King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

Left Chen Qia's mansion.

Chen Dao stood in front of the carriage waiting for him for a long time, his brows furrowed and his eyes slightly blurred, wondering what he was thinking about.

That's it.

After about a cup of tea, Chen Dao came back to his senses. He slowly raised his head and looked back at the closed door of the mansion behind him, as well as the two huge characters "Chen Mansion" hanging above the door railing. His mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts and extremely complicated emotions.

Although the two had just exchanged information in Chen Qia's house, and Chen Qia had analyzed the situation with the two of them, Chen Dao felt that what his uncle said made sense, but what happened today was indeed full of unreasonable things.

But as far as Chen Dao was concerned, he couldn't help but have some different thoughts and guesses in his mind. He was worried that Chen Qia was unwilling to get involved in this muddy water and chose to protect himself and deliberately evade his explanation.

However, what is happening right now.

As for Chen Dao, there was no other way. Apart from asking his uncle Chen Qia for help, he couldn't think of anyone else he could turn to. Of course, because of Chen Qia's words, he didn't dare to take the risk of asking random people for help. He was really afraid that those words and speculations Chen Qia said were true, and he was afraid that his actions would lead to something irreversible.

After a brief silence, Chen Qia took a few deep breaths, shook his head slightly, sighed, and murmured to himself:

"Hey"

"For now, this is the only way."

"Uncle! Uncle! I hope this is really as you said, and not just a deliberate excuse to me. Otherwise, if the time comes, don't blame me for biting you and dragging you down with me."

As he spoke, Chen Dao once again looked back at Chen Qia's residence. He did not linger there any longer. He waved to the coachman who was waiting in front of the carriage, stepped onto the carriage in front of him, and said,
"go!"

"Return to the mansion."

Following an order, the coachman raised the whip in his hand. With a crisp "snap" sound, the carriage galloped back the way it came, disappearing at the end of the street shrouded in darkness.

Just as Chen Dao's carriage left, in the shadows on both sides of the street, one could clearly see in the moonlight the figures of Jinyiwei dressed in Feiyu uniforms gathering in groups of three or two, following Chen Dao's galloping carriage.

at the same time.

From the tall glazed tiles of the wall beside the tightly closed gate of Chen Qia's mansion, one could vaguely see a few people peeking at the street in front of the mansion, watching every move on the street. There was no doubt that Chen Dao, who was standing there with a changing expression, and the Jinyiwei who followed Chen Dao's carriage and disappeared at the end of the street, were all seen by the people observing on the wall.

After the streets returned to calm and there was no more noise, the person in charge of observation slowly disappeared and hurriedly ran to the backyard of Chen Qia's mansion.

In the study.

Chen Qia had his eyes half-closed, his face calm and expressionless, and his right hand tapped the desk in front of him from time to time. No one knew what he was thinking about.

dong dong dong.
At this moment, there was an urgent knock on the closed study door. Chen Qia's half-closed eyes suddenly opened, staring straight at the closed door, and said in a deep voice: "Come in!"

Just as he finished speaking, a creaking sound suddenly rang out, and the friction sound of the wooden bolt was heard. A middle-aged man in simple clothes flashed in, bowed slightly and saluted respectfully, and said:

"See my lord."

Chen Qia waved his hand and asked, "Old Liu, what do you think? Is there a tail following behind our nephew?"

The middle-aged man called Lao Liu cupped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Look carefully, there are indeed people following you, young master, and those people are just as you expected, they are all members of the Jinyiwei."

Chen Qia frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked, "In your opinion, following our nephew's tail, is this an act of malicious intent, or..."

Old Liu was slightly startled when he heard this, a trace of surprise and astonishment appeared between his brows, and then a helpless look appeared on his face. He shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly, saying:

"grown ups."

"This statement does make it difficult for me."

"As for the current situation, I don't understand it, so it's difficult for me to make a judgment."

"but."

Having said that, Lao Liu paused, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. He opened his mouth several times and then closed it again consciously.

Seeing this, Chen Qia glared at him and said in a deep voice, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be so hesitant. We have known each other for such a long time. You know my personality better than anyone else. We are talking behind closed doors. Just say what you think. Don't be so cautious."

After being scolded, Old Liu showed an embarrassed look on his face, scratched his head, and then smiled awkwardly and said:

"Based on the morals and style of the Jinyiwei."

"Normally, if an official is found guilty, his family will never be allowed to move freely, even if they are under surveillance. Even if the official's family is not interrogated, the entire mansion will definitely be sealed and confined."

"So, if something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong."

"You need to weigh this matter yourself."

We are all smart people, so some things don't need to be said too bluntly. Chen Qia is not a fool, so he can naturally appreciate the different meanings and implications here.

That's it.

Chen Qia frowned and fell into silence again.

After a long while, Chen Qia waved his hand at Lao Liu and said, "Go and have someone prepare a carriage. We are going to visit His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately. Come and inform me when everything is ready."

Hearing this, Old Liu took the order, bowed respectfully, and tactfully withdrew, because he knew the deep meaning of Chen Qia's words. This was his master, so he should give himself some time to think calmly and carefully about the current problem.

When Old Liu took the order and left, the calm expression on Chen Qia's face disappeared, and was replaced by a serious look. His mind was full of thoughts. He kept thinking about what kind of use his brother had to the Crown Prince and the Prince of Han that he deserved to be treated like this by the Crown Prince and the Prince of Han.

As for interfering in this matter, Chen Qia did not think much about the possible consequences.

There is no other reason.

From Chen Dao's narration just now, as well as what Lao Liu observed on the wall of the mansion just now about what happened after Chen Dao left the Chen Mansion, Chen Qia was almost 100% certain that his brother had not committed any crime and was thrown into prison, so he did not have to worry about the consequences and subsequent risks at all.

