Chapter 48 - 3#
“I’m just… waiting.”
Long-term patience is not true pity; it is merely waiting for the day when the sheep voluntarily enters the tiger’s mouth. When a hypocritical facade is worn for too long, one can no longer distinguish between what is real and what is fake.
Even if Jingzhe wanted to regret it then, it would be too late.
…
Emperor Jingyuan returned all the way to Qianming Palace. Ning Hongru came up to meet him, holding an outer robe in his hands.
“Your Majesty, please put this on.”
When His Majesty went out in the afternoon, Ning Hongru was a little worried about the cool wind outside. Now, sure enough, the wind was blowing. Given Emperor Jingyuan’s attire, he might be a little cold.
Zong Yuanxin had repeatedly exhorted that Emperor Jingyuan must not catch a cold during these times.
Emperor Jingyuan: “No need.”
Ning Hongru had no choice but to follow behind His Majesty. Seeing him take the lead to change his clothes, he was delighted and hurriedly stepped forward to serve.
“Your Majesty, Mao Zishi is waiting in the side hall.”
While Ning Hongru put accessories on Emperor Jingyuan, he spoke softly. Recently, the Emperor’s favorite was a peace knot that looked a bit variegated. Even if it didn’t match his clothes, he would still carry it with him.
What he carefully took out of the box at this moment was this peace knot. After putting it on, Ning Hongru lowered his head to adjust the belt.
He didn’t need to know where this thing came from, nor did he need to know why the Emperor liked it for no reason. He just had to remember to put it on the Emperor every time.
From Rong Jiu to Emperor Jingyuan, after changing the entire set of clothes, only this accessory had never changed and still hung by the Emperor’s side.
“Shoukang Palace wanted to see you, but this servant refused. Several cabinet elders have sent…” Ning Hongru said methodically, “The news of the accident in the Huang family has just been sent back.”
Shoukang Palace wanted to see Emperor Jingyuan naturally for this matter.
Emperor Jingyuan: “Let Mao Zishi come in.”
“Yes.”
…
Hearing that Emperor Jingyuan summoned him, Mao Zishi literally jumped up and ran out the door in two or three steps.
Since the last time his hands were itchy in Qianming Palace and he had to pay a large sum of money, when Mao Zishi came again, he could only endure.
But a person’s personality is destined by nature. How can it be suppressed by mere will?
In the end, he touched here and there, and finally could only hold a tea cup and study it for a long time. Even if he broke a few tea cups, at least he could afford to pay for them.
Only he didn’t expect the waiting time to be so long today. His hands were already itching to move, so he suppressed them by sitting on them. This action was not decent or calm enough, but at least it could stop him from messing around.
Finally waiting for Emperor Jingyuan’s summons, Mao Zishi had already sprung up.
“Director Ning, where exactly did His Majesty go? Usually at this time, shouldn’t he be in the inner hall?” Mao Zishi followed behind Ning Hongru and couldn’t help asking, “If I had known earlier, I would have come later.”
He picked a time when the Emperor wasn’t there, making Mao Zishi wait bitterly.
Ning Hongru smiled: “So today is unusual.”
Mao Zishi felt that the way Ning Hongru said this was strange, a bit floaty?
Ning Hongru’s gaze fell ahead. Just now when he was changing clothes for His Majesty, he found half a footprint on the hem.
Such traces appeared on Emperor Jingyuan extremely occasionally.
Don’t understand?
To be more precise, they appeared on “Rong Jiu”.
Emperor Jingyuan was very interested in fabricating a very complete set of real identities for the false identity of Rong Jiu.
If someone went to investigate, even if that person was the Empress Dowager, she would also learn that there was indeed a person named “Rong Jiu” in the Imperial Guard.
He was on the roster.
There would also be a few suitable witnesses who would say “Yes, Rong Jiu came out of our squad”, “He is our brother, we have a good relationship”, and so on.
So, there were witnesses too.
Wei Haidong even proved his concern for his subordinate “Rong Jiu” in front of Jingzhe several times.
Even outside the imperial city, there was indeed a Rong Residence, a house neither big nor small, with maids and servants serving.
Although no one had ever lived in the Rong Residence, the neighbors would think it was a family that had lived with them for decades. Now the parents of the main family were dead, leaving only a son who left early and returned late every day, working for the imperial court…
Set after set.
This was an identity that could completely withstand repeated scrutiny, without any loopholes.
Except that no one (besides Jingzhe) had truly seen “Rong Jiu”…
The person Rong Jiu really existed.
Ning Hongru didn’t expect Emperor Jingyuan to be so playful as to fabricate a new identity for his fake identity.
Very perfect, very detailed.
Of course, this shouldn’t be the reason for Ning Hongru’s shock. Let’s return to the footprint.
