Iron Buddha Temple.

Cai Daye saw the opportunity and walked up to Chen Chang, his face showing anger, and whispered: "That Duke Weiguo is too ignorant of etiquette. He clearly invited you to visit the Iron Buddha Temple, but he didn't come... Oh, forget it, he is a traitor, but he actually went to a small restaurant in disguise to fight with others, and even used lime powder. It turns out that he is not mature yet..."

Cai Dabao and Wang Yan had other official duties, so Cai Daye took over. This was because Cai Dabao intended to let his brothers show up in front of the emperor.

Cai Daye went there happily, as this was a great opportunity to contact the royal family of Nanchen.

In order to let his youngest son Cai Yuncheng meet him, Cai Yuncheng was brought over by Cai Daye.

The beauty following Chen Chang was naturally Ning Jingrong dressed as a man. She said nothing but followed Chen Chang silently.

Because she left in a hurry, Ning Jingrong's face still had a hint of makeup on it.

Cai Daye had always wondered who the beautiful woman next to Chen Chang was, but since she refused to tell him, he could not ask.

He came here to establish good relations with this prince of Nanchen and pave the way for Houliang and himself. This prince will be an important figure in the political arena of Nanchen, which is the most important thing.

Cai Daye's words were a bit provocative, and Chen Chang responded calmly, "Lord Cai, I am an old acquaintance of Duke Wei. He is no longer an idle duke, but a frontier official stationed in Puzhou. It is understandable that he is busy with official duties. Lord Cai, I came to the Iron Buddha Temple today to worship Buddha. I don't want to talk about other things."

Cai Daye hit a soft nail and bowed, "Yes, I was too talkative. Your Highness, this temple is not very big, but the statues enshrined in the temple are quite tall, solemn, and majestic, with a unique atmosphere..."

He spoke eloquently and described the past and present of the Iron Buddha Temple in great detail.

Cai Daye said again: "Your Highness, Jiangling has many famous places of interest and historical sites. Why don't you and Lord Hou spend more time there before going to Jiankang?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Cai!" Chen Chang said, "But I am in the north, and I was not by my father's side when he passed away. I was unable to fulfill my responsibility as a son. Whenever I think of it, I feel guilty. Today I come to the Iron Buddha Temple to pray for my father's soul and to confess my sins in front of the Buddha."

Cai Daye said hurriedly: "Of course, the Iron Buddha Temple is very effective."

Chen Chang hummed.

Cai Daye added: "Speaking of which, Emperor Gaozu and I were once ministers in the same palace. Emperor Gaozu uprooted the fields and had a heroic demeanor. He began to assist the vassal states and had extraordinary strategies. He was a man of talent and courage, and had great ambitions. He eradicated the cruel and brutal people like pulling out rotten wood. He was lenient and benevolent in his administration, and was frugal. His achievements were so great that he was the best in Jiangzuo. When I heard the bad news, I was extremely sad..." As he spoke, he actually shed tears.

Chen Changxiao was quite sad, and said with red eyes: "Thank you, Master Cai, for still remembering my father!"

Cai Daye said, "If I get too close to Your Highness, I'm afraid I'll be criticized by the Northern Zhou. So, the emperor ordered me to accompany Your Highness to the Iron Buddha Temple to burn incense. The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, ethereal and elegant. It is a scenic spot in Jiangling. Your Highness lives in Chang'an, and I'm afraid you haven't seen the mountains and rivers of the Southern Dynasty for a long time."

"The Emperor has instructed that if Your Highness needs to visit other scenic spots in Jiangling, you should let me know. However, you must be prepared. I have heard about the incident at Wutou Station. Your Highness, please feel free to let us go. We have our people inside and outside the Iron Buddha Temple, so we will definitely not lose anything."

Chen Chang thanked them repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty and Lord Cai have made such detailed arrangements, I will obey your orders. However, I will not visit other places of interest, I will set off tomorrow and go downstream, I am in a hurry to return, I cannot delay for a moment."

Cai Daye smiled slightly and said, "In that case, I will do as your Highness wishes."

Afterwards, Cai Daye tactfully expressed to Chen Chang his intention to make peace with Nanchen. Chen Chang naturally kept it to himself, but he was still unsure about the situation in Jiankang, so he had to temporarily agree to convey the message.

…

Twenty miles east of Jiangling City there is a vast manor. In front of the gate of the manor, a small river flows slowly. Among the green water plants, dozens of fish can be vaguely seen chasing and playing.

The wall was surrounded by tall green trees, with a few Xiangfei bamboos here and there, rustling in the breeze.

In the main room of the manor, a scarred man was pacing back and forth anxiously. Several women stood beside him with their eyes drooping and their hands folded, fearing that they would displease the scarred man.

The scarred man was the one whom Chen Chang saw in the restaurant. His name was Jiao Er. His public identity was a merchant affiliated with the Lou family, but his real identity was a spy of Northern Qi. They used the identity of merchants to travel around in public and collect intelligence from Northern Zhou and Southern Chen.

The more Jiao thought about it, the more he hated and angrier he became. Veins on his forehead bulged one by one. He gritted his teeth and said, "It must have been those officers who did it! It must have been them, otherwise my carefully planned plan would have been in vain."

"Liang Yu has been targeted by the officer, so it is not appropriate to keep him. It was all because of my adoptive father's indecisiveness. He said that Liang Yu had made great contributions to the court and he had to be spared. Now the people we sent have been killed, and Liang Yu is missing. It is possible that he was captured by the officer."

A man named Zhang Fang said tremblingly: "Master, should we report this matter to the old master immediately and then seize it?"

