Chapter 42 - 2#

…

Hu Yue played with two walnuts in his hand, making a crisp clicking sound. In front of him stood several second-rank eunuchs, each with a somewhat pale face.

“Manager, didn’t you send Wu Feng to find Jingzhe? Why do we still have to stay here?”

Hu Yue glanced at him coldly and sneered.

“What, you think that after pushing Jingzhe to the Taishi Palace tonight, you can rest easy?”

The man’s face turned pale, and he stammered, “Isn’t… that so?”

Serving the Emperor could not be considered a bad job in any way.

But keeping vigil carried a great risk.

Emperor Jingyuan could not be woken up; this was almost a strict order.

Tonight, someone died.

When Hu Yue received the news, he had a headache. He didn’t need to know why His Majesty killed someone, but the missing person had to be replaced.

In Shangyu Garden, those who could serve before the Emperor had to be second-rank eunuchs or above, but every single one of them, knowing they had to keep vigil today, dared not go.

Hu Yue’s move to call Jingzhe undoubtedly gave them a glimmer of hope.

Hu Yue sneered, “He is from the palace. Logically, it shouldn’t be his turn tonight. And even if he fills in tonight, it’s at most for one night. Put away your improper little thoughts, lest you implicate me!”

Being transferred to serve in the Taishi Palace meant they didn’t have to work under Hu Yue. They thought well, only wanting the honor of the Taishi Palace, but not the trouble of keeping vigil.

Where in the world could there be such a good thing?

When Jingzhe arrived, Hu Yue didn’t waste any words, “Something happened in the Taishi Palace. Two more people are needed to keep vigil tonight. Dai Youwei, you go with Jingzhe.”

Dai Youwei had a frail appearance. Upon hearing this, his face turned slightly pale, but he dared not say anything and lowered his head in agreement.

Jingzhe’s expression was very calm, “Manager, this servant has never done these things. At that time, I’m afraid I’ll have to learn a lot from Youwei.”

Hu Yue glanced at him and showed a slight smile.

“Naturally, you’ll follow Dai Youwei, the two of you together. Jingzhe, just consider this as helping out, and it’s only for this one time.”

He said it readily.

Jingzhe nodded, said no more, and lowered his head to follow Dai Youwei to change clothes. Serving in the Taishi Palace, the attire was naturally slightly different.

After Jingzhe left, Hu Yue’s face turned cold again.

Emperor Jingyuan had just killed someone, and his temper was at its worst. This was the reason he pushed Jingzhe out.

Although he looked down on the cowardly appearance of this group of people, he still felt sorry for his own people. When choosing people, besides Jingzhe, he also chose the most unlikable Dai Youwei.

But after tonight, Hu Yue would have to change people again to replace Jingzhe’s position.

Otherwise, if this were to be found out, he would be in a lot of trouble.

…

After Jingzhe and Dai Youwei were led to the Taishi Palace by Hu Yue, they only vaguely heard some instructions, about changing people, tomorrow, and so on.

In the silence, Jingzhe felt Dai Youwei glance at him with envy.

Jingzhe didn’t look back.

Of course, he had no feelings about Hu Yue’s behavior.

It was human nature to be biased. Not wanting his own people to be sacrificed and wanting to use him as a substitute was normal.

Anyway, it was only for one night.

Jingzhe was not as worried as Shi’en. Even if His Majesty really flew into a rage and killed someone, this person would definitely be killed from the inside out. He and Dai Youwei, who had just been sent here, could not possibly serve in the inner hall.

The facts were just as Jingzhe had guessed.

The place where Jingzhe and Dai Youwei were arranged to guard was still some distance from the inner hall.

Jingzhe looked up at the bright moon.

The weather was good today, with wind but no clouds. Even though it was a summer night, it had a bit of coolness.

This kind of quiet moonlight dyed the wide courtyard with silver frost. Without too many lanterns, it was enough to see everything clearly.

This was Jingzhe’s second time at the Taishi Palace. Last time, he didn’t get this far in. Now, following the path in, he felt the heavy security.

He kept his eyes straight ahead, only taking a few more glances when passing by the patrolling guards.

He didn’t know if Rong Jiu was among the people on duty tonight.

Jingzhe leisurely thought for a while to dispel his sleepiness, while Dai Youwei beside him had already started to tremble.

Jingzhe couldn’t help but wonder.

Where they were guarding, besides the two of them, there was another group of two guarding the east side. Although they could see each other, the distance was a bit far.

Jingzhe lowered his voice, “Dai Youwei, calm down.”

Dai Youwei looked up, and only then did Jingzhe realize that Dai Youwei’s head and face were covered in sweat. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, “You say it so easily.”

There was also a bit of fear in his voice.

He couldn’t stand Jingzhe’s calm appearance.

