Chapter 553: Delivering a Message

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at the kneeling Eunuch Wang before him; this person's scheming in the palace is truly deep, he has long become a slippery fellow.

Xiao Yin did not know how much of what this person said was true and how much false.

"Eunuch Wang, are you threatening this prince?"

Eunuch Wang drew a breath, smiled lightly, and said, "I merely wish to retire and return home, seeking a favor."

"The entire palace city belongs to this prince; do you think this prince cannot find those two?"

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wang instead let out a low laugh, then raised his eyes to look at Xiao Yin.

"Your Highness, you wouldn't dare."

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at the eunuch before him.

Seeing Xiao Yin's expression shift slightly, Eunuch Wang knew his words had taken effect; he slowly lifted his head to look at Xiao Yin.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, today's palace coup caught the emperor off guard; the emperor had no choice but to flee, and last time the emperor was rescued by Minister Gu Kang."

"This time the emperor, being a fortunate person, naturally has divine favor and a place to hide, but Your Highness cannot afford to wait."

Xiao Yin's eyes narrowed slightly; he had plotted for over seven years, never expecting that at the crucial moment a dead eunuch would appear to thwart all his plans.

He also never expected Emperor Longqing to be able to vanish without a trace; he had already dug three feet around the Hall of Nurturing Heart to search, yet found nothing.

Eunuch Wang looked at Xiao Yin and said, "Your Highness, such a clever person naturally understands; although you caught the emperor and Empress Dowager Ning'an off guard, your forces are far fewer than the Feathered Forest Guard and the Imperial Secret Guard."

"Moreover, many loyalist generals are on their way outside."

"If Your Highness stirs up this commotion, your reputation will surely be ruined; how can the souls of the Azure Dragon Army soldiers who died in Qi Sha Gu find peace?"

Xiao Yin clenched his teeth and coldly said, "What exactly do you want to say?"

Eunuch Wang sighed, lifted his eyes to Xiao Yin, and said, "I still say the same thing: as long as Your Highness does not harm the emperor or kill Empress Dowager Ning'an, I will reveal their whereabouts to Your Highness."

"After all, little time remains for Your Highness; I only ask that Your Highness allow me to return to my hometown."

"Your Highness, please make a decision quickly; more and more people are streaming toward the palace city—do you really want to see all of Shang Jing turn into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?"

"Actually, I know Your Highness least wants to be a traitor, after all, Your Highness cares about face."

"Yes, this prince cares about face, but I keep running into you shameless lot!"

Xiao Yin burst out cursing; Eunuch Wang had already hit a sore spot.

This situation cannot be broken; Xiao Yin never expected Eunuch Wang to have hidden Emperor Longqing.

Moreover, Eunuch Wang is right; he originally set this trap in the palace precisely to catch Emperor Longqing off guard.

Capture Emperor Longqing, put him under house arrest, then plot the next steps—who would have thought this slippery fellow would escape like a loach.

Now, if his people linger even one more day in this palace, those outsiders will also rush in.

Although those ministers have been detained by him, a couple of hours would suffice; if prolonged, it would also be disadvantageous to Xiao Yin.

By then he would have no choice but to really raise his Dragon Spring Sword and slaughter all those blocking the way; by that point, how the histories would record him, he could no longer explain himself.

"Your Highness," Gu Jiu Ling stepped forward, "since Eunuch Wang has said as much, let us heed him."

Xiao Yin turned his face to look at Gu Jiu Ling.

Gu Jiu Ling, however, rose onto her tiptoes and whispered a few words into Xiao Yin's ear; Xiao Yin's expression changed slightly.

Eunuch Wang slowly said, "Now that Your Highness has come this far, if you want a good reputation, you must put on a show."

Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling discussed for a while, then turned his face to look at Eunuch Wang.

"Eunuch Wang, any other requests, please bring them up together."

Eunuch Wang gathered his thoughts: "I have toiled in this palace all my life, with no children; naturally I hope to have some silver to support myself in old age—that would be best."

"No delay, Eunuch Wang, name your price!" Xiao Yin said lightly.

Eunuch Wang fixed his gaze on Xiao Yin: "I won't hide it; I ask Your Highness to write a document to be proclaimed to the world, namely that once you gain power you must not lay hands on the emperor or Empress Dowager Ning'an."

"Furthermore, this old servant also wants five hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"Converted entirely into banknotes, this old servant can rest easy!"

Gu Jiu Ling secretly drew a breath; this amounted to nearly one-tenth of the total tax revenue of Shang Jing.

This old fellow is truly outrageous.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yin opened his mouth and said, "Give you one million taels!"

Gu Jiu Ling froze for a moment, really wanting to reach up and touch Xiao Yin's forehead to see if he was feverish—had his brain really burned out?

The other side hadn't raised the price, yet Xiao Yin himself went out of his way to increase it.

Eunuch Wang also stared dumbfounded. He gathered his thoughts and slowly said, "Your Highness, are you just amusing this old man?"

Xiao Yin said lightly, "I am not amusing you; I want you to help me do something."

Eunuch Wang hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

In this world, who doesn't have eyes that light up at the sight of money? Although this person is somewhat formidable and ruthless, he values credibility highly.

What Xiao Yin promises will certainly be carried out; yet he never expected Xiao Yin to actually produce one million taels.

Not to mention revealing the hiding places of Emperor Longqing and Empress Dowager Ning'an; even if he personally captured those two, he would be willing.

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at him: "This prince orders you now to take people to the Tai Zi Fu and issue an edict."

"Such a clever person as you, having hidden the emperor, surely knows where the Imperial Seal is. I don't want that broken trinket; you affix the Imperial Seal and go to the Tai Zi Fu to deliver a message."

Eunuch Wang bowed respectfully and asked, "Your Highness, what message do you want us to deliver to the Tai Zi Fu?"

Xiao Yin coldly laughed: "These days the emperor has been ill for a long time, the palace physicians are at a loss, even my consort cannot fully cure the emperor's illness—this shows there is something fishy going on!"

As soon as Xiao Yin's words fell, Eunuch Wang's expression changed.

Xiao Yin tore down the bright yellow gauze canopy on one side and then handed it to Gu Jiu Ling on the other side.

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin worked together in tacit understanding; Gu Jiu Ling smiled as she took the strip of cloth Xiao Yin handed over, placed it on a nearby table, turned it, bound it with a hair tie, and then brought it before Xiao Yin.

"Your Highness, what do you think of the cloth doll I have made?"

Gu Jiu Ling's imperfect creation, though it resembled a cloth doll, was also a simple and honest appearance—not especially beautiful, just felt somewhat peculiar.

Xiao Yin raised his hand and gently pulled out the hairpin from Gu Jiu Ling's head, then fiercely stabbed it into the cloth doll's chest, then slowly moved aside, looking toward the front, where the already dumbfounded Old Master Wang stood.

Xiao Yin raised an eyebrow at Old Master Wang: "Old Master Wang, do you understand what the baby means?"