Chapter 72 Eunuch Feng Reveals the Truth

Inside the heavily guarded tent, Eunuch Feng lay on a makeshift bed, his body wrapped in thick bandages. His breath was weak, but his eyes had regained their clarity, though that clarity carried a deathly desolation and unfathomable scheming.

Yu Beichen had just finished administering acupuncture to him and was packing his medicine box when he saw Lou Jin and the other person enter. He nodded slightly and stepped aside, clearly intending to observe from the sidelines.

Lou Jin walked to the bedside, looking down at him. His voice was calm and even, yet carried an undeniable sense of oppression: "Feng Bao, or should I call you 'Viper'? What kind of upheaval is your master planning? And what is the meaning of the Rong tribe's high priest's holy arrival?"

Feng Bao closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and looked like he was refusing to cooperate.

Seeing this, Ye Xunyang snorted coldly, stepped forward, and threw Liu Shi and Zhao Kun's confessions at him.

"Look at the idiots your good master is using! He'd even poison his own relatives for some empty promise! Do you think he'll keep you around, you viper who knows too many of his secrets and is incompetent, after it's all over?"

Eunuch Feng's eyelids twitched, but he still didn't open them.

Lou Jin remained calm, his tone steady: "You faked your death to escape, operated the Shadow Serpent for years, eliminated dissidents for Lou Yi, and colluded with foreign enemies. What did you seek? Power? Wealth? Or something else? Did you think that by helping him ascend the throne, you could wield absolute power, or even... replace him?"

Upon hearing Lou Yi's name, Feng Bao's face revealed undisguised contempt. He sneered, his voice hoarse yet carrying a strange sense of superiority: "Lou Yi? Ha... He's not worthy to be this old servant's master."

Upon hearing this, both Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang were shocked!

Lou Yi isn't even his master? Then the person behind him must be even more terrifying!

Ye Xunyang couldn't help but shout, "You dare to play tricks even when you're about to die! If you weren't your master, why would you risk your life for him?"

Feng Bao closed his eyes and pursed his lips, clearly not intending to reveal any more information.

Lou Jin's eyes turned cold. Without further ado, he said coldly to Wu Shan, "It seems that Eunuch Feng is determined to protect the person behind you. It doesn't matter, as long as he's still alive and can speak. Whether he's injured or not is irrelevant. Use torture."

"Yes!" Wushan stepped forward without hesitation, a row of gleaming needles appearing in his hand.

A flicker of fear crossed Feng Bao's eyes.

He never expected Lou Jin to be so decisive and ruthless!

Just as Wushan was about to stab with the long needle, he cried out, "Wait! I'll tell you! It was...it was Zhao Kun, whom this old servant went to persuade to defect!" He hurriedly threw out some bargaining chips.

"It was this old servant who promised him high-ranking positions and generous salaries, and then instigated Liu to poison him. He only wanted to disrupt the Ye family, prevent Ye Qing from going to the Northwest, and then replace him with Lou Yi's men to control the Northwest and exchange benefits with the Rong tribe."

Lou Jin raised his hand to stop Wu Shan, looking at him coldly: "Continue."

Feng Bao, panting heavily and drenched in sweat, continued to give his account.

“Three years ago… Your Highness, the poison you suffered from the Heart-Eating Grass… was also arranged by this old servant, who bribed the head of the clothing department to stuff the sachet inside.”

"On whose orders?" Lou Jin pressed.

Feng Bao shut his mouth again, his eyes filled with fear of that name.

The needle of fog was closing in again.

"I'll tell you... I'll tell you about the Empress!" Feng Bao cried out in fright, revealing an even more fatal secret.

"It is true that Her Majesty the Empress is unwell and her illness is too severe to recover from, but... but it shouldn't have happened so quickly..."

He swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Back then, Consort Xian was afraid that Mr. Yu's medical skills were so divine that he could really cure the Empress, so... she ordered this old servant to bribe a palace maid who was in charge of incense at the Empress's side to mix a kind of slow-acting poisonous incense called Dreamy into the calming incense that the Empress usually used."

