"What do you want to do? Are you going to kill Jinzhi?" Fourteen asked upon hearing Zhu Wanyin's words.
"What? Didn't you dislike her? Now you can't bear to part with her?" Zhu Wanyin stared at Fourteen.
"She is still my primary wife, you must release her, otherwise I, the Fourteenth Prince, will not let this go. You either kill me, or release me and Lady Wanyan," the Fourteenth Prince said.
"You, you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?" Zhu Wanyin said.
"I know you dare! So many people's lives and deaths are decided by you, what else wouldn't you dare to do!" Fourteen said.
"You, hurry up and leave, or if this princess changes her mind, you might be dead!" Zhu Wanyin said angrily. Although she had been sent to grow up in an ordinary family since childhood, how could the daughter of the Third Prince Zhu be buried in obscurity? When Zhu Wanyin was six years old, someone suddenly came to her, told her about her background, and secretly taught her martial arts. Unexpectedly, Zhu Wanyin had a high talent for martial arts, and her skills improved greatly in a few years. At the age of twelve, she took charge of the White Lotus Sect. It turned out that this organization, which was active among the people and had a large number of followers, had always been founded by the subordinates of the Third Prince Zhu. Their purpose was to train a group of assassins who would be loyal to the Third Prince Zhu and also to collect money.
“Wanyin, the Ming Dynasty has been gone for decades. Don’t be so stubborn. You are a perfectly good young girl who could have lived a carefree life. Why did you have to participate in this kind of cult? Why did you have to do something as futile as a mantis trying to stop a chariot?” Fourteen got up from the ground and slowly stood up.
Zhu Wanyin looked at Fourteen's handsome and heroic face. The two stood quietly in the heavy rain, looking at each other.
"You can leave now. I will release Wanyan Shi," Zhu Wanyin said softly.
"Wanyin, as long as you give up all of this, I can forgive and forget. Then, will you be with me?" Fourteen said emotionally.
Zhu Wanyin stared blankly at the Fourteenth Prince for a long time before shaking her head and saying, "It's impossible. They won't allow me to do this. I'm carrying too heavy a burden. You'd better kill me today, or I'll come back to kill your emperor."
Fourteenth Prince silently watched Zhu Wanyin, and finally could only turn around and walk to his horse, mount it, take the reins, tug at them, and say to her, "Wanyin, I will wipe out the White Lotus Sect. If you are willing, I can keep you as my mistress for the rest of my life. Until we meet again!"
Fourteenth Brother shouted, kicked his horse's belly, and galloped away. Zhu Wanyin stood in the rain, quietly watching Fourteenth Brother's retreating figure, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.
When the Fourteenth Emperor returned to the Temple of Heaven, the disaster victims had already been orderly dispersed by the officials of the Prefect of the Capital. The White Lotus Sect assassins hidden among them had all been killed; the assassins lay lifeless corpses on the ground. In addition, nearly two hundred civilians had been killed by these people; they were innocent victims manipulated by these cult assassins, so they could only blame themselves for their own folly. Emperor Kangxi ordered that they be properly buried.
The blood on the ground had been washed away by the rain. Fourteen, clutching his shoulder, walked step by step toward the room where Kangxi was.
"Fourteenth, where did you go? Did you catch up?" Tenth Master immediately went to greet Fourteenth when he saw him return.
"She got away! Is Father Emperor alright?" Fourteenth Prince asked calmly.
"Father is fine. What happened to you? Are you injured?" The Tenth Prince noticed the injury on the Fourteenth Prince's shoulder.
"Hmm, just a minor injury. It's nothing!" Fourteenth said, heading straight for the room where Kangxi was.
Inside the room, Emperor Kangxi was listening to the Fourth Prince report on the casualties outside. Seeing the Fourteenth Prince enter, he immediately asked, "Fourteenth Prince, how did you get injured?"
Several princes looked at the Fourteenth Prince, as did several trusted ministers.
"It's just a minor injury. I'm relieved that Father is alright," the Fourteenth Prince said with a smile.
"Fourteenth Brother, your fourth brother said that it was fortunate that you reminded him this time, otherwise those cult bandits would have taken advantage of the situation, and the consequences would have been unimaginable." Kangxi looked at Fourteenth Brother approvingly.
"It was all thanks to Fourth Brother's decisive judgment that he quickly ordered my son and Tenth Brother to go back and summon the Imperial Guards," Fourteenth Brother said, glancing at Fourth Master.
Prince Heshuo watched the two brothers' brotherly affectionate behavior with a bitter taste in his mouth; the Third Prince was also watching with amusement; while the Eighth and Ninth Princes were having other plans in mind.
Emperor Kangxi publicly announced that he would reward the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, and then allocated silver from his private treasury to the Temple of Heaven. After all, such a bloody conflict had occurred in such a sacred place, and there was always a need to clean up the mess.
The heavy rain fell, and the disaster victims scattered, dispelling the rumors of the so-called ominous stars. However, Kangxi was still preoccupied with another matter. He dismissed everyone and ordered them to prepare to return to the Forbidden City, then summoned Ji Changming to his presence privately by Liang Jiugong.
"Minister Ji, the heavy rain has now fallen, and it is thanks to your accurate predictions that the imperial dignity has been upheld among the people. I reward you!" Kangxi said with a kind smile.
Ji Changming dared not be careless, for he knew that the emperor's mood was always unpredictable; one moment he was all smiles, the next he might be chopping off your head.
"It is all thanks to His Majesty's boundless blessings. This humble subject has only contributed a small amount of effort. How could I possibly deserve His Majesty's reward?" Ji Changming said respectfully.
Kangxi was very satisfied with his response and nodded with a smile, saying, "My dear minister, could you have calculated the matter you mentioned the other day? I remember now, the fourth prince's concubine is pregnant with twins and will be giving birth soon. I was wondering if the Wenwu star you calculated is located in the fourth prince's concubine's body?"
Ji Changming pointed with his fingers and said to Kangxi, "That's possible. Your Majesty, I'll go back and calculate it carefully. If these two stars really correspond to the womb of the Fourth Prince's concubine, then these two children will have to be raised separately!"
Kangxi asked, "Why?"
Ji Changming said, "These two stars are inherently incompatible. I fear that if they are together, disaster will occur. If they can be separated, then the bearded star can avoid some of the disaster. When they have both grown up, I will pray for their well-being and ward off any calamities. At that time, these two stars may become the backbone of the Qing Dynasty."
Kangxi was silent for a moment, then said to Ji Changming, "My dear minister, go back and calculate, and do it quickly! I need to know who it is!"
After a heavy rain, the air in the capital city was noticeably better. Meanwhile, the women in the Fourth Prince's residence, each with their own thoughts, looked at the scene outside after the rain, noting that the vegetation in the courtyard had become lush and verdant.
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