Chapter 44: The Death of Madam Ke

The young eunuch watched Madam Ke finish dressing, deftly opened the lunchbox, and took out the food, saying, "Ancestor, have a little something. Though it can't compare to the palace, it's still very good here."

She wouldn't have felt it if he hadn't mentioned it, but her stomach immediately began to growl. She glanced at the young eunuch, then sat down at the table.

Madam Ke looked at the food, her gaze darkening. In her eyes, it was worse than what one would feed a dog — she had no appetite at all. She turned to the young eunuch and said flatly, "Go to my private residence and fetch fifty taels of silver. Have them make some of my favorite dishes and bring them over."

The young eunuch's eyes flickered slightly, then a bitter smile appeared on his face. He said, "Ancestor, you probably don't know yet — your private residence has already been searched and confiscated."

The corner of Madam Ke's mouth twitched immediately, and she felt some regret in her heart. She knew the Emperor would be angry with her, but she hadn't expected even her private residence to have been seized already.

But she believed that, given Zhu Youxiao's feelings for her, he would summon her back to the palace within three days at most — just like the last time!

She glanced at the young eunuch again and said coldly, "This Lady will soon return to the palace. When I do, I'll make you a managing eunuch." From start to finish, she never asked the young eunuch his name. Having said this, she picked up her chopsticks and forced herself to eat.

The young eunuch's face lit up with joy. He said, "Thank you, Ancestor, thank you, Ancestor. Do have some wine." So saying, he picked up the wine flask and poured a cup for Madam Ke.

Madam Ke ate a few mouthfuls and found it fairly palatable after all, so she picked up the cup beside her and took a sip, letting it slide down her throat.

After she drank it down, the young eunuch who had been so attentive and respectful all along revealed a vicious expression on his face. He stared at Madam Ke and said in a cold voice, "Ke Yinyue, do you remember that last year you had a young eunuch beaten to death with a staff? He was only putting on your shoes — just a little too slowly!"

Madam Ke saw his expression and her eyes immediately turned cold. She said, "Who exactly are you?"

"I am his younger brother!"

The young eunuch's breath came rapidly, his eyes filled with murderous intent. He pulled a long white silk cord from his waist and said with reddened eyes, "I have been waiting for this day for a long time!"

Madam Ke suddenly stood up and backed away, saying, "Don't come near me! This Lady will soon return to the palace. If you dare lay a hand on me, the Emperor will not let you off!"

The young eunuch let out a cold laugh and said, "So many people want you dead — can the Emperor possibly investigate them all!"

"You... this Lady can give you silver..."

As Madam Ke spoke, she suddenly staggered. Her vision began to blur, and her whole person grew hazy and confused.

The young eunuch immediately rushed over, looped the white silk around her neck, dragged her beneath the roof beam, tossed it over the beam, wrapped the other end around a pillar, and hoisted Madam Ke up, pull by pull.

Madam Ke still had a vague awareness and struggled, but before long she stopped moving.

The young eunuch fastened the other end, kicked the stool over beneath her feet, and cleaned up the scene a bit. Only then did he look at her corpse, still speaking with hatred and anger: "Even without the Master's arrangements, I never intended to let you walk out of the Laundry Bureau alive!"

He stood there for a long time until he was certain Madam Ke was dead. Only then did he take a fire striker from his bosom, light a lamp, and knock it over onto the communal sleeping platform.

After doing all this, he hurriedly ran out.

This was the dormitory area. Outside, thunder rumbled across the sky. Palace maids and eunuchs were all busy tidying up, people coming and going, shouts never ceasing. No one paid any attention to the appearance and disappearance of a young eunuch, and even less did anyone notice Madam Ke in the room.

Bang, bang, bang—

Raindrops as big as beans came crashing down. The sky immediately turned gray and hazy, hard to see through. The courtyard quickly filled with water, which then flowed toward the lower ground.

Zhu Xu sat in a reclining chair under the eaves. On his right side was a stack of books; on his left was a tea table with steaming hot tea upon it. Yao Qingqing sat at the side, brewing tea over and over again.

