Love Lock

Chapter 270 Two Tables of Food

"Hiss!" Da Shisan gasped, stroking his chin and muttering, "This new emperor... could he have already had feelings for Consort Ru?"

Da Jiu turned around, glaring sharply at Da Shisan, then turned to the little eunuch and asked in a deep voice, "What does this have to do with you going out through the secret passage?"

The young eunuch flinched slightly before continuing, "Consort Ru refused to submit even at the cost of her life, so the new Emperor Jing cut off her daily sustenance. Consort Ru had no choice but to use her own dowry to continue her service."

His voice was filled with grievance, “Her Majesty has repeatedly ordered me to smuggle jewelry out through this secret passage to pawn it for daily necessities.”

Da Jiu frowned: "Don't Consort Ru's family know about this?"

The young eunuch shook his head: "Her Majesty comes from the Sun family and is the late Emperor's cousin. Now the Sun family is also in the new dynasty..."

He sighed, "The Empress did not want her family to know about her situation and be troubled, so even when she pawned her dowry, she never told the Sun family."

Da Jiu pulled out the pearl earring he had just found from his pocket: "Did you pawn this too?"

The young eunuch leaned closer for a look, then suddenly knelt down: "This, this is indeed Her Majesty's! This cave is too dark. Last time, I accidentally tripped and fell, and the jewelry scattered all over the place..." As he spoke, he pounded his head in frustration, "I must have not cleaned it up properly!"

Da Shisan rolled his eyes and sneered, "I thought I'd found some treasure, but it turns out it was dropped by you, you idiot."

Da Jiu ignored him and continued to press, "So, this secret passage was dug by Consort Ru specifically to pawn her dowry?"

"No. It was the late emperor..."

The young eunuch glanced at Da Jiu, hesitating whether to continue recounting the palace affairs. He had already said too much today; if Consort Ru found out when he returned, he would surely be punished.

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?" Da Shisan scolded.

Da Jiu knew there were many rules in the palace, and the young eunuch must have some concerns. So he encouraged him, "It's alright, go ahead and tell us! We won't tell your master."

The young eunuch paused for a moment before continuing, "The late emperor was inherently suspicious and distrustful of everyone. He always felt that someone might be plotting against him, whether it was the ministers in the front hall or the empresses in the harem. He was extremely wary of them all."

"Yes!" Da Jiu nodded.

Everyone outside knows this, and it was precisely because Emperor Jing was suspicious that he replaced the officials in the court. He was also extremely wary of the princes who were loyal to the emperor and loved their country, which is why he took back their military power.

The young eunuch continued, "Only Consort Ru, being a member of the Sun family and of the same lineage as the late Emperor, was the only person he trusted. Even while the secret passage was still being dug, the late Emperor personally told Consort Ru about it; not even the Empress knew. However, before the passage was completed, the late Emperor and Empress… Later, to facilitate the pawning of her dowry, Consort Ru ordered her palace guards to secretly work on it every day, and it took two months to complete."

Upon hearing this, Da Jiu narrowed his eyes and pondered.

Since this secret passage leads directly to the palace, and the palace is in such a chaotic and corrupt state, he must immediately send a message by carrier pigeon to inform the prince! Let's see what the prince's plan is...

Because there were still more than a dozen unburied corpses of secret guards outside Yinshan Cave, Da Jiu asked the little eunuch what supplies he needed.

Then he ordered Da Shi to watch over the little eunuchs in the cave, forbidding them from going anywhere until they returned.

After leaving the cave, Da Jiu ordered Da Shiqi to drive the carriage back to the city to find Yang Haibo, who was looking for the Mandarin Duck Hairpin. They took more silver notes, purchased some supplies, and transported them back here by carriage.

Da Jiu reminded him not to reveal the purpose of the shipment to anyone who asked, and to bring it over secretly.

The remaining brothers, together with Da Jiu, braved the wind and snow outside the cave to dig a pit and bury the body...

As darkness fell, the wind and snow were not heavy, but it was very cold.

Da Jiu and the others were busy in the outskirts of the capital for quite some time, while in the palace, because of the dark sky, lanterns had already been lit everywhere.

In the imperial study, the flickering candlelight cast long and short shadows on Emperor Jing's pacing figure, and also cast swaying light and shadows on his ever-changing face.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Kitchen has prepared dinner. Would you like it served?"

Chief eunuch Li Zhongxin cautiously stepped forward and whispered a reminder, but Emperor Jing abruptly interrupted him with a wave of his sleeve: "Get out!"

"Snapped!"

The celadon teacup slammed against the doorframe as the furious voice rang out, scattering shards of porcelain all over the floor.

Li Zhongxin dared not actually roll away. He hunched over and carefully picked up the broken pieces from the ground with his wrinkled hands.

"This old servant just saw a flock of palace crows take flight in the northwest corner, I fear it is..."

