Chapter 152 I will definitely come back!
The originally majestic Main Hall had been burned down by the fire, with charred charcoal and broken debris scattered all over the ground, leaving only the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha standing alone in the ruins.

In the square, Li Hu sat on a chair that might have been found from the ruins, with his eyes slightly closed.

The governor of Shuntian Prefecture came quietly with a personal soldier and stopped at a distance.

The prefect of Shuntian accidentally stepped on the rubble on the ground, making a little noise.

The guard turned around and gave him a dissatisfied look.

The Shuntian prefect smiled awkwardly.

Li Hu spoke: “What’s the matter?”

The guard then stepped forward and reported to Li Hu: “General, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture is here.”

Li Hu still closed his eyes: “Please come here.”

The personal soldier waved his hand, and the governor of Shuntian Prefecture came forward in small steps.

Shuntian Prefecture Governor bowed and said, “General Li.”

Li Hu then opened his eyes: “Ah, the official has come, I am sorry to have failed to welcome him.”

Shuntian Prefecture Governor had a bitter look on his face: “General Li, you are joking. It’s not easy to be an official in the capital!”

Li Hu looked at him and asked, “Just came out of the palace?”

The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture: “Alas, the emperor’s grace is so great that I was only demoted two levels. I am still in office in Shuntian Prefecture.” As he said this, he bowed in the direction of the imperial palace.

Li Hu smiled. The governor of Shuntian Prefecture was in charge of the capital, but he had no control over major events. For example, last night, the South City was burning red, and he could only watch helplessly. Without the imperial edict, no one could leave the inner city. But the South City was under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. If something happened, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture must be held responsible.

Shuntian Prefecture Governor: “Such a serious incident has happened, but the palace did not issue an order to close the city. All the city gates were opened, and no one was checked on those leaving the city.”

Li Hu shook his head. The emperor was a man who cared about his reputation.

The governor of Shuntian Prefecture looked embarrassed at this time.

Li Hu: “What’s wrong?”

Shuntian Prefecture Governor: “I ran into the Minister of Internal Affairs and Prince Zhongshun outside Yangxin Gate. The Minister of Internal Affairs said that Shuntian Prefecture should cooperate with the Imperial Household Department to clean up the Daxiangguo Temple. All the property should be confiscated and all should be recorded and reported. I just saw a lot of soldiers from the South Camp.”

Li Hu: “The wood from Daxiangguo Temple is really good. It burned half the sky red.”

Shuntian Prefecture Governor was also smart. After a moment’s pause, he quickly followed suit: “Even though it’s so far away, I can see it clearly from the Shuntian Prefecture government office. It’s a pity that the Daxiangguo Temple, which has been a foundation for more than a hundred years, was destroyed in the fire.”

Li Hu changed the subject: “It’s dawn now, I should go to the palace.”

Shuntian Prefecture Governor: “I won’t bother General Li anymore.”

Li Hu stood up and said, “The fire in the Zen room in the backyard has not been extinguished yet. Have someone keep an eye on it and make sure nothing else happens.”

Before he finished speaking, the eunuch hurried over.

The chief eunuch said, “General Li, you don’t need to go to the palace. The palace has issued an order that all the noble families should go to Ningguo Mansion to attend the funeral.”

Jia Zhen was extremely absurd during his lifetime, but he received such honor after his death, which was worth it. However, it was also expected, after all, he died for the royal family and saved the emperor’s face.

Thinking about this, Li Hu said to the eunuch and the governor of Shuntian Prefecture: “I’ll leave this to you.”

The early morning sun shines through the clouds and falls on the red walls and golden tiles of the Forbidden City, casting a golden halo on this ancient royal palace, making it look particularly solemn.

The sunlight cast a large shadow of a person on the brick floor of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

In the huge square of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, the third prince knelt there straight, not moving a muscle.

After a long time, the palace door opened and King Zhongshun walked out angrily.

Prince Zhongshun walked up to the Third Prince and said, “Don’t kneel, your father won’t see you.”

The third prince just shook his head and continued kneeling there, motionless.

King Zhongshun ignored him and walked out alone.

After a while, Dai Quan walked out of the palace gate.

