As an honored guest of the Great Zhou, the courtyard of the Mongolian Crown Prince was patrolled continuously by the Embroidered Uniform Guard twenty-four hours a day.
Batu Möngke took the food box from Han Shuo's hands and turned to go inside the room.
On the couch, Altan was wiping a beauty lantern.
He raised his eyes to glance at Batu Möngke, who came in carrying the food box. "Has the beauty lantern been delivered?"
Batu Möngke nodded. "It was delivered yesterday."
"Did the beauty accept it?" A look of interest appeared on Altan's face.
Batu Möngke nodded. "Yes." After speaking, he opened the food box. Inside were delicacies prepared according to the Mongolian Crown Prince's tastes, consisting of large chunks of beef and mutton. Among them, a plate of steamed buns looked somewhat out of place.
Batu Möngke cautiously closed the doors and windows, then walked back to the table and tore open the steamed buns on the plate.
There were five buns in total. After Batu Möngke tore them all open, he finally found a sealed message tube in the last one.
Inside the tube, two words were written in Mongolian: Night Hunt.
To welcome the guests from afar, the Great Zhou had specially organized a night hunting event and invited the Mongolian Crown Prince to participate.
Although the Mongolian Crown Prince had injured his legs, riding a horse did not require them.
Altan naturally intended to attend this night hunt, for there was something he absolutely had to obtain. This was also the purpose of his visit to the Great Zhou.
During the night hunt, the crowd would be mixed and defenses relaxed, making it the best time for a handover. Moreover, the item could be hidden in the belly of a prey animal and brought out without arousing suspicion.
Wei Heng knew that his Majesty always hated the heat, so he did not expect him to actually participate in this night hunt.
The young man wore a red cross-collared robe with narrow sleeves, covered by a dark square-collared outer garment. A small leather belt was tied around his waist, and he wore black trousers and leather boots below. Riding a reddish-brown blood-sweating steed, his black hair was tied up, and he held a longbow in his hand, his eyes cold and ruthless.
"Your Majesty." For some reason, looking at the young emperor in this state, Wei Heng felt a vague sense of foreboding in his heart.
"This night hunt is to promote peace between Mongolia and the Great Zhou..."
Lu Hexu cast his eyes down at Wei Heng standing beside the steed, clamped his legs around the horse's belly, and rode straight into the hunting grounds.
There was a royal hunting ground on Qingliang Mountain.
For this night hunt, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had killed the overly dangerous and fierce beasts inside ahead of time, and then released some docile animals.
Many people participated in this night hunt, and everyone had already entered the grounds. Only Lu Hexu, because of the stifling heat, had stayed a little longer in the Qingliang Hall, arriving half an hour late. Upon reaching the camp, he was discovered by Wei Heng while leading his horse.
Wei Heng naturally could not stop this little ancestor from joining the night hunt. However, seeing the highly inconvenient eunuch uniform he was wearing, he ordered someone to fetch a simple attendant's riding outfit for him.
Inside the hunting ground, attendants held horn lanterns to guide the way. The lanterns were covered with a layer of thin gauze to avoid startling the prey.
Lu Hexu led the steed beneath him, searching the hunting ground for traces of Altan.
"Your Highness, there, there's a deer!"
Altan was dressed in Mongolian attire. With his inconvenient legs and surrounded by several Mongolian guards, he was extremely easy to identify.
A small deer darted past in front of them, and Altan gave Batu Möngke a look.
Batu Möngke immediately took the Mongolian guards and chased after it.
Altan remained in place alone. After the others had gone far away, he turned his horse around and headed deeper into the woods.
Lu Hexu sat on horseback, tilting his head, the pads of his fingers gently stroking the longbow in his hand.
He raised the longbow with one arm, his gaze landing on Altan.
Hmm, he couldn't use the bow. It would ruin the skin, and the lantern made from it wouldn't look good.
The sky was dim. Altan held a horn lantern, traveling alone through the forest. That person was extremely cautious; he had to show up personally and could not bring any guards with him.
Where on earth were they?
Altan frowned and stopped his horse, then suddenly heard hoofbeats behind him.
He turned around and saw a young man sitting on a blood-sweating steed.
