Chapter 166 [VIP]
What do you mean by framing someone? Can't you speak properly?
Gu Zhizhu shook his index finger and argued with him seriously: "The marriage talisman was obtained from Changfeng. Changfeng and Prince Jin are in cahoots. It wouldn't be wrong for me to say that Prince Jin instigated it. How can this be called framing someone? Don't you think so?"
Shen Xu glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his peach blossom eyes shimmering like waves. A cold snort escaped his lips, clearly indicating that he did not believe her sweet talk.
The young eunuch respectfully presented tea and Gu Zhizhuo's ice bowl.
The ice bowl is made of crystal glass, with a thin layer of shaved ice at the bottom, filled with cheese and fruit, and topped with a ring of golden honey. It looks so cool and delicious.
"You seem to be having a comfortable time."
"Thanks to you." Gu Zhizhuo picked up the small silver spoon and happily scooped out a bite of the cheese.
These eunuchs treated her well undoubtedly because of Shen Xu's influence.
"Master, have all the people in Hanzhang Palace been replaced?"
Gu Zhizhuo remembered that the faces seemed different from the ones she had seen last time, and even Li Deshun was nowhere to be seen.
"It's been changed."
Shen Xu slowly sipped his tea, his eyes lowered.
He couldn't move the Imperial Guards for the time being, but all the eunuchs in Hanzhang Palace were replaced.
He said, "Li Deshun is still here."
The cat nudged his hand, indicating that it wanted more dried fish.
"Ask her for it."
"Meow~"
Shen Mao went to Gu Zhizhuo again and acted coquettishly.
Gu Zhizhuo held a small dried fish to the cat's mouth, making the tabby cat's eyes light up and its whiskers twitch. She casually said, "Why don't you take it?"
"dirty."
Shen Xu's ten fingers were spotless. He flicked his sleeve, stood up, and walked away.
"Meow?"
Gu Zhizhuo slightly raised his eyes: "The cat is asking you where you're going?"
"Didn't you ask me to frame someone?" Shen Xu sneered, a smirk playing on his lips, the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye glowing bright red in the sunlight.
"I already said, this is called reporting the truth!"
Shen Xu snorted and ignored her.
Sheng Jiang stood there with his head bowed, completely adoring Miss Gu. She was the first person to be able to chat so freely and openly with the Eunuch.
"Meow."
The cat finished another small dried fish, meowed at her, stuck out its tiny pink tongue, and wanted more.
The dried anchovies are baked over charcoal and are only as long as a finger. The kitchen staff specially selected a type of fish with few bones and carefully removed all the bones from the head. They were specially prepared for the cat.
The dried fish was a bit oily. Gu Zhizhuo had just wiped her fingers clean with a handkerchief and didn't want to take it anymore, so she simply gave the whole bowl to the cat.
The tabby cat meowed sweetly as it devoured its food.
Perhaps fearing she might be bored, a middle-aged eunuch solicitously asked from the side, "Young lady, if you don't want to listen to the music, would you like to see some acrobatics? The Bell and Drum Bureau has found a troupe that is quite skilled in rope tricks, and their newly arranged acrobatics are quite interesting."
"How interesting?" Gu Zhizhuo asked with great interest.
“A winch more than ten feet high was erected, and ropes were tied to it, so that the performers could dance on the ropes.”
Gu Zhizhuo was moved.
"Let's forget about it," she said with some regret.
The eunuch, quite perceptive, chimed in, "Why don't we let them go to the Prince's residence to perform for you?"
"That's a good option."
Okay!
"I'll go and inform the Bell and Drum Division immediately."
The cat ate most of a bowl of dried fish, its little belly bulging. It squatted on the coffee table, licking its paws, leaving several greasy plum blossom-shaped marks on the table with its fishy-smelling paws.
It cleaned itself up neatly, and Shen Xu came out from inside.
He was all alone.
He dusted off his sleeves with disgust and impatience, feeling as if he were covered in that sour, rotten smell. His gloomy face made the surrounding eunuchs not dare to breathe.
