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

Lu Chongdao said, "Send medicinal herbs to Steward Du."

Keep moving forward.

The two guards from the prince's residence were taken aback and asked, "What's your name? Which courtyard are you from?"

Lu Chong approached them within three steps.

The guard on the left, carrying a lantern, was tall, while the one on the right was shorter. Both of them had a knife at their waist.

Lu Chongdao said, "His surname is Li... he's a gatekeeper."

"Why haven't I seen you before?" The short guard frowned.

"It's too dark at night..."

The doorman's voice was a little hoarse as he took a step forward.

The change happened in an instant.

As the doorman stepped forward, a dagger fell from his right sleeve and stabbed at the neck of the guard on the right with lightning speed!

at the same time.

He suddenly grabbed the left guard by the throat with his left hand!

Blood gushed from the right guard's throat.

The lantern of the guard on the left fell down with a thud. Lu Chong stepped forward with his left foot and caught the falling lantern with the back of his foot.

The guard on the left raised both hands and reached for the throat, trying to pry the other man's hands off, but found that the other man's hands were as if welded to his body, and he could not be pried open at all! His eyeballs popped out, and his face turned purple in an instant.

With a whoosh, the dagger was pulled from the right guard's throat.

He plunged his sword into the neck of the left guard, and at the same time, his right hand immediately released its grip, pulling the swaying, short guard on the right into his arms to keep him from collapsing...

He gently placed the two patrolling guards to the side of the road and wrapped their wounds with strips of cloth.

He grabbed a handful of soil and used it to cover the blood on the ground, while also wiping the blood off his own hands. There wasn't much of a bloody smell emanating from him.

According to the patrol schedule of Prince Duan's residence, it would take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes for the two of them to be discovered.

That should be enough time.

Pass through the courtyard with three pavilions.

Next is a library in the Prince Duan's mansion.

A dim light was on inside.

Outside the library are four large vats, which are always filled with clean water for firefighting.

With extremely light footsteps, I walked across the south corridor of the library, my gaze fixed on the north side of the library.

There is a sentry post ahead.

He climbed over the veranda, took off his shoes, and stepped into the grass. The soil was cold, but fortunately, the calluses on his feet were thick enough that the old spy didn't even catch his breath, and his heartbeat remained as usual.

He put down the cloth bag on his back, took out a knife from it, and covered it with a piece of black cloth to prevent glare.

The sentry stood guard at the north end of the library.

He yawned, still half-asleep.

There's not much point in guarding such a sentry post.

The only thing to guard against is someone climbing over the courtyard wall to steal from the mansion.

But such an event is rare, happening only once a year. The guard listened to the chirping of insects and sighed inwardly, hoping that the mosquitoes would spawn later.

When my mouth was covered by a hand that smelled of dirt and fish.

His pupils were dilated.

The body suddenly began to resist. But the hand was like an iron clamp, not trembling at all.

Immediately, a flash of cold light appeared.

A freshly forged dagger slashed across his throat, and blood splattered out.

Lu Chong turned around and twisted the guard's bleeding neck, pressing it into the green grass and mud.

After the guard's body went limp, he stood up and wiped the blood off his knife with a black cloth.

Go back, put on your shoes, and carry your cloth bag.

Go past the library.

Before me lies a lake, and the moon reflected in its waters, like a mirror.

This lake is naturally much larger than the pond in Peach Abode.

On the west side of the lake.

There is a door, and a doorman sits in the doorman's room watching over the door.

The doorman's name was Bayan, from the Fuca clan.

Being a doorman for someone else is not a respectable job, but being a doorman for a prince is a different story.

This door is the closest to Peach Abode.

Palace guards use this gate when they come to Taoju for their shift change, and this gate is now only opened for the palace guards' shift change; it is not opened at any other time.

Lu Chong knocked the other person unconscious.

Bayan is a good drinker.

Lu Chong flipped open Bayan's bed board and pulled out a gourd of wine.

He gulped it down into the other person's mouth, and the gatehouse reeked of alcohol...

…………

"It's almost time for a switchover..."

It was midnight.

Ning Nan sat at his desk and sighed silently.

Listen to the sounds outside.

The shift changes usually take place around 5 AM, 3 PM, and 11 PM.