When he saw Dai Quan, a light flashed in the third prince’s eyes.

Dai Quan came closer, bowing his head and taking small steps.

The Third Prince: “Father summoned me?”

Dai Quan sighed. The light that had just appeared in the Third Prince’s eyes immediately dimmed.

Dai Quan said softly, “His Majesty said he is tired, so he won’t see you today. He wants you to go back and do your job well.” At this point, he stepped forward and lowered his voice, “The emperor got angry this time, and Prince Zhongshun said something wrong, so the Fifth Battalion of Patrolmen was separated from the Infantry Commander’s Office.”

The third prince was shocked.

Dai Quan: “I dare to say a few words. You should take care of the affairs of the Ministry of Works and Hetao on behalf of the emperor. If you do a good job, you will relieve the emperor of his worries.”

The third prince nodded in appreciation, kowtowed respectfully towards the West Warm Pavilion, stood up with the help of Dai Quan, and said in a low voice: “Thank you very much.” Then he took out a silver note from his sleeve and stuffed it into Dai Quan’s hand.

Dai Quan was stunned and was about to return the banknote when the Third Prince turned around and strode out.

Dai Quan shook his head and turned to walk towards the palace gate.

After walking less than three or five steps, Dai Quan heard hurried footsteps behind him and turned to look.

A red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department came hurriedly.

The chief eunuch said, “My lord, the Jurchen envoys have arrived and are now waiting for your order at Luhe Posthouse.”

Dai Quan nodded and turned to enter the palace.

On Qianmen Street, the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture had surrounded a restaurant.

The head of the yamen runners and several clerks walked out of the newly repaired gate carrying abacus and account books.

The head of the yamen runners shouted, “Come on, seal this place off!”

The yamen runners shouted in response: “Yes!”

The people watching suddenly became excited.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps, followed by the appearance of a group of soldiers.

Someone saw it at a glance: “It’s the infantry battalion!”

Before he could finish his words, the team of officers and soldiers ran straight to the door of a restaurant and stood still.

The head of the bailiff team came forward in surprise: “What happened?”

The leading officer stood in the middle and shouted, “Come on, seal this place off!”

The soldiers responded with a roar and immediately dispersed, standing in a row outside a restaurant, one every three steps!
The bailiffs were so frightened that they quickly got away.

The head of the yamen guards’ face changed: “What are you doing?”

The officer said: “You can go now.”

The head of the yamen runners said, “You, we are following the order of the governor to close down a restaurant!”

The officer raised his hand.

With a swish, the soldiers drew their swords at the same time!

The head of the yamen runners was so frightened that he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, stomped his feet and said, “Let’s go!” Then he left in a hurry.

The clerks and bailiffs followed in a hurry.

From a distance, a middle-aged man in the crowd said to a young man hurriedly, “I’ll watch from here, you go back and report to the wife and the girl!”

The young man nodded and went out of the crowd.

At the same time, a huge official ship set sail from the Dongbianmen Wharf, with the three big characters “Imperial Household Department” embroidered on the big flag in the middle of the mast!
Sitting in the cabin on the second floor were Bai Hongzhi and the elderly steward.

The two sat in the cabin, facing each other in silence, only hearing shouts and the sound of oars coming from far and near outside.

It was the old steward who broke the silence: “As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Money is ultimately just a thing outside of one’s body. The most urgent task is to go to Shandong to find the head of the Qinglong Hall.”

At this point, he sighed inwardly. When they learned that the secret point was breached by the people from Prince Zhongshun’s Mansion, they knew their identities were exposed, but it was too late. Fortunately, it was already dark, and they escaped by hiding in the car that was delivering food to the restaurant.

As the old saying goes, when a person is unlucky, he will choke even when drinking water. They had just escaped from the wolf’s den, but they fell into the tiger’s mouth and fell into the hands of the fourth prince.

In order to save their lives, they not only agreed to a series of demands from the Fourth Prince, but also handed over the money they had defrauded from Prince Zhongshun’s Mansion, the Third Prince’s Mansion and the Xue family.

All the work in vain!
Bai Hongzhi stood up, walked to the window, looked at the towering city wall, and said fiercely: “Wait, I will definitely come back!”

(End of this chapter)