A closed space with several oil lamps inside.

The fighting outside was still raging, but it was invisible.

Many people looked panicked, but a few remained calm.

For example, Your Majesty, Concubine Shang, and the Fourth Prince Yu Wenshu.

Fu Xiaoguan was neither panicked nor calm. He was very surprised and looked at His Majesty, but His Majesty smiled at him.

"This is the cage."

Fu Xiaoguan looked puzzled.

"A cage is a place of unfreedom. Originally designed to imprison trespassers, it has now become our home. Everything has two sides."

Yu Yin seemed to remember the fight outside. That was his eldest son!

His face darkened slightly as he added, "Compared to him, he is actually also in a cage."

Fu Xiaoguan didn't continue the conversation, but instead asked, "If this hadn't happened here, would it have been a big problem?"

"No, I have been prepared for this, but he is unaware of it, so he is doomed to fail."

So is Fei An a friend or an enemy?

When was Huo Huaijin arranged by His Majesty to be placed in this imperial mausoleum?

Eunuch Jia knocked Eunuch Wei, a top-notch master, away with just a wave of his finger. Could it be that this old eunuch was the legendary saint?

Fu Xiaoguan had many questions in his mind. He looked at Eunuch Jia. The old eunuch was standing behind His Majesty, bowing, and he didn't look like a master at all. But then he noticed something. Sweat broke out on Eunuch Jia's forehead, and his face began to turn pale. And then...

Eunuch Jia suddenly looked up and said three words to Fu Xiaoguan: "Antidote...quickly...!"

Damn, Eunuch Jia is poisoned!

Upon hearing this, His Majesty turned around and looked at Eunuch Jia, then looked at Fu Xiaoguan, his eyes full of shock!

Fu Xiaoguan spread his hands and said, "I don't have the antidote!"

"Uh..." Eunuch Jia showed a pained look on his face. He stretched out a trembling hand and pointed at Fu Xiaoguan, "Where did you come from... Frost... Bright... Moon..."

"Bang……!"

Eunuch Jia fell headfirst to the ground.

Fu Xiaoguan was shocked and thought that the senior brother was really awesome!

His Majesty frowned and asked, "Will he die?"

"No, it will just make us lose our combat effectiveness."

"How do you solve it?"

"Only Senior Brother Su Jue of the Dedao Academy can find the solution personally."

Fu Xiaoguan suddenly asked in a low voice: "You Beidou?"

His Majesty shook his head and replied with two words: "His brother!"

Damn, this You guy is really powerful, two Martial Saints, so the rumor about six Martial Saints is wrong, there are clearly seven!

The sound of fighting outside suddenly became quieter, but the painful groans became louder. It seemed that the poison should have taken effect on those people outside, but I didn't know how powerful Huo Huaijin's internal strength was.

Frosty Bright Moon is only effective on people with internal strength. The stronger the internal strength, the more powerful it is. That's why Susu told Fu Xiaoguan that even someone as powerful as her master was almost killed by the eldest brother's Frosty Bright Moon.

A few breaths later, a voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, the rebels have been killed, and the eldest prince has been... executed!"

Fu Xiaoguan saw the emperor touch the wall, and after a vibration, two stone walls fell down, and a strong smell of blood came to his nose.

What caught the eye was the ground covered with broken limbs and blood!

Fei An knelt on one knee with a long sword in his hand, and Huo Huaijin fell to the ground with a thud at the moment the stone door opened, holding a long spear in his hand.

Fei An's face was pale and sweat was pouring down his face.

He gritted his teeth, looked at His Majesty, and uttered with difficulty, "I...have fulfilled your mission!"

Then……

Then of course he fell to the ground with a thud.

In short, none of the martial arts masters here were spared. Eunuch Wei was tied up and was even worse off than Huo Huaijin and others. He was foaming at the mouth and fell into a coma.

Although all the soldiers who came to support the king were still alive, none of them could stand up - they were poisoned by the bone-softening powder and were now as soft as lambs to be slaughtered.

Yu Yin took a deep breath and thought that with just the two poisons from Fu Xiaoguan, it seemed that no other arrangements were needed. This Taoist temple... Fortunately, he was standing behind Fu Xiaoguan.

"Your Majesty, we have to go out first, otherwise..."

He wanted to say that otherwise everyone would be poisoned by the bone-softening powder. Before he could finish his words, he saw Concubine Shang's body go limp. His Majesty caught Concubine Shang and shouted, "Everyone, temporarily withdraw!"

Fu Xiaoguan was originally worried about the more than 2,000 imperial mausoleum guards outside, but His Majesty shook his head.

After leaving the imperial mausoleum, Fu Xiaoguan discovered that the snow outside had been dyed red with blood, like beautiful plum blossoms.

However, Yan Shidao was wearing armor and holding a long sword, standing solemnly in front of thousands of imperial guards.

…

…

On the 30th day of the first lunar month in the ninth year of the Xuanli reign, the sky cleared after the snow.

The sunshine in Jinling during winter is very rare, so it is extremely precious. If it were a sunny day like this in the past, the capital would be full of vitality.

The vendors on the street set up their stalls, and the traveling merchants chose their locations. The people who came to the capital would then leave their homes, either to buy things or to wander around casually.

Especially those young ladies who are hiding in their boudoirs would put on makeup, take their maids, and ride in a sedan chair to those lively places, such as Qingluan Alley, Lantingji, etc.

But today's Shangjing City is extremely deserted!

