Xu Jiaying felt a little uncomfortable when she heard this.

But for some reason, after hesitating for a moment, she still agreed.

As dusk approached, the three of them sat around the table for dinner.

Although the atmosphere was a bit awkward at first, as time passed, by the end of the meal, the aura between the three of them gradually merged, even becoming somewhat warm.

Late at night.

Su Wen, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, sent a message that everything was in place.

In order to ensure everything was foolproof, Jing Yue specially arranged for several hidden guards to protect Jiang Chen, while she personally went to the Court of Judicial Review to await the 'prey' to come to the door.

The night was dark and the wind was high, and the palace road was deserted.

It was the second half of the night, and the imperial city was under curfew.

Except for a few palace servants on duty, the rest of the place was closed and locked, with no one moving around.

Suddenly, a black shadow sneaked out of Consort Mei's palace, moving extremely fast, leaping several miles in the blink of an eye, yet silently, making it impossible to capture her figure.

The Court of Cautious Punishment was a prison specially set up in the imperial palace, directly under the Department of Internal Affairs, specializing in dealing with palace servants and concubines who had committed mistakes in the imperial palace.

It was heavily guarded with a complex internal structure.

For ordinary people, this kind of place was difficult to enter, and even more difficult to get out!

Jing Yue arrived here and hid directly on top of the palace maid who had been arranged as a witness, on the highest beam in the prison.

Outside the Court of Cautious Punishment, the guarding forces had tripled tonight. The patrolling imperial guards were like swimming fish, constantly shuttling everywhere, and the torches in their hands illuminated this once dark prison like daylight.

Time passed quickly, and it was soon the second half of the night.

This was the time when people were most sleepy and most likely to relax.

But Jiang Chen in the imperial palace, Mei Ruoying, and Mei Wenshi in the official residence dozens of miles away were all sleepless at this time.

Jing Yue guarded quietly, without the slightest relaxation, constantly staring at the palace maid below.

Another half hour passed, and as dawn was approaching and the people of the imperial capital were sound asleep, a plume of black smoke shot straight into the sky!

The Court of Judicial Review in the city caught fire, and the fire spread rapidly, engulfing the entire district. Many nearby government offices, such as the Ministry of Rites, were also affected, becoming fuel to feed the fire dragon.

The fire, which lit up half the sky, made Jiang Chen, who was standing high in the imperial palace and looking out, feel frightened and his fists clenched tightly.

This mastermind behind the scenes deserved to die! Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) was not enough!

With such a big fire, what would happen to the people living there? Wouldn't they all lose their lives!

Jiang Chen's face was extremely ugly, but he still made a rational response, and said in a deep voice, "Come, send a message to the Five City Military Command to put out the fire quickly and rescue the people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another burst of fire rose up, extremely close.

When Jiang Chen saw it, his face instantly twisted.

The fire was actually burning inside the imperial palace!

Looking at the direction, it was the Court of Cautious Punishment!

"Audacious! Truly audacious! To dare to set fire to my imperial palace!"

Jiang Chen was extremely angry, and blue veins were faintly popping out on his forehead.

"Feng Jin, you, personally lead the imperial guards to the Court of Cautious Punishment, and be sure to catch these criminals, dead or alive, understand?!"

Jiang Chen's voice was extremely cold, carrying a chilling killing intent.

Feng Jin's knees went weak when he heard this, and he knelt down directly to accept the order.

Even though he knew that this anger was not directed at him, he still couldn't stop trembling, intimidated by this power.

After a while, the fire gradually stopped.

Jiang Chen, who had been paying attention to the movements of both sides, eased his expression slightly and was no longer so gloomy.

Well, it seemed that although tonight's operation had some twists and turns, it should be considered smooth overall. Once I find out the identity of this mastermind...

"Report, Your, Your Majesty, something bad has happened, the imperial prison, the imperial prison has fallen! A group of men in black have broken in!" A stumbling report interrupted Jiang Chen's thoughts.

The voice, mixed with fear, unease, and panic, made Jiang Chen's expression change drastically, and he understood.

Damn it!

The purpose of this group of people was not to destroy the evidence at all, but Xu Changqing! They wanted to kill Xu Changqing directly!

Those two fires were just a smokescreen, the purpose was to divert the imperial guards guarding the imperial prison and weaken my vigilance!

"Hidden guards!"

Jiang Chen roared and rushed out of the hall.

Seeing Jiang Chen leaving surrounded by hidden guards, Xu Mu quickly gathered the remaining imperial guards and rushed towards the imperial prison.

The group hurried on their way and quickly arrived at their destination.

Jiang Chen looked at the imperial prison guards lying all over the ground in the distance, his eyes full of anger!

His own imperial palace had become like someone else's back garden, where they could do whatever they wanted, and they had succeeded in everything, completely disregarding him, the emperor!

This silent provocation and contempt made Jiang Chen extremely angry!

"Your Majesty, your identity is noble, you must not go in and risk danger!"

The commander of the imperial prison rushed over, his face covered in blood, and a wound cut open by a sharp weapon on his chest, the flesh rolled out, and blood was still seeping out.

Jiang Chen looked at the imperial prison, which was pitch black, but he could hear the clashing of metal and faint wails, and he couldn't help but feel anxious, "Where is Xu Changqing?"

"This humble servant has already sent someone to rescue General Xu. The moment those men in black broke into the imperial prison, this humble servant sent someone to unlock General Xu's lock," the commander of the imperial prison said with a slightly ingratiating tone.

Jiang Chen felt a little relieved and nodded, "You did a good job, go down and heal your wounds first."

Then, he roared at the crowd around him, "Why aren't you going to support them? I want to see a Xu Changqing who is intact!"

"Your subordinates obey!"

Everyone dared not delay, leaving five hidden guards and a small team of imperial guards to protect Jiang Chen, while the rest rushed forward without looking back.

It was also at this time.

A commotion broke out in the imperial prison.

At the open black iron gate, a tall and sturdy figure rushed out. He was wearing a white prison uniform with shackles on his feet. It was Xu Changqing.

In addition, there were dozens of men in black tightly surrounding Xu Changqing, their attacks vicious, each move aimed at taking his life!

Xu Changqing was a military general with extraordinary skills. Even though he was burdened with shackles, he was still fighting back and forth with those men in black, without showing any signs of weakness.

"Quick, quickly rescue Xu Changqing!"

"And those men in black, I want them alive!" Jiang Chen waved his sleeves and roared.

His face flashed with a cold light, and his black eyes were full of bloodthirsty killing intent.

He had finally caught a clue, none of these men in black could escape!

As soon as he finished speaking, several teams of imperial guards swarmed up, surrounding the imperial prison and completely cutting off the men in black's retreat.

The hidden guards beside Jiang Chen also joined the battlefield, causing the balance of victory to begin to tip.

Under the multi-faceted strangulation, the men in black were successively executed, but they had no intention of seeking survival or escape.

If they couldn't kill Xu Changqing, it meant that the mission had failed, and they had no value in continuing to live.

"Want to die? How can I let you get your wish?"

Xu Changqing sneered and spoke, snatching the long sword from the imperial guard beside him, and in a quick step, he pried open the long knife of the man in black, preventing him from committing suicide.

With the long knife in his hand pried away, the man in black's eyes narrowed...