King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

"Is the content of this letter true?"

Wait to read all the contents of the letter.

Ji Gang had a gloomy face, and stared at Xiaoyue who was kneeling on the ground with half-closed eyes. His words were full of coldness as he asked in a deep voice.

Having said that ask.

But after reading the contents of the letter, Ji Gang had actually already believed it halfway.

At the same time, the content of the letter also connected all the things that he couldn't figure out just now.

At this moment.

He finally understood why Zhong Kairan acted abnormally and detonated a huge amount of gunpowder in front of the Jinyiwei and Ming soldiers, burying himself in the explosion, leaving no trace at all and dismembering his body.

At the same time, I also understood and thought it through.

In such a huge explosion, how did Zhong Kairan escape from such a predicament?

the reason is simple.

Because the person who died in the explosion was not the real Zhong Kairan at all, but a substitute who had been hiding behind the scenes and unknown to the public.

As for why they chose explosion as the method, it becomes more understandable after knowing that Zhong Kairan used a substitute.

How could there be two identical flowers in the same world?

At most, we are just acquaintances.

And what is fake will always be fake and can never be true.

In the eyes of acquaintances, they can also see some differences, and may think that it was a substitute who died and not the real person.

so.
In order not to leave any traces, not to leave the slightest clue.

The best way is to die without a burial place.

Is the safest thing to do.

This is also why Zhong Kairan ordered his substitute to end his life in that way.

but
Zhong Kairan was afraid that no matter how much he planned, he could not have imagined that Ji Gang, the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei, would die in such a decisive way in front of him and a group of Jinyiwei and Ming soldiers. However, this did not dispel Ji Gang's doubts and he still saw the clues.

From the exploded and collapsed ruins, he found traces of his plan, which he thought was perfect.

At the same time, the secret passage he used to escape was also dug out by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Think about it.

Even if the beautiful woman hadn't told the truth, it would still only be a matter of time to find Zhong Kairan's hiding place.

Of course, Zhong Kairan never expected that he would be informed by the beautiful woman!
That's how it ends, in the final analysis.

can only say.
It’s not that there is no retribution, it’s just that the time has not come. The net of heaven is vast and nothing can escape it.

No matter how cunning one is, what is meant to come will never be late.

Xiaoyue, who was kneeling on the ground, felt the gazes and questions falling on her, and she couldn't help but paused and shook her head:
"Reply to Your Excellency"

"I really don't know what is written in the master's letter."

"However, I dare to guarantee with my own life that the contents of the letter are definitely true."

"Because when the master ordered me to come and look for you, I could clearly feel the master's anxiety and fear."

"I hope you will do it."

The rest of the words were not finished.

Ji Gang waved at Xiaoyue who was kneeling on the ground and said in a deep voice:

"okay."

"The officer knows."

in fact.

Xiaoyue doesn't need to make any guarantees on this matter.

With the detailed contents recorded above, he would definitely bring people to check and verify them before he could feel at ease.

As for words like punishment.

In his opinion, it was a bit too heavy.
Since their master was able to allow Xiaoyue to come, and was able to point out the identities of these people so directly in his mind.

I think that unless one is crazy or insane, he would never do such a thing as to play tricks on the Jinyiwei.

After all, since its establishment, the Jinyiwei has been present in the entire Ming Dynasty, from high-ranking officials to peddlers.

Who doesn’t know how ruthless the Jinyiwei are?
These are a group of ruthless people who can stop babies from crying at night!

At the same time, Ji Gang could probably guess in his heart why the beautiful woman would take such a big risk and let her servants come and tip off.

The reason is simpler.

Zhong Kairan was able to ignore the lives of all the direct descendants of the Zhong family, and even used these people as bait to buy time for him to escape.

What's more, the substitute ended his life in such a cruel way.

Cut off all clues and all connections.

Someone who can do such a crazy thing.

Wait until the Jinyiwei, or the imperial court, has settled everything and given a definition to the case.

Given Zhong Kairan's personality, wouldn't he kill the entire family of the substitute?
After all, who can guarantee that the substitute's family won't realize that he is a fake?

In this world, the only people who can keep secrets best are the dead and corpses.

Zhong Kairan could even use his own family's direct descendants, bloodlines, and children as bait.

