Chapter 26 - 1#

In the North Wing, Jingzhe didn’t have many places to spend money, and over the years, he had saved up quite a bit. A portion of it was earned by Zheng Hong, and the rest he gave to Mingyu.

Mingyu was very surprised when he was given the money.

“What are you giving me this for?”

“If you want to leave the North Wing, you’ll definitely need to pull some strings. Don’t you need money for that?”

Mingyu: “I have money.”

Jingzhe: “The hell you do!”

Mingyu was rare to be choked up by Jingzhe, and he scratched his face sheepishly.

Mingyu wasn’t a big spender, but he didn’t keep track of his spending either.

When Jingzhe was still in the North Wing, Mingyu’s money was all managed by him. But after he left, in just a few short months, Mingyu’s purse had shrunk drastically, with only a little left.

Mingyu learned his lesson: “I’ll save up and pay you back.”

Jingzhe didn’t mind, just waved his hand and told him to take it.

Mingyu squatted down next to him on the porch, and the two of them quietly watched the falling snow. After a while, Mingyu said, “You came all this way again, not just to give me money, right?”

“That’s a very important reason.”

Jingzhe emphasized.

Mingyu nodded, “Alright, it’s a very important reason. So can you tell me the other reason now?”

Jingzhe became a clam again.

Mingyu had no choice but to pat his head, hoping he was the type to react with a pat. But the patting turned into rubbing.

It had been a while since he had rubbed Jingzhe’s little puppy head, and he kind of missed it.

Mingyu sighed, then said, “If you don’t tell me clearly, I’ll go ask your Rong Jiu.”

“It has nothing to do with him,” Jingzhe said first, then shook his head. “You don’t know where he is anyway.”

Mingyu: “I don’t know, but I don’t need to know. Can’t I just take a walk in front of the palace?”

Jingzhe muttered, “That would scare you to death.”

He knew that Mingyu was worried about him, so he always had a strange sense of vigilance towards Rong Jiu. Before, he had even laughed at him for getting into trouble just by looking at faces. At that time, Jingzhe still felt that Mingyu was worrying for nothing.

But he never expected that Rong Jiu… cough, Mingyu’s worries were actually true.

Was he really a person who was swayed by faces?

Only after getting on the pirate ship did he realize the other party was a pirate… hmm, that’s not a good way to put it… after all, to some extent, Rong Jiu was the one who was at a disadvantage.

What kind of person Rong Jiu was on the inside wouldn’t change because of their brief time together.

It’s so difficult for a person to change themselves, let alone change others.

Although Jingzhe didn’t really like those cruel methods, he had never thought that he could change Rong Jiu.

Jingzhe rested his chin on his hand and said slowly, “I’ve made up with him.”

Mingyu wasn’t surprised.

Jingzhe was a nostalgic person, and also very loyal.

In the past, if he had something, he would use it until it was old and worn out, but still be reluctant to throw it away. In his early years, he didn’t have much money, so it was normal to be frugal, but he was still more sentimental than ordinary people.

Whether it was things or people.

Take him and Mingyu for example. The reason why Mingyu was so close to Jingzhe, to the point where they could trust each other with secrets, was because when Jingzhe was bullied as a child, Mingyu had stood up for him.

At that time, Jingzhe had just entered the palace and had been seriously ill.

The other young eunuchs of the same batch all thought he wouldn’t survive, but he managed to pull through.

After recovering from his illness, his food and drink were often snatched away, but he was weak and couldn’t fight back. At that time, it was Mingyu who couldn’t stand it and kicked away the people surrounding Jingzhe.

He might be small, but he was strong!

Little Mingyu picked up the steamed bun that had fallen on the ground and handed it to the dirty little Jingzhe, “Although it’s a little dusty, it’s still edible.”

That was the first time Mingyu had spoken to Jingzhe.

Jingzhe slowly thanked him, took the food, and didn’t even pick off the dust. He tore it into small pieces and ate it.

Later, Mingyu discovered that his workload was always quietly decreasing.

He searched for several days before he caught Jingzhe, who had been secretly acting as a “river snail girl.” Both of them were the stubborn type who didn’t want to owe favors, and in this back-and-forth, they inexplicably became friends.

Gradually, they both learned about each other’s situations.

In other words, because Jingzhe had lost so much in the past and had so little, he had a paranoid possessiveness towards his own things and his own people.

Mingyu had no doubt that if something happened to him, Jingzhe would kill for him.

At this thought, Mingyu fiercely rubbed Jingzhe’s head again and said something from the heart, “If you like him, it’s not bad to be together like this. But, what if he’s not just a guard?”

From the way Rong Jiu acted, if he were just an ordinary guard, he would never dare to be so crazy.

People like them wouldn’t be overjoyed just because their lover had a high status.

At least, Mingyu knew Jingzhe wouldn’t.

Jingzhe’s parents were said to be a loving couple who had come from their hometown together, had two children, and had never quarreled.

Jingzhe didn’t have great desires, nor did he have a strong greed for money. With his temperament, being able to live quietly with someone, like his parents, would be a wonderful thing.

Jingzhe: “That’s a very good question, but please don’t bring it up again… If we’re not a good match, I can already imagine how my mother would twist my ear.”

He muttered under his breath.

When he was young, Cen Xuanyin’s superior liked this subordinate very much and had even thought of marrying his concubine’s daughter to Jingzhe. Although she was born of a concubine, her status was so high that she was more than a good match for Jingzhe. Besides, both of them were not yet of age, but it was not unheard of to arrange a marriage in advance.

