Chapter 25 - 3#
“Wufu is nothing to fear; it’s his brother who is troublesome,” Kou Hui said calmly. “However, you don’t need to worry now. Wude is about to fall.”
Seeing Shi’en’s curious expression, Kou Hui didn’t hesitate to explain, “Wude occasionally leaves the palace for business. He uses this opportunity to amass wealth outside the palace, keep women—a hobby he shares with Wufu—and has even made contact with other officials…” At this point, Kou Hui revealed a grim expression.
“How can he be tolerated?”
It was just a matter of casting a long line to catch a big fish.
Shi’en loved gossip, and hearing all this made him incredibly excited. But amidst his excitement, he also felt something was odd. Most importantly…
Shi’en and Kou Hui didn’t usually have much contact.
He knew Kou Hui had a good relationship with Jiang Jinming, but it shouldn’t extend to caring for him so gently just by association.
If it were truly because of Jiang Jinming, the one Kou Hui should be showing concern for right now ought to be Yunkui!
Kou Hui chuckled heartily. “Silly boy, didn’t you hear my accent?”
Upon entering the palace, no matter where one was from originally, one had to speak fluent Mandarin.
Speaking with an accent would inevitably invite disdain.
When Shi’en first entered the palace, he had put in a lot of effort to learn standard Mandarin.
While speaking with Kou Hui just now, because the authentic local accent was a bit too familiar, Shi’en surprisingly hadn’t noticed…
Kou Hui was his fellow townsman!
At this point, Shi’en lifted his head happily. “Director Kou said he asked Director Jiang for me several times, but Director Jiang refused to let me go. Oh my, I really shine wherever I go.”
At that time, Kou Hui had also asked him if he wanted to move over to his department after the year-end assessment.
Shi’en had wavered, but after a long while, he shook his head, smiling and bowing with hands clasped. “This lowly one thanks the Director for his kindness, but I believe that with my own strength, I can climb up within the Zhidianjian as well. If I ever need the Director’s help in the future, I will thicken my skin and come to beg then.” He spoke with a grin, making him quite likeable.
Kou Hui couldn’t help but smile and waved his hand.
“Fine, fine. Once you leave this door, put your heart back in your stomach and stop worrying.”
Shi’en nodded happily, bowed to Kou Hui again, and then turned to leave.
What he didn’t see was that Kou Hui, who had been sitting calmly in the room, stood up immediately after he left. He walked towards the left, stopped in front of a screen, and said respectfully, “This servant has already said everything exactly as the Head Eunuch ordered.”
The Head Eunuch, Fang Jiaju, walked out from behind the screen, nodding with satisfaction. “Well done.”
Kou Hui spoke softly, “It’s just that saying these things to this child is…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Fang Jiaju glanced indifferently at Kou Hui. “Don’t be curious.”
The strong warning in his words made Kou Hui immediately lower his head.
“Yes.”
…
Jingzhe thought over and over about what Shi’en had said.
Flawless.
If not for the bond of being from the same hometown, why would Kou Hui take care of Shi’en and tell him all this?
These were secrets, after all.
In this light, Shi’en’s words had higher credibility. Moreover, he didn’t spread rumors outside; he only told Jingzhe and the others.
Interestingly, although Shi’en seemed like a loose-lipped gossip, when he really needed to keep a secret, his lips were tighter than anyone’s.
He had kept Jingzhe’s reluctance to go to Zhongcui Palace and what happened to Huiping strictly confidential, telling no one. Even Gusheng only learned about Huiping’s ordeal that night when Huiping brought it up himself.
After confirming Wufu was dead, Huiping undoubtedly felt a huge weight lifted off his chest, and his expression relaxed considerably.
Gusheng cursed in a low voice, not angry at the others for concealing it.
If this matter got out, it would ultimately be bad for Huiping.
Although there were places like the Nanfeng Hall nowadays, it was still not something that could be brought to the table. Even in the palace, if a palace maid and a eunuch were caught as a couple, it wouldn’t necessarily invite scorn, but if it were two men…
Especially the one on the receiving end would always be looked down upon.
“Good riddance,” Gusheng frowned. “However, after this incident, the Miscellaneous Affairs Department is half empty. They’re probably very short-handed.”
With such a major incident, the Head Eunuch also lost face, so he handled it very quickly.
After Wei Haidong took away the bodies, Head Eunuch Fang Jiaju quickly had people clean up the traces and suppressed discussions everywhere.
It was believed that by tomorrow, there would be a public explanation.
The group talked late into the night. After dispersing, Huiping was still energetic, not caring at all about waking up early the next day.
He couldn’t sleep, and Jingzhe, who had just woken up not long ago, couldn’t sleep even more.
Huiping whispered, “I saw your face wasn’t looking too good just now. Was it because in the afternoon… did you actually see something?”
Otherwise, why would Jingzhe faint at such a coincidental time?
Jingzhe sighed. “I was there when Wude died.”
Huiping gasped, grabbing Jingzhe’s arm.
“Is that why you were scared into fainting?”
Jingzhe was a bit conflicted. He actually felt he hadn’t fainted from fear, but had been pinched into unconsciousness by Rong Jiu.
He had no proof, but he felt that was it!
But he didn’t elaborate, so Huiping assumed as much.
“May all the gods and Buddhas bless you, it’s good you’re okay.” Huiping put his palms together and bowed to the four directions. “I heard Wude and his men all died… wait, dammit, Wude went looking for you!”
