Chapter 497: The Crown Prince's Confidant

In East Garden, inside a three-story hall against the mountain and by the lake, empty wine jars rolled all over the floor, and everywhere lay large bones picked spotless, cleaner than if a dog had licked them.

Twenty-something old eunuchs, seven or eight old ladies, and a dozen or so burly men with bare chests—this strange group all had flushed faces, lying on the ground snoring loudly.

***feast, drinking endless amounts, really drunk to the point of excess.

Even though the sun had risen more than a pole high, these people remained dazedly drunk, sleeping soundly and deeply.

As a royal hunting ground, East Garden housed not only a detachment of the Forbidden Army, but also large numbers of eunuchs and palace maids responsible for cleaning and maintaining the palace halls and pavilions.

But after all, a hunting ground is a hunting ground—a place the Divine Emperor visits only once every three years, even more remote and deserted than the imperial city's Cold Palace.

Whether the eunuchs dispatched to East Garden or the old ladies overseeing the palace maids, they were naturally the sort nobody loved, neither mother nor father.

Once you come to East Garden, you basically can't hope to make a name for yourself in the imperial court.

So, drink today, get drunk today.

Moreover, with the emperor far away and the Divine Emperor coming only once every three years, the old eunuchs and ladies stationed at East Garden naturally fell in with the leaders of the East Garden Forbidden Army; their relations were anything but proper, naturally leading to plenty of shady dealings.

Suddenly, several officers in soft armor, staggering, scrambled up to the third-floor hall, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Sir, it's bad, it's bad…… disaster's come, disaster's come!"

Inside the hall, many eunuchs, ladies, and commanders of the East Garden Forbidden Army jerked like corpses resurrected, their bodies convulsing violently as they stared wide-eyed in panic.

An old eunuch with white hair and a face full of age spots, whose cultivation was only at the initial stage of the Life Pool Realm, had a nightmare; he shouted at the top of his voice: "Bad news, the Emperor is coming……quick, quick, lay the yellow-earth path, sprinkle clean water, receive the Emperor!"

Another old lady shrieked: "You damned bastards……hide those big-bellied girls……you lot of damned beasts, the old woman has told you over and over, palace maids must not move, must not move!"

Adding the shouts of the messengers, the hall erupted in chaos; someone stepped on an empty wine jar, which slid with a "hiss" and rolled far away, smashing into a coiled dragon pillar and shattering it, while the person fell heavily to the ground, the back of his head hitting the floor with a "bang."

In the hall, a tall, handsome youth with a face as white as a silver basin, his peach-blossom eyes flashing, full of spirit, hastily threw a long robe over himself and then began to curse hysterically.

"Silence! Silence! Heaven won't collapse!"

"How could the Emperor possibly come? The imperial hunt happens once every three years, and His Majesty has already……already gone through ten cycles, His Majesty hasn't set foot in East Garden for thirty years! Keep quiet, keep quiet, don't make a fuss!"

The frightened old eunuchs and ladies, together with the Forbidden Army officers, finally exhaled together, each looking at the other, then simultaneously gave a foolish laugh.

Isn't that right?

According to the statutes of the Great Jin, the Divine Emperor of Great Jin must, every three years, bring the imperial relatives, civil and military officials to East Garden for a hunt.

But the present Divine Emperor of Great Jin, Sima Xian, is lazy and indulgent, preferring to lounge in the imperial city; for the past thirty years, he has had the Eastern Palace Crown Prince he appointed, Sima Fa, lead a large entourage in his stead for the hunt.

And as for Sima Fa……

The peach-blossom-eyed youth tightened his belt firmly and said arrogantly: "If the Crown Prince himself arrives, what's there to panic about? Don't forget, we are the very heart of the Crown Prince's inner circle—what's there to panic about?"

He somehow produced a whip and lashed out at the several officers who had come rushing in shouting; though he didn't put much force behind it, he knocked the hats off a few unlucky ones, their hair disheveled, leaving them in a sorry state.

"What are you shouting for? What are you shouting for? What's this so-called disaster? With Grandpa holding down the fort, what disaster could there be?"

Inside the hall, a group of slightly sobered old eunuchs, ladies, and a few Forbidden Army officers glanced at each other and then burst out laughing "hehehe."

Isn't that right?

The current East Garden Commandant, Sun Bubing, whose father is none other than the present Eastern Palace Martial Minister, Sun Pobre.

The Sun clan, too, is one of the prominent families among the Great Jin military aristocracy. Sun Bubing, furthermore, is a study companion of the Crown Prince, having grown up alongside him since childhood as bosom friends.

This post of East Garden Commandant was personally arranged for Sun Bubing by the current Crown Prince, Sima Fa.

To say how highly favored Sun Bubing is by the Crown Prince?

