Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

Time passed slowly as we waited.

Just as everyone was eagerly anticipating the moment, the sound of hurried footsteps finally came from the stone steps under the corridor.

The guard rushed in, creating a draft, and knelt on one knee, clasping his hands in greeting:

"My lord, Eunuch Han has suffered a relapse of his phlegm-induced syncope. The physician is administering acupuncture, and he is unable to move."

Huang Degong's brows furrowed into a tight knot.

The veins on his forehead throbbed slightly, his face flushed with anger, and his anger was about to burst forth.

He slammed his fist heavily on the door frame, making a dull thud.

Zhu Cilang's newly ignited hope instantly cooled down.

Could it be... that fate is truly determined to destroy me?

He resolutely took half a step forward and said loudly:

"Commander Huang! This student carries nine secrets, concerning the very survival of the Jianghuai region!"

"If Eunuch Han continues to avoid us, even if Emperor Taizu were to appear in spirit, he could not save half of Jiangnan!"

"What an arrogant young man!"

Huang Degong slowly turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"I'll give you half an incense stick's time. If you slip up in this courtroom, don't blame me for burning you to death."

He suddenly roared at his guards, his voice like thunder:

"Does the supervising officer not even care about my dignity?"

"I request that Supervisor Han arrive again! If he does not arrive within half an incense stick's time, I, the commander, will personally 'visit' him."

The guard trembled with fright, quickly replied "Yes," and hurriedly got up and left, his steps so frantic that he almost stumbled.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Zhu Cilang could clearly feel that the linen collar was soaked with cold sweat and clung to his skin.

The iron horse-shaped eaves stand out in the draft.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

Each sound was like a guillotine slowly descending from a person's neck.

The sound of Huang Degong's thumb rubbing the hilt of his sword was more stirring than the sound of war drums.

Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap boomed in the southeastern sky.

The bird-startling bells on the eaves trembled wildly, and the twelve bronze tongues pointed in unison towards the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Almost at the same time, the sound of light footsteps came from outside the hall.

A high-pitched voice pierced through the door and entered the hall:

"Who is so audacious as to impersonate a relative of mine? It's utterly outrageous!"

Before he finished speaking, a eunuch with a delicate face and luxurious clothes entered the hall. It was none other than the supervising eunuch Han Zanzhou.

His face held a hint of anger, his arm resting on his whisk, just as he was about to speak—

Zhu Cilang, however, had already stepped forward and preemptively rebuked him sharply:

"Bold Han Zanzhou, I have summoned you many times, why have you been so late? Do you know your crime?"

The rebuke was clear and sharp, and Han Zanzhou trembled as if struck by it, nearly dropping his whisk.

The moment his gaze fell upon Zhu Cilang,

"Boom!"

A blinding white bolt of lightning suddenly cleaved the sky, instantly illuminating the entire hall.

It perfectly illuminated Zhu Cilang's face.

Han Zanzhou suddenly froze in his tracks!

His old eyes were fixed on Zhu Cilang's face, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The whisk fell to the ground with a "thud".

He staggered back half a step, his lips trembling violently:

"Your Majesty... Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

His throat bobbed, and he let out an incoherent sob.

"You...how did you get here? You're still alive?"

Before the last word was even finished, he suddenly fell to his knees.

"Our ancestors have manifested their divine power!"

He suddenly touched his forehead to the ground, performing the five bows and three kowtows ceremony, his forehead striking the blue bricks with a dull "thump, thump" sound.

When he looked up again, tears were streaming down his face, flowing freely down his wrinkles.

He looked up at the boy's figure illuminated by the electric light, his cries hoarse and piercing:

"God bless my Great Ming! God bless my Great Ming!"

"This servant...this servant deserves to die!"

"I failed to protect Your Highness... I have failed the late Emperor's trust... I have failed the late Emperor's trust!"

The cries pierced the hall, shaking everyone's eardrums.

—Han Zanzhou was the key figure Zhu Cilang was searching for to prove his identity.

This eunuch, who had served the Crown Prince for many years, knew the prince's appearance and voice very well.

In August of last year, in order to consolidate the foundation in Jiangnan, Emperor Chongzhen promoted him to the position of eunuch in charge of the Nanjing garrison.

After the Jia Shen coup, when the capital was leaderless, Shi Kefa temporarily appointed him as the military supervisor of Luzhou to guard the north of the Yangtze River.

Zhu Cilang was unable to find the old eunuch during his exile until he encountered Han Yuanming in Huai'an Prefecture, after which he turned back to Luzhou.

He intended to use the post station to send a secret letter to Han Zanzhou, but unexpectedly, he became a prisoner before the letter even arrived.

Zhu Cilang's eye twitched slightly:

"Bold Han Zanzhou!"

"I'm standing right here, alive and well. Are you hoping I'll die?"

These words shocked everyone in the room!

Huang Degong was struck as if by a thunderbolt from the heavens, instantly leaping up from his seat.

His burly body stood frozen in place, his tiger-like eyes wide open, his face filled with disbelief.

Just moments ago, Prefect Zhang Bingchang was all high and mighty, ordering the execution; now, he was ashen-faced, looking like a clay statue.

He collapsed to his knees with a thud, completely unaware that his official hat had rolled off his head.

All that remained was uncontrollable trembling of the body and cold sweat constantly seeping from the forehead.

Zhang Yuan's legs went weak, and his obese body slumped down like mud.

Tuan's face trembled uncontrollably, and his eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Zhu Cilang.

Song An was so shocked that his mouth dropped open, his eyes almost popped out, and his mind went blank.

The refugee boy who had shared life and death with him was actually the crown prince of the current dynasty.

The entire hall of yamen runners seemed frozen in place.

The young constable in the front row slammed his fire-and-water stick into the instep with a thud, but felt no pain whatsoever.

Han Zanzhou hurriedly covered his mouth:

"No, no, no! This servant deserves to die! This servant was just confused from joy!"

He swung his sleeve and lightly swept it across his cheeks twice.

"This servant girl deserves to be beaten! She deserves to be beaten!"

He suddenly crawled on his knees for half a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

"Your Highness! Upon hearing the tragic news from Coal Hill, this servant actually thought...thought..."

The final syllable was abruptly cut off.

"Thanks to Heaven's mercy! To see this today is truly a blessing from the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty!"

His back heaved violently as he held back his sobs, not daring to utter a sound.

Zhu Cilang's gaze swept over them, and he finally spoke again:

"Han Banban, get up!"

Han Zanzhou suddenly looked up and noticed that the Crown Prince was still bound. He immediately shouted in a shrill voice:

"Rebellion! Outrageous!"

"You audacious Zhang Bingchang, you fool! Why aren't you untying His Highness the Crown Prince?"

As if whipped, Zhang Bingchang scrambled and knelt before Zhu Cilang, his fingers trembling as he tried to untie the knot.

The two broken ropes fell with a "thud" onto the blue bricks.

The yamen runners below seemed to wake from a dream, and two bailiffs moved cautiously toward Song An.

"This humble general, Huang Degong, pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Huang Degong strode forward and suddenly knelt on one knee.

"This humble general was blind and ignorant, offending Your Majesty and deserving of death! I beg Your Highness to punish me for my past offenses!"

Beside him, Zhang Bingchang was already incoherent:

"This guilty...this guilty subject Zhang Bingchang kowtows...kowtows to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Before he could finish speaking, he knelt down with a thud, not daring to raise his head.

"Your Majesty, I...I am utterly foolish! I have offended Your Majesty, and my crime...I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"