Volume One: First Arrival at the Treasure Land

Chapter 1: The Prince Writes an Imperial Edict

Early morning, Bijia Mountain, the capital, mine shaft.

"Old Bennett, do you think the professor will scold us for sneaking in like this?" A chubby guy, carrying a backpack and holding a flashlight, shone it around in the pitch-black tunnel.

Lucas Bennett kept shaking his phone with both hands, the clicking sounds constant. His eyes were fixed on the phone, playing a game without a care: "Relax, if we really discover the tomb of Prince Hui, not only will the old man not scold us, he might even give us a raise..."

The chubby guy agreed, then turned to Lucas Bennett and asked, "Old Bennett, do you really think the tomb of Prince Hui is here?"

Lucas Bennett kept playing as he walked, saying, "Don't worry, I've checked the Ming history, unofficial histories, the Twenty-Four Histories, and every other history—there's no doubt."

The chubby guy fell back to Lucas Bennett's side, grinning, "Old Bennett, is it because your name only differs by one character from this prince that you're so invested?"

"Exactly, maybe five hundred years ago we really were family." Lucas Bennett laughed too. As for why he wanted to find this tomb, first, it was the curiosity of an archaeology major, and second, he was intrigued by the Wang Gongchang Explosion, which was rumored to be an atomic bomb, but to this day, there's no conclusion.

Suddenly, the chubby guy sniffed around and said, "Old Bennett, do you smell something?"

Lucas Bennett's expression suddenly changed. He turned to run, shouting, "Run, fatty, that's the smell of gunpowder!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before Lucas Bennett could turn around, a wave of scorching firelight rolled toward them, instantly engulfing the two.

……

……

Ming Dynasty, 44th year of Wanli, Imperial Palace.

"How is the young master?" An old eunuch, his face full of anxiety, looked at the sickly child on the bed and asked the imperial physician beside him.

The imperial physician was also sweating profusely, trembling and unable to speak.

This was the crown prince's sixth son. The seventh had just died. If this one died too, he might have to be buried with him.

"Say something!" The old eunuch grew anxious, his voice quacking.

The imperial physician hurriedly got up and stammered to the old eunuch, "The young master was born weak and is now in critical condition. Perhaps we could try a strong medicine... just try!"

The old eunuch, a long-time attendant of the crown prince, frowned deeply at these words. This was a critical moment for the crown prince and he must not be disturbed lightly. He paced in place, then gritted his teeth and said, "I'll make the decision. Just do it!"

"Yes, Eunuch," the physician replied quickly.

"That year, the sixth son of the Ming Emperor Taichang, Zhu Youxu, was saved with strong medicine. In the second year of Tianqi, he was granted the title Prince Hui."

—"Ming History, Taichang Volume"

……

Third year of Tianqi, spring, Forbidden City, Jinghuan Palace.

At a desk, a seven- or eight-year-old boy in splendid clothes was lying over the table, gripping a brush, struggling to write.

A burly man in brocade, moving awkwardly for fear of making a sound, carefully approached the boy.

Sweat beaded on the boy's forehead as he focused intently on the brush tip, feeling exhausted after writing each character.

"Your Highness, what are you writing?" The man craned his neck for a look, asking in a low voice, puzzled.

Just as the boy finished the last character, he looked at the still-wet ink on the yellow xuan paper and smiled slightly: "Writing an 'imperial edict'!"

The man clicked his tongue in secret, thinking the prince was getting bolder. But he quickly said, "Your Highness, Lord Sun is returning home today."

"Mm." Now, Lucas Bennett was already Zhu Youxu, Prince Hui of Ming. He picked up the "imperial edict" and blew on it, saying, "Old Carter, bring me ten thousand baochao notes."

The man was William Carter, who had just returned from Liaodong to report and had been snatched by Lucas Bennett to serve as his personal guard, now also acting as the chief steward of Jinghuan Palace.

William Carter took out the banknotes from his robe and handed them to Lucas Bennett, asking, "Your Highness, what do you need the notes for?"

Lucas Bennett rolled up the "imperial edict" and tucked it into his robe, looking out the door at the sky: "I'm going to see my imperial brother. Oh, and don't forget the matter I told you to watch."

William Carter's face turned serious: "Rest assured, Your Highness. I've bribed a young eunuch over there. If there's any news, I'll know immediately."

"Good." Lucas Bennett nodded. He didn't care how Wei Zhongxian tormented the Donglin Party, but when it came to Liaodong, he couldn't let Wei Zhongxian ruin things. With that, he left the palace and headed for the imperial study.

"Greetings, Prince Hui." The guards and eunuchs at the door of the imperial study bowed deeply when they saw Lucas Bennett.

Lucas Bennett pulled a few pieces of silver from his robe and tossed them to the group, then shouted, "Go spend it! I have plenty of silver!"

The four were overjoyed, hurriedly accepted, and thanked him profusely: "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Imperial brother, come, come! I did as you said—come see if it's right!" As soon as Lucas Bennett stepped into the imperial study, the Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youjiao ran over, pulling Lucas Bennett inside, as if nothing had happened before.