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

Ao Bai looked at Banburshan.

"Banburshan, the capital is currently militarily weak. You hold command of the Green Standard Army in the capital region. Until Tong Bao returns, the defense of the capital is entrusted to you! Guard it well, or you will be held responsible!"

Bambursan was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed, "Rest assured, Your Excellency! This humble official will certainly guard this impregnable fortress!"

He was overjoyed: Excellent! With military power in hand, I now have leverage in the capital!

Ao Bai then looked at Mulima: "You are now the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard. Keep a close eye on the palace guards! Find an opportunity to replace all the scoundrels around the fake emperor, and that traitor Songgotu! Replace them with people from the Bordered Yellow Banner!"

"Yes, sir!"

After making his arrangements, Ao Bai took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Having military power alone is not enough; for the important matter of deposing an emperor, there must be irrefutable evidence.

"Banburshan, you immediately go and thoroughly investigate the palace archives. Dig three feet into the ground and find every trace of communication between Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Hong Chengchou! Letters, tokens—leave no stone unturned!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"As for the palace..." Ao Bai's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "I will go there myself. Back then, many people in the harem gossiped that the young emperor was not like the late emperor. Although many were killed, there must have been some who escaped."

He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked.

"I refuse to believe that torture won't pry open the mouths of these lackeys! A confession is irrefutable evidence!"

Once the evidence is conclusive and the army returns to the capital, Ao Bai will be able to lead his troops into the Hall of Supreme Harmony during the court assembly. He will throw the evidence in front of the entire court and expose the fake emperor's true colors!

He will purge the court of corrupt officials, eliminate the traitors, depose the false emperor, and establish the legitimate ruler! Ao Bai will become a hero who saves the Qing Dynasty!

"Listen up, everyone!"

Ao Bai surveyed the crowd, his voice low and menacing: "This concerns the fate of the Qing Dynasty, the life and death of the Manchus! Anyone who dares to shirk responsibility and leak information will have their entire family wiped out! Move out!"

......

Qianqing Palace, East Warm Pavilion.

Hong Xiguan was reviewing memorials, appearing calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.

The atmosphere in Beijing these past few days has been incredibly strange, like the oppressive low pressure before a storm.

"emperor!"

Soetu rushed in, his face grim. Forgetting the proper salute, he lowered his voice and said, "Something's happened! The Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, Mulima, just received an order and mobilized the Bordered Yellow Banner guards, replacing all the Plain White Banner guards who were originally on duty at the Meridian Gate and the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"

Hong Xiguan paused slightly with his vermilion brush, and a drop of red ink spread across the memorial, resembling a flower of blood.

The Meridian Gate is the main gate of the Forbidden City, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the core of the outer court. The fact that these two vital locations were replaced by Ao Bai's men speaks volumes.

Hong Xiguan squinted: "Is this Mulima's way of making a splash as a new official, or... is it Ao Bai's doing?"

Before Suo'etu could answer, the Imperial Tutor Xiong Cili arrived, panting. This usually impeccably mannered scholar's hat was askew at this moment.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! This old minister has just received news that Grand Secretary Ao, in his capacity as regent, has suddenly ordered the recall of Nemo and Ananda, the commanders of the Bordered Yellow Banner, who were on their way to quell the rebellion in the northern deserts! The army has already turned back to the capital!"

"What?!"

Hong Xiguan suddenly stood up, and the cinnabar pen in his hand fell to the table with a "thud".

His carefully designed "luring the tiger away from the mountain" strategy was so easily broken?

"How is this possible?"

Hong Xiguan frowned, pacing back and forth in the warm pavilion, his mind racing.

If the plan were leaked, Ao Bai should first discover that the Northwest military intelligence was false before ordering the recall of the troops.

But the current situation is that Ao Bai didn't care about the authenticity of the military intelligence at all, and directly issued a death order for the army to return to the capital!

This indicates that something more urgent and critical had occurred in the capital than the military situation in the Northwest, forcing Ao Bai to abandon the suppression of the rebellion and concentrate all his forces on dealing with it!

What exactly happened?

Just then, Cao Yin, who was in charge of intelligence work, rushed in like a gust of wind, his face showing an unusual panic.

"Master! Something terrible has happened!"

"Could it be that Ao Bai is about to rebel?" Hong Xiguan asked coldly.

Cao Yin was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said, "My men reported that this morning, Ao Bai secretly met with Banburshan at his residence. The two stayed in the study for a full hour, during which time the sound of things being smashed could be heard."

