Chapter 156
Weng Tianxin's death was actually a calculated move. Ever since he detained the Rongdi envoys, the Empress Dowager had been waiting for him to make a move so that she could take advantage of the opportunity to win over Galdan, the tool that the country had betrayed and abandoned. Who knew that the Shenxing Division had detained him for more than half a year, and even after the Rongdi envoys had all returned to their country, Weng Tianxin still hadn't made a move.
After waiting and waiting, just when the Empress Dowager had almost forgotten about this person, Weng Tianxin finally sorted out his dilemma and prepared to take action against Galdan. Lu Bingzhu, who had been paying close attention to this matter, immediately had someone inform Galdan, the person in charge.
Galdan was ruthless. After receiving the news, he did not ask Weng Tianxin for confirmation. Instead, he immediately decided to kill Weng Tianxin and carried out the plan that very night. His decision was decisive and his actions were swift. He had the mindset of "better to kill ten thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free." Even Lu Bingzhu was surprised for a moment.
By the time the Empress Dowager learned of the news, Weng Tianxin's body was already cold.
The Empress Dowager originally thought that someone who could act so decisively must be a talented person, but Galdan's subsequent reaction really disappointed her.
Weng Tianxin was killed by Galdan in his sleep without any warning. However, after killing him, Galdan lost all his courage. After discovering that someone had been watching him all along, he knelt down and begged Lu Bingzhu to cover up Weng Tianxin's death. When his sweet talk failed, he started threatening him. When threats failed, he tried to bribe him. When that failed, he tried to escape and even planned to frame Lu Bingzhu for the incident.
It can be said that they used every possible trick in the book.
Galdan naturally failed to escape; instead, Lu Bingzhu forced him to return and personally behead Weng Tianxin.
This man showed no hesitation when he killed, but after death, seeing his head terrified him. His legs went weak and he couldn't even stand up. He also went crazy, shouting and yelling. Lu Bingzhu, annoyed by his noise, knocked him unconscious with a blow. Then he discovered that the man had wet his pants sometime during the night...
Xue Jin'an offered a sharp critique of Galdan's actions: "He has the mind of an emperor, but not the life of one."
In fact, Helian Cheng had considered not letting Bileg offer his head. After all, they were father and son, and this behavior was somewhat against ethical norms, which was quite similar to King Zhou beheading Boyi Kao and making King Wen of Zhou eat him.
"Prime Minister, please give this to me," Helian Cheng said kindly, reaching out to take the box.
However, Bileg did not appreciate it. He had some doubts about the contents of the box, but when Helian Cheng reached out to take it back, half of them disappeared. Then, when Galdan deliberately made a cold face and pretended to snatch it, all of them vanished.
Galdan did it on purpose, of course. He wanted Bireg to personally present Ontianxin's head to his good father, and then enjoy their expressions when the box was opened to reveal the real contents. How wonderful!
He doesn't want things to be destroyed.
To convince Bileg that there was treasure in the box, Galdan had a rare moment of inspiration. He stepped aside, blocking Bileg's retreat, and threatened in a low voice, "Give the item back. Don't do anything unnecessary. You don't want the Rongdi to really go to war with Daqi, do you?"
Helian Cheng saw through Galdan's plan. He wasn't doing charity work; he was already being kind to the Rongdi once in a while. Since they didn't appreciate it, he naturally wouldn't rush to help. He just stood aside and watched them fight amongst themselves, occasionally pretending to reach into the box to keep Bileg on edge and prevent him from thinking too much.
"You jest, Third Prince." Bileg narrowly dodged Galdan's outstretched hand once again, panting as he clutched the box to his chest and said with a smile, "Since it has been agreed that this old minister would present it, how could General Helian, a man of unwavering integrity, so easily go back on his word?"
"What Third Prince? The Third Prince is dead. I am the Crown Prince Rongyang Khan, personally appointed by the Great Qi Dynasty. Your Excellency, please don't get me wrong." Galdan deliberately used his own name to annoy people.
Bileg was indeed quite annoyed. He did admire the Central Plains culture, but that didn't mean he would support the regime of Daqi. On the contrary, he had always been eyeing it covetously. The more he felt that Daqi was vast and rich in resources, the more he wanted to become the master of that land and take all its long-standing culture and wealth for himself.
