58: Chapter 58 The Prodigal Sons' Debut is Imminent
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's entourage had been away from the capital for half a day, and inside a side hall of the Eastern Palace, it was so quiet that one could hear the wind rustling the iron bells on the eaves.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen knelt on the ground, holding a wet coarse cloth, wiping the bluestone floor tiles bit by bit. This was where his master usually stood, and there could not be a speck of dust.
After wiping the last floor tile, he stood up and threw the coarse cloth into the water basin, sending ripples across the surface, reflecting his gloomy face.
His master had left, handing over this vast Eastern Palace to him, a little eunuch who was once only fit to sweep the latrines—what immense trust this was.
"In this Eastern Palace, not even a fly is allowed to fly around indiscriminately." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen adjusted his collar, his voice so low that only he could hear it.
The palace door was pushed open, and a little eunuch ran in with a flustered expression, his footsteps stumbling; he nearly tripped over the threshold.
"Chief Steward! Chief Steward Wang!" The little eunuch panted heavily, kneeling on the ground.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen did not turn his head, merely saying coldly, "Rules."
The little eunuch shivered all over, quickly straightened his back, placed his hands flat on the ground, and kowtowed again: "Reporting to the Chief Steward, we have caught a suspicious little kitchen servant."
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen's gaze narrowed; he turned around and walked slowly to the little eunuch, looking down at him from above.
"Where is the person?"
"Detained in the backyard woodshed."
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen took a step and walked toward the backyard.
The light in the woodshed was dim; a little kitchen servant wearing grey cloth clothes was tied up with five-flower binding and thrown into a corner, his mouth stuffed with a rag, struggling with muffled noises. Two Eastern Palace guards held his shoulders, making him unable to move.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen walked into the woodshed and waved his hand.
The guards pulled the rag out of the servant eunuch's mouth.
"Chief Steward Wang! Spare my life! I was just confused for a moment and got greedy for some silver!" The little kitchen servant sobbed, kowtowing frantically.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen ignored his wailing, his gaze falling on a few items on the wooden table nearby.
Two taels of broken silver, a jade pendant, and a letter sealed with beeswax.
He picked up the letter and weighed it in his hand.
"Delivering a letter?" Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen looked at the little kitchen servant, his tone calm.
"It... it was given by the eldest master of the Lv family, who said that as long as I delivered the letter to... to the Grand Imperial Heir, he would give me one hundred taels of silver." The little kitchen servant stammered his confession.
"Your life is truly cheap..." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen curled his lips, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "It seems that I haven't killed enough people, and my methods aren't ruthless enough."
He walked up to the servant eunuch and crouched down.
"Lv Ben is currently being watched by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and can't even step out of his front gate. The fact that he can still send a letter into the palace means there is still a hidden line inside and outside these palace walls." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen stared into the other's eyes. "Who is this line?"
"I don't know! I really don't know! The letter was given to me by Old Li, the purchaser for the Eastern Palace! I don't know anything else!"
"You don't know." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen stood up and clapped his hands.
He turned and walked toward the woodshed door, his back to the little kitchen servant, saying indifferently, "Since you don't know anything, there's no use keeping you. Pull out his tongue, gouge out his eyes, and throw him into the dry well in the back mountain."
The servant eunuch's eyes widened suddenly, and before he could even scream, the two guards had skillfully dislocated his jaw.
"As for Old Li, go arrest him. Anyone who has had contact with him, leave none alive." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen stepped out of the woodshed, his voice cold and severe.
Behind him came muffled sounds of struggle and the sound of flesh being torn.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen did not stop, looking up at the sun in the sky.
His master had given instructions: guard the Eastern Palace well.
What does it mean to guard it well?
It means chopping off every claw that reaches in, right down to the root.
He gripped the letter in his hand tightly and strode toward Duanben Palace.
Outside the gate stood four Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers, wearing xiuchun blades at their waists, expressions blank.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen stopped outside the courtyard gate and revealed a waist token. It was the waist token of the Prince of Wu's mansion; seeing the token was like seeing Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong himself.
The leading Embroidered Uniform Guard soldier verified the token and bowed, "Chief Steward Wang."
"His Highness gave instructions; I have come to check on the one inside." Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen put away the token and swept his gaze over the four guards, "In the last few days, there haven't been any mishaps, have there?"
"Reporting to the Chief Steward, apart from delivering food on time, there has been no movement inside, not even any crying or fussing."
"Hmm."
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen lightened his footsteps, walked to the window, and looked inside through a gap.
The light inside the room was dim; Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen sat on the ground, his hair disheveled. He held a dead branch in his hand, scribbling randomly on the ground, muttering neurotically.