Just consider that, of the provisions for the East Garden Forbidden Army's 900,000 vacant positions, seventy percent were contributed by Sun Bubing to the Crown Prince for his private expenses—he is a vital source of wealth for the Crown Prince; you tell me how highly trusted Sun Bubing is.

"Heh heh heh, with the commandant here, what's there to fear?" Several burly officers, obviously slow-witted from childhood, laughed heehee.

Sun Bubing gave a light snort, dropped the whip from his hand, clapped his palms lightly, and said calmly: "Speak, what's the matter? Early morning wailing and wolf-howling—those who don't know might think you've been caught by your parents after your mother fooled around."

Several Forbidden Army officers gave a dry laugh; the one who had just shouted the loudest stepped forward two steps and said lowly: "Chief, our East Garden's main gate has been smashed. The gate together with the watchtower have been knocked down."

Sun Bubing's face suddenly changed.

The faces of all the Forbidden Army officers changed in unison.

Although the East Garden Forbidden Army is not what it used to be, its framework remains.

Leaving aside Sun Bubing, the top commander East Garden Commandant, in the East Garden Forbidden Army's command echelon alone there are eight first-rank generals, twenty-four second-rank generals, and nearly a hundred third-rank generals.

Not mentioning the numbers of troops under them or their combat strength, just speaking from the senior officers' establishment, the East Garden Forbidden Army's officer roster is on par with the Divine Martial Army, the Suppress Demon Army, and the Repel Demon Army—no difference at all.

In terms of establishment, the East Garden Forbidden Army also belongs to the ranks of top-tier corps.

The main gate of East Garden is the face of the East Garden Forbidden Army.

Who dares to come to their door and strike their face?

"Which damned fool with the gall of a dog did this?" A burly officer with bared arms and a big patch of black hair on his chest bellowed: "Quick, quick, dig up their dirt, brothers, go pay them a visit—if we don't extort three or five hundred thousand taels of gold from them, our East Garden Forbidden Army will look utterly incompetent!"

Those who can serve in the East Garden Forbidden Army are without exception scions of elite noble families.

These fellows may lack cultivation, may never have set foot on a battlefield, but backed by noble clans and with the East Garden Forbidden Army being such a special institution, promotion comes easily.

Especially within this little plot of land, they are the big bosses, which has bred in them an arrogant, overbearing manner.

In Anyang City, the East Garden Forbidden Army certainly has a notorious reputation—people and spirits alike hate it, and ordinary folk dare not provoke it.

Upon hearing that someone had deliberately come to cause trouble, these fellows' first reaction was: a chance to make money has arrived.

Sun Bubing's face flushed with excitement, his peach-blossom eyes glistening as if they could drip water: "Who? Who? Who dares to break the face of our East Garden Forbidden Army? Tsk tsk, this is heaven telling me to get rich!"

Sun Bubing's body trembled slightly as he chuckled: "It's been a few months since we last had a windfall; the last time was that country bumpkin from Shuzhou……hehe……"

The Forbidden Army officers chorused "heehee hahaha," about to echo Sun Bubing, recalling the glorious episode a few months earlier when they extorted a 'mistakenly entered East Garden' Shuzhou wealthy merchant……

That officer had already lowered his voice: "Yes, the newly enfeoffed Duke of Yuzhou, the Emperor's appointed East Garden Commandant, Duke Huo Xiong of Yuzhou……has come knocking."

The hall fell dead silent.

Sun Bubing's face flickered between green and red, unpredictable; the Forbidden Army officers' faces twitched, their bodies trembling, cold sweat beading on the foreheads and backs of several officers.

The old eunuchs and ladies exchanged glances, then simultaneously set their faces and turned to leave.

"Commandant Sun, it's just your army's business, nothing to do with us servants……you, handle it properly." The old eunuch who had just been shouting to welcome the Emperor snorted coldly: "You know what to say and what not to say; you've got it figured in your mind……if anything leaks out, it's a death sentence!"

The old lady who had just been shouting went on muttering, discussing with the other old ladies nearby.

Those maidservants can't stay in the East Court any longer; hurry and send them away, hurry... Ah, I don't even know what kind of girls the Prince of Yu Prefecture likes.

Besides, there are tens of thousands of maidservants in the East Court—slender or plump, all kinds of beauties to pick from. Hehe... As long as the Prince of Yu Prefecture is still a man, how could he possibly make things difficult for us old ladies?

Isn't that right? Which cat doesn't eat fishy?

The old grannies left calmly; the new official has taken office—what a good thing...

The old eunuchs, however, had very grim faces.

The old grannies have plenty of palace maids at their disposal; what can those old eunuchs do? Send a few fair, delicate young eunuchs over to the Prince of Yu Prefecture?

Seems like we could give it a try, huh?

But what if?

Sun Bubing stood motionless inside the hall, his whole body emanating a yin chill.

A dozen or so imperial commanders stared fixedly at Sun Bubing, each at a loss for what to say.