While he was fuming with rage, Galdan snatched the box back, saying sarcastically, "Alright, what's yours is yours, and what's not yours isn't yours. You can't take it away from me."
Bileg's eyes flickered, and he immediately began to think: Could it be that this box was not originally intended to be presented to the Khan, but was accidentally mixed in with the gifts? When Helian Cheng tried to take it away and hide it, he discovered it and deliberately said that it was a gift for the Khan, and said some things to dispel his concerns. However, he did not fall for it, so they had to give up. And now they are in such a hurry because they are afraid that he will really present this item to the Khan!
It makes sense now, everything makes sense! Bileg felt that the logic was clear, but at the same time he still had doubts, mainly because Galdan's words just now seemed a bit too deliberate, as if they were specifically said to him.
That's why Bileg hesitated and didn't immediately reach out to grab the box.
While Bilge was already suspicious, Galdan remained oblivious, continuing his act as if to hand the box to Helian Cheng, muttering incessantly, "Make sure you keep it safe this time, otherwise—"
Helian Cheng's face was cold and he snapped, "Shut up!"
As if there were some secrets inside that couldn't be told to outsiders, Galdan was so frightened that he immediately fell silent. Under Helian Cheng's murderous gaze, he really thought there was something unusual about the thing in his hand, and his hand trembled so much that he almost dropped the box.
Fortunately, Bilge seized the opportunity and pulled him into his arms. He raised his voice and sang the lyrics to stop Helian Cheng from saying what he was about to say: "The Great Qi presents an exquisite wooden box!"
“A gift once given is like water spilled; a great nation like Qi, known for its etiquette, cannot lack even this much magnanimity, can it?” Bileg said with a smile, as if casually. “If other countries knew about this, I wonder what they would think.”
The creatures nurtured by the land of the East, no matter how many dynasties have changed, are inherently powerful and arrogant. They are like gods high above, always willing to help neighboring countries that are not as good as themselves.
The saying "All nations pay tribute every year" describes how surrounding countries offered rare treasures and bowed down to the emperor. However, in reality, the great Eastern power looked down on those meager tributes, considering them inferior to what the emperor would casually bestow. When a vassal state came to pay tribute, the things it brought back were often more valuable than what it presented.
Therefore, many poor small countries eagerly anticipate paying tribute, rushing over a month or two in advance and staying for another month or two before leaving, their desire to take advantage of others is blatantly obvious. Unfortunately, the great powers of the East are always complacent with their own strength and fail to see this.
As for why Bileg knew the survival strategies of these small countries, it was because before the establishment of the Great Qi Dynasty, the land of the northern desert was fragmented. Countless nomadic peoples, such as the Qiang, Di, Rouran, and Tujue, took root here. It was the Rong and Di who reunified the regime, integrated the weak and defeated peoples, and drove other unruly peoples to the west and north, becoming the new hegemon of this land.
Before they were unified, they were also weak and unable to rise up under the oppression of a powerful and hostile neighbor. They were also among those who went to the great eastern country to beg for resources, just like the Western Regions today.
Bileg, deeply versed in Central Plains culture, understood that the major powers of the Central Plains were proud and arrogant, unwilling to learn much about smaller countries, and naturally unwilling to lose face in front of them. This was even more painful than letting them know that smaller countries were taking advantage of them.
Helian Cheng paused, his hand reaching out to snatch the box back. To make his expression more realistic, he clenched his back teeth and controlled his internal energy to flow through the veins in his face. The pain of the veins being forced to widen made his facial expression distort, his face flushed, and the veins on his forehead bulging, making him look like a demon appearing in the world.
Galdan was terrified. His body reacted faster than his mind, and he desperately tried to snatch the box from Bilge's arms.
Bileg was also taken aback, but he was more composed than Galdan and quickly recovered. He dodged Galdan's hand, turned around, and strode into the palace, almost running.
Just as he turned to leave, Helian Cheng's expression slowly returned to normal. The combination of his slightly upturned lips and the lingering ferocity in his expression was even more chilling than mere ferocity.
