Chapter 112 Eavesdropping
There is no time.
"I have to go." Shen Yu lowered her voice.
"Girl." Ge Liangji suddenly spoke, looking at her seriously, "Listen to me, don't investigate anymore. If you get caught in this, how can I explain to your father?"
Shen Yu looked at him deeply, without saying a word, and walked towards the end of the dim prison.
As soon as she stood firm at the door, a group of people came hurriedly. Leading the way were people from the Dali Temple, and following behind were Jinyiwei dressed in flying fish uniforms.
Fortunately, the person leading the group at the front gate was not Zuo Zong, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, otherwise he would have been recognized.
Before Shen Yu had time to think about it, the leader had already walked up to her and was startled when he saw Yu Cheng, "Why are you here too?"
The prison warden said, "Master Temple Warden, there is no other way. He will be executed tomorrow. I am afraid something might happen tonight, so I will come and keep an eye on him."
The Temple Secretary nodded, flashed his badge, and said, "I am here to assist the Jinyiwei in bringing the man back under the order of the Lord."
Chen Yu couldn't leave now, so she could only follow the jailer in, thinking that if she was exposed at this moment, this alley would have both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage is that street fighting cannot be carried out. They cannot attack in groups and can only take turns. However, it also means that once the opponent guards the exit, she will not be able to get out.
The jailer opened the door, and Ge Liangji in the prison looked up and saw Chen Yu coming back, and was stunned.
But he quickly adjusted his expression and said, "Jinyiwei, it's His Majesty who wants to see me."
The Jinyiwei has always been directly under the emperor's command, and no one can mobilize them except Emperor Tongxu.
Chen Yu thought to herself that Ge Liangji would definitely be executed at noon tomorrow to appease the public anger, but what was Emperor Tongxu trying to do by sending someone there in the middle of the night?
When Ge Liangji was taken to the prison, the prison was no longer important. The temple secretary threw the key in his hand and said, "Lock it up."
The direction he threw it was exactly towards Chen Yu. Chen Yu caught it and felt her palm sink.
There was a bunch of heavy keys, and she couldn't tell which one was for the prison door.
She held the key, thinking that she was just pretending, and no one would check whether the door was locked or not.
Fortunately, the prison secretary was smart and snatched the key from Shen Yu’s hand, saying impatiently, “Clumsy, I’ll do it.”
Chen Yu waited for him to lock the door, and walked to the door together. Si Cheng sent the Jinyiwei people away, and when he turned around, he saw the two people coming.
His eyes fell on Shen Yu, and a hint of suspicion suddenly flashed across his face.
Chen Yu saw something was wrong and said quickly: "The Jinyiwei took the person away.
Well, now that it's gone, we can breathe a sigh of relief and no longer have to worry."
The temple secretary's eyes turned and he thought, that's right, since the person has been taken away smoothly, it means that there is no problem in the Dali Temple, and this shift is over.
The prison officer said, "Master Temple Officer, since the person has been taken away, let's just follow the previous arrangements. The people below have been living in fear these past few days and are already very tired."
Si Cheng nodded and said, "Those who should hand over their shifts should do so, and everyone should go back."
The warden stretched himself and said with a smile, "I'll take the brothers out for a drink. They've been exhausted these days."
Then he patted Chen Yu's shoulder and said, "Come on, go have a drink with me, brother."
Chen Yu followed the prison warden, who took her out of the Dali Temple, and she heaved a sigh of relief.
He was about to speak when Chen Yu made a gesture to keep quiet and looked towards the other end of the palace alley.
The Jinyiwei men had not gone far yet, and the prison van carrying Ge Liangji was creaking as it pressed against the stone road.
Chen Yu tilted her head and whispered, "I won't go back yet. Tell him to go back by noon tomorrow at the latest."
The warden let out an "Eh!" but before he could stop him, he saw a figure rising from the ground, flying over the wall, and after a few somersaults, it disappeared into the darkness.
"What amazing kung fu!" the warden couldn't help but praise.
The Jinyiwei prisoner carriage was driving in the palace alley. Chen Yu ran quickly on the eaves, taking off the clothes of the Dali Temple jailer while running, leaving only a nightgown, and soon surpassed the group of people.
The Jinyiwei were all top-notch fighters, so she didn't dare get too close to them. She ran for a distance before quietly sliding down the wall, crawling on the ground and waiting for her opportunity to move.
The prison van was getting closer and closer. She clenched a stone she had picked up, aimed at the right spot and threw it. The stone hit the eaves and the tiles broke.
"Who is it?" The Jinyiwei stopped and stood still.
Tiles fell down with a clatter. While they were not paying attention, Chen Yu rolled under the prison cart, stuck to the bottom of the cart, and followed the cart into the palace.
The prison carriage seemed to travel a long way until it stopped in front of a palace.
Emperor Tongxu leaned on the couch and waited for Ge Liangji to come closer. He looked at him carefully and suddenly said, "Old Ge, how did you become like this?"
Ge Liangji took two steps forward, the iron chains on his hands and feet rattling, "Your Majesty, the same."
"I'm old." Tongxu shook his head and said, "We are all old now. At the beginning... Never mind. Sit down and have some tea. We are still king and subject. I will see you off."
Ge Liangji sat down at the table, took a sip of tea,
Praise: "Good tea."
"Can you tell what kind of tea it is?"
Ge Liangji shook his head.
Emperor Tongxu changed the subject as if he was just asking a question casually, "There is no one around me who can be trusted, and no one can speak freely."
Ge Liangji said, "Your Majesty thought that I was still a dead man and could take the secrets to the underground, so you let me come tonight, right?"
Emperor Tongxu sighed, "Old Ge, you used to be the Minister of Revenue. You should be able to see it most clearly from your position. My kingdom has been hollowed out by these parasites."
Ge Liangji laughed and said, "The termite that Your Majesty is referring to is actually one of my crimes."
Emperor Tongxu was stunned for a moment, "That's right."
Chen Yu lay on the roof and listened carefully. She removed a small piece of the roof tile, which allowed her to see everything below.
This was the first time she met Emperor Tongxu. He was very different from what she had imagined an emperor to look like. He looked no different from an ordinary old man, even more tired and weathered.
The conversation below continues.
"I am an emperor, and I feel very frustrated." Emperor Tongxu took a sip of strong tea to refresh himself. "Although I am an emperor, I am helpless just like you. Sometimes it is not because I want to do this, but because the situation forces me to do this."
"When I took over the Great Zhou from the previous emperor, it was already in tatters. I was ambitious and wanted to do something, but after working hard all my life, I only solved one of the five major evils."
The five major evils are fratricide, eunuchs fighting for power, treacherous officials running rampant, internal factional struggles, and powerful enemies abroad.
Emperor Tongxu got rid of the eunuchs, which was actually a great achievement.
"Six of my sons died in fratricide, six." Emperor Tongxu had tears in his eyes.
"Now there are only a few of them left. It's fine for Jifeng to be like this. I envy him. He is the prince who lives the most freely. He is benevolent and virtuous. It is both a good thing and a bad thing for an emperor to be too benevolent. If he was born in a peaceful year, he would have become a good emperor. But he was born at the wrong time. This ruined country needs a courageous emperor. The prince is courageous and capable, but... that's all."
Ge Liangji said: "That's better than being a criminal. Now the children and family members of criminals are either exiled or made into prostitutes."
The two chatted until almost dawn, but they were just having a long talk like old friends and did not mention any key news.
Except for Emperor Tongxu's "that's all".
What is hidden in that helpless "that's all"? Is there any connection with the Yanliangguan case?
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