Chapter 2#
Kill That Emperor (2)#
The night grew deeper.
Shen Jue returned to his own room first.
As the foremost eunuch attending Emperor Murong Xiu, he had a room to himself.
Coughing, he took off his drenched clothes. His pale, frail body was covered with whip marks, and there were numerous old scars on his skin.
This body was ugly, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal. Especially his incomplete lower body.
Shen Jue looked down for a moment before raising his head.
When Murong Xiu was a prince, he was often bullied by other princes, and Shen Jue, as his personal eunuch, had endured many beatings. After all, when the master was punished, the servant had to bear it in his place. Over the years, the scars on his body were countless.
Shen Jue changed into clean clothes, dried his wet hair, and sat down before the bronze mirror.
Murong Xiu was renowned as a beauty throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty; otherwise, the Regent would not have decided to support his ascension after seeing his face. Love and desire, from ancient times to the present, all stem from “beauty.” Shen Jue calmly examined himself and felt that he had nothing to do with the word “beauty.”
A plain, unremarkable face and a mutilated body—the odds of Murong Xiu taking an interest in him were extremely low.
Shen Jue reached out and brushed the mirror’s surface. His fingers were much rougher than the glass, the result of years of hard labor. Looking at the face in the mirror—both familiar and unfamiliar—he couldn’t help but smile faintly.
None of this mattered, because the real Shen Jue had returned.
If the Heavenly Dao is unjust, I am willing to rewrite it with my blood.
But for now, the first thing he had to do was recover from his injuries.
The men who had beaten him had intended to kill him. If Murong Xiu hadn’t still cared about him somewhat, they would have beaten him to death outright.
Shen Jue climbed onto the cold bed and buried his head and face in the blanket. He was supposed to report to Murong Xiu first, but he was truly disgusted by the man, so he decided not to go.
Shen Jue slept straight through until the next day when the sun was high. It was only when a young eunuch burst in that he was woken up.
“Shen Jue, how are you still sleeping?”
Feeling a hand lift his blanket, Shen Jue frowned and pressed the blanket down, curling further inward. Although he had slept for a long time, he hadn’t rested well. He had developed a fever in the middle of the night and could only tough it out, with the pain making things even more unbearable.
Shen Jue was now an ordinary mortal and could not use immortal arts. Fortunately, this body of his, though a cheap life, was tough enough to survive countless beatings without leaving any lingering ailments.
Feng Qingbao saw that the youth on the bed hadn’t immediately gotten up but instead burrowed deeper under the covers, and he was momentarily taken aback. He had worked with Shen Jue for over a year. Setting everything else aside, Shen Jue was the most disciplined among the young eunuchs, never putting on airs or relying on the emperor’s favor.
Although he was the most favored eunuch by the emperor, he never acted like the chief eunuch. That was why Feng Qingbao dared to barge into his room without hesitation.
“Shen Jue, wake up quickly… His Majesty… His Majesty is already angry,” Feng Qingbao said hesitantly.
Last night, Shen Jue hadn’t come to serve. Although His Majesty’s expression had been tolerable, he had still asked about it. This morning, when Shen Jue didn’t show up, he fell silent for a moment before saying, “Shen Jue was punished yesterday. Feng Qingbao, go see him. If his injuries are serious, summon an imperial physician.”
Annoyed by the noise in his ear, Shen Jue reluctantly opened one eye. Seeing it was Feng Qingbao, he closed it again. “My body aches terribly; I can’t get up. Help me inform His Majesty.”
Feng Qingbao was stunned. “How can that be? Go yourself.”
Hearing this, Shen Jue turned over and said coldly, “Then get out.”
Feng Qingbao was left speechless, enraged that Shen Jue was so ungrateful. He stood up and left, deliberately slamming the door behind him. Shen Jue inside didn’t care at all; he burrowed back under the covers.
Meanwhile, Feng Qingbao reached the entrance of the Imperial Study. Hastily wiping the anger from his face, he carefully stepped inside.
Murong Xiu was sitting on the dragon throne. When he saw Feng Qingbao arrive alone, a flicker of emotion passed through his eyes.
“Your Majesty, Eunuch Shen is still unable to get out of bed,” Feng Qingbao said, though he was angry, he still put in a few good words for Shen Jue in front of Murong Xiu. “When I went there, Eunuch Shen was still running a fever.”
Murong Xiu lowered his eyes. Actually, his feelings toward Shen Jue were complicated. If Shen Jue hadn’t burst in yesterday, the Regent might have done something even more outrageous. But at the same time, Shen Jue’s discovery had added a layer of humiliation for him.
The entire palace knew he was a puppet emperor, but they didn’t know the Regent’s intentions toward him. Now Shen Jue knew.
Thinking of this, Murong Xiu raised a hand and rubbed his brow tiredly. “Summon an imperial physician to take Shen Jue’s pulse. He…” He paused. “He was injured. It’s good for him to rest for a while.”
Feng Qingbao acknowledged and hurried out.
After giving the order, Murong Xiu put the matter aside for the moment. But to his surprise, in the following half a month, Shen Jue did not appear before him again. Even the Regent noticed and mocked, “That ugly eunuch by your side—what, is he dead?”
