Chapter 281

Qiqi saw Hu Xiaotian's complex expression, knowing he was at a loss at this moment, she smiled and suggested: "How about you go to the Chuxiu Palace to serve? At least I can save your life. Top Point Novel"

Hu Xiaotian grabbed Qiqi's arm and said: "Princess, this is no trivial matter, after all it's two lives; in my opinion, we should pretend this never happened."

Qiqi blinked her eyes, seemingly understanding his meaning, and whispered: "You mean we should destroy their corpses and erase traces, then push this matter aside completely."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "I just asked; only those two came here, and only one person saw them enter, that person doesn't know the details, and I can guarantee he won't mention anything related to these two."

Qiqi said: "Are you planning to hide their bodies in the wine barrels?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You don't need to worry about this; in short, just pretend you never came here tonight and never saw these two people."

Qiqi nodded, then shook her head and said: "How are you going to destroy the corpses and erase traces? We're accomplices; at a time like this, not letting me participate is hardly fair."

Hu Xiaotian really felt both amused and exasperated, not knowing if all royal offspring were a bit abnormal; Qiqi showed no fear facing the corpses and even displayed great interest, so Hu Xiaotian, since you want to participate, fine—I'll let you be involved the whole way.

Hu Xiaotian then found two empty wine barrels, stripped the two corpses naked and stuffed them inside, then dropped a drop of Bone-Dissolving Water into each; this was also his first time using this stuff, he had no confidence in its efficacy, but as soon as the Bone-Dissolving Water touched the corpses, they immediately began to change, and in a short while they were completely dissolved. Inside the barrels only a small half-barrel of yellow corpse fluid remained.

Qiqi had been watching with interest, but when she actually saw the change before her eyes, she instantly exceeded her psychological tolerance, turned her head and vomited. After she finished vomiting, she gave Hu Xiaotian two words: "You damn pervert!"

It was already an hour after Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi left the wine cellar. Qiqi's light steps were noticeably heavy, her face pale and bloodless—not from fear, but from nausea. When passing Shi Xuedong's side, she didn't speak, just lowered her head and walked away.

Hu Xiaotian watched Qiqi go away, then finally let out a long breath. Shi Xuedong had been guarding the wine cellar door for so long; he discovered only Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi came out, and he asked somewhat strangely: "Where is Eunuch Wei?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "You must remember this well. No matter who asks you, just say we haven't seen Eunuch Wei; otherwise you might very well bring disaster upon yourself."

Shi Xuedong, hearing him say this so solemnly, hurriedly nodded and whispered: "Brother, whatever you say, I'll listen; in short, we two brothers will share weal and woe in this palace, live and die together." He, too, was well-informed and experienced; hearing Hu Xiaotian say this, he already more or less figured it out in his mind—it seemed that Eunuch Wei Huailin and that attendant eunuch ten out of ** had most likely been done in by Hu Xiaotian. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a jolt of fear; if this were exposed, not only Hu Xiaotian but he himself would likely lose his head. Hu Xiaotian patted his arm, also feeling his legs go weak, and sat down right there by the wine cellar. By then the sun was already setting.

Xiao Zhuozi came over just then, saw the two of them, and asked: "Eunuch Hu, I just heard Eunuch Wei was coming—did you see him?"

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Shi Xuedong, who shook his head and said: "What Eunuch Wei? There's not even a ghost. I've been hiding here with Eunuch Hu, chatting."

Xiao Zhuozi also came over, lowering his voice: "Have you heard? The Directorate of Imperial Eunuchs has sent Eunuch Wei to replace Eunuch Liu; he'll officially take up the post tomorrow."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Never mind who comes; the important thing is we just do our duty." Although Hu Xiaotian had killed two people, he felt no guilt whatsoever; the situation then was clear—if you don't kill the enemy, you'll be killed by them. Eunuch Wei Huailin had come intending to take the opportunity to get rid of him, and Hu Xiaotian didn't know why he bore such hatred toward him. To say that today, thanks to Qiqi being present, he otherwise really wouldn't have had confidence in dealing with Eunuch Wei Huailin. Although he used the bone-dissolving water sent by Quan De'an to reduce the two to nothing, Eunuch Wei Huailin was after all different from Wang Desheng; he held the rank of Vice Director of the Directorate of Imperial Eunuchs, a prominent figure in the palace, and his disappearance would inevitably cause a major uproar in Huangcheng.

Hu Xiaotian first went to attend Eunuch Liu in the middle of the night; although he didn't say that a drop of kindness must be repaid with a spring, he kept Liu Yuzhang's benevolence in his heart, and by attending to the old man at his bedside he was also doing his best.

Only when it was deep night did he return to the wine cellar. After cleaning it out, he crawled into the secret passage, dug up Wang Desheng's corpse and had it dissolved, then burned all three victims' clothes; as for their personal belongings and swords, he chose to bury them deep underground. Having confirmed last night that everything was flawless, Hu Xiaotian finally locked the wine cellar and returned to his own room. Shi Xuedong's side should be fine; he also doesn't know what exactly happened in the wine cellar. The real variable, however, is Qiqi—this willful little princess is unpredictable, her temperament hard to read; one doesn't know whether she will keep the secret. In fact, the safest course would be to silence her in the wine cellar as well, and Hu Xiaotian had indeed thought of that, but these days pass in a flash, and he finds that he still trusts Qiqi.

