Chapter 718: [Empress Dowager's Personal Arrival] (Part 1)

Long Yelin gazed at the shabby food on the tray, anger rose spontaneously, he stepped forward and shoved the tray to the ground, bowls and plates clattered on the floor with the sound of shattering porcelain: "What are you? How dare you give me this to eat! Let Ji Feihua come over, I want to see him, I want to see him!"

Yin Zheng sighed, inwardly cursing Long Yelin for not knowing the times, picked up the tray, preparing to clean up the shards on the floor.

Long Yelin, however, suddenly grabbed a shard from the ground and lunged at him, waving the shard to stab at his throat.

Yin Zheng was startled, hastily using the tray to block.

Long Yelin recklessly rushed toward the outer gate, shouting: "Save me……"

Upon reaching the door, he was blocked by a figure; looking up, it was Ji Feihua.

Long Yelin trembled with fright, the shard in his hand clanged to the ground.

Ji Feihua glanced at his face.

Yin Zheng hurried over, trembling with fear, about to explain, when Ji Feihua furrowed his brow and said: "Leave, I want to speak alone with Your Majesty."

Yin Zheng lowered his head and left the chamber.

Long Yelin looked at Ji Feihua, his expression full of fear mixed with a hint of anticipation; he swallowed, not knowing where to begin.

Ji Feihua said: "You just wanted to see me, didn't you?"

Long Yelin nodded and said: "Beloved subject, I… I have figured it out……"

A hint of mocking smile appeared at the corner of Ji Feihua's lips: "Your Majesty's words, I really don't understand them."

Long Yelin said: "I shouldn't have listened to slander, doubted your loyalty to me; I swear, I will henceforth obey you in everything, and never again do anything detrimental to you."

Ji Feihua sighed, thinking to himself, "If only I had known earlier, why bother back then? Now saying this to myself is surely too late."

Long Yelin said: "Beloved subject, can you give me another chance?"

Ji Feihua said: "I came this time to find you, intending to send you to the Spirit Void Palace; I don't know what you think."

Long Yelin shook his head desperately: "I won't go, I won't go……" Earlier he had conspired with Ji Feihua to pull his own father from the throne, then sent him to the Spirit Void Palace on Misty Mountain for house arrest; he never expected it would come to him so soon.

Ji Feihua said: "If you don't want to go, that's fine. But you must tell me the truth: how did you and Quan De'an plot back then, and how many people did he plant in the palace?"

Long Yelin said: "This is not something you should ask me; you should go ask Quan De'an."

Ji Feihua sneered: "If I could find him, why would I bother coming to see you, this waste!"

Long Yelin's heart felt as if lashed by a whip; before Ji Feihua he was already utterly broken, he didn't even regard himself as a person. Where was any respect left? Long Yelin's anguish reached its peak; his situation was truly worse than death, yet thinking of death filled him with dread from the depths of his heart. He had no choice but to lower his dignity. To beg Ji Feihua—dignity? What dignity does he have now? In Ji Feihua's eyes he is merely a fawning dog.

Long Yelin said: "I don't understand anything at all; everything is arranged by Quan De'an. I was merely muddle-headed for a moment, taken in by his deceit. I truly regret it!"

Ji Feihua said: "When the Yongyang Princess followed you to the Spirit Void Palace to visit the old man, she secretly brought back a letter—do you know about it?"

Long Yelin shook his head desperately: "I don't know, I don't know!"

Ji Feihua said: "The old man sent a message through her to the Crown Prince; he knows where the Imperial Seal is."

Upon hearing this, Long Yelin's heart jolted. His face showed an extremely vicious expression: "These heartless beasts, I will not spare them!"

Ji Feihua smiled faintly: "As the beam is not straight, the lower follows; they are after all your children, naturally just like you." Having said that, he turned and left.

Long Yelin hurriedly called: "Beloved subject… beloved subject, I know I was wrong……"

The door closed behind Ji Feihua.

Yin Zheng bowed and saluted Ji Feihua: "Commander."

Ji Feihua said: "From today on, if he dares to disobey again, just let him starve!"

"Yes!"

As Ji Feihua was about to leave, Li Yan hurried to his side and whispered: "Commander, Zhang Dequan of the Imperial Kitchen Bureau has something to say."

Ji Feihua nodded; this palace coup, he had not rushed into a massacre, even the purge within the palace was proceeding quietly; Zhang Dequan was a subordinate of Quan De'an, and he had already grasped everything clearly beforehand, but he was not in a hurry to close the net, instead waiting for these people to surrender voluntarily: "Let him come to the Imperial Eunuch Bureau to see me!"

Zhang Dequan arrived at the Imperial Eunuch Bureau trembling with fear; Ji Feihua sat quietly there waiting for him, his expression calm and peaceful, showing no hostility.

Every eunuch, after entering the palace, must learn to read looks and tones; as for the depth of cultivation, that varies per individual. Zhang Dequan is undoubtedly skilled at this; he respectfully saluted Ji Feihua: "Zhang Dequan pays his respects, Commander!"

Ji Feihua said: "What do you want from me?"

Zhang Dequan said: "There are some matters."

Ji Feihua nodded and said: "Speak!"

Zhang Dequan said: "It concerns Eunuch Quan."

Ji Feihua laughed, gesturing to the chair beside him: "Have a seat!"

Zhang Dequan, feeling somewhat surprised by the favor, thanked Ji Feihua and sat down: "Actually, the situation is this: Quan De'an has been plotting against the Commander."

