Chapter 63 - 1#

Jingzhe was so depressed that he was almost growing mushrooms.

When Mingyu found him, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, agreeing very much with what Huiping had just said.

“Jingzhe seems to be in a very complicated mood lately.”

Mingyu looked at him; it was more than just complicated.

It was practically depression.

The whole person was hiding in the corner, claiming to be reading a book, but he didn’t look like it. That appearance was clearly like a puppy dropping its head, carrying an indescribable tangle of emotions.

But there was a faint sadness on his brow, as if entangled by different matters, making him even more gloomy.

He dragged Jingzhe up and asked grumpily, “What are you doing hiding here? You made me look for you for so long.”

He had sent a message saying he had business with him, but he couldn’t find the person anywhere. Mingyu had almost turned the entire Palace Maintenance Office upside down before finally finding Jingzhe in the warehouse.

Jingzhe listlessly covered his face with the book: “The Director disliked the warehouse being too gloomy and asked me to organize it.”

Mingyu mocked, “So while organizing, you buried yourself in the pile of books?”

Jingzhe pursed his lips. He wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to say it to Mingyu.

Jingzhe had never told Mingyu his secret. At first, he didn’t trust him, and later, he didn’t want to implicate him. Once this trouble came out, involving others, it would be better if he bore it alone.

Later, this became a burden on Jingzhe. His unwillingness to speak was more like a silent imprisonment.

But that day, why did he tell Rong Jiu?

Indeed, he was stimulated by Wuyou, overly stimulated.

Mingyu grabbed the mushroom-growing Jingzhe and shook him vigorously: “Stand up straight.”

Jingzhe reflexively straightened his back.

Mingyu looked down and patted the dust off his knees: “Alright, what exactly happened?”

Jingzhe said listlessly, “I was thinking, about the same matter, why would I tell Rong Jiu but not you? But clearly, it’s not that I don’t trust you.”

Mingyu raised an eyebrow: “Have you been so depressed lately that you’ve really turned into an idiot?”

He stood up and said to Jingzhe.

“Is this matter very dangerous?”

Jingzhe nodded.

“Once something happens, could it implicate me?”

Jingzhe continued to nod.

“Is it a crime punishable by beheading?”

Jingzhe nodded frantically.

Mingyu: “Then you are just worried about me, afraid that something will happen to me. It’s no big deal.”

He waved his hand casually.

“I am different from Rong Jiu.” Mingyu didn’t have any dissatisfaction about this, “Someone like him, if he knows in advance, maybe he can have means of prevention. If you tell me, what can I do?”

Jingzhe paused slightly, but slowly shook his head.

He threw the book back onto the shelf, grabbed Mingyu’s hand, and whispered, “I didn’t tell you because I was worried about your safety. Originally, I didn’t intend to tell anyone clearly. But since I told Rong Jiu, why can’t I tell you?”

They had known each other for so long, their relationship was so good that even if Mingyu said he didn’t know, some people wouldn’t believe it.

Thinking of the feeling of being stabbed in the heart when he learned about Wuyou that day, he didn’t want Mingyu to feel that stinging pain of betrayal either.

In this world, Rong Jiu and Mingyu were the only people he trusted the most now.

One was a lover, the other was a friend entrusted with his life. If he still couldn’t trust them, then what could Jingzhe trust?

He took a breath and whispered the matter to Mingyu.

Mingyu was silent for a moment, then his eyes widened, “You’re crazy!”

Jingzhe thought Mingyu was going to scold him next.

As a result, Mingyu’s second sentence was: “Why did you run? You didn’t explain a single word, turned around and ran. Isn’t that fleeing in panic? You should have confronted him with real spears and swords!”

…Listen to what outrageous words these are.

His first reaction to knowing this matter wasn’t to question why he concealed it, or to ask about the cause and process, but to ask why he didn’t fight bayonets with Rong Jiu???

Was it Mingyu who was crazy, or was Jingzhe still dreaming?

What could he use to fight Rong Jiu? In that situation…

Jingzhe didn’t want to recall it anymore.

Mingyu acted as if he hadn’t said that just now, remaining very calm, but the force with which he gripped Jingzhe still showed the shock in his heart.

