Chapter 29
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Fu Nian stood quietly in place, watching Fu Zhen jump up from the hammock, flustered and panicked. He maintained his expressionless face and wasn’t moved in the slightest.
“… ” Seeing no reaction from him, Fu Zhen quickly sat back down. “I’m really scared of ghosts.”
Scared of ghosts yet he dug up someone else’s grave and turned it into his own…
Fu Nian nodded vaguely, indicating that he believed it. His thoughts weren’t swayed by Fu Zhen’s nonsense. He continued to inquire, “But just now, without a doubt, I heard someone’s cries of agony.”
Fu Zhen countered, “Is that so? What kind of cries? I didn’t hear anything.”
It seemed that Fu Zhen didn’t want to answer, but Fu Nian was certain he hadn’t misheard… Could it be that it’s inconvenient to explain? Fu Nian pondered silently.
After a moment of silence, Fu Nian finally spoke, “Most likely I was mistaken. I’ve had a high fever these past few days, and it only just subsided today. My mind is still a bit hazy.”
“Hmm, make sure to take your medicine when you go back,” Fu Zhen said nonchalantly, then pondered for a moment. “Since you haven’t repaid the debt yet, just as we discussed before, help me out with tasks in exchange.”
“Alright.” Fu Nian’s purpose for coming here was to repay the debt. He needed to finish quickly so he could ask another favor from Fu Zhen.
After boldly infiltrating Chengyuan Hall the other day, Fu Nian had come to hold a higher opinion of Fu Zhen’s power. Many matters would be entrusted to him from now on.
Standing with his hands behind his back, Fu Nian awaited Fu Zhen’s orders.
Fu Zhen glanced at his obedient appearance, contemplating for a while, “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been reassigned to Chengyuan Hall, correct?”
“I will do my best to find a way to decline. I won’t go against your words,” Fu Nian calmly responded.
“No need to decline; you will serve there for now,” Fu Zhen interrupted hastily. “First things first, help me steal four imperial decrees. It’s not a difficult task; it just needs to have that cunning old fox’s own handwriting.”
This… isn’t a difficult task?
Fu Nian listened in utter confusion, wondering why Fu Zhen didn’t do it himself if it was so simple. However, he dared not express his frustration, so he simply lowered his head and remained silent.
“Did you hear me? Since you dared to sneak into the palace last time, stealing four imperial decrees should be nothing for you.”
Fu Nian remained silent for a long time, choosing not to answer.
His disposition had never leaned towards being emotionally influenced.
Mocking Chu Zhaoyi, criticizing Chu Zhaoyi behind his back—these actions came naturally to him. However, when it came to stealing from his former master, he felt a twinge of unease.
Seeing his lack of response, Fu Zhen added, “This task is worth a hundred taels of gold… And it’s not really stealing; I just need it to be in his own handwriting, without the seal. If there’s a seal, I won’t accept it, even if it’s a legitimate imperial decree. That old fox often makes mistakes or changes his mind after writing decrees. Just bring me the discarded ones; after all, those discarded decrees will be burned anyway. Waste not, want not.”
Fu Nian fell silent for a moment.
Without the imperial seal, it couldn’t be considered a complete imperial decree.
However, if all Fu Zhen wanted was Chu Zhaoyi’s handwriting, he didn’t need to bring him an entire decree; a sheet of paper used for calligraphy practice would suffice. If Fu Zhen wanted to collect decrees made of silk and fabric… those were relatively easy to obtain. The sect had received multiple imperial decrees back when the late emperor was still alive, and Fu Zhen, who was capable enough to assassinate his master, wouldn’t lack the ability to obtain a few decrees.
“May I ask, why does Sir need these imperial decrees?” Fu Nian dared to inquire.
“Of course, it’s for fun. Isn’t it amusing to collect mistakes made by the current emperor on imperial decree fabric?” Fu Zhen playfully retorted, “And the first task is to test your abilities. Plus, with your right arm still broken, I’d like to know if you can do physical tasks now. Can you use your prosthetic arm?”
Fu Nian:…
Upon the reminder, Fu Nian remembered that his right arm hadn’t healed yet.
“Coming to work and repaying a debt with a broken arm… I thought you were trying to scam me.”
“I will obey your orders.” To preempt Fu Zhen’s nagging, Fu Nian answered quickly.
Although he agreed, he was constantly calculating how to complete the task without stealing anything from Chu Zhaoyi.
Fu Nian was clear about the distinction between his loyalty to his former master and the feelings of love and hate between them. The latter indeed held resentment towards Chu Zhaoyi, but the former, Chu Zhaoyi had never mistreated him in the slightest.
“In half a month, I’ll come find you,” Fu Zhen reclined on the hammock, closed his eyes, and continued, “I have other matters to attend to in the next half month. If the task is completed early, find a way to hide it yourself. You may leave now.”
“Understood, I’ll take my leave.” After Fu Nian finished speaking, he strode towards the surface.
