Chapter 363

"Yan Song?"

Zhu Shoujing frowned, pulled the corpse out from under the ruins, and turned the head to distinguish it carefully.

"Really dead?"

Zhu Shoujing widened his eyes.

This corpse was thin and long, its complexion, which was originally like cold iron, was now a strange pale white, three strands of gray-white long beard were scattered on its chest, and a pair of narrow, gloomy eyes were wide open, emitting a strange light like a dead fish.

The figure, appearance, clothing, and even every wrinkle were exactly the same as Yan Song's, without the slightest difference.

This Cabinet Chief who led half the civil officials to force the abdication yesterday morning, the important figure Li Miao restrained An Qisheng to let the Emperor risk facing Ji Tianrui to kill, seemed to have really died so unclearly.

Zhu Shoujing waved his hand, and the surrounding soldiers immediately dispersed and left the courtyard. He carried the corpse and walked quickly to the Dragon Chariot, saying in a low voice.

"Your Majesty..."

The Emperor lifted the curtain, stepped down slowly, raised his hand, sucked the corpse into his hand, and scanned the corpse up and down with True Qi like substance.

A moment later, his brows frowned.

Zhu Shoujing's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, if it's a fake body, I will immediately..."

The Emperor frowned and waved his hand.

"It's not a fake body."

"It is indeed him, not a disguise, nor a body double. I have had many contacts with him, and Lord Zhu has also planted people by his side... come and see."

The Emperor raised the corpse's right hand.

"He is used to holding the pen with the belly of his middle finger when writing, and the bones have deformed over time. And the wrinkles on his body and the corners of his eyes, these details are all accumulated from long-term habits and cannot be forged."

"He is indeed dead."

Hearing this, Zhu Shoujing first breathed a sigh of relief, and then became nervous again.

"But... it shouldn't be..."

"Yan Song should be an extremely important partner for the Eastern Depot and Yingzhou; if not for this, when Lord Li came to kill Yan Song that day, An Qisheng would not have come personally to protect him."

"Even if the Yingzhou people are not good at planning, Liu Jin should have expected someone to come to kill him tonight... without even leaving a Heaven-man guard, he was just smashed to death by the ruins like this?"

The Emperor shook his head slowly.

"He didn't die at your hands; he was already dead before we arrived."

Zhu Shoujing widened his eyes suddenly.

"How could... how did he die?"

The Emperor said in a deep voice.

"Gu, Gu insects."

He threw the corpse to the ground and scanned the surroundings.

After looking for a while, he walked slowly to the side of the ruins cut by Zhu Shoujing, smashed the collapsed roof beam with a palm, reached out with a claw, and pulled a corpse out from inside.

A corpse with an appearance extremely similar to Li Miao, wearing a simple long robe.

Zhu Shoujing exclaimed.

"Yingzhou!"

The Emperor said in a deep voice.

"Also died of Gu poison."

"Under the ruins, there are at least three more Yingzhou Heaven-man corpses."

Zhu Shoujing thought for a moment and cleared his thoughts.

"So, they didn't give up on Yan Song, and Liu Jin also expected Your Majesty would come, and also left Heaven-man guards, but these people couldn't possibly stop Your Majesty... so the person they used to block Your Majesty was Ji Tianrui."

"But Ji Tianrui suddenly turned against them; she not only killed all the Yingzhou Heaven-men here but even killed Yan Song in advance."

The Emperor nodded.

"Since Yingzhou and the Eastern Depot were willing to hand Yan Song over to her for protection, it means she had already gained their trust, and the degree of trust was not low; I imagine they have been cooperating for a long time... why did she suddenly turn against them?"

"What exactly does she want? Betraying Yingzhou, Li Miao and I couldn't possibly accept her cooperation; what exactly is she planning?"

As the Emperor spoke, his expression became increasingly gloomy.

Although his personality and stance had been changed, the experience of being calculated by Ji Tianrui from head to toe still made him feel a headache whenever he thought of it.

He exerted force unconsciously, breaking the cervical spine of the Yingzhou Heaven-man corpse, and his hands were covered in sticky flesh and blood, which also awakened him from his emotions.

The Emperor suddenly clenched his fist.

"Not good."

"Li Miao and An Qisheng are restraining each other, I am here, Ji Tianrui is free... The Imperial Palace! The remaining offerings and Heaven-men cannot stop Ji Tianrui! She's going to swap bases!"

"Go! Return to the palace!"

Too late to take the Dragon Chariot, the Emperor and Zhu Shoujing leaped onto the roof and rushed toward the Forbidden City like lightning.

————————

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Zai stood in front of a map, frowning and thinking.

This was a map of Shuntian Prefecture, with a dozen labels hanging on it, written with various names.

There were Li Miao, An Qisheng, Yan Song, the Emperor, and Ji Tianrui.

