According to Yin Chengjing's plan, he and Yao pretended to be a normal couple, and took a passenger ship south to Guangdong under the escort of their confidants. The rest of the troops would split up to confuse the pursuers, and then rush to Guangdong to meet him from different routes.
Although the coastal areas have been banned from sea trade, the profits from overseas trade are high, and there are still fleets going out to sea privately. There are also pirates and overseas merchants in the coastal areas, which can be said to be a mixed bag. If he hides in them, it will be like a cow in the sea, and it will be difficult to find his whereabouts. What's more, he still has some assets in Guangdong, which is also his chance to make a comeback.
Yao suddenly got pregnant, which was indeed a bit troublesome. Once the turmoil in the palace subsided, the next step would probably be to send people to hunt him down. Every moment of delay would increase the possibility of being caught. But the child in Yao's belly was still useful. If it was gone, it would not be so easy to create another one to cover up the truth in the future.
And the Yao family will still be useful in the future.
There are still people willing to follow him now. One reason is that they have been tied to his boat and there is no turning back. The other reason is that they are still hoping that he will make a comeback so that they can follow him to the sky.
But if his secret is discovered, I'm afraid these few remaining people will have to find a way out.
After quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Yin Chengjing's expression softened. He held her in his arms like a loving husband and soothed her softly, "Is it because the carriage was too bumpy just now?" He helped Yao sit on the large bluestone near the ferry, "The boat hasn't come yet, sit down first."
Yao covered her belly and curled up in his arms obediently. She lowered her eyes and looked around secretly, her heart beating fast.
The fingers covering her lower abdomen were so tense that they were slightly trembling. Her increasingly pale face made the lie seem even more true.
Yin Chengjing had no doubts. He frowned and thought carefully. Judging from Yao's condition, he might have to see a doctor first to make sure nothing went wrong.
Just as he was thinking this, several passenger ships were slowly approaching in the river.
It was already light in the sky, and early risers gathered at the ferry, looking at the approaching passenger ship. In the dark woods behind them, a flock of birds started to fly up.
After the passenger ship docked, the waiting people were about to board, but suddenly they saw a large number of armored and well-armored soldiers rushing out of the passenger ship.
Ordinary people have a natural fear of soldiers and officers, so they subconsciously spread out to the sides to make way. Yin Chengjing was shocked when he saw this, and subconsciously wanted to retreat. But the soldiers and officers outnumbered them, and they had nowhere to escape if they abandoned their horses!
Yin Chengjing tightly grasped Yao's hand and pulled her hard, forcing her to lower her head and blend in with the panicked people, trying to get away with it.
But at this moment, Yao cried out in pain again: "My husband, my stomach hurts so much."
Her voice immediately attracted the attention of the officers and soldiers. The leader narrowed his eyes and looked at her. His gaze swept over Yin Chengjing, and it seemed that he did not recognize him.
The other party was a stranger and probably had never seen him before. Yin Chengjing felt relieved, thinking fortunately that these officers and soldiers might not be looking for him.
"Catch the fugitive, everyone please show your identification documents." The officers and soldiers guarded the ferry and began to verify the identity documents one by one.
When it was Yin Chengjing's turn, he pushed Yao out first.
The identity documents had been prepared long ago, and the officers and soldiers could not see any problem.
Yao came forward holding the document, her fingers turning white with nervousness. The leading soldier took the document from her and examined it seriously. Yao was not sure whether these soldiers were the reinforcements that the man had said. She unconsciously rubbed her belly and was about to use a codeword to test it, when she saw the soldier suddenly close the document: "Catch them!"
Yao was startled, but found that these words were not directed at her. The soldiers surrounding the ferry quickly surrounded Yin Chengjing and his party.
Yin Chengjing's expression suddenly changed. He was about to fight to the death when he heard the other party say to another person, "The traitor has been arrested. Go to the palace and report the news immediately."
An officer took the order and left.