It's said that your enemy knows you best. Helian Cheng knew exactly what words could hold Bilge's attention. A direct and explicit statement was never as effective as hesitant and evasive language. Only half the sentence needed to be said, leaving room for a wise person to ponder.
What is stolen is always the best. All of Bileg's doubts will dissipate from this struggle. What Helian Cheng needs to do next is to frown and stare at Bileg's impatient departing figure with a gloomy face.
After Bileg had walked several steps away, Helian Cheng grabbed the stiff Galdan by the neck and led him inside.
Bileg wanted to examine the contents privately before presenting it, since no one knew what Daqi had put inside. It would be bad if it contained dangerous items. However, Helian Cheng and Galdan were following closely behind him, their gazes burning into his back. He had no doubt that if he stopped, they would seize the box in his hand.
It seems that in order to keep the box, he has no choice but to offer it to the Khan alone.
Bilge hurried forward to present the treasure, taking three steps at a time. He deliberately kept a distance to prevent anything harmful from harming the emperor. The box was opened, revealing its contents.
Rongdi Khan craned his neck to look, but before he could see clearly, Bileg's hand trembled, the box fell to the ground, and a familiar head rolled out of it.
—Because it was a gift to be presented to the ruler of a country, before it was put into the box, Lu Bingzhu specially had the chief of the Imperial Penal Division clean the entire head to ensure that not a trace of blood was left. In order to prevent the head from decaying, he specially used preservative spices to marinate it and poured in some mercury... All these measures were combined to ensure that the head would be fresh when it reached the hands of the enemy ruler.
Finally, the skillful supervisor braided the soft hair into the style that the Rongdi people should have.
Bileg froze, his hands still in the position of holding something up, his eyes fixed on the head on the ground.
Weng Tianxin's head.
"This—" Rongdi Khan jumped up from his chair, and the atmosphere in the room became deathly silent. All the ministers stared in shock at the familiar head.
After confirming that everyone had seen clearly, Helian Cheng slowly cupped his hands in greeting, unable to suppress the smile on his lips, and said, "Helian Cheng has fulfilled the Khan's trust by returning the head of the traitor Weng Tianxin."
Bileg's eyes darted around, looking at Rongdi Khan. His eyes were so wide they almost popped out of their sockets, and his gaze sent a chill down one's spine. The other ministers, hearing this, also looked up in surprise and uncertainty, and some couldn't help but let out a gasp.
Cold sweat instantly slid down his forehead. Rongdi Khan felt a mix of fear and panic, as well as anger at being wrongly accused. "I have never issued such an order!"
Helian Cheng spoke slowly: "The Khan has indeed not issued any order, but we are concerned about the Khan's worries first."
"Khan, you don't know, this barbarian is extremely despicable. He is clearly a Rongdi person, but he always yearns for the life of our Great Qi and praises everything about our Great Qi. While praising, he belittles his homeland..." Helian Cheng said, and gave several examples, praising the Great Qi to the skies and belittling the Rongdi to the dust. The Rongdi Khan started grinding his teeth as he listened.
Although Helian Cheng recited these examples verbatim from Xue Jin'an's sacred texts, they were not fabricated. It can only be said that Weng Tianxin had indeed thoroughly studied the culture of Daqi. He was actually quite capable, as he could see that Daqi's feudal dynasty system was far more advanced than the Rongdi's enfeoffment system. In addition, Daqi's official system and structure had been continuously improved through a thousand years of feudal dynasty rule. The official system was somewhat cumbersome, but the structure was close to perfect, unlike the Rongdi, whose entire official system was chaotic, with only the prime minister being the head of all officials.
There's also the imperial examination system, which, while its standardization led to the stagnation of officials, was an unavoidable drawback. However, it was the fairest and most just way for ordinary people to rise to prominence. Meanwhile, the Rong and Di peoples still use the recommendation system, where nepotism, such as marriage, father-son relationships, and teacher-student relationships, is rampant. To rise to a higher position, one needs connections in the court.
Weng Tianxin's mistake was that he blindly copied and tried to transform the Rongdi into the likeness of Daqi, even at the cost of destroying everything that the Rongdi originally had. In his view, this was a kind of evolution. In order to achieve this goal, he never hesitated to elevate Daqi and suppress the Rongdi.
