Chapter 25 - 2#

But to make a person a cripple for the rest of their life was a different matter entirely.

Wude had no blood on his hands. No matter how angry the Head Eunuch and Jiang Jinming were, they couldn’t truly touch Wude.

After pondering Wude’s methods, Wufu began to lament the loss of Huiping, whom he hadn’t managed to get his hands on. Although Huiping’s hands were rough from coarse work, he was still fair-skinned and slender, with a certain charm. Wufu had actually been eyeing him for a long time.

However, on the day Jiang Jinming brought his men, he had set his sights on another, whose looks were far superior to Huiping’s and whose figure was also quite good. It was just that his gaze was a bit too sharp, not one to yield so easily.

Hehe… he liked this type too.

Wufu’s heart itched, his eyes darting around until they landed on the young eunuch serving in the room. “Go, open the third drawer from the bottom for me.”

The young eunuch’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

He clearly knew what was in there.

The eunuch dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly. “Master, Master, please bear with it a little longer. If Master De returns and sees this servant… he might get angry.”

Wufu pouted, not listening at all.

Seeing the boy disobey, he casually grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it, striking the eunuch’s head and making it bleed.

The eunuch didn’t dare to dodge, taking the hit squarely. His head buzzed, and his vision went black.

“…Aren’t you… going…”

He numbly got up and staggered towards the spot.

There, Wufu kept many of his “toys,” some of which could be lethal.

The eunuch stood numbly before the cabinet, dazedly grabbing a handful of toys and walking out like a zombie, stopping in front of Wufu.

Wufu had a broken leg and couldn’t move easily.

He just leaned against the headboard, picking and choosing.

The eunuch watched Wufu numbly.

The corpulent body was like a greedy reptile; when it moved, the rolls of fat were nauseating. The thought of his past encounters made his head ache even more. When Wufu finally chose his item and started humming a happy tune, the eunuch finally saw clearly what it was.

…He remembered that the eunuch who had been carried out of the room back then had had such a thing stuck in his body.

The eunuch didn’t know where the courage came from, nor the source of the sudden ferocity, but in that instant, his taut nerves snapped. He grabbed a stool from the bedside and smashed it violently against Wufu’s head.

The force was so great that the entire stool shattered on Wufu’s head. He didn’t even let out a scream before collapsing limply onto the bed.

The eunuch trembled, coming back to his senses.

He let out a cry, released his grip, and clutched his head in terror.

“I killed someone… hahaha… I killed someone… hee hee hahaha…”

He was traumatized, crying and laughing at the same time.

Just then, several people rushed in from outside. The young eunuch thought Wude and his men had returned.

He sobered up a little.

Knowing it was a capital offense and he would die sooner or later, he thought he might as well take a few more down with him. A viciousness grew in his heart. He grabbed a scattered wooden slat from the bed and turned to smash it at one of the newcomers.

By the time he realized the person’s attire was wrong, it was too late to stop.

The man raised his arm, taking the blow directly. The splintered wood hit his body, but his face remained expressionless, as if he felt nothing.

“Take him away.”

At his command, someone immediately came forward and dragged the terrified young eunuch away.

He took a few quick steps to Wufu’s bedside.

Looking at the person on the bed, a deep sense of disgust appeared on Wei Haidong’s face.

He had no choice but to reach out and check the man’s pulse. Fortunately, he was still alive.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. If this one had died, where would he find someone for His Majesty the Emperor to vent his anger on!

Wei Haidong took a step back and held up two fingers.

“Drag him.”

What a joke. Why would he let his subordinates carry such a fat pig’s head?

In his dreams.

Dragging him was already giving him enough face.

He marveled inwardly, actually quite curious to see the face of the person the Emperor was protecting in his arms. Unfortunately, Emperor Jingyuan quickly wrapped him in a blanket, not letting anyone see even a single strand of hair.

Was he really that precious?

Wei Haidong grumbled in his heart, but his stern, square-jawed face showed no trace of his inner gossip.

He maintained this stern expression as he had Wufu taken away.

Wei Haidong didn’t feel at all that his talents were being wasted; he was very eagerly looking forward to the show.

…

When Jingzhe woke up again, he looked at the familiar ceiling, his head feeling a bit muddled and heavy.

He sat up, clutching his head, and someone immediately came to support him.

“Jingzhe, you’re finally awake.”

“You’re really unlucky, how could you faint from the heat at such a lively time?”

“Are you okay? Do you want some hot water?”

“I’ll go get Shi’en…”

The cacophony of voices made the already groggy Jingzhe even more confused.

It was Gusheng who was quick-witted. Seeing Jingzhe’s slight frown, he pushed the others away from the bed with one arm, saying righteously, “What are you all so nervous about? You’re making Jingzhe even more confused.”

Jingzhe pressed his thumb to his forehead; he was indeed confused.

He had just woken up and hadn’t fully processed things, he couldn’t even remember how he had fallen asleep.

“It’s like this, something happened at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department this afternoon,” Huiping explained to Jingzhe at the others’ urging. “Wufu is dead.”

Wufu?

The mention of Wufu immediately made Jingzhe think of Wude, and then of the afternoon’s events.