The thirty people were divided into three teams; one team went out, and a new team came in. There were almost no loopholes.

The only loophole was that there were ten guards on the north side of the courtyard, eight on the south side, eight on the west side, and only four on the east side, which was closer to the main courtyard.

During the change of guard, the guards from the west leave and the new guards enter.

There is a gap of about fifteen breaths.

Seize this opportunity; it will be enough to get him out of the west window.

But what came into view was a high wall.

This wall is extremely difficult to climb over.

I've calculated it many times, and fifteen breaths is definitely not enough for him to get over the wall.

This makes it difficult to succeed.

When I was taken out to meet Emperor Yongzheng last time, I roughly memorized the layout of the Prince's Mansion.

This place should be the northern part of the west courtyard, the location of the fourth courtyard.

Last time I went out, I went to the main courtyard first, and then went out through the side gate next to the main gate to Wangfu Street.

After thinking about it for days, he still couldn't find a way to escape.

Even after leaving this courtyard.

He couldn't possibly get past the patrolling soldiers or the guards in the inner city alone.

After a short while, Ning Nan looked up in confusion, saying "Hmm?"

Why is there no movement?

Logically, the defense should have switched at this point, right?

A little while later, a commotion arose outside. Ning Nan narrowed his eyes.

At this time.

click!

Squeak!

Bang!

The sound came from the side.

When the first sound rang out, Ning Nan narrowed his eyes, feeling as if ice was running down his spine.

Then a second sound rang out extremely quickly.

It was confirmed that it was not a hallucination.

He gripped the pen in his hand and suddenly looked back!

…………

I went around the lake, bent down and hid in a bamboo grove on the far west side, and took off my shoes and tucked them into my waistband.

This fierce spy, who dared to spy on the Eight Banners army in his youth, went barefoot and finally made his way to the bamboo forest in front of the Taoju courtyard wall, only a zhang away from the Taoju courtyard wall.

The west wall is very high, and it's impossible to climb over it without tools. Since Taoju is inside, the wall there is naturally not very high.

The prince arrived as promised.

The palace guards should be coming to relieve us.

At first, he would give gifts to the steward and invite him to drink.

Afterwards, they invited the gatekeeper, servants, and several guards, including Bayan, to drink and gamble.

Later, he said that he was so eager to gamble that he came to the Prince's Mansion during the day to gamble a few rounds at the place where Bayan and the others were staying.

A few nights ago, he gambled with his servants, a few young men, and a few guards all night. He stayed overnight at the Prince's mansion.

The next day at dawn, he came to observe the pattern of the shift changes.

When changing shifts, the guards inside must bring their personnel out and verify the identity of each person going through a procedure to prevent thieves from impersonating them.

He gambled for another day, losing over a hundred taels of silver. After observing the pattern of the Shen hour (3-5 PM), he roughly determined the answer.

The moon shone faintly in the sky.

The squad guarding the south side came out from inside.

After the leader came out, he looked around, exclaimed "Eh!", and cursed:

"Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Amidst the cursing and swearing, suddenly, a series of loud knocks came from afar!

The guards were immediately startled and began to rush toward the sound of knocking.

Lu Chong climbed over the courtyard wall...

…………

Ning Nan's pupils contracted as he stared at the man in black who had rudely climbed in through the south window.

*Snap*, the pen broke.

Point the pointed end outwards.

The man in black had no beard, but he had bluish stubble on his chin, which looked like he had just shaved clean.

The man in black shushed him.

Just then, shouts of cursing came from outside.

"Damn it... that bastard drank himself into a stupor and passed out... I've been slapping my hands so hard they're practically falling apart..."

Ning Nan's eyes narrowed, and he raised his eyebrows.

To avoid casting a silhouette on the window, the man in black remained seated on the ground.

He took off the cloth bag from his back and held it in his arms.

Once it's lifted...

The handles of the six knives inside were exposed.

He narrowed his eyes at the standing Southern Dynasty prince consort, revealing a somewhat chilling smile, and mouthed:

"Do you dare to kill someone?"

Ning Nan was stunned for a moment, then after a couple of breaths, he seemed to remember something, and smiled, letting out a soft "heh".

He threw the broken pen onto the table, his eyes gleaming:

"…Well done, Master Lu!"