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  The so-called Empty City Strategy is actually very simple.

  Since the secret passage leading out of the mansion had been explored and it was confirmed that the exit of the neighboring Zheng Hanlin's mansion was a sealed courtyard, no one would pass by. So, the matter of the small door was simple. Using tools to cut open the rusty lock bar and replace it with another similar one, on a dark and windy night when the Imperial Guards were changing shifts, the servants of the Wang Mansion would move out in batches through this secret passage. Ming Xuan had many separate villas scattered around the outskirts, enough to accommodate these hundred or so people.

  Those palace maids and eunuchs only stared at the main courtyard where Ming Xuan was, while the number of people in other courtyards quietly decreased, they wouldn't notice.

  Those who went out first can explore the situation outside. If there is a secret passage, they can communicate with Ming Xuan. When Lin Nan Wang's soldiers and horses enter the palace, it will not be quiet, and that will be the best time for Ming Xuan to leave. With just over a dozen palace maids, who could stop her if she really wanted to go? Take advantage of the chaos to leave the palace and head to Qingliang Mountain to seek refuge with Yu Zhen Shifu, then wait quietly at Baiyun An for Pei Jingzhong's return "to save the king".

  Su Wan led Old Cao out first, and every day there would be news transmitted in. Although the channels through which she obtained the news were only rumors from the streets, and not necessarily accurate intelligence, still waters run deep, and tea houses and taverns always had a few well-informed individuals. Ming Xuan was still able to sensitively find some clues from these small, unsubstantiated rumors, and thus infer the progress of Lin Nan Wang's rebellion.

  First, the Emperor ordered to strengthen the guard of the relay station where the Crown Prince and Princess of Lin Nan were under house arrest. Under the strict surveillance, the relay station was quiet and still, without any movement or noise. At first glance, it seemed that the Emperor had taken control of the situation at the relay station, but upon closer consideration, it was actually quite suspicious.

  Something big happened, and logically, the Prince of Lin Nan should have responded. He should have fought to the death with the guards at the post station, broke through the siege, and then joined forces with those elite troops who had infiltrated Shengjing. The Prince of Lin Nan was born strong and brave, and it is said that he was good at martial arts. When he came to Beijing from the south, he brought his vassals with him, although there were not many people, they must have been crack troops. If he really fought with those guards, it would be a great calculation. But he didn't.

  It is said in the streets that the Emperor's control is very strict, and that the Crown Prince of Lin Nan has made no move because he is afraid.

  But Ming Xuan thought that not moving was because it wasn't the right time to move yet, and it's even possible that the entire relay station had already been taken over by Lin Nan Wang Shizi. In that case, he didn't need to alert anyone before making his move.

  Then there were rumors that the Wucheng Army had found a group of remnants of the Linsouth King who had sneaked into the city in a civilian house in the eastern suburbs, and the people from Jingqi and Chengfang joined forces to annihilate them. According to the number of guards who were deceived into letting the rebel army enter the city that day, the numbers basically matched. The Wucheng Army relaxed its patrol of the inner city, and the common people also thought that the so-called elite troops of the Duke of Wuding were not worth mentioning, and the Linsouth King's luck had run out.

  However, Wu Ding Hou has experienced a hundred battles and has his own way in military strategy, he will not do anything useless.

  He withdrew those elite cavalry, was it just to let them brazenly mix into the inner city of Shengjing? Was it good for the emperor and the people to be tense for a while? Being easily annihilated like this, it's more like a show to deceive people. If those cavalry didn't have an important purpose, Wu Ding Hou would never let them leave so easily. He would rather let himself perish than leave out his elite troops, which could not be eliminated so easily.

  Although Ming Xuan couldn't quite understand the profound meaning of this move for a while, the abnormal and unreasonable events that occurred one after another indicated that Lin Nan Wang was intensifying his actions. Beneath the surface calmness of Shengjing City, the hidden killing intent was becoming increasingly deep and urgent.

  Time flies like an arrow, and several days have passed in a flash. The scorching summer of Shengjing has quietly arrived amidst this tense atmosphere.

  On June 10th, Su Wan brought news that the relay station where the Crown Prince of Lin Nan was located had finally made a disturbance. The Emperor dispatched three teams of Yu Lin Army to reinforce them. Fortunately, this disturbance was quickly quelled, and the three teams of Yu Lin Army bound up the troublemakers and took them away to be sent to the Ministry of Punishment's prison. The Crown Prince of Lin Nan and his wife were still trapped, and some people even saw the haggard-looking Crown Prince of Lin Nan begging the captain of the Yu Lin Army to let bygones be bygones and release his attendants, but that request would not be accepted.

  Three teams of Imperial Guards went in, and when they came out, not a single person was missing, but instead there were dozens more trouble-making people from the Southern Border.

  The Ministry of Punishment's Great Prison was close to the Zhou Gong, and only a street away from the Chaohua Gate on the west side of the imperial palace.

  Ming Xuan immediately knew that before tomorrow, Lin Nan Wang would definitely attack the imperial palace.

  She no longer pretended to be ill, and directly ordered the palace maids and wet nurses to be tied up with ropes. With the remaining servants of the Anping Wangfu, they openly left the Anping Wangfu through a secret passage. According to plan, several unremarkable horse-drawn carriages stopped outside the small gate of Zheng Hanlin's residence. She got on the carriage with Dan Hong and Yan wet nurse, looked back at the quiet and majestic Anping Wangfu one last time, and then sped away in the direction of Qingliang Mountain.