All his hopes were shattered. Yin Chengjing stopped pretending and looked at the commander coldly: "Prince An's men? How did you know I would take this path?"
He estimated that the purpose of dispersing the troops was to distract the line of sight and facilitate escape, and he also dressed up specially, thinking that he was foolproof, but he didn't expect to fall at the critical moment.
Yin Chengjing's eyes wandered from the officers and soldiers to Yao, who seemed to be relieved. He immediately understood and his eyes were red with anger: "It's you?!"
"You bastard! You even betrayed me!"
His words irritated Yao, who shuddered, straightened her frail back, and looked at him angrily: "A beast like you should have been deserted by everyone long ago!"
She has been under house arrest since she learned the truth, and she has been walking on thin ice every day. When Prince An sent someone to contact her, she agreed without hesitation. She has had enough of this kind of life! Rather than being tortured by Yin Chengjing and giving birth to his bastard, it is better to fight to the death.
Even death is better than living like a walking corpse!
Facing Yin Chengjing's murderous gaze, Yao recalled the scene when Wuzhu stabbed him with a knife, and felt that this man was nothing special.
She was not as powerful as Wuzhu and could not hurt the beast, but she could live to see his final end.
"I will beat this child, and then live well and see how you die in the end." Yao brushed the strands of hair in front of her forehead and gave him a pale smile.
Yin Chengjing was quickly taken away by the soldiers, and the people whose documents had been verified had already boarded the ferry.
In the end, only Yao was left there.
The officer and soldier commander was obviously informed, and handed her a document and a stack of banknotes: "This is the identity document and banknotes that the prince prepared for Madam. He also bought a house in Jiangnan, and the land deed is also included." He pointed to a kind-looking officer and soldier: "He will escort Madam south."
Yao took the document and banknote with shaking hands, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "In the prince's mansion..."
"When the Third Prince escaped, he set fire to the Prince's Mansion. The Third Prince's wife and concubine were both killed in the fire."
Yao heaved a sigh of relief and thought of her mother and brother at home... She closed her eyes, knowing that with her current status she would never be able to go back, so she could only be protected by soldiers and boarded another ship.
After all the passenger ships had left the ferry, the commander did not leave, but rearranged the arrangements as instructed.
The Dongchang guards followed the trail all the way and finally found Wuzhu in the woods.
After Wuzhu escaped, she got lost in the dark forest. She was not familiar with Wangjing, let alone outside of it. She did not dare to run around, so she stayed in the forest until dawn, and then followed the horse hoof prints back to the place where she had rested before and waited.
Fortunately, she still had some value, and the East Factory guard found her by following the marks she left behind.
The leading captain saw that she was the only one there, and frowned and asked, "Where is the Third Prince?"
Wuzhu pointed to the wheel tracks on the ground and said, "I escaped halfway, and Yin Chengjing led his men in that direction."
The guards had no choice but to take her with them and follow the wheel tracks. But when they arrived at the ferry, they saw only a few people waiting for the boat.
Several horses and an abandoned carriage were found in the nearby woods. It was obvious that Yin Chengjing and his party had already escaped on a passenger ship.
Upon seeing this, Qian Hu sent a team of men to the next ferry to track down the enemy, while he himself took Wu Zhu back to report to Xue Shu.
In the Qianqing Palace, Yin Chengyu, Yin Ciguang, and a group of ministers were guarding the outer hall. The gate to the inner hall was guarded by two eunuchs, Xue Shu and Gao Xian, and only the imperial physician could enter and exit.
Emperor Longfeng had been unconscious for half the night after falling into the water, and the entire Imperial Hospital was mobilized. The imperial doctors took turns to diagnose and save him for half the night, and finally pulled him back from the brink of death.
The sun rises early in early summer. When the sun rises to the roof, the judge finally comes out, wiping his sweat. His first words are: "Your Majesty has woken up." His second words are to Gao Xiansuo: "Your Majesty, please call Eunuch Gao in."
Xue Shu's brows twitched, he glanced at Gao Xian, and then looked at Yin Chengyu silently.
