Chapter 299: Finding Someone Similar to Eunuch Zhu
In the Dongyou Imperial City, people dressed in imperial attire were everywhere, carrying portraits and searching for something.
At this time, one of the leaders stopped and looked at the people watching them not far away, then raised the portrait in his hand and shouted loudly:
"Have you seen anyone who looks similar to this portrait?"
When the onlookers heard the military commander's question, they all looked carefully at the portrait in his hand.
The picture on it shows an old man, clearly a man, but with a somewhat feminine feel.
"No..." The people looked at the portrait, looked at each other, and shook their heads at this person.
"Sir, I wonder what you are looking for this man for? We can keep an eye on him for you." One of the older men bravely asked.
"We are not looking for this person, but someone who looks like him. The emperor has been in poor health recently, and the eunuch who has been serving him has met with an accident. Our second prince is filial, so he wants to find someone who looks similar to this eunuch, so that the emperor can see him and feel more at ease."
The leader spoke the excuse he had prepared long ago and gestured to the side with the portrait in his hand.
"If you see anyone who looks like him, tell us. Once the second prince has confirmed it, you will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver." The leader looked at the people around him whispering and shouted again.
"Oh my God, a thousand taels of silver! My family can't spend that much in a lifetime!" A woman nearby exclaimed in surprise when she heard it.
"Yes, why should we farm? This person who looks like the one in the painting is the walking silver. I won't say more to you. I'll go look for him everywhere."
The other man's mind worked quickly. After he finished speaking, he picked up a portrait that was everywhere and ran away.
When others saw someone taking action, they immediately followed suit and started to grab the portrait.
The leader, seeing how much of a response his words of rewarding a thousand taels of silver had, began to admire the Empress's strategy. With such a large scale battle, as long as Eunuch Zhu was still in the imperial city, he would be unable to escape even if he had wings.
Before that, they first asked the guards at the city wall, and also looked through the records of leaving the city, but there was no sign of Eunuch Zhu.
Moreover, it was found in the palace books at that time that Eunuch Zhu was single and had no relatives outside the palace. The queen was certain that Eunuch Zhu must still be in the imperial city. After all, with his loyalty to the emperor, only by staying in the city could he be the first to know the news from the palace.
Now, it's not just them who are looking for Eunuch Zhu, but also the people of the entire city. He wants to see where Eunuch Zhu can hide.
The leader looked at the scene in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, and left with a group of his men.
As they walked, they forcefully took away people with similar faces.
Although most of them had never seen Eunuch Zhu, eunuchs were still easy to identify. It would be better to arrest the wrong one now so that they could directly take off his pants and find out whether it was him or not.
Just as everyone was dispersing, a person dressed as an old woman, with her back bent very low, looking as if she had been tired for a long time, looked at the portrait on the ground thoughtfully.
This person was none other than the eunuch Zhu who had escaped. Although he had left the city through the secret passage that day, he really had nowhere to go, so he thought of entering the city disguised as a woman so that he could know what was happening in the palace at any time.
During this period, his portraits were suddenly everywhere in the city. When he caught someone who looked similar to him, he knew that something must have happened to the emperor.
Thinking of this, Eunuch Zhu quietly touched his arms, pretending to calm himself down. Fortunately, the thing the emperor gave him was still there.
"Auntie, have you seen this person?" One of the soldiers saw an old woman staring at the portrait without saying anything, so he walked over and asked loudly.
"No, I just want to take a closer look and remember what he looks like so that I can get the money later." Eunuch Zhu was stunned for a moment, then turned his head away. Because he had been bending over, it made sense for him to turn his head away and not look at the soldier.
"Well, then you have to take a closer look." The soldier suppressed the ridicule in his heart when he heard what Eunuch Zhu said.
The temptation of a thousand taels of silver is indeed great, even a woman of this age is attracted to it.
"Yes, it's you, sir."
Eunuch Zhu bent down again, and it seemed that his head was about to touch the ground. Because he was a eunuch, his voice was inherently feminine, and coupled with his deliberate concealment, the soldier naturally did not hear anything unusual.
