Chapter 13#
Take Down That Emperor (13)#
Shen Jue ignored the dagger in Dao Zhan’s hand. With a calm demeanor, he walked over to the table, where a teapot and two or three cups sat on the rickety surface. Both the teapot and cups were the most ordinary white porcelain, utterly plain.
“Would you two gentlemen like some tea?” Shen Jue turned over the cups that had been placed upside down on the table, preparing to pour.
Dao Zhan cast a cursory glance at the extremely ordinary teapot and said, “No need, thank you for your kindness, young eunuch.”
Shen Jue tilted his head and offered Dao Zhan an apologetic smile. “This servant is truly a bit thirsty. May I drink some water first before answering your questions?”
Dao Zhan thought Shen Jue would die soon anyway, so he waved a dismissive hand. “Go ahead.”
Shen Jue smiled again before lifting the teapot to pour water into a cup. He slowly finished the cup of water, then turned back to look at Dao Zhan and Yang Xu. “May I ask what you two gentlemen wish to inquire of this servant?”
Dao Zhan narrowed his eyes. “On the night of His Majesty’s birthday celebration, were you attending to him in the imperial presence?”
“Yes,” Shen Jue replied.
“Did you see the Prince Regent?”
“Yes,” Shen Jue said again.
Yang Xu immediately drew the blade at his waist.
Dao Zhan continued, “The Prince Regent was attacked that day. Did you see the person who ambushed him?”
Shen Jue turned the cup in his hand back over onto the table. “That day, this servant only saw someone attempting to harm His Majesty. To ensure His Majesty’s safety, this servant boldly struck the scoundrel’s head with a candlestick. As for whether there was an ambush on the Prince Regent, this servant truly does not know.”
Dao Zhan’s gaze grew even colder. “So then, young eunuch, you did injure someone that night, didn’t you?”
“No, this servant did not injure a person, but a beast.” As Shen Jue finished speaking, Dao Zhan’s dagger thrust toward him. He immediately turned and dodged. Seeing this, Dao Zhan sneered and readied another attack, but then felt a sharp pain in his chest.
His lips parted, but he could only collapse helplessly to the ground, followed by the same sound behind him.
Yang Xu had fallen too.
Dao Zhan’s expression was one of disbelief. “Why? We didn’t drink that tea!”
He had suspected the tea was drugged, so he hadn’t touched it.
“If you had drunk it, you would have been fine. It’s a pity you didn’t.” Shen Jue said calmly. “I knew someone would come looking for me, so I poisoned this entire room. Just by touching things here, you’d gradually succumb to the poison. And the antidote is also in this room—the tea on my table. I kindly invited you to drink, but you refused. There’s nothing I can do.”
Hearing this, Dao Zhan lunged violently for the teapot, but Shen Jue was quicker and grabbed it first. Holding the teapot, he retreated several steps and shook his head gently. “It’s too late now.”
Shen Jue had been planning this since before Murong Xiu’s birthday. Though he was now a mortal of flesh and blood, unable to use immortal arts, he still retained his memories. In his previous life as a cultivator, when he grew bored of the monotony, he had dabbled in other things, including crafting poisons. He had sought out Physician Xu’s medicine boy and asked for a few ingredients. The boy, unlike Physician Xu himself, didn’t question Shen Jue’s purpose and generously gave him the herbs, as they were extremely common.
Almost no one knew that mixing those herbs together created a poison.
Besides carrying the poison on his person, Shen Jue had also scattered it throughout his quarters. The poison was colorless and odorless; anyone who breathed it in would be poisoned. Dao Zhan and his accomplice had stayed in this room long enough and would naturally succumb.
The two men never imagined they’d lose to such carelessness. They glared at Shen Jue with such ferocity that they seemed ready to tear him apart with their bare teeth.
“Do you think killing us two brothers will let you escape the Prince’s wrath?” Dao Zhan sneered.
“Your Prince naturally won’t let me off. That’s why he sent you to kill me. Unfortunately, I don’t wish to die yet, so you’ll have to die first.” Shen Jue tilted his head, a guileless smile spreading across his plain face. “You came to kill me first—don’t blame me.”
Dao Zhan wanted to say more, but the pain in his chest grew unbearable. He gasped a rough breath and collapsed completely to the ground. Behind him, Yang Xu did the same.
Seeing that the two men had stopped moving, Shen Jue carried the teapot out of the room. He moved the firewood piled in the corner of the courtyard to the front of the house and poured oil over it. Then he lit a fire starter. Watching the flames lick at the door planks, he turned and walked away.
News of the fire spread quickly.
By the time Liang Rong rushed to report it before Murong Xiu, Shen Jue was already standing at the emperor’s desk, grinding ink.
When Liang Rong saw that Shen Jue was still alive, his brow twitched involuntarily.
Murong Xiu lifted his eyelids and gave Liang Rong a cool, indifferent look. “What is it?”
“Your Majesty, the eunuchs’ quarters have caught fire. Several rooms have burned down,” Liang Rong said cautiously.
Murong Xiu hummed in a dismissive tone.
Liang Rong stole a glance at Shen Jue, who remained expressionless, and couldn’t help frowning.
