Outside Chonghua Hall, heavy soldiers still guarded, but Huo Xian did not stop. He passed by Chonghua Hall and headed straight to Fengqi Palace.
Now the imperial palace was in a state of anarchy. As Huo Xian made his way to Fengqi Palace, the young eunuchs all lowered their heads in fear, none daring to rebuke him for intruding into the inner palace. The night-watch maid in Fengqi Palace, though bold, stuttered in fright, standing in his way, “L-Lord Huo, this is the Empress’s residence. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to come at this hour?”
Huo Xian replied, “I do not seek the Empress. Take me to see the young Crown Prince.”
The maid was even more terrified. “The Crown Prince is unconscious. What does my lord intend to do?”
“What can I do?” Huo Xian said indifferently. “Could I poison the Crown Prince? Or is it that someone has already poisoned him?”
The maid’s hands began to tremble as she stood in his way, her face pale in the moonlight. Just then, steady footsteps sounded from behind, “Zifen, step aside.”
The Empress appeared, fully dressed and not having rested. From the direction she came, it was evident she had been in the side hall where the young Crown Prince resided.
The noblewoman, now looking haggard, addressed Huo Xian, “Lord Huo, follow me.”
Reluctantly, the maid stepped aside, and Huo Xian strode forward.
The young Crown Prince, only five years old, lay plump on the bed. Having been unconscious for several days, he could only be sustained by medicinal decoctions. The child, who should have been well-nourished, now had sunken cheeks.
He lay motionless, his breathing the only sign of life.
Huo Xian stood by the bed and reached out to feel the Crown Prince’s pulse.
The Empress’s fingers, hidden within her wide sleeves, dug sharply into her palms. If one looked closely, they would notice that her entire body was tense. She took two defensive steps forward when she saw Huo Xian extend his hand.
Only when she saw Huo Xian merely feeling the pulse did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She had thought he… intended to strangle the young Crown Prince.
She had once witnessed Huo Xian grabbing the Fourth Prince by the legs, hanging him upside down over the lake.
The Fourth Prince was the son of Consort Wan, the second son of Emperor Shun’an.
It had also been a night when the Empress, passing through the imperial garden, saw in a secluded corner a tall man holding the legs of a newborn baby. His expression was so indifferent, so terrifying as he looked down.
The Empress, heart pounding, hid behind a rockery, watching Huo Xian hold that pose for a long time. Only when the Fourth Prince began to struggle and gasp for breath did he finally hand the still-intact baby to a young eunuch beside him.
He said, “The Emperor should not father any more princes… Forget it. Don’t make any more mistakes.”
The next day, Consort Wan still held the Fourth Prince, playing with him, completely unaware of the near-disaster that had almost befallen during the night.
After that, fewer and fewer concubines in the palace became pregnant, and even fewer gave birth successfully. In the past two years, only Consort Lan had given birth to a prince after Consort Wan.
Since then, the Empress had been wary of Huo Xian. To avoid him, she even distanced herself from the Emperor, reducing the number of times she appeared before Huo Xian and imposing the same caution on the Crown Prince.
Huo Xian was by no means simple.
He deliberately corrupted Emperor Shun’an, turning him into a man who only indulged in women and pleasure, but he did not want Emperor Shun’an to have an heir.
He and Zhao Yong were not even on the same path.
The Empress was terrified. This vast capital was a place full of wolves and tigers. Emperor Shun’an did not belong here, nor did she or the young Crown Prince.
So, she began to cultivate secret guards outside the palace, gathering information to avoid being too passive. Perhaps her usual silence allowed her to successfully operate under everyone’s noses, blending into the chaos.
Until she vaguely realized the resurgence of the Eastern Palace, she even noticed it earlier than Zhao Yong.
The Empress understood then that it was time to leave.
Huo Xian tucked the blankets around the young Crown Prince and said indifferently, “Such a young child, does Your Majesty really have the heart? The medicine the Crown Prince is taking, doesn’t it harm his foundation?”
With a “thud,” the Empress felt as if her suspended heart had dropped heavily into the mud. She pressed her hand holding the handkerchief to her chest and said, “What does Lord Huo mean? I am confused.”
