Chapter 23
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After saying that, Fu Nian felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around and saw Rendong giving him an anxious look.
“Imperial Guard Lian, both thunder and rain are bestowed by the Emperor, and especially this opportunity for promotion is rare. Are you sure you want to resist the imperial decree?”
“Yes,” Fu Nian answered without hesitation, “This subordinate knows that I am careless by nature and not suitable for heavy responsibilities. It’s difficult to receive such kindness.”
For refusing the decree of favor, the consequences weren’t fatal; at most, he might be fined or demoted. But if he were to serve in the front hall… seeing Chu Zhaoyi’s face, it would be as painful as being tormented by a bad wife. He’d have to face it day after day, which would likely lead to his end within two months.
Furthermore, he had promised his Senior Brother that he would stay away from Chu Zhaoyi. He was hoping that his Senior Brother, this “human messenger pigeon,” would help him more in the future. If he angered this person, it would be inconvenient to investigate matters later on.
After uttering that “yes,” a long silence followed. Fu Nian heard the sound of the reward money being placed in front of him, and then immediately the footsteps of the eunuchs rapidly departed.
Once the eunuchs were gone, Fu Nian picked up the reward money and counted it in front of him.
“Are you crazy, Lian Nian?”
While he was counting the reward money, Fu Nian felt himself being shaken vigorously.
Fu Nian naturally knew that his behavior might be hard for ordinary people to understand, so he changed the subject, “The injury on my shoulder hasn’t healed.”
As expected, Rendong stopped shaking him, but his gaze remained fixed on him.
“I’m not crazy. I said before that I have no desire to work in the front hall. I’m not the type to be diplomatic in front of a moody tiger,” Fu Nian explained again. “Now that I have money, I can finally pay off the debt I owe.”
“…,” Rendong didn’t respond.
Of course, he had heard about his debt and being pursued by creditors before.
Seeing that Rendong wasn’t saying anything further, Fu Nian let out a sigh of relief, returned to his room, picked out sixty taels of gold, and carefully stored the rest away.
From their previous meetings, Fu Nian had gathered that his Senior Brother wasn’t stationed in the palace all the time.
Since they hadn’t set a meeting place when they parted last time, Fu Nian thought for a while and decided to go to the same tree where they had met last time. If he didn’t show up by midnight, he’d go to the Mirror Flower Pond and wait there for a while. If he still couldn’t find him, he would come back tomorrow.
Later in the afternoon, Fu Nian carried the gold and quietly made his way through the crowd.
Today was the Ghost Festival, and in the evening, many guards would put up lanterns. It wasn’t about being romantic or anything like that; mainly, most of the palace maids would go to see. It was probably the only time they could openly meet and greet each other. Most people wanted to take a look.
After waiting under the tree for an unknown amount of time, Fu Nian sensed movement and quickly lowered himself even more.
As expected, after a while, he saw a familiar figure land on the eaves of the wall, dressed in black, features well-covered. After pausing for a moment, he jumped down.
Confirming it was his Senior Brother, Fu Nian emerged from the bushes.
“I heard you got some money recently. I originally came to claim your debt, but it seems you’re already on top of it.”
Fu Nian hurried to respond, tossing the money pouch over and leaning against the tree trunk.
“Oh, what happened to your injury?” Fu Zhen exclaimed as he saw the wooden board on Fu Nian’s right shoulder, deliberately recoiling, “Is that a real injury or just a pretense?”
“It’s real. Now that the debt is paid off, can I ask you for one more favor?” Fu Nian asked in a rush, noticing Fu Zhen hesitating for a while.
After a long silence, Fu Zhen replied, “I can help, but remember… I told you before to stay away from that old fox and not to fawn over him. Did you forget?” Without giving Fu Nian a chance to respond, he continued to inquire, “Earlier, that fox had even draped the dragon robe on you and held you in his arms. Am I mistaken?”
“Of course not forgotten. Earlier, that was… I didn’t know which nerve His Majesty tripped on, but once I realized, I rolled off the ground on my own and got kicked,” Fu Nian answered quickly, looking down, “Moreover, I’ve already defied the imperial decree for promotion to the front hall, all for the sake of our agreement.”
After saying the latter part, Fu Nian felt that his Senior Brother’s expression had eased a bit.
Though Fu Nian didn’t need someone to remind him, he would naturally avoid the sinister presence in Chengyuan Hall. However, Fu Zhen was so insistent… Fu Nian still couldn’t quite fathom his intentions.
Fu Zhen: “You’re clever. Speak, what else do you want to know?”
Fu Nian responded with an expressionless face, “I hope to infiltrate the sleeping quarters of the Chengyuan Hall.”
“What?” Fu Zhen was caught off guard by this inexplicable request, “What kind of request is that? I’ve said that I can only help gather information. I can’t help you with where you’re going.”
True, this matter was beyond the scope of their original agreement.
However, having someone else gather information… Fu Nian wanted to see for himself. Without seeing it with his own eyes, he’d feel a bit unwilling.
“Where are you going and what for?” Fu Zhen asked again.
“It’s not convenient to say,” Fu Nian replied, adding, “After the matter is successful, I’ll gather as much money as needed for you, and I’ll be at your service in the future.”
Upon hearing the mention of money, Fu Zhen impatiently interrupted, “Alright, alright, money will do. I’m different from that old fox; I’m not interested in raising dogs.”
