A four-year-old medical prodigy descended to the mortal realm, and the entire capital sought her tre

As night fell, Wang Changlin and Consort Yu rode together in Consort Yu's carriage and left Shuixianfang.

Wang Changlin's carriage followed closely behind.

An Chang was unsettled when she saw Wang Changlin get into Consort Yu's carriage in the backyard.

He tugged at Zhao Jinzhong's clothes and said, "Jinzhong, what's going on? Why is the prince in Consort Yu's carriage? Where are they going?"

"Let's go, follow them!" Zhao Jinzhong turned around and gave Qian Lai a few instructions before chasing after them, with An Chang close behind.

After learning about Consort Yu's purpose and methods, Zhao Jinzhong's shock and worry transformed into a calm and righteous demeanor.

In the quiet of the night, if they were to follow in a carriage, the noise would be too great, so they abandoned the carriage.

Zhou Ruo had already started to doze off, so Zhao Jinzhong had Qian Lai take her back to the general's mansion.

Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang were both very skilled in footwork, so they used their lightness skills to follow them.

Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang followed them all the way to the east side of the city. Near the city gate, there was a large mansion.

Consort Yu and Wang Changlin's carriages stopped one after the other in front of the mansion gate, and the two walked into the courtyard.

"Chengqing Villa?" An Chang said thoughtfully. "Oh! So Chengqing Villa is here. They even have palace guards stationed here."

Zhao Jinzhong asked An Chang, "Do you recognize this place?"

An Chang nodded. "Do you know what 'Chengqing' means here?"

"To celebrate the occasion? For good luck?"

An Chang shook his head. "Chengqing is the name of the Fourth Prince."

Seeing Zhao Jinzhong's stunned expression, An Chang continued to explain.

"This villa was bestowed upon Consort Yu by the Emperor when she gave birth to the fourth prince. It is said that Consort Yu would come here occasionally to worship Buddha and find peace of mind."

"Is that so?" Zhao Jinzhong was completely unaware of this. "Was the Emperor so fond of Consort Yu back then?"

An Chang disagreed, saying, "It can't really be called favoritism, since the Emperor has given generous rewards to other imperial concubines and consorts who have given birth to princes."

However, Consort Yu only wanted this villa.

Zhao Jinzhong disagreed, arguing that the concubines in the harem, having lived in the deep palace for many years, had an extraordinary yearning for freedom.

However, the Emperor bestowed upon Consort Yu a courtyard outside the Imperial City and permitted her to leave the city periodically.

This freedom is something that no amount of wealth and glory in the imperial harem can buy.

It is clear that the Emperor's affection for Consort Yu was not as simple as exchanging other rewards for a villa outside the capital.

Not only was a separate residence bestowed upon him, but palace guards were also assigned to guard it, which shows the Emperor's affection for Consort Yu.

"Young General, what do we do now? The walls are so high, and there are palace guards patrolling inside. I'm afraid we won't even be able to get through the gate."

An Chang was somewhat disheartened. He was about to discover the secret between Consort Yu and Wang Changlin, but he was blocked outside the courtyard.

He was really itching to try it.

Zhao Jinzhong smiled, took out a talisman from his pocket, and showed it to An Chang.

An Chang opened his mouth wide, and Zhao Jinzhong secretly rejoiced at his astonished expression.

"Holy crap! Zhao Jinzhong, how did you get your hands on the Crown Prince's secret edict?!"

"Naturally, it was a gift from the Crown Prince."

Unfortunately, it was too dark, and An Chang couldn't see the slightly smug look on Zhao Jinzhong's face.

Otherwise, I'll definitely give him a couple of good punches.

As Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang walked to the gate of Chengqing Villa, two palace guards immediately stopped them, just as expected.

"Who are you two? Do you even know where you are?"

Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang looked into the courtyard and saw that there were still many palace guards standing guard in various corners, and some were patrolling.

"Go away, stop looking! This isn't a place for you!" The palace guard who spoke was already getting impatient.

Zhao Jinzhong withdrew his gaze and looked at the two palace guards in front of him.

The two were dressed in palace guard uniforms, and the badges they wore at their waists were also those of palace guards; there was no mistake.