The stone steps were solid to walk on; at least, there wouldn’t be any hidden chambers beneath them. He also touched the stone walls around, confirming their solidness.
Once he reached the ground, Fu Nian decided to explore the courtyard once more.
He remembered the peculiar book from last time when he asked Fu Zhen about the frost-cold ginseng.
Under the cover of night, Fu Nian first searched through the main building, finding nothing. He then turned his attention to the study on the ground level.
Actually, he hadn’t held much hope since it seemed that the underground space was where Senior Brother carried out his daily activities.
However, when he searched the corners of the study, Fu Nian did find a clue.
He picked up a book from amidst the dust.
Just like the previous one, there was no title on the cover of the book.
In the dim room, Fu Nian quickly flipped through it, only to find that it contained illustrations paired with text. He hastily tucked it into his sleeve.
It was likely the same book he had seen before, the one describing how to prevent a deceased body from decaying for a long time, even maintaining its appearance from life. Thinking of the horrifying content he had seen that day, Fu Nian’s heart sank. He quickened his pace and headed back towards the palace.
He needed to return to his room before the morning court, lying down to pretend he was weak from illness.
The journey went relatively smoothly until he reached near the Imperial Hospital. He didn’t encounter troublesome guards, and there were no signs of his right arm’s wound worsening.
Slipping back into the Imperial Hospital, the night remained dark. Fu Nian glanced at the sundial in the courtyard and heaved a sigh of relief.
It was still early. He wished he had searched Fu Zhen’s residence a bit more thoroughly; he thought to himself.
Stealthily, Fu Nian headed inside the building. Not yet reaching the door, he heard the wailing of a medicine child from far away, “Your Majesty, spare me. This humble one truly doesn’t know where Guard Lian has gone. This humble one just fell asleep…”
Your Majesty?
Fu Nian stopped his stealthy steps, found a spot in the grass to squat down, and quietly listened to the sounds from inside.
Why would Chu Zhaoyi be here at this time of night?
Initially, Fu Nian had been relieved by the smooth journey so far, but now that he was at the doorstep, he was hit by a metaphorical hailstorm.
He squatted there for a while, hearing someone talking inside, although he couldn’t make out the words.
Following that was the medicine child’s sobbing.
Fu Nian decided he would return openly; if he encountered Chu Zhaoyi, he would say he had gone to the latrine. Otherwise, not returning for a long time would raise suspicions.
Thinking this way, Fu Nian took out the book from his pocket, faced no shame, and walked toward the room.
As he reached the door, indeed, the medicine child was still sobbing.
“Where did you go?”
Fu Nian hadn’t even stepped inside yet when he heard the medicine child’s voice choked with sobs, asking.
“The latrine. I saw you resting, so I didn’t disturb you. Did someone blame you?” After Fu Nian asked, he glanced around the room. Apart from himself and the medicine child, there was no third person.
The medicine boy shook his head.
However, Fu Niang had clearly heard the medicine boy call out “Your Majesty” just a moment ago. It was impossible to mishear, and indeed, someone was talking to the medicine boy earlier.
He sat down and waited quietly on the bed, not hearing any sounds apart from the medicine child.
Only then did Fu Nian sat up. He took out the book he had “appropriated” from Fu Zhen’s residence openly.
The room had no light, and Fu Nian could only read by the moonlight. He had excellent night vision, so dim lighting posed no difficulty for him.
However, when he opened the book, the illustrations inside stunned him.
They depicted…
Scenes of people intertwined intimately, vividly detailed, especially their expressions. These lascivious scenes… Fu Nian hastily closed the book, his hands and feet in disarray.
How could this be a forbidden book?
While hastily stashing the book, Fu Nian noticed that there was a slip of paper inside.
He picked it up and leaned closer to read the writing.
“To the little friend who enjoys prying into others’ belongings, a tiny lesson: if you wish to borrow something, you must ask me. You can’t just take things yourself.” After a long time of identification, Fu Nian finally recognized that it was written by Fu Zhen.
He clenched the note with an expressionless face, lowered his head, and fell silent. Besides annoyance, there was a sense of unnamed frustration.
Having left the sect for so many years, he still wasn’t as skilled as Senior Brother. He even fell for such a small trick, tripping himself up.
He sighed heavily, crumbled the note bit by bit, dipped it in water to ensure the ink was thoroughly smudged, and then threw it into a spittoon.
Lying back on the bed, Fu Nian looked at the forbidden book next to him.
Burn it during the daytime; if something like this is discovered, it would be a serious offense. With this thought, Fu Nian picked up the forbidden book, preparing to hide it under the mattress.
Just as he sat up, suddenly, Fu Nian sensed the flickering light of a lantern at the door. He was startled, hastily pressing the forbidden book behind his back and pretending to lie down calmly, adjusting his breathing as much as possible.
The footsteps were very light, almost inaudible, and he could only judge from the silhouettes cast by the lantern that someone was steadily approaching him.
In the silhouette, he could only see the figure of an adult man wearing ornate attire and a complicated headdress.
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