Chapter 33
This was his only two taels of silver, and half of it was gone in an instant! Xiazi trembled as he touched his empty purse, his heart bleeding with pain.
As a junior eunuch working in Qian Yuan Palace, Xia Xiazi was actually quite wealthy. The monthly salary in Qian Yuan Palace was already a level higher than that in other palaces, and there were also extra tributes from various places. Not to mention that he was a spy who did one job and received two salaries.
The spy industry is high-risk and highly specialized. One wrong move and you're down. Being killed is one thing, but being captured and tortured is the hardest to endure. Therefore, this line of work pays for risking your life. The old master is generous and pays ten times the market price, and intelligence fees are paid separately... If it weren't for this, Xia Xiazi would have been doing well in the martial arts world and wouldn't have been killed and sent to the palace.
In short, Xia Xiazi's income in the palace over the years must have been at least several thousand taels of silver, if not ten thousand. He had hidden it all away, and he had planned to buy a house in the capital to live out his old age peacefully after this job was done.
Unexpectedly, the emperor's pursuit came so suddenly that Xia Zi didn't even know how he had been exposed. He was so focused on escaping that he didn't even think about the money he had hidden.
After years of hard work, I only have two taels of silver left in my purse—oh, now I only have one tael.
How did he end up in this state? Xiaxia couldn't help but ponder this in her mind.
At first, Xia Zi just wanted to eat something. After all, he had just escaped and was injured, so he desperately needed to replenish his strength. He planned to create some chaos during the mealtime and then secretly take some of the princes' food.
The chaos was successfully created, and he secretly obtained some food, filling his stomach to about half full. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a little eunuch carrying a food box rushing over with great speed.
He was in such a hurry, as if he were about to be reincarnated, that he had no fear of the chaotic and congested scene before him. Despite being just an ordinary person without internal strength or martial arts skills, he managed to traverse the chaos with incredible speed and agility, leaping across rooftops and scaling walls.
Xiazi was involuntarily drawn to him and quietly followed him.
The young eunuch carried an air of someone who had spent too much time surrounded by food. In addition, he was clearly in a hurry, and when he encountered a fork in the road, he would subconsciously pause, as if judging which way to go. This indicated that he was not familiar with the prince.
It was someone from the Imperial Kitchen. Xia Zi was quite surprised, after all, even when the emperor wanted to eat, it was usually the eunuchs from Qian Yuan Palace who would fetch his meals.
It wasn't that the masters in the palace were particularly considerate; it was simply that food was most easily tampered with during transport, and silver needles could only test for arsenic poison. There were other poisons that didn't take effect immediately, and even if eunuchs and palace maids tested for poison, they couldn't detect them right away.
Therefore, to ensure food safety to the greatest extent, each palace would send its trusted confidants to fetch the food, so that if anything happened, the imperial kitchen could be directly contacted.
Of course, there's always a saying that you can't guard against thieves forever. If someone with ulterior motives really wants to poison someone, they can still come up with some methods. But ultimately, it just increases the cost of committing a crime, or is it safer?
The situation was unusual. Xia Zi, who was on the run, immediately became alert. He hid in the shadows and secretly observed the man. He then discovered that the man was going further and further astray, and his destination was actually to the north.
Since the Fourth Prince moved away, the area north of the Prince's residence has only had the Seventh Prince as its master!
Xiazi's eyes lit up immediately, and she perked up.
Xia Zi was hiding in the Green Bamboo Courtyard. He witnessed Li Hechun sending two unfamiliar eunuchs inside. He didn't dare get too close, so he didn't know Li Hechun's reason for sending them there and could only speculate and suspect on his own.
He suspected that his identity had been exposed and that the two men were sent by the emperor to arrest him. He also suspected that they were spies like the stand-in prince, and that they were confidants of the anonymous big shot who could transmit voice messages in secret.
Regardless of the suspicion, Xia Xiazi was determined to find out. She was just looking for an opportunity when it came knocking on her door. If she didn't seize it now, when would she?
The eager Xia Zi immediately took action. He pretended to be clumsy and spilled the soup he had taken from the Third Prince's food box all over the eunuch. This made sure the eunuch, whose clothes were dirty, couldn't be impolite in front of the prince. He apologized and offered to help deliver the soup. He also promised to take full responsibility if there were any problems with the food and would never reveal his existence.
Xia Zi had a good plan, but he never expected that the little eunuch from the imperial kitchen would knock him over and run away, not caring about the dirt on his body, rushing northwards while muttering, "There's no time."
Seeing that his legs were about to take off, Xiaxiazi had no choice but to knock him unconscious and forcibly take the food box.