How could he care about the substitute and the lives of his entire family?

Therefore, it is not difficult to guess why the beautiful woman would take such a big risk and order her subordinates to come and inform on the matter.

After all, after the informant informed on them, Zhong Kairan was arrested and their family was able to survive.

If it fails, the whole family will just die early or later.

For this, rather than waiting to die.

It is better to give it a try, that is the best strategy.

After all, if you fight, you have a chance to survive, but if you don’t fight, you have no chance at all.

"Here comes someone."

After a brief pause, Ji Gang suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, his expression suddenly became extremely serious, and he shouted towards the courtyard:
"Leave half of the people to wait for Yang Huan to come back after exploring the secret passage."

"The rest of you, follow me."

Say it.

He handed the letter in his hand to the guard beside him and instructed:

“Please read the above content carefully.”

"When Yang Huan comes back, let him take a look as well."

"The two of you should work out how to break into the Zhong Mansion and the secret passage."

"I will lead people into He's house first to see if I can catch Zhong Kairan off guard."

then.

Ji Gang did not hesitate at all. He reached out and picked up Xiaoyue who was kneeling on the ground. He said in a deep voice:
"You guys lead the way."

"Walk"

Then, a group of people followed Xiaoyue and walked out of the courtyard with big strides.

at the same time.

In the He Mansion, the study where Zhong Kairan is.

dong dong dong.
There was a hurried knock at the closed door.

Zhong Kairan, who was leaning back on the armchair with his eyes closed, thinking about something, suddenly opened his half-closed eyes and shouted:

"Who?"

"It's me, sir."

Suddenly, a shrill, hoarse voice sounded.

Hearing the familiar voice, Zhong Kairan, who had been tense, let out a long breath. His tense expression suddenly relaxed, and the tension on his face was subdued. Instead, he looked calm and composed, and said in a deep voice:
"come in!"

crunch
The tightly closed study door was slowly pushed open, and a figure wrapped in black cloth walked in from outside, bowing slightly in greeting.

"How about it?"

"What's the situation at the Zhong Mansion now?"

“How many people left safely?”

"Can the secret passage leading out of the city be blown up as planned?"

A series of questions.

The question directly stunned the black-robed man in front of him.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, he bowed slightly and replied in a deep voice:

"Return to Master"

"In the Zhong Mansion, all the people failed to escape the pursuit of the Jinyiwei and were arrested one by one."

"The butler and the captain of the guards originally wanted to blow up the entrance to the secret passage to buy enough time for the Zhong family to evacuate. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. The two were pinned to the spot by sharp arrows. Even if they tried their best, they could not ignite the gunpowder buried at the entrance of the secret passage."

"The only place in the Zhong Mansion where the gunpowder was ignited according to the plan was your study."

As soon as the words fell, dong dong dong.
Suddenly, a hurried knock sounded again at the tightly closed study door.

The two people in the room were immediately startled.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily looked towards the door. With a "swish", the man in black robe stretched out his hand and suddenly pulled out the big knife on his waist. He hid to the left side of the study door with a flash, staring at the study door with a serious expression.

Pretend to say something wrong.

He just decisively killed the person who knocked on the door.

Seeing this, Zhong Kairan nodded at him, looked towards the door, and asked in a stern voice:
"Who?"

"Aren't you asking me to not enter this courtyard for no reason?"

"What?"

"Are you all deaf and turning a deaf ear to my words?"

At the door, hearing the unpleasant words coming from inside the house, the person knocking on the door said anxiously:
"Grandpa"

"It's me. I'm the old steward."

“Something bad is going to happen”

Hearing the familiar and urgent words, Zhong Kairan subconsciously stood up from the armchair, waved at the black-robed man on guard at the door, and then shouted outside the door:
"Come in and tell me..."

"It's unbecoming to be in such a hurry."

After a while.

An old man who called himself the steward hurriedly opened the door and walked in.

"What's the big deal?"

"What happened?"

"explain……"

Before he could say anything, Zhong Kairan had already questioned him.

In fact, it’s not Zhong Kairan’s fault.

Mainly!
He experienced too many things tonight, and too many things were beyond his expectations. He also managed to escape with great difficulty.

At this moment, he was like a frightened bird.

Faced with such words.