His words, after his death, became evidence presented in court and were recounted by Xue Jin'an, ultimately becoming a sharp knife used against the Rongdi people.
No one could help but hate these words, especially since they came from the mouth of a great man.
"Enough!" Stimulated by these words, Bileg finally regained some of his senses. He felt his body trembling and numb. A piercing pain spread from his heart to his limbs. His head felt like it had been hit by a hammer several times. Dizziness lingered over him. His body swayed and he needed to be supported to stand up. He tried to open his eyes wide, wanting to see Helian Cheng clearly.
Those two short words seemed to have exhausted all of Bileg's strength. He took two deep breaths before continuing, "Nonsense! There are gods watching over us. Don't you dare spout nonsense again and ruin my son's reputation!"
Helian Cheng sighed dramatically, "I'm not lying, otherwise why would we kill him? He was even willing to assassinate Crown Prince Rongyang for us in order to join our Great Qi. We like him too much!"
"What?!" Exclamations rose and fell, and even Galdan couldn't help but turn his head.
Helian Cheng sighed, “His sincerity was great, but unfortunately, our Great Qi can’t stand traitors who collude with the enemy. We had no choice but to execute him. However, you can see how peaceful his face is, so you can know how gentle and soft our methods are. We specially gave him a jar of wine called ‘Drunken Life, Dreamy Death’ so that he could die in a beautiful dream without any pain.”
"Drunken Life, Dreamy Death" is both a wine and a poison. Its effects are just like its name, capable of making people drunk and dying in a beautiful dream. Originating from the Miao ethnic group in western Hunan, it is a peerless brew that is priceless. There are also rumors that the recipe for this wine was originally made by the Gu doctor Zhang Jinghua. He made it because he missed his deceased wife and wanted to see her in his dreams. Unfortunately, the Gu doctor had been playing with Gu insects and poisons for many years and had long been immune to all poisons. When this wine entered his throat, it only caused a burning pain, but not the slightest bit of intoxication.
—The above paragraph is quoted from a storyteller. Whether it is true or false is impossible to determine. In the past, the Gu Doctor traveled around and left behind many legends and stories, which are still sung by children today.
Helian Cheng paused, raised his hand as if to fix his hair, and quickly scanned his palm. Seeing the small, half-bloomed characters inside, he recalled what he wanted to say and delivered the final blow: "Before he died drunk, someone asked him how the Great Qi was. He smiled and said: 'This place is so pleasant that I don't even think about Di.'"
The moment Le Bu Si Di uttered those words, the entire court erupted in chaos. The Rongdi Khan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You insolent brat!"
"You, you—" Bileg pointed at Helian Cheng, opening his mouth as if to say something, but his words were indistinct. Helian Cheng wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Helian Cheng's mouth was crooked and his eyes were slanted, as if he had suffered a stroke.
Before Helian Cheng could see clearly, Bileg's eyes rolled back and he fell straight down, actually fainting from anger!
When Rongdi Khan saw that Bileg had fainted, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He also clutched his head and cried out "Ouch!" before slumping unsteadily into a chair.
Chaos reigned in the Northern Desert Royal Court. Helian Cheng swiftly retreated to safety, watching as Weng Tianxin's clean head rolled through the crowd, gradually turning dusty. Finally, it was unclear which general used their internal force to step on it, but the skull was crushed.
The head, which was already dead, did not spurt blood; only the crisp sound of bones breaking could be heard. However, everyone's attention was on the Prime Minister and the Rongdi Khan, and no one noticed the small head.
The only one paying attention to Weng Tianxin's head was Galdan, who had struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, his clothes and hair disheveled. He stared at the shattered head, which still spun around people's feet like a ball, and chuckled maniacally, muttering in a barely audible voice, "So, you've finally met your match, Weng Tianxin. I'm so glad you've met your match, hehe..."
"How pitiful," Helian Cheng sighed emotionlessly.
When Fulu heard this later, he couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "What do you think General Helian was feeling sorry for in his last sentence?" — This was Fulu's occupational hazard; ever since he started working in intelligence, he wanted to get to the bottom of everything.