However, the moment Xiaxiazi held the food box, her mind went blank. A huge countdown seemed to appear in her vision, with a flash of red light with each tick, and a calm, even female voice announced in her ears:
[Registration successful! Mr. Robber, congratulations on becoming a Royal Kitchen delivery rider. Please start accepting orders!]
You have successfully secured a new order. Please process it promptly.
Your order is about to expire, please process it promptly.
"No! Time! Is! Out!" The urgency made Xia Xiazi run like the wind. He didn't even have time to deal with the little eunuch lying on the ground. He used his light-footed skills to fly over rooftops and walls and ran wildly towards Qifeng Courtyard.
Closer! Closer! Closer! Xia Zi leaped into the air, and before she knew it, Qi Feng Yuan was right in front of her. The words "Your takeout has arrived" rolled on her tongue.
Your order has expired!
As her toes touched the ground, Xia Xiazi's joy vanished instantly, replaced by deep sorrow and grief.
Xia Zi, immersed in grief, did not notice that the little eunuch in the corner of the courtyard, who was clearing weeds, saw his face and his eyes flashed with shock and wariness. He quietly reached for the hidden pouch at his waist and pinched the poisoned plum blossom needle inside.
Of all the spies from the Imperial Guard who were infiltrating the prince's camp, only his weapon was poisoned. In fact, the hidden weapon he was best at using was coated with a deadly poison that would kill instantly upon contact with blood.
Eunuch Li conveyed His Majesty's message, saying, "This matter is very likely related to the Consort Zhen case. If that's the case, Xia Zi will definitely go to the Seventh Prince. They seem to want something from him. You must find out everything. In the meantime, if any emergencies occur, you are allowed to act as you see fit. Remember, before His Majesty issues any new orders, your first priority is to ensure the Seventh Prince's safety."
"To what extent? Completely unharmed?" This was the first time the scout had received such a mission, and he asked again with a rare hint of hesitation.
"...As long as he doesn't die, that's fine." After a moment of silence, Eunuch Li added, "If Xiazi wants to make a move, you can give him some time before taking action."
Ultimately, His Majesty still harbored some suspicions about the Seventh Prince. Eunuch Li sighed; the complex emotions that flashed in his eyes for a moment were unreadable to the spies, who did not press further.
Although he was also quite puzzled, on the one hand, he was to say that he should protect the safety of the Seventh Prince, and on the other hand, he was to let it go when someone attacked the Seventh Prince. These two orders were indeed somewhat contradictory.
But it doesn't matter; he only needs to follow orders as a formality.
He knew Xia Zi would come looking for him, but he didn't expect him to come so quickly. He watched Xia Zi head towards the Seventh Prince, secretly holding back his hidden weapon and not making a move immediately, carrying out his orders very meticulously.
As Xia Zi walked, she inwardly condemned her own servility, having given away the money without doing anything.
On his first day in this book's world, Xue Jin'an connected to the world's Heavenly Dao via WiFi. This served both as an update timer and a way to obtain an internet access license—essentially, expediting his own ID card application. With this, he could smoothly utilize his power and rationalize some of the irrationalities arising from his ability usage.
As for how these irrationalities will be rationalized, that's entirely up to their own imagination.
Xiaxiazi imagined that he was so excited to see that senior big shot that upon seeing the substitute prince, he was so bewitched that he immediately took out money to offer as a tribute.
Xiaxia thought to herself with contempt: "Your hands are really useless! The other party hasn't even spoken yet and you're already fawning over them. Have you forgotten the carefree and chivalrous self you were in the martial world after all these years in the palace? A real man never becomes a slave!"
—Oh, he's a dead eunuch now, that's alright.
Xiaxiazi calmed down and thought: Since the people have come and the money has been spent, I have to do something about it.
He put on a fawning smile and eagerly carried the food box to serve Xue Jin'an, saying, "Seventh Prince, if I had known it was you who ordered the food, I would have been even more attentive."
That sounded so damn familiar! Shouquan, who was passing by, stopped in his tracks, perked up his ears, and squinted dangerously at the little eunuch who had plagiarized his words.
It was a completely unfamiliar face. The assassination attempt had only recently occurred, and Shouquan was on edge. He wanted to warn Xue Jin'an, but before he could speak, Fulu quietly pulled him back from behind.
Fu Lu had been by Xue Jin'an's side the longest, and he could already discern some of his master's emotions from his expressionless face. For example, right now, his master was in a good mood, and he recognized the unfamiliar little eunuch, and was waiting for him to come to him.
