In the Ming Dynasty, I became invincible simply by extracting memories!

Looking at Yang Jisheng's portrait on the wall, Zhu Xixiao said, "Back when Lord Yang suffered, all the righteous people in the court were indignant! But Yan's faction was still not satisfied and even wanted to kill the descendants of the Yang family. Fortunately, I and some other patriots worked together to preserve the Yang family bloodline."

Shen Lian cupped his hands and said, "Lord Zhu is a man of great righteousness. We must take good care of these descendants of loyal martyrs so as not to chill the hearts of the loyal and righteous people of the world."

Zhu Xixiao continued, "I heard that when Lord Shen died, he had a young son at home, but despite several searches, he was nowhere to be found and the matter was eventually dropped. If that young son were still alive today, he would probably be about your age."

Shen Lian's heart stirred. In truth, even Shen Lian himself didn't know the background of this body's original life. Judging from the memories inherited from the original life, it seemed that he had been an orphan without parents since childhood. This made Shen Lian feel completely unattached.

Zhu Xixiao looked at Shen Lian, and although he wanted to say something, he shook his head and said instead, "Mr. Shen, the contents of today's secret meeting must not be mentioned to anyone."

"I naturally know that."

The two walked outside while talking, with Chen's assistant following behind. After exiting the secret door, Zhu Xixiao accidentally triggered some mechanism, and the secret door slowly closed, appearing no different from the wall from the outside.

"Now that you have accepted this Silver Badge Manual, there is no longer any distinction of seniority or rank between us. If you have any needs or difficulties in the future, just ask. As long as it is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty, I, Zhu, will never refuse."

"Thank you, sir!" Shen Lian was overjoyed. He knew that Zhu Xixiao now completely regarded him as one of his own, which would make his actions much more convenient in the future.

"Furthermore," Zhu Xixiao said, placing his hands on Shen Lian's shoulders, "there are many spies in the capital. Your visit to my Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters today will be known throughout the city within a day. At that time, your identity will become even more sensitive and more dangerous."

"Since I dared to do these things, am I some coward who fears death? Besides, in this imperial court, who dares to say they are absolutely safe?"

"That being said, we must still be on guard. I already know that you were assassinated by an unknown assailant the other day, which is enough to show that some people have begun to see you as a thorn in their side. Things will only get more dangerous from today onwards."

Shen Lian remained silent. To be honest, if Zhou Kui hadn't risked his life to save him during the assassination attempt, he and Fang Jianxue would most likely have perished there.

"To be honest, I believe that the assassin who tried to kill me last time was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Zhu Xixiao glared at Shen Lian, clearly displeased by his words. "Do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

"Although I did not see the faces of those assassins, I clearly recognized that the weapons they used were embroidered spring knives." Embroidered spring knives—the standard weapon of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards.

"This..." Zhu Xixiao was speechless for a moment.

"I don't mean to blame you, sir. I just want to remind you that even within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there is no monolithic entity."

Zhu Xixiao frowned upon hearing this, his fingers unconsciously stroking the ivory waist badge at his waist. After a long while, he sighed heavily: "Mr. Shen is right. My Embroidered Uniform Guard has long been infiltrated by Yan Song's faction like a sieve. Now I command the Northern Garrison, which looks prestigious, but in reality, I am surrounded by Yan Song's spies everywhere. Even in my own personal guard, I don't know how many of Yan Song's men are hiding." As he said this, he slammed his hand hard on the table, making the incense burner on it jump. "Last time you were assassinated, I should have investigated immediately, but I was afraid of alerting the enemy and ruining things. It was you who suffered injustice."

Shen Lian quickly waved his hand: "Your Excellency is far-sighted, and I understand. I am not saying this to encourage you to make an immediate mobilization, but simply to keep you informed so that you can be more cautious in the future."

Zhu Xixiao snorted coldly, "I don't think they can do anything to me for the time being. But you, I can't let you take any more risks."

"What does Your Excellency mean?"

Zhu Xixiao turned to Chen's advisor and said, "Bring Yi Dong and Yi Xia here."

"Yes, sir," Chen replied, and quickly walked out the door.

While Shen Lian was still wondering, a short while later, Chen, the advisor, led two people in.

As the three approached, Shen Lian took a closer look and realized they were two women. One was dressed in a white robe with blue patterns, with a delicate face and charming figure; the other was dressed in a black robe with red patterns, with a long sword hanging at her waist. Although she was a woman, she had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a face as cold as ice.

