Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

"What kind of business?" Chen Jing asked, puzzled.

"Let's put it this way, let's cooperate! I won't pursue the matter of you falsely accusing my father."

"Oh, tell me!"

Song Wenjie revealed his plan: to cooperate with Chen Jing and support the Third Prince to ascend to the throne.

This startled Chen Jing: "General Song, plotting a rebellion is a capital offense."

Song Wenjie said with a solemn expression: "In the face of natural disasters and man-made calamities, the current emperor ignores the affairs of state and leaves the people in dire straits. This is a misfortune for the country."

We are both aware of the rumors surrounding His Majesty, and all indications suggest they are not unfounded.

"This matter concerns the fate of the Han Dynasty, and His Majesty is not of royal blood, so how can he inherit the throne? Now that we know this, we cannot ignore it."

Chen Jing gave a helpless twitch of his lips: "Do I have any other choice?"

Song Wenjie stared intently at him: "You have no way out, no choice."

Chen Jing knew that if he cooperated with General Song, he would be making enemies of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, whose power was not so easily shaken.

Wu Jingang, the commander of the Nine Gates, was the Empress Dowager's nephew. To enter the palace, one had to pass through nine gates, and all these checkpoints were under Wu Jingang's control.

In other words, if they enter the palace, and there is any disturbance, they can coordinate an attack from within and without, effectively trapping the enemy.

Of course, it's not that General Song has no chance of winning. If he can win over a few veteran officials, he still has a chance of victory.

Chen Jing was undecided and stood up anxiously. Song Wenjie didn't urge him; he was confident that Chen Jing would cooperate with him.

Fearing that she might have missed any survivors among the men in black, Zhao Lian dared not be careless and carefully checked everything.

After confirming that the men in black were all dead, Zhao Lian ordered the guards to clean up the mess and carry the bodies of the men in black out.

Seeing the guards begin to lift the man in black, Zhao Lian suddenly remembered something and quickly shouted to stop them: "Don't move!"

These men in black might have other clues, so we can't overlook any trace.

"Take a close look at them and see what they have on them."

The guards didn't hesitate at all and immediately began their inspection.

While she was at it, Zhao Lian also began to carefully study the men in black.

These men in black not only wore identical clothes, but even their shoes were exactly the same. Zhao Lian was attracted by the style of their shoes.

This style is unlike ordinary boots.

Zhao Lian told Song Wenjie about this discovery, and Song Wenjie and Chen Jing also noticed it.

Song Wenjie was familiar with these shoes; the soles were thin and lightweight, and the boot shafts weren't too high—these were called combat boots.

Ordinary people would never wear such shoes. Apart from soldiers on campaign or palace guards, commoners would never wear such boots.

After a thorough search, they found nothing on them that could prove their identities. Zhao Lian was immediately disappointed. She stood up, clapped her hands, and said, "Take them away!"

Song Wenjie looked at Chen Jing: "Lord Chen, what are your thoughts on these men in black?"

These boots aren't something ordinary people own, and Chen Jing understood that, but that didn't prove anything.

Song Wenjie pondered for a moment before slowly speaking again: "I wonder if Lord Chen has ever heard that the Empress Dowager has raised a group of assassins? In other words, a suicide squad. These people only obey the Empress Dowager's orders."

These Deadpools are fearless; if they fall into enemy hands, they will not hesitate to take their own lives to protect their masters.

Song Wenjie had heard the Third Prince mention these things occasionally, and seeing the behavior of these men in black just now, it all seemed to fit perfectly.

Chen Jing nodded: "There are rumors circulating, but I don't know if they're true."

There are royal guards in the palace, but I heard that the Empress Dowager's guards are extremely skilled and are responsible for handling everything for her, including going out of the palace. They only recognize the Empress Dowager as their master, and even the Emperor can't do anything about it.

Zhao Lian's expression was complicated. If there was such a team, why were the people that Eunuch Gao brought so easily defeated?

These men in black were extremely skilled. If I hadn't cultivated profound internal energy, I probably wouldn't have been able to withstand more than a few moves with just my fists and feet.

At that moment, the guards were carrying the last corpse when one of the men in black let his hand hang down. There seemed to be a pattern on his hand, which immediately caught Zhao Lian's attention.

"Wait a minute!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Zhao Lian quickly went over.

The two guards stopped and looked at Zhao Lian with suspicion. Song Wenjie followed.

Just as he expected, the man in black did indeed have a pattern tattooed on his hand; the pattern was a lotus flower.

Finally, after Zhao Lian examined them, she found that all the men in black had lotus patterns on their hands.

What exactly does this lotus flower represent? Song Wenjie was completely baffled.

"Lord Chen, what is the Empress Dowager's name?" Suddenly, Zhao Lian remembered something and looked at Chen Jing.

"The Empress Dowager's name is Ulena." After saying this, Chen Jing was immediately shocked: "Miss, do you suspect that this man in black was ordered by the Empress Dowager?"

Zhao Lian raised an eyebrow slightly: "I didn't say that, you did."

Song Wenjie looked at Chen Jing thoughtfully: "Lord Chen, do you think this lotus flower might represent the Empress Dowager?"

Chen Jing fell silent.

After a moment's thought, Chen Jingjing made up his mind: "General Song, I've made up my mind. I'll cooperate with you."

He had made up his mind. Since they were going to die anyway, they would choose the side with the upper hand. He trusted Song Wenjie, and most importantly, he also had doubts about the Emperor's identity.

Seeing that Chen Jing agreed to cooperate with him, Song Wenjie breathed a sigh of relief, finally persuading another person.

Immediately afterwards, Song Wenjie pointed at Yao Miao standing to the side and said, "Lord Chen, Yao Miao must be handed over to the Dali Temple for investigation to clear my father's name."

Chen Jing readily agreed: "Of course, I will personally escort him to the Dali Temple tomorrow morning and hand him over to Lord Tu, and report everything to him!" After saying that, he had the guards beside him take Yao Miao away.

After leaving the Chen residence, Song Wenjie and Zhao Lian went to a teahouse, where business was quite good in the evening.

The teahouse is ingeniously designed, featuring a duplex structure with a stage on the ground floor and the teahouse itself on the second floor, divided into individual spaces.

Sitting on the second floor, you can listen to music and watch the opera being performed on stage.

Soon the pastries were served. Zhao Lian, who was already starving, picked up the pastries and began to eat. Each lost in their own thoughts, they remained silent.

Song Wenjie frowned deeply; things had come to this point, and he had no way out.

Now, he not only has to save his father, but more importantly, he has to expose the emperor's false identity and help the Third Prince ascend to the throne.

This is a massive game of chess; one wrong move could lead to utter destruction. So right now, success is the only option; failure is not an option.