“Your Majesty, Eunuch Shen’s room was the source of the fire. It’s been completely burned to the ground, with some firewood piled in front of the door, and…”
“I already know. It’s just a few rooms that burned. You may leave now; no need to bother me with such trivial matters.” Before Liang Rong could finish, Murong Xiu cut him off. Liang Rong opened his mouth but could only let it go. After he withdrew, Murong Xiu turned to Shen Jue beside him. “Did you do this?”
“Yes,” Shen Jue admitted.
“Why?”
“Someone wanted to kill this servant,” Shen Jue said, his grinding motions uninterrupted.
Murong Xiu watched him grind ink for a while before speaking slowly. “Next time, tell me first. Don’t do it alone—it’s too dangerous.”
At this, Shen Jue pressed his lips together and smiled, revealing shallow dimples on his cheeks.
In that moment, he looked truly like a carefree youth who knew no sorrow.
“This servant understands.”
…
The Prince Regent stared at the two charred corpses lying before him, his face expressionless.
Liang Rong knelt before the Prince Regent, not daring to breathe too loudly. Even he knew that Dao Zhan and Yang Xu were two men the Prince Regent trusted deeply, yet they had failed to kill a defenseless eunuch—and had even been burned to death by him.
After the coroner examined the two bodies, he knelt before the Prince Regent to report. “Your Highness, the two gentlemen have no external injuries and no signs of struggle. It appears they were burned to death.”
“Impossible,” the Prince Regent said coldly. “If they were burned alive, there would have been struggle. Check if they were poisoned.”
The coroner obeyed and examined them again, but found nothing.
The Prince Regent nearly laughed in exasperation. This Shen Jue was truly skilled—he had killed men, yet they couldn’t even determine how he had done it.
Accustomed to arrogance, the Prince Regent felt thoroughly humiliated by Shen Jue’s actions. He dropped all pretense and led his men straight to Murong Xiu’s palace. When Murong Xiu saw him, he stiffened momentarily before straightening his back. “You came without announcement?”
The Prince Regent’s gaze fell on Shen Jue, who stood behind Murong Xiu. He sneered and picked a chair to sit on. “Since when did I need to announce myself when coming to see Your Majesty? But that servant behind you—why doesn’t he bow when he sees me?”
Murong Xiu understood at once that the Prince Regent had come for Shen Jue this time. He frowned and was about to speak when his sleeve was gently tugged.
He turned back to see Shen Jue shaking his head slightly.
Murong Xiu knew Shen Jue was telling him not to confront the Prince Regent directly.
He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Shen Jue released Murong Xiu’s sleeve and knelt respectfully on the ground. “This servant pays respects to the Prince Regent.”
The Prince Regent glared at him coldly, having caught the exchange between Shen Jue and Murong Xiu. “Why are you kneeling so far away? Kneel right in front of me. Crawl over here.”
At this, Murong Xiu glared at the Prince Regent with clear hostility.
Shen Jue, however, obeyed. He shuffled forward on his knees, and as soon as he reached the Prince Regent’s feet, a kick landed squarely in his chest.
The Prince Regent had put real force behind it. Shen Jue was sent rolling backward, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor tiles.
“Ni Xinyan, what do you think you’re doing?” Murong Xiu hadn’t expected the Prince Regent to strike Shen Jue in front of him. His hands trembled with rage.
The Prince Regent withdrew his gaze from Shen Jue and looked at Murong Xiu. His eyes dimmed at the sight of the ugly scar on Murong Xiu’s face, but he only said, “I am disciplining a dog of a servant. Your Majesty is kind-hearted—if you cannot bear to watch, I can take him outside and discipline him there.”
“Since when does the Prince Regent discipline my men?” Murong Xiu stepped forward quickly, shielding Shen Jue behind him. “If you want to punish him, you’ll have to punish me first. If you want to kill him, then kill me first.”
The Prince Regent’s brow furrowed, his gaze turning icy. “Are you speaking in anger, Your Majesty? Or would you truly give up the throne for a mere servant?”
Murong Xiu’s gaze did not waver. It was resolute, even defiant. “I will protect Shen Jue. If the Prince Regent is displeased and wants to replace me, I will never regret it.”
The Prince Regent let out a cold laugh. “Murong Xiu, you really are something. Then let me show you today whether I can touch him or not.” He raised his voice in fury, “Come in!”
At his command, Murong Xiu pulled a dagger from his sleeve and pressed it to his own neck.
“I told you—if you want to kill him, kill me first.”
Murong Xiu lifted his head, his pale neck like a swan’s, seemingly fragile and easy to break. Yet he craned it upward, his eyes stubborn and wild.
From behind Murong Xiu’s leg, Shen Jue peeked out to steal a glance at the Prince Regent.
His small action was naturally noticed by the other man, but Shen Jue showed no fear. Instead, he reached out a finger to wipe the blood from his lips.
Shen Jue gave the Prince Regent a sweet smile and slowly licked the blood from his fingertip with the tip of his tongue.
Though his face was utterly ordinary, at this moment, it was unbearably alluring.
Only now did the Prince Regent gradually realize what he had done wrong. He had allowed Shen Jue to serve at Murong Xiu’s side. Shen Jue was like a demon clinging to Murong Xiu’s back, lurking in the shadows, watching them tear each other apart.
This demon harbored ill intent. The Prince Regent had underestimated him before, and he had been blind.