Huiping realized belatedly what Jingzhe meant, and anger appeared on his face.
“Why didn’t you say anything when they were here just now?”
Huiping felt both lingering fear and relief, thankful that Jingzhe looked unharmed and free of injury.
Jingzhe lowered his eyes and said softly, “Wude must have gone to visit Wufu, and from there guessed that Wufu’s broken leg had something to do with me, so he brought people. It’s just…” He paused, his voice becoming even softer, “At that time, Wude didn’t look like… he was trying to escape.”
Others might not know, but could Jingzhe not know?
The person who killed Wude was Rong Jiu.
Regardless of how many sins Wude had committed, Rong Jiu’s initial move was purely for Jingzhe.
Thinking of this, Jingzhe had a bit of a headache.
Many things had logic, but before unraveling them, there was a single contradiction.
It all lay with Rong Jiu.
Hearing Jingzhe’s words, Huiping said dismissively, “What does that matter? It shows that when Wude first came to the Zhidianjian, he never thought he would be caught, otherwise he wouldn’t have come alone. Maybe someone had been watching him for a long time, deliberately lying in ambush, just waiting for Wude to let his guard down and take the bait!”
Jingzhe: “…Really? He’s just a second-rank eunuch, is there a need to be so cautious?”
Huiping whispered, “You were asleep this afternoon, so you didn’t hear Yunkui say that Wude knew martial arts.”
Jingzhe: “…Oh, oh.”
He nodded, and Huiping patted his head affectionately before tucking him into the quilt.
“Don’t think too much, rest more. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will be fine.”
Jingzhe smiled bitterly and closed his eyes. After a moment, he called out to the system in his mind.
“Did you see what happened this afternoon?”
The system spoke.
[Host, the system can only detect targets related to the mission and cannot know other things. However, Wufu was indeed arrested by Wei Haidong.]
Since Jingzhe woke up, the persistent premonition of danger had been tearing at his sensitive nerves, leaving him no time to even think quietly.
He closed his eyes. Wei Haidong…
That inexplicable panic finally subsided slightly.
He clasped his hands over his heart, as if trying to warm the inexplicably racing heart.
Before falling asleep, Jingzhe was originally worried he would dream of those brutal scenes, but he never expected to sleep until he woke up naturally.
Although it was a natural awakening, the time he woke up was exactly his usual waking hour.
But Jingzhe had slept through the afternoon and then through the night, sleeping soundly without even a dream.
He washed his face and rinsed his mouth in silence, then changed his clothes in silence.
So… was he such a bold person?
When Jingzhe went out to work with Yunkui and the others, he saw people deliberately detouring around a certain area. Presumably, that was where one of the people involved in yesterday’s incident had died.
Everyone had a tacit understanding and followed suit, taking the detour.
No one took the initiative to mention it.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that a definitive conclusion was given to the matter.
Jiang Jinming gathered many eunuchs from the Zhidianjian and had them stand in the courtyard before pacing in front of them with his hands behind his back.
“Presumably, you have all heard about the incident at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department yesterday.”
In the ranks, several faces turned pale.
Heard about it?
Several of them had run straight into the bodies.
Jiang Jinming said calmly, “Wufu acted tyrannically in the Miscellaneous Affairs Department for years, all because he had a brother from Qianming Palace. Yesterday, Commander Wei led a team to arrest the offending Wude. During the pursuit, there were casualties, but in the end, the brothers Wude and Wufu were killed on the spot, eliminating future trouble.”
As Jiang Jinming spoke, the many eunuchs below couldn’t help but start whispering to each other.
Jiang Jinming didn’t stop them but continued speaking.
“Now, only three or four people remain in the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, unable to support its operation. People need to be transferred from various departments, and the Zhidianjian must provide two people.” He pointed out two people. “Go help for now. The Head Eunuch said that until new people are recruited, you will receive double monthly salary.”
The two people who were called out were initially reluctant, but upon hearing they would receive double pay, they immediately became happier.
After all, so many people had died in the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, and ordinary people would naturally be afraid. Now, doing one job for two salaries made it somewhat bearable.
After finishing his speech, Jiang Jinming felt lighter at heart and dismissed the crowd.
Wufu was dead; people in the Zhidianjian were only happy, no one would mourn him.
With several directors stepping forward to appease everyone and supporting the operation of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, after a few days, the lively affair finally quieted down and was no longer frequently mentioned.
Zheng Hong and Huli from the Procurement Office also came to visit at this time.
Huli came to find Huiping.
The two fellow townsmen went out to talk excitedly as soon as they met, while Zheng Hong, as usual, carried bags big and small, sweating profusely in the late autumn and early winter.
Jingzhe helped Zheng Hong unload the things. “What is this?”
Zheng Hong rolled his eyes at Jingzhe and said grumpily, “Do you even need to ask?”
He unceremoniously headed for the table to gulp down some water.
Jingzhe opened the packages and fell silent immediately.
…So many things.
From undergarments and cotton clothes to boots and socks, and even various grooming tools, it was a dazzling array. Opening the boxes on the side revealed all kinds of storable food. It covered food, clothing, housing, and transportation, leaving nothing out.
No wonder Zheng Hong had carried so many things this time.
Zheng Hong clicked his tongue in wonder, standing by Jingzhe’s bed and looking at the things that filled the entire bed, saying in surprise, “I didn’t expect there to be so much when laid out?”
He glanced at Jingzhe.