Murong Xiu’s expression shifted slightly. “Whether he is dead or alive, doesn’t the Regent know? The ones who punished him were your men.”
Seeing Murong Xiu’s face change, the Regent’s mockery deepened. He even reached out a hand and teasingly stroked Murong Xiu’s chin. “If he hadn’t been so blind as to barge in last time, why would I have had him punished? When it comes to servants, the most important thing is obedience.”
The Regent’s words carried a double meaning. Murong Xiu frowned.
The Regent continued, “I think the attendants by your side are all lacking in wit. Why not take this chance to replace them all?”
Murong Xiu refused. “I’m already used to their service.”
The Regent raised an eyebrow. He had other matters to attend to, so he didn’t stay long and left. He felt that sometimes one shouldn’t push too hard.
After the Regent left, Murong Xiu immediately called Feng Qingbao in.
“How is Shen Jue’s injury?”
At these words, Feng Qingbao’s expression turned strange.
In recent days, he had visited Shen Jue every day, but for some reason, he felt that Shen Jue was different from before.
It was as if…
As if he had become a different person!
Shen Jue used to always hunch his back, looking timid. But these days, not only did he stand straight, but his behavior and actions were also completely different from before. Sometimes, when Shen Jue looked at him, he even felt a bit scared.
Feng Qingbao went to see Shen Jue every day, so he knew his injuries had almost healed. Yet Shen Jue refused to come serve at the imperial presence, and Feng Qingbao couldn’t persuade him. Now, Shen Jue just sat in his room all day.
Seeing Feng Qingbao stammer and hesitate, Murong Xiu frowned. “Speak!”
Feng Qingbao immediately dropped to his knees. “Your Majesty, your servant does not dare lie, but your servant does not know how to say it.”
These words made Murong Xiu’s frown even deeper.
He put down his brush, his mind turning briefly, and then he stood up directly. “Prepare the carriage. I will go see Shen Jue.”
…
Murong Xiu had never been to the eunuchs’ quarters. Looking at the cramped rooms and the damp bluestone slabs beneath his feet, his expression was unreadable. When he was a prince, though not favored, he still lived in a palace; his food and clothing were never lacking.
He was born above others and had never seen the places where the lowliest lived.
Feng Qingbao stood hunched behind Murong Xiu, hardly daring to breathe. He never expected His Majesty to condescend to come to where they lived. Except for their shifts keeping watch, the eunuchs who served at the imperial court all returned here to rest.
Murong Xiu furrowed his brows and walked forward. The further he went, the darker his expression grew. By the time he reached the door of Shen Jue’s room, his gaze was so heavy that no one dared meet it.
He stopped at the door, and Feng Qingbao quickly stepped forward to knock.
“Eunuch Shen.”
A rustling sound came from inside.
Standing at the door, Murong Xiu heard footsteps approaching from far to near. When the door opened from within, he naturally looked up.
Behind the door stood a young man with a thin figure and a pale face. For a moment, he seemed to smile—or perhaps not. Before Murong Xiu could see clearly, the young man had already knelt down.
“Your servant greets His Majesty.”
Murong Xiu hummed in acknowledgment but did not immediately tell Shen Jue to rise.
“Have your injuries healed?”
Shen Jue’s knees pressed against the cold floor tiles. “Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant’s injuries are mostly healed.”
Then why haven’t you returned to serve before me?
That was what Murong Xiu wanted to ask, but he couldn’t say it in front of so many people.
“Get up and speak. Do you have any tea here?” Murong Xiu said as he walked into the room and waved at the retinue behind him.
The retinue immediately withdrew, leaving only Murong Xiu and Shen Jue in the room. Shen Jue rose from the ground and said, head bowed, “Your servant has no tea, only plain water.”
Murong Xiu hadn’t come for tea anyway, so he didn’t mind. He looked around the room’s furnishings.
The room was extremely simple: just a bed, a table, and two stools.
On the table sat an empty medicine bowl with brown dregs at the bottom.
Having finished his inspection, Murong Xiu turned and looked at Shen Jue.
“You…” he began, then stopped.
Shen Jue kept his head down, saying nothing.
After a moment of hesitation, Murong Xiu continued. “It is I who am useless, unable to protect you. If you hold a grudge in your heart, that is only natural. If you wish to leave the palace, I will permit it.”
He waited for Shen Jue’s reaction.
Murong Xiu knew Shen Jue. Though Shen Jue wasn’t exceptionally clever and wasn’t particularly good-looking, he was extremely loyal—that was why Murong Xiu had kept him by his side all along. By saying this, he was using retreat to advance, testing the other.
He knew Shen Jue was an orphan. A eunuch who left the palace would have no way to survive.
Shen Jue had no ability to marry and have children; leaving the palace would only bring him scorn.
But what surprised Murong Xiu was that Shen Jue remained silent.
After the initial surprise, Murong Xiu grew angry—angry that Shen Jue didn’t know what was good for him.
If it weren’t for him, Shen Jue would have been beaten to death long ago.
His expression turned icy. He no longer wished to stay in this shabby room. He lifted his foot to leave, but the moment he did, Shen Jue knelt down again and hugged his leg.