And in the upper right corner of the map, there was a thick stack of labels, all written with the two characters "Liu Jin," about twenty or so.

Zhu Zai recalled what Li Miao had told him.

"Commander, this method of Liu Jin's, which forces a split without cultivating the nature-gong, definitely cannot create too many clones. According to my estimation, at most thirty-four or thirty-five. Subtracting the ones that died before, there are at most about twenty left now."

"But these twenty clones are pervasive and difficult to detect, and they could appear beside you or your family at any time... If I and the Emperor are not here, you cannot eat anything, nor can you contact any strangers alone."

Zhu Zai sighed and tapped his fingertips on the stack of labels.

At this moment, three light sounds came from outside the door.

*Knock, knock, knock.

One long, two short.

It was exactly the knocking method Li Miao had agreed upon with him for when it was inconvenient to meet; Li Miao had used this secret signal when they talked at night before the Emperor gathered the clan into the palace before the Battle of the Imperial Mausoleum.

But Zhu Zai's expression suddenly darkened.

"Who?"

He spoke loudly, but secretly waved his hand.

Ruan Mei, who was hiding in the dark of the room, drew the Emei daggers from her waist and flashed to the door silently.

"Lord Zhu, the Lady is worried that you are working day and night, so she made some soothing soup herself and asked me to bring it to you."

A clear and sharp voice came from outside the door, answering respectfully.

A cold smile appeared on Zhu Zai's face.

He and Lady Zhu had been married for decades and knew each other like the back of their hands. He had a quick temper; once he was anxious, he couldn't eat anything, let alone some soothing soup. How could Lady Zhu come to disturb him at this critical moment?

Outside the door was Liu Jin.

Ruan Mei had already pressed the Emei daggers against the door, turning to look at Zhu Zai, ready to smash the figure outside the door along with the gate at any time.

Zhu Zai shook his head and said loudly.

"Come in."

The gate was pushed open slowly.

A delicate-looking little eunuch carried a food box, walked in slowly with his head down, and bowed to Zhu Zai after seeing him, but the food box was steady and didn't spill a drop.

"Lord Zhu."

Zhu Zai turned his back to him, looking at the map with his hands behind his back, looking like he was deep in thought, and pointed casually to the side table.

The little eunuch walked over quickly and put down the food box.

Ruan Mei followed him like a shadow, silent and soundless, with two Emei daggers pressed against the back of his head and heart, ready to kill him at any time.

And the little eunuch seemed completely unaware, opened the food box, really took out a bowl of soothing soup, and put it on the table along with a few side dishes.

"Lord Zhu, please enjoy."

Having said that, he was about to bow and retreat.

Zhu Zai turned around suddenly and said coldly.

"Where are you going?"

The little eunuch's footsteps paused.

"Naturally, to report back to the Lady... Lord Zhu."

Once these words were spoken, Zhu Zai was absolutely certain that this little eunuch was Liu Jin.

He sneered.

"You want to harm my family?"

The little eunuch replied respectfully.

"I dare not." He turned his head slowly, his delicate face illuminated by the candlelight... there was a woman-like sorrow on it.

"It's just that I had a brief encounter with the Young Master, my life is coming to an end, I just came to settle things and seek peace of mind."

As he spoke, his eyes actually turned red.

Zhu Zai felt a chill and couldn't help but take half a step back.

"Are you crazy?"

The little eunuch nodded.

"I suppose so, Lord Zhu."

"Without cultivating the nature-gong, forcing such a thing will naturally lead to a backlash. Every time I lose a clone, I become thinner, and the influence of the clone becomes stronger."

"Although Young Master Zhu is a waste, he was raised by you personally. If Liu Jinyi didn't truly love him, how could Liu Jin hide by his side without being detected?"

"Just like the Emperor, is it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou? Who can tell?"

Zhu Zai felt nauseous.

He seemed to see a monster formed by the flesh and blood of dozens of corpses, with facial features, hair, fingernails, and teeth mixed in, vibrating its flesh and making human sounds at him.

He finally understood where Liu Jin's inexplicable fanatical loyalty to the Emperor came from... Liu Jin was a madman.

Before being split by An Qisheng, before lurking beside Zhu Yijing under the alias Liu Jinyi, he was already a madman. And precisely because he was a madman, he could withstand An Qisheng's splitting.

In Li Miao's previous life's words, he was a "Stockholm Syndrome" patient, who would uncontrollably fall in love with his abusers and enemies.

Because the Emperor made him a eunuch, he fell in love with the Emperor and was loyal to him; because he had to pretend to be a woman to sleep with Zhu Yijing, this humiliation made him fall in love with Zhu Yijing.

He was a complete madman—now he had become a monster.

Just as Liu Jin finished saying these words, he suddenly paused, his whole body stiffened in place, like a dead object. After a long while, he suddenly trembled.

