Chapter 25 - 1#

Kill That Emperor (25)#

At this moment, Shen Jue was soaking in a small pond. He looked around and realized that this was actually the Qizhang Hall where Murong Xiu had lived as a prince.

When Murong Xiu was a prince, he was the sixth son. He had never been favored much since childhood. His mother had passed away early, and after he turned three, he was raised by Consort Jing. In the first few years, Consort Jing treated Murong Xiu quite well, but after she gave birth to the Eighth Prince, Murong Xiu’s life went from bad to worse. Without his mother to speak for him before the emperor, how favored could a young prince be?

Moreover, Murong Xiu’s personality was not very likable, so his elder brothers often ganged up on him. Even the Eighth Prince, who was much younger than him, dared to scold him loudly.

Murong Xiu moved into Qizhang Hall after he turned ten, and Shen Jue, who was four years younger than Murong Xiu, had been by his side since he was five. Qizhang Hall was actually not much different from the Cold Palace. Other palaces had lakes, but Qizhang Hall only had a broken pond, without any railings around it, as if it could fall into at any time.

Perhaps it was because Shen Jue had spent too long looking around, Murong Xiu, who was standing by the pond, lost patience. He crouched down, grabbed Shen Jue’s long hair at the back of his head, and yanked it. Shen Jue, caught off guard, tilted his head back in pain.

Thus, he was closer to Murong Xiu’s face.

Looking at Murong Xiu’s face up close, it was almost flawless—black hair, red lips, skin as white as snow, and features like a flower. In his youth, Murong Xiu mostly wore bright clothes. For instance, the one he was wearing now, a lotus-green robe, made his skin look even whiter than snow, comparable to a snow lotus, like a carefully tended autumn peony.

Unfortunately, the Murong Xiu in front of him now was an autumn peony full of thorns. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and his bright red lips opened and closed.

“Have you soaked your brains to mush? What were you staring at just now? Don’t tell me you don’t even recognize your master?”

Looking at this Murong Xiu, Shen Jue suddenly recalled what Chi Yan Patriarch had said—

“…Some realm owners may resent you for killing them and force you to experience their realm again…”

But even if he were to experience Murong Xiu’s realm again, the young Murong Xiu wouldn’t be like this, unless…

The current Murong Xiu was clearly different from before. The young Murong Xiu had never carried such intense malevolent energy, but the one before him was nothing like a teenager, whether in his eyes or his overall demeanor.

Shen Jue had a guess: perhaps the present Murong Xiu had memories of his previous life. He remembered that Shen Jue had killed him, which was why he had become like this.

After all, in previous lives, Murong Xiu had never treated him so harshly. Now he was soaking in the pond, and the one who had pushed his head under the water was Murong Xiu on the shore. Murong Xiu had nearly killed him just now, so the Retrospection Mirror had activated and restored his memories.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Murong Xiu asked, seeing that Shen Jue remained silent. His gaze grew even colder.

Seeing this, Shen Jue could only say weakly, “Your Highness, this servant is cold.”

Murong Xiu let out a soft snort. “But I haven’t fished my thing up yet. Shen Jue, go down.”

With that, he let go and wiped his hand harshly on his clothes as if Shen Jue had dirtied it.

Shen Jue hadn’t expected to return to Murong Xiu’s realm or that Murong Xiu would still have memories of his previous life. Thinking about how decisively he had killed Murong Xiu, he imagined that Murong Xiu in this life must hate him to the core. With that thought, Shen Jue dove straight into the water. He had rested a little earlier, and the memories of this life were now coming back to him in fragments.

In this life, from the moment Shen Jue had come to Murong Xiu’s side, Murong Xiu had treated him terribly. At the least, he was beaten and scolded; at the worst, like today, Shen Jue was only ten years old but had already passed through the gates of death several times. If he hadn’t nearly died this time, the Retrospection Mirror probably wouldn’t have activated.