Sheng Jiang hurriedly went to greet him and skillfully handed him a white handkerchief. Shen Xu irritably wiped his fingers, snorted at Gu Zhizhuo, and strode out.
"What a bad temper!" Gu Zhizhu shouted, "Stop!" and then tossed a sachet over. Shen Xu caught it easily, and a faint minty scent filled his nostrils.
The mint scent also contained other herbs, which dispelled some of the unpleasant smells.
Shen Xu's expression softened slightly.
Where are you going?
"The Prince of Jin's Residence".
Gu Zhizhuo pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go with you."
Shen Xu remained noncommittal and walked away on his own. Gu Zhizhuo took this as a yes, and told the young eunuch who was fanning her to tell Gu Yican in a moment, then picked up the cat from the coffee table and followed him with light steps.
After leaving Hanzhang Palace, the carriage headed straight for the Prince of Jin's residence.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't ride a horse, but hitched a ride in his carriage and said, "Sister Yin's pulse is much calmer, but her vital energy is severely depleted, and it won't be able to recover in just a few days."
Yin Xiyan is unable to move and is still living in the small courtyard behind Tianxi Building. She had her pulse checked yesterday.
"The medicine I prescribed must be taken every day. Please remember to have someone keep an eye on it. If it is not taken properly, it will shorten your lifespan."
Shen Xu said, "Her face..."
Gu Zhizhuo admitted frankly, "There's nothing I can do, it's been too long."
There are always things in this world that cannot be done, just like in her previous life, she couldn't save her own face.
Shen Xu nodded, no longer dwelling on it.
Ten years have passed since we last met; I am fortunate to be alive.
He leaned back on the pillow, stroking the small jade pendant on his wrist. The carriage passed through Zhaowu Street, and suddenly everything became quiet, as if he had suddenly walked from the bustling city into a dark alley. Gu Zhizhuo glanced outside and saw that the entire Zhaowu Street had been blocked by the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Only this carriage was traveling at a leisurely pace.
She remembered that the Qi family lived here.
"Qi Guangping was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Yongzhou in the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era," Shen Xu said calmly. "The Prince of Jin once served under him. Shortly after Qi Guangping arrived in Yongzhou, he used the pretext of suppressing bandits to transfer troops from various cities."
Shen Xu's voice was as nonchalant as ever.
"This person was transferred back to the capital by Prince Chen."
The collaboration with Gongzi Chen was quite pleasant.
There was no need for further explanation; Gongzi Chen could make arrangements that satisfied him, including those for Qi Guangping.
"The person has already been recruited."
"Even the toughest tongue can't withstand three rounds of torture by the Eastern Depot, and can't endure the pain of having bones pulled out and skin peeled off."
Shen Xu stared at his ten fingers, his pupils seemingly reflecting bright red blood, and the nauseating sticky feeling lingering on his fingertips.
He wanted to wash his hands again.
Shen Xu carefully wiped his fingers with a brand-new white handkerchief.
Gu Zhizhuo turned around and asked with interest, "What did he say?"
The two met eyes, their phoenix eyes clear and their expressions frank, showing no reluctance whatsoever to "force interrogation."
It was as if everything was taken for granted.
There was no sanctimonious hypocrisy.
Shen Xu smiled slightly, wiped the handkerchief clean with his ten fingers, and tossed it aside: "At the end of the twentieth year of Taiyuan, Prince Jin brought Qi Guangping a letter, a private letter bearing the seal of Prince Rong."
"Prince Rong asked him for a favor, asking him to transfer all the troops from the various cities. He didn't give a reason, but only promised him 100,000 taels of silver. Qi Guangping, being short-sighted, agreed."
In the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era, 100,000 taels of silver… The Ji family embezzled over 100,000 taels of silver in the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era. The whereabouts of this silver have probably been found. Gu Zhizhu chuckled coldly.
She tapped the tea table lightly: "The Emperor was aware of the Blackwater Fortress incident from beginning to end."
This is actually not hard to understand.