After shaking, his demeanor changed.

He returned to the "normal Liu Jin" appearance like a puppet.

He cupped his hands to Zhu Zai expressionlessly.

"Zhu—"

"Kill him!"

Zhu Zai gave an order, and Ruan Mei struck suddenly!

The Emei daggers pierced into the little eunuch's back of the head and heart in an instant, and then stirred—the little eunuch fell to the ground, twitched like a bug a few times, and lost his breath.

Zhu Zai looked at the corpse guardedly.

After waiting for a long time, there was no abnormality.

Zhu Zai frowned and thought for a moment, then turned his head suddenly to look at the soothing soup brought by Liu Jin on the side table.

He walked to the table quickly and reached out to take it.

"Lord Zhu! It might be poisonous!"

Ruan Mei shouted.

Zhu Zai waved his hand, brought the bowl to his chest, fanned his palm over it a few times, and smelled the scent—the next moment, his fists clenched tightly.

This soothing soup was indeed made by Lady Zhu!

Lady Zhu knew he had a quick temper and would boil soothing soup for him after he finished his official duties. But she also knew he mostly didn't have time to drink it slowly, so she would fish out the ingredients, put in cooling medicinal herbs, and let it cool before bringing it to him.

There was absolutely no second person in the world who would do this!

Liu Jin really just came back from Lady Zhu's side!

Zhu Zai was anxious and shouted sharply.

"Go! Everyone follow me!"

Having said that, he flashed and rushed toward the side hall where Lady Zhu and Zhu Yijing lived.

Behind him, the Heaven-men left behind by Xiaolingwei, Ruan Mei, and several surrendered offerings followed him and rushed away together.

————————

In the side hall's west wing, Lady Zhu was already fast asleep.

In the side hall's east wing, Zhu Yijing was still awake.

It had been three days since the Liu Jinyi incident was discovered... In these three days, Zhu Zai hadn't scolded him once, everything was as usual, and he would even talk about family matters with him during meals.

But Zhu Zai no longer discussed business with him.

He knew that Zhu Zai was completely disappointed in him.

Not only because he didn't discover that Liu Jinyi had something tricky, but more because his dissatisfaction with Li Miao was put on the table and shouted out.

The fundamental reason Zhu Zai gave up on him was that he felt no matter how hard he tried, it couldn't compare to the care Li Miao gave him. So Zhu Zai would rather give up on his cultivation than dispel his thoughts of opposing Li Miao.

He understood it all.

He might be stupid, but he understood Zhu Zai.

Because for more than twenty years, he had been thinking every moment about how to get Zhu Zai's approval. His understanding of Zhu Zai even far exceeded his understanding of himself.

He understood that Zhu Zai was making the best choice for him.

But admitting this was equivalent to admitting that he would never get his father's approval.

This point made him painful.

So Zhu Yijing couldn't fall asleep at all, just staring blankly at the roof.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door.

He turned his head slowly, and the candlelight outside the door cast a figure on the door.

"Who?"

He reached out from under the pillow and pulled out a short blade, asking in a deep voice.

"Young Master... it's me."

The person outside the door replied.

*Creak—*

The door was pushed open slowly, and a palace maid walked in slowly.

"I haven't seen you, get out!"

Zhu Yijing said in a deep voice.

The palace maid didn't care at all and walked forward slowly.

Zhu Yijing gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, his palms sweating.

"There are Heaven-men on guard here, just one shout from me and they will arrive... don't throw away your life in vain!"

He shouted with insufficient confidence.

As he spoke, the palace maid came close.

Zhu Yijing gritted his teeth, the short blade ready to go.

But the next moment—he suddenly froze.

Because the palace maid raised her head and looked at him sorrowfully.

The face was very strange.

But the look in her eyes, he was very familiar with.

Love, admiration, appreciation, worry.

That was Liu Jinyi's look, and also the reason he fell in love with Liu Jinyi.

But right now, it only made him feel fear and disgust.

"You—"

Zhu Yijing said dryly.

The palace maid looked at him lovingly and slowly opened her mouth.

"Young Master, I—"

*BOOM!

The next moment, the window lattice exploded with a bang!

Zhu Zai slashed horizontally, and the palace maid's head flew up.

"Jing'er! Are you okay!"

"Did he do anything to you! Did you say anything to him!"

Zhu Zai kicked the headless corpse away and walked quickly to Zhu Yijing, asking urgently.

Zhu Yijing was stunned for a moment.

"Ah... Father still cares about me..."

He thought this, but suddenly felt some numbness and itching on his back, as if something was about to crawl out from under his skin.

This feeling, although strange, was extremely slight, suppressed by his surging emotions, and failed to get his attention.

He said tearfully.

"Father... I am fine..."