As for why you must go, this question!

The reason is very simple. Chen Ji is his brother and they have a close relationship. If he doesn't know about such a thing, or Chen Dao doesn't come to him for help, he can pretend that he knows nothing and choose the path of self-preservation.

But now it is completely different. Chen Dao has come to ask for help in person. The Jinyiwei who followed Chen Dao will definitely report everything to the Crown Prince and the Prince of Han. If he still pretends to know nothing and chooses to protect himself, then in the future Ming Dynasty, no matter who becomes the common ruler of the world, Chen Qia will never have the possibility of moving up and being promoted, and his official career will definitely be completely cut off.

Even his own brother and nephew came to ask for help.

He, Chen Qia, could choose to ignore it, could choose to stay out of it, and protect himself in this matter. But what would the Crown Prince and the Prince of Han think of him, Chen Qia?

Will the Crown Prince or the Prince of Han still believe that he can devote himself to the country and the public?

Can we still trust his loyalty and faithfulness?
is it possible?
Regardless of whether others believe him or not, if he were in the position of the Crown Prince or the Prince of Han, they would definitely not trust him anymore.
For this reason, regardless of whether he had just determined that there was danger or not, there was absolutely no possibility for him to avoid this matter, and he had to take the risk for his brother.

Da da da.
Just as Chen Qia was thinking deeply, a hurried sound of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the open study door, pulling Chen Qia's drifting thoughts back from afar. He half-closed his eyes and looked towards the place where the sound came from.

"grown ups."

"Everything is ready."

"When do we leave?"

Chen Qia, who was leaning on the chair, calmed himself down, slowly stood up from the chair, twisted his neck and stretched out his hands to loosen up his slightly stiff body, nodded at Lao Liu, and instructed:

"Let's go now!!"

"No need to go to the Crown Prince's residence in the East Palace, go directly to the Imperial Guard Prison."

"I think my brother has just been arrested and taken to the Imperial Prison. At this moment, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Han should still be in the Jinyiwei Imperial Prison and have not returned to the mansion."

Old Liu paused for a moment, then bowed and respectfully accepted the order, saying, "Yes! I'll arrange it right away."

Afterwards, the two of them walked away quickly, one after the other, leaving only the candlelight flickering in the empty study.

Jin Yiwei ordered him to prison.

Under the leadership of Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi, Chen Ji, who was nominally wanted by the Jinyiwei, finally arrived at the terrifying man-eating den that made all the civil and military officials in the court shudder.

Chen Ji, who was in the imperial prison for the first time, turned his head and looked around from time to time, feeling the cold wind blowing from time to time. He subconsciously reached out to tighten his robe, and then smelled the faint smell of blood in the air.

This made Chen Ji, who was originally a little curious, unconsciously turn a little pale on his old face. He paused as he was walking in the dark corridor illuminated by the dim oil lamp, and stopped after a moment.

This action made Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi, who were accompanying him, frown slightly. They looked back with half-closed eyes, a hint of displeasure and coldness flashed in their expressions, and asked:
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"

"Are you regretting it?"

It's no wonder that Zhu Gaoxu and the Crown Prince reacted so strongly, as this matter is of very serious concern.

Chen Ji paused for a moment, then shook his head calmly, and replied with a trembling voice:

"No, no."

"I don't have such thoughts. It's just that the Jinyiwei prison is too strict."

"I am old now. Even if I want to do this, I am worried about my health. I cannot fulfill the trust that the prince and the crown prince have placed in me."

Having said that, Chen Ji looked at Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and did not say anything unpleasant. However, everyone present was smart and naturally understood his implication from Chen Ji's expression and body movements.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi instantly understood in their hearts that they were overthinking this matter.

Then the two of them felt the cool breeze blowing in the prison at night, couldn't help laughing, and waved their hands and said:

"Don't worry, sir."

"How could the two of us not have thought of this, and how could we not know about it?"

"Mr. Yu has such a heavy responsibility and is deeply involved. Not to mention that he is worried about his own health, we two brothers are even more worried than him. We don't want anything to happen to his health."

"so."

"It's impossible to have no preparation."

"What you see here is just the periphery of the Jinyiwei Prison. The place where you live is not here, and it is completely different from this place. Please rest assured, sir."

“A place that we both built for you.”

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxu pointed to the end of the imperial prison corridor and continued in a deep voice:

"It's just behind the end of the corridor. We will definitely not let you down. Of course, if you are still not satisfied with our preparations and think there are areas that need improvement, it won't be too late for us to discuss it again."

"After all, it's only a few dozen steps away. Sir, you've already walked here, so you don't mind walking a few more steps, right?"

"What do you think, sir?"

After hearing Zhu Gaoxu say this and making such a promise, what else could Chen Ji say at this time?
As for the current situation, although he didn't think that the place behind the corridor could be that good or really satisfy him, it would be tactless for him to refuse it without even taking a look at it. If he did, it would be too tactless.

For this reason, even though Chen Ji had many reluctances in his heart, he had to suppress his restless thoughts, nodded doubtfully, and said:

"to make."

"It's all up to your Highness and the Prince."

Therefore, after receiving Chen Ji's reply, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochi and the accompanying Jinyiwei once again walked slowly towards the depths of the imperial prison corridor.

That's it.

Almost half a cup of tea later, after bypassing several guards who were on guard all around, the group finally arrived at the end of the corridor.

Looking at the stone gate blocking his way, Zhu Gaochi nodded to Ji Gang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing beside him.

After receiving the order, Ji Gang waved to the guards beside him, and without any hesitation, they quickly stepped forward and pushed open the heavy stone door blocking everyone. (End of this chapter)