52: Chapter 52 Bad Monk, His Highness ordered you to watch the show in Yingtian, do you dare to run away?
The moment the meditation room door closed, it cut off the daylight from outside, and it also cut off the back of the young man as he left.
Yao Guangxiao remained sitting cross-legged on the cushion, motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation.
However, the fingers he used to twirl his prayer beads were trembling uncontrollably. The chipped edge of the sandalwood prayer beads pressed against his fingertips, bringing a faint, sharp pain.
The last sentence Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong had spoken echoed repeatedly in his mind.
"Where the blade reaches, there lies the truth."
This Prince of Wu must be a madman!
He, Yao Guangxiao, prided himself on being a mastermind of chaotic times and a great strategist; his lifelong pursuit was to assist a true dragon among men and stir up the winds and clouds of the world.
Even when facing the Prince of Yan, he was always calm and composed, with ease to spare, yet in front of this Prince of Wu, he felt hurried, almost to the point of scrambling away in a panic.
This mere fifteen-year-old youth spoke of slaughter and conquest as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He could feel that it wasn't the hot-blooded recklessness of a youth, nor was it a bluff; it was a disregard and trampling of all the world's rules that seeped from his very bones.
From breaking the formation single-handedly to behead General Chen Heng, to forcing his way into the palace to seize power and purge the Eastern Palace, and now, even he, a monk hidden in the Prince of Yans Mansion, had been laid bare by him...
The Prince of Yans Mansion had likely been infiltrated by this Prince of Wu until it was riddled with holes!
Yao Guangxiao stood up in alarm, a chill surging into his heart.
No, he could not stay here any longer.
Yingtian Prefecture was already a den of tigers and wolves; he had to return to Beiping immediately! He had to tell the Prince of Yan about today's events at once!
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.
Yao Guangxiao no longer hesitated. He quickly moved the cushion he had just been sitting on, lifted the floorboards, revealed a pitch-black secret passage, and dove inside.
This was an escape route he had prepared long ago. Jiming Temple had a long history, and its secret tunnels were intricate and complex; one of them led directly to an abandoned house three miles outside the temple.
The secret passage was pitch black, filled with a musty smell, yet Yao Guangxiao moved extremely fast, clearly knowing the passage like the back of his hand, having walked it countless times.
He had a strong premonition that if he didn't leave now, he would never be able to leave.
After some time, a faint light finally appeared ahead.
He had reached the exit!
Yao Guangxiao felt a surge of joy and quickened his pace. The moment he pushed open the heavy stone slab above his head and breathed in the fresh air outside, he felt a sense of relief, as if he had survived a catastrophe.
This was a dilapidated courtyard, overgrown with weeds and deserted.
He straightened his slightly disheveled monk's robe and was just about to climb over the wall when a lazy voice drifted leisurely from the shadows at the courtyard gate.
The exit was set in a deserted bamboo forest, very well hidden.
He greedily breathed in the cold air outside, the relief of surviving a disaster making him almost want to laugh out loud.
However, the smile on his face froze completely before it could even bloom.
An eerie voice sounded as if it were right next to the back of his neck, carrying a hint of mockery.
"Master, where are you going?"
Yao Guangxiao trembled all over and turned his head abruptly.
At the courtyard gate, a young man wearing the uniform of a thousand-man commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was leaning sideways against the mottled earthen wall, holding a xiuchun blade, looking at him with a mocking expression.
Behind him, seven or eight Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers in similar attire stood at various positions, blocking the entire exit of the courtyard completely.
The sunlight shone on the embroidery of their flying-fish robes and their scabbards, reflecting a cold and blinding light.
The leading thousand-man commander slowly straightened up and walked towards him. As he walked, he said in a tone that suggested "Why are you so disobedient":
"Before leaving, His Highness gave instructions for you to watch the show in Yingtian Prefecture. The show hasn't even started yet, so why are you thinking of leaving?"
Yao Guangxiao's Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't say a word. That youth had even calculated the path he would take to escape.
The commander seemed to see through his thoughts and reached out to pat his shoulder heavily.
"Let's go back, Master."
Without waiting for Yao Guangxiao to answer, he and another soldier grabbed him from left and right, hoisting him up like a chicken and dragging him back in the direction of Jiming Temple.
Yao Guangxiao looked back at the deep, dark exit of the secret passage, his thoughts churning.
...
In the carriage returning to the Eastern Palace, Duke of Cao subconsciously fiddled with the gold-mud folding fan in his hand. His brows were tightly locked, and he wanted to speak several times, only to swallow his words, forced to keep glancing at Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong from the corner of his eye.
Jiang Wan, sitting opposite, had his usual expressionless face, his eyes devoid of spirit, and no one knew what he was plotting.
After hesitating for a long time, Duke of Cao finally couldn't help but lower his voice and say to Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong, who was resting with his eyes closed: "Your Highness, Uncle... the Prince of Yan, is he really going to rebel?"
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong didn't even lift his eyelids and calmly spat out three words.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" Duke of Cao almost jumped from his seat. "Then what you said to that monk just now..."
He wanted to say "was so convincing," but swallowed the words back.
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong finally opened his eyes. He turned his head to look at Duke of Cao's nervous expression and spread his hands.
"Whether Fourth Uncle wants to rebel now, I don't know."
"But this Yao Guangxiao definitely wants him to rebel."
Duke of Cao gasped.
If a close associate of a feudal prince was thinking about how to rebel every day, could that prince still be innocent?
"No!" Duke of Cao slapped his thigh, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his peach-blossom eyes. "This monk is a scourge and cannot be kept! I'll go right now..."
"My Lord, rest assured."
Jiang Wan, who had been sitting silently in the corner of the carriage, suddenly spoke, his voice steady without a ripple.
"The person has already been controlled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Duke of Cao was stunned, then looked at Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong. Seeing his calm expression, he knew His Highness must have arranged it, but he still felt uneasy.
"Controlled... is that safe enough?" Duke of Cao leaned closer and made a throat-slitting gesture. "In my opinion, it's better to kill him once and for all. This kind of evil monk is not worth sparing!"
"Hehe..."
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong chuckled, leaned back against the soft cushion, and said slowly: "It's fine, this person is still of some use."
Duke of Cao was full of doubts and wanted to ask more, but seeing that Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong had already closed his eyes, he had to give up.
However, he still kept a guarded mind; he had to let his own people keep an eye on him. If this evil monk dared to do anything, he would kill him, even if it angered His Highness!
The journey was silent as they returned to the Eastern Palace.
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong returned to the side hall and discussed the final details of the southward journey with Duke of Cao, Chang Sheng, and others, finalizing the first list of people to be purged.
Just as they were finalizing the decision, Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen ran all the way to the palace gate and reported loudly: "Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you to the Kunning Palace!"