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

The other person spoke in a relaxed and natural tone, as if they were genuinely asking a question.

Hong Changzai carefully observed his brother-in-law's face, feeling a complex and indescribable emotion. It was as if something was twisted into a tangled mess in his heart, and although he had grasped both the beginning and the end of the thread, he could not untangle it.

The person before them was the very one who started this mess.

The uproar this person stirred up the night before last will likely continue for many years to come.

Because of this person, the Emperor changed the deployment overnight. Ortai and Mushu have not been able to get out of bed yet. The other three Grand Councilors and the six ministers have also been working non-stop. Zhang Tingyu rushed south this morning to prepare to personally supervise the troops in Huai'an. From yesterday morning until now, no less than a hundred government and military orders have been issued from Beijing.

The culprit who stirred up this storm, forcing the Emperor to move all his actions forward by half a month, and possibly even preventing the Emperor from luring out the Jiangpu Second Army, is now quietly lying in bed sleeping, eating, and reading the newspaper.

For lunch, they even had chicken soup simmered by his wife...

Hongchang couldn't help but feel a great sense of helplessness.

This is the third time the two have met.

Their first meeting was at the Ning residence. The other party had assaulted Hong Jiao and was confined to his residence by the Southern Dynasty, so he came to visit. They had a very pleasant conversation.

The second incident occurred on a mountain by the Yangtze River. The other party pointed a gun at Mu Ziying, bringing the Right Protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect to the brink of death. He stepped in to resolve the situation and personally handed the token of the Heavenly Principle Sect leader to the other party.

But Hongchang, who is now the Prince Duan, could never have imagined this.

This was the third time the two had met.

It would be in such a place, in such a situation.

Hongchang ignored the other party's feigned ignorance and even somewhat provocative words, and calmly changed the subject:

"Ah Lin died last night."

Ning Nan exclaimed "Oh!" somewhat surprised, blinked, and said admiringly:

"Very strong."

According to the other party, today is the 28th, so Ah Lin must have been shot in the abdomen around dawn yesterday.

He was taken back to the capital from Shuijing Township and died that night, having endured a day of torture. It must be said that this man's willpower was terrifyingly strong.

Hongchang said:

"Before he died, he already knew everything you had done last night. He was certain that the so-called 'Southern Dynasty delegation escaping through the waterways and moat of the capital' that was seen at Chaoyang Gate in the early hours of yesterday morning was a fake. He submitted a final memorial to Father Emperor. It had nothing to do with the Southern Dynasty delegation; Alin only advised Father Emperor... to kill you quickly."

The image of the figure holding the knife flashed through Ning Nan's mind. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, the knife would have severed his carotid artery.

Even so, the kick from the other party still hurt him terribly. If he hadn't leaned back to absorb the force, and if he hadn't been wearing the gold-threaded soft armor given to him by Cui Cui's wife, that kick would probably have broken several of his ribs.

"Your father's lackey is no good. He should have listened to the lackey and killed me."

Hongchang looked somewhat surprised, and said with a slight smirk, "You seem to understand my father's temperament quite well."

"Heh." Ning Nan smiled noncommittally.

"I want to tell you that the Imperial Guard wants to kill you. The Ministry of War wants to kill you, the Infantry Commander's Office wants to kill you, and the Imperial Guard... wants to kill you even more. After all, the treacherous plot you used caused heavy casualties in the Imperial Guard. When Father... Father heard about it, he immediately wanted to use your head to appease the more than one hundred Manchu soldiers who died unjustly... Father really wants to kill you. I can protect your life, but only within this courtyard."

Hongchang said frankly, "Bai Xuan, the Southern Dynasty is destined to be destroyed this time. Regardless of whether the Jiangpu army can be lured out, the Southern Kingdom will definitely be destroyed."

"Your national strength is already weak, and your treasury is mostly empty, isn't it? With civil officials controlling the military, there are quite a few military generals who are loyal to our dynasty."

"The civil officials are corrupt by nature, and your emperor cannot bring himself to punish them severely. Such a prosperous Jiangnan region is being wasted in your hands, enriching the civil officials while impoverishing the people. Bandits roam everywhere, and rebels are rampant. Your Majesty is constantly worried about this, day and night."

"It was only because His Majesty wanted to preserve the strength of the Eight Banners army to resist the Rakshasa that he set up this elaborate scheme with extraordinary courage in order to take over Jiangnan in one fell swoop and save the people of Jiangnan from the suffering of being preyed upon by the false dynasty."

Hongchang said, "If you were in the Southern Kingdom, you would only die in the wilderness, sacrificing yourself for the wicked and false dynasty. What would be the point?"

talking.

He stood up, his right hand in front, gripping the thumb ring, and said softly:

"Bai Xuan, think it over carefully..."

…………

Click.

The door opened.

Ning Nan watched the figure in light green walk away in silence. The moment the door was closed by the guards outside, Ning Nan looked away and continued to stare at the white veil above her head.

He moved his hands away from under his head and placed them on the blanket, gently tapping them.

Send a letter to each of the three groups, including Shi Sidong.

All three letters are the same.

At the same time, he also prepared another letter for each of the three men, instructing them to receive "Prince Jing" and send them back to the capital as Mingwei, similar to envoys.

Those of the three groups who arrive at the mission's camp will receive this letter.

Even if the letter was successfully delivered to the mission's camp instead of the Northern Dynasty's camp, it would still be difficult to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous.

They might even stage a self-inflicted injury by being intercepted or killing each other.

He naturally wouldn't allow the mission's main camp to lead three groups of spies south.

Just like in later generations, if a home computer gets infected with a virus, you can simply remove it and continue using it without any problems.

However, if it's a company computer storing important data, then the only option is to replace the computer, because even the most skilled security expert cannot guarantee that the virus on the computer has been completely removed.

Judging from the fact that Xiuxiu led the people from the Northern Dynasty camp to attack, at least one group of people went to the Northern Dynasty camp.

"Then... Shangguan Zhao and Chen Ruhai escaped."

He bent one finger.

"According to the plan, after Xiuxiu and the others successfully detonated the two cavalry units, they will escape to Tongzhou to meet up with Shangguan Zhao and the others."

He recalled Hongchang's words, "King Jing and the envoys from the Southern Kingdom escaped from the moat," which meant that... Zhang Yaozuo's side had also arrived.

I had told Su Su Fox before that they were going to escape from the capital city in four groups tonight.

He was in one group, Prince Jing in another, Su Su Fox and the Imperial Guards and their servants in one group, and then there was the group from the delegation's camp.

Ning Nan looked at his bent finger.

A bitter smile crept across my face.

His group didn't escape.

Since he was taken back to the so-called Third Prince's Mansion by Tang Caifeng, it meant that Zhen Susu's group must have encountered problems, including Qian Sijin, and especially Erlai and Sanzhuang, whose fates were unknown.

Judging from Hongchang's words, Prince Jing and his group at least did not fall into the hands of the Northern Dynasty. Zhang Yaozuo and his group also successfully diverted attention. Whether they can escape or at least hide well depends on Xu Xiyin.

The only group that could be truly certain of escaping were Shangguan Zhao, Chen Ruhai, and their group.

"The story in the newspaper has been printed, and Chen Ruhai and Shangguan Zhao have also escaped."

Ning Nan thought to himself.