After a good while, Mingyu whispered, “Then, were you very scared before?”

Jingzhe fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

How could he not be scared?

To really speak of it, that was a capital crime.

Hiding for all these years, he had actually been forced to get used to it by now.

It was just that now their family’s charges had been cleared. Even if he couldn’t change his identity, if he was really exposed in the future, maybe there would be a slim chance of escape.

Mingyu grabbed Jingzhe’s hand: “Then regarding Grandpa Chen…” He paused, also aware of Jingzhe’s complicated feelings towards him.

Jingzhe: “I am investigating.”

Mingyu and Jingzhe looked at each other in silence. After a moment, Mingyu’s shoulders trembled uncontrollably. In the end, he couldn’t hold it back and laughed so hard he almost fell over.

He had wanted to laugh originally, but thinking of Jingzhe’s fear over the years, he forcibly held it back. But after finishing the serious talk, he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Jingzhe’s face turned red from being laughed at, wanting to find a hole to crawl into.

Of course he knew what Mingyu was laughing at.

“Stop laughing!”

Mingyu waved his hand while laughing convulsively, “No, can’t… hahaha I can’t do it, help…”

He held his stomach, rolling on the ground laughing.

Jingzhe gritted his teeth in anger, really wanting to give him a kick.

Mingyu laughed for a long time until he couldn’t laugh anymore. Afraid of being heard too much by people outside, he still covered his mouth while laughing. He never knew that laughing until his stomach hurt was so exhausting.

Mingyu spread out on the ground, refusing to get up.

Jingzhe: “So dirty.”

Mingyu whimpered: “I can’t get up.”

Jingzhe pouted, but still squatted down and dragged him up.

Mingyu sat cross-legged, speaking plausibly: “You can’t blame me for this, this is purely your own problem. Look, if you had used a… normal way, you wouldn’t be so gloomy.”

Jingzhe really wanted to cover his face and scream.

Reasonably speaking, entrusting such a secret, if not with affectionate tenderness, at least shouldn’t be such an awkward situation.

His face was red. He couldn’t figure out why, when he had a thousand ways to make Rong Jiu understand his meaning, he chose that method??

Whenever Jingzhe thought about this, he was so ashamed he wanted to crawl all over the floor.

He really had no face to see Rong Jiu, woo.

However, he originally called Mingyu over not for this matter. Thinking of Wuyou, he felt a bit listless and also sat down cross-legged like Mingyu.

Jingzhe looked at Mingyu, sighed, propped up his face and said, “I originally didn’t call you here for this matter… Wuyou is dead.”

Mingyu was slightly stunned. The smile on his face froze and finally turned into astonishment: “…What?”

Jingzhe told him what happened at the Guards Office.

Mingyu’s expression was very complicated. He lowered his eyes and thought for a long time before slowly saying, “When he was in the North House… I never felt that he had malice towards us.”

Jingzhe nodded. If there was malice, he would definitely have noticed it.

Mingyu: “But, why?”

He looked at Jingzhe.

“We lived in the North House for so long. If there was really something special, why didn’t you or I discover it? And Grandpa De… did he always know something?”

The North House was just the North House, a remote place like the Cold Palace. The people living there were basically palace concubines demoted by the late Emperor.

Just one Yao Cairen was already special inside.

Most of the others lived drowsy days inside, having no interest in the outside world.

That was just enduring the days, living one day at a time.

The late Emperor was dead, and Emperor Jingyuan was not a sentimental person; it was impossible for him to release them. Now these deposed concubines living in the North House were just counting their days.

They didn’t find any problems with these palace concubines, nor did they discover anything special inside.

Of course, a secret, to be a secret, is because it is not easily discovered. But just a small North House, gathering the forces of so many parties, what exactly is going on?

Jingzhe: “Consort Kang’s people are not important. Since something happened to her, her connections will definitely be cut off along with her. Leaving the Empress Dowager aside, what about the late Emperor?”

The late Emperor died long ago.

Since he died thoroughly, why keep people in the North House?

Mingyu jumped up: “I suddenly thought of something.”

