CHAPTER 36: 35. BURN BRIDGES AFTER CROSSING

The Twelve Imperial Supervisors, Four Divisions, and eight stores, altogether known as the twenty-four inner court offices.

The Ritual Supervision ranked first among these twenty-four government offices, controlled by the Chief Eunuch, whose power in the Inner Court was almost absolute.

Emperor Ning, devoted to his religious practices, had not attended court or managed state affairs for many years. Even the memorials submitted by the outer court officials were to be endorsed by the Ritual Supervision on his behalf.

Because the Chief Eunuch managed all affairs so efficiently, Emperor Ning specially bestowed him a building named "Jiefan" to commend the Ritual Supervision’s contributions.

At noon, Wu Xiu, respectfully bowing, backed out from the shadows of the Covered Building.

Only when sunlight fell on him did the red python embroidered on his robe vividly reappear.

He slowly exhaled, straightened up, and strode towards the pigeon house.

Along the way, all the eunuchs who saw his python robe knelt down early to greet him, but Wu Xiu did not glance sideways, nor did he look at them.

Arriving at the pigeon house, he sent away the little eunuch cleaning the pigeon cages and wrote a note beside a desk.

He examined the note several times, ensuring the handwriting and the message were correct before carefully rolling it into a slender bamboo tube.

Wu Xiu approached the pigeon cage marked with "Luocheng City," reached inside to fetch a pigeon, and meticulously tied the bamboo tube to its leg. He then threw the pigeon into the sky from outside the door.

He watched as the pigeon flew away, lost in thought.

A little eunuch hurried over. "Godfather, His Majesty summons you. The Daoist leader from Huangshan Mountain and his chief disciple Zhang Li have arrived."

Wu Xiu nodded. "I understand."

He watched the pigeon soar into the sky, circle above Imperial City, and then head south. Wu Xiu mused, "Birds in the sky are truly free."

The little eunuch quickly tried to lighten the mood: "Godfather, why envy a bird? Once you take his place, you’ll be second only to one, above tens of thousands, much freer than it."

Wu Xiu gave him a piercing look, his gaze seemingly calm yet chilling the little eunuch to the core: "Godfather, I misspoke."

"If you make such an error again, go to the Firewood Store to chop firewood," Wu Xiu said, picking up the hem of his robe and quickly crossing the threshold towards West Garden Renshou Palace.

Yet he saw that gray pigeon flying out of the vast Forbidden City, passing beyond the Capital Territory, over clouds and plains, rivers, and mountains.

The first night, the pigeon stopped to rest at a pigeon station in Hebi.

The next day, it flew straight south, and on the third morning, it arrived at a small courtyard in Luocheng City.

There, a black-clad spy stood before a sandbox displaying the layout of Liu Family Mansion and the Liu Family Ancestral Tomb.

At that moment, Yun Yang spotted the circling pigeon in the sky, grabbed a handful of corn and raised his hand. The pigeon, flapping its wings, landed in his palm.

"Jiao Tu! A letter from Imperial Capital," Yun Yang called out.

Jiao Tu responded from inside: "Quick, open it and see what Lord Prime Minister has to say."

Yun Yang broke the seal and removed the letter: "It’s from Wu Xiu again, I recognize his handwriting... Wu Xiu says we are to decide whether or not to send Jiefan Guards to exhume and inspect the body."

Jiao Tu stepped out, leaning against the door frame: "This is troublesome. If something goes wrong, we’ll be the scapegoats. What should we do? Do we proceed?"

"If Lord Prime Minister hasn’t stopped us, he is likely hoping we will act. If we succeed, it’s a great merit for us, but if we fail... At the very least, we’d be exiled to Lingnan," Yun Yang pondered in the courtyard.

Jiao Tu rolled his eyes: "Among the convicts in Lingnan, at least eight hundred were arrested by us. Would we ever have a good outcome if we ended up there?"

"Don’t worry, we are both Executive Officers," Yun Yang reassured.

"There are dozens of Executive Officers we sent to Lingnan!"

"Their families are still in our control; they wouldn’t dare rebel. With our relationship with Lord Prime Minister, even if we were exiled, we wouldn’t suffer... Wait, why are we talking as if we are definitely going to be exiled? We surely won’t fail this time; the Liu Family is just waiting to be convicted and punished!" Yun Yang chuckled.

Jiao Tu tilted his head, looking towards the note. "Did Lord Prime Minister give any other instructions?"

Yun Yang looked down at the note again, his expression suddenly changing: "Wu Xiu asks us to hand over information about the masked man from Liu Residence to him!"

"What? It must be Lin Chaoqing who has complained! These Criminal Justice Department people always just complain!" Jiao Tu grumbled irritably. "...But, Chen Ji could still turn out to be a useful spy, helping us earn merits. We should just transfer him under our command."

Yun Yang, however, shook his head: "No... What do you think of Chen Ji?"

Jiao Tu thought for a moment: "...When he thinks things through silently, he seems quite sensible."

"That’s not what I’m talking about!" Yun Yang frowned. "That night at Zhou Mansion, he killed the Zhou butler to save his own life. I could tell he wasn’t experienced yet; there was still hesitation in his eyes. But now, just a few days later, when I hang someone in the inner prison, he can watch calmly."

Yun Yang looked at Jiao Tu gravely: "Jiao Tu, Chen Ji is a vengeful person, he’ll never forget how we treated him initially. Lord Prime Minister likes people who are smart and unscrupulous. If one day he climbs higher than us, we won’t survive."

