Inside the imperial city, Eunuch Xia was hunched over, carefully checking the imperial kitchen with a silver needle in hand.
His wrinkled hands held the silver needle firmly and he gently probed each imperial dish with his movements as skillful as an embroiderer threading a needle.
"Grandpa Xia, regarding the matter at the Prince Linjiang's Mansion..." the young eunuch came over and lowered his voice very low.
Eunuch Xia didn't even raise his eyelids as he gently tapped the jade shrimp dumpling with a silver needle. "Be careful with your words," he said in a hoarse voice. "The walls in this palace have ears."
The sound of rain outside the window was getting heavier. In the steaming heat from the imperial kitchen, beads of sweat oozed from Eunuch Xia's forehead.
The news that Prince Linjiang had died of poisoning had already spread throughout the capital.
Some say he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, others say he was murdered by his enemies, and some even hint that the incident is related to the man on the throne...
Inside the Yangxin Palace, Li Longze slammed the memorial onto the table. The flickering candlelight deepened the wrinkles between his brows.
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!" The emperor's voice echoed in the hall. "I want to see who dared to poison the prince under my nose!"
The Dali Temple official knelt on the ground, cold sweat soaking the back of his official robe: "Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei are already in the secret room of the Linjiang Palace..."
"explain!"
"We discovered seventy-two different kinds of poison, thirty-eight instruments of torture, and..." the Dali Temple official's Adam's apple rolled, "seven unidentified corpses."
Li Longze stood up suddenly, and the strap of his dragon robe knocked over the teacup.
The scalding hot tea was poured onto the memorial, and the ink spread out, just like his surging emotions at the moment.
The younger brother who had played with him since childhood actually hid such a horrifying thing in his house?
"Add more Jinyiwei." The emperor's voice suddenly became eerily calm. "Increase the number of sentries at each gate of the imperial city by three times."
That night, Eunuch Xia knelt outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, his forehead pressed against the cold gold bricks, and said, "I, your Majesty, am willing to taste the food."
Li Longze looked at the old eunuch who had served two emperors, and suddenly remembered the civet cat he had seen in his mother's palace - it was also like this, quietly guarding its master until its death.
"Alright," the emperor said softly. "From today on, you will taste all my meals first."
Eunuch Xia kowtowed heavily, his gray hair gleaming faintly under the palace lanterns.
When he stood up, Eunuch Xia's knees made a slight "clicking" sound.
He stood up tremblingly, but still maintained a respectful bow posture.
A gleam of light flashed in those cloudy old eyes under their drooping eyelids, but disappeared in an instant.
"I will prepare it right away." Eunuch Xia's voice was like the caressing of autumn leaves, hoarse and gentle.
He backed out of the hall door, and when he turned around, a small celadon bottle in his sleeve collided lightly with the jade pendant, making an almost inaudible crisp sound.
The lights in the imperial kitchen were as bright as day.
Eunuch Xia stood in front of the long table, tapping each dish with a silver needle. His movements were slow and solemn, as if he was performing some sacred ritual.
The young eunuchs stood by with bated breath, watching the old eunuch taste every dish.
"Grandpa Xia, this steamed shad..." a young eunuch reminded in a low voice.
Eunuch Xia nodded slightly, gently probing the fish's gills with a silver needle, then picked up a piece of snow-white fish and placed it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and chewed it carefully, his Adam's apple rolling slowly.
"That's all." After a while, he opened his eyes and said in a calm voice, "Send it on."
After the imperial meals were sent away one by one, Eunuch Xia remained alone in the kitchen. He took out the small celadon bottle from his sleeve and gently shook it in the candlelight.
The liquid in the bottle was a strange amber color, glowing strangely under the light.
"My Lady..." he murmured softly, his dry fingers stroking the bottle, "This old servant will fulfill your wish..."
Outside the window, a flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating Eunuch Xia's wrinkled face. In that instant, his eyes were as sharp as a knife, and there was no trace of old age left.
Amid the rumbling thunder, Eunuch Xia hid the small bottle back into his sleeve and staggered towards his small room in the palace.
When passing by the Imperial Garden, he stopped, looked in the direction of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Your Majesty..." His whisper was barely audible on the night wind, "Who is the true hunter within these palace walls?"
The rain is getting heavier.
At the Xue family's ancestral home in the north, heavy rain was pouring down.
Xue Yonghuai stood in the ancestral hall with his hands behind his back. The candlelight illuminated the scar on half of his face, making him look particularly hideous.
Three men in black were kneeling on the ground, tied up and with rags stuffed in their mouths.
"The prince's men?" Xue Yonghuai sneered, and lifted one of them's chins with his toes. "With this little ability, you dare to touch my Xue family?"
Hong Yingrong came out from behind the screen, holding a secret letter in her hand: "Master, there is a letter from the capital."
Xue Yonghuai unfolded the letter, his eyes quickly scanning the lines, and suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! What a Yan Boxi!" He turned to the several deputy generals behind him and said, "Prince Linjiang is dead. We should return to the capital."
Deputy General Zhou Zhen frowned: "My Lord, His Majesty..."
"Pretend to be a follower." Xue Yonghuai brought the letter paper close to the candlelight, and the flames instantly engulfed the paper.
Hong Yingrong's fingers gently stroked the jade pendant at her waist. It was the one she had tied on herself three years ago when Xue Jiyan left home. The tiger pattern on the jade pendant had been rubbed until it was shiny.
"Master," she whispered, "Ji Yan that child..."
Xue Yonghuai raised his hand to interrupt her and turned to the lieutenants: "Old Zhou will be the groom, Old Li will be the accountant, and Old Zhao..." He paused, "You will be the guard."
Everyone took the order and left. Xue Yonghuai took out a rusty longsword from the secret compartment of the ancestral hall and stroked the two words "Tiger Roar" on the blade with his fingertips.
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