That morning, Murong Xiu had suddenly said that his jade pendant was missing and sent Shen Jue to look for it. But Shen Jue had searched the entire Qizhang Hall and found nothing. Murong Xiu grew very angry and ordered him into the pond, saying the pendant might have fallen into the water.

Ten-year-old Shen Jue could swim a little, but not well. Just as he had gone down once and was about to come up for air, Murong Xiu suddenly pushed his head down.

That was the moment when Shen Jue’s memories returned.

…

Shen Jue resignedly dove into the water again. As he widened his eyes to search for the jade pendant, he secretly planned for the future. He needed to break Murong Xiu’s realm once more, but would Murong Xiu, with his memories, still fall in love with him?

Even Shen Jue now lacked confidence. It’s easy to deceive someone once, but if you try to deceive them a second time using the same method, it’s impossible—unless the other person is a fool. But Murong Xiu was clearly no fool, and the current Murong Xiu seemed particularly hard to approach.

Having nearly been drowned by him before, Shen Jue made sure to surface for air in the middle of the pond this time, ensuring that Murong Xiu could only watch him from the shore and couldn’t reach him.

Standing by the water’s edge, Murong Xiu flicked his robes. His expression was cold as he watched the figure in the water. When he noticed that Shen Jue was surfacing far away from him each time, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but his eyes grew even icier. Shen Jue was only ten years old and had nearly drowned. After just a few rounds, he was completely exhausted, clinging to the bank and gasping for breath. He turned to look at Murong Xiu on the other side of the pond, a look of fear on his face. “Your Highness, this servant has no strength left. Could I search again tomorrow?”

“How can that be? What if someone else picks it up?” Murong Xiu drawled slowly.

There were hardly any eunuchs in Qizhang Hall, and who would dive into the water to pick up a jade pendant that might not even exist?

Shen Jue truly had no strength left. He was too small now, with thin arms and legs. If he went into the water again, he would really die. But judging by Murong Xiu’s expression, he didn’t seem ready to let him off. Shen Jue pressed his lips together and turned to dive again. Just as he moved, Murong Xiu’s voice suddenly rang out, “Forget it. It’s getting dark, and I’m not in the mood to play with you anymore.”

Murong Xiu took a jade pendant from his sleeve, showed it to Shen Jue, and then threw it directly into the pond.

“When you pick it up, you can eat. If you never find it, you don’t eat.”

After saying this, Murong Xiu turned and left.

Shen Jue watched his retreating figure, then after a moment, climbed out of the water. Once out, he collapsed on the ground, too weak to even stand. The sky was growing dark, and lanterns were being lit in the nearby palaces, their orange flames casting a warm glow in the night.

The late summer night carried a chill. Shen Jue lay on the ground for a long time before trembling to his feet. He wrung out his wet hair, then his soaked clothes, and walked back to his current lodgings.

The Shen Jue of now was not like before. Back then, Murong Xiu had let him sleep in his own bedchamber, even on the dragon couch. Now, Shen Jue lived with several other young eunuchs.

The current Sixth Prince Murong Xiu had one senior eunuch and four junior eunuchs, including Shen Jue, but no palace maids. This was because the imperial clan’s tradition dictated that princes could only have personal maids after turning sixteen, to avoid harming their bodies. Since Murong Xiu was only fourteen, there were no maids in Qizhang Hall.

Of these five eunuchs, Shen Jue was the youngest. Because Murong Xiu treated him so poorly in this life, the other eunuchs also had the worst attitude toward him. All the dirty and tiring tasks fell to Shen Jue, and he ate last.

When Shen Jue returned to the room, it was pitch black, and no one was there. Too lazy to light a lamp, he relied on the moonlight streaming in from outside. He went to his bed, pulled out a box from underneath, and took out some clean clothes. Just as he was about to change, the door was pushed open, accompanied by the laughter of two people.

“That fool Shen Jue was punished by His Highness again,” one said.

“Serves him right, always rubbing His Highness the wrong way,” said the other.

