Late at night.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse; there's not a trace of dark clouds.

The early winter moonlight is clear and cold, faint and gentle.

Like flowing water, it quietly pours down from the starry sky, adorning the ground with an eclectic mix of shadows.

Under this tranquil and gentle moonlit night.

At this moment, in the east of Bianjing City, the atmosphere inside a certain building is inexplicably somewhat.....

Bleak.

This residence spans a vast area; judging by the specifications of the lion at the gate, it is a Prince's Mansion.

According to historical trajectory.

In three months, it will be renamed Prince Cai's Mansion and will become the site of a jail case famous in history, adding a negligible stain to the image of Emperor Huizong for posterity.

Of course.

This stain is negligible not because the jail case lacks notoriety, but because Emperor Huizong is truly so corrupt.....

But currently, Zhao Ji has not bestowed any rewards on the mansion's owner, so its name is still called...

Prince Jian's Mansion.

When Xu Yun and Old Su arrived at the doorstep of the mansion, guided there by their old acquaintance Wang Bing under the cover of night.

Xu Yun was surprised to discover that there was not a trace of the Imperial City Department's spies around the mansion.

Instead, there were several burly men standing at various corners, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

Could Zhao Ji have not sent anyone to monitor Xiaozhao?

This is evidently impossible.

Although Zhao Ji was inept, there was no way he would relax his surveillance on Xiaozhao at this critical moment.

Thus, it's very clear.

Xiaozhao must have activated some special trump cards.

While controlling the nearby spies, he tampered with their relay nodes, preventing their superiors from detecting any anomalies.

Upon reflection, this isn't hard to understand.

After all, Xiaozhao is Emperor Shen Zong's own brother and previously was a strong contender for the throne.

Moreover, Zhao Ji has yet to completely devour the remnants of the power left behind by Empress Dowager Xiang, so naturally, Xiaozhao still possesses some hidden trump cards.

For instance, by maneuvering some scheduling techniques, he arranged for the head responsible for information exchange at night to be his own person.

Thus, after controlling the spies around, the head pretends everything is normal, and the higher-ups at the Imperial City Department naturally won't pay attention.

But the reason trump cards are called trump cards is because they have non-replicable and irreversible qualities.

In other words, the trump card can only be used this once, and once the bowstring is drawn, there's no turning back.

Basically, once dawn breaks, even if Zhao Ji's information processing is delayed, he will realize some changes have occurred at Prince Jian's Mansion.

What follows will inevitably be a storm.

In other words...

Within several hours before dawn tonight, certain major events are bound to happen.

Or to be precise.

Events that will impact the fate of the nation.

Knock knock knock——

Leading Old Su and Xu Yun to the side door of the mansion, Wang Bing gently knocked on the door.

In less than a moment.

Creaaak——

The side door slowly opened, and an elderly porter poked his head out.

Wang Bing leaned forward, murmuring a few words to the porter and handed over something resembling a credential.

After a short while.

The porter withdrew behind the door and opened the side door wider.

Wang Bing turned his head and whispered to Old Su and Xu Yun:

"Uncle Sir, Little Wang, please."

Old Su glanced again at the few burly men outside the door, said nothing, and followed Wang Bing into the mansion.

Then the three walked a bit further, passed through several courtyard walls, and finally arrived outside a secluded courtyard:

"Uncle Sir, Little Wang, His Highness is inside; I'll take my leave."

Old Su nodded at him and led Xu Yun to the doorway.

After a moment of hesitation, he lightly pushed the door open.

Swish——

As soon as they entered the room, a dozen pairs of eyes instantly turned towards them.

Among them were Xu Yun's acquaintances and strangers he had never met, seated in two rows.

The officials and civil servants on the left exuded a strong atmosphere, while those on the right conveyed a sense of bleakness, with some even donned in armor.

Of course.

The most conspicuous was the one seated at the head...

Xiaozhao.

But currently, Xiaozhao was still dressed in regular attire, plain and unadorned, not yet clad in imperial robes.

Old Su first nodded to several acquaintances, then quickly walked up to Xiaozhao:

"Retired minister Su Song, pays respects to Your Highness."

Xiaozhao quickly supported him and said with emotion:

"Mr. Su, it has been a while; how is your health?"

Old Su gently nodded and looked at Wang Hou and Old Zhong beside Xiaozhao:

"Chu Dao, Uncle Yi, you... are indeed here."

Old Zhong's involvement in this matter was a judgment he made when analyzing the network diagram, and Wang Hou's presence was confirmed because of Wang Bing.

Wang Bing, being Wang Hou's distant nephew, inviting him over indicated that Xu Yun's line with the Border Commander must have succeeded.

Old Zhong looked visibly angry, resembling a raging Lion King, as he exchanged glances with Wang Hou, sighing:

"Mr. Su, you may not know, but officials have already instructed Tong Guan to lead the Imperial Secretariat, intending to lure the Zhe Family from Fu Prefecture into the capital, stripping their military power!"

"The Zhe Family have shielded the Central Plains internally and warded off barbarians externally for ten generations as generals, their loyalty unblemished, yet innocently doubted due to being descendants of Qiang Clan Zhejue Clan, where is the justice?"

"His Highness also learned from secret palace lines that officials intend to use the Refined Iron Technique to accuse me and Chu Dao of treason; already, Yong Nian and Liu Fa have been secretly imprisoned."

"We soldiers do not fear battle, nor death; dying wrapped in horse leather is an honor!"

"But if perishing due to officials' incompetence, what face do I have to meet the ancestors of Zhe and Zhe Families?"

"If we do not act now, we will follow the footsteps of Li Mu and Gao Jing!"

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