Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

He struggled to get down, but was held tightly by Lu Bing.

"Don't move! I'll swim you over there!" Lu Bing gritted his teeth and swam hard towards the other side.

The river was rushing with undercurrents, and the two were floating up and down in the water, facing danger all around.

The men in black chased to the river, but they didn't dare to go into the water easily. They bent their bows and drew their arrows, shooting at the two people in the river.

"what!"

An arrow hit Lu Bing's shoulder. He groaned and almost let go of the hand that was holding Chu Ze.

Chu Ze's heart tightened, and he quickly hugged Lu Bing's neck and shouted anxiously: "Brother Lu! How are you?"

"It's okay! It's just a minor injury!" Lu Bing gritted his teeth, endured the severe pain, and continued to swim towards the other side.

Finally, the two swam to the other side with difficulty.

Lu Bing put Chu Ze on the ground and collapsed beside him, breathing heavily.

Chu Ze's wound was still bleeding, and his face was as pale as paper. He struggled to sit up and looked at Lu Bing gratefully: "Brother Lu, thank you for saving my life!"

Lu Bing waved his hand and grinned: "We are brothers, there is no need to thank me! It's just a pity that we failed to catch the mastermind behind the Japanese pirates this time."

Chu Ze's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "I will not be a human being if I don't take revenge for this! I will definitely investigate this matter and bring the mastermind behind it to justice!"

Just then, there was the sound of horse hooves in the distance.

The two looked up and saw a group of people galloping towards them.

The leader, wearing a dragon robe and a golden crown, is the current emperor, Chu Ze!
"Your Majesty!" Upon seeing this, Lu Bing quickly struggled to stand up and wanted to salute.

Chu Ze held him and said, "Lu Qingjia, there's no need to be polite. Tell me what happened."

Lu Bing reported the whole story in detail.

After hearing this, Chu Ze's face darkened and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"How dare you! How dare you assassinate my most trusted minister! I will tear these pirates into pieces!"

He turned to look at Chu Ze and asked with concern: "Lord Chu, how is your injury?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm fine." Chu Ze replied quickly.

"Come here, call the imperial physician immediately!" Chu Ze gave an order, and several guards immediately rode away.

Afterwards, Chu Ze personally helped Chu Ze onto the horse, and the group headed towards the capital in a mighty procession...

On the way back to Beijing, Chu Ze kept thinking about the assassination.

He always felt that things were not that simple.

Although the Japanese pirates were rampant, they did not dare to assassinate imperial officials so blatantly.

There must be a bigger conspiracy behind this!
What exactly is this conspiracy?

Chu Ze fell into deep thought...

Chu Ze leaned on the cushion of the imperial sedan chair, frowning. Outside the sedan chair, the imperial guards were surrounded by cavalry, and they were marching back to the capital. The scene of the assassination kept replaying in his mind. The assassin's moves were ruthless, and he was obviously a desperate criminal, not an ordinary Japanese pirate. Lu Bing's injury also made him suspicious. The arrow seemed to be deliberately shot a little off, and only injured the flesh, not the vital parts.

"Could it be... someone did this on purpose?" Chu Ze muttered to himself, with a gleam in his eyes.

"What is your majesty talking about?" Xiao Dezi, the personal eunuch who was serving beside him, bowed and asked. Chu Ze glanced at him and said lightly: "I am thinking that this world is really not peaceful."

Xiao Dezi observed the man's expression and dared not ask any more questions. He could only stand by with his hands hanging down.

After returning to the palace, Chu Ze immediately summoned the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Tian Ergeng, informed him of the assassination in detail, and ordered a thorough investigation.

"Tian Ergeng, I'll give you three days to get to the bottom of this matter and find out who is behind it!" Chu Ze's tone was cold, with unquestionable majesty.

Tian Ergeng knelt down and accepted the order: "I obey your order! I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust!"

After Tian Ergeng left, Chu Ze came to the imperial garden alone, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the peonies in full bloom, his heart surging.

This assassination made him smell a hint of conspiracy.

"I want to see who is behind this trouble!" Chu Ze's eyes flashed coldly.

Three days later, Tian Ergeng asked for a meeting again.

"Your Majesty, I have found out that the people who assassinated Lord Lu Bing were not Japanese pirates, but...people from the Eastern Depot!" Tian Ergeng knelt on the ground, his voice trembling slightly.

"East Factory?" Chu Ze raised his eyebrows, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, "Why did Cao Zhengchun, the supervisor of the East Factory, want to assassinate Lu Bing?"

Tian Ergeng replied cautiously: "According to my investigation, Cao Zhengchun seems to be colluding with the Japanese pirates and intends to rebel!"

"Treason?!" Chu Ze stood up suddenly and shouted angrily, "How dare he collude with the Japanese pirates and plot a rebellion! Is there any conclusive evidence?"

"Your Majesty, I have obtained some evidence, but further verification is needed," Tian Ergeng replied quickly.

"Okay! I'll give you one month. You must collect all the evidence and report it to me!" Chu Ze's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"I obey your order!" Tian Ergeng bowed his head and accepted the order, but he secretly complained in his heart. Cao Zhengchun was powerful in the court and had many followers. How easy would it be to bring him down?
In the following month, Tian Ergeng led the Jinyiwei to run around secretly investigating the evidence of Cao Zhengchun's crimes, while Chu Ze kept his troops in place and waited for the situation to change.

At the same time, Cao Zhengchun, the governor of the East Factory, also sensed the panic and felt uneasy.

"Could it be that the matter was exposed?" Cao Zhengchun sat on the armchair, playing with a string of Buddhist beads in his hands, his brows furrowed.

"Master, the Jinyiwei have been active recently and seem to be investigating us." A man in black knelt on one knee and reported in a low voice.

"Hmph! What can those useless Jinyiwei find out?" Cao Zhengchun snorted coldly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"However, just in case, we'd better be careful." The man in black reminded.

"Well, you're right." Cao Zhengchun nodded, "Pass the order down, tell the brothers to be careful and not to reveal their true colors."

"Yes!" The man in black took the order and left.

Cao Zhengchun put down the Buddhist beads, and a sinister light flashed in his eyes.

"Chu Ze, do you really think you can beat me? It's still unknown who will win!"

Just as the two sides were secretly wrestling with each other, an unexpected event broke this delicate balance.

News came from the palace that the Queen... is pregnant!

This news, like a thunderclap, caused an uproar in the government and the country.

Chu Ze has been on the throne for many years but has no offspring. This is a major event concerning the Ming Dynasty!
For a time, undercurrents surged in the court, and various forces were ready to make a move...

When the news of the queen's pregnancy came out, Cao Zhengchun was stunned at first, and then a cold smile appeared on his lips. "What a Chu Ze, he actually made such a scene at this time! Is he trying to use the prince to consolidate his position?" (End of this chapter)