Yes, it was a footprint.
Except for Emperor Jingyuan’s childhood, which was so distant it was almost impossible to recall, no one could truly bully His Majesty the Emperor.
When he was young, although Emperor Jingyuan’s temper wasn’t as violent as later, before everything collapsed, he also had a character that wouldn’t tolerate bullying.
Those dark eyes looking over coldly seemed to freeze people’s hearts and lungs.
No matter how he was raised, he was still the legitimate son of the late Empress.
As long as he stood his ground, who dared?
Anyone with such intentions never appeared alive before Emperor Jingyuan again.
So, what was with the footprint?
Ning Hongru calmly led Mao Zishi into the inner hall. He knew that repeating the footprint like this was somewhat ridiculous and funny, but he believed that even if it were someone else, it would be the same.
That was a footprint appearing on His Majesty the Emperor!
Who exactly kicked him!
Was it Jingzhe!
Although it appeared very occasionally, once it appeared on His Majesty the Emperor, it was already very frequent!
Didn’t you see last time, that mark stepped on His Majesty’s boot almost scared a few foreign ministers to death? At that time, he was still thinking about wiping it for His Majesty earlier, but the Emperor didn’t let him step forward to serve at all.
Your Majesty, you are really too indulgent!
Ning Hongru learned from the pain and wailed silently in his heart.
At this juncture, Emperor Jingyuan glanced at him coldly, “What are you thinking?”
“Foot…” Ning Hongru barely uttered half a word. Before he could finish the syllable, he forced himself to change the meaning, “…Just feel that His Majesty is in a good mood today.”
Emperor Jingyuan smiled with a strange expression: “You think I am in a good mood today?”
Mao Zishi blinked. Director Ning’s words were very ordinary. Why did the Emperor smile so awkwardly, as if he heard something interesting?
He carefully examined Emperor Jingyuan.
Wearing a crown and ordinary clothes, his aura was as ferocious as ever. Only the peace knot at his waist was somewhat abrupt, not like something the Emperor would have.
And the person…
Mao Zishi looked again. The corners of Emperor Jingyuan’s mouth were still hooked in a smile. Couldn’t this be considered being in a happy mood?
“Your Majesty, if you smile more, it would be even better.” Mao Zishi sighed sincerely, “Keeping a straight face every day is gloomily scary.”
Emperor Jingyuan looked at him and revealed a more obvious smile.
That was a gloomy, cruel sneer.
Mao Zishi immediately shivered, waved his hands repeatedly, wishing he could gag himself from a moment ago: “No, no, you should just pretend I didn’t say anything just now.”
Such a smile would cause nightmares at night, right?
That would be worse than a cold stone statue.
At least that was year after year, and one got used to seeing it.
Mao Zishi immediately spoke of serious matters: “Your Majesty, I have investigated. After returning to the capital, a few foreign tribes are not very well-behaved. They…”
This time, the foreign tribes entering the court were not allowed to stay in the capital at all, but were taken directly to Shangyu Garden. Until recently, when Emperor Jingyuan returned to the court, they were asked to follow because of the assassination.
The vacancy in between was enough to give many people ideas.
Mao Zishi initially thought they wouldn’t dare to be so bold, but as he investigated further, he found that he had underestimated them. Sometimes, people could really be so daring and reckless.
After listening, Emperor Jingyuan said coldly: “Just keep an eye on them all, no need to do anything.”
Mao Zishi hesitated for a moment: “Not even a single measure?”
He was afraid…
Some dangers could be avoided.
It was just that Emperor Jingyuan’s personality of chasing madness often put the Emperor in danger. Perhaps because Mao Zishi was, after all, a student of the old Dean Shen, he always had some strange… desire to take care of Emperor Jingyuan?
This might be because when he was studying in the academy, he listened to the old Dean Shen talk about his little grandson all day long. Listening to it, Mao Zishi really thought Helian Rong was a pitiful, unlucky little thing.
As a result, after arriving in the capital, the Emperor Jingyuan he saw… never mind, the embarrassing state at that time is better not thought of.
Based on Emperor Jingyuan’s experiences in his youth, he could be said to be the most miserable person in the world. But Mao Zishi couldn’t feel a single trace of aura from him that could be called pitiful.
This man simply didn’t need the insignificant pity of others.
Mao Zishi knew this, but occasionally, he felt sad for the old Dean Shen.
Clearly, the one he missed most was this little grandson. But because of Empress Dowager Cisheng, he probably wouldn’t be able to see Emperor Jingyuan even until death.
Emperor Jingyuan glanced at Mao Zishi lightly: “You can try. If you die, I will notify Shen Zikun to collect your body.”