Having learned from the mistakes of Wang Deming, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and others, Fulu now has a certain degree of confidence in his master's martial prowess and judgment, and his expression is quite calm.
Shouquan wasn't so confident, but he had to admit that if something really happened, he and Fulu, who couldn't even hold a horse stance for a quarter of an hour, wouldn't be able to stop in time to block a knife.
Shouquan could only stand behind his master with trepidation, waiting for things to unfold.
Ignoring Shou Quan's hostile gaze, Xia Zi approached step by step and praised Xue Jin'an with an impassioned tone, "I admire your actions in the Imperial Kitchen to the utmost. You have no idea how much that old eunuch Wang Deming usually torments his servants. Thanks to Your Highness, we are able to survive..."
After a long, seemingly heartfelt, simple speech, he looked at Xue Jin'an with eyes full of admiration and expectation, "Your Highness, this servant wants to work by your side like Eunuch Shouquan, even if it's just fetching water and sweeping."
Having heard that Shouquan was also a member of the Imperial Kitchen before, and that's how he managed to stay in power, Xiazi felt confident that she had completely replicated his path to the top.
He had already planned how to beat up Fu Lu and Shou Quan after arriving, take the top seat in Qi Feng Courtyard, become the confidant of the substitute prince, and then successfully connect with that unnamed master through the substitute prince.
The future looked so bright and promising. A genuine smile unconsciously appeared on Xiaxiazi's face.
"Are you done talking?" Xue Jin'an moved his wrists, estimated Xia Xiazi's size, and stretched his grip and arm strength to the maximum.
The maximum value that Xue Jin'an could adjust was the maximum potential that the original owner's body could currently reach. For the two teenagers, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince, this was a lethal force, but for an adult who knew martial arts, it could not be called a tremendous force.
Xue Jin'an tested the opening and closing of his five fingers, and then calmly said to Xia Xiazi, "Put the takeout down when you're done talking."
Xia Zi, who was full of emotion, was slightly stunned and didn't quite understand why all the words she had sworn allegiance to were not as attractive as the food box in her hand.
Fu Lu and Shou Quan, however, were quick-witted. The former stepped forward and took the food box from his hand without question. Then the two of them stepped back several steps until they were at a safe distance before stopping.
Xia Zi's temples throbbed twice; he sensed something was wrong.
Although the child in front of her was only seven years old and looked rather thin, although he only knew some basic external martial arts skills and had no internal strength, although he had no killing intent at all, although... many "althoughs" flashed through Xia Xiazi's mind, and each "although" was followed by the intuitive word "danger".
There's a saying in the martial arts world that you shouldn't mess with lively women and children, no matter how innocent and harmless they may seem.
Xiazi's body reacted faster than his brain. He tried to run away using his light-footed skill, but his arm was grabbed tightly. The child's half-grown hand could not hold his arm, and his slender fingers dug into his flesh.
Before Xia Zi could struggle any further, he was pulled like a kite, his vision spun around, and then he was slammed face down onto the ground by a powerful force.
Xiazi saw stars. The side of her face that had hit the ground started to go numb from the bone, and the burning pain of her skin rubbing against the ground came belatedly.
Xue Jin'an acted too quickly and with too clean and sharp movements. Even Fu Lu and Shou Quan, who had already noticed, didn't have time to react. They only saw a blur before the enemy was lying on the ground, looking extremely vulnerable.
The scout's hand, gripping the plum blossom needle, trembled, nearly piercing himself. He stared in disbelief, then became quite troubled: "Your Majesty, you only said that I could deal with the assassin when the Seventh Prince's life was in danger, but you didn't say what I should do if the assassin was killed in return..."
Surely we can't just eliminate the Seventh Prince? The scout lowered his worried face quietly.
"Rope," Xue Jin'an instructed the two men behind him, "tie him up, don't let him escape."
The enemy delivered himself to his doorstep, Xue Jin'an had no intention of keeping him under his nose, nor did he intend to let him go. —In fact, if the headquarters of the Imperial Guards were not the palace, and if they weren't the emperor's direct subordinates, then taking action against one would likely result in the capture of the entire horde. He would have also been quite inclined to arrest the newly arrived Blood-Clad Guard.
Although spies and agents throughout history have all undergone interrogation and testing, and possess a certain tolerance for torture, it's difficult to extract much useful information from them once captured. Xue Jin'an wasn't very knowledgeable about interrogation either, but he wasn't going to pass up a free opportunity.
Even though the live streams from the Three Judicial Offices would be censored by the damned anti-addiction program for minors every time they got to the important parts, he still had a large number of novels that the otaku had read. Even if they didn't contain large scenes of detailed interrogation, they had plenty of theoretical texts about various punishments.