After a while, Sun Bubing coldly said: 'Send two people to burn all those account books and official documents of the East Court Imperial Army from these years—let them go up in flames.'

Two somewhat sharper commanders, without a word, turned into a gust of wind and rushed out of the hall.

Account books, account books, the East Court Imperial Army's account books—these absolutely cannot withstand inspection; if not burned clean, it's a death sentence.

'Also set fire to the armory's warehouse.' Sun Bubing took a deep breath and pulled out a red crystal ball the size of a fist.

Inside the crystal ball, a clump of fire seed hung like a frozen iceberg, silently suspended within, lifeless and heavy, yet giving an impression of extreme danger.

'Use this Three Yang True Flame to ignite it, ensuring everything burns away, leaving no trace.' Sun Bubing said gloomily: 'You know the situation inside the armory; it must be burned clean—hurry up.'

Again, two sharper-looking commanders took the fire seed, turned into a gale, and rushed out of the hall.

'You, follow me to greet the Prince of Yu Prefecture.' Sun Bubing's face darkened as he gritted his teeth and coldly snorted: 'No sense of propriety, truly no sense of propriety... How did they suddenly come to kill us?'

'Shouldn't he first go to the Imperial City to pay his respects to His Majesty, offer thanks, and then come to the East Court to take up his post?'

'Damn it, if he went to the Imperial City first, His Highness would surely get the news and notify us.'

'We have plenty of time to respond; how could we possibly be caught off guard by a strike like that?'

'Really, utterly improper.'

Sun Bubing and a group of imperial commanders, resentful, dawdled as they changed clothes, washed their faces, and tidied up neatly before slowly stepping onto a mass of flowing clouds and leisurely flying toward the outside of the West Gate.

They deliberately slowed their movements.

Behind them, beyond several large mountains, columns of black smoke shot up.

After the smoke columns had risen for a short while, a feeble gong sounded, and several soldiers, weakly beating the gong and humming, cried: 'Come help, put out the fire... The water's flooding, put out the fire... Hey, hey, brothers, wake up, we're putting out the fire!'

Outside the West Gate, Wu Tie sat silently on his dragon horse, gazing at the mountains and waters within the East Court.

A few soldiers who had just been blown away by his loud shout stood humbly to the side, occasionally sneaking a glance at Wu Tie.

Suddenly, a blaze shot up over ten zhang above Huo Zaozao's head, and he angrily shouted: 'How long has it been? Are they all dead inside? Why won't they come out?'

Huo Zaozao and the Five Elements Spirits were furious.

In their hearts, Wu Tie is the reincarnation of the Holy Ancestor; a soldier had already gone in to deliver a message, but they've been waiting here for almost two moments and not a single ghost has appeared... This is a grave disrespect to the Holy Ancestor!

Not to mention the hot-tempered fire spirits; even the steady, dull earth spirits glared with murderous intent at the pitiful soldiers.

If Wu Tie hadn't remained motionless and silent, they would have long since rushed forward to slaughter those soldiers.

'No rush, no rush—we just need to give them a little time to clean up whatever unsavory things.' Wu Tie smiled kindly.

His soul power far surpassed that of ordinary people, even rivaling the peak of the Womb Storage Realm; his vast soul power spread out, and every detail of what happened in that three-story hall was laid bare before him.

He heard every one of Sun Bubing's orders crystal clear.

But it didn't matter.

The previous dealings of the East Court Imperial Army had nothing to do with him.

He came here to forge a brand-new East Court Imperial Army, making a clean break from the old one—a good thing.

After another short while, Sun Bubing's entourage finally stepped onto the drifting clouds and leisurely arrived outside the West Gate.

They lowered the clouds, stood on the ground, glanced at Wu Tie twice, then focused all their attention on the Five Elements Spirits.

The Five Elements Spirits' aura was overbearing and strange, their appearance utterly unlike that of humans, and Sun Bubing and his companions were quite curious.

Wu Tie remained silent, merely staring fixedly at Sun Bubing.

Sun Bubing, hands behind his back, examined the Five Elements Spirits up and down.

The eerie silence stretched on; Wu Tie said nothing, Sun Bubing said nothing, and the East Court Imperial Army commanders remained silent as well.

In the end, Huo Zaozao couldn't suppress his inner fire and roared: 'You lot, why haven't you hurried to kowtow to the Prince of Yu Prefecture? Are you seeking death?'

With a whoosh, flames erupted from Huo Zaozao's body, the ultimate aura of the Womb Storage Realm's peak spreading outward; from the distant East Court forest came countless terrified roars and cries of beasts, as flocks of birds took flight like dark clouds fleeing into the distance.

Sun Bubing gave a cold snort, lifted his head, and wore an arrogant smile.

'Kowtow? On what grounds? Huo Xiong, what do you have that can surpass this official?'