After the officer retreated from the east gate, he panicked and walked for a while with the prince on the grass. He saw a low house illuminated by lights in front of him. It was quiet and no one was around, so it was a good place to hide.
"It seems to be the royal chef there." The prince leaned on the horse and said softly.
"The Royal Chef..."
While the officer was hesitating, he heard loud shouts and flames rising into the sky. He had to rush to order the remaining ten personal guards to escort the prince with him.
The officer tiptoed towards the imperial kitchen's door. He raised his sword and pushed the door knocker. Seeing that no one was inside, he waved a greeting behind him, and everyone rushed into the house.
The prince put on his clothes and sat down in the corner. Looking at the officer's stern expression, he asked, "Where is Yushi Zhang?"
The officer thought for a long time and then said: "Mr. Zhang was shot off his horse by the enemy soldiers and disappeared..."
The prince raised his head in surprise. After being stunned for a moment, he silently lowered his head.
"Lord Yan, I have searched hard for many times and found Zhang Han's body in thousands of pieces, but there is still no sign of the prince. Would it be better to search again tomorrow morning?" His confidant came up to the hall cautiously and Chen reported. .
"I'm afraid that if he uses his identity to sneak out of the palace, he will cause serious trouble... The prince must be caught tonight!" Yan Wen said sharply.
"I'm going to go there myself," Yan Wen stood up and turned to look at Shen Wei, "Have they entered Guanglu Temple?"
"They dare not enter any temple gate."
"I guess they are hiding there!" Yan Wen said confidently and strode out of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Although the officer planned to take the prince out of the palace, in such a dark night, it was easy to get lost, and it was difficult to avoid Liu's party's pursuit. He sighed and advised the prince to rest for a while. When the east turns white, it would not be too late to leave.
"Your Highness, you haven't eaten yet today, have you?"
The prince coughed twice: "No."
"It doesn't matter." The officer glanced at his soldiers, picked one of them who was still energetic, and said, "Go to the compartment and bring some steamed buns over for His Royal Highness to eat."
The soldier nodded and obeyed the order, then walked out of the house and went to the warehouse next door to get four steamed buns. He ate two of them inside before turning back. Unexpectedly, when he first arrived in front of the door, a steel knife was suddenly pressed against the door in front of him, which made the soldier tremble in fright.
"Don't be afraid, take us to open the door of the royal kitchen and see the prince." A strong voice said.
The soldier couldn't see their faces clearly, but he roughly knew their origins. He agreed repeatedly and went to open the door of the imperial kitchen.
"Why haven't you come back yet..." The officer started pacing in the room, starting to get a little nervous.
"Sir..."
"Stand straight, don't move!"
The dark imperial kitchen suddenly became bright, and an official wearing a robe came out of the door - it was Yan Wen.
The officer wanted to fight to the death, but saw that there were people holding muskets behind him. He was afraid of hurting the prince, so he had to signal everyone not to move.
"Tie them up." Yan Wen ordered softly, and the sergeants on both sides tied up several soldiers and the officer together; he approached the prince step by step.
"You...what are you doing? I am the crown prince, how can you dare to cause trouble!" Beads of sweat appeared on the prince's palms.
Yan Wen calmly supported the prince and said, "How dare you do this? I just want to kill these thieves who are causing trouble. Please go back to the East Palace to rest first."
The prince did not dare to say anything else and allowed Yan Wen and others to drag him away.
"Sir, what should we do with these personal guards?" An officer and soldier asked Yan Wen for instructions.
"Those who conspire to rebel are guilty of annihilating their clans. It would be too troublesome to interrogate them one by one, and it will even cause an uproar in the capital..." Yan Wen's eyes turned cold, "Why don't we dig a big hole here and kill these eleven people?" Bury them all.”
"Yes." The sergeant retreated.
After half an hour, a large pit eight feet deep was dug in the open space in front of the imperial kitchen, and everyone was arranged to jump in one by one. All the soldiers looked up to the sky and cursed, but the officer was pushed to the pit, but he seemed to be angry and said nothing.
"You took the lead in inciting the traitors to rebel, so you should hate me more." Yan Wen pointed at him and said.
But the officer smiled sadly: "I died for the country, I have no regrets in life, and I have an honor in death. Fortunately, I am loyal, but I am sad that you will be traitorous. Pity is not enough, let alone hatred."
"I work for Mr. Liu so that I can manage the country and govern the world. If this is called traitor, your loyalty will not be of any benefit to the people of Li."
"Okay! Okay!" The officer laughed loudly again, "Let's see you kill all the innocent people, make the government a bloody river, and then implement your 'benevolent government'!"
"Do you know what happened? Bury him immediately!" Yan Wen waved his sleeves, and the officer was forced to jump into the pit. The sergeants on both sides poured down several large bags of soil, and the soil gradually covered the man's body.
"Send someone to confine yourself to the East Palace," Yan Wen said. "In addition, quickly go to Nanjing to report the emergency and tell General Liu to return to Beijing quickly. There is a change in the court."
Nanjing, the Duke's Mansion of the State of Yue.
Yesterday, Lu Fangxuan had held a big banquet with the whole family. Qi Zi and others were all drunk to celebrate this short period of peace. After sleeping until early in the morning, Lu Fangxuan still had a headache, so he reluctantly stood up and summoned two commanders, Qi and Zheng, to discuss rescuing Chen Jishuo.
"Look at what this confession says about helping me buy a banquet and taking my dirty money..." Qi Zi held up the copied confession and looked aggrieved, "Chen Tong is so fucking spineless!"
"It's your fault that others are holding on to you." Zheng Shiyan said.
"Okay, stop blaming others and let's see what to do first." Lu Fangxuan said with a smile.
"I think Wei Shu's plan worked. He signed the confession. If you want to retract the confession, you have to go to him." Qi Zi glanced at Lu Fangxuan.
Lu Fangxuan deeply agreed: "That's right. When Wan Heshun wanted to hold the Chen Council, he came because of you. Now that you have returned home and I am here to support him, he will be unable to move. Therefore, Wei Chong... there will definitely be conflicts between him and Wan Heshun."
"I'll call Wei Chong now while it's still very early."
"Go and be careful not to let the Wan Dang people target you."
Ye Yongjia pulled up his sedan chair and stopped at the gate of Wanfu, then went straight into the inner courtyard. He first paid homage to Taiwei Guifu, and then let him lead the way to Liu Zhennian's residence.
"I'd like to see you, General Liu." Ye Yongjia cupped his hands, knelt down on one knee, and then stood up.
"'General Liu?'" Taiwei Gui looked at him and said, "It's a bit unfamiliar to call him that. You are the person Liu Gong likes the most here, so I have tried my best to help you gain a firm foothold, otherwise Wan Lu would have been killed. The two parties are in dire straits."
"What should we call him?" Ye Yongjia asked respectfully.
Guisuke patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "I think, let's call him benefactor."
"Oh, how can you force him!" Liu Zhennian said hurriedly, but he looked very happy.
But Ye Yongjia heard that the word benefactor was so harsh. At this moment, he thought of his father's death and suddenly became angry.
