At this, Ma Shunde smiled and barked, "Go knock on the gate!"
He followed several armored soldiers. Such matters naturally fell to them, and at once, one soldier stepped forward and raised his hand to hammer on the Prince's Residence gate. Bang, bang, bang!
"Open up! Open the gate, now!"
Having come with an imperial envoy to handle this affair, the armored soldiers likewise did not care in the slightest that this was Prince Dai's Residence.
After all, compared to imperial authority, what was a prince worth?
The gatekeeper of the Prince's Residence had actually been alerted long ago, but a competent gatekeeper always had to stall for a while, buying his master time to react.
Thus, the gates were not opened at once. Instead, someone approached through the rain and called out, "Who is knocking? May I ask which office you gentlemen are from, and what business brings you here so late at night?"
Hearing this, Ma Shunde did not answer. There were lanterns by the gate, and his attendants carried lanterns as well, their light falling over his stern face. He remained impassive.
The armored soldier raised his voice. "An imperial envoy has come to Prince Dai's Residence on official business. Open the gate at once!"
An imperial envoy?
With only a glance through the crack in the gate, the gatekeeper knew the claim was true. Someone from the palace had come in the dead of night to smash at the gates of a prince's residence—something grave had happened!
Daring not delay any longer, the gatekeeper inside immediately replied, "Please wait a moment, sir. This lowly one will open the gate at once!"
Then came the sounds of the gate being unbarred. As the great doors creaked open, the people outside surged in.
The moment the gatekeeper opened