I have been farming since I crossed over.

At the exact hour of Xu, the candlelight in the Qianqing Palace flickered red.

Wang Taifu held the 800-li express letter he had just received, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The words "Wang Zuxian's personal guards were completely wiped out" on the secret report made his eyes hurt.

But then, a message came from the eunuch outside the palace: "The Concubine Xian requests an audience. She said the Ninth Prince suddenly woke up and complained of stomachache."

Tutor Wang took a deep breath and stuffed the secret report into the charcoal basin.

The flames licked the rice paper, and he quickly calculated in his mind: Since the wise king dared to take action at Eagle's Beak Cliff, he must be sure that he can control Dongzhimen.

But he had already planted three layers of hidden spies among the city gate guards. Even if the Lu family's illegitimate son took over the defense, it would be impossible for him to do so before midnight...

"Master Taifu, may you be well and safe."

Lu Jinmo stepped into the hall, and the faint scent of medicine wafted from his clothes.

Taifu Wang noticed that Concubine Xian’s face was flushed, but it didn’t look like she had caught a cold poison, but rather like...she had taken some kind of stimulant.

"What about Your Majesty?"

Lu Jinmo looked around. "Just now, I heard someone shouting 'fire' in Jingren Palace. I wanted to ask His Majesty to move, but was stopped outside the Qianqing Gate by the Imperial Guards."

Taifu Wang frowned.

He had clearly ordered that the fire in the West Six Palaces only burn for half an incense stick, so how could it alarm Lu Jinmo?

As he was pondering, there was a sudden banging on the door outside the palace, followed by the Jinwu Guards' commander's cry: "Oh no! There are torches moving towards Dongzhimen! It's... it's the Iron Blood Camp's Wolf Head Flag!"

At the same time, Dongzhimen.

Lu Changyu, the illegitimate son of the Lu family, was playing with the freshly severed head of the guard. Seven corpses lay at his feet - all of them were hidden spies planted by Master Wang.

He turned and ordered the heavily armored cavalry behind him, "Open the city gates and let His Royal Highness the Wise King's 'grain delivery team' in."

The deputy general hesitated: "But the virtuous king said that we should wait for the signal from the palace..."

"No need to wait." Lu Changyu lifted his cloak, revealing the lining embroidered with a five-clawed dragon. "His Majesty just bestowed upon me the title 'Seeing the Clothes is Like Seeing the Face' this morning. How dare you disobey my order?"

The deputy general's pupils suddenly shrank.

Everyone in the Iron Blood Camp was shocked to realize that this illegitimate son, who had always kept a low profile, actually had the same "Hidden Dragon" mark embroidered on his cuffs as the private soldiers of the virtuous king.

At this moment, in the shadow of the Dongzhimen City Wall, hundreds of grain carts were slowly lifting their tarpaulins, revealing the fully armed assassins of the Xianwang Mansion inside.

Suddenly, there was a muffled knocking sound from under the floor tiles of the Qianqing Palace, as if someone was knocking gently deep underground.

Although the sound was slight, it was particularly abrupt in the silent palace.

Taifu Wang was originally sitting in his study, thinking about the itinerary of the virtuous king's "food delivery team".

According to the plan, they should travel by land and enter the capital from the east gate.

However, the sound of horse hooves coming from the direction of Dongzhimen at this moment made him feel suspicious.

He stood up suddenly, with an ominous premonition in his heart.

The sound of horse hooves didn't sound like it came from land, but more like it came from... the moat!

Tutor Wang's face turned pale in an instant. He staggered to the window and looked out anxiously.

The surface of Taiye Lake was shimmering in the moonlight, reflecting the light of countless torches.

And in the firelight, one could vaguely see hundreds of "cao boats" covered with reed mats slowly approaching the shore.

These "grain boats" were obviously not ordinary ships. Their appearance made Wang Taifu realize that things were probably much more complicated than he had imagined.

The person standing at the bow was actually Lu Youhong, the former General of Cavalry, the father of Lu Jintang who was supposed to be trapped in Qianhuang Mountain!

"Impossible... Wasn't your father exiled to Qianhuang Mountain?"

Tutor Wang turned and looked at Lu Jinmo.

But she was smiling, looking at him with bright eyes, holding a piece of preserved rose in her hand - it was the "refreshing candied fruit" specially made by Yang Mingxi, and she was chewing it with a smacking sound.

Lu Jinmo ate the last small piece and clapped his hands. "Master Taifu, have you forgotten? The pirates over at Qianhuang Mountain have always accepted bribes from the Lu family."

