Chapter 1 Gang Ya's Judgment

Gang Ya nodded, leading the two maids who had followed her out of the carriage. She went straight through the central gate into the Yang residence, crossed the courtyard, and arrived at the backyard, which was rich in the style of Jiangnan gardens.

She dismissed the trusted palace maids she had brought from the palace and knocked on the door of her father, Yang Zhengli's, study. Behind the wide desk, a middle-aged man in a black fish-embroidered gold-threaded cloud-patterned casual suit, with a green beard reaching his chest, held a scroll in his hand, concentrating on it.

A hint of joy was etched between his brows. As he read, he stroked his beard from time to time, indicating he was in an excellent mood. "Father, what makes you so happy?"

Gang Ya turned around and closed the door!

Yang Zheng put down the scroll, his face full of smiles. "It's a report of victory from Ce'er. The defending army ambushed the enemy camp last night, wiping out more than 50,000 soldiers of the Northern Dynasty and seizing silver and money. Such a feat will surely shock the Northern Dynasty. If he can hold Linxia and repel the Northern Dynasty, our Yang family will be the number one family in the Southern Dynasty!"

Speaking of this, he suddenly stared at his eldest daughter, Yang Yun, and frowned. "Aren't you returning to the palace? Why did you turn back?"

Gang Ya revealed a worried expression. "Father, the palace gates are tightly closed, and I can't return. The Imperial City Division said that His Majesty was assassinated last night, and the assassin is still lurking in the palace. The Imperial City Division is trying its best to search for the assassin. Before that, no one can enter or leave the palace. This is His Majesty's order!"

Yang Zheng was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed drastically. Something was wrong!

Gang Ya asked, "Father, why do you say that?"

Yang Zheng sat down at the table with a solemn expression, thinking for a full three minutes. Suddenly, he stood up like an ant on a hot pot and paced back and forth in the study. "His Majesty was poisoned a few days ago, and then assassinated again last night. With the Imperial City Division's capabilities, one oversight is understandable, but to allow His Majesty to be assassinated twice in a row means that the assassin is in the Imperial City Division, which is controlled by the Zheng family."

Yang Zheng took a deep breath, his expression grave. "The Zheng family wants to rebel. How dare they rebel?"

The Yang and Zheng families were old rivals. Yang Zheng knew Zheng Wenhan's ambition and knew the Zheng family's fear of the Yang family, but he never expected the Zheng family to dare assassinate the emperor.

Gang Ya feigned a panicked expression. "The Zheng family wants to rebel? What... what should we do?"

As a scout, with her analytical ability and insight into the situation, she had analyzed it before returning to the palace. However, Yang Yun, the eldest daughter of the Yang family, was gentle and weak, so she had to maintain her persona. After Gang Ya woke up, she actively explored and collected information. Using the identities of the Yang family's eldest daughter and the Empress, she had almost figured out the situation.

First of all, her main mission was to help the Yang family gain the emperor's trust, and the Yang family, with Yang Ce leading the expedition, was a staunch supporter of the Southern Dynasty camp. In other words, her camp was the Southern Dynasty.

Analyzing the identities and camps of her teammates from her own perspective, Gang Ya believed that Yang Ce was likely Fu Qingyang, whether in terms of level or profession.

Fu Qingyang perfectly fit the identity of Yang Ce. As for Yuan Shi's identity, the current suspect was the foolish emperor.

After all, among the roles in the Southern Dynasty camp that matched Yuan Shi's level, there was the crucial "Doomed Monarch." A Saint was definitely impossible, and the only one who could compete with Yuan Shi for the position of "Doomed Monarch" was Xia Hou Aotian.

After all, Xia Hou Aotian was also a Ruler, but Gang Ya felt that according to their hidden ratings, Xia Hou Aotian couldn't handle the "Doomed Monarch" role.

If Yuan Shi was the emperor, Gang Ya was initially very relieved, feeling that a mere assassin could never assassinate Yuan Shi. But today, after trying to return to the palace and being blocked, Gang Ya became anxious.

The palace was still under the control of the Zheng family, indicating that Yuan Shi was in a dangerous situation. How could a dignified level seven Night Watchman fall into such a predicament?

Gang Ya had participated in a fair number of high-difficulty dungeons and was temporarily unable to deduce the reason, but Yuan Shi was definitely encountering difficulties.

