Hearing the two had been attacked, A’Lei couldn’t care about anything else and rode frantically toward the mountaintop.

In the merchant ship, the other four merchants were dumbfounded: What was happening? Going back and forth, returning twice already!

The silk merchant shouted loudly: “Young master, are you leaving or not? We still need to rush to deliver goods. If we miss this business opportunity, we can’t afford the losses!”

A’Lei’s mind was full of concern about how badly the Zhu brothers were injured—these were good friends who had accompanied her since childhood! How could she ignore them and leave them to die?

A’Lei called back: “You go ahead first, don’t worry about me.”

The silk merchant moved all of A’Lei’s “goods” to the port and set sail.

A’Lei rode her horse charging up the mountaintop. She could vaguely see a group of people clustering together in retreat ahead, with sounds of fighting at the front—the bodyguards must be battling remaining pirates.

A’Lei didn’t know whether it was Zhu Zhanji or Zhu Zhanhe in the crowd, whether they were injured or assassinated, but these two were extraordinarily important to her. She absolutely wouldn’t abandon them and run away first.

A’Lei spurred her horse to provide support.

She didn’t know that someone holding a telescope had seen her and his expression changed drastically: “Change of plans! Remove the landmines!”

It was Ji Gang.

His trusted aide asked: “Why? The landmines buried along the retreat route are what will truly send Zhu Zhanji to heaven—everything is going according to your plan. If we miss this excellent opportunity, it’ll be harder to strike again and might arouse Zhu Zhanji’s suspicions. Please reconsider, sir!”

Ji Gang was immediately torn between two difficult choices.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, while the hunter waits at the very end with his gun aimed at the oriole.

Since Prince Han had been enfeoffed to Qingzhou, imperial family disputes weren’t as intense as before. Although the Imperial Grand Prince and Crown Prince were competitors, both the grandson and prince were too clever—father and son were natural politicians. Ji Gang lacked the ability to control them or sow discord between them.

Prince Han was more convenient to manipulate.

So, taking advantage of Zhu Zhanji leading the Youth Army to suppress pirates, Ji Gang wanted to use Prince Han’s power to first eliminate Zhu Zhanji, the heir apparent, stirring up imperial family internal strife and making the Zhu family suspicious and kill each other.

Zhu Zhanji was skilled in martial arts, cunning, and had many guards. Having Prince Han’s death warriors disguise as pirates to successfully assassinate him would be very difficult.

However, Ji Gang, no longer the naive fool he once was, hadn’t pinned his hopes on a single strike. His plan to deliver the fatal blow to Zhu Zhanji involved landmines buried along his retreat route!

Landmines were newly developed firearms from the gunpowder factory during Emperor Jianwen’s reign. First deployed during the Jingnan Campaign, the then Prince of Yan (future Emperor Yongle) nearly perished in a minefield.

Prince Han’s mansion in Qingzhou secretly prepared for war, while Ji Gang in the capital engaged in theft from within, secretly stealing inventory from the gunpowder factory warehouse and sending Prince Han a “great gift.”

Now, through various twists and turns, the landmines were being used here against the Imperial Grand Prince.

If grandfather could escape by luck, the grandson would surely die! The Zhu family couldn’t always have good fortune, right?

Zhu Zhanji never expected that before his planned fake death even began, Ji Gang had already arranged a path of death for him.

But hunter Ji Gang even less expected A’Lei to appear at the pirate stronghold!

More critically, A’Lei was unknowingly galloping toward the minefield on horseback, madly testing at the edge of being blown to bits!

Ji Gang watched A’Lei riding below and Zhu Zhanji rushing down the mountain above, estimated their speeds, then silently worked out an arithmetic problem in his head:

Zhu Zhanji and A’Lei were about four thousand meters apart, with the minefield located twenty-five hundred meters from A’Lei. Zhu Zhanji was running, A’Lei riding, both approaching each other. Zhu Zhanji had long legs and was running downhill very fast, averaging about two hundred fifty meters per minute.

A’Lei on horseback averaged about three hundred meters per minute. The question was: who would step into the minefield first, Zhu Zhanji or A’Lei?