Zhao Jinzhong took out the secret edict from the Eastern Palace and showed it to them.

The palace guards immediately recognized it as a pass for the Crown Prince's confidant.

Without a word, the two palace guards immediately knelt down and bowed to the talisman, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhao Jinzhong whispered to the two men, "This is a secret of the Eastern Palace, and must not be made public. Go inside and find the person!"

"Yes!" The palace guards quickly stood up and made way for them. "Please come in, gentlemen!"

Zhao Jinzhong, who had just stepped across the threshold, froze. Which way should he go?

Left with no other choice, he turned back to the palace guard and asked, "Um... how do I get to the main courtyard?"

The palace guards immediately gave Zhao Jinzhong directions.

After Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang took two steps forward, An Chang ran back and solemnly instructed the palace guards.

"Don't tell anyone we were here, otherwise..."

An Chang made a beheading gesture.

The two palace guards immediately replied, "We obey! We dare not!"

Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang avoided the patrolling guards along the way and gradually approached the main courtyard.

The closer Zhao Jinzhong got to the main courtyard, the more he could sense the different atmosphere.

He discovered that palace guards were stationed in every corner outside the main courtyard.

An Chang wanted to go straight up and use the same method he had used when entering the main gate: show off the Crown Prince's token and walk in confidently.

But Zhao Jinzhong stopped him.

"An Chang, take a close look at those guards outside the main courtyard. Are they palace guards?"

An Chang noticed that Zhao Jinzhong's tone was very cautious, so he looked at it carefully.

"They are definitely palace guards; aren't they all wearing palace guard uniforms?"

Zhao Jinzhong looked around carefully again, but shook his head. "No, they are not palace guards."

"Not palace guards? Then what are they?"

"They are soldiers in the army," Zhao Jinzhong said solemnly.

He noticed that the guards' positions and postures were unlike those of ordinary palace guards.

Zhao Jinzhong was all too familiar with this kind of imposing manner.

The triangular formation is different from the symmetrical gate-like formation of the palace guards, and even carries a defensive posture.

"Soldiers? Your father's men?" An Chang said, even he himself thought it was impossible.

"No! Our soldiers have strict travel regulations, and it's impossible for the army to suddenly lose so many people."

Zhao Jinzhong roughly counted that there were at least thirty guards outside the main courtyard.

An Chang quickly realized, "Could they be private guards kept by princes and nobles?"

Wang Changlin became a marquis in a single battle in Yunnan back then.

However, after he returned victorious, the emperor was only concerned with bestowing rewards upon him.

The court officials were also very grateful that the princes and nobles had intervened in time to save the Great Qing Dynasty.

Otherwise, by the time Zhao Yucheng from the Northwest escaped and arrived in Yunnan, who knows where the flames of war would have spread.

But no one really cared where the 10,000 troops that Wang Changlin had hastily assembled before the war came from.

He reported that it was a temporary recruitment.

However, how could the Daqing Dynasty recruit more than 10,000 elite soldiers in such a short period of time?

Not to mention the need for hasty drills and training to form an army.

Zhao Jinzhong agreed with An Chang's guess, "He probably had already trained his personal guards before the battle in Yunnan."

They trained an elite force of tens of thousands, perhaps even more.

"So what should we do now?"

An Chang was getting anxious; the two of them had been lingering outside for quite some time.

If we don't go in soon, Consort Yu and Wang Changlin will probably have said everything they need to say.

If it's a battle formation, it wouldn't be difficult for Zhao Jinzhong to figure out.

Zhao Jinzhong led An Chang to the side and then climbed over the courtyard wall.

The inner courtyard wall was much lower than the outer wall of the other courtyards, and Zhao Jinzhong and An Chang could jump up it in one leap.

Zhao Jinzhong led An Changyi, avoiding Wang Changlin's personal guards, and went directly to the roof.

This was the first time An Chang had seen the young general in a state of readiness for battle. The two sat on Consort Yu's rooftop, and An Chang sighed with emotion.

"Young General, so this is what you're like on the battlefield?"

I must say, Zhao Jinzhong, who is an expert in tactics, is really handsome.