"Master Leng... Are you really alive?"

In the mourning hall, Min Rui stared at the man in dark at the incense burner table. He was too shocked to know what to say.

With a beaming countenance, the man's smile gradually turned cold. It seemed that his look was covered with the white fog of a frozen river, which was inexplicably cold and complex.

"Well, Duke, are you unhappy to see me alive?"

"No. No."

Min Rui awkwardly winked and waved his hand in succession. Then he saw the left half of the man's face in shock.

On the pale skin, there was a half-growing scar. It was ghoulish and hideous like an old ugly reptile.

Min Rui pointed to the scar rockily and muttered,

"Master… Master Leng, your face..."

The man raised his eyebrows and casually touched his left face with a smile,

"On the way back, we were shipwrecked. No big deal."

The so-called "shipwreck" referred to the persecution of the imperial court to those who did outstanding jobs in Southern Jiang. Min Rui was well aware of this, but he couldn't mention it. He sighed with emotion with a little hatred,

"It was a pity that such a beautiful face was ruined like this."

With footsteps, four or five guards dressed like men surrounded a girl in a light blue dress and walked from outside the courtyard into the hall.

"Yunxi, come here..."

The man in dark beckoned the girl to come over, and then introduced her to Min Rui,

"Your Highness, this is a female member of my family. At first, she went to Wei Sea with the fleet of the Eastern Depot. Unexpectedly, they encountered the storm and the main ship deviated from the channel. If it hadn't been for her boat, I would have died in the sea. Yunxi, greet Duke Min quickly."

With his eyes lit up, Min Rui had carefully looked at the girl up and down before she gave a salute. Then he said happily,

"Presumably, you're Miss Yun. Imperial Mother Yu has mentioned you many times in her letter to me. I know you two have deep feelings like real siblings!"

Gu Yunxi looked down without many expressions on her pretty face. She just greeted gently,

"Gu Yunxi pays respect to Your Highness."

Even as the soft sound of her voice died away, she raised her eyebrows and frowned slightly to stare at Min Rui with her almond-shaped eyes. The two points in her pupils magnified to the limit and burst forth a dazzling light, which was inexplicably pressing.

Gazing into each other's eyes, Min Rui felt it inconceivable.

His intuition told him that the girl wanted to say something to him, but for some reason, she couldn't speak up for a moment.

The scene reduced to a strange silence.

Like a haunting ghost, the man in dark walked close to Gu Yunxi.

He quickly grabbed her waist seal and carried her into his arms, increasing the strength of his palms in the dark.

Gu Yunxi frowned in pain and groaned in a low voice. She glanced at Min Rui and looked away with eyes filled with wet red.

"Well, you've been tired after a long journey on the boat. Have an early rest, and I have something to tell His Highness."

The man's tone was unusually gentle. He patted Gu Yunxi's lightly with his bone-chilling fingers with obvious hints.

Min Rui leaned away to avoid seeing the intimate behavior of the two, but in the dark, he peeped at their strange expressions.

He had a feeling that the couple was not as affectionate as his daughter's letter mentioned. One was smiling calmly while the other one was indifferent.

The two stood in one place but others could not feel any tacit understanding between them.

"Your Highness, please immediately arrange a room for Yunxi. I still have important things to talk about to you."

"Okay. Okay..."

Feeling the man's sharp sights, Min Rui was nervous. He stopped imagining and raised his hand to call a servant. Then he commanded,

"Take Miss Yun to Tingxiang Yard and serve her well."

Gu Yunxi gave a salute again to Min Rui. She was a little helpless and left the hall with the servant.

The man in black immediately ordered the "guard" beside him,

"Go with her and watch over under the porch."

"Yes!"

Those "guards" answered and went to Tingxiang Yard.

Min Rui watched it on the side and was suspicious.

There were many strange things these days.

The female family member of Commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot used to be the rank-fourth close guard, so she must be good at Kungfu. Why did the guards need to watch over her outside her bedroom?

That kind of guard looked more like surveillance...

When only Min Rui and the man were in the mourning hall, the man looked at the memorial tablet of Duchess Min on the insense burner table and suddenly asked,

"Your Highness, Huanan Xin tried to kill those who had meritorious service just after becoming the emperor. Will you still dedicate yourself to such a fatuous and self-indulgent ruler?"

Min Rui surprisedly gazed at the man's face and didn't move. A shadow of light flashed through his eyes,

"Master, just tell me your plan. I, Min Rui, will completely support you."

The man smiled with satisfaction,

"On the way to Wei Sea, I got the news that Huanan Xin had set off and would reach the camp of Dongqing Fleet from Jinmen by sea within a day.

"Your Highness, these days you have to disguise as a guard of the Eastern Depot so that Huanan Xin will believe your family had been wiped out already. In that case, I should also pretend to be a dead person, so I have to change my clothes..."

Min Rui shook his head for disapproval right away,

"It's a good idea, but the Eastern Depot killed eunuch Liu, the imperial envoy sent by him. Wouldn't it arouse the suspicion of Huanan Xin if he couldn't return to Jing City to report back?"

"Who tells you I killed the imperial envoy?"

Just when the man smiled and turned away, a few people entered the mourning hall.

