The air was stagnant for a moment. Shen Qingzhuo looked at his little disciple’s dark eyes and felt a little guilty for no reason.
“Cough, cough.” Young Master Shen coughed twice, “Well?”
“Who is he?” Xiao Shen took the initiative and pointed at the young eunuch kneeling on the ground and asked, “Why have I never seen him before?”
Shen Qingzhuo was speechless for a moment. He really didn’t know the new secret guard’s name. He couldn’t call him an assassin, right?
So he turned around and asked, “What’s your name?”
The Secret Guard: “I don’t have a name.”
“Nonsense!” Xiao Shen stared at him and asked harshly, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
He had never felt such hostility towards a person without any reason, but the moment he entered the door, he actually saw his master bending down to touch this man’s face!
A surge of extreme anger suddenly surged in his chest. His master never touched anyone other than him. How could he touch someone else’s face so intimately?
“Alright, let me tell you.” Shen Qingzhuo explained concisely, “This is my new secret guard.”
Xiao Shen: “What secret guard?”
Shen Qingzhuo turned to the secret guard again and said, “This is His Highness the Seventh Prince, your other master.”
The secret guard replied without hesitation: “Yes, Master.”
“I don’t need any secret guards.” Xiao Shen said with a stern face, “Has Master found out his background?”
Shen Qingzhu: “En.”
He chose to close the door tightly first.
The secret guard said expressionlessly, “I have died once. From now on, I will only recognize Master.”
Xiao Shen frowned and was about to continue questioning but was pulled aside by his master.
“I’m telling you the truth. You need to stay calm.” Shen Qingzhuo held his disciple’s hand and tried to comfort him in advance. “Can you do this?”
Xiao Shen had a hunch that what he was going to say was not a good thing, but he still stiffened his neck and said, “Alright.”
Shen Qingzhuo: “Do you still remember the assassin in the assassination of Concubine Yuan? When I was interrogating him, I promised to let him go if he revealed the mastermind behind the incident.”
“What does this have to do with what we are talking about now?” Xiao Shen looked at him in confusion.
“Don’t worry, the connection will come soon.” Shen Qingzhuo said slowly, “Because I promised to let him go, so later, I found a dying prisoner in the imperial prison to replace him.”
The more Xiao Shen listened, the more he felt something was wrong. Suddenly, an idea struck him: “It’s him!”
Shen Qingzhuo nodded: “This is a serious matter, and only the three of us can know about it.”
Xiao Shen gritted his teeth, suddenly broke free from him, and fiercely pounced on the secret guard, who was kneeling on the ground, knocking him to the ground with a heavy punch.
The instinct acquired through long-term training made him want to fight back, but the words his master had just said echoed in his mind, and the secret guard could only stand still and take the punch.
One side of his cheek quickly became swollen, his teeth bit through his cheek, and blood flowed out from the corner of his lip.
“Xiao Qi!” Shen Qingzhuo reacted and grabbed the youth’s arm. “Don’t do it!”
“He hurt you!” Xiao Shen turned around and growled in disbelief, “He caused you to be in so much pain that you couldn’t sleep for more than half a month, and you actually still protected him!”
Shen Qingzhuo was stunned by the yell and couldn’t help but recall the day when assassination happened during spring hunting. The youth kneeled in front of him and cried so sadly, and he was so scared that his whole body was shaking.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingzhuo softened his voice and explained softly: “He has been subjected to eighteen kinds of punishment in the imperial prison, which is enough to offset the sword he stabbed me with.”
Xiao Shen pursed his lips tightly, his eyes dark with anger. “That can’t be forgotten either!”
Anyone who hurts his master should be cut into pieces and then killed!
“Listen to me, Xiao Qi.” Shen Qingzhuo said seriously, “In this assassination case, he is not even a pawn. He was just a sword used by the Crown Prince to kill people and can be thrown away after use.”
Xiao Shen’s chest heaved violently twice, but he didn’t respond.
“A long time ago, Master told you that in this palace, many people have no control over their lives.” Shen Qingzhuo held the youth’s thin shoulders and patiently guided him: “I was innocently stabbed, shouldn’t I be angry? But I won’t vent my anger on this little assassin, because I can find the real enemy.”
After these words, the angry youth gradually regained his senses that had run away from home.
Shen Qingzhuo let go of his hand. “He was willing to work for me to repay me for saving his life, and we are in need of people, so I kept him. It’s that simple.”
Perhaps it was the word “we” that clearly divided the distance between the close and distant. The youth’s stiff body relaxed a little and compromised, “He can stay, but he must pass my test.”
Shen Qingzhuo chuckled and replied, “Of course. I told you, you are also his little master.”
Xiao Shen angrily said again, “I’m not little anymore!”
“Alright, alright, alright, you are very big, super big.” Shen Qingzhuo nodded perfunctorily and went to check the secret guard’s situation.
While the two were talking, the secret guard had been sitting on the ground, not even wiping the blood from the corner of his lips.
Shen Qingzhuo leaned over and held out a hand, “Get up.”
The secret guard stared at his hand in a daze. Just as he was about to touch it, a shadow flashed by, and he was forcibly pulled up by a fierce force.
“Stop pretending to be pitiful.” Xiao Shen let go of his hand unhappily.
Pretending to be pitiful was his privilege in front of his master, and no one could take it away.
In the following days, Xiao Shen was like a loyal guard dog, staying by his master’s side whenever he had time to prevent the damn assassin from having any ill intentions.