“I mean…” The first speaker suddenly spotted Shen Jue changing his clothes. It was like a castrated rooster having its throat suddenly squeezed, letting out a shrill, unpleasant sound. “Shen Jue, why didn’t you say something when you were in here? You want to die, don’t you?”

After cursing, as if still unsatisfied, he strode over and slapped Shen Jue on the head a few times. Shen Jue was already dizzy, holding on only by a thread. After being hit several times on the head, he finally couldn’t take it anymore. His body swayed, and he crashed to the floor with a clatter.

“Are you faking it? Shen Jue, get up!” The one who hit him was startled and quickly knelt to slap Shen Jue a few more times. When Shen Jue still showed no response, he realized Shen Jue had actually fainted.

“He fainted?” the other person said, a bit scared. “He was punished to go into the water many times this afternoon. He couldn’t be dead, could he?”

The first person quickly put his hand under Shen Jue’s nose and, finding he was still breathing, sighed in relief. “He’s not dead, just fainted.” His eyes rolled, and he turned to the other person. “Don’t let His Highness know about this. If he finds out Shen Jue is sick, he’ll only get angrier.”

The other hesitated but nodded.

The first person looked disdainfully at Shen Jue’s wet clothes, but still picked him up from the floor and placed him on the bed. Too lazy to help him change, he just covered him with a blanket, thinking that was kind enough.

After finishing, he quickly dragged the other person away.

…

Shen Jue remained unconscious until the middle of the following night. He didn’t wake up on his own but was kicked awake.

Someone kicked him hard a few times and then yanked off his blanket. “Shen Jue, how many hours have you slept? I did your work for you last night. Time for you to get up and do your share.”

Shen Jue forced his eyes open. After seeing the person standing by his bed, he closed his eyes again before saying, “Stop… hitting me. I’ll go.”

As soon as he spoke, he realized his voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

He had been wearing wet clothes after fainting last night, and now they were moldy. He felt his body was ice-cold, but his head was burning, as if it might explode at any moment.

The one who had woken him was Li Feng, six years older than Shen Jue. He was the laziest of them all and often made Shen Jue do his work. If Shen Jue refused, he would get a beating. It was also him who had hit Shen Jue last night.

Last night, after seeing Shen Jue faint, Li Feng was afraid the senior eunuch would find out, so he had done the work Shen Jue was supposed to do. This morning, he immediately called for Shen Jue to get up.

Shen Jue lifted his hand to rub his head and used his elbow to push himself up from the bed board. Seeing him up, Li Feng immediately lay back down to continue sleeping. It was only the first quarter of the Yin hour (around 3:15 AM), and the sky was still pitch black. Except for Shen Jue, the other three young eunuchs would sleep until the sky was faintly bright.

They slept until dawn because the Sixth Prince, Murong Xiu, woke up very early. If their master slept late, they would sleep until the sun was high in the sky.

Even though Shen Jue did the work, they still complained. As he changed clothes despite his illness, they even grumbled about the noise, showing no consideration that Shen Jue was the youngest and deserved some leniency.

After changing, Shen Jue took the dirty clothes with him. He first soaked his own dirty clothes in a basin, then washed the other eunuchs’ clothes, and finally his own. After hanging them to dry, he took the clothes Murong Xiu had left by the bath last night to the laundry office. On his way back, he started sweeping the courtyard.

There was a mountain of work waiting for Shen Jue, and he was small, weak, and sick. By the time Li Feng and the others got up, he still hadn’t finished.

Li Feng entered the kitchen and saw that Shen Jue hadn’t even lit the fire. Furious, he yanked Shen Jue away and scolded, “You useless piece of trash! You haven’t lit the fire yet? His Highness will be up soon. Can you afford to delay?”

Li Feng’s yank sent Shen Jue sprawling to the ground. Once again, he experienced what it meant to see stars.

He sat on the ground for a while, watched Li Feng start the fire, and then got up and walked out.

Right now, these people were busy attending to Murong Xiu’s morning routine and wouldn’t notice him for a while.

In this life, Murong Xiu loathed him, so he wasn’t allowed to touch any of his daily affairs.

