Chapter 10: Pot Zhongtian

Like a muffled thunder suddenly sounding in the night, one might think they misheard or that the thunder was far away when they open the window and see the night as calm as water. However, little do they know that the place where the thunder can be heard is not too far away, and where there is thunder and lightning, a storm is imminent.

Luo Jinyan's heart surged. Six years may seem long, but for someone with ambitions, it's like an arrow on the string, waiting for the right moment.

Prince Ning was waiting for the most vulnerable time of the Great Zhou Dynasty's treasury. In the previous decade, Zhao Ji had been on expeditions to Goryeo and then defeated the Jurchens. Regardless of financial or military strength, they were at their weakest. However, Zhao Ji's ambition did not stop there. He spent six years strengthening his army and gathering the nation's forces for an expedition against the Wala.

This was the opportunity for Emperor Tongde Zhao Ji, and also for his cousin, Prince Ning Zhao Li.

It was now the twenty-first year of Tongde, and Zhao Ji had just returned triumphantly after defeating the Jurchen city.

At this time in the previous life, Luo Jinyan had not been born yet, but for Prince Ning, he should have already been recruiting soldiers and making secret preparations.

Zhao Ji's father, Emperor Yingzong, and his mother, Empress Wan, were childhood sweethearts. Empress Wan was originally a princess's companion and had been in and out of the palace since she was young. She gave birth to the crown prince Zhao Zhi and then passed away shortly after. Yingzong never forgot about her, and at the age of two, Zhao Zhi was made the crown prince, and at the age of eight, he began to participate in political affairs. Yingzong had high hopes for him.

On the other hand, Zhao Ji's birth mother was just a lowly palace maid. She was only granted the title of noblewoman after giving birth to the prince, but unfortunately, she died shortly after.

In order to protect the crown prince's position, Yingzong appointed a childless widow, Lady Dou, as the empress. Lady Dou was gentle and graceful, but also shrewd and capable. At that time, Zhao Ji was just an unremarkable prince, and no one would have expected that this unassuming prince would end up with Empress Dou.

One day, Yingzong suddenly suffered a stroke and became unable to move or speak. At the same time, palace attendants reported seeing someone secretly burning yellow paper at night.

Burning paper was strictly forbidden in the palace, and it was neither the Qingming Festival nor the Ghost Festival, so why would someone be burning paper?

Empress Dou immediately ordered an investigation and it was discovered that the palace maid was from the crown prince's side.

The officials from the Ministry of Justice broke into the crown prince's palace and found a wooden figurine with Yingzong's birth date written on it, and in a corner, they found a shrine dedicated to a demon. This caused a sensation and became known as the "gu case."

Soon after, it was discovered that the crown prince had hidden the dragon robe at his wife's family's residence.

As Yingzong was unable to govern, Empress Dou, with the support of Yingzong's uncle Zhao Yi and Duke Dingguo, took over the regency.

The gu case involving the crown prince Zhao Zhi had far-reaching implications, and many families were executed. It was said that for a month, the streets ran red with blood.

Zhao Zhi and his wife were poisoned, and the three-year-old prince and the two-year-old princess were suffocated with mulberry paper.

A year later, Yingzong passed away, and Empress Dou produced a testament sealed with the imperial seal, and the relatively unknown Zhao Ji ascended the throne, changing the reign title to Tongde. Empress Dowager Dou continued to rule for five years and arranged for her niece to marry Zhao Ji. Unfortunately, this Empress Dou did not have the same methods as Empress Dowager Dou. After the "death" of Empress Dowager Dou, Zhao Ji died suddenly in his second year of personal rule.

Prince Ning used this as an excuse to raise troops. The imperial edict for the suppression of Prince Ning listed five major crimes of Zhao Ji: patricide, matricide, fratricide, killing his wife, and killing his son.

It was only then that the world learned of the hidden truths behind Yingzong's, Empress Dowager Dou's, and Empress Dou's deaths. The killing of his son referred to the incident in the nineteenth year of Tongde when Zhao Ji killed Empress Dong and the second prince, Zhao Zhen.

Prince Ning believed that Zhao Ji's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, but he himself was just Yingzong's nephew, and the throne was not his to claim.

However, in the struggle between success and failure, if Prince Ning emerged victorious, Zhao Ji would be seen as a treacherous and ruthless usurper. At a critical moment, a young man named Qin Jue emerged, and Zhao Ji emerged victorious, while Prince Ning became a traitor and a criminal for all time.

In six years, Prince Ning would be plotting rebellion, and now the Changping Prefect, Wang Chaoming, was drafting a declaration of war against the emperor that rivaled the literary style of Luo Binwang.

Thinking of this, Luo Jinyan's heart raced. Wang Chaoming, as a fourth-ranking official, personally visited for a distant relative. This relative must be very important to him. Even though Wang Chaoming lived in the official residence in Changping, it should have been more than enough to accommodate a relative, unless this relative couldn't stay with him.

Why would it be inconvenient?

Is he worried about being recognized?

Could it be that Prince Ning has secretly come to the capital?

Changping is only a day's journey from the capital, and it is safer and more convenient to stay in Changping than in the capital.

Princes were only allowed to come to the capital every three years, and without an imperial decree, they were not allowed to leave their fiefdom.

If this person is indeed Zhao Li, then his purpose in coming north is only one: to make contact with the nobles and officials in the capital and plot something big.

After Yuan Shan left, Chang Guixi came over. The information she inquired about was similar to what Yuan Shan had said, but women are observant, and she overheard Wang Chaoming asking about Luo Jinyan.

In terms of age and official rank, Wang Chaoming was much higher than Luo Shao, so his inquiry about Luo Shao's daughter would be seen as caring and considerate by anyone.

But Luo Jinyan was suddenly struck by a thought.

She suddenly realized that there were too many strange things that had happened to her and her father in the past few days.

The father suddenly had his leg broken in an accident, and she herself narrowly escaped being abducted. To anyone, the abduction of a seven-year-old mute girl and a twelve-year-old maid by the wicked servants of the manor would seem like a mere accident, but the other party was determined to succeed. Just as she had sent Luo Ming away, those people arrived. Obviously, they did not regard the seven brothers highly, and compared to the rough men with their numbers, they seemed more wary of Luo Ming, who was alone.

It wasn't that Luo Ming's martial arts were stronger than the seven brothers, but because he was a military officer, and the other party clearly did not want to involve the authorities.

The injury to her father, Luo Shao, and her abduction seemed like two unrelated accidents, yet they were somehow tightly connected by an invisible thread.

If she had truly been abducted, the Luo family would be in chaos by now. With Luo Shao bedridden and unable to move, if Wang Chaoming were to visit at this time, Luo Shao would certainly seek his help in finding his daughter...

As long as a person has a request, they also have a handle to be grasped.

But Father Luo Shao was just a minor official, with no connections in the court. Although the Luo family had some property, they were just local gentry, and even if Wang Chaoming wanted to recruit for Prince Ning, he wouldn't pay attention to Father Luo.

Luo Jinyan furrowed her brow tightly, unable to understand the reason behind this matter.

She returned to her room and sat on the heated brick bed, looking at the painted enamel teapot on the table, feeling suffocated.

Her father, herself, and even the people who relied on them for a living in Changping Manor all seemed to be trapped inside a teapot. When hot water was poured outside, who would know whether they were hot or cold inside the teapot?

Just then, a maid rushed in anxiously, "Something has happened, something has happened! The person locked in the woodshed is dead!"

Cui Qi and the captive caught on the road were temporarily locked in the woodshed!