The moonlight was faint, and Altan could only see a vague silhouette.
"Is it you? Where is the item?"
Although Altan had been corresponding with this person all along, he did not know who they actually were.
It was actually such a young boy?
Lu Hexu sat on his horse, pondering how to avoid damaging the skin. Knock him out?
"Hey, I'm talking to you! The item!"
Lu Hexu lifted his eyelids, his voice lazy. "What item?"
Altan's patience had reached its limit. He looked around; there was no one else around, only the two of them. "Stop playing dumb. I've already sent my guards away."
Lu Hexu's gaze fell upon him, and he slowly stroked the reins in his hands.
Altan sensed something was wrong. "It's not you?"
"Shadow One, knock him out."
A dark silhouette swooped down from the tree and delivered a direct chop with the side of their hand.
Altan's body tilted to the side, about to fall off the horse.
"Do not damage his skin. I want to peel it off to make a human skin lantern."
Shadow One's body unconsciously stiffened. Acting faster than their brain, they supported Altan with one hand while straddling the horse, not daring to look up at their master at all.
Shadow One, who was always swift and decisive with a blade, actually felt a surge of compassion, wanting Wei Heng to advise his Majesty that heaven cares for every living thing.
Altan's horse seemed somewhat intelligent and showed signs of restlessness. After being pulled in a circle by Shadow One, it slowly calmed down.
Lu Hexu pulled his horse forward and blew out the horn lantern hanging on Altan's horse.
With the light extinguished, the sounds of the surroundings became much clearer.
Lu Hexu waited quietly.
Before long, figures could be seen moving in a nearby corner, seemingly fleeing.
"Shadow One." The moment Lu Hexu's voice fell, Shadow One pushed off the horse and leaped into the air, landing after a few bounds to intercept the person.
The person was pinned to the ground by Shadow One. By the moonlight, Shadow One saw his face.
Sun Xianning, the son of Grand Secretary Sun.
"What are you doing? Do you know who my father is?"
"Who is it?" The young man on the horse tilted his head to look at him.
Lu Hexu's figure was hidden in the shadows. His face could not be seen at all; only the clothes he was wearing were vaguely visible.
Sun Xianning's gaze swept over the attendant's riding outfit on Lu Hexu, and his expression instantly became contemptuous. "My father is Sun Zhaohua."
Sun Zhaohua, the current Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, respectfully known as Grand Secretary Sun.
Sun Xianning struggled for a moment but could not break free. His eyes instantly turned gloomy. "What kind of thing are you? A eunuch dares to treat me like this!"
Lu Hexu slowly reined his horse forward. The young man's features were bathed in the moonlight, surprisingly showing a sense of purity.
Sun Xianning's expression gradually changed from initial contempt to fear.
"Your, Your Majesty..."
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.
Lu Hexu turned around and saw that Altan, who was supposed to be unconscious on the horse's back, had somehow woken up.
Although his legs were inconvenient, his riding skills were excellent.
Altan pulled the reins tightly, and the horse galloped forward as he shouted loudly, "Batu Möngke!"
"Tsk."
Lu Hexu let out a very low sound. He drew a feathered arrow and nocked it onto the longbow.
The sharp arrow tore through the air, carrying such great force that it directly pierced through Altan's neck.
Altan fell from the horse, his body soaked in fresh blood, and instantly ceased breathing.
Lu Hexu rode his horse to his side and looked down at him, impatience showing in his eyes.
What a pity for this piece of skin.
A choking sound, like someone being strangled, came from behind.
Lu Hexu sat on his horse and tilted his head slightly. His fingertips were still pressing against his longbow, and the hostility on his face had yet to fade.
Behind him, Sun Xianning, who was pinned to the ground by Shadow One, was pale. A large patch of his robe was wet, clearly having soiled himself in fear.
Why wasn't she dead yet?
Su Zhenzhen opened her eyes and saw that the sun was dazzlingly bright today.
