My father, during the Jiajing era, ensured that every household was clean and tidy.

Chapter 18: Distrust of Outsiders

As several voices rang out in succession, the battle and chaos began. One side, eyes blazing with fury, unleashed a barrage of swords and arrows; the other, cornered and filled with savagery, drew their blades, blocked attacks, closed in, and snatched weapons. Amidst the chaos, someone suddenly shouted, "They've dashed into the alley! There they are!"

Zhu Zaizhen and Zhang Juzheng ran without looking back, with a fierce wind blowing behind them. They dared not stop for even a moment. It was pitch black all around, and the shadows were moving around. At this moment, swords and arrows truly had no eyes!

It's impossible to tell which way to run, nor is it necessary to. Just stay away from the danger behind you.

call!call!

He was breathing heavily, his vision was blurring, and the aftereffects of the violent outburst were sweeping over him.

Whether they had run far enough or the Embroidered Uniform Guards had already dealt with the remnants of the White Lotus Cult, the shouts of battle behind them gradually subsided. Zhu Zaizhen called out, "Phew! That's enough! That's enough."

"Phew, Your Highness, please wait a moment." Although Zhang Juzheng was in his prime, he was ultimately a scholar, not a military general, and after all this commotion, he was also panting heavily.

He didn't even have time to catch his breath. He glanced at the high walls on the left and right, vaguely discerning the direction, and made his way to the main street.

A short while later.

Zhu Zaizhen then saw him shouting in a certain direction, "Halt! The Prince is here, come and protect him immediately! There's no need to go towards where you're shouting for battle. Which department's soldiers are you from?"

Immediately, someone responded from afar: "We are from the Northern City Military Command! Who are you?"

"Was the commotion tonight caused by Chen Wen, the commander of the northern city troops, who summoned you here?"

"Uh, not bad. May I ask who you are, sir?"

"Stop talking!"

Zhang Juzheng gave a reprimand and turned into the alley. Zhu Zaizhen was leaning against the wall, panting heavily. Seeing this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to greet him.

Unexpectedly, he had only taken two steps when Zhang Juzheng rushed up to him and shouted in a low voice, "Your Highness, hurry! There's something wrong with these soldiers! The commander of the North City troops isn't surnamed Chen!"

Zhu Zaizhen was taken aback.

The next second, he took off running.

Shortly after the two disappeared into the darkness, a dozen or so figures appeared at the alley entrance. They wore helmets and carried swords with goose feathers at their waists, dressed as soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison. However, what they said was, "Old shopkeeper, it's Prince Jing!"

The old shopkeeper wasn't old; his voice was youthful. "It seems Qiu Fu has both succeeded and failed."

"Should we still provide support or not?"

"Let him die."

"And what about us?"

"Chase!"

A dozen or so figures moved swiftly and rushed into the darkness ahead.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, there was another commotion outside the alley. There were dense footsteps in front and torches behind. Soon, the firelight illuminated the narrow alley, making it completely visible.

Zhou Jing, the head of the Eastern Office, walked from the east end of the alley to the west end with a dark face, and finally stopped beside a tall horse.

A bloody human head, Qiu Fu's head, was hanging from the horse's belly. On the horse's back sat Lu Bing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Guards, the situation is dire."

"explain."

"Judging from the traces, there was another group chasing Prince Jing, and... some of them were wearing black boots."

"Soap boots!?" The exclamation came not from Lu Bing, but from the two disheveled figures behind him.

They seemed to have rushed over in a panic, not even having had time to properly put on their official hats and belts. Upon hearing this, one of them exclaimed, "How could the Imperial Guards not know that there were sorcerers hidden among the officials and soldiers?! Lu Bing, I will definitely impeach you!"

One of them said, "We'll talk about whether to investigate or not later. If anything happens to the Prince, even if we impeach him to death, it won't do any good!"

After saying that.

Wu Ang and Wu Yingfeng flicked their whips.

He turned and left.

Lu Bing sat astride his horse, unperturbed by the words of the lecturer from the Prince Jing's residence. He calmly issued the order: "Announce to the people that the government is arresting a notorious bandit. Everyone, please keep your doors locked."

"yes!"

"From this moment forward, everyone on the street will be checked for their waist tag upon meeting; anyone without a waist tag will be killed without exception."

"yes!"

"Bring the hunting dogs."

"yes!"