Just thinking that in these short three days already three lives have died at his hands—although each time it was unavoidable, the fact that all three died by his hand is indisputable. Even Baobao knows his secret of killing, and Hu Xiaotian increasingly feels that the palace is not safe; if any link goes wrong, he fears it will be hard for him to escape.

That night Hu Xiaotian tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he simply got out of bed, first went to the wine cellar to have a look, found nothing unusual, then went to Eunuch Liu's door and saw the light inside still on; Eunuch Liu would leave the palace this morning.

Hu Xiaotian prick up his ears, heard Liu Yuzhang's coughing from inside the room, and then knocked on the door.

From inside came Liu Yuzhang's voice asking; the door wasn't closed, so Hu Xiaotian pushed it open and entered, smiling: "Eunuch Liu, are you feeling better?"

Liu Yuzhang also hadn't slept well that night; seeing Hu Xiaotian come over so early to greet him, he couldn't help but feel moved: "Xiaotian, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"I can't sleep!" he said, speaking the truth—after all, having killed three people, it would be strange if he could sleep soundly. He sat down on the edge of the bed: "Thinking that Eunuch Liu is leaving today, I really feel reluctant to part."

Liu Yuzhang said with feeling: "From the first moment I saw you, I knew you valued loyalty and righteousness; Zajia hasn't misjudged you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Since I came to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, I have received Eunuch Liu's constant care; I have long regarded him as family. Now that he is leaving the palace, I don't know when we will meet again."

Liu Yuzhang said: "Xiaotian, you don't need to be too upset; with your intelligence and talent, rising in the palace is only a matter of time. After I leave, remember to keep a low profile—people's hearts in this palace are unfathomable, full of intrigue and scheming; for the sake of favor and advancement they will stop at nothing. Zajia is growing old, and once I leave this place I won't be able to help you much; everything will have to rely on yourself."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Eunuch Liu, rest assured, I know what to do."

Liu Yuzhang said: "Since the Emperor ascended the throne, his temperament has changed greatly, and the struggles in the palace have grown fiercer day by day. To survive in the palace, you must remember to preserve yourself with wisdom; do not meddle in matters that are not your concern."

Hu Xiaotian nodded again; compared to the scheming Quan De'an, Eunuch Liu is more like a kind old man—his concern for Hu Xiaotian carries no ulterior motive, merely stemming from his gratitude toward Hu Xiaotian's father. In feelings, Hu Xiaotian and Eunuch Liu are actually closer.

Hu Xiaotian said: "If I am still able to go out of the palace frequently to run errands in the future, I will certainly come to visit you often."

Liu Yuzhang smiled and said, "The gate of my household is always open for you."

At that moment, a noisy clamor came from outside; Hu Xiaotian rose and said, "Liu Yuzhang, I'll go see."

Before he could reach the door, the room door had already been pushed open. Outside stood more than ten eunuchs, each holding a lantern bearing the insignia of the Directorate of Imperial Attendants. No matter who they were, barging in without knocking is terribly impolite, after all Liu Yuzhang is still the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Gardens and a meritorious figure who raised the Emperor to adulthood.

Liu Yuzhang snapped, "Who is so rude?"

More than ten people split into two groups; a young eunuch in a purple robe with a black outer cloak stepped forward from the ranks, his features exquisitely beautiful, eyebrows like a painting, powdered face and vermilion lips; if one did not know his identity as a eunuch, one would think he was a woman dressed as a man.

Hu Xiaotian secretly praised, thinking this fellow must be a hermaphrodite—how could he be so handsome, more beautiful and alluring than a woman?

Liu Yuzhang recognized the visitor: it was none other than Ji Feihua, Superintendent of the Directorate of Imperial Attendants, also the eunuch most favored by the present Emperor. Since Long Yelin ascended the throne, Ji Feihua's status has risen rapidly; among eunuchs, his rank is second only to Quan De'an of the Directorate of Rites. This decision to send Wei Hualin to replace Liu Yuzhang was due to Ji Feihua's behind-the-scenes influence.

Ji Feihua laughed, his smile exceedingly alluring, every gesture exuding a feminine charm, though his voice still bore the obvious traits of a eunuch: "Liu Yuzhang, there's no need to be angry; these servants don't understand, anxious to check on your condition, they forgot to knock."

That excuse is really far-fetched; Liu Yuzhang has been injured for so long, yet they only now come to visit and claim they were anxious.

Liu Yuzhang's face showed no smile at all; he said coldly, "Director Ji, you don't come to the Three Treasures Hall without cause; coming here so early to the Directorate of Gardens, are you in a hurry to drive the Zajia away?" Liu Yuzhang's resignation this time is also unavoidable; he naturally harbors considerable resentment.

Ji Feihua still smiled and said, "Liu Yuzhang, what are you saying? I have come this time for two reasons: first, to visit you, Liu Yuzhang; second, to find someone." (To be continued...)