The original plot mentioned that Shen Yanci used the treasonous collusion between the Mongolian Crown Prince and Grand Secretary Sun to bring down the aristocratic families led by Grand Secretary Sun. After that, he took over the cabinet, entered the center of power, and became the youngest Grand Secretary of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
At this time, he already had Zhou Changfeng and Wang Ji in his hands. One held military power, and the other controlled the inner court. Combined with the civil officials from humble backgrounds that he had won over, more than half of the imperial court was in his hands. As long as he wanted it, the dragon throne could be his.
Su Zhenzhen always remembered the description in the Imperial Prison from the original novel.
At that time, Sun Zhaohua had already been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, and the one who came to see him was his proudest student.
Sun Zhaohua looked at Shen Yanci, who was holding a gauze lantern, and lowered his voice: "This case is being investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Wang Ji has already taken over the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He is your man. Hurry and have him come save me."
Shen Yanci had been single-handedly promoted by Sun Zhaohua and had always listened to him the most.
The handsome and elegant man possessed a scholarly demeanor, and the green bamboo embroidered on the hem of his robe exuded a profound elegance.
"Teacher, I want to save you too, but if you don't die, how can I become you?"
Hearing this, Sun Zhaohua's eyes widened instantly.
He never expected that his most trusted student would become the sharp sword that killed him.
But no matter how Sun Zhaohua cursed, the man in front of him still stood there with a smile. "Have a good journey, Teacher."
Sun Zhaohua died of his own greed. Despite having immense wealth, he still felt it was not enough and even secretly communicated intelligence with Mongolia to gain benefits.
The original novel mentioned Sun Zhaohua's background. It was said to be an extremely poor family. In winter, the whole family only had one pair of cotton trousers, which they took turns wearing. From such a family came Sun Zhaohua, who relied on himself to climb all the way to the position of Grand Secretary.
Because he was terrified of poverty since childhood, Sun Zhaohua had an extremely paranoid desire for wealth.
He was promoted along the way and amassed wealth along the way, but he never felt he had enough. There was always a hole named poverty in his heart that could never be filled.
After Sun Zhaohua's death, Shen Yanci finally embarked on his own path.
Although Wang Ji was dead now and Shen Yanci's plan to win over Zhou Changfeng had failed, Su Zhenzhen believed that Shen Yanci would not give up this only chance to seize power from Grand Secretary Sun.
The current plot development did not quite match the original novel, but Shen Yanci had an excellent reputation in the court. If he helped the Embroidered Uniform Guard find evidence of Grand Secretary Sun's treason as he did in the original novel, in terms of merit, status, and reputation, he was still the most likely person to take over the position of Grand Secretary.
If one had to say who posed a threat to him and could compete with him for this position, it would probably only be Xie Linzhou. However, Xie Linzhou lacked seniority and would definitely be ranked behind him.
Su Zhenzhen remembered very clearly that on the twentieth day of the seventh month, the day of Major Heat, the matter between the Mongolian Crown Prince and Grand Secretary Sun would be exposed.
Today was the seventeenth of the seventh month.
There were three days left.
For the first time, Su Zhenzhen felt that three days was such a long time.
She hoped that the Mongolian Crown Prince would choke to death on food, choke to death on water, or fall to his death while riding a horse.
So cold.
Why did she feel like she was floating?
Su Zhenzhen opened her eyes and found herself hanging under the eaves of some place.
This was a magnificent mansion, and a man in Mongolian clothes was sitting in a wheelchair, looking up at her and smiling.
Su Zhenzhen felt her body was hot, as if someone had set a fire inside her, burning her whole being to extreme heat.
She looked down again and saw a shadow on the ground.
It was the shadow of a lantern.
Su Zhenzhen realized that her body had turned into a lit beauty lantern, hanging there to be admired, swaying in the wind, surrounded by the howling sound of the wind.
"Have you heard? That Mongolian Crown Prince accidentally fell off his horse and died during a night hunt yesterday."
Su Zhenzhen suddenly woke up from her nightmare. She was in a daze for a while and heard voices outside.
Su Zhenzhen: ??? Wait, what did you say?
Su Zhenzhen stayed in the room for a day. She kept the doors and windows tightly closed. Although she was dizzy from the heat, she still didn't dare to open them. She just curled up in the corner alone, holding a small sickle, barely taking a nap. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she would dream that she had become a beauty lantern, hanging under the eaves, emitting a crying sound of "woo woo woo woo woo".
