Chapter 43
The next day, Luo Sanrong was still thinking about Li Yin's reaction last night. After she said that, Li Yin fell silent. Luo Sanrong didn't know what his attitude was. This incident made Luo Sanrong upset.
Luo Sanrong walked aimlessly and unknowingly came to the "secret base" where Ji Zeming brought her. She sat on the stone bench in the pavilion, holding her chin and in a daze.
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps. Luo Sanying turned around and saw that it was Eunuch Sun. He looked haggard and his eunuch clothes were wrinkled. It seemed that he did not sleep well on the floor last night.
Luo Sanrong didn't want to cause any more trouble and wanted to avoid Sun Neiguan. However, Sun Neiguan saw her as soon as he raised his eyes, stood up from the steps, and walked towards her aggressively.
Eunuch Sun grabbed her collar tightly, as if he was going to lift her up, and asked angrily, "You hit me on the neck yesterday and then ran away. Do you want to die?"
Luo Sanrong felt extremely wronged and secretly blamed Sun Zhong for not thinking twice. Last night, he was clearly pinching her neck, so why would he attack him from behind? She could only hurriedly deny: "No, no, that wasn't me."
Perhaps it was the sincerity in Luo Sanrong's eyes that calmed Sun Neiguan down. Sun Neiguan loosened Luo Sanrong's collar with an embarrassed look on his face.
Luo Sanrong said as she sorted out her clothes, "What I did last night was truly the worst choice." After a pause, she continued, "After drinking, I went to the Palace Maids' Hall and yelled, 'Yuexi, come out!'"
Sun Zhong pointed at Luo Sanrong and said, "You..."
Recalling what happened last night, Sun Zhong felt a headache.
At that time, Yuexi was going to break up with him. Sun Zhong felt a little uncomfortable and drank some wine. Somehow, he got drunk. Yuexi's resolute look appeared in his mind. As if possessed by a ghost, he actually walked towards the palace maids' hall.
When he arrived outside the palace maids' hall, Sun Zhong felt hot all over and the impulse in his heart became stronger.
He shouted Yuexi's name at the top of his lungs. Fortunately, Yuexi did not show up, otherwise, he really didn't know how to end it.
When he was in a trance, he saw Luo Sanrong and thought that if Luo Sanrong hadn't discovered what was going on between him and Yuexi, Yuexi might not... So when he saw Luo Sanrong, he thought that Luo Sanrong wanted to take the opportunity to threaten him, and he wanted to kill her in order to get rid of her. But he didn't know who attacked him from behind last night?
When he woke up, he found himself lying on the floor. Fortunately, it was still early and no palace servants passed by, so he quickly fled from there.
Today, when he was a little more sober and realized his loss of composure, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, he was full of fear and thought to himself that if he was seen by someone with ulterior motives and reported to the police, he would be in big trouble.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his steps became more hurried. He just wanted to find a secluded place to hide and pretend that this incident had never happened.
However, he knew in his heart that this was nothing but self-deception. Last night's absurd behavior had planted the seeds of uneasiness in his heart, and he didn't know when it would bring him endless troubles.
Seeing the changing expressions on Sun Neiguan's face, sometimes ruthless and sometimes annoyed, Luo Sanrong leaned forward and whispered to him, "Sun Neiguan, what do you want to do?"
Sun Zhong looked up suddenly when he heard that, and his eyes, which usually seemed calm, were now filled with panic.
He subconsciously clenched his hands, his knuckles turning white, and his Adam's apple rolled twice before he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Who? Me?"
"What else can I do?" He murmured repeatedly, "What else can I do?" This sentence was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, with a bit of self-deprecating smile.
Luo Sanrong leaned over and whispered, "Do you need my help?"
This brought Sun Zhong back to his senses. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Do you want to kill me?"
Luo Sanrong's lips curled slightly, and he leaned forward slightly. "What if there is a good way?"
——
The sandalwood in the gilded bronze crane censer was burning halfway. A wisp of green smoke slanted across the pile of memorials on the imperial desk, swaying gently in the light and shadow cast by the carved window lattice.
Prime Minister Ji Ke lowered his eyes, the hem of his brocade official robe pressed against the edge of the rosewood chair, motionless.
He had just returned the last memorial to the desk, the coolness of the rice paper lingering on his fingertips, when he saw the bright yellow dragon robe on the throne move.