Suddenly, outside the hall, there was a thunderous roar of "Long live!"

The emperor, dressed in bright yellow formal attire, entered the Qianqing Palace surrounded by secret guards. Behind him followed Lu Changfeng, who was covered in blood, and the ninth prince, who was holding the blueprint of the "Sky-Thunder".

Imperial Tutor Wang noticed the jade pendant hanging around the emperor's waist—it was a relic of the late eighth prince.

It was he who insisted that "the sudden death of the eighth prince was an emergency." Now it seems that it was a trap set by the emperor long ago.

"Taifu, do you know why I always keep your impeachment of the Lu family secret?"

The emperor stroked the "Zhenguan Zhengyao" on the table with his fingertips. The book contained the evidence he had secretly collected for ten years.

"Because I want you to mistakenly believe... that the civil service clique has taken control of the court. Only then will you feel comfortable bringing evidence of private soldiers, corruption, and treason to me."

Taifu Wang fell to the ground and heard a loud noise coming from the direction of Dongzhimen - the illegitimate son of the Lu family had led the Iron Blood Battalion to break through the inner city.

He suddenly remembered another secret report he had received this morning, signed by "The Seventh Prince's Biological Mother": Your Majesty, please rest assured, Grand Tutor, I have already had the Ninth Prince's medicine replaced.

It turned out that even Queen Wang didn't know that her most trusted female doctor had already been the emperor's person.

"Come here," the emperor waved his hand. "Send the Grand Tutor to the West Six Palaces to 'watch the fire'—I heard that the tunnel there leads directly to the Ci'en Temple where you hide your private soldiers?"

Lu Youhong walked up to Taifu Wang and took out a complete account book from his arms - it was the evidence that falsely accused the Lu family of "embezzling military pay".

"You think you can successfully frame someone with just a random account book? But you don't know that every accountant in the Lu family must have an extra stroke added to any characters in their names that have the same character."

The Ninth Prince placed the blueprint of the Sky-shaking Bomb on the table. The edges of the blueprint were stained with the mud from Eagle's Beak Cliff.

"And your son's secret report, saying 'the commander of Dongzhimen Gate died suddenly'—in fact, he just took my youngest aunt's laxative and is now squatting in the toilet counting maggots."

From outside the palace came the sound of the night watchman's clapper: "It is midnight, and the world is at peace—"

Looking at the sky full of stars outside the palace, Wang Taifu finally understood that his life was just a pawn on the emperor's chessboard.

However, in the eyes of real power seekers, the "civilian world" he carefully planned was nothing more than a sand castle that would fall down with a push.

The news of Wang Taifu's death shocked the court and the country. He actually died in the collapse of the tunnel in the West Six Palaces!

Even more horrifying is that before he died, he saw the emperor's inscription on the wall: "Sacrifice your blood to my chess pieces."

what on earth is it?

Could it be that the death of Master Wang is related to the Emperor?

For a time, all kinds of speculations and rumors were rife inside and outside the palace.

However, just as everyone was discussing the matter, Lu Youhong stepped forward in the Golden Palace and righteously pointed out the various crimes of the Wang Party.

His words were sincere and his evidence was conclusive, which shocked all the ministers present.

When the emperor heard this, he was furious and immediately issued an edict to exonerate the Lu family. He also appointed Lu Youhong as "General of the Cavalry" and bestowed upon Guan Miaotong the title of "First-Rank Imperial Edict".

At the same time, Lu Zhenhua also requested to retire and return home due to his old age. The emperor readily agreed, allowing him to enjoy his old age.

This series of measures not only restored the Lu family's glory, but also brought about earth-shaking changes in the situation in the court.

In the name of investigating the royal party, the emperor reduced the power of the civil service group by seventy to eighty percent in one fell swoop, and the military and imperial power returned to the hands of the emperor.

From then on, Nanling Kingdom ushered in a new era, and all of this began with the mysterious death of Master Wang.

Three months later, Yang Mingxi's "Qianshan Chamber of Commerce" opened a branch in Dongzhimen.

The plaque of this branch is particularly eye-catching because it was written by the emperor himself - "Thousand Mountains Granary".

These four words not only demonstrate the emperor's attention to Yang Mingxi, but also indicate that the "Qianshan Chamber of Commerce" will play a vital role in its future development.

As Yang Mingxi's husband, Lu Jintang often comes to help taste the dishes.

However, his cooking skills were not very good, and Yang Mingxi often teased him, saying, "The general's knife is not as easy to use as a cutting board."

These are all things for later!