So, she rushed back to the Yang family to ask her father for help. Seeing her daughter panicking, Yang Zheng waved his hand, displaying the composure of a powerful figure who had left the court. "The emperor was assassinated twice in a short period. The Zheng family has sealed the palace gates, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. This precisely shows that the Zheng family has not succeeded. The emperor may be hiding in the palace or not in the palace at all."

Gang Ya nodded slightly. "That's why they didn't let me return to the palace. By the way, Father, when I came back just now, I saw people acting suspiciously outside the mansion, so I asked the butler to apprehend them!"

Hearing this, Yang Zheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately ordered the butler to be summoned.

Gang Ya curtsied and opened the study door, summoning her personal palace maid. She whispered a few words in her ear, and the palace maid ran off. Half an hour later, the middle-aged butler in brocade clothes hurried over.

"Master, Empress." The butler bowed. Gang Ya immediately asked, "Have the thieves outside the mansion been captured?"

The butler bowed. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old servant was negligent. I thought the thieves outside the mansion were just petty thieves. The six guards captured them, but the thieves were highly skilled, injuring the guards and escaping calmly."

Gang Ya frowned and looked at Yang Zheng. "What do you think, Father?"

Yang Zheng didn't answer but waved his hand to dismiss the butler. Then, he said in a deep voice, "Several experts disguised as peddlers and hawkers are watching my Yang family's movements."

He chewed on this for a few seconds, and after excluding several guesses in his mind, he smiled. "In that case, the emperor has escaped from the palace. When the Empress Dowager chose you as empress, I knew she wanted to use the Yang family to restrain the Zheng family. It seems she still left a backup plan in the palace; otherwise, the emperor wouldn't be able to escape the palace."

Gang Ya suddenly understood. "After the emperor escapes from the palace, he will definitely try to ask you for help, so Zheng Wenhan is waiting for him."

Yang Zheng stroked his beard and smiled. "Yun'er, you should stay in the mansion for a while longer. Your father will find His Majesty."

On the way back along the capital's main road after leaving the Yang residence, Jiang Jingwei complained, "Why didn't we just go straight in? If I threw a fireball, we could enter the Yang residence. Then we could shout that the emperor is here, and the spies wouldn't be able to stop us. Wouldn't we be able to connect with the Yang family then?"

Zhang Yuanqing laughed. "And then, the spies ambushing nearby would come up and deal with us, escaping into the night, and the Yang family would come out to collect our corpses."

The Queen patted him. "Jingwei is still a child. Why mock her?"

The Queen explained, "Jingwei, doing so might succeed, but it's more likely that we'll be killed by the Yang family's hidden agents. Don't forget, the Leader is currently seriously ill, and his physique is weaker than ordinary people."

Jiang Jingwei looked unconvinced, and the Queen continued to educate her. "The more difficult the dungeon, the more cautious you must be. Learn to proceed step by step, know yourself and your enemy, instead of always thinking about taking a gamble. You will always lose when you gamble, and once you lose, the consequence is returning to the Lingjing."

"Sometimes, we would rather give up the opportunity than maintain a cautious style and principle."

Jiang Jingwei made an "I understand" expression, but Zhang Yuanqing knew that for most Fire Masters, these admonitions and teachings went in one ear and out the other. When things actually happened, they would still do whatever they wanted when their emotions ran high.

After patting Jingwei's head, the Queen turned to Zhang Yuanqing. "Leader, we should find our lost teammates."

Hong Ji-ge and the Palace Master are Saints. They can use Saint-quality items to treat the Leader's illness!

Because they were unfamiliar with the environment of the capital, they hadn't set a meeting point when they scattered and fled yesterday. They only agreed to leave secret messages near their hiding places, using the principle of "odd changes, even stays the same; look at the quadrant for the symbol."

Of course, the capital was very large, so even if they left secret messages, they might not be able to meet successfully. Therefore, the team also had a first meeting method, which was to meet at the Tianji Tower before the end of the 72 hours.

Because the Tianji Tower was the place where the National Preceptor observed the stars and offered sacrifices to the heavens, Zhang Yuanqing knew that the capital was too large to find easily, and now the city was under strict investigation. They definitely wouldn't be able to finish touring the capital during the day.

"If we're still wandering the streets before dusk, we'll have to stay in an inn, but staying in an inn is too unsafe. Inns and restaurants are the Zheng family's key search targets. The safest situation is to reach the Tianji Tower before the end of the 72 hours," Zhang Yunqing said.

"Our arrival at the Tianji Tower coincides with the 72-hour crisis," the Queen said worriedly!

"You're playing world line convergence," Zhang Yuanqing thought. If that's really the case, then there's nothing he can do.