Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Even if the cult leader doesn't force me to do it myself, this task will still be fraught with difficulties."

Chen Furong pondered for a moment,

"Although the palace maids of Yikun Palace are all my subordinates, I have often taken care of them over the years and have some prestige among them."

But I cannot stop them from assassinating the emperor.

Not a single palace maid would risk her own life and that of her entire family for me, not one.

"Your master has naturally taken your difficulties into consideration."

Wang Ziyan said in a low voice,

"He wants you to finalize the list of palace maids who will participate in the operation as soon as possible, and you must also find out about the situation of their parents and family members outside the palace."

Before the operation, my people will move all their families away, so the court can't find them and therefore can't implicate them.

At the same time, these people can be used as hostages to prevent palace maids participating in the operation from turning against the authorities.

Furthermore, your master also wants you to devise a way to drive these palace maids to desperation, making them believe that they will die at the emperor's hands sooner or later.

"Your master is truly insidious!"

Chen Furong gently touched her chest with her hand.

"Although I'm not exactly a good person either, hearing about such a sinister plan still gave me the creeps."

He wouldn't be thinking of killing me too, would he?

"How...how could this be?"

Wang Ziyan looked incredulous.

"He knows exactly what kind of relationship you have with me. If he dares to harm you, he'll be forcing me to turn against him."

Having been by his side for so many years, I know too many of his secrets.

He can't afford the consequences of turning against me!

"I hope so."

Chen Furong sighed softly.

"The leader has given the order, so we must carry it out."

The emperor often summoned Consort Cao to the Renshou Palace in the Western Garden for dual cultivation, and each time I would bring more than a dozen palace maids from the Yikun Palace with me.

Before your master persuaded the emperor to go into seclusion for cultivation, the emperor often spent the night at Yikun Palace.

The palace maids of Yikun Palace could easily appear under the emperor's nose.

If your master chooses to present the emperor with a method that can help him cultivate when Consort Cao stays overnight at Renshou Palace, this method will be extremely arduous and must be done by palace maids. The palace maids of Yikun Palace will definitely be the first to bear the brunt.

Moreover, this matter is prone to problems, as it could cause the emperor to take his anger out on the palace maid.

The emperor's temper grew increasingly violent, and he would often have palace servants beaten to death for minor mistakes.

If a few palace maids are beaten to death by the emperor for failing to complete their tasks, the other palace maids will inevitably live in fear.

The palace maids of Yikun Palace alone are not enough!

The crime of assassinating the emperor was too great. Without a sufficiently influential "mastermind," it would be difficult to organize the palace maids.

As the head maid of Yikun Palace, I can certainly do it, but once I do, I can forget about getting away with it.

Even after the emperor was assassinated, I went to the Imperial Stables with Empress Fang's token, claiming that I was acting on the Empress's orders and asked the Imperial Stables to send someone to rescue the emperor, but it was no use.

Those palace maids couldn't withstand the torture and would definitely confess that I was the mastermind.

"At that time, I'll be subjected to a thousand cuts, and no one can save me."

"You've thought things through."

Wang Ziyan pulled Chen Furong into his arms.

"Although you and I are both orphans picked up by the cult leader, the cult leader has a debt of gratitude to us for raising us."

But while we do our best to serve the church, we must also think about ourselves.

Do you have a suitable candidate for this "mastermind"?

"Ordinary palace maids are probably not enough!"

Chen Furong pondered for a moment,

"The emperor consumed the 'red lead' elixir presented by your master and often summoned multiple women at the same time."

During your trip to Taiyuan, Consort Wang was summoned to the West Garden to serve the Emperor alongside Consort Cao.

Out of jealousy for Consort Cao, Consort Wang Ning whispered insults against Cao, calling her a "vixen," which was overheard by the emperor.

The emperor was furious and punished her with a cane, and also punished her by making her do chores with the palace maids in the West Garden.

This humiliation of falling from a concubine to a palace maid must have caused Wang Ningpin to harbor deep resentment.

She was, after all, a concubine, not an ordinary palace maid; she was the best candidate to be the "mastermind."

"Alright, I will report back to my master and ask him to make sure that Consort Wang is present when he offers his advice to the emperor."

Wang Ziyan nodded and said,

"With a disgraced and punished concubine acting as the 'mastermind,' you'll definitely be exonerated from the regicide case."

. . .

Taiyuan, Li Residence.

"The doctor has already checked your pulse and confirmed it's a pregnancy pulse."

A man in his twenties hurried into the study to deliver the good news to Li Dali.

"Father, you'll soon be holding your grandson."

"Initially, I didn't want that courtesan to enter the Li family."

It was your grandfather who spoke up, saying that your most important task was to produce offspring for the Li family, which finally granted your wish.

Now that she is pregnant with your child, she has finally done a service to the Li family.

Upon hearing his son Li Tong's good news, Li Dali smiled.

"Your grandfather originally had several children, but unfortunately, I am the only one left now."

As your father, I only have two children, you and your sister. My Li family has had only one son for three generations, so our population is really small.

You have practiced the unique techniques of my school's successive masters for many years, but you have never been able to find the feeling of Qi. It seems that you do not have the talent to practice internal martial arts.

Your grandfather and I have always worried about how you will be able to subdue the elders of the sect and inherit the Li family's legacy.

If the next generation of my Li family can grow up before your grandfather and I grow old and produce someone who can master this technique, then the position of leader of the Maitreya Sect can continue to be passed down in my Li family.

Otherwise, I'm afraid the only option left is to find a top-tier martial arts master to be your sister's husband and pass on the position of sect leader to him.

Now, the child in Chu's belly is the only heir of the fourth generation of my Li family. You must take good care of him.

She used to enjoy going to Jingyin Temple outside the city to burn incense and worship Buddha. Now the Mongol army has invaded Shanxi and will soon be approaching Taiyuan.

In this time of war and chaos, danger lurks at any moment outside the city; you must not let her leave the city again.

"This is my son's first child, and he will never allow her and her child to come into any danger."

Li Tong nodded repeatedly.

"Father, I will go and tell Grandfather the good news, and then I will personally go and buy some supplements to help Nan Yin with her pregnancy."

. . .

Wenhua Hall, rear hall.

Ever since Jinang and Anda led 100,000 troops of the right wing of the Mongols to attack Shanxi, the most frequent reports Lu Chen saw in the Wenhua Hall were about the situation in Shanxi.

Baiquankou and Ningwuguan only held out for a few days before being breached by the Mongol army.

At this time, Jinang and Anda had already led their troops into the heart of Shanxi, looting extensively in the Daizhou and Xinzhou areas.

The Ming army can only hold the city for now and dares not go out to fight the Mongols in the field until reinforcements arrive.

"These Right Wing Mongols were merely three 10,000-household units that Dayan Khan had granted to his third son, Barsbolot, after he reunified the Mongol heartland. Yet their fighting strength was so formidable."

Lu Chen casually tossed a memorial onto the table.

"I really don't know how Emperor Wuzong, in the name of General Zhu Shou, personally led an expedition against Dayan Khan, who at his peak commanded 60,000 Mongol households, and achieved the great victory at Yingzhou!"