His face turned pale instantly.

Huiping, who had been watching Jingzhe, thought he was scared and quickly said, “This has nothing to do with us. The one who did it was from Qianming Palace.”

The more Huiping said this, the less at ease Jingzhe felt.

How could he be at ease?

The person from Qianming Palace was none other than Rong Jiu!

“How did Wufu die?”

Shi’en, impatient with Huiping’s slow pace, pushed him aside and decided to take over.

How could gossip be told at such a slow pace!

“Wufu’s older brother, Wude, seemed to have caused trouble while working in front of Qianming Palace. Qianming Palace sent people to arrest Wude, and the two brothers resisted arrest. One after the other, they both died.”

“Both?”

Jingzhe repeated subconsciously.

How was this… different from what he remembered?

“Yes, I didn’t see Wude’s body, but I secretly glanced at Wufu’s.” Shi’en spoke in a horrified tone, no longer just gossiping, the residual fear on his face infecting the others. “I saw… Wufu’s body was riddled with holes, like… a pile of rotten mud.”

Shi’en felt he would have nightmares tonight.

Especially since that pile of rotten flesh was Wufu, the nightmare would be even more disgusting.

Although Huiping’s face was pale, he said calmly, “Isn’t it good that he’s dead?”

He looked around at the others, even showing a faint smile.

“Both he and Wude are dead. For us, there’s no need to keep our backup plan, is there?”

Yunkui and Jingzhe exchanged a look. They had indeed prepared for the possibility of Wude coming, but…

Just as Yunkui said, with both brothers dead, there was no need for any backup plan.

It was evening, not yet time for lights out—yes, with Yunkui around, it meant they could have lights on at night if they wanted—and several of them were crowded in Jingzhe’s room talking. Gusheng even stuffed a leftover steamed bun into Jingzhe’s hand.

It was a bit cold, but it was filling.

Jingzhe nibbled on the bun by the bed, listening to their conversation.

From their fragmented conversation, Jingzhe pieced together the events of the afternoon.

From Yunkui and Huiping’s perspective, someone first discovered a dead eunuch inside the Zhidianjian. In terror, the news was reported up the chain of command.

At that time, Yunkui was by Jiang Jinming’s side, so he naturally learned of it immediately.

A tragic death within the Zhidianjian was no small matter.

Just as several directors were about to lead an investigation, they received a message from the Head Eunuch.

—Remain calm.

It was unknown what else was written in the Head Eunuch’s message, but the directors who were about to go out not only returned to their respective departments but also strictly ordered everyone not to leave their rooms.

Yunkui was naturally with Jiang Jinming at the time. It took some effort, but he finally got a few true words out of his master’s mouth.

“Master said that people from Qianming Palace came to search for Wude, who then resisted arrest and was killed along with the men he had with him.” Yunkui said, spitting with excitement. “Wude got into trouble, and Wufu couldn’t escape either. He had been riding on Wude’s coattails for so long… so he was implicated too…”

He made a slicing motion at his neck, kchak.

After finishing the last piece of the bun, Jingzhe said slowly, “What crime did Wude commit?”

“Outside the palace, he used Qianming Palace’s name to act tyrannically, colluded with ministers, and even kept women.” Shi’en had the fastest mouth and the best information, chattering away to Jingzhe. “And, no wonder he turned a blind eye to Wufu’s strange habits. It turns out he was the same kind of depraved person.”

Jingzhe frowned slightly. Was it his imagination?

The incident had just happened in the afternoon, and by evening, the news had spread so accurately, with such detail, even with a clear beginning, middle, and end… wasn’t it a bit too detailed?

Jingzhe slowly drank a bowl of water, gulping it down. He had eaten the bun too fast and almost choked.

“…Isn’t this news… a bit too clear?” He tilted his head. “Shi’en, how did you… know all this?”

Shi’en patted his chest and said, “Don’t worry, it’s definitely true. This news came from Director Kou.”

Kou Hui was another director.

“Not bad, Shi’en, I didn’t expect you to have a connection with Director Kou.” Yunkui nudged Shi’en’s arm. “Fess up.”

Shi’en scratched his face. “…Actually, Director Kou and I are from the same hometown.”

He had only found this out today.

With such a major incident, Shi’en was originally scared out of his wits. Just as he was pacing in his room like a headless fly, he suddenly heard that Kou Hui had sent someone to summon him.

Shi’en knew of Kou Hui and was aware that he was usually a decent person, so he dared to go.

He didn’t expect that when Kou Hui saw him, his attitude was much gentler than usual. He first asked about his situation, then said, “I know what you and those boys have been up to.”

At that moment, Shi’en’s face turned white, thinking he was about to die.

Seeing him so frightened, Kou Hui smiled and waved his hand. “You think you did things without leaving a trace? The clues were erased by me and your Director Jiang Jinming.”

Seeing Kou Hui’s gentle demeanor, Shi’en’s heart settled a little. Suddenly thinking of something, he cleverly said, “Could it be that the directors… also disliked Director Wu for a long time?”

Kou Hui snorted coldly, “Who would like that idiot.” He frowned, his brow so furrowed it could hold a small mountain, and shook his head in disapproval.