Ji Feihua said: "If the Zajia hasn't mistaken, Eunuch Zhang seems to have been promoted by him, right?" Actually he himself is no different.

Zhang Dequan said: "A wise bird chooses its tree; I have no great ambitions, only wanting to live out my life in peace. I had originally prepared to pretend nothing happened, but after thinking it over, there are some things I still need to tell the Commander."

Ji Feihua said: "Eunuch Zhang is also an old hand in the palace; you should know the Zajia's character—they distinguish gratitude from grudges, repaying kindness and vengeance swiftly."

Zhang Dequan appeared somewhat frightened: "I merely helped Quan De'an with some things in the past……"

Ji Feihua said: "You needn't worry about that; the past is past. As long as you are frank with the Zajia, they will naturally let bygones be bygones."

Zhang Dequan nodded, as if finally making up his mind: "Quan De'an, in order to deal with the Commander, could be said to have schemed painstakingly; his initial arrangement of Hu Xiaotian entering the palace was actually to get close to the Commander."

Ji Feihua furrowed his brow. This information is utterly worthless; he already knew this from Hu Xiaotian.

Seeing that this information wasn't enough to move Ji Feihua, Zhang Dequan lowered his voice: "That Hu Xiaotian is actually a fake eunuch!"

Ji Feihua's eyes narrowed: "What did you say?"

Zhang Dequan said: "Quan De'an never had Hu Xiaotian castrated; when Hu Xiaotian entered the palace to avoid the examination, I personally went to the scene and took him away—this was all done under Quan De'an's behind-the-scenes instruction."

Ji Feihua sighed: "You really are bold. Actually planting a fake eunuch in the palace—don't you fear that if exposed it would cost you your heads?"

Zhang Dequan said: "Quan De'an used the lives of Hu Xiaotian's parents as leverage, letting Hu Xiaotian seize the opportunity to approach the Commander and gather intelligence from him."

Ji Feihua smiled faintly: "Just these?" Most of what Zhang Dequan said he already knew.

Zhang Dequan said: "There's also another matter: in fact someone in the palace is colluding with Hong Beimo, intending to rescue the Retired Emperor and support his restoration."

Ji Feihua's heart stirred. On the surface everything remained calm; he lifted the teacup on the tea table, took a slow sip, and asked: "Which one?"

Zhang Dequan said: "Noble Consort Lin of the Jade Spirit Hall and her attendant palace maid Baobao."

Ji Feihua's eyebrows twitched: "What evidence do you have?"

Zhang Dequan said: "For a long time, Lin Wan has been communicating with Hong Beimo via carrier pigeon letters; Quan De'an has had his eye on her for a while, and in the meantime he has intercepted several of their messages."

"What are you saying?"

Zhang Dequan said: "Because everything above is in code. Quan De'an also couldn't find out, but there is one point that can be determined: Hong Beimo's thorough knowledge of the palace situation must be entirely due to the two of them. Baobao often goes to the Imperial Gardens Bureau to look for Hu Xiaotian. The purpose is also to find out the palace's underground passages; it is said there is a passage that leads directly to the Ethereal Mountain."

Ji Feihua initially just had the idea of listening in. But the more he listened, the more startled he became; he already knew about Lin Wan's affairs, but Lin Wan sending Baobao to the Imperial Gardens Bureau to investigate the secret passage had never been mentioned to him, and indeed she had quite a few things concealed from herself.

Ji Feihua said: "How can the Zajia believe you based solely on your one-sided account?"

Zhang Dequan took out a roster from his sleeve, presented it respectfully and said: "This list records all the personnel Quan De'an has planted in the palace; Sir only needs to arrest people according to this list, and then Quan De'an's influence within the palace can be eradicated at the root."

After Xue Lingjun left, Hu Xiaotian quickly succeeded in awakening his vital essence; it seems that with the increase of internal energy, the art of raising Yin and contracting Yang has also improved considerably, at least now no longer needing external stimulation. He slept quite comfortably that night, and Xue Shengkang's side also had no special condition, passing the whole night peacefully.

The next day, Hu Xiaotian got up before dawn and went to the Diligent Governance Hall to check on the Emperor's recovery; however, Xue Shengkang probably remained asleep due to his weak constitution, not waking up yet. So Hu Xiaotian could only wait patiently, waiting until the sun was high three poles before he finally saw Xue Shengkang wake naturally and summoned him inside.

Hu Xiaotian knew that people of this era have strong self-healing abilities; upon examining Xue Shengkang's sword wound, he found it had already begun to heal, a speed truly astonishing. He changed Xue Shengkang's medicine. Based on the current condition of the wound, it is estimated that at most three days, Xue Shengkang will make a full recovery.

Xue Shengkang's spirits had visibly improved considerably; he laughed and said: "I feel I'm already healed."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your Majesty, do not be impatient; although the wound is healing quickly, it is not yet fully healed, and still needs a few days of rest before getting out of bed and moving about."

Xue Shengkang said: "Can I sit up now, Your Majesty? Lying down has made my waist sore and legs aching; it's really uncomfortable!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Of course!" He had a palace maid bring a soft cushion, helped Xue Shengkang sit up and lean against the cushion.

Xue Shengkang half-reclined on the bed, feeling this position much more comfortable, he sighed contentedly and said: "Hu Xiaotian, I owe my recovery from this illness to you; tell me, what reward do you desire?"

All night, there was only a single monthly ticket; how miserable! This leaves Zhangyu feeling How Can One Bear It? Which kind-hearted brother could contribute another ticket, so Zhangyu can have an even number? It's already early morning and there have been two updates; not easy! (To be continued~^~)