Chengcheng never cared about his reputation. Whether his reputation was good or bad had nothing to do with his work. He just needed to do his job well.

Back at the Qiankun Palace, there were a few eunuchs in the outer hall, but only Li Wei in the inner hall.

When Li Wei saw him return, he lowered his voice and said, "His Majesty is getting worse and worse, and I'm afraid he won't make it through the month."

Cheng Cheng exuded a chilling aura. "This is something the imperial physician should be thinking about."

Chengcheng walked in, used the hilt of his sword to lift the bed curtain. The person lying on the bed exuded a rotten smell, and upon seeing Chengcheng, his eyes flashed with intense hatred.

Chengcheng lowered the curtain and gave a cold laugh.

"The prince's power is unstable right now, he can't die yet, let him hang up for now."

Li Wei nodded obsequiously. There was another person sitting in front of the bronze mirror, fiddling with his face. It was none other than the Thousand-Faced Jade Gentleman.

"Why not use all those ginseng and medicinal herbs in his warehouse?"

After Chengcheng finished speaking, he went out. Seeing Yuwen Wuji's appearance, he felt a release of the emotions that had been building up in his heart for so many years.

His father was a general of the previous dynasty. If Yuwen Wuji hadn't used trickery to sow discord between the emperor and his father, his father wouldn't have died by his own sovereign's sword.

For a general, dying on the battlefield is his destiny, but to die at the hands of the very ruler he protects is a disgrace. Jiang Peiwang knew his background, but still took him back. He was always grateful to Jiang Peiwang for saving his life, but at the same time, he couldn't understand why he was so loyal to someone like Yuwen Wuji.

Looking back now, what outsiders perceive as unwavering loyalty may just be a facade; only the person being loyal truly knows what they are loyal to.

The assassination plot arranged by Consort Shu failed, but she did not expect that someone would target the Fifth Prince, and that it would happen within the inner palace!

As the spring snow melted, all the snow on the palace roads was swept away. But on that particular day, when the Fifth Prince went out, a layer of ice ten feet long appeared on the ground. The Fifth Prince already had difficulty walking, and as he leaned on his cane, he lost his balance, slipped, and fell hard, making his already injured leg even worse.

What infuriated Consort Shu the most was that the imperial physician she summoned had barely arrived in the palace when news spread outside that the Fifth Prince had broken his leg and was no longer able to walk, thus losing his chance at the throne.

This is clearly a rumor deliberately spread by someone. However, it is easy to spread rumors but very difficult to refute them, especially since the Fifth Prince's leg injury has indeed relapsed and he needs to rest in bed.

After settling the Fifth Prince, Consort Shu immediately rushed to the council hall, where several Grand Secretaries and Xie Liwei worked. Of course, she couldn't enter such a place.

"Make Xie Liwei come out and see me!" Consort Shu made a scene, and the people in the hall had to come out to see what was going on.

Consort Shu insisted that Xie Liwei was behind it, after all, she had just failed to assassinate him, and then her son got into trouble, which made it hard for her not to suspect that Xie Liwei was behind it.

Upon hearing her words, Xie Liwei cried out in protest: "Your Highness, when a person is down on their luck, they can choke even on a sip of water. The Fifth Prince slipped and fell while walking, and instead of questioning the people who serve him, you come to me, someone who has no connection whatsoever?"

Consort Shu was furious. She knew she didn't have solid evidence, and she had only come today because she was extremely angry.

Seeing her meticulous plans fall through, how could Consort Shu not be anxious? She had always believed that she could rely on the Emperor's favor to feign weakness and intimidate others. But she never expected Xie Liwei to directly usurp the Emperor's power!

She never imagined that she was clinging to the emperor, that the emperor would one day have his hands and feet shackled.

Consort Shu stared intently at Xie Liwei. She knew she had lost this round, but she wasn't completely defeated! As long as she had her son, she had hope. She didn't believe Xie Liwei would dare to plot against her and usurp the throne!

"Xie Liwei, we'll see!" Consort Shu thought to herself.

But she had no chance, because an urgent report came from the palace that afternoon: Donglin was mobilizing troops to approach Yanzhou, and the two countries were about to go to war.

The officials of the Great Chen were all bewildered by this matter. The envoy from the east was just about to arrive in the capital, so how could they be mustering troops so soon?

To tell this story, we must start from when Yongle traveled south and settled in Yunzhou...

She told Qin Man and her groom that if they encountered any difficulties, they could come to Yunzhou to find her.

She spoke casually, but for Qin Man, who had inadvertently obtained evidence of her father's crimes, this was her only way to survive. She and the coachman fled to Yunzhou overnight, choosing to travel by water because they knew that all the officials in Yanzhou were secretly colluding.

The coachman, using a bamboo raft, took her to the Yunzhou ferry. But little did they know, those people had laid an ambush in Yunzhou. The young coachman, trying to save Qin Man, died in the icy canal, and his body has never been found.

After Qin Man was rescued by Shen Qingque's men, she immediately told him about the affairs of the Yanzhou officialdom. She handed over the evidence she had found, helping Shen Qingque to clean up the Yanzhou officialdom.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Shi learned of this matter. As one of the trading parties, he naturally didn't want this well-established route to be wiped out, especially since the ironworker he had captured had died on the way. If he wanted weapons from the Great Chen Dynasty again in the future, he would still need to use this route.

Therefore, after the Donglin spies contacted Dongfang Shi, the group tried to stop Shen Qingque from continuing to investigate the case.

Little did they know, they were already under the surveillance of the Imperial Guards.

Even if Dongfang Shi is of noble status, he is now like a lamb entering a tiger's den, so there is no reason not to kill him!

However... the Imperial Guards didn't know their own strength. Dongfang Shi's previous injuries hadn't fully healed, so they thought he was just putting on a show. Five of them ganged up on him, but unexpectedly, Dongfang Shi was severely injured and fled Yunzhou, dying on his way back to Donglin...

This is practically like Qiao'er's mother opening the door for Qiao'er, saying, "Qiao'er is home!"

To prevent unrest among the court officials, Xie Liwei suppressed the matter, but had already sent a message to the Zhen Dong Army, instructing them to be prepared at all times. He had also instructed Liu Jiayun to prepare provisions, ready to begin transporting them once the Dong Lin army set off.

I thought that was the end of it. But unexpectedly, Donglin's banner was the restoration of the previous dynasty!

They claimed to possess the heir apparent of the former Qin dynasty, and that the Yuwen family were merely usurpers! They vowed to help the heir apparent reclaim the throne!

Xie Liwei, who already knew the news, was still upset all night. If the identity of the Prince of Qin mentioned by the people of Donglin was indeed correct, he should be the second son of Granny Qin, the child who once impersonated him and was abandoned by Granny Qin.

Granny Qin would be overjoyed to know her son was alive. But Xie Liwei dared not imagine whether this Prince Qin, regarded as a pawn by the people of Donglin, could truly survive the war between the two nations.