"This poison is invisible and odorless, and its symptoms are extremely similar to those of the Empress's illness. It can slowly erode the heart meridian, causing the person to gradually weaken... Even Mr. Yu, unless he is extremely familiar with this poison, would find it difficult to detect..."

Yu Beichen was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale.

Lou Jin only knew that his mother had died of illness, but he was unaware that such a vile and wicked plot was hidden behind it!

They actually started using such methods to eliminate dissidents as early as ten years ago!

The tent fell into a deathly silence, broken only by Feng Bao's heavy breathing and the crackling of the candlelight.

After a long silence, Lou Jin finally spoke slowly: "Feng Bao, do you know that what you just said is enough to kill you a thousand times over?"

Seeing their reactions, Feng Bao let out a hoarse, malicious laugh.

"Your Highness, do you think this is the end of it? If it weren't for Prince Jin's voluntary departure to the border back then... he might still be meeting the Empress on the road to the underworld. There are people who have always regarded him as a thorn in their side!"

The tent was deathly silent, save for Feng Bao's heavy breathing and strange laughter.

The truths revealed are increasingly brutal, while the true master remains hidden behind the fog, his identity chilling to the bone.

Lou Jin suppressed his overwhelming killing intent. He knew that Feng Bao's fear of that person was deeply ingrained and he would never reveal it before arriving in the capital.

He coldly ordered: "Record it, sign it, and keep a close watch on it!"

The great victory at Yumen Pass, including the capture of Viper, was like a shot in the arm for the war in the Northwest.

Lou Jin knew that he had to seize the opportunity to stabilize the situation in the Northwest in order to have no worries about the future.

For the next two weeks, Lou Jin was in charge of the central command, strategizing and planning.

Ye Xunjin took the lead, leading the highly motivated Sheng army soldiers in a swift counterattack against the city occupied by the Rong tribe.

Good news flew to the capital like snowflakes.

"General Ye led his troops to recapture Shuofeng City!"

"Our army decisively defeated the Rong tribes at the Blackwater River, killing thousands of them!"

"All three lost cities have been recovered, and the remaining enemy forces have retreated three hundred li!"

The emperor was overjoyed and generously rewarded Ye Xunjin. He was also deeply pleased with Lou Jin's decisive command. The slight doubts that had arisen before due to Lou Jin's serious illness vanished in the face of his solid military achievements.

However, in stark contrast to the jubilation in the imperial court, the Prince Yi's residence was in complete disarray.

"Useless! You're all a bunch of useless trash!" Lou Yi's face turned ashen as he slammed the teacup in his hand to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

His chest heaved violently, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

There has been no news from Feng Bao for a long time, and the spies he planted in the Northwest seem to have vanished without a trace.

He knew that Feng Bao was most likely in grave danger, and might even have already fallen into Lou Jin's hands.

This made him extremely uneasy, fearing that Feng Bao might say something detrimental to him.

"Your Highness, please calm down," an advisor said cautiously from the side.

"The Northwest is now so well controlled by King Jin and the Ye family that it's like an ironclad fortress, and it's indeed difficult for our people to get involved."

"However... Eunuch Feng is a smart man; he knows what to say and what not to say. Besides, hasn't the message from above already come? Feng Bao... is no longer of any use."

Lou Yi managed to suppress his irritable emotions somewhat, but his eyes remained sinister.

"Useless? He knows too much! What if..."

“There’s no such thing as ‘what if’,” the aide said in a low voice. “As long as he can’t return to the capital and can’t speak up… we still have a chance on the way. After all, the journey back to the capital from the Northwest is long and treacherous, so it’s perfectly normal for something ‘accident’ to happen.”

Lou Yi's eyes flickered, but finally he let out a cold snort: "Then go and make the arrangements! Make sure it's done cleanly and efficiently, and absolutely do not let him set foot in the capital alive!"

"yes!"