Dai Youwei even had some malice in his heart. The reason he could be so relaxed was only because he didn’t know what he would encounter. If he knew…

Jingzhe: “You can continue to tremble, but the people opposite are looking over.”

His voice had a bit of indifferent coldness.

Dai Youwei took a look. The people from the Taishi Palace were indeed looking over. He lowered his head and forced himself to control his body. After the strange gaze moved away, he mocked with malice:

“You can be so calm because you simply don’t know how dangerous it is to keep vigil!”

Jingzhe thought of the bloody rumors in the Qianming Palace and really wanted to retort, how could he not know?

Even when he was in the North Wing, he knew that people often died in the Qianming Palace. How could it be different in the Taishi Palace?

Regarding this, Jingzhe was still clear in his heart.

But Dai Youwei seemed to have misunderstood Jingzhe’s calmness and further said, “His Majesty often doesn’t sleep well in Shangyu Garden. When he gets angry, he will kill people for fun. If you’re unlucky tonight, your little life will be hard to protect!”

They spoke in low voices, not daring to be too loud.

Only Dai Youwei was agitated, and even if he suppressed it, it was inevitable that some expression would show.

…No wonder, every one of them was so scared.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Jingzhe replied calmly, not moved much by Dai Youwei’s words, as if he didn’t care about this at all.

No, Dai Youwei didn’t believe it.

He glared at Jingzhe fiercely and took a few steps to the side, as if to avoid him.

Jingzhe was lucky, he was from the palace.

Even if he was trapped here tonight, tomorrow, Hu Yue would come to pick him up. But once Dai Youwei came, he could never get out.

He didn’t want to touch this glory of serving before the hall at all.

Especially after Emperor Jingyuan had just gone mad.

Ha, if it weren’t for the recent incident, how could the Taishi Palace temporarily add people!

Dai Youwei didn’t want to talk, which was a good thing for Jingzhe.

He was too nervous, very neurotic.

Such an emotional person, no wonder Hu Yue would choose him. He probably didn’t like him for a long time.

However, no matter how unlikable he was, Dai Youwei still had the ability to do things, otherwise he wouldn’t have climbed to the position of a second-rank eunuch.

Jingzhe only hoped he could calm down a bit.

If he could calm down, he would find that the place they were guarding now was some distance from the inner hall. If something really happened, it wouldn’t be them who were the first to be in trouble.

This was already considered a preferential treatment for newcomers.

Moreover, the entire Taishi Palace was extremely quiet, without even a human voice. This was enough to show that the master of this palace had already rested.

As long as no external force woke Emperor Jingyuan up, there should be no problem.

Guarding from a distance like them was already very easy.

Those outside the hall were the ones in trouble, having to be vigilant at all times, waiting for Emperor Jingyuan’s possible orders.

Jingzhe was bored, looking at the moon and the ground, and even started counting the number of patrolling guards in the distance.

After several patrols, he didn’t see Rong Jiu.

Tonight, it was probably impossible to see him.

Of course, if he could meet him, with Jingzhe’s current situation, it would be impossible to greet him, but it would be good to see him.

Thinking of this, Jingzhe felt a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, Rong Jiu didn’t know his thoughts, so he wouldn’t know that he could be so clingy.

Jingzhe himself didn’t know either.

It was after getting along with Rong Jiu day by day that he became more thoughtful than before.

This was probably the trust cultivated in their daily interactions.

Because of the old things in the past, it was difficult for Jingzhe to trust people.

But getting along with Rong Jiu until now, many of his things were known by Rong Jiu bit by bit, including the old case of the Huang family, in which Rong Jiu also lent a hand. This undoubtedly dismantled many of Jingzhe’s defenses.

On him, if Rong Jiu wanted any return, it would only be a complete loss-making business.

Doing this kind of business, then Rong Jiu… probably really liked him, right?

Jingzhe rarely pondered these delicate matters. Guessing back and forth whether the other party really liked him was sometimes unnecessary. But on Rong Jiu’s matter, Jingzhe would still worry about gains and losses.

Jingzhe had always hidden such thoughts well.

He could even imagine how unhappy Rong Jiu would be if he knew.

It was difficult for Jingzhe to change his over-worrying, and he didn’t want Rong Jiu to be unhappy, so he could only be glad that his superficial work was done quite well.

Dai Youwei inadvertently glanced at Jingzhe and felt his hair stand on end.

Is this kid crazy? Smiling so happily, does he think he’s not dying fast enough?

In the latter half of the night, both Jingzhe and the other palace servants were somewhat drowsy.

This kind of thing where you can’t do anything, can’t walk around, and can only stand there dumbly, was indeed hard to endure.

The palace servant opposite had already quietly yawned for the fifth time.

Jingzhe carefully moved his gaze away to avoid being infected.