Gao Xian stayed in the inner hall for two quarters of an hour before coming out and saying, "Your Majesty still needs to rest. The Crown Prince, the Prince, and the others can go back and rest first." He then handed a token to Yin Ciguang and said, "Your Majesty also orders Prince An to temporarily take over the defense of the palace."
When Yin Ci Guang reached out to take the token, he saw him open his mouth and said silently: Done.
Done.
Yin Ci Guang narrowed his eyes and put the token into his sleeve.
Emperor Longfeng gave the order, and the group could no longer stay in the outer hall, so they retreated one after another.
After all the court officials had left, Yin Chengyu went out with Xue Shu. Now that Emperor Longfeng was seriously ill, they no longer needed to avoid suspicion. Yin Ciguang followed him out, and Yin Chengyu heard him instructing Gao Xian to rearrange the defenses in the palace, and to impose martial law in the city to search for the rebels.
Yin Chengyu frowned and stood there waiting for him.
Yin Ciguang walked up to him and greeted him: "Your Highness, do you have something to say to me?"
"What exactly do you want to do, brother?" Yin Chengyu looked at him inquiringly, with a puzzled look on his face. Only now did he realize that he actually didn't know this brother very well.
But there was no trace of hypocrisy in their interactions before.
If it was really just an act, then Yin Ci Guang was pretending too seriously.
"Of course, to do what I have always wanted to do." Yin Ci Guang smiled at him, his expression surprisingly peaceful.
Yin Chengyu looked at him for a long time, then turned and left. Xue Shu followed him closely, turned his head and glanced at Yin Ciguang, his eyes full of hostility.