Jiao Tu pondered for a while: "Then should we kill him? After all, the Liu Family case doesn’t need him anymore. But if Lord Prime Minister finds out, he will definitely investigate the cause of death. Whether it’s Xuan Snake or Jin Zhu investigating, we can’t hide it."

Yun Yang shook his head: "That’s why we can’t do it ourselves; we need to use someone else’s hand to kill."

"What should be done now?"

"You take the King’s Command Flag and reconcile with the Jiefan Guard, while I go borrow a knife. Success or failure hinges on today."

The autumn morning in Luocheng City was crisp and pleasant, the ninth day of the ninth month. It was considered an auspicious day for traveling, getting married, praying for blessings, healing diseases, and killing.

...

...

Taiping Medical Hall.

Three fellow disciples leaned against the entrance of the Medical Hall, cheerily watching the passersby.

With the approach of the Double Ninth Festival, not only were large households inviting Buddha and Bodhisattva processions to rid them of calamities and evils, but wealthy merchants were also distributing ’Chongyang cakes’ door-to-door.

Taverns displayed signs for chrysanthemum wine at their entrances, while street vendors roamed through streets and alleys, selling red bags—one free Cornelian with each purchase.

Chen Ji lamented, "The Double Ninth Festival is so lively."

Where he came from, the festive atmosphere was no longer as intense. Firecrackers were banned during Chinese New Year, and Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival had turned into commercial frenzies.

Wait, Chen Ji suddenly asked, "How did the Double Ninth Festival originate?"

Liu Quxing casually replied, "Don’t you know? During the Eastern Han, in Henan Province’s Ru Nan, an epidemic broke out. A man named Huan Jing, because of this, sought out the Immortal Master ’Fei Changfang’. Fei Changfang gave Huan Jing a pot of chrysanthum wine and a Cornelian, advising him to take his family to higher grounds on the ninth day of the ninth month to avoid evil. After the ninth day, Huan Jing and his family descended the mountain only to discover all their livestock had perished by disease, but his family had avoided the disaster."

Chen Ji was stunned, as the origin of the Double Ninth Festival in his hometown was exactly the same.

The same Eastern Han period, the same Fei Changfang and Huan Jing.

If he could forcibly accept that the same moon and sun hung in the sky, but even the legendary stories were the same, he inevitably had to ponder: Why?

What connection could there be between two worlds?

As he pondered, he saw Chunhua from the Late Star Garden approaching with two strong servants, carrying four food boxes.

She Dengke’s eyes lit up, "Chunhua, what brings you here?"

Dressed in a light green tunic embroidered with a timely golden chrysanthemum, Chunhua lifted her skirt slightly and said with a radiant smile, "Isn’t it the Double Ninth Festival? My lady sent me to deliver some snacks to the Medical Hall."

Liu Quxing hurriedly took the snack boxes from the servant’s hands, "Miss Chunhua, that’s really thoughtful of you. The last time I had snacks from the Late Star Garden was during the Lantern Festival. I haven’t forgotten them even now."

Suddenly, Chunhua turned her gaze towards Chen Ji with a smile, "My lady happens to be free today and wanted to invite some doctors from your Medical Hall to have tea and chat. What do you think?"

She Dengke hastily responded, "Oh, that would be wonderful!"

However, at that moment, Chen Ji caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of Wu Yun, who had somehow reached the eaves across the street, panting heavily.

Wu Yun meowed, a sound only Chen Ji understood, "Someone informed Princess Consort Jing that you are the masked man from the Liu Shenyu mansion. She plans to trap and kill you!"

A sense of immense danger surged within Chen Ji.

Who revealed his identity to Princess Consort Jing?

It had to be Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, as only they knew his true identity.

Was it because the case involving the Liu Family was close to netting a big fish, and they felt they no longer needed him, deciding to cut ties?

Without changing his demeanor, Chen Ji looked towards Chunhua and asked with a smile, "Miss Chunhua, why has Princess Consort Jing invited us?"

Chunhua explained, "Last time, you greatly helped by finding that cup. Otherwise, my lady would have continued to use it to drink water. She had said she wanted to thank you, but has been caught up with other matters. Only today did she find some free time."

But Chen Ji’s question was not really addressed to Chunhua, it was aimed at Wu Yun: Why does Princess Consort Jing want to kill me?

Wu Yun meowed again, "Princess Consort Jing is from the Liu Family, and Liu Shenyu is the only son of her sister. She had left the Prince Mansion a few days ago to pay respects at Old Master Liu’s mourning!"

So the significant figure in the Prince Mansion connected with the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department wasn’t Consort Yun, but Princess Consort Jing!

But if Princess Consort Jing was that significant figure, why did she initially want him dead? Didn’t she know he was a Jing Dynasty spy?

Strange, very strange!

Seeing Chen Ji silent, Chunhua waved her hand in front of his eyes, "Chen Ji? What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ji snapped back to reality and smiled at Chunrong, "Sorry, today is the Double Ninth Festival, and our master has allowed us to go home for a reunion. Please apologize to Princess Consort Jing for me, I will surely attend next time."

Saying this, he ignored the surprised looks of everyone present and left without turning back.

Princess Consort Jing’s attempts at revenge wouldn’t end with this one time. If she failed this time, she would definitely try again.

Chen Ji didn’t know if he could easily escape next time, but he knew his revenge only needed one chance.

He muttered softly, "Just hope there’s still enough time..."