As long as there is data to support it, Xue Jin'an is the strongest king.
Then the top player and his two support players, who were essentially carried to victory, looked at each other in bewilderment.
The clothes were sent to the laundry department to be washed, so there was no need for clotheslines in the courtyard; all the princes had their own kitchens, and bundles of firewood were sent there. Fulu made his own fire in the courtyard by using whatever materials were available, building a stove with stones from the courtyard and using fallen leaves and branches as firewood... After thinking it over, there really wasn't a rope in the Qifeng courtyard that was strong enough to tie someone up.
Fu Lu asked hesitantly, "Would a belt work?"
Xue Jin'an was a prince. He was out of favor simply because he didn't have new clothes to wear, but the old clothes he wore were still made of good material. His belts were more for show than practical use; they were fine for wearing around the waist, but not for binding people. However, for lower-ranking eunuchs like Fu Lu Shou Quan, their clothes and belts were all very rough and sturdy.
Xue Jin'an glanced at it and said, "Too thin and too short, won't do."
Shouquan said with distress, "We can't just go out and borrow from someone, can we? I can borrow some, but—" This is not something that can be said casually. Even if we only reveal a little clue, we have to be careful.
Xue Jin'an shook his head as expected. The two eunuchs looked at each other, both feeling frustrated because they couldn't help their master.
The scout, who had been watching from the corner of the courtyard for a while, tentatively spoke up, "Your Highness, I do have ropes here, but I have something to say."
He walked out and pointed to Xia Zi, who had been pinned to the ground for a long time without saying a word, his eyes darting around looking for a chance to escape. He said, "He is skilled in martial arts. However, we can only tie his hands and feet with rope. I'm afraid we can't hold him for long. He will find an opportunity to leave using his lightness skill. Then Your Highness will not be able to catch him."
"To completely subdue him, we need to render him incapable of movement, so that even if he has light-footed skills, he can't use them." The scout said, reaching for his waist to pull out the muscle-softening powder.
Although he didn't know what to do, he couldn't possibly release the assassin in front of the Seventh Prince, so he decided to listen to the Seventh Prince and subdue him for now. In any case, His Majesty had said that he could act as he saw fit in case of emergencies.
As for how to explain carrying muscle-relaxing powder with you... just say that you used to work at the Imperial Hospital.
The man, who usually only obeyed orders, rarely used his brain. He thought a lot, and it turned out that he had indeed thought too much. He didn't need to explain where the muscle-softening powder came from, because he didn't even have time to take it out.
“You’re right.” The Seventh Prince agreed with him, then looked up and asked earnestly, “If we break his arms and legs, can he still use his light-footed skills?”
The spy, upon touching the packet of muscle-relaxing powder, shuddered. His brain, which hadn't been used in a long time, went blank, and he even stammered, "Break...break their arms and legs?"
Fu Lu and Shou Quan were also taken aback by Xue Jin'an's words, but they were somewhat used to their master's ideas, and their minds started working on them unconsciously.
“Hmm, maybe not?” Fu Lu pondered. “Most martial artists have stronger willpower than ordinary people. They are used to injuries and have a higher tolerance for pain. If he is strong enough, he might be able to grit his teeth and get through it.”
Shouquan, who was a step behind in getting into the zone, nodded in agreement. He had a better understanding of the world outside the palace and said as if he had just thought of something, "Most martial arts practitioners train from childhood, and injuries and fractures are commonplace. So, many martial arts heroes actually know some methods to treat external injuries, and quite a few can even set bones."
"I suppose this is what it means to become a doctor through long illness, just like the Fifth Prince." When Fu Lu mentioned that the Fifth Prince had become a doctor through long illness, he was actually referring to the fact that the Fifth Prince knew martial arts and always carried medicine for his injuries. Last time he was injured, he used his master's cloth bag as a cover and pretended to use the medicine that his master had taken out.
The scout was unaware of this; he interpreted the sentence literally, since everyone knew that the Fifth Prince suffered from a heart ailment and was a sickly person.
Shouquan nodded in affirmation of Fulu's words, and stretched out his left hand to trace the clearly visible veins on his right wrist. "Generally speaking, a broken bone is not enough to seriously injure a martial artist. Some martial arts heroes are even active in the martial arts world even if they are missing a hand, foot, or eye. What can completely disable them is either the loss of their martial arts skills or the destruction of their meridians."
Xue Jin'an nodded in agreement, "That's true."