Huo Xian glanced at her, suddenly smiling, and then his expression flattened. His demeanor was so calm, as if chatting about household matters, “How long is the medicine the Empress is giving the Emperor supposed to last?”
This was an elegant way of asking when the Emperor was expected to die.
The Empress’s fingernails dug deep into her palms, “I do not understand—”
“Plotting against the Emperor is a capital offense.” Huo Xian tore off his mask of hypocrisy, his deep voice revealing impatience, “Does the Empress still not understand?”
The Empress, breathing rapidly, met his gaze. Her eyes gradually reddened, and she suddenly knelt down, ignoring the maid’s attempts to stop her, “I am merely a woman with no interest in court affairs. The Crown Prince lacks the wisdom for future responsibilities. Please, Lord Huo, grant my son and me a way to survive.”
After speaking, she removed her phoenix crown, pressed her hands and forehead to the ground.
She was just a woman in her early twenties, younger than Huo Xian. The complex palace attire made her appear mature and dignified. But now, shedding that tense facade, she finally revealed her fearful nature.
For a long time, until the candlewick burned out and the flame crackled.
Huo Xian looked at her and asked, “How long?”
“I—I don’t know,” the Empress trembled. “The imperial physician said that after taking the medicine, the Emperor’s body would gradually weaken without showing obvious signs. Normally, a person wouldn’t last three months, and the Emperor might be even quicker.”
The black boots embroidered with beast patterns disappeared from the Empress’s sight and stopped at the door. Huo Xian turned his head and said, “The Empress is a smart person. The Crown Prince is seriously ill, and there is a divine doctor in Tongzhou. The Empress should take the Crown Prince to seek treatment. Leave tomorrow.”
He seemed not to pursue the matter further and just left.
The Empress, her body weakened, almost collapsed to the ground. Her eyes were still filled with tears, looking somewhat confused. Could she really leave this troubled place tomorrow?
Tongzhou—wasn’t it the fiefdom of Prince Ning?
–
Throughout the long night, the Ministry of Justice successfully took Zhao Yong into custody.
Zhao Yong dismissed the stubborn East Depot guards outside the palace with a very calm demeanor, preventing tonight’s events from escalating. However, such a significant event still alarmed hundreds of officials.
Everyone was shocked by Zhao Yong’s compliance. Upon hearing the news, many were still groggy from sleep, with some officials even arriving at the palace gates in their nightclothes, repeatedly confirming the news with the imperial guards.
But Huo Xian knew in his heart that Zhao Yong’s current cooperation was merely a pretense, with a retreat plan already in place. He was waiting for Xiao Cheng’s army to march into the capital.
By then, what would the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court amount to?
Huo Xian sat in the Chonghua Hall for a long time. When he walked out of the palace gates, it was already the latter half of the night.
Just as he took the horse from Nanyue, he saw a carriage slowly approaching from across the long street. Immediately afterward, Xiao Yuanjing, disheveled and dirty, got out of the carriage. It seemed he had just received the news and rushed over to confirm it.
The two of them exchanged glances. Xiao Yuanjing’s shaky steps barely stopped. His dark pupils looked at Huo Xian, no longer polite and distant as usual, but filled with deep hatred.
Huo Xian wanted to maintain the etiquette, but before he could nod, Xiao Yuanjing strode towards the side door.
Xiao Yuanjing had always valued appearances. Why would he act so irrationally over Zhao Yong?
Watching his retreating figure, Huo Xian narrowed his eyes and asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
Nanyue replied, “Ever since that day we returned from the Jiuzhen Temple, Xiao Yuanjing has been acting strangely. It’s said that on the night of the emperor’s mishap, he searched the palace frantically, as if he had lost someone.”
Huo Xian looked away, mounted his horse, and said, “Have someone keep an eye on him.”
Nanyue ran a few steps after him, “Back to the mansion?”
“No,” he said, “to the Northern Zhenfu Division. Do you understand the concept of cutting off the tail to survive? Over the years, no one has been cleaner than the Jinyiwei. Do you think we can get away unscathed just because we didn’t hand over our evidence during this purge by the Ministry of Justice?”