Su Zhenzhen was frightened awake.
Then, she heard the two eunuchs who came to deliver food discussing this matter. Su Zhenzhen couldn't hold back and came out of the room.
"What were you guys just talking about?"
Su Zhenzhen put the small sickle used for cutting grass behind her back to avoid scaring the two of them.
Wei Heng was the Emperor's favorite and had many godsons. These were low-ranking eunuchs who hoped to latch onto this godson in the courtyard to climb up the ranks, so they served very attentively, and their attitude towards Su Zhenzhen was also exceptionally fawning by association.
"Hasn't Big Sister heard? That Mongolian Crown Prince fell off his horse and died."
She really hadn't heard; she had just heard it now.
"Is it true?" Su Zhenzhen was a bit in disbelief. She even thought that it was her thinking about it by day and dreaming about it by night, that she was dreaming.
She thought, this was really a super sweet dream, and she didn't want to wake up.
"Of course, I heard the corpse has already been carried back." One of the eunuchs patted his chest and guaranteed, "I was on duty today and saw the corpse carried right past my eyes. How could it be fake?"
Su Zhenzhen said seriously, "Swear it."
Eunuch: ...
Su Zhenzhen went back to the room, rummaged through the cabinets, but only found a few mosquito-repellent incense sticks.
There really were no proper incense candles, but mosquito-repellent incense was still incense.
She lit the mosquito-repellent incense, stuck it in the courtyard, and thanked all the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas in heaven she could think of.
Guanyin Bodhisattva, Tathagata Buddha, Earth God, Broom Star, Victorious Fighting Buddha bless me... After Su Zhenzhen bowed, she took some food from the small kitchen and placed it there as offerings, then continued to kowtow.
Just as she finished, a familiar figure appeared at the courtyard gate over there. The young man walked in carrying a glazed lamp. His gaze swept over the three sticks of incense and the offerings, seeming a bit puzzled, but he didn't ask much. He just sat on the stone block in the courtyard, frowned slightly, and uttered three words, "The skin is ruined."
Su Zhenzhen: ???
What skin was ruined?
Su Zhenzhen walked a circle around the little eunuch.
He was perfectly fine, not a bit of skin was broken. Could it be broken in a place unseen under his clothes?
Should she strip him to take a look?
"Otherwise, it could have been made into a human skin lantern."
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen got goosebumps all over her body.
She sat down beside the young man, "Who is it? So vicious."
Lu Hexu's gaze fell on her face, "Isn't it what you wanted?"
"Who wanted it? When did I ever ask for it? Don't talk nonsense. How could someone as kind, cute, pure, and beautiful as me say such cruel and heartless things?"
The two looked at each other. A moment later, the young man looked away.
Lu Hexu returned to the Qingliang Hall, his gaze falling on the empty lantern stand.
"Your Majesty, this is made of white jade..."
"I don't want it."
Wei Heng was speechless.
Having spent a full two hours selecting a lantern stand, Wei Heng smiled and had the young eunuchs carry it away. He then placed the confession he had just retrieved from Han Shuo onto the imperial desk. "This is Sun Xianning's confession. The Imperial Bodyguards found a border defense map on him."
Actually, Wei Heng had always been puzzled as to how someone like Altan could have invaded the borders of the Great Zhou for so many years.
Now, the incident was completely clear.
There was a mole.
And this mole was actually the son of Elder Sun, who held overwhelming power in the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, your servant's opinion is that we should not alert the enemy." Behind Sun Xianning, there was bound to be an even bigger fish.
For instance, that Elder Sun whom they had never found a way to deal with.
Pausing for a moment, Wei Heng added, "If the death of the Mongolian Crown Prince is not handled well, it could easily trigger a conflict between our two nations. Your servant believes that for the sake of stability, this matter cannot be publicized for the time being. Your servant has already ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to strictly control the Qingliang Palace and made all those who know about it keep their mouths shut."
"Mm," Lu Hexu replied faintly. "I leave this matter to you."
The hall fell silent for a moment. Wei Heng stood not far from Lu Hexu, slightly raising his head.