He stomped his foot lightly and began to try to count the cracks on the ground. Just at this quiet moment—

Rumble—

A dry thunderclap exploded out of nowhere.

Several people were startled and shivered. Jingzhe subconsciously looked up and saw that in the originally cloudless sky, the bright moon was covered by a faint layer of clouds at some point. In the distance, purple lightning split the sky. Not long after, there was another deafening roar.

In just a few breaths, it started to pour with rain.

The rain in this summer came so unreasonably.

The thunderclaps came one after another, and the rain was particularly heavy.

Speaking of which, it was somewhat similar to the heavy rain in the palace that day.

Jingzhe looked at the splashing water droplets and was in a daze for a while. He felt Dai Youwei beside him breathing rapidly.

He subconsciously looked over and saw Dai Youwei looking up, his face filled with terror, looking in a certain direction.

Jingzhe followed his gaze and couldn’t help but be silent for a moment.

Ah…

The originally dark palace hall was now lit up with a faint light.

Jingzhe listened sideways to the violent thunder, which was still ringing intermittently. Even a deaf person would probably be woken up.

It seemed that Emperor Jingyuan was awake.

Dai Youwei’s breathing became rapid, and his body swayed a little. Even though Jingzhe was also a little nervous, looking at his appearance, he still felt a little helpless.

Hearing footsteps approaching from far to near, Dai Youwei still hadn’t lowered his head to adjust. Jingzhe had no choice but to kick him and said in a low and fast voice, “Lower your head, someone is coming.”

Dai Youwei shivered violently. First, he glared at Jingzhe, then he reacted to his words and hurriedly lowered his head.

Da, da, da—

The footsteps sounded very neat, probably from a trained person.

When the solemn and neat team passed by Jingzhe and the others, the leader suddenly stopped.

Not to mention Dai Youwei, even Jingzhe was startled.

“Jingzhe?”

This voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Although Jingzhe had never spoken to the owner of the voice, he had heard it a few times.

Jingzhe slowly raised his head and saw Wei Haidong leading the team.

Rong Jiu was Wei Haidong’s subordinate. This commander had once gone to the North Wing to investigate because of His Majesty’s order. It was natural that he recognized Jingzhe.

…But it’s so dark, how can you see? Commander Wei, how sharp are your eyes?

I’m still lowering my head!

Jingzhe complained a little in his heart, but his face was calm as he bowed, “This servant has seen the Commander.”

Wei Haidong frowned, “Aren’t you serving in the palace? How did you come to Shangyu Garden?”

Jingzhe: “This servant was transferred here to help. When the team returns to the palace, I will also go back with them.”

He said it somewhat ambiguously, not exposing Hu Yue’s little thoughts. If someone unfamiliar heard it, they would think that Jingzhe had been serving in the Taishi Palace all along.

Anyway, with Wei Haidong’s status, it was impossible for him to care about a small eunuch. Stopping was just because of some familiarity.

Wei Haidong’s frowning brows relaxed. He didn’t know what he thought of, but there was even a bit of teasing.

“If you are in the Taishi Palace, you might even see Rong Jiu.”

Jingzhe paused slightly, only glad that it was very dark now. Wei Haidong was teasing, but it was impossible for him to see his expression.

Naturally, he wouldn’t know his real relationship with Rong Jiu.

So, he just respectfully lowered his head and bowed.

Wei Haidong’s body moved slightly, as if subconsciously wanting to avoid it. That strange hesitation was as if he didn’t want to accept Jingzhe’s bow from a subordinate.

But he finally suppressed this strange reaction. After Jingzhe stood up, he said calmly, “If I see him, I will tell him.”

After saying this, Wei Haidong hurriedly left with his men.

Appearing here late at night, Wei Haidong must not be without purpose.

However, this thunderstorm was probably a good thing for Wei Haidong. It had already woken up His Majesty the Emperor.

Jingzhe thought so, his gaze falling on Dai Youwei.

Dai Youwei was looking at him strangely.

Jingzhe was not familiar with him and had no interest in chatting. When he moved his gaze away and looked at the rain again, he heard Dai Youwei’s voice.

“Are you very familiar with the Commander?”

“Not familiar.” Jingzhe said, “A few encounters.”

Dai Youwei didn’t believe it at all.

Wei Haidong was the commander of the imperial guards of the court. In the palace, how many palace servants had had “a few encounters” with him? Why didn’t he see him stop to greet every one of them?

It must be that Jingzhe left a deep impression on him, so Wei Haidong would talk to him.

Dai Youwei’s heart was filled with jealousy and confusion for a moment, and he even forgot what he had been nervous about just now.

“Since you know him, why are you still a small eunuch?”

“A second-rank eunuch is not that small, right?” Jingzhe said lightly, “Also, I’m not familiar with him.”

He felt that Dai Youwei seemed to not understand human language.