King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

Yuan Mansion.

It is a secluded wing at the junction of the inner courtyard.

Zhu Gaoxu and Ji Gang led a group of Jinyiwei and soldiers to completely surround the place.

Seeing the closed door in front of me.

Ji Gang nodded to his subordinates without any hesitation, strode forward and pushed the closed door open with a bang.

"Crunch."

Accompanied by the harsh friction sound of the wooden door frame.

A depressing atmosphere blew towards everyone, and the entire room appeared in front of everyone. There were sacks neatly placed all around, and no one knew what they were filled with.

Then, everyone went in.

Under the leadership of Ji Gang, the Jinyiwei began to search the entire room carefully.

"grown ups."

"There's something wrong here. There's a faint echo when I knock on the door, which is slightly different from other places."

Just at this moment, a Jinyiwei's shout was heard.

As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly attracted the attention of everyone who had entered and the soldiers waiting outside the door, and they all looked at the place where the Jinyiwei's finger was pointing.

Afterwards, Ji Gang quickly stepped forward, squatted down with an extremely solemn expression, stretched out his hand and knocked on the floor under his feet. Listening to the slightly dull echo, his pupils couldn't help but shrink.

After determining the exact location and size, he waved to the Jinyiwei beside him and said:

"Find it for me"

"This place is hollow. If it is a secret passage, there must be a mechanism to open it."

This statement came out.

The people who had gathered here suddenly scattered like birds and began to search everywhere.

"grown ups."

"Here. Come and have a look."

A moment later, the Jinyiwei's shouting voice was heard again from the corner of the small room.

Upon hearing this, Ji Gang stepped forward again without any hesitation.

What caught the eye was a tilted oil lamp lying on the ground, and a bowl-sized gap as big as a bowl, which was damaged by human beings, appeared in front of everyone.

Inside the gap, it was pitch black and bottomless.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Ji Gang couldn't help but frown, and a trace of solemnity flashed across his expression.

After a moment, he turned to look at his subordinates who were searching around and said in a deep voice:

"Besides these two places, are there any other unusual places in this room?"

"Have you found anything else?"

After hearing this.

The Jinyiwei who were in charge of the search looked at each other, and then their eyes focused on Ji Gang. They shook their heads helplessly at him to indicate that he was not there.

See this situation.

Ji Gang pondered for a while, his expression became particularly solemn, and said:

"Nevermind."

"Since there are only these two places, and the mechanism has been destroyed, use the stupid method and dig deeper along these two places."

"We can't let these bastards get away."

"Understand?"

The Jinyiwei's expressions suddenly became solemn, and they all responded in a deep voice:
"promise!"

After everything has been instructed.

Ji Gang half-closed his eyes and took a deep look at the two unusual places in the room.

Afterwards, he came to his senses and quickly walked towards Zhu Gaoxu who was waiting outside the door, bowed and reported:

"My lord..."

"We did find two abnormal places."

"If nothing unexpected happens, there should be a secret passage here that leads to somewhere else."

"Although the entrance to the secret passage was found, the mechanism at the entrance was obviously destroyed by someone."

"But the destruction of the mechanism... is extremely crude."

"Nothing was done to the oil lamp that fell to the ground and controlled the entrance to the secret passage."

"It just fell to the ground, and a bottomless hole the size of a rice bowl was left on the wall. No efforts were made to hide it or even repair it."

"This move..."

Having said this, he paused, his face darkened and he said:

"It's like someone left traces and flaws intentionally to guide us."

"I have already ordered the people below to start digging."

"If nothing unexpected happens, it won't be long before we dig out the entrance to the secret passage."

"But... such obvious traces. If the Yuan family really left from here, it shouldn't have happened, leaving so many traces and flaws."

"so……"

"I am worried, could this be a trick?"

"Could it be that the Yuan family didn't leave here at all, but left through the secret passage leading out of the city just now?"

"This is designed to confuse us and deliberately delay us from opening the secret passage?"

"Your Highness... do you want to split into two groups, one to continue digging the secret passage, and the other to stay and open the entrance to the secret passage in the wing room?"

"This is safer."