"Let's go." When the soldier saw Eunuch Zhu's appearance, he took a team of people and left.
What he couldn't imagine was that the person he had been looking for would actually be disguised as a woman, and right in front of him. He didn't even think of taking a look at the person's face.
"Cough, cough, cough..." When Eunuch Zhu saw the person leaving, he let out a breath quietly, then coughed, and tremblingly picked up the portrait on the ground and took it away.
Outsiders did not have any suspicion when watching this action. After all, a thousand taels of silver was indeed a huge temptation for ordinary people.
In this way, Eunuch Zhu kept hunching over as he shuttled through the imperial city and arrived in front of Mr. Gu's mansion.
It was already dark. According to his understanding, Mr. Gu had not returned for a long time since he attended court. It seemed that something had happened in the Golden Palace.
Just as he turned around, he suddenly bumped into a strong man.
"I'm sorry, old man. It was my fault." The big man pulled up Eunuch Zhu who almost fell, and then apologized softly.
"It's okay, it's okay." Eunuch Zhu waved his hand, not caring, and turned away.
The big man did not stop him, but lowered the brim of his hat and walked towards Mr. Gu's house. He took off his hat when he reached the door. When the gatekeeper saw the man's appearance, he hurriedly opened the door and let him in.
The man turned his head slightly and looked outside. In the hazy sky, he found that the man was Gu Qingzhi.
Seeing nothing unusual, Gu Qingzhi quickly turned around and walked in.
Eunuch Zhu, who was hiding in the dark and observing not far away, then left. It turned out that General Gu had returned, and it seemed that the emperor was saved.
At this time, Eunuch Zhu still remembered what the Emperor had told him, that he could only trust what the Emperor and the Third Prince said, so he did not step forward to stop Gu Qingzhi.
Obviously his decision was correct. After Gu Qingzhi entered the door, another figure quickly left.
"What? Gu Qingzhi is back?" In the Second Prince's Mansion, Shangguan Nanfeng was so shocked when he heard the news from his subordinates that he dropped the things in his hands heavily, then stood up from his chair with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Did you see it right?" Shangguan Nanfeng asked again. He had clearly asked his uncle to kill Gu Qingzhi, so how could he come back safe and sound?
"It was already late at night, and I didn't see it clearly, but it looks very similar." The subordinate felt guilty when he heard Shangguan Nanfeng's doubt. After all, he was far away and didn't see it clearly.
In the past few days, many of them were ordered to guard the doors of these officials to observe for any abnormalities at any time.
"Well, you step back first. Someone come over." Shangguan Nanfeng became unsure when he heard his subordinates' uncertain response, so he called a few people and ordered them to go and investigate again.
"Second Prince, I have stewed some snow frog for you to try." Just then, Li Yan walked in with an exquisite small cup.
Ever since he came back from his mother's house the night before and learned that most of the silver mines were in the hands of the third prince, the second prince has been unhappy.
"Leave it there." Shangguan Nanfeng waved his hand, and frowned again when he thought of what happened in the Golden Palace.
In the Golden Palace, although many people had given up and chose to be on his side, the people he cared about the most, Mr. Gu, the Prime Minister and the Grand Marshal, had not compromised.
Although Mr. Gu had just resumed his post not long ago, his previous strength was there after all, so he naturally couldn't force it.
The general is also very powerful, and if he is forced, both sides may suffer losses.
As for the prime minister, although the connections he has accumulated over more than ten years in office are not as strong as those of the general, he is Su Yue's father. He can't kill Su Yue's father, right?
There was also a silver mine. He almost killed Minister Li that night before he realized that Shangguan Nanxing had taken away most of the silver mine...
Thinking of this, Shangguan Nanfeng sighed heavily.
"Second Prince, if it's about the silver mine, don't worry. After all, if the Third Prince never comes back, once you find the Imperial Seal, everything will naturally be yours."
Li Yan noticed that Shangguan Nanfeng's face looked strange, so she tried to comfort him softly.
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