“…”
Even his Senior Brother had concluded that in his past life, he was just a dog, hardly even a person. This indicated how miserable he must have been in his previous life.
“Thank you for your help.”
“After the matter is done, I’ll come to you for compensation. Let’s establish that from the start. This mission carries risks. If I get caught, I have a way to escape, but as for what might happen to you, I can’t promise anything,” Fu Zhen said, seeing no signs of fear on Fu Nian’s face, “The guards at the Chengyuan Hall are originally strict, especially the sleeping quarters. His Majesty is not in the palace right now because of the Ghost Festival. Choosing right now is better than waiting. What do you think?”
“Fair enough. But at this hour, why isn’t His Majesty in the palace?” Fu Nian cautiously probed.
Bringing up this topic made Fu Zhen’s eyes show a hint of disgust. “Perhaps he went to burn paper money at the place where my former junior brother died? After all, the beloved dog died outside; the owner should naturally go too.”
Seeing Fu Zhen frowning, Fu Nian wisely refrained from further questioning.
It turned out that during the Ghost Festival, Chu Zhaoyi would always go to mourn him, and he’d usually be occupied with state affairs or accompany the very affectionate Empress.
Following Fu Zhen all the way to the vicinity of the Chengyuan Hall, Fu Nian was almost dragged along. Besides not wanting people to see his martial arts techniques, the most important reason was that his prosthetic right arm was broken, rendering him immobile.
Once they reached the roof near the sleeping quarters of the Chengyuan Hall, Fu Nian felt Fu Zhen stop.
Looking down, he noticed more palace lanterns than usual, illuminating the area as brightly as daylight. There were also more guards with sabers than before, at least twice as many as the last time Fu Nian was here. They guarded the sleeping quarters closely, leaving no opportunity for infiltration.
“How do we sneak in with so many guards?” Fu Nian thought. Without rain, even if they tried to dig through the ceiling, they’d probably be discovered.
“Why sneak in? Why not just walk in openly?” Fu Zhen glanced in confusion and continued stuffing something into the gold-decorated metal ball with intricate patterns.
Fu Nian understood what he meant.
Since childhood, although Fu Zhen’s sword and blade skills were ordinary, he excelled in using medicine and poison. While he couldn’t compare to their master, he was more than capable compared to his peers.
“But they would be lying on the ground—”
Fu Zhen didn’t let the impatient person next to him finish and interrupted directly, “Why care about the consequences? What’s the use? I don’t have the ability to infiltrate such a place anyway.”
Before long, Fu Zhen handed Fu Nian a pill, motioning him to take it.
Immediately afterward, he brushed his sleeve, and in an instant, countless hollow gold balls silently disappeared into the night. It was unclear what these gold balls were made of, but they made no sound when they hit the ground.
Fu Nian watched from the rooftop as the guards below fell to the ground one after another without making a sound. The grand entrance to the sleeping quarters was exposed before his eyes, completely undefended.
“Let’s go.”
Upon hearing the order, Fu Nian couldn’t wait and jumped down.
He was finally going to see the true face of the Empress.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t excited… In his previous life, if he hadn’t suddenly heard the news of Chu Zhaoyi’s marriage, he wouldn’t have died so abruptly from poisoning.
With an anxious heart, Fu Nian opened the grand doors of the sleeping quarters.
The screen in front of him was the same familiar style. The furnishings and decorations inside hadn’t changed much since he left. If it weren’t for the guards scattered on the ground outside and the figure of his Senior Brother standing beside him… He might have felt like he had stepped back into the days he lived here.
“You have to go in quickly. I’ll wait for you at the door. The effects of the medicine are limited, hurry!” Fu Zhen urged.
Fu Nian snapped back to attention and hurriedly ran inside.
No footsteps, not even the sound of breathing… After a moment’s thought, Fu Nian recalled that he had seen a figure in the sleeping quarters last time, seemingly on the imperial dragon bed. With that in mind, he couldn’t help but stride towards the direction of the dragon bed.
The closer he got to the dragon bed, the more uneasy he felt.
Who could possibly be so favored to lie there?
Could it be someone he knew from before?
Or… has it always been the person Chu Zhaoyi held dearest, someone he wasn’t even worthy of knowing?
His temple throbbed with pain, but in an instant, he had reached the edge of the dragon bed.
The curtains were drawn all around, layers of light gauze that, although thin, created a near-opaque barrier when combined.
Taking a deep breath, Fu Nian used his hand to push aside the layers of gauze.
There was a person!
Through the faint gauzy veil, he saw a figure lying quietly on the inner side of the dragon bed, hands folded at the chest, lying flat like that.
—The person was dressed in a wedding gown more splendid and sumptuous than anything Fu Nian had ever seen. The phoenix crown and golden hairpins on their head were fit for an empress, even more resplendent and dazzling than any empress of past dynasties. The gems, jade, gold, and silver on their wrists were beyond calculation, and their face was covered by a bright red veil with pearl tassels.
Fu Nian stood motionless, looking at the figure that seemed to materialize and fade. He hesitated to reach out and lift the bed curtain, his hand trembling uncontrollably.
Since childhood, Fu Nian could sense things within a few miles around him. Or rather, any living creature that breathed, he could detect their presence.
—But, the person lying before him, just within arm’s reach, seemed to have no breath or vitality at all.
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