He couldn't help but feel nervous.

Old Guan came back to his senses, sorted out his thoughts briefly, and said hurriedly:

"I don't know what happened either."

"Just now..."

"Outside our He Mansion, a group of Jinyiwei and Ming soldiers suddenly appeared."

"And now the entire He Mansion has been surrounded."

"He just barged in."

"Everyone I met and every place I passed by were taken under control by the Jinyiwei."

"Old Slave"

The words have not yet fallen.

The rest of the words have not yet been spoken.

Zhong Kairan, who was standing behind the desk, took a step forward and came directly to him. He stretched out his hand and lifted up the old man who was hunched over and lowered his head. His expression was full of fear, and he shouted:
"you"

"What did you say?"

"The Royal Guards have surrounded the mansion and are heading this way?"

Sudden changes.

Seeing his master become so ferocious, Lao Guan couldn't help but be stunned. For a moment he even forgot to answer, or perhaps he was frightened and didn't know how to answer.

The man in black robe standing behind the door was startled when he heard the old butler's words, and a trace of panic flashed across his expression.

But in a moment, he suppressed it.

"master"

"need or not."

The man in black robe turned to look at Zhong Kairan, who was a little dazed. While asking, he stared straight at Lao Guan, who was held in Zhong Kairan's hand. He made a gesture of wiping his neck, and then looked at the position where his hand was reaching for the entrance of the secret passage.

The implication is self-evident.

After hearing this.

Zhong Kairan was stunned for a moment, then he put down the old pipe in his hand and shouted angrily:
"Go down."

Then, he frowned and pondered for a moment, waved his hand and shook his head:

"Need not."

"At this time, I don't know the real intentions of the Jinyiwei."

"We may not have exposed our tracks, otherwise the Jinyiwei should have come out from the secret passage instead of besieging the He Mansion and entering the house to arrest people."

"As for entering the secret passage, there is no need for that at all."

"After all, the other opening of the secret passage has been blown down."

"There is no point in us entering the secret passage now, and we can't escape by doing so."

"The best thing to do right now is to wait and see."

"My current identity is He Huan, not Xijiang Provincial Secretary Zhong Kairan."

"As long as I don't reveal any flaws, there shouldn't be any problems."

"If it's true..."

The following words were not stated explicitly.

However, the man in black robe was a smart man and naturally understood what it meant.

Then he nodded heavily, bowed, and was about to leave.

but.

He hasn't reached the door yet.

Then I heard a burst of hurried footsteps coming from behind.

A group of Jinyiwei dressed in Feiyu uniforms strode in from outside the courtyard and headed straight for the study.

See this situation.

The man in black robe who had just arrived at the door was stunned for a moment, and then froze at the door. He subconsciously reached out for the big knife at his waist, and then he seemed to think of something, and slowly put down his hand that was touching the big knife without making any unnecessary movements.

"Take it!"

suddenly.

The Jinyiwei who entered saw the man in black robe standing at the door of the study and gave orders in a deep voice.

With an order.

The man in black robe didn't put up any resistance and was taken down directly, with the big sword on his waist taken off.

then.

The remaining Jinyiwei quickly came to the study.

They surrounded the brightly lit study.

Zhong Kairan, now He Huan, who was hiding in the study, walked out of the study slowly, with a look of fear on his face. He bowed to the Jinyiwei who surrounded the study and said hesitantly:

"My...my dear officials."

"This, this, this..."

"What on earth happened?"

"Why such a big fuss?"

"I wonder what we have done wrong?"

After hearing this.

The group responsible for besieging the Jinyiwei did not give any answer.

After a while.

There was a commotion among the crowd, and the Jinyiwei who had surrounded the courtyard subconsciously moved aside to leave a passage only wide enough for one person to pass through.

then.

Ji Gang walked towards them step by step from the crowd.

Zhong Kairan, who was trembling and pretending to be calm, saw the newcomer's eyes shrink and a trace of panic flashed across his face, which he then concealed.

"Sir...my lord."

"This……"

"hehe…"

Seeing Zhong Kairan pretending to be stupid, Ji Gang sneered, glanced at him, and said in a deep voice:
"Zhong Kairan, Master Zhong..."

"It's already this time, is there any need to play dumb?"

(End of this chapter)