Under the dim yellow light of the glazed lamp, the young emperor, dressed in light-colored casual clothes, sat lazily behind the imperial desk, frowning as he flipped through memorials.
If previously Wei Heng had thought Lu Hexu was just an overgrown child with a twisted personality who loved to kill at the slightest disagreement, rather than a wise ruler capable of governing a country, then ever since the imperial examination fraud case, Wei Heng had realized that Lu Hexu's intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Wei Heng bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
After speaking, Wei Heng still did not leave.
Lu Hexu shot him an impatient look.
A smile appeared on Wei Heng's face. He took a slight step forward. His expression was somewhat intimate, but his posture remained respectful. "Your Majesty, tomorrow is your birthday."
The emperor's birthday was comparable to major festivals like New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, known as the Changchun Festival. In the past, when the Empress Dowager was still around, the Changchun Festival would be celebrated extravagantly, but this current emperor never made an appearance.
Lu Hexu had always disliked this day, even loathed it.
He reached out to press his throbbing forehead, then raised his hand and swept all the memorials off the imperial desk. "Get lost!"
Faced with the emperor's wrath, Wei Heng quickly knelt on the ground, then bowed and retreated with a pale face.
He had overstepped his bounds.
When Wei Heng was young, he was punished and sent into the palace, becoming a rootless eunuch.
The first time he saw this young emperor, he was already eight years old.
Wei Heng was not very clear about the past. He only knew that two years later, this person he thought was a little eunuch suddenly disappeared.
When they met again, he was already sitting on that dragon throne.
Having shed the childishness of a toddler, the fourteen-year-old boy was full of hostility, wielding a long sword and frequently going mad and killing people.
No one knew what had happened to him during those four years.
The next day, orders came from above to keep quiet about the Mongolian Crown Prince's death. Su Zhenzhen was finally certain that the man was truly dead.
She felt that receiving such good news today was something worth celebrating.
How wonderful, she got to live another day.
Su Zhenzhen spent a heavy sum to ask the eunuch who delivered her meals to get her a pot of seasonal osmanthus wine from the imperial kitchens.
In truth, Su Zhenzhen was also someone who loved to drink, but because she disliked the feeling of losing control, she always knew when to stop.
Since arriving in this world, her heart had always been tense.
Constantly facing life and death like this could easily cause someone to snap.
Since she could not relax naturally, she might as well borrow the power of external things.
Most wines brewed in ancient times did not have alcohol content labels. Although Su Zhenzhen knew how to drink, her tolerance was not high. She took a small sip, and the fragrance of osmanthus permeated the air, seeping into her heart.
Although she could no longer gossip about that Mongolian Crown Prince, she heard that today was that tyrant's birthday.
In the past, it would definitely have been held with great grandeur, causing the commoners to point fingers behind his back and criticize him for being extravagant and wasteful.
This time, however, there was no movement at all.
"His Majesty seems to be a frugal person."
That was not frugality, but disgust.
Su Zhenzhen still remembered some of the original novel's descriptions of this tyrant emperor. If she had experienced such things, she naturally would not have any good feelings toward her own birthday either.
Whatever, what did the tyrant have to do with her?
Su Zhenzhen closed her door, stir-fried two small dishes, and drank her wine.
It was a bit of a pity that there was no beautiful young man to accompany her as she drank.
Today was unusually hot.
Lu Jingchuan supported himself on the ground, his fingertips digging into the ice block beside him, his nails scraping against the ice and making a sharp sound.
His body was soaked in hot sweat as he turned his head to look out the window.
Separated by a completely light-blocking reed blind, the sun outside had not yet gone down.
Lu Hexu felt that the daylight today was exceptionally long.
He rolled over, pressing his back against the ice block. His wet black hair clung to his neck, and the trace of coldness spread from his back to his entire body, yet it still could not stop that bloodthirsty urge.
A mirror standing not far away reflected his appearance, his black hair scattered, his face deathly pale.
Lu Hexu stared at that face in the mirror. After a moment of absentmindedness, he reached up and covered his forehead.
His hands grabbed blindly until he caught hold of the ugly sachet hanging at his waist.