Cui Zui spoke first, "It should be pitiful for Weng Tianxin. Although he was somewhat indecisive, he was still a loyal minister. He died for the Rong and Di people, but ended up in such a state, which is truly lamentable."
Being able to participate in the discussion for the first time, Xuan Shiyi actively participated. He pondered, "Perhaps it's out of pity for Galdan. He's gone mad and has completely forgotten his identity."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him with strange and inquisitive eyes: What, is this empathy?
Xuan Shiyi scratched his head, puzzled. "W-Isn't that right? Then forget I said anything."
“No, no, I think you’re absolutely right.” Shouquan immediately chimed in, nudging the person next to him with his elbow to give a response.
Fuling, who was munching on pastries, paused for a while, seemingly realizing what she was about to do. She slowly pulled out her weapon and slammed it on the table, staring fiercely at Xuan Shiyi and baring her teeth.
Xuan Shiyi: "..."
Shouquan suppressed the urge to cover his face. "Fuling, it's alright, it's my fault, I shouldn't have come to you..."
Although Fuling was slow to react, she was not stupid. She couldn't stand these words, and immediately, in order to prove that she had come to the right person, she raised the knife and threatened to slash the tip of the knife up and down in front of Xuan Shiyi's neck.
"Okay, I understand, thank you for your affirmation." Xuan Shiyi nodded very readily.
Everyone: "..." What's wrong with you, bodyguard? Is there something wrong with your keen observation?
Fuling gave a satisfied hum and put away her knife. Lingzhi burst out laughing, and the others also chuckled good-naturedly. Even Xue Jin'an's lips curled up a little.
“Perhaps General Helian didn’t pity anything; it was just an interjection,” Lingzhi offered her opinion, speaking with conviction. “Previously, Magistrate Du sent a letter to the Seventh Prince, who showed it to his friends. They analyzed it and concluded that Magistrate Du was short of money, food, and talent, and had encountered a troublesome official who was making things difficult for him. They even deduced from his careless, scribbled handwriting that he was writing hastily and subtly pleading for help. So they sent him food and money… What did Magistrate Du say in his reply? He said they were being too narrow-minded and overthinking things.”
Xue Jin'an even gave the group of five a reading comprehension question about "the fish's eyes flashing with an eerie light."
Despite the jokes, he would never give up what he had in his hands. Magistrate An was so poor that Du Yin had to be extremely careful with every penny he had. He would naturally not refuse money that was offered to him. He kept the relief to himself and then went to the Northwest Army to buy several cartloads of coal ash.
The group discussed it back and forth, but couldn't reach a conclusion. This only confused Fu Lu, who had raised the question. Finally, Cui Zui forced Xue Jin'an, the most authoritative person, to end the topic, "Master, who do you think is most likely to be right?"
“Anything is possible.” Xue Jin’an said, giving the data, and there was one last possibility: “There is an 11% chance that he is simply a pitiful eunuch who made a last-ditch effort to save Weng Tianxin’s dignity, and all his efforts have been in vain.”
"Who would have thought of that back then? It's a bit too strange, isn't it?" everyone said in unison.
Xue Jin'an said expressionlessly, "That's what I think."
In fact, Lu Bingzhu had Weng Tianxin's head taken down simply to prevent him from becoming corrupt during transport. The final cleansing, grooming, and braiding were all "unnecessary" things that the Director of the Censorate did to curry favor with him.
This eunuch was a man from the previous emperor's time, and he was quite powerful back then. Later, when the current emperor ascended the throne, a new emperor brought a new court, and all the ministers in the court were replaced, let alone the eunuchs. He was considered lucky; by a twist of fate, he obtained the position of chief eunuch, and he was considered to have some influence in the palace.
Although most people find the Shenxingsi (a lowly and despicable place) unlucky and are unwilling to even mention it, staying there for too long and seeing too much filth can cause even healthy people to develop problems, let alone eunuchs, who are already a "disabled" group, it is still better than losing one's life.
