"When the city was sealed off, we disguised ourselves as funeral processions and prepared to leave the city. When the Black Armor Army came to inspect, if I'm not mistaken, that arrow was shot by one of your men, wasn't it?"
At that time, Liu Jing had already walked to the coffin and seemed to have noticed the problem. If he were to examine it further, he might actually be able to find the flaw. The arrow that was suddenly shot out helped them.
Afterwards, Su Ruojin also asked her secret guards and Rong Qizhou to investigate who had helped them, but they found nothing.
Rong Qizhou suspected at the time that it might be related to the Night Alliance.
Tao Zhengyu nodded. "Your Highness guessed correctly. My men had already reported this to me, and I sent someone to shoot that arrow. However, it wasn't to save Your Highness; it was just to cooperate with Liu Jing in putting on a show."
"Actually, whether my men shoot that arrow or not, Your Highness, you will all be able to leave the city safely. But only by shooting that arrow can Liu Jing be protected from being exposed."
How to protect Liu Jing from being exposed?
Is Liu Jing also one of Tao Zhengyu's men?
This surprised Su Ruojin and Xiao Yanchu.
"Actually, every time you, my princess, encounter Liu Jing, he is secretly protecting you."
"When the city was first sealed off, he sent people to guard the city gates, ostensibly to search for you within the city, but actually to confuse the situation and stop other imperial guards or city garrison soldiers who wanted to leave the city to look for you, giving you time to escape," Tao Zhengyu continued.
At that time, Su Ruojin and her companions had not yet been exposed. On the surface, they were just ordinary merchants from the Great Chu Kingdom. They had offended Princess Yuening, and if they were caught, they would most likely face certain death.
"At that time, I did not know the identities of the princess and you. The princess saved my wife and children, so it was impossible for you to be captured by the princess. Therefore, Liu Jing used the pretext of searching to prevent others from actually finding you and to give you enough time to escape. But I did not expect you to return."
"During the second funeral procession, Liu Jing led the Black Armor Army to investigate, so no one will suspect that Your Highness and the others have already left the city."
I see.
Su Ruojin recalled that when Madam Tao forced General Wu's mansion, Liu Jing also stepped forward to protect the Wu family.
It turns out that Liu Jing was actually Tao Zhengyu's man.
"And Liu Jing is none other than the chivalrous man I rescued from Jinzhou and who taught me martial arts. After he followed me, I felt that it was a waste of his talents to have him as my bodyguard, so I asked my father to change his identity and let him work in the palace."
With the secret help of Prime Minister Lu, he rose step by step to the position of commander of the Black Armor Army through his own skillful maneuvers.
Hearing Tao Zhengyu say this, Su Ruojin and Xiao Yanchu understood why the Black Armor Army hadn't appeared yesterday.
"So, Liu Jing hasn't appeared yet because he's gone to chase after Empress Wu and the others." Su Ruojin's statement wasn't a question, but a statement of fact; Xiao Yanchu and she had already guessed it before.
Tao Zhengyu smiled faintly, "Yes, we had already anticipated that Empress Dowager Wu and the others might escape, but we didn't know where the secret passage between the Empress Dowager and the Grand Preceptor was. So Liu Jing led the Black Armor Army to make arrangements in advance."
"Back then, when I sent people to find the two imperial physicians who used to take care of Consort Yun, was it you who provided the clues to my people?" Su Ruojin thought of this detail again.
Otherwise, how could Rong Qizhou have investigated so easily back then? But if the Night Alliance was helping him behind the scenes, it makes sense.
At this point, Tao Zhengyu had nothing left to hide, so he nodded, "Yes. By the way, are the Princess's people still looking for the two people who came to Xiaoyue from Da Chu with Young Master Lu?"
"Yes," Su Ruojin said. She had been asking Rong Qizhou to search for the two Dark Alliance subordinates who had come to Xiaoyue with Lu Junyuan, but they had not been found.
“Those two are not dead. They are imprisoned in the dungeon of my Night Alliance. I have been unable to find out their identities, so I have not dared to release them. Since they are the Princess's people, I will have someone hand them over to the Princess in a while.”
Are those two in the Night Alliance's dungeon?
No wonder we haven't been able to find any news.
"Young Master Tao truly lives up to his title as the leader of the Night Alliance; his strategic planning is indeed superb," Xiao Yanchu praised.
"Your Highness is too kind. Your Highness and Your Highness, if there is anything that Night Alliance can do for you in the future, please do not hesitate to ask, and we will do our utmost to help."
Tao Zhengyu said sincerely that he knew the prince and princess had summoned him today because they had something to discuss.
The reason he was so honest and told everything about the Night Alliance was so that the prince and princess could trust him to handle anything if needed.
"Young Master Tao, have you heard of the Dark Alliance of Great Chu?"
Su Ruojin was so tired when she got back yesterday that she fell asleep immediately and didn't have time to talk to Xiao Yanchu much. But now that she has spoken, Xiao Yanchu immediately understands what she wants to do.
"I have heard of it, but the Night Alliance is certainly no match for the Dark Alliance. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Your Highness, but when I created the Night Alliance, I also had the intention of drawing inspiration from the Dark Alliance."
“Young Master Tao, if I wish to establish a branch of the Dark Alliance in Xiaoyue, I wonder if you would be willing to manage the Dark Alliance for me? Of course, your Night Alliance can also exist at the same time, without any conflict.”
Tao Zhengyu didn't react for a moment after hearing Su Ruojin's words.
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