Those around him immediately obeyed the orders, and with each command issued, the behemoth that was the Embroidered Uniform Guard began operating at high speed once again. Only Lu Bing, at the center, stood still, gazing at the distant darkness with a deep look in his eyes...

……

Prince Yu's Mansion.

When Xu Jie hurriedly entered the council hall, Prince Yu, Gao Gong, and Chen Yiqin were already waiting inside.

Gao Gong jumped to his feet: "Grand Secretary Xu, what has happened? Why is the Embroidered Uniform Guard making such a fuss? Is it because of the palace..."

Xu Jie shook his head: "It has nothing to do with the palace; something happened to Prince Jing!"

He briefly explained the turn of events, and the three people present reacted differently: Gao Gong was both surprised and angry, Chen Yiqin was filled with doubt and surprise, and Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji, was completely flustered.

Chen Yiqin was the first to ask in doubt, "How could Prince Jing have been robbed at Zhang Juzheng's house?"

Gao Gong followed up angrily, "What's the use of saying all this now? The current situation is that a group of demons have kidnapped a prince of the Ming Dynasty!"

Xu Jie waved his hand.

This stopped the argument between the two.

He looked at Prince Yu and said, "Your Highness, put everything else aside for now. I implore Your Highness to immediately send someone to the Western Garden to request His Majesty to issue an edict to mobilize the capital garrison to rescue Prince Jing!"

Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji, was only a month older than Zhu Zaizhen, both sixteen years old, both teenagers. He was already flustered by this sudden event, and when Xu Jie spoke, he suddenly felt that it made sense. But then he thought again, the palace gates were already locked...

"I know the palace gates are locked!"

Knowing Prince Yu's indecisive nature and guessing his thoughts, Xu Jie spoke first: "If we can't get into the palace, then let someone go to the Ministry of War and the Five City Garrison Command, and ask the Prince to write a letter ordering them to immediately dispatch troops to rescue him!"

Prince Yu was taken aback: "Isn't this a bit overstepping the bounds?"

"No!"

Chen Yiqin understood what Grand Secretary Xu meant and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, Prince Jing is in grave danger now, and this is precisely the time to demonstrate brotherhood. Making a mistake at this time is not a mistake at all!"

Gao Gong also realized: "That's right!"

Seeing that his two teachers shared this view, Prince Yu did not hesitate any longer. He ordered someone to bring paper and pen, wrote down his thoughts, affixed his seal, and handed it to a eunuch in the Prince's residence. However, before the eunuch left, Xu Jie emphasized a reminder:

"Remember! The palace gates are indeed locked, but even if they are locked, you must go to the palace first. If the palace gates are not open, then go to the Ministry of War! After the Ministry of War, go to the Five Cities Garrison! Do you understand?"

"Got it!"

"go!"

……

Yan Mansion.

Yan Shifan hurriedly returned and brought the devastating news that Yan Song and Prince Jing had been kidnapped and their fate was unknown.

At this moment, the white-haired Grand Secretary Yan panicked for once. He grabbed his son's arm and swayed.

Yan Shifan quickly helped him up, and said urgently, "Father! I'll go find Nie Bao right now and have him order the troop deployment!"

Nie Bao, Minister of War.

"No!"

Unexpectedly, Yan Song firmly grabbed Yan Shifan and said quickly, "Whether it's the Ministry of War or the Five Cities Garrison, their transfer orders are too slow. They're too far away to solve the immediate problem. Besides, the Prince has already been frightened once, and he will never trust outsiders again! You should bypass them and go directly to Wang Xiang, the commander of the Eastern City Garrison, and have him take his men to the streets. Quickly!"

The commander of the Eastern City's military forces, Wang Xiang, has an eldest daughter named Wang Qingyan, who is the current Princess Consort of Jing.

He's not an outsider!

Yan Shifan understood. "I'll order someone to do it right away, and I'll go myself! Your Highness doesn't trust anyone else, but you'll trust me. Even if it means shouting from street to street, searching house to house, turning the capital upside down, I will still rescue Prince Jing!"

As he spoke, he had already run outside, shouting, "Come with me, all of you!"

……

West Garden, Wanshou Palace.

Bright lights.

A young eunuch rushed in, and Huang Jin lowered his voice to inquire, "Is there still no news from Prince Jing?"

"no."

"Go and urge them! Go find them! Go and ask!"

"yes!"

Huang Jin stomped his foot angrily, glanced back at the Taoist robe at the palace gate, and then looked into the thick, inky night. He was extremely anxious—Prince Jing, you can't be in trouble!