Thirty years passed in the blink of an eye. The eunuch supervisor was getting old and wanted to retire from the palace. However, as everyone knows, the eunuchs who could retire peacefully were those who had a good reputation with the emperor, like Lu Bingzhu and Li Hechun. As for him, an old eunuch with blood on his hands, he had to take a detour when he encountered important people, for fear of accidentally offending them. If he were to plead with His Majesty about this matter, His Majesty would probably punish him severely, so that he would never have any more troubles.
After all, once someone dies, all worries naturally disappear.
The eunuch only wanted to leave the palace to live out his days in peace, not to die a natural death. As the days passed, he stopped hoping to retire and started hoping to leave before he died. Palace maids and eunuchs who died in the palace were simply wrapped in straw mats and thrown into mass graves. If they died outside, at least for the sake of money, there were plenty of people who wouldn't mind his filthy status and would find him a fine coffin, hold a grand funeral, and send him off in style.
He was distressed, fearing that even this small hope would not be fulfilled, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came unexpectedly. The good job of Governor Lu Bingzhu actually fell into his hands. He immediately and happily did a good job to satisfy Governor Lu, so that he could realize his hope of leaving the palace to retire.
Lu Bingzhu was actually quite satisfied with what he had done that was "unnecessary," or rather, no one from Daqi would be dissatisfied. This Weng Tianxin dressed like a Daqi boy every day, spoke and acted in the Daqi style, and sometimes even quoted classics and classics as if he knew Daqi's culture like the back of his hand, as if he were a Daqi scholar, which was really annoying.
It's not that they're being petty; they'd be happy if people from other countries studied their culture. But this Weng Tianxin is a Rongdi person! They have countless blood feuds with them and were once treated as two-legged sheep by these Rongdi dogs!
How could this not annoy them?
“Rongdi dogs should act like Rongdi dogs.” Lu Bingzhu looked around with satisfaction and nodded to all the eunuchs and maids of the Shenxing Division who had participated in the preservation of Weng Tianxin’s head. “They deserve a reward.”
The supervisor was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to kowtow, expressing his desire to leave the palace to retire. Many old men who originally wanted gold and silver jewelry were also tempted by his actions and made the same request. However, in the end, only the supervisor was able to leave the palace.
The supervisor was overjoyed, thinking that it was his last "unnecessary" action that caught the eye of Eunuch Lu, which allowed him to benefit. In return, he wanted to contribute half of his wealth to Lu Bingzhu.
After hearing his explanation, Lu Bingzhu couldn't help but burst into laughter: "If it's because of this, then I can't accept your gift. You should thank Eunuch Fulu of Zhaoyang Palace."
Lu Bingzhu would only agree to the Director's request to leave the palace, simply because in the vast Shenxing Division, only the Director's hands were clean, untouched by the lives of innocent people.
It was precisely because he was timid and understood the principle of contentment that even though he inevitably developed eccentricities, he always targeted prisoners and never laid a hand on anyone outside the Censorate. This is why he received this favor—even if he didn't do that "unnecessary" thing, if he asked Lu Bingzhu for help, Lu Bingzhu would still pull strings to let him leave the palace.
Lu Bingzhu himself was a eunuch, and he knew the difficulties faced by eunuchs. He wouldn't meddle in other people's business, but when such matters came his way, he wouldn't interfere; in fact, he might even lend a hand. This was true when the Seventh Prince had an affair with Wang Deming in the Imperial Kitchen, and it was also true now when the Director of the Censorate left the palace.
The reason Lu Bingzhu said he wanted to thank Fu Lu was mainly because he directly sought information from Fu Lu regarding the shady dealings of those people in the Censorate.
Over the years, Fu Lu's network of informants has expanded several times over, almost covering the entire harem. Even the newly arrived eunuchs and maids in the palace know that Eunuch Fu Lu of Zhaoyang Palace is all-knowing and all-powerful. There is nothing he does not know, and he is even more knowledgeable than Chief Eunuch Li Hechun of Qianyuan Palace. He is known as the "Know-it-all of the Imperial Palace."
Having followed Xue Jin'an around, Fu Lu had become quite shrewd under his influence. When he first heard that his reputation had spread so widely, he immediately sensed something was wrong. The person who was stirring up rumors behind the scenes had even dragged Li Hechun into it, clearly with impure intentions.