If Zhu Zhanji stepped on a mine and exploded first, A’Lei would be in no mortal danger—at most suffering some injuries. Though unexpected, everything would proceed according to plan.

If A’Lei stepped on a mine first… Hu Shanwei had only this one daughter, born when she risked her life at nearly forty, treasuring her like a precious jewel. If something happened to A’Lei, Hu Shanwei would be devastated.

In Ji Gang’s heart, Hu Shanwei’s importance could barely match that of Mao Qiang.

Ji Gang would rather harm himself than hurt her.

Ji Gang used to be a decorative figurine, but the bloody lesson of Mao Qiang’s death by a thousand cuts forced him to grow and transform into a master of political maneuvering. However, mathematics was a shortcoming he could never make up for.

Ji Gang was academically challenged—he couldn’t calculate who would step on the mine first…

By visual estimation, it seemed Zhu Zhanji would step on the mine first, but Ji Gang wasn’t certain.

Ji Gang frowned. This academic failure gave up calculating—there wasn’t time (he simply couldn’t do the math). For Hu Shanwei’s sake, this minefield trap had to be abandoned. He couldn’t watch A’Lei get blown up.

Even if there was only a fifty percent chance.

The landmines needed no fuses—they exploded upon contact. With time running short, Ji Gang couldn’t expose his side by digging up the mines. The only solution was to detonate them early.

Ji Gang picked up a flintlock rifle and aimed at the minefield.

His subordinate was shocked: “Sir! One careless move ruins everything. Are you really abandoning this perfect opportunity? What if Prince Han’s side—”

“Shut up! When have I ever needed to read others’ expressions when doing things?” Ji Gang fired.

The gunshot and explosion sounded almost simultaneously. Gunpowder mixed with sand and stone fragments, blinding A’Lei’s mount. The startled horse reared and pawed, throwing A’Lei off before running away.

A’Lei lost control, was thrown onto the mountainside, rolled all the way down, and finally crashed into a tree, losing consciousness…

About fifty pirates suddenly emerged from hidden passages to assassinate Zhu Zhanji, who was inspecting the battlefield cleanup, but failed.

Not knowing what other ambushes lay ahead, Zhu Zhanji retreated down the mountain under his guards’ protection. Suddenly, a horse and rider appeared on the mountain path ahead. The rider was dressed like a wealthy upstart young master, wearing a gold crown inlaid with gems and silk brocade—practically having the words “wealthy” written on his face, his entire person radiating golden light visible from afar.

It was A’Lei in her “young master” disguise.

It’s her!

She turned back for me!

She really does like me!

Zhu Zhanji in retreat was overjoyed, wanting nothing more than to go with the flow and fake his death early to confess his feelings to A’Lei.

She was worth him abandoning everything.

But joy turned to sorrow. Just as Zhu Zhanji was about to meet A’Lei halfway up the mountain, suddenly there was a tremendous boom. The earth shook, fire, dust and debris flew from ahead like an earthen dragon soaring skyward, instantly blocking his vision.

When the dust settled, a large crater appeared in the mountain path. He could see a frightened horse galloping away, but where was A’Lei?

Zhu Zhanji’s heart sank, thinking A’Lei had fallen into the crater. He immediately jumped in and began digging with his bare hands. The sharp stones cut him—after just a dozen scrapes, his ten fingers were bloody and mangled.

Ten fingers connected to the heart, but Zhu Zhanji forgot the pain, focused only on digging A’Lei out.

It was Zhu Zhanhe, arriving after hearing the news, who discovered A’Lei unconscious under a tree by the roadside, saving Zhu Zhanji’s fingers.

Zhu Zhanhe: This is clearly their love story, so why do I always have a name in it?

Whether from hitting her head on the tree or not sleeping all night, A’Lei still hadn’t awakened by afternoon, her forehead wrapped in white gauze.

Zhu Zhanji stayed by her side. Zhu Zhanhe entered, abandoning imperial dignity as he hugged a teapot and drank directly from the spout, his crude behavior no different from ordinary Youth Army soldiers.