His Majesty casually picked up the memorial on top. The four words "Urgent Report from the Ministry of Revenue" on the bright yellow cover were eye-catching.
He only flipped through a few pages, stroking the cloud pattern on the edge of the memorial with his thumb. Wherever his eyes passed, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Prime Minister Ji," His Majesty's voice drifted through the sandalwood, its tone unmistakable, "the Ministry of Revenue was attacked by thugs last night."
"Most of the granary has burned down," His Majesty paused, his gaze passing out the window. "The Minister of Revenue, Sun Xing, submitted a memorial this morning, stating that he wishes to retire and return home."
Ji Ke's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, "Yes, as the ultimate person in charge, it's only natural for Minister Sun to make this decision."
As he spoke, he reached out and straightened the scattered papers on the desk, his movements unhurried. The candlelight cast a faint shadow on the side of his face, flattening the usual curve at the corner of his lips, but there was no trace of panic.
His Majesty's fingertips paused on the imperial desk. His gaze, which had been somewhat solemn just now, suddenly turned cold. He spoke slowly, with an unquestionable pressure, "Then I would like to ask, I heard that Sun Xing embezzled the state pension, causing widespread public resentment. Why is there no mention of this in this memorial?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the imperial study seemed to freeze. Even the smoke from the gilded bronze crane censer seemed startled by the chill, swirling violently before rushing straight up.
The Prime Minister's expression was sincere, but his words were accusatory. "Your Majesty, how could you be so deceived by the words of ignorant people? Why would you only focus on the administrator's minor mistakes?"
After he finished speaking, he paused and continued, "Don't you know who the thugs who burned down the granary are?"
His Majesty showed a puzzled expression and asked, "Who is it?"
Ji Ke took out the mask that was left behind when the assassin attacked the Prime Minister's Mansion last time, pressed it heavily on the table, and said, "Everyone who has caused doubts recently has been wearing this kind of mask."
His Majesty saw the mask's even more puzzled expression and waited for Ji Ke to continue.
Seeing that His Majesty's attention had been diverted, Ji Ke smiled triumphantly in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He continued calmly, "The core of those people is Hong Jingxiu."
When His Majesty heard the name "Hong Jingxiu" again, his hands clenched suddenly, his knuckles turned blue and white due to the force, and the veins on the back of his hands throbbed faintly.
The deafening shouts of killing seemed to ring in my ears again, mixed with the screams of palace servants and the roars of the people. The smell of blood and gunpowder made it hard to breathe.
He saw countless ragged figures breaking through the palace gate, holding hoes and kitchen knives in their hands, rushing towards the guards and towards him with red eyes.
Among those crazy faces, the clearest one was Hong Jingxiu. The man stood in a pool of blood, his eyes were as fierce as a wolf, as if he wanted to tear the dignity of the entire dynasty to pieces under his feet.
He could even remember that he was hiding beside the desk behind the dragon throne, listening to the crisp sound of swords clashing, feeling the ground shaking from the fighting, and even his breathing was trembling with despair.
"Your Majesty?" Lord Shang saw that his expression was not right and called out cautiously.
This call pulled His Majesty back from his bloody memories. He blinked violently, and his dilated pupils refocused, only to see that the whites of his eyes were covered with dense red threads, and hideous traces were spreading under his eyes.
That is the sign of blood rushing to the head when one is extremely frightened.
His Adam's apple rolled, as if something was blocking it. He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth with great effort, his voice dry: "He's dead."
"yes!"
"That's why we took the risk to look for his flesh and blood." The Prime Minister continued without changing his expression. To His Majesty, Hong Jingxiu was his shadow nightmare, but he was not his.
"What?"
"You said those people are looking for a new core? Are they looking for Hong Jingxiu's children?" His Majesty's voice suddenly rose, with panic that had not yet faded, and a bit of incredible sharpness.
He suddenly remembered that ten years ago, Hong Jingxiu raised his arms and called on tens of thousands of people to die for him. That kind of appeal made the entire court tremble.
"It was precisely because of your Majesty's illness that I didn't dare report it earlier." He paused, "It's just that... the recent movements of Hong Jingxiu's remnants have been truly unusual."
His Majesty's throat tightened, and he felt that the sandalwood in the imperial study had become pungent.
He stared at Ji Ke's lowered head, his voice trembling slightly, yet he maintained his imperial dignity: "Catch them. Never...never let that happen again."
"......yes."
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