Vent
That night was extremely agonizing for me.
On one hand, I was worried that the palace maids of Chuanguang Hall wouldn't be able to protect the Third Princess and myself; on the other hand, I was worried that if things continued like this, we still wouldn't be able to find the culprit...
After finally getting through the late hours with Ah Shi, they figured it was about time, so they quickly took Ah Shi to Chuan Guang Tang.
The ghostly aura in the Hall of Light was incredibly thick tonight, so thick that the air itself seemed to tinge with a faint blackness. I clicked my tongue twice, lamenting the Third Princess's years of silent sacrifice, all for nothing more than protecting such a fool. To be honest, I felt quite sorry for the little jade stone…
As soon as Ah Shi and I entered the palace, we saw a dark shadow fly out of the window at lightning speed. Was it... a ghost that ran away?
I rushed into the inner room and saw a palace maid, drenched in sweat, squatting by the bed, holding a dagger in one hand and protecting the Third Princess behind her with the other; the Third Princess was curled up in a ball, trembling...
How are you?
I strode over and shook the palace maid's hand. She was startled at first, then looked at me with shock. Oh, my bare bones must be a bit uncomfortable... I withdrew my hand and asked her again, "How are you?"
“My lord, I saw it. It was a black shadow. She was right in front of the bed, right there…” As she spoke, she pointed to Ah Shi standing behind her: “She was standing there, walking back and forth, constantly shouting: ‘My bones, my bones are gone.’”
"Bones?" Could it be that this Hall of Light was once inhabited by someone whose bones were crushed and scattered to the winds? "What was she dressed like?"
"I can't tell, I can only vaguely make out that it's dark red, but the fabric is torn, and all I can tell is that it's a long, wide-sleeved dress..."
A long, wide-sleeved dress? Red? How can you tell?
I then looked at the third princess behind her: "Hey, do you know who she is?"
"I don't know, I don't know..." The third princess trembled uncontrollably: "Don't ask me, don't ask me, I don't know, ahhh..."
"This..." Ah Shi took a few steps closer and asked, "This ghost ran away as soon as it saw us. We can't tell what kind of ghost it is or what its origin is. What should we do?"
"If all else fails, we'll just have to wipe them out."
"ah?"
The best way to deal with these ghostly matters is to understand their past grievances, resolve their obsessions, and then send them to reincarnation. However, if the past grievances are truly unclear, in order to prevent them from affecting the living, the only option is to kill them directly. But this easily incurs negative karma and also affects one's cultivation... Alas...
I suddenly realized how unpredictable life can be! If I hadn't met the prime minister, I might still be able to steel myself and delay the investigation. But now that I've met the prime minister and received thanks from others, how can I simply ignore it?
Bearing the consequences? Let's just forget about it...
"Let me think of another way..." After saying that, I waved to the palace maid and waited for her to come back to her senses before instructing her: "Take good care of yourselves these next few days, don't let the daggers out of your sight, and hang the gourds up again."
“Alright,” the palace maid nodded, then kowtowed to me again: “Thank you, Your Excellency.”
After leaving Chuanguang Hall, I took A-Shi straight to the Imperial Household Department, hoping to check the historical records of Chuanguang Hall and see if we could find any clues. However, we were stopped by the gatekeeper of the Imperial Household Department again. Two eunuchs smiled insincerely: "We are also very worried about the Third Princess's matter, but there are too many things involved in the Imperial Household Department. We really dare not let you two in. Why don't you ask for an imperial decree before you come back?"
Hey, what the hell? Why is it that nobody's allowed to enter this palace? Whenever you want to do something, there are always a lot of people and things that try to stop you. What's going on here?!
But the smile on their face never stopped, and they spoke very politely. If I wanted to argue, it was their duty; if I didn't, I felt like there was a lump in my throat that I couldn't release...
So I promptly went to vent my anger on someone...
When I stormed into the Imperial Study, the dragon aura emanating from the plaque remained perfectly still, but Eunuch Yu at the door stopped me: "Your Excellency, what's wrong? Why are you so angry? Who has offended our esteemed guest?"
I rolled my eyes inwardly at their coaxing tone, which sounded like they were talking to a child: "I want to see him."
Eunuch Yu smiled sincerely, but spoke with great determination: "Your Excellency, please allow me to inform you that His Majesty is inside discussing state affairs with his ministers. It is truly inappropriate to let Your Excellency in at this moment. Perhaps Your Excellency could tell me, and I would quietly slip in and convey Your Excellency's message?"
“No need,” I refused outright: “You can just quietly let me in, and I’ll just quietly stand aside and wait.”
After I finished speaking, I started to walk inside. Eunuch Yu quickly ran a few steps and stretched out his hand to stop me: "If you go in, Your Excellency, this servant will surely get a beating..."
"Then why don't you run away?" I blinked. "Find an excuse to hide!" After saying that, I walked right past him and continued forward.