Finished, he wiped his lips with his sleeve and said: “The munitions experts and I sifted through almost all the ambush area, finding all the fragments. From the incomplete inscriptions on several iron pieces, they were landmines made by the capital’s gunpowder factory. The factory’s warehouse was robbed last year, alarming His Majesty. Even the Brocade Guard investigation couldn’t find the stolen goods. Turns out thieves sold them to pirates at high prices—no wonder Ji Gang couldn’t find them. You and A’Lei were lucky—the mine’s firing pin malfunctioned and it exploded early, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

Zhu Zhanji’s face was dark as water: “A’Lei was riding fast. If she’d been going even faster—I still underestimated the pirates. They set layered traps—assassination was just the first strike, the minefield was the killing blow.”

The situation had been critical then. The gunshot was immediately masked by the mine explosion, so everyone thought it was a technical malfunction—common enough with primitive technology.

Zhu Zhanhe shuddered: “Sister A’Lei still hasn’t awakened?”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head, his eyes revealing murderous intent: “Intensify interrogation of the pirates—the island’s secret chambers, mechanisms, whether there are other strongholds on nearby islands, mainland contacts and secret bases. Also, pile gold bars before their eyes. Those with major contributions will be rewarded with gold bars and new identity documents to flee far away—we won’t make things difficult for them.”

“Additionally, if anyone reveals who sold them the stolen gunpowder factory goods, double the reward.”

“The pirates’ goal is profit—they’re no longer like Zhang Shicheng’s remnants wanting to retake the mainland. They’re easily bought.”

Zhu Zhanhe accepted the orders: “Leave it to me. You’re the commander and Imperial Grand Prince—nothing can happen to you. From now on, don’t venture out and risk danger. There may be other ambushes on the island. Stay here and watch over Sister A’Lei.”

Zhu Zhanji looked at the unconscious A’Lei: “Staying here isn’t safe either. The pirates are more cunning and vicious than I expected. It’s all my fault. If I’d listened to A’Lei this morning and directly agreed to let her leave the island without trying to keep her, she would have reached Liujiagang by ship long ago and wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Zhu Zhanhe consoled him: “Sister A’Lei was worried about your safety. I heard she’d already boarded the ship, but when she heard about the assassination, she immediately ran off to find you.”

“Who said I was doing it for him?”

A weak voice spoke up. A’Lei had just awakened with a splitting headache. Hearing the brothers’ conversation, her first reaction was denial: “I didn’t know who was assassinated. My mind went completely blank—I just wanted to quickly check if you were alright. I didn’t expect to cause you trouble.”

Seeing the Zhu brothers were unharmed, A’Lei felt relieved: “I’m a burden here and can’t help with anything. Please have your ship take me to Liujiagang.”

Seeing A’Lei’s clear mind and articulate speech, Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Zhanhe knew she hadn’t damaged her brain and breathed sighs of relief.

“I want to get you away from this dangerous place early too, but—” Zhu Zhanji rose and opened the double-layered windows. Outside, wind and rain raged, with faint sounds of crashing waves.

Zhu Zhanhe said: “There’s a storm now. None of our ships can leave port, and the Ming Navy can’t sail over to reinforce us. We all have to watch heaven’s mood and wait for the storm to pass before going to sea.”

Cool wind mixed with penetrating raindrops poured in. Zhu Zhanji closed the windows: “Summer seas have many storms—short ones last half a day, long ones five days. When the weather clears and the Ming Navy comes to escort us, I’ll send you back to recover.”

A’Lei touched her head: “I’m fine. The headache will pass in a few days.”

Zhu Zhanji pointed at her leg: “You can’t move right now either.”

Only now, with her mind still foggy from awakening, did A’Lei notice her left foot had swollen like a pig’s trotter, propped up on two stacked pillows.

A’Lei tried moving her left foot. The tendons felt like Nezha had pulled them out alive, tied them in a bow, then shoved them back in. Waves of throbbing pain crashed over her like mountains and seas.

“Don’t move.” Zhu Zhanji repositioned the swollen foot high on the pillows: “The military doctor said the bone is fine—it’s just a sprain that needs bed rest. Try not to walk or sit until the swelling goes down.”

A’Lei: It’s over, it’s over. With my foot swollen like this, how can I run away?