Lu Hexu placed it under his nose. The cold, bitter scent of herbal medicine soaked into his lungs, suppressing the burning sensation that was scorching his internal organs.
How much longer.
Lu Hexu curled up and lay prone, panting heavily.
Finally, a couple of hours later, night fell.
Clutching the sachet, Lu Hexu grabbed the glazed lamp at hand, left the Qingliang Palace, kicked open the small gate on the path, and entered the small courtyard.
In the courtyard, the moonlight slanted down. The door to the main room was not closed, and the fragrance of wine seeped out from within.
Su Zhenzhen easily showed it on her face when she drank. With just one small cup, a red flush of intoxication immediately stamped her cheeks, and the delicate, lingering aroma of wine was drawn into her lungs.
She intermittently drank another half pot and was already half-drunk. She did not know how much time had passed, but Su Zhenzhen vaguely felt as if someone was pinching her neck.
That hand was freezing cold, making her shiver even on such a hot day.
Like a puppy being held by the scruff of its neck, Su Zhenzhen let out an uncomfortable sound and then slowly woke up.
Seeing that she was awake, that hand finally let go, but Su Zhenzhen began to long for that cool, comfortable temperature again.
She supported her chin with one hand and tilted her head slightly, only to suddenly see a familiar face.
Hm?
An illusion?
She had not ordered a beautiful boy.
Most importantly, she could not afford one of this quality.
Su Zhenzhen was already dizzy from the alcohol.
She looked at the little eunuch sitting beside her.
So pretty.
No lamps were lit in the room, and the door was wide open.
Moonlight shone in from outside. That glazed lamp had been placed on the table by Lu Hexu, and only the two of them were bathed in light.
The young man frowned, his face pale, looking as if he was not in a very good state. "The sachet. It has no scent anymore."
What sachet?
Su Zhenzhen saw the sachet dangling from the young man's fingertips.
What an ugly mouse sachet.
It was an eyesore.
Su Zhenzhen reached out, grabbed the mouse sachet, and clenched it in her hand.
Without the sachet blocking her view, she tilted her head and stared at Lu Hexu, her expression growing increasingly hazy.
The aroma of wine permeated the entire room; Lu Hexu disliked the smell.
He turned his head to meet the woman's gaze.
The weather was still sweltering. Lu Hexu hated this kind of weather; the stifling heat seeped right into his bones, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Pushed to his physical limits by the heat, Lu Hexu rested his jaw on one hand. His expression was calm and his eyelids were half-lowered, but his chest rose and fell heavily, clearly suppressing something.
"Hurry up and get me a new one."
What was she muttering about?
Su Zhenzhen's breathing gradually grew heavier. She felt light and floaty, as if she were in a dream.
If it was a dream, then doing something a little out of line wouldn't matter, right?
The room was very dark, save for a halo of light cast by a glazed lamp resting on the table.
Lu Hexu turned his head to look at the heavily intoxicated woman.
Su Zhenzhen didn't speak; she merely stared at him.
She recognized him. It was Mu Dan.
Su Zhenzhen felt an illusion materialize before her eyes.
She saw the young man holding her hand in the corridor of the imperial prison, walking out to meet the morning light. Then, he stood at the prison gates and turned to look at her. His eyes were lowered, and the blue-gray sky behind him made him look incredibly handsome.
So handsome.
By the table, Lu Hexu returned her gaze expressionlessly.
He was contemplating how to sober her up.
Lu Hexu's gaze fell upon the water vat in the courtyard, which held a few lotus flowers.
He could just dunk her head straight into it.
The next moment, the woman's face suddenly leaned in close.
She stopped mere inches from him and reached out her fingertips. Her damp skin carried the sweet scent of osmanthus wine as she gently pressed against the corners of his lips, tugging them upward.
Oh, daring to bare your teeth.
Just one kiss.
The woman's soft features were flushed with the intoxicating scent of alcohol, her lips moist and scorching hot. When she pressed them against his, Lu Hexu froze in shock for a split second.
The moment was fleeting, as the woman tilted her head and collapsed into his arms.
Lu Hexu instinctively grabbed the back of her collar with one hand to keep her from sliding to the floor.