"In winter and in summer," Zhu Xixiao said to the two women, "come and greet Young Master Shen."

"So you're the all-knowing Shen Lian!" The woman in white jumped forward, staring at Shen Lian. "You're quite ordinary-looking. I thought you had three eyes."

Shen Lian awkwardly touched his nose.

"Yi Dong, you must not be rude." Although it was a reprimand, Zhu Xixiao's tone did not contain much anger.

"Hehe, I know," the woman named Yi Dong stuck out her tongue and pretended to bow, "Young Master Shen, my name is Yi Dong. I am very grateful to you." Then she pointed to the person next to her, "Her name is Yi Xia. She doesn't like to talk." Yi Xia simply cupped her hands in greeting, which was enough for her to acknowledge the greeting.

"Lord Zhu, this..."

Zhu Xixiao coughed twice. "Shen Lian, from now on, Yi Dong and Yi Xia will be your personal bodyguards and assistants. They will follow you at all times to ensure your safety. You can also contact me through them."

"Lord Zhu, how can this be? I know that we are surrounded by powerful enemies, how can I dare to put more people in danger, besides..." Besides, there were two women, which was what Shen Lian did not say.

"Don't worry about this, Mr. Shen. Although Yi Dong and Yi Xia are my confidantes, no one in the court knows of their existence. They only need to pretend to be Mr. Shen's maids, and no one will suspect anything."

"This..." Since things had come to this point, what else could Shen Lian say? "Thank you, Commander."

"Hehe, Young Master Shen, please take good care of me." Yi Dong bowed.

"Alright, Mr. Shen, the longer you stay here, the more suspicious outsiders will become. I have prepared a carriage; please excuse me for not seeing you off further."

"I'll take my leave now."

Led by Chen, Shen Lian and Yi Dong and Yi Xia boarded the carriage back to their residence.

Inside the carriage, Yi Xia sat with her eyes closed, while Yi Dong looked left and right, touching this and that.

"Young Master Shen, I've never ridden in a carriage before, and I didn't expect it to be so comfortable."

"Yi Xia, look!" Yi Dong lifted a corner of the curtain and pointed outside.

Xia slapped Yi Dong's hand that was lifting the curtain, saying, "We mustn't expose this."

Yi Dong rubbed his hand that had been hit, made a face at Yi Xia, and then sat there without saying a word.

Shen Lian observed this and found it amusing, so he took the initiative to start a conversation:

"Miss Yidong, why are you and Miss Yixia working under Lord Zhu?"

"Hehe, you can just call us Yidong and Yixia," Yidong said, opening up again as someone started talking to him. "If you're asking about this, well, that's a long story: Back when the Commander wasn't yet the Commander, my family did something wrong, and my grandfather, father, and uncle were all beheaded. The rest of my family were either exiled to the frontier or fled. Only Yixia and I (Yixia is two years older than me, my cousin) were left, wandering the streets. We were only a few years old at the time. Later, when Lord Zhu reviewed the case files, he found that my family had been wronged, but by then it was too late to overturn the verdict. Later, Lord Zhu found the two of us on the street, brought us back to the Imperial Guard, and taught us to read and write and to practice martial arts. Yixia and I both knew that Lord Zhu was a good person, and there were many bad people outside, so we followed him."

"...Have you been living in the Embroidered Uniform Guard all these years?"

"Yes, except when we need to do missions, we always stay by Lord Zhu's side."

"A mission?" Shen Lian's heart skipped a beat. "What kind of mission?"

"Of course, these are the tasks that the Embroidered Uniform Guard cannot openly carry out. They are nothing more than murder, arson, destroying evidence, or tracking and stealing."

"Uh..." Shen Lian's eyelids twitched, and he decided in his heart to try to avoid provoking these two ladies in the future.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the gate of Shen Lian's courtyard.

"You go down first," Yi Dong said.

"what?"

"We need to change our clothes."

Shen Lian shrugged, got off the carriage, and had only walked to the courtyard gate when Fang Xuejian came to greet him.

"Shen Lian, are you alright?" Fang Xuejian rolled up Shen Lian's sleeve and then his trouser leg. "Are you hurt? Did they torture you?"

"I'm sorry, no, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Fang Xuejian patted Shen Lian on the back. "I was so scared! You were joking around! I woke up and found you were gone. I asked around, but nobody knew. I was so worried."

