After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

There were about twenty Taoist priests, including those from Baiyun Temple and those from Dagao Xuan Hall, who were supported by the imperial family.

She nodded and expressed her sincere gratitude to Hongli:

"Thank you for your help, Your Majesty."

Hongli shook his head: "It is only natural, there is no need for thanks."

He calmly replied:

"The hour of Mao (5-7 AM) is approaching, so you should rest a bit more. I will send someone to arrange for a sedan chair to follow you. If you are too weak to hold on, please do not force yourself. Listen to your brother's arrangements and get into the sedan chair to accompany us... This is not only for you, but also for some elderly princes and ministers."

"Ama asked them to walk to see off Consort Dunsu, but some of them were quite old."

"After walking dozens of miles, their bodies will surely be exhausted. If, when the time comes, Your Majesty, you allow them to ride in a sedan chair, please don't think that they are being disrespectful to your Imperial Noble Consort."

The seventeenth princess, who seemed to have grown up overnight, shook her head and said:

"My sister won't."

Hongli then smiled and nodded.

At this time.

Footsteps sounded outside, and a servant came to report:

"Fourth Prince, Lord Ortai requests an audience..."

……

……

"Disguised as a Taoist priest performing a ritual for Consort Nian?"

Ning Nan covered his face with a beard, casting aside some of his sorrow and grief, and frowned.

Xu Xiyin nodded:

"That's right. Among the Taoist priests from Baiyun Temple who performed the ritual for Consort Nian this time, there are some of our people. My identity in the capital is also that of a Taoist priest practicing at home, and I have a certificate of ordination issued by Baiyun Temple."

She reached into her bosom, took out another ordination certificate, and handed it over.

"Master, this is your ordination certificate. You, me, and Lord Lu are all Taoist priests. A carriage from Baiyun Temple will come to pick us up shortly. We'll get in and leave."

Ning Nan squinted, reached out and took it, examined it for a while in the moonlight, made a note of it, and then put it into his pocket.

He said in a deep voice:

"How can we guarantee that the Taoist priests at Baiyun Temple are reliable?"

Xu Xiyin looked surprised for a moment, opened her mouth but didn't say anything, hesitating to speak.

At this time.

Lu Chong, who was sleeping on the floor draped in a sheepskin blanket, coughed and said:

"I arrested his son the day before yesterday and put him outside the city. Qian Sijin is holding him."

Xu Xiyin nodded silently. The so-called "our people" were not lying. Among the Taoists sent by Baiyun Temple this time, there were indeed people from the Tianli Sect, but not the old Taoist leader.

She originally intended to hide inside a funerary object and leave the city with the funeral procession.

However, after Su Su investigated, she found that the funerary objects prepared by the emperor for Consort Nian were under extremely tight guard, especially after the old cult leader's outburst. The defenses of the entire Changchun Garden would be even tighter tonight.

Fortunately, the people at Baiyun Temple said that the old Taoist priest had a son outside, so they seized the opportunity.

For monks and Taoist priests to marry and have children is a major taboo. Not only will they face lawsuits and imprisonment, but they will also be forced to return to secular life and have their property confiscated.

Once the old Taoist's son is arrested, not only will he lose his son, but he will also be implicated, and the entire Baiyun Temple will be held responsible. Naturally, he would readily agree to certain things.

Simply arresting his son isn't enough, unless you can guarantee that he only has this one son and that he will never have any other sons in his life... Ning Nan tapped the stone table with his fingers, thought silently for a moment, but didn't say anything. He only asked Xu Xiyin another question first.

"Master Xu, a few days ago...didn't you send a letter to the Imperial Guard, saying you wanted them to take me to Miaofeng Mountain to exchange for Prince Jing, the official seal of the delegation, and all the members of the delegation? Why didn't they exchange me then?"

Ning Nan sat back down on the stone bench and pressed down on the fake beard that was stuck to his mouth.

This is a question that has been puzzling him for the past few days.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't even be on Yongzheng's priority list.

The Southern Dynasties should have been the most important thing for this supreme ruler of Beijing.

Although he destroyed the North-South alliance, if the North-South relationship can be repaired.

Even if Yongzheng hated himself, he would have used him to exchange for Prince Jing and the official seal of the mission, rather than imprisoning himself in that courtyard.