"My Lord, what do you think?"

Listen to the statement.

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but be stunned, his brows furrowed subconsciously, and he fell into deep thought.

What the hell?
Did you discover the secret passage?

The mechanism to open the secret passage was also found, but it was destroyed?
Although he destroyed the mechanism, he did not hide it. He even didn't bother to pick up the oil lamp that controlled the mechanism when it fell to the ground?

What is going on here?
What kind of medicine is sold in the gourd?

For a moment, Zhu Gaoxu, who was originally very confident and believed that the Yuan family and others were the ones who left through the secret passage, gradually became a little unconfident when facing Ji Gang's report.

numb!

Completely numb!

This is simply a mountain road with eighteen bends, right?

Don't spend too much time playing.

Caught people off guard.

After thinking for a short moment, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have thought of something. The gloom and self-doubt on his face disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by a confident smile on his face.

Afterwards, he waved his hand towards Ji Gang and said firmly:
"Need not!"

“Just dig here.”

"If you previously thought that the Yuan family and others left from here, it was just my guess."

"Based on the current situation, I am almost 100% sure that the missing Yuan family members must be in this secret passage."

"Or, in other words, they are probably all trapped inside at this moment."

Such a precise and decisive answer.

Ji Gang was stunned on the spot. He looked at Zhu Gaoxu in disbelief and said subconsciously:
"Your Majesty..."

"This, this, this... How do you judge this, how can you be so sure?"

"Haha..." Zhu Gaoxu sneered, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and said in a deep voice:

"Unjust is doomed to destruction."

"This mechanism is what the Yuan family calls a top-secret, life-saving passage." "I'm afraid it's not just the Yuan family that knows about it. In addition to the Yuan family, there should be other people who know about it."

"And this person who knows about this probably has some irreconcilable hatred with the Yuan family."

"If nothing unexpected happens, this person should be one of the servants left behind by the Yuan family."

"This so-called sabotage mechanism, this so-called leaving traces."

"I'm afraid that person deliberately wants to completely trap the people hiding in the Yuan family's secret passage."

A sudden sentence without a beginning or an end.

Ji Gang was completely confused and his expression was full of surprise.

This, this, this. What the hell is going on?
Is it so evil?
Why did the issue of having a grudge with the Yuan family come up again?

"Your Majesty, this, this, this, isn't it right?"

“If there really is someone in the mansion who has a grudge against the Yuan family.”

"And we know that the Yuan family is hiding in this secret passage."

"Seeing the arrival of our Jinyiwei, they are clearly going to conduct a thorough investigation of the Yuan family."

"Why didn't that person just report to us directly about the Yuan family hiding in this secret passage?"

"Wouldn't it be easier this way?"

"And just now we used extremely strict methods to interrogate all the servants of the Yuan family, and no one revealed anything."

"This is totally unrealistic and unlikely no matter how you look at it!"

“It’s totally unreasonable!”

Seeing Ji Gang with a look of confusion and disbelief.

"hehe."

Zhu Gaoxu sneered and said in a deep voice:
"It's not common sense, it's not common sense."

"For someone who can do this, who wants to trap all the Yuan family members to death and completely wipe out the entire Yuan family, I'm afraid the hatred between him and the Yuan family is extremely deep."

"If nothing unexpected happens, this person should have reported the feud between him and the Yuan family to the authorities."

"Given the ability of the Yuan family in Linchuan City, that person's vengeance should not have been redressed."

"After all, as members of the Imperial Guard, you have seen far more cases of collusion between officials and businessmen, and civilians having no place to seek justice than I have, right?"

"Under this premise, I have encountered such unfair treatment."

"Lord Ji"

"Put yourself in their shoes. Would you still trust the so-called government officials and officials?"

"Although you are Jinyiwei, in the eyes of the people, aren't you just officials?"

“Do the people really understand the difference between the natures of officials?”

"So, in that person's opinion, rather than trusting the officials and the slim chance of getting justice, it is better to do it yourself."

"Master Ji, do you think what I said makes sense?"

"If you don't believe me, why not bring all the people you just interrogated here and try to trick them and you'll know."