A voice came from behind: "Oh dear, hurry, hurry, the little prince is not feeling well, come with me to fetch the imperial physician..." Then came the sound of someone leaving.
I casually pushed open the door to the Imperial Study. A soft creak sounded, and several people inside looked over. I ignored them completely, walked to a chair to the side, poured myself a cup of tea, blew on it, and waved to the people with different expressions: "You can continue. Don't let me interfere with state affairs."
Who among those discussing matters in the Imperial Study isn't a shrewd and calculating person? Look at me, walking in so openly and confidently, not a single one of them uttered a word; they all turned their gazes toward the Emperor on the main seat.
The emperor remained calm and said to his ministers, "Go out and gather your opinions first, then come back in a moment to report."
The four ministers bowed in unison and then all withdrew.
After the door to the imperial study was closed again, the emperor stepped down from his throne and came over to ask me, "Thirteenth Prince, what's wrong with you now?"
"I want to go to the Imperial Household Department, but the guards won't let me in."
"This is simple. Just find Eunuch Yu. Where is Eunuch Yu?"
"I don't know, I didn't see it," I put down my teacup. "Before it was the gatekeepers, now it's the Imperial Household Department. Just give me a token, the kind that will allow me to enter any part of the palace. Oh right, and the gates of the ministers' residences too, the kind that will let me in directly."
"This...this is not the case, Thirteenth Emperor." The Emperor shook his head: "Not to mention the palace, other people's residences are private places. Even I can't just walk in whenever I want. I have to greet them first."
"Yes!" I said frankly, "They just want something to represent your identity and greet you, right?"
"This...this is completely unprecedented. Where am I supposed to find one for you?"
"No?" I looked at the crown on his head: "Then give me one of the beads on your head. When all the ministers notice that you are missing a bead, they will know the value of the bead in my hand."
"How can this be?" The emperor shook his head: "This is the imperial crown; how can it be moved at will?"
"Then let's use vermilion ink; it will also represent your identity."
"How am I supposed to write official documents now that you've taken the vermilion brush?"
"This won't work, that won't work," I slammed my hand on the table and stood up. "I only want this for your women and your daughter. If you hadn't brought so many stupid women into the palace, none of this would have happened. You brought this all upon yourself, so figure it out yourself!"
"This is politics, you don't understand."
“Yes, I don’t understand politics,” I sat down again. “But I do understand ghosts and monsters, right? That thing has been in the Hall of Light for over ten years. You careless fool didn’t even notice your own daughter’s strange behavior. You’re waiting for me to clean up your mess and you’re not cooperating. Is that how you become an emperor?”
"Thirteen, don't talk nonsense." His face turned cold.
"What?" I stood up again, taking two steps closer to him. "You want me to die again?" I said, then took off my clothes, revealing my skeletal body. "Can you kill me? Huh?"
He took two steps back, his face ashen, and turned his head away, seemingly unable to look me in the eye. I pressed my advantage, pointing at the crown on his head: "Give me one of the beads on your head!"
He closed his eyes helplessly: "Okay, okay, here's one. Put your clothes on first, it's kind of creepy."
"That's creepy?" I said rudely. "Who caused this? Hurry up and give me the bead first. I want the biggest one."
“Alright, alright,” he nodded, took off the crown from his head, and after looking at it, he said, “If I take off the largest one in the middle, the whole string of pearls will fall off. Can I take the last one for you?”
"Alright, alright," I smacked my lips, "I'll take the very last one."
I was originally thinking of the very last one, but the thought that his crown, which he wore to court every day, would be missing a pearl made me want to laugh... No, I have to hold it in...
I watched expressionlessly as he took the pearl and placed it in my hand. I calmly nodded, "Alright, then you can continue. Don't neglect state affairs." After saying that, I dressed, took the pearl, and swaggered out of the imperial study. I even deliberately waved the pearl around in front of the people waiting outside the hall, making sure everyone could see the pearl in my hand before laughing and leaving...
That's awesome, hehe!
When I stood in front of the Imperial Household Department again with the pearl in my hand, I shook it and said, "Do you see clearly? This is the one His Majesty wears. Quickly, make way and let me in."
The two men were from the Imperial Household Department, so they naturally recognized the Eastern Pearl. They looked at each other, then smiled at me again: "Your Excellency, this is indeed an Eastern Pearl, but how can we know that this bare pearl comes from His Majesty's crown?"
"Go ask them!" I said, looking at the two of them. "Don't you know anyone who serves in the Imperial Study? Go ask them now. All the ministers saw it. How could it be false?"
"This..." The two of them remained motionless. I straightened up and said, "This was specially approved for me by His Majesty. If it delays important matters, you will be held responsible."
"This..." The two hesitated for a moment, when a high-pitched voice came from inside: "Please invite the distinguished guest in."
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