Then the sun seemed to have lost its warmth.

Although His Majesty had issued a gag order regarding what happened in the Imperial Mausoleum at Purple Mountain on the 26th of the first lunar month, news of it still leaked out secretly because there were so many people present.

People initially didn't believe it—the eldest prince was the emperor's son, and he was most likely the future crown prince. There's a saying: The emperor loves his eldest son, and the people love their youngest. Since the eldest prince was the future heir to this vast nation, why would he rebel?

Why should he make things difficult for his father?

It is said that the eldest prince is only in his twenties. If he can wait a little longer until His Majesty abdicates, won’t he become the emperor?

But it happened on the night of the 26th day of the first lunar month!

The Imperial Guards suddenly sealed off the city, then imposed a curfew, and finally... I heard that all the 600-plus people of the Shi clan in Shangjing City were beheaded by the Imperial Guards!

The only ones who survived were Old Master Shi and Minister of Rites Shi Chaoyuan - it's not that these two ran away, but that they were escorted into the palace that night, and were probably imprisoned in some gloomy prison in the imperial city.

There was another family that was unlucky that night, and that was Fei Fa.

The fate of the Fei family was slightly better than that of the Shi family. At least those innocent servants did not die. They were dismissed. However, the veteran of three dynasties, Grand Tutor Fei, and his second son, Minister of War Fei Bang, were taken into the palace and their life or death was unknown.

Afterwards, those ferocious guards, led by a general holding a spear, cleansed out the city defense department. It is said that the young general's spear was stained red with blood.

And just yesterday, those rumors came true. Although everyone still had only speculations about what happened in the imperial mausoleum, the crimes of treason committed by the Shi and Fei clans were confirmed - early in the morning, the imperial guards rushed into the empty mausoleums of the two major clans, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Revenue and an old eunuch.

They raided these two businesses for three full days!

The people in Shangjing City witnessed with their own eyes the treasures being pulled out from those two families. My God... each family had at least hundreds of horse-drawn carriages loaded with them!

Later, the properties of the Shi and Fei families in Shangjing were also taken over by people sent from the palace. As a result, people were shocked and began to talk about it with great interest.

"Of the six great clans in the capital, the Shi clan does the most business. Although I don't have the money to spend in their shops, the people who go there are all wealthy families. I don't know what Old Master Shi is thinking. He doesn't want to be a wealthy man, but to rebel - is this rebellion that easy?"

"You probably don't know that during the Lantern Festival poetry gathering, Young Master Fu was assassinated again, and one of the assassins was hired by the Shi clan. So, this old man Shi is blind! Who is Young Master Fu? He even brought down Prince Hui. Think about it, no matter how powerful the Shi clan is, can they be as powerful as the prince? So he is simply courting his own destruction!"

"Then I suppose Fei Fa's misfortune is due to that flyer from the Lantern Festival?"

"Not really. It's said, don't go around telling lies, I heard it from my uncles and brothers, that Master Fei is on the wrong side!"

"Who is your uncle?"

"Hehe, anyway, he killed five rebels, so I think he can be promoted to captain."

“…”

All kinds of rumors spread in the capital city, and there was no imperial decree to refute them, so people talked about them even more.

Of course, Fu Xiaoguan didn't know about these words.

He has been very busy these past two days, busy assisting Yan Beixi in handling state affairs—not the mess about the Thirteen Daos, but the mess in the palace.

A large number of officials were thrown into prison. These people were all affiliated with the Fei clan or the Shi clan, or were people planted by the eldest prince.

When Fu Xiaoguan rushed into the government offices with a group of thugs holding the secret decree, those people realized that they had really fallen into trouble this time.

Some people cried out that they were wronged, some shouted that the heaven was blind, but Fu Xiaoguan was not interested in any of this.

He acted as a sharp sword!

He completed this mission extremely ruthlessly. All the people on the list were captured in time, and the residences of these people were also sealed off by him and his men.

Until today, the 30th day of the first lunar month, he was finally fine.

At this moment, he was sitting in Taoranting of the Fu Mansion, surrounded by the three disciples of the Taoist temple, as well as Dong Shulan and Yan Xiaolou.

He had just told them in detail what happened on the 26th day of the first lunar month. After everyone was shocked, he went on to talk about the many officials who became prisoners because of this incident.

Finally, he sighed, looked at the sparkling Xuanwu Lake, and said:

"I once saw the jade trees of Jinling, the orioles singing at dawn, the flowers blooming early in the Qinhuai waterside pavilions. Who knew the ice would melt so easily? I watched him build his red mansion, I watched him entertain his guests, and I watched his mansion collapse!"

Dong Shulan and others heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, thinking that the glory of the six major clans was really just as Fu Xiaoguan had just said.

A red building was built and guests were entertained. It was such a glorious time, but it collapsed overnight!

This is the impermanence of life, and we should cherish the present even more.

"So what is a cage? I think this world is a cage, this country is a cage, and this home is also a cage. If the heart is not free, then everything is a cage."

Dong Shulan glared at him, "Do you mean that this house has trapped you? Or is it me, Wenyun Xiaolou, who has trapped you?"

"Ah...that's not what I meant!"

"So what do you mean?"

"What I mean is...if there is no cage in your heart, there will be no cage in your eyes!"

At this moment, Eunuch Jia came over with a shaky footstep. He looked at Fu Xiaoguan with resentment and said, "The war has started in the east. His Majesty asked you to enter the palace!"