Even if they really didn't want to let him go, they would send him to Miaofeng Mountain to lure the other party out before capturing them all in one fell swoop.

Can……

Five days have passed.

The Northern Dynasty, however, remained inactive and did not inquire about him, seemingly waiting for the opportunity to slip away.

This is very strange.

Upon hearing this question, Xu Xiyin's face darkened, but when she thought that although the other party was still unwilling to accept the position of leader, he had accepted the token and said, "I will temporarily act on behalf of your sect's leader Han and invite your sect to join the Northern Expedition to reclaim the Han people's land..." At least until the Northern Expedition is successful and the Han people's land is reclaimed, the other party will always be their acting leader.

Having decided to no longer conceal the truth and to be open and honest, he sighed:

"It's because of... the Left Protector..."

Ning Nan could naturally tell that the Left Protector the other party was referring to was definitely not herself, but rather the former Left Protector... Han Chang... or rather... Hong Chang? Prince Duan?

The Left Protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect is now Xu Xiyin... This means... Han Chang has been dismissed by Old Monster Han?

He thought to himself with a hint of cynicism.

What does Han Chang want to do?

What does that "older sister" want to do?

He had actually been thinking about these things for half a month, but even now, he still couldn't quite figure them out.

The worst-case scenario is that Prince Duan was a filial son who wanted to help his father eliminate the Heavenly Principle Sect, seize the Southern Dynasty, and ultimately... ascend the throne...

That night…

Xu Xiyin's expression became extremely complicated. She sighed and first recounted to Ning Nan what had happened that night and afterwards:

"As instructed by the leader, I went to Prince Yi's residence. Prince Hongfeng is a shrewd man. After being threatened by his subordinate, he used the pretext of 'taking credit' to summon many princes from Wangfu Street to take advantage of the chaos."

"As soon as Hong Feng arrived, those of us who remained at the Siamese embassy began firing rockets into several rooms filled with flour, causing explosions and fires..."

"Prince Jing and the officials of the delegation had already shaved their heads... They didn't want to shave them... But Prince Jing suddenly appeared in front of them and started shaving their heads first, so they had no choice but to shave their heads and beards... They changed into laborers' clothes and pretended to flee the embassy in a panic..."

"My subordinates ordered them to come to Hongfeng's command and use Hongfeng's fire-fighting equipment to put out the fire... then they joined the ranks of Prince Yi's mansion... Hongfeng ordered one of his trusted men to keep going back to fetch fire-fighting equipment, while secretly evacuating Prince Jing and his men... hiding them in a tunnel in a side courtyard of Prince Yi's mansion..."

"And then?" Lu Chong opened his eyes and asked in a hoarse voice.

The old spy's previous mission was to rescue the prince consort.

Although the Grand Prince Consort has not yet left the city, the inner city is so large that all sorts of people from different walks of life mingle here.

The Tartars will undoubtedly conduct a rigorous search at each of the nine city gates for anyone who recognizes the Grand Prince Consort's face. Leaving the city will be quite difficult.

However, as long as the Grand Prince Consort doesn't mind crawling through ditches and sleeping in tunnels, it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to stay in the inner city for a month or two until the city's defenses are relaxed, and then slowly figure out a way to leave the city.

With the matter of the Grand Prince Consort half resolved, the next step is the Southern Kingdom delegation. Only this Daoist nun knows the whereabouts of the Southern Kingdom delegation... which is also an important reason why he is willing to act in concert with the Heavenly Principle Sect.

The delegation is at Prince Yi's residence? The old spy's resolute eyes slowly narrowed on his pale face.

Xu Xiyin said in a low voice:

"After the Southern Kingdom delegation was settled, I left Prince Yi the next day and went to Tongzhou."

Ning Nan lowered her eyelids slightly. This was part of the plan.

If all goes well, he and Zhen Susu should have already arrived in Tongzhou. Zhen Susu contacted the Taoist nun through the Tianli Sect's secret code and met with them.

Then he personally led a group of people dressed as envoys to pretend that the envoys had escaped, diverting the Northern Dynasty's attention, and then rescued Prince Jing and the others... Unfortunately... he made a wrong move... and failed.

Thump, thump, Ning Nan tapped his fingers on the stone table and said, "You didn't run into us in Tongzhou, so you went back to the capital?"