Just wait and see.

Ji Gang stood there in a daze, speechless for a long time.

Although unwilling to admit it.

But he knew that under the current circumstances, he could not find any reason to refute what Zhu Gaoxu said.

Connecting everything that is happening right now, it seems unreasonable, yet it is so reasonable.

After a brief moment of daze, Ji Gang came back to his senses, pulled his thoughts back, and turned to scold the soldiers beside him:
"Are all of them dead?"

"Didn't you hear what the prince said just now?"

"Hurry up and bring all the servants from Yuan Mansion here."

"promise!"

The soldiers who were waiting on the side heard the angry scolding, came to their senses in an instant, and quickly agreed.

Not long after.

One by one, the slaves of the Yuan mansion, who were ragged, unkempt, and listless due to interrogation, came staggeringly under the drive of the soldiers.

Seeing the person coming, Ji Gang, who was the supervisor in the wing room, strode out.

He half-closed his eyes and looked around at the servants of Yuan Mansion who lowered their heads, looked listless, and exuded a foul odor and blood. His voice suddenly rose and he shouted angrily:
"Lift your heads up."

"Tell me who destroyed the mechanism in this room?"

"Have all the people from Yuan's residence entered the secret passage in this wing and are hiding?"

"answer me!!"

In an instant.

The angry questioning voice resounded through the sky.

All the slaves in the courtyard were trembling with fear, and some of the timid ones were even frightened to the point of collapsing on the ground.

but
Just like that, a long time passed.

None of the slaves who were brought here responded to or answered Ji Gang's question.

Seeing this situation, Ji Gang's expression became increasingly gloomy as time went by, causing the atmosphere in the entire courtyard to become extremely depressing and solemn.

Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing aside, saw that Ji Gang's patience was almost exhausted and he was on the verge of exploding.

Then he stopped her and said:
"Master Ji, that's enough."

"Don't be impatient."

"Getting angry and furious won't help."

"You were able to withstand the harsh interrogation by your Jinyiwei just now. What do you think is the use and significance of this attitude?"

Say it.

Zhu Gaoxu ignored him, and didn't care about Ji Gang's feelings. He turned to look at the frightened servants of Yuan Mansion, and said in a deep voice:
"I am the prince of the current dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu, the son of Emperor Yongle."

"This trip to Linchuan City is to investigate the evidence of collusion between the Yuan and Li families and the officials of the Linchuan government office."

"And all the evil officials in Linchuan Prefecture have been taken to prison."

"The entire Li family was also captured by the Royal Guards."

"Only the Yuan family disappeared."

"And just now, from what we saw, heard, thought and guessed, the people of the Yuan family should not have left through the secret passage you filled in, but are still hiding in the Yuan Mansion and have not left."

"It just so happened that I had expected that I would find a secret passage in a room full of sundries and food. However, the mechanism to open the secret passage was destroyed, so I couldn't open it all at once."

"But the mechanism that opens the secret passage was obviously damaged by human hands."

"So I have concluded that the destroyer of this secret passage must be one of you who has a blood feud with the Yuan family. His actions were also intended to trap the Yuan family members in the secret passage and let them die in the secret passage."

"But guesswork is just guesswork, and it doesn't count."

"So, if it is really as I guessed, I would like that person to bravely stand up and give me a clear answer."

"In this regard, I can promise that I will forgive him for his crimes of concealing and reporting the truth. At the same time, I promise him that I will severely punish all members of the Yuan family and give him justice."

"Otherwise, if the secret passage is dug through and someone from the Yuan family is really inside, some hidden things will come to light, and that person will be held responsible for deliberately concealing the truth."

"There is only one chance, and time is running out."

"Do you understand?"

Say it.

Zhu Gaoxu half-closed his eyes, glanced at everyone present, and waited quietly for a reply.

Not long after.

There was a commotion in the crowd. An old man in ragged clothes walked out of the crowd slowly with unsteady steps. He grinned with a mouthful of yellow teeth and said in a deep voice:
"Correct."

"Everyone from the Yuan family is inside."

"But... if the prince wants to save him alive, he has to hurry..."

(End of this chapter)