For Li Feng and the others, the moment Murong Xiu woke was their busiest time, but for Shen Jue, it was the most leisurely. He walked to the pond from yesterday and looked at the water’s surface, which seemed bottomless.

The jade pendant Murong Xiu had thrown was still at the bottom. If he didn’t pick it up, he wouldn’t eat.

Shen Jue touched his flat, hungry belly. Going down now to retrieve the jade pendant would be suicide. Even if he wanted to pull a sympathy act, Murong Xiu had to be present. Shen Jue thought for a moment, then turned to look at Murong Xiu’s bedchamber.

Murong Xiu still hadn’t woken up.

Shen Jue withdrew his gaze and walked resolutely away. He wasn’t going to die here. In this life, no matter how carefully he treated Murong Xiu, Murong Xiu would never believe him. Since that was the case, Shen Jue couldn’t be bothered to pretend to be good to Murong Xiu anymore. Right now, he just wanted a full meal.

Shen Jue was starving. Especially at his young age, he couldn’t handle hunger well. With food on his mind, he walked faster and faster, only slowing down when he reached the imperial kitchen. As luck would have it, someone was just coming out of the kitchen. That person saw Shen Jue out of the blue and was so startled he gasped. When he saw that it wasn’t a ghost but a little runt of a boy, and one he recognized, the corner of his mouth twitched. “What are you doing here?”

In this life, Shen Jue didn’t eat well and often went hungry. He didn’t look like a ten-year-old child at all.

In the newcomer’s eyes, Shen Jue was just a carrot that had unexpectedly become a spirit.

And then this carrot spirit suddenly threw its head back and wailed, “Eunuch Liu, this servant is starving.”

What a set of pipes. That shout startled the usually composed Eunuch Liu, making his heart leap. He cursed silently, quickly stepped forward, and covered the carrot’s mouth. “Little ancestor, don’t go shouting like that. If you do it again, you won’t be allowed to come to me anymore.”

Shen Jue felt no shame in playing the innocent child. He stretched out a dry little claw and grabbed Eunuch Liu’s sleeve. “This servant only had one piece of flatbread yesterday morning. My stomach is raising a rebellion.”

Eunuch Liu was amused by his words. He tapped Shen Jue’s forehead with his finger. “Alright, come on in with me first.”

…

Eunuch Liu’s full name was Liu Anshun. He worked in the imperial kitchen and was known for his kindness. In this palace, there were plenty of formidable characters, but it was rare for someone powerful yet still kind to others. Liu Anshun was that kind of person. At just over thirty, he had firmly secured the position of head eunuch of the imperial kitchen. None of the junior eunuchs under him dared to defy him, and even the senior eunuch by the emperor’s side showed him respect.

Shen Jue’s acquaintance with Liu Anshun was purely accidental. In this life, he was often bullied and frequently went hungry. One day when he was seven, Shen Jue couldn’t stand the hunger anymore and sneaked into the imperial kitchen to steal food. Li Feng and the others guarded every scrap from him; he couldn’t even see a crumb of a bun.

Before he could steal anything, a young eunuch from the kitchen caught him and demanded to know which palace he was from. When Shen Jue refused to say, the eunuch spanked him a few times on the bottom. The pain made Shen Jue cry loudly, which drew Liu Anshun’s attention.

Liu Anshun was a good man. Not only did he tell the young eunuch to release Shen Jue, but he also asked gently if Shen Jue was lost.

Shen Jue sniffled and said pitifully, “This servant is hungry.”

Liu Anshun’s eyes dropped, and he reached out to touch Shen Jue’s stomach. Children usually have round bellies, but this little one’s was so flat it was almost touching his spine. After that, Shen Jue was given two steaming hot buns.

He squatted in a corner, wolfing them down. Liu Anshun quietly walked over and whispered, “Can you still eat? The kitchen has an extra chicken leg left over. The others couldn’t finish it. Want it?”

The imperial kitchen never had leftover chicken legs. In reality, Liu Anshun was giving him his own portion.