His last words disappeared into the wind. As the horse galloped away, sand flew into Nanyue’s face, who hurriedly mounted his horse to catch up.
–
The next day, the news of the eunuch Zhao Yong being captured and imprisoned spread like willow catkins in the spring breeze.
Ordinary people, unaware of the palace intrigues, only knew the fearsome stone lions in front of the Northern Bureau of Inspection. Once the news broke, the evil deeds of the Eastern Depot and the Directorate of Ceremonial suddenly became widely known. For a time, the Jinyiwei’s notoriety seemed diminished.
However, there were also many who appealed for Zhao Yong.
The reason Zhao Yong could wield such power for so many years was that the court was infested with high-ranking corrupt officials.
One of them was Wang Ying, the Minister of Justice.
As the Minister of Justice, he claimed ignorance of the major event of capturing Zhao Yong. Yet Lin Sheng, a mere vice minister, had bypassed him and learned of the news early. Furious, Wang Ying ordered Zhao Yong’s release, citing insufficient evidence.
But before Zhao Yong could leave the prison of the Ministry of Justice, Wang Ying was taken by the Supreme Court for multiple cases of abuse of power and perverting the law.
Not only Wang Ying, but several other officials were also proven guilty, including Zhou Mao, the Vice Minister of Rites; Li Liheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate; Ling Yousheng, the Academic Advisor of the Hanlin Academy; Cao Jin, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple; and Cheng Youwei, the Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. Most of their crimes involved corruption, abuse of power, and framing colleagues. Some even had multiple murders on their records, with Cheng Youwei being the most hated. It was he who had instructed the young Crown Prince to speak those rebellious words, causing the Grand Tutor to be wrongfully blamed and die in prison.
These were just some of the high-ranking officials in the capital, not to mention the minor officials and local officials. The Ministry of Justice’s swift actions in handling the case made the court highly tense in just three days.
The officials who had intended to act on Zhao Yong’s behalf all fell silent. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court did not intend to imprison all the offenders. After all, if everyone were removed, the court would be unable to function due to the sudden vacancies. Thus, they showed leniency and discretion in their approach.
Those who were not investigated saw it as a chance and naturally did not dare to act rashly.
In this storm, the Jinyiwei managed to stay out of trouble.
The Northern Zhenfu Division decisively cut off its tail, with the Ministry of Justice only catching small fry. Huo Xian managed to keep himself clean.
However, without the support of Zhao Yong, the Northern Zhenfu Division became a target. The stone lions at the gate were doused with dirty water, the steps were littered with fruit peels, and officers in embroidered uniforms faced hostility and had to be cautious of being ambushed.
Liu Wu returned to the courtyard today with a bruised face, eyes red with anger. “How are we supposed to do our jobs? No one cooperates. I asked for a dossier from the Ministry of Justice, and they were all sarcastic, making me look for it myself! Then someone threw a banana peel at the gate, and I slipped! They think our embroidered spring knives are just for show. Just wait until I—”
With a “thud,” a leather ball hit Liu Wu on the forehead. Huo Xian walked into the courtyard and said, “Until you what? I’ve told you to keep a low profile. If you can’t learn to behave, the Ministry of Justice’s prison will be your fate.”
Liu Wu, holding his forehead, dared not speak. He picked up the ball and mumbled, “I was wrong, sir. I was just venting, didn’t mean anything…”
Everyone was worried. It was truly a turn of events. Who could have imagined that the once mighty Jinyiwei would fall to such a state?
Someone asked, “Sir, do we still have a way out?”
Huo Xian didn’t respond, acting as if he hadn’t heard. He lay down on the hammock in the courtyard, closing his eyes to rest.
As the sky gradually darkened and clouds gathered, the last trace of sunlight was swallowed by the dark mist.
At the heavily guarded prison of the Ministry of Justice, a lock clanged shut. The jailer said, “Lord Xiao, please hurry, the next guard shift is coming.”
Xiao Yuanjing’s face still looked unwell, but at least he was now properly dressed. He listlessly raised his eyelids and tossed a gold ingot, saying, “Got it.”
