When Ciguang Hall originally purchased the land, they had chosen cheap mountain terrain.

This place had mountains and a lake, with relatively open views. Behind was a mountain covered with trees.

At the foot of the mountain, several children stood there.

“Lin Dongdong, your cousin the Prince Regent is too ruthless!” Chen San couldn’t help saying. “That kind of person—and your father still serves him?”

“No, my father doesn’t.” Lin Dongdong defended. “Didn’t you see my father at the Empress Dowager’s side? My father switched allegiance to the Empress Dowager long ago. If my father were still loyal to the Prince Regent, His Majesty would never have let me be the first study companion.”

“Chen San, regardless of who Lin Dongdong’s father is loyal to, it has nothing to do with Lin Dongdong. You’re not allowed to target him anymore.” Chu Hongyu spoke calmly. “Let’s not talk about this. Think carefully—how should we infiltrate Ciguang Hall?”

The children’s attention immediately shifted.

Ciguang Hall was surrounded on all sides. The outermost layer consisted of Yulin Guards, while the inner layer was Chu Rui’s men.

Only the side facing the mountain had no one. If they wanted to get in, they could only enter from this direction.

But it was already evening. Once it got dark, the mountain would have various wild beasts roaming about—it was truly dangerous.

Chen San said: “Have some Yulin Guards come over to scout the path for us.”

Chu Hongyu shook his head: “If the Yulin Guards learn of our presence, Mother will know, and she’ll definitely send us back to the palace.”

“Then we can only go up the mountain.” Lin Dongdong looked up. “When I used to live in the village, I often went up the mountain at dusk. There’s a type of medicinal herb that, when rubbed on the body, keeps wild beasts away. Let me look first to see if this mountain has any.”

The children searched together and quickly found some. They chewed it up and smeared it on their exposed skin.

“I’ll lead.” Lin Dongdong volunteered. “You all follow me.”

Nine children thus ascended the back mountain. Climbing up from here and then down would bring them to the rear wall of Ciguang Hall. The straight-line distance wasn’t far, but with many trees in the mountains and complex routes, the group walked for nearly a full shichen before finally reaching the back wall. Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any wild beasts, and the children all felt extraordinarily lucky.

“This wall is so high.” One child looked up at the tall wall. “How do we get in?”

Lin Dongdong rolled up his sleeves: “I know how to climb walls. I’ll go up first to look.”

Like a monkey, he climbed to the top of the wall. The others couldn’t even see clearly how he moved.

“So many shadow guards at the doorways of the buildings…” Lin Dongdong said in a low voice. “One, two, three, four… twenty-four!”

He lightly jumped down from the wall. “Just what I could see were twenty-four guards, standing at the doors of several buildings. The people from Ciguang Hall should all be confined in those buildings.”

Chu Hongyu bit his lip: “With just us nine people, we’re no match for those shadow guards.”

He paced back and forth somewhat anxiously.

If they didn’t rescue the people from Ciguang Hall, Mother would be constrained by Chu Rui. Chu Rui might even be able to save his life and continue to bring disaster to the Great Jin Dynasty.

What to do, what to do…

“It sounds like there’s a noise…” Chen San spoke alertly. “Did you hear it?”

Lin Dongdong pricked up his ears: “It’s a sound coming from the forest. Someone is coming along the path we just took. Are they enemy or friendly?”

“Regardless of who it is, hide first.”

The nine children quickly hid in the undergrowth.

Soon, a line of figures appeared where they had just been standing.

Chu Hongyu ran out from the undergrowth, his face full of disbelief: “Brother Shen, Brother Jiang, how did you get here?”

The arrivals were none other than Meng Shen and Yun Zhenjiang, bringing a group of guards—an estimated fifty or sixty people.

Meng Shen spoke: “I just went to the Imperial Study to find Your Majesty. When I couldn’t find anyone, I guessed Your Majesty must have slipped out of the palace to help the Empress Dowager. So I went to find Zhenjiang for manpower, and we came together.”

Yun Zhenjiang frowned: “Your Majesty, in the future, discuss such matters with me first. If something were to happen, what would the Empress Dowager do?”

Chu Hongyu stuck out his tongue: “I am the True Dragon Son of Heaven, protected by the heavens. Nothing will happen. As long as you don’t tell Mother, she won’t know.”

“You…” Yun Zhenjiang didn’t know what to say, but now wasn’t the time to discuss this anyway.

He waved his hand, and the guards behind him immediately brought out several ladders and set them against the wall.

He went up first to assess the situation, then spoke: “Thirty-two people at the entrance of Ciguang Hall, twenty-four guarding the hostages, plus over thirty others scattered around Ciguang Hall. This is all the manpower Chu Rui has left. No wonder he had to capture so many innocent children as shields.”

Chu Hongyu said coldly: “Brother Jiang, the shadow guards you brought are enough to kill everyone inside.”

“This requires careful planning.” Meng Shen frowned. “Once the other side knows of our existence, they’ll definitely kill those innocent children to warn us. Climbing over the wall from here is too obvious…”

“I have a way!” Chu Hongyu’s eyes lit up. “Mother brought me to Ciguang Hall several times in the past. I’m fairly familiar with the environment here. Do you see the lake in front of that row of buildings?”

Chen San nodded: “I saw it long ago.”

“Under that lake, there’s a drainage channel. That day when I was playing in the water with some older children, they took me swimming through the channel. We eventually came out in a mountain pond.” Chu Hongyu looked up at the mountain. “Right, it’s around here. Come on, I’ll take you there.”

By nature he loved to play. Back when he was still the heir of Prince Pingxi’s manor, he had no pressure on him. Every time Yun Chu went out to manage the shops and estates, he would play wildly everywhere. He was indeed familiar with this area. He quickly led everyone to a small pond.

Night had already fallen. Inside the pond was pitch black—the bottom couldn’t be seen clearly, making people feel an inexplicable fear.

Yun Zhenjiang spoke: “You several—escort His Majesty and the study companions back to the palace. Leave this place to me.”

“No.” Chu Hongyu immediately objected. “I’m most familiar with this place. I must lead the way. What if you swim to the wrong place?”

“I’m especially good at swimming.” Lin Dongdong raised his hand. “I’ll protect His Majesty and go together.”

The other study companions all regretted it to death. Why hadn’t they learned to swim properly before? Now they were going to be left behind. They also wanted to follow His Majesty and accomplish great deeds.

Meng Shen pressed his brow: “At night the wind is strong. After coming out of the lake, if the wind blows on you, you’ll definitely catch cold. Don’t suffer this hardship—be good and go back.”

“I am the Emperor. You must all obey my commands.” Chu Hongyu straightened his back, stood with hands behind him, and released the authority of one in a position of power. “Now, those who can swim stand on the right side. Those who cannot swim stand on the left.”

The people Yun Zhenjiang brought were all direct Yun family shadow guards who knew all eighteen martial arts—naturally they could all swim.

“Very good.” Chu Hongyu nodded. “Two-thirds of the people will follow me into the water. The other third will go lie in ambush at the back wall and observe the situation. If I am in danger, be ready to provide support at any time.”