The Emperor’s simple sentence immediately shattered the warmth in Mao Zishi’s heart. He said expressionlessly: “Then forget it. This humble official feels it’s better to live a few more years to be happy.” If Lord Shen came to collect his body, he probably wouldn’t be able to rest in peace for the rest of his life.
He and a gentleman like Shen Zikun were still different. The old Dean was really ruthless when sending him to the capital back then. He didn’t expect it to be like this today.
He actually became a knife in the Emperor’s hand.
Just then, a palace servant hurried to report from outside the hall door.
Ning Hongru walked out a few steps, and after a while, came back again.
“Your Majesty, several cabinet elders and the Minister seek an audience.” Ning Hongru bowed, and after a moment, added, “For the matter of the Huang family, almost the entire clan is dead.”
Mao Zishi’s eyelids twitched slightly, and he subconsciously looked at Emperor Jingyuan.
This shouldn’t be.
His Majesty the Emperor’s killing intent has always been simple and crude. If he wants someone to die, either everyone dies, or he only wants the leader’s head. This kind of wanting to die but not completely dead doesn’t seem like Emperor Jingyuan’s habit.
He glanced at Ning Hongru, then lowered his head.
Emperor Jingyuan said lazily: “Your eyes are darting around. What are you trying to calculate?”
Mao Zishi smiled awkwardly, touched his nose, and said: “This humble official dares not, just…” He hesitated, “This doesn’t sound like Your Majesty’s handiwork.”
This was a bit bold to say.
Even he rarely overstepped like this.
He didn’t know about this matter, nor did he know who did it, which meant he didn’t need to know. Working under Emperor Jingyuan, one should ask less about things one shouldn’t know, especially Mao Zishi.
Because behind him was the Shen family, Shen Zikun.
Why say Mao Zishi is annoying?
He regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. He immediately wanted to make up for it quickly, but heard Emperor Jingyuan’s response.
“Is that so? I thought you could see it.” Emperor Jingyuan’s light voice carried a hypocritical warmth, “I want the Huang family bloodline to die out.”
A casual sentence made Mao Zishi look sharply at Emperor Jingyuan. He suppressed it desperately to hold back a sentence that was almost at the root of his tongue and about to fly out.
This shouldn’t include Prince Rui, right?
He dared not ask, and shouldn’t ask.
Haha… Prince Rui is a member of the royal family, but his surname is not Huang.
It was just that the momentary horrifying danger made Mao Zishi dare not speak easily again.
He retreated silently to the side, watching those cabinet elders come in, quietly acting as a qualified wall painting, listening to those fierce arguments.
The Huang family was almost dead.
This news had only been sent back to the capital in the past two days.
At first, someone raided the prison and only took away a few men headed by Huang Qingtian, including the youngest Huang Fu. It could be said to be all the males of the Huang family’s direct line.
Naturally, it did not include the illegitimate children.
After this raid, the officers and soldiers sent people to pursue while guarding the remaining people closely.
But soon, the remaining Huang family members died of illness one after another.
As if a nameless plague had descended upon this group of people, frantically plundering their lifespans, so that later, even the officers and soldiers dared not approach them, leaving them to wail on the cart.
Mao Zishi listened until he was numb at the end. This sounded too miserable.
After the group of noisy old officials left, Mao Zishi said in a trance: “This is indeed not Your Majesty’s handiwork.” Even if the Emperor said such cruel words just now, it was definitely not.
At least, the method of dying from illness… if Emperor Jingyuan did it, it would be more straightforward.
Emperor Jingyuan rarely dragged things out when doing things.
On the contrary, the missing Huang Qingtian and others looked more like Emperor Jingyuan’s preference.
Mao Zishi guessed that probably these few people couldn’t come back alive.
He didn’t know how Huang Qingtian provoked Emperor Jingyuan. Although the Emperor was cruel, he rarely added further punishment. But for Huang Qingtian, he almost went for the lifeline.
…Although, those old officials seemed to suspect that Prince Rui had taken them away.
They didn’t dare to say it directly, but somewhat had this thought.
Emperor Jingyuan: “Probably Huang Changcun’s handiwork.” His voice carried a bit of casual laziness.
The direct line of the Huang family had always suppressed the side branches from standing out. Huang Changcun was a member of the side branch.
After the decline of the direct line, he faintly became the leader of the Huang family.
Mao Zishi blinked. His Majesty knew all along? Or perhaps… this happened because of Emperor Jingyuan’s indulgence, which was why it went so smoothly.
His eyes lowered slowly.
Ha, how could he forget?
Isn’t Emperor Jingyuan’s favorite scene watching them kill each other?
The more bloody, the more cruel, the more brothers killing each other, the more unscrupulous, the more excited he is.