Seeing his worried expression, Xue Jin'an originally wanted to come up with a solution to help him resolve the matter, but Fu Lu firmly refused: "No, Master, I will also be your right-hand man in the future. I am the first person to serve you. I am the eldest brother. If anything happens in the future, I will have to come to you to solve it. I will despise myself!"
Unbeknownst to Xue Jin'an, ever since Xuan Shiyi returned with his drastically changed appearance, the competitive pressure within Zhaoyang Palace had been increasing day by day, with Fu Lu, who had been with Xue Jin'an the first, bearing the brunt of the pressure.
The one who was the most unruly back then has become the master's right-hand man, capable of independent thinking and action, while he has made no progress and needs the master's guidance even for the smallest things. How could Fu Lu be content with this? Moreover, although he didn't know exactly what the master was doing, he could sense that the master had grand ambitions. As the master's talents became more apparent, more talented people would join his ranks in the future. He clearly realized that if he continued as before, even if the master didn't demote him, he would take the initiative to step down and yield his position for fear of hindering the master's important plans.
Fu Lu had considered developing in multiple directions to increase his presence in front of his master. However, Ling Zhi was in charge of all the affairs of Zhaoyang Palace. She managed things very well and had not made any mistakes so far. She also had martial arts skills. If anything happened, she could serve as a fighting force so that her master could kill at will.
Another palace maid, Fuling, was responsible for the security of Zhaoyang Palace. She was incredibly agile, scaling walls and taking turns on duty day and night. It was rare for Fulu to see her before mealtimes, and sometimes Fulu even wondered if she ever slept, as it seemed like she was always on duty. In short, the positions of these two palace maids were completely irreplaceable by Fulu, who had absolutely no talent in martial arts.
The only person Fu Lu could replace is probably Shou Quan. Putting aside the fact that his intelligence network was initially built on the advantage of Shou Quan having a group of fellow townsmen, Shou Quan is now in charge of all the miscellaneous matters related to the master. This was originally a task that Fu Lu was assigned to after he started doing intelligence work but ran out of energy. Apart from that, Shou Quan's main job is actually to represent Zhaoyang Palace in external communications.
Shouquan's round face was so endearing that people would feel an immediate sense of closeness upon first glance. He was also incredibly cheerful, making him the most approachable person in the entire Zhaoyang Palace. He was always very persuasive, and the reason why Fulu's network of informants grew so rapidly was partly due to the fact that his subordinates had developed their own network of informants, and partly due to the recruitment efforts of Shouquan.
And strangely enough, the people Shouquan personally introduced had a higher loyalty than the downlines developed by others, and they were conscientious in their work and never caused any trouble. They were the kind of subordinates that Fulu liked the most.
Thinking about all this, Fulu not only didn't want to take over Shouquan's work, but he even wanted to give Shouquan the work he was doing.
He said, frustrated and dejected, "You're more suited for intelligence work than I am. I'm just a piece of trash."
Shouquan was shocked to hear this and waved his hands repeatedly in refusal: "No, no, no, you can handle dealing with people, but you want me to sort through information, analyze it, find the useful parts, and then put them together... please don't make things difficult for me."
Shou Quanguang's face contorted into a grimace whenever this job was mentioned.
Shouquan wasn't entirely without resentment at first. After all, the initial members of the intelligence network were mostly his fellow townsmen, and he should have been the most suitable person. He even secretly wondered if his master's choice of Fulu over him was because Fulu had been by his side the longest, hence the favoritism.
Later, when he saw how Fulu meticulously extracted key information from a box of messages that seemed completely useless to him, he realized that he really couldn't do this job.
Fu Lu could deduce whether the emperor was neglecting state affairs based on the type of paper the palace purchased, or whether the amount of medicine purchased increased. He could even sense that the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Hu, was probably about to retire due to exhaustion. If these messages were given to Shou Quan, he would simply say that the emperor no longer liked the paper purchased, or that the amount of medicine purchased increased, meaning that more people in the palace were getting sick. In any case, these were all worthless and nonsensical conclusions.
Shouquan deeply realized the absolute correctness of his master's arrangement.
Shouquan sincerely said to Fulu, "Compared to you, I am the real waste."