His father came back to discuss it with his mother. Liu-shi thought for a long time and still felt it was inappropriate.

A mismatch in social status would surely lead to disaster.

The concubine’s daughter would be marrying down, and she might not be happy or willing.

The Cen family was not of a high social standing.

Liu-shi hoped more that Jingzhe would marry a woman he liked in the future, who didn’t need to have a high social standing, but could treat Jingzhe well. That would be very good.

His father therefore refused his superior.

And then…

Hatred flickered in Jingzhe’s eyes.

Something happened to the Cen family.

That superior was Huang Qingtian.

Liu-shi was right, it was indeed, “sure to lead to disaster.”

He liked Rong Jiu, he liked Rong Jiu the guard, he liked the Rong Jiu who also liked him.

But a relationship that was difficult to sustain… forget it, things hadn’t come to a head yet, and there was no telling what people would do in the future. He could only take it one step at a time.

Mingyu didn’t want to see Jingzhe in low spirits, so he said again, “Alright, if it’s not because of Rong Jiu, then what is it?”

As long as what Rong Jiu did didn’t harm the people and things Jingzhe cared about, with Jingzhe’s stubborn personality, it would be difficult for him to separate from people.

At least not now.

As for…

Mingyu rubbed his smooth chin. Jingzhe was very particular about social status, and Rong Jiu looked less and less like an ordinary guard. One day, the identity he revealed might scare someone to death.

It’s just that… Rong Jiu didn’t look like someone who would… part on good terms…

It’s really not Mingyu’s fault for worrying, who told Jingzhe to be such a sucker for a pretty face!

Jingzhe didn’t know what Mingyu was thinking. He also mimicked Mingyu’s action of rubbing his chin and said slowly, “If you know someone is a bad person, but he is very talented, and if he lives, he can create more benefits, but I still feel that he should die… is my thinking wrong?”

Mingyu: “What kind of evil?”

Jingzhe: “Greed for disaster relief silver, killing good people who were doing their jobs, plundering other money…” Before he could finish, Mingyu made a vicious throat-slitting gesture.

“Of course he should be killed.”

Mingyu: “I don’t understand the big principles, but if he is not killed, how can the lives of those who died tragically be repaid?”

This was a very simple sentiment.

Jingzhe showed a faint smile and said softly, “That’s good, I think so too.”

He patted the snow off his body and stood up, stretching.

“I should be heading back soon.”

Mingyu: “You already had the answer, why did you ask me?” He didn’t ask Jingzhe why he would ask such a strange question.

Jingzhe: “After all, there is still a price to pay, so I have to think about whether it’s worth it.”

But in fact, the hesitation was only for a moment.

He had no ability to contact outside officials, and even if he did… could he really go against his conscience to do such a thing?

Then it would be better for Nitta to die in prison.

…

“Have you found out anything?”

In the dead of night, Meng Zhongtong was lying under a tree, hiding his figure. If you looked closely, you could see that besides him, there were many other people hiding in the shadows.

“We’ve found out. Tomorrow, they will pass through here.”

This was the news that the scout who had just returned had obtained.

A look of joy appeared on Meng Zhongtong’s face. He slapped the ground and sat up. Since the people hadn’t arrived yet, there was indeed no need to be so cautious.

“As long as the ambush is set up correctly, you all, cheer up. When we work tomorrow, you have to get the person out for me.”

As he spoke, many of his men nodded.

After everyone dispersed to rest, one of Meng Zhongtong’s more astute second-in-commands came over and said in a low voice, “Boss, this is a government escort team. If we really hijack them, what if the government comes after us?”

Although they usually robbed and plundered merchant caravans, the mountains they occupied were easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the government wanted to hunt them down, it wouldn’t be that easy.

After every job, they would scatter and flee into the mountains, live for a year or so, and then come out to do it again. The government couldn’t catch them at all.

But this time they had come down from the mountains, out of their familiar territory, and were going to do such a dangerous thing. This second-in-command was afraid that if something went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Meng Zhongtong usually valued him, so he wasn’t angry when he was asked this. He also lowered his voice and said, “If you had a chance to turn over a new leaf and live openly, wouldn’t you be happy?”

The second-in-command smacked his lips. How could he not be willing?

Although living on the edge was exciting, who didn’t want to live a stable life?

But their identities and appearances were already registered with the government. Even if they wanted to lay down their butcher knives, not everyone could become a Buddha immediately just by laying down their butcher knives, as the Buddha said.

If people like them laid down their butcher knives, they would immediately have to go to prison and wait to die.

They were not willing to do that.

Meng Zhongtong patted his subordinate’s shoulder hard, “Don’t worry, as long as we can do this job, our identities will be settled.”

Otherwise, why would he take such a big risk.

Robbing and plundering was one thing, but messing with the government…

After that, they didn’t say much more, conserving their energy and waiting for tomorrow.

The next day, a convoy really passed by here. Many government soldiers were guarding both sides, and in the middle, there was a prison cart with a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties locked inside.

Meng Zhongtong confirmed the man’s appearance. A ferocious smile appeared on his dirt-covered face. He stretched out his hand and gestured to the left and right. Soon, a pre-planned ambush began.

After two quarters of an hour, Meng Zhongtong personally inspected every corpse to make sure they were all dead before taking out a large machete and cutting the iron chains of the prison cart.

Nitta was almost scared out of his wits. He stared blankly as a pair of large hands reached for him and dragged him out of the carriage, face down.

“Boss, four brothers died.”

Dead people were not a happy sight after all. Meng Zhongtong nodded unhappily and motioned for them to search the bodies.