Like a beast guarding its food.
After returning to Ciqing Palace, Xue Shu talked about the matter of Wuzhu and Yin Chengjing.
"The Third Prince's mansion was burned down, which saved us a lot of trouble. Let's have someone escort Wuzhu to Wala as soon as possible. Now that Muduo and Mubal are at a disadvantage in the fight for the throne, it's just the right time for Wuzhu to go there."
Arrangements had already been made for Wuzhu's destination, but to Yin Chengyu's surprise, Yin Chengjing escaped.
“乘坐南下的客船，殷承璟不想引人注目，身邊定然帶不了太多人。敢如此冒險行事，必然還有其他依仗。”殷承玉分析道。
“據烏珠所說，昨夜她們離開農莊時，有不少人馬跟随。今日番役四處搜查，捉到了幾支擾亂視線的隊伍，對方也招供說殷承璟還私藏了五千兵馬。如今這些兵馬已經兵分數路南下與殷承璟彙合。恐怕是想在南地複起。”
“放虎歸山贻害無窮。一旦殷承璟南下，我們鞭長莫及。”殷承玉道：“你立即從京營再增調人馬往各地去截斷南下的水陸要塞，務必捉拿殷承璟。”
薛恕也明白殷承璟逃至南地的危害，聞言立即便策馬往京營去調兵，沿途追捕亂黨。同時又讓番役快馬加鞭趕往沿途州府報信，提前截斷南下通路。
因為三皇子謀逆，京中全面戒嚴，氣氛陡然緊張起來。
隆豐帝病重，依然是太子建國。只是最近隆豐帝頻頻召見重臣，榻前卻是安王常伴左右，便讓衆臣心中生出些許不安來。
總覺得這天似要變了。
殷承玉也察覺殷慈光似在謀劃什麽。
龔鴻飛已下了大獄，如今宮中防衛掌于殷慈光之手。殷承玉雖然明面上未曾插手，但暗地裏卻收到不少消息——殷慈光動作頻頻，十分不對勁。
他思索着殷慈光下一步，卻總覺得自己忽略了什麽。
一點一點複盤逼宮那晚的情形：殷承璟逼宮、皇帝落水、殷慈光救駕、再到殷承璟出逃……
那晚所有細節在殷承玉腦中喚醒，他忽然發現了自己一直忽略了最重要的一點——高賢是個唯利是圖的小人，殷慈光能有什麽利益打動他？
唯有皇位。
高賢素來與薛恕不對付，他自知若是自己登基，薛恕必定不會放過他，所以他會投靠殷慈光并不意外。
叫人意外的是他似乎對殷慈光言聽計從。
按照高賢謹慎的性格，他應該在殷慈光和殷承璟身上都壓下籌碼才對。
但他卻毫不猶豫地站在了殷慈光身後，那必然是殷慈光有足夠的籌碼誘惑他涉險。
殷承玉心念急轉，想到什麽後立即出宮去尋了烏珠求證——烏珠暫時安置在宮外一處宅子裏，明日就要啓程前往瓦剌。
見他忽然出現，烏珠露出疑惑之色：“太子殿下可還有事要交代？”
殷承玉卻問起了姚氏：“孤之前讓你拉攏姚氏時，姚氏可有異樣？”
烏珠聞言撇嘴道：“能有什麽異樣？姚氏一向膽小怯懦，我尋了她幾次試探合作，她都支支吾吾敷衍過去了。”
“不對。”殷承玉搖頭：“她在發現真相之後能讓貼身丫鬟分了數個藥鋪買藥材自己調制堕胎藥，至少說明她并不是個一味順從的懦弱之人。”
這樣的人，當生的機會遞到面前時，可能會猶豫遲疑，卻不該完全拒絕。
除非她已另有出路。
“你說那晚護送你們從農莊出來的兵馬不少，可能推測大概人數？”殷承玉又問。
烏珠搖頭：“當時情況太匆忙，聲音又雜亂，沒法确定大概，只知人數應該不少。”
“那可有五千？”殷承玉換了個問法，
“沒有。”烏珠長于草原，沒少參與征戰。她斬釘截鐵道：“雖然無法确定大致數量，但絕不會有五千之多。”她努力回憶着道：“若我沒記錯的話，聽馬蹄聲最多應該不超過千人。”
殷承玉臉色微變，想起薛恕曾與自己所說的消息——殷承璟還私藏了五千兵馬。
中計了。
有人故意放出殷承璟還私藏有五千兵馬的消息，就是為了引他分出大量兵力去追捕殷承璟。