"Afterwards, Murima took the warrant to the Infantry Commander's office to mobilize troops, and Bamburshan, that bookworm, actually went to the Green Standard Army's main camp in the capital region for the first time ever!"

"Also, our brothers keeping watch at the city gate reported that Ao Bai's residence has dispatched several fast horses, galloping towards Shengjing outside the pass!"

This series of intelligence reports, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, quickly pieced together a chilling truth in Hong Xiguan's mind.

Recalling troops, taking control of the capital's defenses, seizing power over the Green Standard Army, sending people to the border regions... all of this points to one goal: a mutiny!

"Ao Bai is about to...make his move!"

Hong Xiguan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Why did he suddenly make his move? The timing was wrong!

Is it...

A terrible thought flashed through his mind: Could it be that his conversation with Hong Chengchou about his origins during his visit to Hong Chengchou's residence was overheard by Ao Bai's men?

Has my true identity been revealed?

The thought of this possibility instantly soaked Hong Xiguan's back in cold sweat.

If that's the case, then everything makes sense!

Ao Bai is trying to purge the court of corrupt officials and depose this "fake emperor"!

"Song'etu, act according to the plan immediately! It must be completed!"

Hong Xiguan's voice carried an unprecedented urgency.

"Your servant obeys!"

Soetu accepted the order and left.

After dismissing Xiong Cilu and the others, Hong Xiguan was about to go to Cining Palace to ask the old lady for advice when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Report!"

A royal guard rushed in and knelt down: "Your Majesty! Minister Ao... Minister Ao has brought men into the palace!"

"How many men did he take with him? Where did he go?" Hong Xiguan asked anxiously.

"Your Majesty, Ao Zhongtang didn't bring any troops, only a few personal attendants. He... he went directly to the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court and ordered all the eunuchs and palace maids of Jingren Palace to be taken away!"

Jingren Palace! That was where his nominal birth mother, Empress Xiaokangzhang of the Tongjia clan, lived before her death!

At this moment, the last glimmer of hope in Hong Xiguan's heart was completely shattered.

Ao Bai really knew! He arrested the people in Jingren Palace to extract a confession through torture and to solidify the irrefutable evidence that he was not of the Aisin Gioro bloodline!

The true intentions have been revealed!

……

Meanwhile, a biting wind was blowing across the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Ao Bai, dressed in military attire, stood with his hand on his sword, his gaze coldly fixed on the majestic palace before him, a symbol of the highest power in the Qing Dynasty.

"Brother."

Minister of the Imperial Guard, Murima, jogged over, his face showing undisguised excitement and a hint of nervousness.

"How is the situation in the palace?" Ao Bai asked coldly.

Murima patted his chest and assured him, "Brother, rest assured! I am now the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, in charge of all the guards in this palace! I have already ordered that key positions in the former court, such as the Meridian Gate and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, be filled by our reliable brothers from the Bordered Yellow Banner!"

The Forbidden City is divided by the Qianqing Gate, with the outer court to the south and the inner palace to the north.

The imperial court was where the emperor held grand ceremonies and handled state affairs; it was also the core of political power. Controlling the imperial court was equivalent to controlling half of the imperial power.

Ao Bai nodded in satisfaction, a cruel sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Excellent! As long as we obtain irrefutable proof that the fake emperor is Han Chinese, we'll take action immediately at the court assembly!"

His voice carried a chilling murderous intent.

"When the time comes, I will expose that little bastard's true colors in front of the entire court! I will declare to the world that we, the Manchu nobles, will never tolerate the son of a Han traitor usurping the throne of the Qing Dynasty!"

"I will personally skin him alive, tear out his tendons, and use his head to offer as a sacrifice to the spirits of our ancestors!"

"And that old hag from Cining Palace! I'll show her what happens when you betray the Manchus and collude with the Han to seize the throne!"

Murima listened, his blood boiling with excitement, his eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light: "Don't worry, brother! I'll keep a close eye on that fake emperor and make sure he doesn't escape!"

Just then, a high-pitched voice came from afar.

"By imperial decree, the regent Ao Bai is summoned to the Imperial Garden for an audience!"

Zhao Chang, the chief eunuch of the imperial court, walked over tremblingly with several junior eunuchs.

Ao Bai and Mulima exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

At this critical juncture, why does that fake emperor still want to see me?

"Hmph! Just a death throes!"

Ao Bai snorted coldly, straightened his armor, and strode towards the Qianqing Palace.

"Let's go! I want to see what tricks this Han bastard can pull before he dies!"

......