The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

Although the crowd couldn't shout it out, it didn't dampen their spirits at all.

They all stared at Xu Miaoyun with excited expressions, their eyes shining, as if they wanted to show their excitement on their faces.

At this moment, let alone the fact that the other side only has twice as many people as them.

Even if two thousand people came from the opposite side, they would still dare to draw their swords and charge forward!

Xu Miaoyun watched as the morale of the crowd below soared, and she nodded to herself: her father was right after all; with a generous reward, there will surely be brave men.

With morale high and everyone united, it's time to get serious.

She stopped wasting words and began arranging for people to set up an ambush.

Every major thoroughfare, courtyard gate, and wall base was properly arranged.

They're just waiting for someone from outside to step into this courtyard—like catching a turtle in a jar.

Meanwhile, in the dark alley.

Zhao An and Hu Wan stood guard by the wall, staring at the direction of the courtyard gate, having waited for quite some time.

None of the people who went in came out.

There wasn't a sound in the yard.

The two exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of unease.

"Something's not right." Zhao An frowned, a hint of unease in his eyes. "They've been inside for so long, how come there's been no sound from inside?"

The courtyard was unusually quiet at night.

Logically, a dozen or so people should have climbed over the wall to find a mirror.

Even if you're very quiet, there should still be some noise.

They might knock over a bottle or jar, kick over a table or chair, or simply give a low greeting.

But this courtyard is like a dry well; once you go inside, all sound disappears.

Hu Wan also realized something was wrong and nodded, saying, "A dozen or so people, let alone just finding a mirror, could easily empty the whole thing in this short time."

The two exchanged a glance, and a bad thought simultaneously popped into their minds.

Could it be that the group that went in just now perished inside?

Zhao An's face immediately darkened.

Those dozen or so men were assassins trained by him and Hu Wan, each contributing half of their resources.

Even a single folded piece is pure silver, let alone taking the whole pot.

Hu Wan was thinking about something else entirely:

It doesn't matter if a person is injured, but if the precious mirror is lost, then this trip tonight will have been in vain.

That's something that can reflect mountains of gold and silver.

Once you miss it, there will never be another chance in the world.

The more I think about it, the more I believe this guess is true.

They've been inside for so long, and not a single messenger has come back. What else could it be but that something has happened?

Zhao An stomped his foot in anger, pointed towards the courtyard gate, gritted his teeth, and growled, "That brat Zhu Ming actually dared to ambush us in the dark! What a despicable scoundrel!"

"How can someone so young have so many tricks up their sleeve?" Hu Wan was furious, cursing, "Is this brat some kind of genius?!"

Despite his anger, a question arose in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine:

Only he and Zhao An knew about their plan to steal the treasure mirror tonight.

From the moment this matter was decided until now, he hasn't uttered a single word about it. How did Zhu Ming anticipate this in advance?

Hu Wan's heart skipped a beat, and an idea popped into his head uncontrollably.

Could there be a traitor among them?

He turned his head subtly, his gaze landing on Zhao An, who was cursing and swearing.

Zhao An was still stomping his feet, pointing in the direction of the courtyard gate, cursing "little brat" and "despicable villain" over and over, spitting as he did so, his face turning red, looking more angry than anyone else.

Hu Wan stared at him for a long time.

Yes, it wasn't him.

He doesn't have that kind of brain.

Hu Wan withdrew his gaze, but the lingering doubt in his heart could not be completely dispelled.

Who leaked the information?

"Brother Hu? Brother Hu!"

Zhao An called out several times before Hu Wancai suddenly came to his senses.

"Oh, what's wrong?"

Zhao An leaned closer, looking him over suspiciously: "Brother Hu, what were you thinking about that was so lost in thought? I called you several times, but you didn't respond."

"It's nothing." Hu Wan shook his head.

He didn't voice a word of the doubt that was on his mind.

If you haven't even figured this out yourself, talking about it will only cause more trouble.

He changed the subject, asking in return, "But what do you want from me?"

"That's why I was thinking of asking you what to do next."

Zhao An rubbed his hands together: "Look, if that kid Zhu Ming really brought a bunch of people to ambush us inside, then if we sneak in now, wouldn't we be walking right into their trap?"

"We'll be trapped in an ambush, unable to get out."

"That's not necessarily true." Hu Wan shook his head. "Think about it, if the other side really had that many people, they would have already opened the door and rushed out to arrest us on the spot."

"Why would you need to hide in the yard and remain silent?"

Zhao An opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

Hu Wan added, "Besides, you don't think those dozen or so people who went in just now were all tough as nails, do you?"

"If you use torture to extract a confession, what won't they reveal?"

"By now, I'm afraid they've already told us our names and where we live in the most detail."

"But if they really confessed, why haven't they made a sound at all?" Hu Wan stared at him. "If they were truly confident, they would have already rushed out based on the confession. Why are they being so quiet?"

Having said that,

Zhao An's eyes suddenly lit up, and he slapped his thigh to take over:

"Exactly! They just don't have the confidence!"

"If Zhu Ming had more men than us, would we need to hide in the courtyard and launch a sneak attack?"

"They would have already charged out and wreaked havoc! The more they hide, the less there are actually any inside!"

Hu Wan nodded, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes:

"Now, this is our last chance."

He lowered his voice and said, word by word, "If we can't get our hands on that precious mirror tonight..."

"Once it's light, given Zhu Ming's prestige among the people, he can easily rally the entire county with a single call."

"At that point, we'll both be doomed."

Upon hearing this, Zhao An's heart skipped a beat.

He was certainly aware of Zhu Ming's reputation in Qingshui County.

In the two days since the Sixth Prince arrived, he first killed Qian Youde, then wiped out the entire Li family, and then invited all the people of the city to a meal.

Nowadays, ordinary people wish they could worship him like a god.

If such people were to raise their voices, not only the government officials, but even the entire city's populace could drown them with a single spit.

He originally thought tonight was just a business deal: steal a mirror, and if it worked, he'd make a fortune; if not, he'd run away.

How did things get to the point of life and death so quickly?

Now that things have come to this, there's no time to think about anything else.

Zhao An quickly made up his mind and turned to Hu Wan, saying, "Brother Hu, whatever you say from now on, I'll do it all."

Hu Wan nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Alright, let me tell you my plans."

"Each of our two families should send one person to rush back immediately and gather all the people we've raised over the years. Have them come to our aid within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"As for this group of men..." He glanced at his men in the alley, "In a moment, all of you bring your weapons, cover your faces, and come with me to charge in."

"If we kill everyone inside, who will know it was our two families who did it?"

Zhao An nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Hu Wan added, "Even if the news leaks out later, we'll have already taken the precious mirror abroad by then."

"Let's move to another place and continue our carefree life, still living as our retired emperors."

"Who knows, maybe one day we can lead troops back to conquer the Ming Dynasty and trample that damned Zhu Yuanzhang under our feet!"