想到如今宮中甚至望京城內逐漸加強的防衛，殷承玉心中逐漸明了。
怕是殷慈光也想要重演逼宮戲碼，只是他當不會像殷承璟那般蠢。
辭別烏珠，殷承玉趕回慈慶宮，一面命信使立即出城給薛恕傳信，一面召了衛西河過來——薛恕帶兵離開之前，将衛西河留了下來。
“如今東、西兩廠可用兵馬還餘多少？”
“督主從京營調了兩萬人，禁軍只帶走了一半，還餘下萬餘人。”衛西河道。
“還有萬餘人，若猜測成真，這些人應當足夠撐到薛恕帶人趕回來了。”思索許久之後，殷承玉拟定好對應之策，才讓衛西河下去部署。
他遙遙看向乾清宮的方向，雖然心裏仍有一絲猶疑，覺得以他對殷慈光的了解，對方尚不至如此。但理智卻已容不得他為了這一份岌岌可危的信任去冒險。
衛西河的動作已經很快，但殷慈光的動作顯然要更快一步。
這日傍晚，高賢奉皇帝口谕而來——太子禁足慈慶宮。
眼看着禁軍将慈慶宮圍得水洩不通，殷承玉站在門口，臉上并無意外慌亂之色：“不知孤犯了何錯要被禁足？”
高賢高擡着下巴，神色倨傲：“這是陛下口谕，咱家也不知道太子殿下如何觸怒了陛下。”
“那便讓孤去父皇面前分說分說。”殷承玉往前一步，身側護衛亦氣勢悍然地拔刀。
“太子殿下是想抗旨麽？”高賢見狀搖頭一笑，反而像盼着他動手一般：“咱家還要去宮外宣旨，就不再這裏耽擱了。”
殷承玉本也只是試探他，見狀擺了下手，護衛們便收了刀，護着他退回了慈慶宮。
在慈慶宮中等到了傍晚，殷承玉又得了消息——高賢出宮走了一趟，将朝中重臣都宣入了宮。
這流程瞧着與殷承璟逼宮差不離，但他這回卻是實打實拿着皇帝的手谕。
乾清宮中情形不明，殷承玉擺着棋子思索如今局勢，并未着急動手。
永熙宮。
殷慈光一身白衣，正在燒紙錢。
高賢走近，瞧見他平靜的面色，越發慶幸當初自己押對了寶。誰能想到就是這麽個溫潤無害的人，竟讓太子也陰溝裏翻了船呢？
他行至殷慈光身後，躬身道：“夜長夢多，王爺為何不直接殺了那位。”
看着火舌将最後一片紙錢吞噬，殷慈光才緩緩轉過臉看了他一眼：“且不說太子素有威望，直接殺了他惹人诟病。就說薛恕帶了兩萬多人出京，殺了太子，你可能擋住那條瘋狗？”
高賢顯然沒有想到這一層，恭維道：“還是王爺想得周到。”
殷慈光站起身，将手伸至他面前：“诏書呢？”
高賢自袖中将诏書遞給他，殷慈光展開看了一眼，便收入了袖中——這正是隆豐帝落水醒來那日，召了高賢入殿內所寫。
他嘴角輕蔑地撇了下，轉身往外走：“先去瞧瞧殷承璟。”
殷承璟與德妃關押在一處。
自那日在渡口被抓獲，他已經被關了三日。這三日間沒有食水，就這麽生生餓着。
以至于瞧見殷慈光出現時，他都沒有太大的波動，只眼皮無力掀起，裏頭湧出怨恨和不甘來。他不是沒有想過失敗的下場，但他确實從未想過，自己會敗在這麽個病秧子手裏！
母子倆沒力氣開口，殷慈光也不說話。
他站在監牢門前瞧了許久，方才吩咐道：“将人押出來。”
兩人三日未曾進食，已經餓得發虛。親衛一人一個輕輕松松将人押出來，跟在殷慈光身後。
如今宮中防衛都掌在殷慈光手中，他可在宮中來去無阻。
他帶着兩人去了乾清宮。
因他奮不顧身救駕，如今隆豐帝誰也不信，只将他當做了救命稻草死死抓住，對他可謂是言聽計從。
殷慈光腳步輕快地進了內殿，讓伺候的宮人和太醫退出去，親自将昏睡的人叫醒。
“父皇，你看看誰來了。”
隆豐帝迷迷糊糊睜開眼睛，就瞧見了他身後的德妃母子。
想起這二人先前是如何戕害自己，隆豐帝眼裏燃起怒火，艱難撐着身體坐起來，口齒不清地罵道：“賤人！孽障！”
殷慈光嘴角勾着笑，等他罵完了才繼續道：“兒臣特意将他們帶過來，讓父皇親自報仇。”
隆豐帝有些茫然地看着他，似乎沒理解親自報仇是什麽意思，只艱難道：“都……殺了！”
殷慈光并未回應他的話，而是轉頭對殷承璟和德妃道：“從今日開始你們就呆在乾清宮贖罪。”在另外三人茫然不解的眼神中，他不疾不徐道：“什麽時候贖清罪孽，什麽時候才能出來。”
說完不等其他人明白，便命人解了德妃與殷承璟身上的枷鎖，退了出去。
他站在門外，雙手按着兩扇門扉緩緩合攏，似剛想起來一般補充道：“差點忘了說，只有最先贖完罪的那個人，才能走出這道門。”
話音落下，門扉合攏，屋中三人都聽到了清晰的落鎖聲。
德妃還沒想明白，扭頭看殷承璟：“他什麽意思？”
殷承璟扭曲着面孔，嘶聲道：“他這是逼着我們互相殘殺，只有一個人能活着出去！”