The Terror of Jiankang Palace

This path is blocked!

[Restarting]

It is still the Jiankang Palace.

It is still the Central Commander Fu Qi, the Right Guard Commander of the Crown Prince Zhu Yi, and the Abbot of Tongtai Temple, Fahui.

But this time, Zhu Yuanzhang gazed deeply at the Central Commander, Fu Qi.

Following that, amidst the shocked gazes of everyone present, he took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, this humble monk wishes to report that the Prince of Linhe, Xiao Zhengde, is colluding with Hou Jing in treason!"

A deathly silence fell!

Whether it was Fu Qi, Zhu Yi, or the monk Fahui, all eyes were now fixed upon Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even the emperor sitting upon the throne fell into a profound silence for a moment.

A short while later, from behind the bamboo screen, Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, spoke slowly.

Zhu Yuanzhang could feel a pair of incomparably sharp eyes from the throne staring fixedly at him.

"What evidence do you have?"

Zhu Yuanzhang could clearly sense the surprise in Xiao Yan's tone.

This caused Zhu Yuanzhang's heart to sink instantly.

It was not shock! It was not anger! It was not disbelief!

It was surprise!

This old schemer!

He seemed to have known about the collusion between Xiao Zhengde and Hou Jing all along!

Then why would he allow Xiao Zhengde and Hou Jing to join forces?

Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed the shock and confusion in his heart.

He continued, "Hou Jing and Xiao Zhengde have long been colluding in secret, with dozens of encrypted letters. If Your Majesty sends an envoy to search the Prince of Linhe's Mansion, it will be known."

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head.

With a burning gaze, he looked at Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, on the throne.

"Summon Xiao Zhengde."

Emperor Wu of Liang fell silent for a moment.

He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons.

"As you command."

A black-clad eunuch in the hall quickly exited to deliver the imperial decree.

Before long, a group of several riders on fast horses crossed the palace gates and charged in the direction of the Prince of Linhe's Mansion.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that the look in Fu Qi's eyes as he watched him held a hint of pity.

Zhu Yi wore an expression as if nothing had happened, standing calmly among the hundred officials.

He showed no reaction to the matter of Xiao Zhengde's rebellion.

Behind him, the monk Fahui's eyes flashed with contemplation before gradually turning cold.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, no evidence of any so-called collusion or treason was found in the Prince of Linhe's residence."

Outside the door, the black-clad eunuch entered the hall with armored guards to report to Xiao Yan.

Behind the bamboo screen, a smile appeared on the dragon countenance upon the throne.

"It seems the accusation against the Prince of Linhe is entirely baseless."

Xiao Yan said slowly.

Almost at the same time, behind Zhu Yuanzhang, the Abbot of Tongtai Temple, Fahui, stepped forward and bowed.

"We have failed to discipline our disciple properly; we beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

"Only this once; do not let it happen again."

"Your Majesty is truly merciful!"

Turning around, Fahui's cold face entered Zhu Yuanzhang's field of vision.

In that moment, the monk Fahui seemed to suddenly transform into a tree of flesh and blood with thousands of branches.

Countless blood-colored branches pointed toward Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not resist.

With a calm expression, he watched as the blood-tree drained him into a husk.

[You have died]

But this does not mean failure.

At the very least, Zhu Yuanzhang now knows that Emperor Wu of Liang is not entirely ignorant of Xiao Zhengde's betrayal.

The reason he deliberately let this traitor lead the army against Hou Jing.

I fear there is more to it than meets the eye.

[Start over from the beginning]

Darkness follows like a shadow.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not attempt to submit a petition to Emperor Wu of Liang again.

After everything in Jiankang Palace had settled, and Emperor Wu of Liang had issued his grand declaration marking the start of the Taiqing Catastrophe, formally appointing Xiao Zhengde as general to garrison Danyang.

Walking out of the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang bowed to the monk Fahui.

"This disciple has already mastered the Sangqiwo Jataka Secret Mantra, the Fixed Light Demon-Subduing Secret Mantra, and the Buddha-Spoken Soapberry Secret Mantra."