Jingzhe stood up with him and saw Mingyu walking out while talking, “I have an idea. I’ll send someone to send a message later.”

Jingzhe frowned slightly but didn’t chase after him.

He finished organizing the warehouse and drifted back to his room like a wandering spirit. Huiping found his appearance funny but didn’t disturb him.

Yesterday, Hu Li came to find him and talked about family matters.

Huiping was very sad, but after Jingzhe came back and heard that his friend had an accident, Huiping suddenly felt it was nothing.

Being alive is after all better than being dead.

He took back half of the money and asked Hu Li to send the remaining half to them.

“Although they are indeed unqualified as family, they raised me after all, allowing me to enter the palace to make a living, otherwise I might have starved to death outside by now.” Huiping said, “This money will serve as a buyout of future sentiments. If they come to find me again in the future, I will ignore them.”

Seeing his decisiveness, Hu Li accepted the money.

After sending Hu Li away, Huiping suppressed the urge to ask Jingzhe, not letting his own troubles disturb him.

Jingzhe continued to grow mushrooms in the room.

Growing and growing, he suddenly remembered that the seven-day restriction should have ended, and immediately came back to life.

“System, can I investigate the late Emperor?”

[Which aspect does the host want to investigate?]

Jingzhe was about to speak, then suddenly hesitated.

He was concerned about the late Emperor, firstly because of the mission, and secondly because of what Wuyou said. The former was not certain enough, but the latter was much clearer.

Jingzhe said decisively: “Why did Wuyou appear in the North House?”

He could ask again after seven days. Right now, Wuyou’s matter was urgent.

[By the side of the Helian Emperors, there have always been trained shadow guards. When the late Emperor was about to die, Wuyou was one of the shadow guards who had been trained for a short time. Because of his small frame and flexible skills, enough to disguise his age, the late Emperor ordered him to lurk in the North House.]

[The order Wuyou received was that if anyone tried to pry into the secrets of the North House, he must use any means to cover everything up. If necessary, he could kill Chen Mingde.]

Jingzhe frowned: “What is the secret of the North House?”

[The system has no right to inquire.]

Jingzhe’s frown deepened. Was this related to Emperor Jingyuan?

Of course, this was not surprising.

If this question had nothing to do with the Emperor, how could it attract the attention of the Empress Dowager, Consort Kang, and the late Emperor?

He paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

So, the reason Chen Mingde stayed in the North House for years might not be because of his own ability issues, but because he had to stay there.

Could this also be his mission?

Did this have anything to do with the late Emperor? Otherwise, why would the late Emperor know a small manager and order Wuyou to kill Chen Mingde as a last resort? Why not kill him immediately?

That would leave no future trouble.

Jingzhe rubbed his forehead, more or less guessing what Mingyu hurried back for. he was probably going back to ask Sanshun.

Sanshun was the person who had been with Chen Mingde the longest. If there was anyone in this world who knew Chen Mingde’s situation best, it was only Sanshun.

Sure enough, at noon the next day, Jingzhe received a message from Mingyu and rushed to the Imperial Kitchen.

Jingzhe met Sanshun, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, in the room.

Sanshun often followed Zhu Erxi, so when Jingzhe occasionally came to the Imperial Kitchen, it was hard to see him.

Seeing him today, finding that Sanshun looked good, he couldn’t help laughing: “This is good. Eat well and sleep well, so the body can be well.”

Mingyu said grumpily: “We are in the Imperial Kitchen, how can we not eat well? You’d better look at yourself first, there’s not even two ounces of meat when pinched.”

Jingzhe was unconvinced: “The meals at the Palace Maintenance Office have improved a lot compared to before, and they taste very good. I have grown meat on my body, where isn’t there?”

He gestured to show his arm.

The food at the Palace Maintenance Office had indeed unknowingly become better and better.

Others in the Palace Maintenance Directorate didn’t understand why everyone went to fetch rice together, which was random, but when it was the Palace Maintenance Office’s turn, their food was always much better than others.

That would be one thing, but who would have thought that even the taste was better than other places.

This was infuriating.

Not long after Jingzhe came to the Palace Maintenance Office, he had never eaten stale rice again.