In martial arts novels, heroes are often portrayed as physically disabled yet resilient. Whether they're mentally unstable, insane, ill, or poisoned, even with a broken neck or paralyzed lower body, they can still effortlessly scale walls and fight with ease, earning impressive nicknames in the process. The most cruel and vicious methods used to deal with enemies are usually crippling their martial arts and severing their meridians. While protagonists and villains, as prominent characters, might have a stroke of luck to rebuild their meridians, others are left with that fate for life.
"I don't have internal energy, so I can't disable his martial arts." That leaves only the second option.
Xue Jin'an had an idea and gave Shou Quan, who had made the suggestion, a highly praising smile, "You're absolutely right."
"Hehe." Shouquan was so happy to be praised for the first time that he was completely overjoyed.
The scout, who had listened to the whole thing while sandwiched between them, looked at the relaxed expressions of the three men, then at the enemy on the ground, and fell into deep thought: Is it my fault that I felt my scalp tingling from listening to this?
Sweating profusely and not daring to utter a sound, Xia Zi: "..."
"Wait, wait, this servant has something to say!" Seeing that her fate was sealed, Xia Xiazi could no longer pretend to be deaf and mute. She quickly spoke up, trying her best to appear innocent, "Your Highness, this servant only came to seek refuge and had no malicious intent. There's no need for this..."
As autumn progresses, it gets dark earlier and earlier. Xue Jin'an checked the time and realized it was past mealtime. He still had a live stream recording to watch today, and he would go to sleep after he finished watching it.
"Let's talk about it later," Xue Jin'an interrupted him, not wanting to waste any more time.
Seeing Xue Jin'an grab his hand and about to carry out inhumane torture, Xia Xiazi twitched twice like a dead fish stranded on the shore, and shouted: "Your Highness, I know your secret! I know your identity!"
The person behind him stopped pressing down, and Xia Zi thought he had found a bargaining chip. Like a drowning man grasping at a straw, he disregarded everything else and spoke rapidly, trying to save himself, "I won't tell anyone. I'm here to surrender. I want to talk to the person behind you. You probably don't want others to know your identity, right? Cough cough—"
Before Xiazi could finish speaking, a packet of medicine powder was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, causing him to cough.
Xue Jin'an crumpled the paper containing the powder into a ball and stuffed it back into the spy's hand; it was the spy's muscle-relaxing powder.
Xue Jin'an had noticed the spy's actions earlier, not knowing that the spy's suggestion to make Xia Xiazi lose her strength meant using the muscle-softening powder. In fact, if Shou Quan hadn't proposed a more permanent solution, Xue Jin'an might have agreed to his suggestion. Unfortunately, that was just a hypothetical.
Xue Jin'an asked him for medicine, but he felt that maintaining this position was too tiring. When he cut the other's tendons later, he would have to prevent him from struggling. So he thought he might feed him something to make Xia Xiazi behave for the time being. As for why he asked the spy for it... because in novels, spies always carry a lot of things.
As it turns out, the novel is indeed true.
As soon as the medicine entered his mouth, Xia Xiazi swallowed instinctively. After realizing what was happening, his instinct as a spy made him want to spit it out immediately, but it was too late; some of the powder had already dissolved in his mouth.
The drug took effect very quickly, draining all his strength. His tongue, in particular, was almost unable to find its place in his mouth, but he still tried to say something, though Xue Jin'an couldn't understand a single word.
Shouquan suggested to Xue Jin'an, "Master, since he no longer has the strength to resist, let us handle the rest. Don't dirty your hands."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the two people next to him.
“Yes.” Fu Lu naturally nodded in agreement.
Then both of them turned their gazes to the only silent spy.
Spy: "..."
To fit in, the scout silently nodded in agreement, "Yes."
"Alright, Xiao Wanzi, then this matter is entrusted to you." Fu Lu patted his hand with satisfaction, and this time Shou Quan nodded in agreement, "Very good, we have high hopes for you."
The spy: "..." Why do I suddenly feel like I've been tricked?
"Well, it's good that Xiazi is in my hands. Anyway, he's been given muscle-relaxing drugs and can't run away. There's no rush to deal with him. I'll hurry back and ask His Majesty what to do first." The scout was already impatient. He said, "I understand. I'll take care of him."
Xue Jin'an checked the time again, still waiting to charge his phone to watch the live stream, and nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, he thought for a moment and said to Xia Zi, "My schedule is full today. If you have something to do, make an appointment for tomorrow. I'll book a time for you after noon. If you don't have any plans, you can come find me."
Xiaxia watched him go into the room with tears streaming down her face: "..." I'm afraid I won't be able to wait until tomorrow.
Damn it, he died with his eyes wide open because of a single bite of food!
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