"..."

This unfathomable Buddhist monk, whose aura felt even more obscure and profound to Zhu Yuanzhang than Minghui, Mingguang, and Mingshan of Imperial Awakening Temple combined, turned his head.

For the first time, he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a gaze that bordered on appreciation.

He slowly uttered a single sentence.

"Heaven shall not let our Tongtai Temple perish!"

He then swept his monk's robe and said in a low voice.

"Follow me back to the temple. This place has become a den of trouble; I must arrange for you to depart for Jing-Yang with Xiao Zhengde as soon as possible."

"That will not do."

With the experience from the previous life, Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that Tongtai Temple would never last until the day they were meant to depart with Xiao Zhengde.

"What is the date?"

Zhu Yuanzhang bowed, then looked up and asked solemnly.

This question was critical.

Hou Jing crossed the river on the twentieth day of the tenth month, arrived at Zhuque Passage on the twenty-fourth, and then, with Xiao Zhengde acting as an inside man, captured Jinling on the twenty-fifth before proceeding to lay siege to Taicheng.

"The eighteenth day of the tenth month."

Perhaps it was because Zhu Yuanzhang's attainment in Mind-Settling Zen truly delighted Fahui.

The bejeweled monk before him answered with great patience.

"Can you send me away tomorrow?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Fahui shook his head.

"Impossible."

"The day after?"

"Impossible."

"Why!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled.

Given the status Tongtai Temple displayed in the imperial court today, and the strength Fahui had revealed.

Secretly sending a monk from the temple out of the city should have been the simplest of tasks.

But looking at Fahui's reaction now, it seemed as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"..."

Fahui remained silent.

After a long while, seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang would not give up until he received an answer, he finally spoke.

"Were it not for the protection of the Xiao Liang Royal Aura, no one could escape the city."

"This..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression turned grave.

He did not doubt that Fahui was telling the truth.

This matter was easy to judge.

Because he had seen with his own eyes the blood shadow that Fahui turned into after his death.

Even Fahui himself had died within the city.

Clearly, whatever was preventing people from leaving the city was far from ordinary.

"Why can I not leave with Xiao Zhengde?"

Fahui asked in a low voice, his benevolent face illuminated by a faint golden light emanating from his eyes.

He appeared to be waiting with great anticipation for the answer from Minghe, who had suddenly mastered three of the Eight Great Secret Mantras.

"Xiao Zhengde cannot escape. He has a pact with Hou Jing and will certainly return to Jinling to ascend the throne; assisting him is still a path to certain death," Zhu Yuanzhang said, observing Fahui's expression as he spoke.

However.

"How could Xiao Zhengde be so foolish as to actually believe Hou Jing's lies?"

Fahui shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion; he clearly did not believe Xiao Zhengde would act in such a way.

"What is so hard to understand? Xiao Zhengde has always been short-sighted."

What kind of sensible person would run off to the north for no reason?

The key was that after discovering the Northern Wei did not welcome him, Xiao Zhengde had actually run all the way back on his own.

It was truly absurd.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's definitive explanation, Fahui's gaze flickered.

In an instant, it was as if he had understood something, a look of realization crossing his face.

Yet his expression shifted too quickly; before Zhu Yuanzhang could even react, he had already returned to his usual image of a benevolent yet greedy monk.

"If the situation truly develops in such a way, then all methods of leaving the city have been severed. Now, the only path to survival is to enter Taicheng... Forget it, never mind all that, follow me back to the temple first!"

Fahui let out a long sigh.

He fingered his prayer beads, his eyes deep and contemplative as he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, as if pondering something.

By the banks of the Qinhuai River, a warrior monk arrived by boat.

The two boarded, and as they looked up at the Nine-Story Pagoda that soared into the clouds, Zhu Yuanzhang once again posed the question to Fahui.

"Why can this disciple not simply escape the city?"

"It cannot be said."

Fahui offered the same response as before.

But unlike the last time, Fahui's gaze was clear and sharp, his eyes fixed intently on the Jiankang Palace as it gradually receded into the distance.

"There is a great terror."