Xie Ming

At the beginning of July, a major event occurred in Hangzhou.

After their parting at Tianmu Mountain, Consort Hui, who was six months pregnant, finally gave birth to a prince.

The inner court was busy making arrangements, and an auspicious name was chosen for him: Zhu Shaotan.

Aside from Yuzhen, who was elevated to a higher status due to her son, Empress Chen Wanxuan, who herself had no children, also attached great importance to her position as the mother of the harem.

Although Chen Wanxuan was a bit dull, she wasn't a bad person. The main thing was that this matter also provided an explanation for her and the country, so she was also very happy.

During this time, the Empress showed great care for Lai Yuzhen, and treated her son as her own.

Inside the palace, everything was in chaos and people were busy.

Moreover, such a joyous occasion might actually possess some kind of infectious magic.

Before long, taking advantage of this joyous occasion, Emperor Hongguang, Zhu Cilang, suddenly recovered from his long illness and gradually regained his senses.

The medicines were countless and could be taken orally. Thanks to the medicine entering the body, the illness seemed to be showing signs of improvement.

However, considering that the prince was still young, there was still a sense of caution regarding his third brother, Zhu Cijiong.

Therefore, around the sixth or seventh day of the month, Emperor Hongguang sent an imperial edict from his temporary palace, specially dispatching a contingent of the Imperial Guard, more than 500 men, and additional troops, under the direct command of Marquis Liu, to set up defenses inside and outside the Jingyuan residence where Zhu Cijiong was located.

Furthermore, Liu Wenbing gave strict orders to protect him throughout the entire process and not allow any mishaps.

Clearly, this was the intention, not only because it might be to guard against the underhanded schemes of Xiao Zuo's faction, but also because it might be due to a lack of trust in those close to the Southern Party's rivals.

After all, given the current situation, with the birth of a prince, the family is inevitably in disarray, and the situation is unstable both internally and externally. No one would harbor any wicked intentions, whether outwardly or inwardly.

Zhu Cilang knew his own body better than anyone else.

Who knows how much longer this body can hold on?

However, his time is running out, that is indeed the truth.

You can fool outsiders, but you can't fool yourself.

If an accident occurs and death is imminent, the youngest son is useless in such a situation, and only the younger brother can take over, which is also the best solution.

Therefore, the first thing that came to mind was to completely control and protect the third brother, Zhu Cijiong.

All who are born must die; dying young is not necessarily a sign of an early death.

Tonight we are all human, tomorrow we will be relegated to the ranks of ghosts.

Life is fleeting, who knows what honor and disgrace may bring?
But I regret that while I was alive, I could not return to the earth.

August is almost here again.

Outside of Hangzhou, Xiao Jingchuan's army, having received replenishment of funds and provisions, became even stronger.

The defense along the Yangtze River has become increasingly solid, and with the troops having recovered from their initial setbacks, they have also made advances in various parts of Jiangnan.

Over the course of seven months, several sweeping operations were launched against the main force of those who had fled to the southern border of Bahana.

They fought several major battles in Suzhou, Jiangyin, Taicang, and other places, each a hard-fought contest.

Firstly, it thwarted Bahana's desire to return north by sea, and completely blocked the sea routes along the way.

Secondly, it has reduced the strength of its nearly 10,000 main force.

After this battle, the Jurchen troops who were stranded and blocked in the southern border were reduced to less than three thousand men, their strength waning considerably.

These foreign invaders, having endured battle, were forced to disperse into smaller groups in order to survive and await the arrival of the main Northern army to provide support.

Although Bahana was not killed in battle, he fled in panic, like a stray dog.

I believe that, given time, we will be able to completely wipe them out in the southern border.

Meanwhile, trapped within the city, Qiu Zhizhong was enduring immense suffering. He had been lying low for over a month, and it was fortunate that he hadn't yet been implicated or convicted.

But now, the Hongguang Emperor has woken up and issued an edict to control the courtyard of the Third Prince Zhu Cijiong.

Regardless of whether his condition was a final burst of energy before death or a genuine miracle with a chance of recovery.

For Qiu Zhizhong, the moment of annihilation had arrived.

If we don't act now, not only will we be able to protect ourselves, but the entire strategic plan could also collapse in an instant.

After all, Xiao Jingchuan is currently leading troops in the field. No matter how you look at it, whether he is a powerful general or his achievements overshadow the emperor, his soldiers still consider themselves Ming soldiers and are committed to driving out foreign invaders and restoring the glory of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Hongguang Emperor were to lose his mind, he might actually issue several edicts to summon Xiao to Hangzhou and, under the pretext of upholding justice, forcibly dismantle his army.

At that time, whether we advance or retreat, we risk giving others a handle to use against us, which would be detrimental to our future actions.

So, after much painful reflection, and realizing that he didn't have much time left, he decided to take one last gamble.

On the night of August 14th, just before the Mid-Autumn Festival, fifty carefully selected daredevils lay in ambush in a deserted courtyard in the northwest of the residence of the Third Prince Zhu Cijiong, preparing to assassinate him under cover of night and eliminate any future troubles.

That night, the heat was intense, as it was the height of summer and the dryness was unbearable.

The cicadas chirped incessantly, the air was thick with heat and mist, and not a breath of wind stirred the air.

Despite the sweltering heat, this group of fifty black-clad assassins quietly took their positions under the cover of night.

The residence where the Third Prince Zhu Cijiong currently resides is actually a secluded private residence in Hangzhou belonging to the Chen family of Haining, Zhejiang, which is also the family of Empress Chen Wanxuan's mother.

This place, in terms of its area, is not particularly large, and the courtyard is limited in depth, consisting of no more than two courtyards.

The reason why Zhu Cijiong was arranged to stay here when he fled to Hangzhou was mainly because of his status. It would not be appropriate for him to stay in the imperial palace as a female member of the imperial family.

Of all the places outside the imperial palace, this courtyard is the closest and most secluded.

Therefore, this arrangement was made.

Currently, following the verbal order of Hongguang, a contingent of over 400 officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard are stationed in four sections, guarding both the inner and outer perimeters.

The captain who led this mission was none other than Mei Cheng'an, the former garrison commander of Xihua Gate.

Times change.
Sigh, let's just leave it at that and stop with the random thoughts.

Regarding the defense of this Chen family's private residence, with the increased guards, it will likely be more difficult to attack than before, leading to numerous troubles.

With no other choice, we must fight with all our might.

That night, the heat was oppressive, and the oxen of Wu panted at the moon.

It's so agitating that it makes you feel incredibly anxious.

Taking advantage of the darkness of night, the fifty night assassins sent by Zhizhong lay in ambush in the deserted courtyard in the northwest corner of Chen's residence, waiting for midnight when the guards were exhausted and the defenses were at their weakest so they could scale the wall and break in, catching them off guard.

As for this so-called deserted courtyard, the reason why so many people could be ambushed here today is that Zhizhong had actually scouted and arranged things in advance.

Sweat soaks my clothes, I long for the east wind to arrive.

In the late hours of the evening, the two leaders of this assassination mission hid in the shadows on the shady side of the main house's beams and tiles in the deserted courtyard. They looked up at the starry sky and the high-hanging moon.

One of the men, whose heads were wrapped in black cloth, sighed deeply, took out a bag of food from his pocket, untied the felt cloth to reveal two sesame cakes, hesitated for a moment, and then handed one to another person.

"Look, we've been lying in ambush here for most of the day, we must be starving. Have something to eat."

"Once we start fighting, we won't have time for this."

(End of this chapter)