A young eunuch in his mid-twenties, wearing a blue silk robe with bullfight patches, took two steps forward. He was of medium build, with an ordinary face. His pair of slender eyes seemed unable to open, and there was an lingering hostility between his brows, which made people feel cold in their hearts when they saw him.
The young eunuch walked to He Lie's side, bowed and accepted the order: "I am here."
His voice was shrill and eerie, and it gave off a cold and wet feeling, as if a poisonous snake was entangled in him.
The white porcelain teacup with embossed patterns in Empress Dowager Yuan's hand suddenly stopped in front of her chest, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she looked at Qin He.
Qin He, the eunuch superintendent of the Imperial Household Department, is the second in command of the Imperial Household Department, second only to the eunuch Li Han who holds the seal.
Qin He was originally just a small eunuch in Fengluan Palace. He served beside Empress Dowager Yuan more than ten years ago. Ten years ago, he helped Prince Kang block a stray arrow, which earned him the appreciation of Empress Dowager Yuan.
Empress Dowager Yuan supported Qin He with all her might and recommended him to the late emperor. Qin He was also a smart and clever man who could always guess the emperor's intentions. He was not only thorough but also ruthless. He gained the empress dowager's favor more and more. It took him ten full years to climb up step by step from an ordinary eunuch to the position of chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. Naturally, everyone in the inner court knew him.
But why is Qin He here? ! Chu You and Yuan Zhe's expressions suddenly changed. Chu You's eyes were cold and the joints of his right hand were creaking.
"Qin He, let you judge this matter." Chu Yi ordered calmly, with a calm demeanor.
Bright as the stars, graceful as the breeze.
Qin He raised his eyes slightly, revealing a sinister smile, and slowly leaned forward to make a long bow, and replied calmly: "Yes, Your Highness the First Prince."
Just a few words revealed a chilling feeling that could make one shudder with fear.
The eunuchs and palace maids nearby couldn't help swallowing, silently lowering their heads to stare at the tips of their shoes, even the hair on the back of their necks stood up.
Chu Yi looked at Empress Dowager Yuan who was sitting at the entrance of the cabin from a distance, and raised the corner of his mouth with a smile, but the words he said were to Qin He: "Qin He, if the interrogation is good, the Internal Affairs Bureau will be handed over to you from now on."
This sentence was obviously meaningful, and the smile at the corner of his lips seemed more like a provocation and a demonstration to Empress Dowager Yuan.
The teacup in Empress Dowager Yuan's hand shook violently, and the scalding hot tea overflowed from the cup, leaving a striking red mark on the back of her fair and delicate hand.
A burning pain came from the back of her hand. Empress Dowager Yuan's face darkened instantly. Her eyes were uncertain as she uttered word by word, "Very good. The person you want to plant is actually me."
Empress Dowager Yuan was certain that the emperor would fall into the water today, and Chu Yi had absolutely no knowledge of it beforehand. But in just a moment, he had already come up with a plan and decided to take action against the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Chu Yi, ah Chu Yi, he is so ambitious!
“Bang!”
Empress Dowager Yuan was furious and slammed the teacup in her hand heavily onto the tea table, causing some tea and tea leaves to spill out and flow onto the ground.
The noise frightened the two palace maids serving nearby so much that their faces turned pale.
Empress Dowager Yuan shouted at Chu Yi in a cold tone: "Kneel down!"
Chu Yi had a gentle smile on his face and said lightly: "The Queen Mother is old and in poor health. If you don't want to watch the show, go back to the cabin and rest."
The breeze gently blew his hair, and his calmness formed a sharp contrast with Empress Dowager Yuan's rage.
There was silence all around, and the atmosphere on the deck became tense in just a few words.
Empress Dowager Yuan looked at Chu Yi from a distance with cold eyes.
Their eyes met, and time seemed to stop for a moment.
He did not conceal the harshness in his words, and it seemed as if these four words were spoken to the Queen Mother.
Qin He didn't need to give any more instructions. The four haggard middle-aged eunuchs behind him randomly pointed to three eunuchs from the Internal Affairs Bureau who were captured by the Jinyiwei. The three men didn't even dare to breathe and were dragged into the small room next to them.
"Bang!"
The door of the small house was slammed shut, blocking out the gazes from outside, and it was like a slap in the face of Empress Dowager Yuan.
It was undoubtedly a great shame for one's own confidant to betray her in public. Empress Dowager Yuan's face flushed with anger, her chest rising and falling violently, and she asked word by word, "Prince, do you want to put me under house arrest?"
Empress Dowager Yuan was not one of those powerless and helpless women in the inner palace. Behind her were the aristocratic families of the entire Dajing Dynasty.
Although the power of these aristocratic families is not as great as that of the previous dynasty, if they unite, they can make the Dajing Dynasty tremble with just a stomp of their feet.
Empress Dowager Yuan cast her sharp eyes towards the emperor again, but a smile slowly appeared on her lips, and she asked again: "Could this be the emperor's intention?"
After being extremely angry, Queen Mother Yuan became very calm instead. She had an air of superiority while talking and laughing. Even when facing the mighty Emperor Dajing, her aura was not weak at all.
Even though Fengyang was sitting next to her, Empress Dowager Yuan felt a little nervous, but she couldn't show any fear.
As a daughter of the Yuan family, this is her honor and her foundation. She cannot lose the face of a girl from an aristocratic family.
The emperor seemed not to hear anything and just drank tea and amused Anle from time to time.
There were faint sparks flying in the air.
Empress Dowager Yuan laughed in anger: "Emperor..."
"ah--"
A sharp roar suddenly sounded from the small room with the door closed, like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heart, making people feel inexplicably panicked.
It is widely heard that the eunuch Qin He, the director of the Imperial Household Department, is cruel and ruthless, especially good at torture. He has 108 ways to pry open people's mouths and make them live a life worse than death. I'm afraid the rumors are true.
A few timid girls huddled together in fear, while others whispered to each other about all kinds of horrible rumors about Qin He.
Empress Dowager Yuan's eyes became increasingly gloomy, and the knuckles that were gripping the Buddhist beads were pale and bloodless.
Behind her, an old eunuch with gray hair was so nervous that his palms were sweating and the silver whisk in his hand was shaking.
"It's too cruel." Gu Yun'er looked in the direction of the small house and slightly frowned her delicate eyebrows.
Her voice was very low, and only Yu Chaoyun who was beside her could hear her.
Gu Yunmeng was really puzzled. It was obvious that the emperor had just fallen into the water accidentally and was unharmed. This was just a false alarm.
These eunuchs were indeed suspected of dereliction of duty, but they could be fined some of their salaries, so why use such cruel punishments? !
(End of this chapter)
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