Before Li Zhongxin could finish speaking, Emperor Jing suddenly turned around, his dark dragon robe gleaming dimly in the candlelight: "You also feel something's not right, don't you? From the palace to Jinxiufang, you should have been able to crawl back by now!"

Just then, the evening drum sounded outside the window, its dull thud causing dust to fall continuously from the beams.

Emperor Jing thought for a moment, then grabbed Li Zhongxin's wrist with such force that the old eunuch turned pale with pain.

“Go, you personally lead the Imperial Guards to Jinxiufang and see for yourself. Get those from the Xuanwu Camp who have seen blood…” His Adam’s apple bobbed violently. “If they see… see anything they shouldn’t see, you know what to do.”

Li Zhongxin's cloudy eyes trembled as he caught a glimpse of the black iron token peeking out from the emperor's sleeve.

That was the tiger tally used to mobilize the palace's elite guards. He had served three emperors, and this was the first time he had ever seen an emperor use this token. Even when the late emperor suspected that the Prince of Cangzhou's achievements were too great for him, he had never considered using it.

"This old servant understands." Li Zhongxin knelt down deeply, and when his forehead touched the cold gold bricks, he heard Emperor Jing squeeze out the second half of the sentence through clenched teeth: "If there is resistance... there is no need to leave any survivors in the entire Jinxiufang."

Li Zhongxin respectfully received the token with both hands above his head, then got up and went out to make arrangements.

As the heavy palace gates slowly closed behind him, Li Zhongxin turned around and saw a solitary figure at the window of the Imperial Study.

As dusk fell, the emperor remained in the posture of supporting himself on the table with both hands, like a frozen statue. Only the twelve jade beads hanging from his crown shook violently, colliding and producing a soft, clattering sound like clashing swords.

The cold wind was like a knife, swirling and raging with fine snowflakes on Zhuque Street.

Li Zhongxin wrapped his mink cloak tighter around himself, his fair face turning slightly blue from the cold.

Behind him stood twenty imperial guards from the Xuanwu Camp, their armor gleaming, their boots creaking on the snow-covered flagstones.

"Hurry up! His Majesty is furious. If we delay, we'll all lose our heads!" Li Zhongxin's shrill voice was particularly jarring in the cold wind.

Turning the corner, the signboard of Jinxiufang swayed in the wind and snow.

The shop was about to close, and a thin shop assistant was struggling to push the last door panel.

"Wait!" Li Zhongxin flicked his whisk, his snow-white ponytail drawing an arc in the air. "The Imperial Guards are on duty, open the gate immediately!"

The shopkeeper was so frightened that he shuddered, and the door panel slammed to the ground with a loud bang.

Before he could react, Li Zhongxin kicked open the half-closed shop door and led the Imperial Guards in one after another.

The lights in the front hall were off, and the room was dimly lit. Li Zhongxin squinted and looked around, letting out a cold snort: "Search!"

The Imperial Guards immediately dispersed, ransacking the place, tearing silks and satins all over the floor. Apart from the waiter who closed the door, there was no one else in the entire front hall.

Li Zhongxin noticed a strange light shining through the crack in the back door. The light was a hundred times brighter than a candle flame, illuminating the crack as if it were daytime. "Something's strange behind here! Let's go check it out!" Li Zhongxin shouted, rushing through the corridor towards the backyard.

Several solar-powered lights hung from the branches of trees in the backyard, illuminating the entire backyard as bright as day.

Two tables of food were set up in the center of the courtyard, but... now only some leftover soup and water remain.

Shopkeeper Tang Xiaotong and Afu sat at the table with their arms crossed, lost in thought, as if waiting for something.

Hearing the commotion coming from the front hall, the two exchanged a glance and immediately stood up, pretending to start cleaning up the leftover soup and water on the table.

The back door was suddenly pushed open, and the scene inside made Li Zhongxin's pupils shrink.

Six enormous luminous pearls hung from the bare branches of a tree, emitting a dazzling white light that illuminated the entire courtyard in every detail.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of Drunken Immortal Wine. In the center of the courtyard stood two large round tables, covered with messy cups and plates, leftover food, and a thin layer of snow.

Upon seeing Li Zhongxin and the Imperial Guards swarming into the backyard, Tang Xiaotong, holding a dirty bowl, quickly greeted them with a smile.

"Oh! We're closed now. What kind of fabric do you need urgently, sirs? I'll light the lamps right away so you can choose what you like."

As Tang Xiaotong spoke, she put down the bowl in her hand, picked up a stool, and went to get the solar-powered light from the tree branch.

Li Zhongxin ignored him and focused his gaze on the solar-powered lights.

"What... what is this?" Li Zhongxin asked arrogantly, pointing at the solar-powered lights on the tree.