  Everything was going smoothly, and the city gate was within sight, but for some reason, just as their carriage was about to pass through, a low and loud horn sounded in the sky above Shengjing City. The soldiers guarding the gate no longer allowed carriages and pedestrians to enter or exit, but instead slowly closed the city gate.

  Ming Xuan suspected that something had happened in the Zhou Palace, and that was why the horn was sounded to remind the soldiers guarding the city gate to close it and not allow anyone to enter or exit.

  Dan Hong urged in a low voice, "Princess, let's force our way out while the city gate is still open. Otherwise, once these two iron gates close, it will be difficult for us to leave the city!"

  "This horn is probably a warning in an emergency situation. Once the city gate closes, it's unknown when it will open again. Ming Xuan can't wait any longer. In this situation, she couldn't think more and could only nod her head, 'Hand over the token of Yongning Marquis' mansion and say there's an urgent matter to leave the city. Tell those soldiers to let us through for a moment, we'll leave the city immediately. Remember to give them some silver as a reward!'"

  Yan's mother said, "Dan Hong is just a little girl after all, I'll go instead."

  Ming Xuan nodded, and through the gap in the car curtain, she saw Yan Niangniang smiling and begging the soldiers for mercy, even handing over two large silver ingots to ask the officer to show leniency.

  If it were in peacetime, such a generous gift would have been enough to tempt these poorly paid soldiers, but today the two soldiers showed no reaction to the silver ingots and rudely brushed aside Madame Qin's bribe, saying harshly, "We are on urgent military duty, no one from any mansion is allowed to enter or leave, if you want to go out, please get a permit from our commander first, otherwise, we won't let you pass!"

  The soldier's attitude was severe, and the two thick city gates were slowly closing.

  Yan's mother was unwilling, and politely asked for it, but the other party was very tough, and as soon as they disagreed, they quarreled with Yan's mother.

  Ming Xuan felt a little disheartened in her heart, just one door away was the lush trees of the city suburbs, and if she walked three more miles west, it would be Qingliang Mountain. Unfortunately, she was late by a step, and today she probably wouldn't be able to leave.

  She saw the soldier becoming increasingly impatient, even starting to push and shove Zhen's servant girl, so she furrowed her brow and whispered to Dan Hong, "Please ask the servant girl to come back. These soldiers are on official business, we don't have a commanding officer's written orders, just relying on the Yongning Marquis Manor's plaque, I'm afraid no one will pay attention to us. It's pointless to say more, if the servant girl gets hurt because of this, it would be even worse."

  Dan Hong hastily got off the carriage and invited Yan Laolao to get on.

  At this time, a loud neighing of horses was heard outside, and a horse carriage stopped beside him. A low, male voice said, "The Ping Zhang Zheng Shi has an urgent matter to attend to outside the city, open the city gate and let Lord Han's carriage pass!"

  This time, the soldiers didn't insist so strongly, and hastily said "good", the soldier closing the gate stopped his action, opened the city gate, and left a wide enough gap. "Lord Han, please!"

  Ming Xuan recognized the voice, it was Su Yan, the personal bodyguard of Han Xiuzhen. Her heart skipped a beat as she lifted the side curtain and saw the emblem of the Han family.

  She bit her lip and finally made up her mind, saying loudly to the carriage that was just a few feet away, "Is it Lord Han?"

  The curtain of the opposite car moved, revealing a cold and indifferent face, it was indeed Ping Zhang Zheng Shi Han Xiu.

  Han Xiu gazed deeply at Ming Huan, then let down the curtain.

  It wasn't long before Ming Xuan heard Su Yan say to the soldier guarding the city gate, "The lady in the carriage next door also has an urgent matter to leave the city. It's convenient for everyone, and Lord Han asks if he can let her go too?"

  The soldier hastily said it was okay and even ran over to inform the driver of the long vehicle that he could pass.

  Ming Xuan listened as the horse carriage of Lu Fei quickly passed through the city gate, confirming that everything was safe and sound, only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

  Nor did she know how long they had traveled, but judging from the scenery outside the window, it should be almost at the foot of Qingliang Mountain when the horse carriage suddenly stopped. She heard a low and deep voice shouting outside the carriage.

  A cold and familiar voice sounded, "Don't move, I won't hurt you. I don't have any malicious intentions, I just want to ask the master of the house for a word."

  Ming Xuan was taken aback, and when she lifted the curtain of the carriage, she saw Han Xiuzi wearing a dark-colored brocade robe, looking particularly stern and solemn. His face, however, showed a hint of indescribable fatigue and loss. Her heart felt an inexplicable bitterness as she saw that both Nian Ya and Dan Hong were signaling to her with their eyes, hoping she wouldn't agree to Han Xiuzi's impolite request. But she thought back to the time at the city gate earlier - if it weren't for Han Xiuzi's help, how could she have left the city? He just wanted to borrow a moment to talk, so she decided to listen to what he had to say.

  She smiled lightly at Yan Niangniang and Dan Hong, "It's nothing." Then she got off the carriage with her obviously pregnant belly.

  In the suburbs, under the cool mountains, in the open wilderness, apart from two horse-drawn carriages, there were only Ming Xuan and Han Xiuzi.

  She smiled and lifted her head, saying softly, "Thanks for helping me out just now. You said you had something to say to me, what is it?"

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