoundrel who wrote to his brother...invited him to meet...the one who raided the embassy at night...kidnapped Prince Jing...the one who has put us both in such a desperate situation..."

"It's the Heavenly Principle Sect... that infamous Heavenly Principle Sect..."

"Master..."

"Han Qing!!"

Like a thunderclap out of nowhere, Mu Shu's heart suddenly jolted!

Ning Nan gripped his hand tightly, her teeth clenched so hard they almost bled as she spoke:

"Give my brothers three hundred riders!"

"Brothers, I swear! Tonight!"

"I, Ning, will surely capture Han Qing, the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect, before the steps and present him to my elder brother!"