Tang Xiaotong stood on a stool, her face full of a fawning smile: "Esteemed sir, this is just an oil lamp that our master brought back from overseas. It's just a little brighter than ordinary lamps."

As he spoke, he made a gesture as if to take the lamp, "If you like, I'll take it down for you to see?"

Li Zhongxin looked at the young shopkeeper with suspicion, then glanced at the strange lamps.

"No need. Let me ask you, did any officials from the palace come by today?"

Upon hearing this, Afu, who was clearing the dishes, froze, his expression extremely unnatural.

Tang Xiaotong remained calm and nodded, saying, "Yes, there were more than a dozen officials who said they were ordered to search the area. They arrived around noon."

"Where is he?" Li Zhongxin's eyes flashed as he scanned the courtyard.

Tang Xiaotong pointed to the two tables of leftover food: "They just left not long ago. Look, all the food is gone, and there's a layer of snow on top."

He sighed, "These officials ate from afternoon until dusk, devouring all the finest dishes at Tengyun Tower. If it weren't for waiting for them to finish, we would have closed long ago in this awful weather."

Li Zhongxin walked to the table and used a whisk to stir a plate of leftover food covered in grease, which indeed looked like it had been sitting there for a long time.

He paced around the table, then suddenly bent down and pulled out a waist tag from the corner of the table, which was covered with a thin layer of snow—the very insignia of the palace's secret guards.

He brushed the snowflakes off his waist tag, thinking that the guards had been enjoying themselves and had forgotten about it on the table.

"How do you explain this?" Li Zhongxin's eyes flashed coldly.

Tang Xiaotong's hands clenched tightly within his wide sleeves, yet he still maintained a forced smile: "This must have been left behind by the officials when they were drunk. If you don't believe me, sir, you can go to Tengyun Tower to inquire. These two tables of fine food cost me twenty taels of silver!"

Li Zhongxin's gaze was fixed on Tang Xiaotong's face, as if judging whether his words were true or false.

A moment later, Li Zhongxin suddenly shouted, "Search! Turn Jinxiufang upside down!"

Upon receiving the order, the Imperial Guards immediately scattered, kicked open every door, and searched everywhere.

Tang Xiaotong stood in the courtyard, listening to the sounds of destruction coming from inside, her fingers digging white into her sleeves.

Half an hour later, the Imperial Guards reported one after another: "Sir, nothing was found."

"The east wing is empty."

There was only some firewood in the woodshed.

Li Zhongxin's expression was uncertain, but apart from the leftover food, there was indeed no sign of the guards.

He stared at Tang Xiaotong for a long time, then suddenly sneered, "Fine, very well. If my family finds out you're hiding something..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture to Tang Xiaotong, then waved his hand, "Let's go!"

"Oh my! Even if I had ten lives, I wouldn't dare to deceive you officials!" Tang Xiaotong exaggeratedly slapped his thigh and bowed repeatedly.

Li Zhongxin glanced at him, snorted, and led the Imperial Guards away.

Tang Xiaotong hurriedly bowed and scraped as he saw Li Zhongxin off, escorting him to the door. "Gentlemen, please take care, the roads are slippery in this snowy weather..."

Only when the footsteps of the Imperial Guards completely disappeared at the end of the long street did Tang Xiaotong slam the door shut, her legs giving way and she collapsed to the ground.

Afu also collapsed to the side, his face ashen.

"Oh my god! You scared me to death!" Afu adjusted his slightly askew felt hat, panting heavily, but didn't forget to give Tang Xiaotong a thumbs up. "Manager Tang, you're so capable."

Tang Xiaotong waved his hand, leaning weakly against the door, panting as if the tense scene just now had drained all his strength.

In the afternoon, the secret guards came to search, but Da Jiu and his men dealt with them all. The fact that he sent A Fu to Tengyun Tower to book a banquet was just for show for the guests in the front hall.

To his surprise, when he returned to the backyard after calming the guests down, he found that the bodies of the guards and Da Jiu and the others had all disappeared.

He knew that Da Jiu and his men had gone to dispose of the body, but so many guests outside had witnessed the palace guards entering Jinxiufang, and now they had mysteriously disappeared. The palace would definitely investigate thoroughly.

Therefore, he had to find a way to deal with the past.

Just then, the banquet from Tengyun Tower arrived, and a flash of inspiration struck him, and he immediately came up with this idea.

Taking advantage of the snow starting to fall outside, I had the staff close the shop early.

Then, all the staff ate everything on both tables, as if they were having a feast. Tang Xiaotong told the other staff to go home and rest, leaving only Afu and a clever staff member to help.

Tang Xiaotong had no idea about this deceptive method, so she could only bite the bullet and give it a try.

Fortunately, the whole thing unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.

Although it's unknown how the eunuch will report back, at least this immediate hurdle has been temporarily averted.

The rest can only be discussed when Da Jiu and the others return.