Cheng Wanli, Chiliarch of the Eastern Depot, led the way, followed by Eunuch Liu and his three trusted followers.

Min Rui immediately became ferocious as new and old hatred poured into his heart.

With chest distress, a spurt of blood came out of his mouth and nose.

"Well, Liu, you're still alive—"

Without wiping his mouth, Min Rui growled and tried to rush to his enemy angrily, but was stopped by the man next to him.

"Wait a second. Now he's my follower and I need him to send messages to the capital."

"Master Leng, what are you saying?"

Min Rui stopped and his eyes changed.

The man's smile was full of mysterious charm and he shook his head,

"Your Highness, have a close look carefully."

Min Rui temporarily controlled his anger and walked to Eunuch Liu dubiously. Then Min Rui carefully looked him up and down.

This eunuch had low eyebrows and hid his hands in the sleeves. He lowered his head and his whole body was covered by an evil cold atmosphere, bringing people invincible oppression and strange feelings. He was similar to Cheng Wanli and those of the Eastern Depot.

Perhaps feeling someone approach, the half-mannish monster did not raise its head. A series of ghostly and strange tones crept from its pale lips,

"I, the servant, pay respect to Master Leng and Your Highness."

"I'll immediately let you back to Jing City to report on completion of a task. You know what to say, don't you?"

Behind Min Rui, the man in black commanded Eunuch Liu, who seemed to order his own men in an imposing manner.

Eunuch Liu bowed and didn't move. He gave an evil and weird smile,

"I have a sense of propriety."

"Be prepared with your men and go back to Jing City."

Min Rui turned his horrified eyes to the direction these people had left and pointed out the door,

"Master Leng, Eunuch Liu serves Huanan Xin. Now he easily betrays Huanan Xin. Is he...he credible?"

The man smirked and said with hands crossed,

"Maybe not in the past, but now he is my follower, he can be trusted. Your Highness, you don't know that I've put secret magic on them, making them obey me without conditions. Wanli, you have arranged everything well, haven't you?"

Cheng Wanli made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest. Like eunuch Liu, he didn't raise his head. His words were like a strange wind, fluttering from his lips and teeth. The speed of speaking was obviously slow,

"Master, everything is done. The cargo will be unloaded tomorrow and placed in the nine-floor building of Wangxian Rise."

Min Rui was confused on the side, and his heart was filled with foreboding,

"Master Leng, what does the Eastern Depot want to do in Kunhuang Island?"

The man answered calmly,

"No big deal. My three tower ships are loaded with gunpowder, which should be put into all the interior floors of Wangxian Rise before Huanan Xin arrives in Guiping. When Huanan Xin goes to Wangxian Rise, the gunpowder will have his body smashed to pieces..."

The man stepped close to Min Rui and raised his hands slowly to make a blasting gesture,

"Think about this. In just a few seconds, all grievances can be extinguished. Isn't it happy?"

Min Rui did not say anything. He shockingly looked at the man in black who turned more excited. His phoenix narrow eyes became intoxicated, very much like immersed in his own brain to create a magnificent landscape in general. Just as he was laughing hysterically, the striking scar on his left face was therefore stretched to the limit, highlighting the ugliness and horror.

With his heart in his mouth, Min Rui made a fist tremblingly and became more dubious.

In memory, although Master Leng only worked with him for a short time, his courage in Southern Jiang and heroic spirit of commanding a large number of mounted and foot soldiers impressed Min Rui.

However, why did Master Leng look like another person? Why did he have no courage or heroic spirit and why was his whole body full of nameless evil?

What happened?

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Min Rui was recovered by the call and looked at "Leng Qingtang" embarrassedly,

"Oh. Master Leng, do you have any other orders?"

"Leng Qingtang" gave a weird cold smile, and stared at Min Rui's face with his narrow phoenix eyes,

"Nothing. I just see that you look unwell. Your Highness, I'm afraid that there's something wrong...with you."

"Well, I'm fine. Fine..."

Min Rui replied perfunctorily and his eyes sparkled with scary. He was inexplicably nervous and didn't know what to do.

He crouched down and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. He desperately threw paper money into the copper basin and rambled,

"I... I will continue to stand as guards at the bier. If there is nothing else important, please suit yourself. As for the bombing of Wangxian Rise, I just pretend not to know it. Master, you can make decisions by yourself."

"Leng Qingtang" looked at Min Rui directly and sneered,

"That's the death penalty of regicide. Your Highness, aren't you afraid of that?"

"Fear makes no sense. If he doesn't die, my family will suffer..."

"Great. I will arrange everything. No matter who becomes the emperor, I assure you that you will always be the Duke in charge of Dongqing Fleet."

Silently watching the man and Cheng Wanli left the hall one after another, Min Rui sighed at the red light jumping in the copper basin. Then he fell into deep thought,

"Dear, what should I do? The new emperor wants to kill the old courtiers, but Master Leng is still alive. He wants to blow up Wangxian Rise to assassinate the new emperor."

"The hundred-foot high platform is filled with my wisdom and efforts. Even without the new emperor, Empress Dowager Xiao is still in the Palace. She will not let go of our daughter..."