Shen Lian felt a warmth in his heart and said, "I'm back now, aren't I?"

"Hey, it's good to be back! I'm telling you, I finally figured out this glass last night—hey! Who are you two? What are you doing here?" Fang Jianxue suddenly shouted at the door.

Shen Lian turned his head and saw two people walk in; it was Yi Dong and Yi Xia.

"Hmm..." Yi Dong walked in and helped Yi Xia straighten her clothes. After looking her up and down, she said, "I should have found you a male servant's outfit."

"I'm talking to you two! Who are you from? You've got the wrong house! Get out, get out!"

At this moment, Yi Dong noticed Fang Jianxue, who was covered in soot from the experiment, and asked Shen Lian, "Young Master, who is this? Is he our cook?"

Shen Lian simply smiled and remained silent.

"You're the cook, no, you're just a cook, your whole family are—wait a minute, Shen Lian, what did this woman just call you?" Fang Xuejian's eyes widened as he looked at Shen Lian, then at Yi Dong.

"You just called him 'Young Master'?" Fang Xuejian pointed at Shen Lian and asked Yi Dong.

"Yes," Yi Dong nodded, "From now on, Yi Xia and I will be the young master's maids, responsible for his food and daily life."

Fang Xuejian was stunned, his whole body trembling.

"You, Shen Lian! Back in prison, we promised to share joys and sorrows together. Now that you're out and have found a powerful backer, all you care about is your own enjoyment! You're even buying yourself maids! We've been through so much together... This is feudalism, oppression, and exploitation! You're turning back the clock on history! You've let down Heaven, you've let down our ancestors, you've let down Confucius, you've let down our forefathers!"

Shen Lian was completely confused. What was all this about?

"Young Master, why are you keeping a madman locked up at home? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"You're the crazy one! Your whole family are crazy!"

"How dare he speak so rudely, Yi Xia? Let's teach him a lesson."

Xia nodded slightly and walked towards Fang Xuejian.

"What...what are you doing? I'm warning you, don't come any closer! A good man doesn't fight with a woman, and I don't want you to get hurt—I'm a very strong fighter!"

Seeing the situation escalating into chaos, Shen Lian finally couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "You lot, stop!"

Upon hearing Shen Lian's order, Yi Xia stepped aside, while Fang Xuejian immediately hid behind Shen Lian and whispered, "Old Shen, where did you buy these two? They don't seem like easy targets."

"Yi Dong and Yi Xia, this is Fang Xuejian, my friend. From now on, you must treat him as you would treat me, without any neglect. Do you understand?"

"Listen, did you hear that?" Fang Xuejian shouted from behind Shen Lian.

Yi Dong simply smiled and bowed with Yi Xia, saying, "Yes, young master."

"You two will live in this room on the west side. The room across the hall is mine, and the room on the east side is Fang Xuejian's. Understand?"

"clear."

"From now on, without my permission, you are not to enter our room or disturb us, understand?"

Yi Dong and Yi Xia exchanged a glance but remained silent.

"Do you understand?" Shen Lian emphasized.

"understood."

……

Late at night, Shen Lian was looking through the files he had obtained from Zhu Xixiao when there was a knock on the door. Shen Lian quickly turned the files over to cover them up.

"Who?"

"Old Shen, it's me." A deliberately lowered voice came from behind. It was Fang Xuejian's voice.

"Come in."

The wooden door was carefully opened a crack, and then a dark figure slipped in like a thief.

"What are you doing, sneaking around like that?" Shen Lian asked with a smile, looking at Fang Xuejian.

"Shh~" Fang Xuejian gestured for silence and pointed to the west room.

"Old Shen, tell me the truth, what's going on with those two?"

"What else could it be? They're just two ordinary maids."

"Bullshit."

"hey-hey."

"Are they... government spies?" Fang Xuejian glanced at the west room again.

"Looks like you're not completely stupid."

"So, they were sent by the imperial court to monitor us."

"You're right," Shen Lian nodded, then changed the subject, "but not entirely."

"Right and wrong? What does that mean?"

You'll understand when the time comes.

"Hmph, you're keeping me in suspense again."

"I'm not trying to keep you in suspense, it's just that it can't be explained in just a few words."

"Yes, yes, I'm stupid, I don't understand, okay?"

That's not what I meant...

"That's what you mean, I know, goodnight!"

After Fang Xuejian finished speaking, he gently opened the door and slipped out, leaving Shen Lian alone staring blankly at the candlelight.