I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

At this moment, Cao Yin was still trembling with fear, his face ashen.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... This servant... This servant is afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?!" Hong Xiguan looked at him with exasperation. "Are you afraid of dying?!"

With such a lack of mental fortitude, how will you help me accomplish the great task of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming in the future?

"I'm asking you, can you broaden your thinking a bit more?!" Hong Xiguan coaxed him patiently, beginning to paint a rosy picture.

"Think about it, once you join the Heaven and Earth Society, you'll be the former 'Imperial Grandson' of the Ming Dynasty! You'll be their young master! If you play your part well, the entire Heaven and Earth Society will become your ally! At that time, whatever information you want to know, won't they obediently tell you?"

"As for identification," Hong Xiguan smiled confidently, "I've already prepared it for you!"

He pointed to the Wenyuan Pavilion not far away.

"Inside, there's the complete genealogy of the former Ming imperial family, also known as the 'Imperial Genealogy'! And there are the old eunuchs left over from the Ming dynasty in the palace; they know all the rules, preferences, and daily routines of the Ming princes!"

"I will teach you all these things! I will transform you, inside and out, into a true grandson of the Ming Dynasty! By then, even if Wan Yunlong were to be resurrected, not even the Third Prince Zhu himself would understand the Zhu family as well as you do!"

"What's left is courage!" Hong Xiguan walked up to Cao Yin, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and said in a very serious tone in a low voice:

"Remember this: from this day forward, you are a descendant of the Zhu family! You must display the bearing of a royal descendant! Do not bring shame upon our Ming Dynasty!"

Hehe, I accidentally slipped up and said what was on my mind.

"Our...our Great Ming Dynasty?"

Cao Yin suddenly raised his head and looked at Hong Xiguan in shock.

The Emperor… he said… about our Great Ming?

Could it be... could it be that the Emperor...

Cao Yin dared not think any further, but a flame seemed to be ignited in his heart!

At that very moment, under the pillars outside the Qianqing Palace, the ordinary guard who seemed to be standing guard attentively suddenly shuddered when he heard the words "our Great Ming Dynasty"!

Those eyes, hidden in the shadows, suddenly flashed with a terrifying light, staring intently at the small figure in the study.

……

That night, a top-secret plan quietly unfolded in the South Study.

Cao Yin changed into an inconspicuous eunuch's uniform and, under Li Xu's cover, secretly sneaked into the secret room where Wan Yunlong was imprisoned.

Inside the secret room, Wan Yunlong was chained to the wall. Although he had changed into clean clothes and his wounds had been treated, he still held his head high, his face showing an unyielding spirit.

"You damned Tartar, what tricks are you trying to pull now?" He sneered as he saw Cao Yin enter.

Cao Yin was extremely nervous, but he remembered the emperor's words, "We cannot bring shame to our Great Ming," and forced himself to calm down.

He didn't approach, but stood in the shadows, speaking slowly in a specially trained, hoarse voice tinged with sorrow and nobility.

"Master of Ten Thousand Fragrances, you've suffered."

Wan Yunlong was stunned. That voice, that address...

“Who…who are you?”

Cao Yin took a deep breath, took out a piece of something wrapped in yellow cloth from his pocket, and slowly unfolded it as he walked step by step to Wan Yunlong.

It was a small, slightly yellowed jade pendant.

On the jade pendant, a complex character “慈” is carved in ancient seal script, and behind it is a small character “炯”.

It was the identity token worn by Zhu Cijiong, the third prince of the Ming Dynasty, in the palace!

"Do you recognize this?"

Wan Yunlong's eyes widened instantly!

Although he didn't recognize the jade pendant itself, he recognized its design! This was definitely... a royal item! And it bore the name of the Third Prince!

"Who...who are you?!" Wan Yunlong's voice began to tremble.

Cao Yin looked at him, his eyes revealing a deep sorrow beyond his years.

Instead of answering directly, he began his performance according to the script that Hong Xiguan had designed for him.

"My surname is Zhu, and my father is the one you have been searching for... Zhu the Third Prince."

boom!

Wan Yunlong felt as if his head had been hit hard with a dull hammer!

Zhu... the Third Prince Zhu?!

His son?!

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Wan Yunlong shook his head frantically. "What kind of treacherous scheme are you Tartars trying to use to deceive me now?!"

Cao Yin sighed and slowly said, "Master Wanxiang, why do you think I can come and go freely in this heavily guarded palace?"

"Why do you think that Tartar emperor would suddenly show you such favor, a 'traitor'?"

"Do you think all of this is just a coincidence?"

Cao Yin's words struck Wan Yunlong's heart like a hammer blow!

Yes...it's all too coincidental! It's too illogical!

Seeing that Cao Yin's expression relaxed, he immediately seized the opportunity and slowly recounted the "story" that the emperor had fabricated for him.

"My father did not die back then. Instead, he escaped from the capital with the desperate protection of a group of loyal ministers and righteous men. Over the years, we have been secretly accumulating strength, contacting heroes from all sides, and waiting for the right opportunity."

"I was ordered by my father to endure humiliation and infiltrate the Forbidden City, all for the purpose of... gathering intelligence on the Qing forces and preparing for my future 'great cause'!"

"As for that Tartar emperor... he's just an eight-year-old child, innocent and ignorant. I used a little trick to gain his trust. He kept you by his side under the guise of 'reforming' you, but in reality, it was I who secretly advised him to protect your life, Master Wanxiang, and to establish contact with you!"

His words were sincere, dramatic, and logically flawless!

Wan Yunlong was stunned. The ice-cold defense in his heart finally... showed a crack.

Looking at the sincere eyes and extraordinary temperament of the young man in front of him, and at the jade pendant in his hand that represented royal status, he was already seventy percent convinced.

"Your...Your Highness..." Wan Yunlong's voice trembled with tears, "Is it really you?!"

His eyes, which were like those of a hungry wolf, were now filled with tears. He struggled to kneel down, but was firmly locked to the wall by heavy iron chains, and could only twist his body in vain.

Holy crap! You believed that?!

Your Majesty... Your Majesty is truly a divine being! This script is so damn convincing!

Cao Yin was overjoyed, but on the surface he still maintained the compassionate demeanor of a "grandson of the emperor".

He quickly stepped forward, reached out and supported Wan Yunlong's shoulder, saying in a sorrowful voice, "Master Wan, you mustn't! You absolutely mustn't perform such a grand gesture!"

"Now, we are both caged birds, prisoners under the same gate. If you were to bow down to me, wouldn't that be putting both of us to death?!"

These words, spoken in a way that showed both intimacy and highlighted the perilous situation they were in, instantly bridged the psychological distance between them and Wan Yunlong.

Wan Yunlong was deeply moved upon hearing this.

Look! Look! This is a true descendant of the Son of Heaven! Even in peril, he doesn't forget to care for his subordinates! He is so much better than those high and mighty Tartar emperors!

He suppressed his excitement and asked in a voice that suggested he had just escaped a disaster, "Your Highness, then... then outside... how is the Prince... how is he? We members of the Heaven and Earth Society have been searching for him for so many years!"