The deeper the entanglement of interests, the closer the relationship. If Prince Jin wanted to rise to the highest position in the court, he had to let Prince Rong know what he had done for him.
Having enough leverage over him would prevent him from fearing that Prince Rong would kick him to the curb in the future.
"They deserve to die just as much," Shen Xu uttered. "Right?"
He smiled softly, his red lips slightly upturned, a wild and unrestrained madness on his alluring face, and faint bloodshot veins at the corners of his eyes.
Gu Zhizhuo answered without hesitation: "Of course."
Shen Xu was very satisfied.
The cooperation agreement I made with Xie Yingchen before only extended to the Prince of Jin, but now it seems that it can be changed.
"Meow."
The cat didn't understand, but that didn't stop it from loudly responding.
It nestled limply against Shen Xu's chest, its golden cat eyes cautiously glancing at him.
thump.
As he leaned against it, he suddenly lost his balance and fell onto the coffee table, his eyes darting around awkwardly.
Oh.
"Stupid cat."
Shen Xu grumbled irritably, his fingertips stroking the soft fur. The cat lay back comfortably, letting him rub its little belly.
The carriage stopped.
Upon seeing the insignia on the carriage, the Imperial Guards surrounding the Prince of Jin's residence immediately opened the main gate.
The Prince of Jin's mansion was in perfect order. The guards who had been kneeling behind the screen wall were all locked up in the waterside pavilion, along with the servants in the front courtyard of the mansion.
The guards did not enter the backyard; they only guarded the ceremonial gate and did not allow anyone to come out.
The carriage didn't stop until it reached the main hall.
Shen Xu carried the cat down from the carriage, and Gu Zhizhuo jumped down after him.
"Master Supervisor."
The guards all paid their respects, showing reverence and admiration.
Sheng Jiang followed closely behind, and said to the Imperial Guard standing to the side, "Go and bring Prince Jin here. The Commander-in-Chief wants to see him."
After saying that, he stepped into the main hall.
The Imperial Guards acted swiftly, and soon Prince Jin arrived.
Prince Jin walked into the main hall with a gloomy face. Seeing Shen Xu sitting casually in the main seat, he laughed angrily: "Chief Supervisor Shen, are you trying to usurp the host's position?"
The Prince of Jin's palm was wrapped in a piece of white cotton cloth, and blood was faintly seeping out from the cloth, staining it with patches of red.
Gu Zhizhuo was too lazy to get up, so she gave a perfunctory bow as a form of greeting.
The Prince of Jin stared directly at Shen Xu, and this condescending gaze made him extremely uncomfortable.
He said sarcastically, "Lord Shen, it's been a long time."
Shen Xu casually said, "The Emperor has woken up."
What? !
The Prince of Jin's pupils contracted, and he looked at him incredulously: "Are you telling the truth?"
Shen Xu smiled but remained silent.
Hehehe. Prince Jin laughed, his chest trembling, and said between laughs, "Is it His Majesty who has asked about me? Chief Eunuch Shen, you can no longer suppress the matter of deceiving the emperor and forging imperial edicts, can you?"
"No wonder you, Lord Shen, have condescended to step into my palace again."
Prince Jin has been staying in his own courtyard these days. The Imperial Guards have only sealed off the residence and have not taken any further action or disturbed the female members of the household.
The Prince of Jin was not actually worried.
He was a powerful prince, a member of the imperial family, and also held military power. What could Shen Xu, a mere member of the inner court, do to him?
This isn't a question of whether we dare or not, it's a question of whether we can't.
Unless Shen Xu is willing to disregard the lives and futures of his subordinates and fight to the death with him.
He has been confined to his residence for the past few days, but has not taken any action. Even after sealing off his residence, he only used Changfeng as an excuse.
This means he's crossing the line, and it also means he cares a lot about his subordinates. In this respect, he's lacking in ruthlessness, just as naive as he was back then.
“Lord Shen…Young Master Yin.”
The Prince of Jin laughed provocatively, "After ten years, you still retain this naive kindness?"
"To tell you the truth, back then, for me, it was just a game, a game to pass the time during the boring military life."