"I am the Grand Imperial Heir... The Emperor loves me... Hanlin Academician Huang Zicheng will come to save me..."
His eyes were hollow, his eye sockets sunken; where was there any trace of the gentle, cultured, and benevolent Grand Imperial Heir from back at Fengtian Hall?
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen watched all this with cold eyes, then pulled the intercepted letter from his sleeve and took out a tinder stick.
A flame flared up, igniting the letter paper.
The faint firelight caught the attention of Imperial Grandson Zhu Yunwen inside the room. He raised his head abruptly and looked out the window.
When he saw Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen's indifferent face in the firelight, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, and he scrambled to the corner of the wall.
The letter paper turned to ashes in Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen's hand, drifting away in the wind throughout the courtyard.
Chief Eunuch Wang Chengen turned around, looking at the four Embroidered Uniform Guard soldiers at the door, his voice chilling: "Listen up."
"Now that the Prince of Wu is not in the capital, the wind in Yingtian Prefecture is very sinister. Be careful, or if something happens, no one will be able to protect you."
The four soldiers knelt on one knee in unison, cold sweat sliding down their foreheads: "We obey!"
...
On the main road, the warm spring sun made people feel languid.
A hundred miles away from Yingtian Prefecture, without the oppression of the capital, Fu Zhong felt his bones had become three taels lighter. He rode his horse, pulling open his collar to reveal his developed chest muscles, and shouted at Imperial Envoy Feng Cheng, who was ambling along slowly beside him: "I say, Feng the Hundred Things, can you hurry up? You're like a woman; if we keep going like this, it'll be dark!"
Imperial Envoy Feng Cheng was holding a snow-white handkerchief, carefully wiping an invisible speck of dust on his saddle. Hearing this, he lifted his eyelids and said slowly: "Fu the Hammer, what's the rush? Rushing to reincarnate? His Highness hasn't said anything, yet you're jumping around like a monkey."
"You're the monkey, you motherfucker!" Fu Zhong glared, making a gesture to draw his blade.
"Alright, alright, both of you stop talking." Prince Consort Guo Zhen, who was on the side, yawned, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. "We traveled so far just to listen to you two bicker? It would be better to be at home accompanying my tigress."
Duke of Cao rode his white horse in front of the others, listening to the chattering behind him, his head splitting with pain. He reined in his horse and turned back, a cold sneer appearing on his handsome face: "Everyone, do you think this errand is too easy and want to experience His Highness's methods?"
With one sentence, the noise behind him immediately quieted down by more than half.
This group of fearless second-generation rich kids, who walked sideways in the capital, were only afraid of two people. One was the old Emperor in the palace who killed whenever he said so, and the other was the Prince of Wu at the very front of the team who didn't talk much—that was a ruthless man who dared to charge into a three-thousand-strong army formation alone.
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong seemed not to hear the commotion behind him; he controlled the reins with one hand, enjoying the scenery as he rode along.
Eunuch Sanbao rode a small horse, following closely by Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong's side, holding a water skin in his arms, scanning the surroundings vigilantly.
At the very end of the procession, Chang Sen rode his horse in silence, like an invisible person. His face was somewhat pale, his gaze consistently avoiding the xiuchun blades at the waists of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the procession.
"Your Highness." Jiang Wan rode up, lowering his voice, "Three miles ahead is Liuhe County. The Embroidered Uniform Guard reports that the Liu Family, the largest local gentry in the county, is holding a birthday celebration for Magistrate Zhang Deguang tonight at the county's best restaurant, 'Yingxian Tower'."
Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong gave an "mm" sound, his gaze not leaving the book: "The Liu Family, is that the same Liu Family that encroached on military farmland and opened private iron mines?"
"Yes," Jiang Wan replied, "The 'Record of Hundred Evils' notes that the head of the Liu Family, Third Master Liu, has at least twenty human lives on his hands."
"Understood." Crown Prince Zhu Yuntong closed the book, raised his head, and swept his gaze over the listless young masters, the corners of his mouth curling up, "Pass the order down, tonight, we will rest in Liuhe County."
He paused, his voice not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears: "I invite everyone to have a drink at Yingxian Tower."
Upon hearing there was wine to drink, Fu Zhong, Prince Consort Guo Zhen, and their group's eyes instantly lit up.
"Long live Your Highness!"
"Haha, knew that following His Highness meant having meat to eat!"
Duke of Cao watched this group of playboys who instantly came back to life and shook his head helplessly, though in his heart, he vaguely felt that tonight's wine might not be so easy to drink.
He had read the 'Record of Hundred Evils'; that Third Master Liu not only had twenty human lives on his hands but was also a distant cousin of Hanlin Academician Huang Zicheng...