Fu Lu ultimately refused to relinquish his position. Since he couldn't, he had to deal with the rumors circulating outside. Finally, after hearing Cui Zui recount his stories of wandering the martial arts world, he had a flash of inspiration. He decided to follow the example of the all-knowing martial arts master who created a ranking of experts. Fu Lu published a book in the palace listing the ranks and hobbies of eunuchs and palace maids from various departments. It was a limited edition with inflated prices, and he even secretly engaged in coded underground transactions, clearly making money behind his master's back.
However, his book was so truthful and reliable that it sold out as soon as it was published. Many people wanted to get a copy, and when they actually asked Fu Lu for one, he would just say that he dared not do it again for fear of being discovered by his master.
Fu Lu armed himself with the stench of gold, silver, and money, tarnishing himself to make others think he was a greedy person. But he also used sneaky behavior to separate the Seventh Prince from the picture book, and then shifted everyone's attention to the picture book, making his presence less noticeable.
Fu Lu resolved the matter in this way. Although his reputation as the emperor's all-knowing scholar remained prominent, his opinions were mixed, and he would not attract the attention of a chief steward like Li Hechun. In the near future, he would not be exposed to the sight of their master.
Xue Jin'an highly praised his solution.
After hearing the news from Lu Bingzhu, the supervisor immediately wanted to thank Fulu and give away most of his wealth, but Lu Bingzhu stopped him again.
"Take this money and live comfortably in your old age. If you are truly grateful, you might as well spread the good name of the Seventh Prince when you return to your hometown." Lu Bingzhu had a place to serve clothes and knew that the "money pit" in the capital, Jiu Tianyi, was owned by the Seventh Prince. The money handled there on a daily basis was in the thousands or tens of thousands of taels. This old eunuch's half of his wealth might be a huge sum for ordinary people, but compared to the size of Jiu Tianyi, it was far less.
Fu Lu is not short of money. On the contrary, if this person were to express his gratitude to Fu Lu in person, he would be seized upon by someone with ulterior motives. Lu Bingzhu simply took it upon himself to resolve the matter by saying that it was a trivial matter and that it would be a good deed.
Lu Bingzhu didn't take this small act of kindness to heart. What he didn't know was that the supervisor really listened to him. After leaving the palace, he had been collecting information about the Seventh Prince's deeds and wanted to support the Seventh Prince's business with half of his wealth. However, he had no connections and after investigating, he couldn't find the Seventh Prince's business, but he did find out about Cui Zui, the apparent owner of Jiu Tian Yi.
Cui Zui was close to the Seventh Prince, which was practically part of the Seventh Prince's influence. The Supervisor thought he would invest all his money in it, but he found that Jiu Tian Yi was an expensive place. He couldn't afford a membership with his entire fortune. So the Supervisor had to settle for spending his money in the bookstore, buying a bunch of cards and books, and then left the capital and returned home in disappointment.
However, after returning to his hometown, he still remembered this matter, so instead of buying a large house and some land as he had planned and living the life of a landlord in the countryside, he bought a small shop in a bustling town and put the cards and books he had bought inside. He did not sell either of these items, but instead imitated the model of "Nine Plus One" and opened the shop for free, only charging a small fee for table space and tea.
Soon the shop became lively. During the day, many poor students came to the shop to read, and in the evening, women and men who had nothing to do would come here to play cards and chat. The supervisor would watch with a smile as the customers brought a bunch of juveniles and told them the story of the Seventh Prince.
The stories of "The Seventh Prince's Unparalleled Bravery and Fearlessness in the Face of Oppression: Outwitting the Evil Consort to Avenge His Mother," "The Seventh Prince's Stunning Strike Destroys the Rong and Di Barbarians, Making Heroes of the World Bow Down in Admiration," and "The Seventh Prince's Skill in Taking on Twenty Imperial Guards" were later adapted into operas and folk tales, and were even made into TV series and movies by later generations, becoming classics that have been passed down through the ages. Even long afterward, when humans excavated ancient history, these stories became evidence of the existence of this emperor who reigned for all ages.
A tiny butterfly fluttered its wings in a deserted corner, leaving behind a precious chapter in the history of an era.
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