In the past few days, the Prince of Jin has remembered many things.
then……
Back then, Changfeng chose the Yin family's daughter as the core of the formation, and first sent the bandits to occupy Blackwater Fortress.
His original plan was to send troops under the pretext of suppressing bandits, but on his way to Blackwater Fortress, he encountered a boy. The boy had run away from Blackwater Fortress, but not to escape; he was there to ask for help.
The Prince of Jin had instructed that the other people in Blackwater Fortress could be dealt with by the bandits, but they were not allowed to harm the Yin family, lest any unforeseen complications arise.
Ironically, it was the youngest member of the Yin family, who was not implicated, who risked leaving the city to save people who had nothing to do with him.
"General, I come from Blackwater Fortress. A band of bandits has occupied our city and killed many people. Please help us."
The young man was upright and honest, like the bright moon, full of righteousness.
The Prince of Jin found him extremely amusing.
He came from the bustling capital to Yongzhou, this godforsaken place, feeling utterly bored. He wanted to see how this bright and handsome young man would gradually descend into despair.
How interesting.
The King of Jin granted his request.
The sky was dark and gloomy at the time, and the dust in Yongzhou was always gray. Prince Jin clearly remembered that he spoke with a joyful voice.
"Thank you, General!"
The boy led the way for them on a pony.
This elation vanished when he saw him drinking and laughing with the bandit leader.
When he told the people of the city that they could live if they pointed out that the Yin family was colluding with the bandits, it turned into a plea.
When he executed all 120 members of the Yin family in the name of bandits, his emotions turned into hysterical regret and despair.
The Prince of Jin stared intently at Shen Xu.
The boy at that time was just a game he played when he had nothing else to do, and he couldn't even be bothered to remember what he looked like.
Who could have imagined that this boy would crawl out of the underworld and reappear before him after more than ten years?
And at the most crucial moment, he suffered a great loss.
The Prince of Jin narrowed his eyes, clutching his throbbing hand.
At most, Shen Xu could only imprison him; he couldn't do anything to him. In contrast, what Prince Jin was more worried about was the backlash.
Not only the wound inflicted by Shen Xu's dagger, but even the small scrape on the back of her hand hadn't healed in days and was still bleeding profusely. Yun'er's condition was even worse; she had almost lost half of her face, and was living a life worse than death.
He was eager to leave the mansion.
“Now that His Majesty has awakened, Chief Eunuch Shen, you have missed the best opportunity to manipulate me. If you know what’s good for you, you should obediently release me.” Prince Jin chuckled. “Chief Eunuch Shen, as a member of the inner court, you can only rely on His Majesty to stand above the rest of the court. For the sake of your men, you should obey His Majesty’s will.”
"The emperor can lift you up, and he can also trample you down."
Prince Jin spoke coldly, with a hint of coercion: "In the end, the inner court isn't just about you, the Director of Ceremonial. Know when to stop, Chief Eunuch Shen."
Shen Xu clenched the small jade pendant in his palm, his knuckles turning slightly white.
The calming talisman on the small jade tablet was soothing the relentless violence surging in his chest.
Shen Xu curled his lips into a smile, his eyes chillingly cold.
He clapped his hands lightly three times, and a guard came in from outside.
The servant was carrying a tray, on which lay a bloodied hand. Prince Jin paid no attention, but then his pupils suddenly contracted as he noticed a small red mole on the little finger of the hand.
It's Qi Guangping!
Shen Xu smiled slightly.
"His Majesty has awakened."
His voice was soft and suggestive as he said, “However, the Emperor believes that you were the one who instigated the Ji family behind the scenes, poisoning them with witchcraft and causing them to do these absurd things.”
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin's face stiffened abruptly, and he blurted out, "Did you do this?"
Shen Xu leaned back in his armchair and said with great interest, "I am here today on the Emperor's orders to ask Your Highness how you colluded with the Ji family."
"Your Highness, are you going to confess, or do you want to experience the methods of our Eastern Depot first, like he did, before you confess?"
A note from the author:
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