Jiao Mu waved his hand suddenly, and the man's voice suddenly stopped as if it was cut off.

Jiao Mu said bitterly: "Adoptive father, it's my adoptive father again! He is getting older and older, and he is more and more cautious in doing things. Now Chen Chang from Nanchen is in Jiangling. Can he wait forever? My adoptive father can only let me endure it, but I have endured enough!"

The room was in complete silence. Jiao Mu slowly raised his head, his eyes red. "Don't you understand? My godfather is old now. He is no longer as brave and courageous as he was when he was young. Many opportunities were lost because of his indecision."

"Now, although the crown prince has succeeded to the throne of Northern Qi, the one who actually holds power is Changshan King Gao Yan. It is only a matter of time before he takes over. The reason why I did all this behind my adoptive father's back is to enhance our prestige."

"Chen Chang is from Jiangling. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Tomorrow he will leave Jiangling for Jiankang. If I can't seize the opportunity this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to present a great gift to the King of Changshan, and I will never have a chance to make a name for myself!"

"This..." Zhang Fang said in a low voice, "My Lord, the King of Changshan is extremely intelligent and good at politics. He followed the emperor to Yecheng and lived in the military governor's mansion. Yang Yin, Yan Zixian, Zhu Hunhe, Song Qindao, Zheng Zimo and others were afraid that their power would be threatened because of the high prestige of the king. They asked the emperor to appoint the king as the Grand Tutor, the Governor of Sizhou, and the Recorder of Shangshu."

"Prince Gao Zhan of Changguang has been appointed Grand Marshal and Minister of the Ministry of Records and Provinces, and has been relieved of his post as Grand Commander of the Capital Region. This shows that the Emperor has already become suspicious of the Prince. We have made the decision without asking for permission. If someone takes advantage of us, I am afraid that the dirty water will be splashed on the Prince again."

Jiao Mu walked around the room for a few times, gritted his teeth, and said coldly: "You don't know that the power of Northern Qi has returned to the hands of King Changshan..."

It turned out that Changshan King Gao Yan was the sixth son of Northern Qi's Shenwu brother Gao Huan, and the uncle of Northern Qi's current emperor Gao Yin.

At the end of March, Gao Yan took the opportunity at a banquet to arrest Shang Shu Ling Yang Yin, You Pushe Yan Zixian, Lingjun Ke Zhu Hunhe, Shizhong Song Qindao and other people who opposed him.

Afterwards, Gao Yan, together with the former king Duan Shao, the Pingqin king Gao Guiyan, and the general Liu Honghui, entered the palace from the Yunlong Gate, killed the Sanqi Changshi Zheng Zimo, and persuaded the governor Cheng Xiuning through Gao Guiyan.

Gao Yan came to Zhaoyang Palace and met with Emperor Gao Yin, Grand Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun, and Empress Dowager Li Zu'e. He presented the crimes of Yang Yin and others and requested punishment for killing them without authorization.

At that time, more than 2,000 guards in the courtyard and in the corridors on both sides were wearing armor and waiting for Gao Yin's orders. Wu Wei'e Yongle was extremely powerful and had been favored by Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang, so she was ready to serve Gao Yin at any time.

Although Gao Yin was the emperor, he had a stutter and the incident happened so suddenly that he didn't know what to say.

The Grand Empress Dowager Lou Zhaojun was the biological mother of Gao Yang and Gao Yan. She swore to the Empress Dowager Li Zu'e that Gao Yan had no intention of betraying her and only wanted to remove the threat.

Gao Guiyan ordered the guards to lower their guard, and then Yongle put the knife back into the sheath.

Gao Yan then ordered Gao Guiyan to lead the guards to Hualin Garden and sent troops from the capital to enter the palace to guard the gates, but Yongle was killed in Hualin Garden.

As a result, Gao Yin was forced to issue an edict to appoint Gao Yan as the prime minister, the commander-in-chief of all military affairs at home and abroad, and the recorder of the Secretariat. All the officials in the prime minister's office were promoted to the first rank, and all military and national affairs were decided by him.

Jiao Mu told everyone what was going on in the court, and then said, "If Chen Chang is assassinated in Jiangling, Northern Zhou and Hou Liang will be like yellow mud falling into their crotch. Hehe, once Northern Zhou and Southern Chen go to war, won't Northern Qi be able to sit back and enjoy the benefits? What do you think? Will His Royal Highness the King of Changshan look up to us?"

Zhang Fang said at a loss: "My Lord, it is not easy to assassinate Chen Chang in Jiangling. Chen Chang is protected by the guards of Southern Chen, and Northern Zhou and Later Liang have each sent people to protect him..."

Jiao Er laughed: "What a joke! What are we doing here? Are you just trying to find out some trivial news?"

Zhang Fang added: "Chen Chang has been assassinated once before, and the people around him must be more vigilant. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to succeed..."

Jiao Er rolled his eyes and said, "Humph, that's what Xu Chenchang's guards think."

Zhang Fang was startled at once, and the faces of the other people turned pale after hearing this. The old master was urgently recalled to Jinyang last night, and all major events here were decided by the master Jiao.

The old master knew that Chen Chang had entered Jiangling before he left, but he did not make any statement on the matter. He just ordered his men to continue collecting intelligence.

Now, the main focus is on making a risky move. Regardless of the success or failure of the assassination, the person who carries out the assassination will never return.

Zhang Fang's teeth chattered as he trembled, "Master, please think twice! This matter is of great importance and might ruin the old master's plans... We can't do this..."

Jiao Li ignored him and said in a deep voice: "Don't do anything about this matter. I have my own arrangements!"