After Yao Qingqing had redeemed herself, she had originally planned to marry Bi Maokang as a concubine. But unexpectedly, Bi Maokang went back on his word, so she could only reside in the rear courtyard, waiting for Bi Maokang to come once every ten days or half a month. In her other idle hours, besides reading and needlework, what she loved most was brewing tea.

Zhu Xu was completely oblivious to Yao Qingqing's complex and elaborate tea-brewing process. He simply watched the pouring rain and said with a smile, "Sister Qingqing, if a poet were here, do you think he'd write a poem to express his feelings?"

Yao Qingqing pursed her lips in a smile and said, "With rain this heavy, what feelings would there be to express?"

Zhu Xu racked his brains. He had read no small number of books, but composing poetry that could pass muster in polite company was still too much to ask of him. After a long moment, he said, "True enough."

Yao Qingqing pressed her lips together, nearly laughing out loud, but she held it in. She handed Zhu Xu a cup of tea and said, "Your Highness, you've been reading all day. Shouldn't you go back and rest a while?"

"No need," Zhu Xu said, taking a sip of tea and gazing at the sky. "I want to see whether this great rain can wash the Forbidden City clean."

"Wash it clean?" Yao Qingqing looked at Zhu Xu with confusion, not understanding what His Highness Prince Hui meant by these words.

In his heart, Zhu Xu sighed secretly. This, too, was one of his fond dreams.

The political situation at the end of the Ming was not something that could become harmonious and single-minded in serving the nation just because one Wei Zhongxian was gone. The Donglin Faction, the Jin faction, the Zhejiang faction, the Su faction, and the remnants of the eunuch faction — along with their own internal divisions — with the threat of Wei Zhongxian removed from the entire bureaucratic bloc, their tangled and chaotic infighting would likely not diminish in the slightest. If anything, it would only grow more frantic.

Cao Huachun hurried back from outside, tossed away his umbrella, and ran over. He glanced at Yao Qingqing, then walked to Zhu Xu's side and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, the deed is done."

Zhu Xu let out a long breath of relief and said, "Good. In the coming days, let's all stay still."

Cao Huachun acknowledged the order. Inside and outside the palace, there would likely be an atmosphere of panic and alarm for a while.

Within the Laundry Bureau, a great fire suddenly shot up into the sky. Accompanied by the rumbling thunder and the pouring rain, it formed a terrifying scene.

There was no need to fight the fire. A crowd of people merely worried about what had been burned and how much, so they huddled under the eaves, discussing it animatedly.

"Check — who's missing? Is anyone still inside?"

The overseer's voice sounded very small amid the thunder. The principle that one rank higher crushes people to death was even more evident here, and everyone began whispering to one another in inquiry.

A palace maid shouted at the overseer, saying, "The one who was assigned here today is still inside!"

"Anyone else? Is there anyone else..."

The overseer shouted around once more, showing no intention whatsoever of going to rescue anyone.

After shouting, the overseer went back to his room to check who had come today. When he saw the name and its origin, his hands began to tremble.

He hurried to the secretary's office and said urgently to the secretary eunuch who had just returned, "Eunuch Zhang, something terrible has happened — Lady Fengsheng is still in that burning building and hasn't come out!"

Eunuch Zhang's face changed color. He thought rapidly and asked, "How long has it been burning?"

The overseer eunuch paused briefly, then said, "At least the time it takes to burn one stick of incense."

Eunuch Zhang's heart gave a thump. He reckoned the person was probably already burned to death. After thinking it over, he said, "Quick, go find Eunuch Li and bring him back." Eunuch Li was the seal-holding eunuch of the Laundry Bureau, its actual boss.

"Yes." The overseer eunuch acknowledged and ran out.

When Eunuch Li heard the news, he immediately ran over. Seeing the raging fire showing no sign of diminishing in the heavy rain, he cursed inwardly — these useless bastards, useless at their work but quite skilled at passing the buck.

Eunuch Li also knew that standing around wouldn't do. He had people fight the fire on one side while sending someone to notify the Emperor on the other. In his heart, he could only silently pray — the Emperor was still furious with Madam Ke, so perhaps he wouldn't punish him.