However, the secret guard interpreted the word “secret” to the extreme.
He always hid in the dark, like a real shadow. As long as Shen Qingzhuo didn’t call him, he would not appear in front of his master.
Shen Qingzhuo felt relieved and became more and more satisfied with his decision to leave the secret guard behind.
At the same time, he also began to plan to cultivate a force that truly belonged to him.
As for his frail “paratrooper” and being a “big shot” in front of the emperor, though the Jinyiwei of the Beizhen Fushi did not dare to express their dissatisfaction with him openly, but they must have cursed him countless times behind his back.
He didn’t care. As long as these people didn’t curse him in front of him and didn’t let him hear it, he could just pretend that he knew nothing as long as everyone worked together to get the job done.
The affairs of the Beizhen Fushi were divided into two parts, Shengjing and various local prefectures.
Since Shen Qingzhuo could not leave Shengjing, his daily activities included investigation, arrest, and interrogation. He monitored the officials in Shengjing for misconduct, theft, and confidential matters and then secretly reported to Emperor Guangxi.
Therefore, ever since he entered the Beizhen Fushi, Emperor Guangxi summoned him more and more frequently, and he became more and more familiar with several senior eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department.
Dayong had the Imperial Household Department, which was in charge of approving imperial documents. In layman’s terms, it was the emperor’s chief stewards who used to check and balance the officials in the cabinet.
Eunuch Su was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department. He had two Bingbi eunuchs1Eunuch in charge of writing. under him. The Chief Eunuch, Pan Chong, was his godson and also in charge of the Dongchang.
This person is very good at dealing with people and is very smooth and thoughtful in his work. His only weakness is his lust.
Although he is an eunuch and has no tool2It was referring to the lightsaber lol to do his job, but it does not prevent him from being lustful.
Rumor has it that, precisely because he was so inhumane, Eunuch Pan had endless ways of torturing the palace maids and eunuchs, and almost no one who entered his room could come out safely.
Shen Qingzhuo hated this kind of pervert who enjoyed torturing others, but when he saw him in front of the palace, he still politely called him “Chef Eunuch Pan.”
The relationship between the Dongchang and the Jinyiwei has always been delicate, with their power and status rising and falling, and was always controlled by Emperor Guangxi within a reasonable range.
Although the Jinyiwei is slightly more prominent nowadays, but there is Eunuch Su behind Pan Chong who should not be underestimated.
When Pan Chong saw him, he immediately smiled from ear to ear and said in a raised voice, “Aiyo, Lord Zhenfu has come to see His Majesty again ah.”
Shen Qingzhuo nodded slightly: “There is an important case to report to His Majesty.”
“The Beizhen Fushi has been very busy recently, congratulations.” Pan Chong stared at the face, which was more beautiful than a woman’s in front of him. He bowed and smiled in front of the other party’s cold face, “Then Zanjia will not delay Lord Zhenfu.”
Shen Qingzhuo bowed in return, turned around, and stepped into the imperial court.
Emperor Guangxi was dozing on the dragon couch, and the hall was filled with smoke from ambergris.
As his health was deteriorating, Emperor Guangxi had recently begun to seek out Taoist masters and study the art of cultivating immortality and refining elixirs in order to achieve immortality.
Little did he know that those pills would only send him to his death faster.
Shen Qingzhuo kneeled down, and greeted: “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Stand up.” Emperor Guangxi slowly opened his increasingly cloudy eyes. “Has there been any progress in the case where the Imperial Censor impeached the Chief Examiner, Lian Zhong, for favoritism and fraud in the palace examination?”
“Answer Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei did not find any large amount of gold, silver, or jade in Lord Lian’s house.” Shen Qingzhuo reported truthfully, “The Lian family is extremely poor, and the women in the family are all wearing plain cotton and linen clothes.”
Emperor Guangxi sneered: “So, Shen Qing3The monarch would address his minister as Aiqing, which means beloved minister. thinks that Lian Zhong was wrongly accused?”
“The minister thinks that this matter is not that simple.” Shen Qingzhuo said in a deep voice, “It is precisely because Lian Zhong’s family is so poor that it seems to be trying to cover up something, which makes people more suspicious.”
Emperor Guangxi glanced at him and agreed, “Continue investigating.”
Shen Qingzhuo: “The minister obeyed the order.”
Emperor Guangxi took a breath and asked again, “Has the Empress Dowager summoned you privately recently?”
Shen Qingzhuo remained calm: “No.”
“Your mother is the Empress Dowager’s niece, that’s right.” Emperor Guangxi said in an unfathomable tone, “But you have to know who the Shen family is loyal to.”
Shen Qingzhuo immediately knelt down and said, “Father is loyal and devoted, Qingzhuo will naturally swear allegiance to Your Majesty until death as well.”
“Good, Zhen is relieved that you can handle things clearly.” Emperor Guangxi sighed, “After you joined the Beizhen Fushi, you handled several cases fairly well. Work hard, and Zhen will not treat you unfairly.”
“Thanks for Your Majesty’s kindness.” Shen Qingzhuo replied firmly, “The minister will definitely live up to Your Majesty’s grace.”
“Retreat first.” Emperor Guangxi waved his hand weakly and then seemed to remember something: “Seventh Prince, how is he doing?”
Shen Qingzhuo thought for a moment and replied, “Everything is normal. His Highness the Seventh Prince has been spending a lot of time in the martial arts arena recently.”
Emperor Guangxi closed his eyes. “Well. If he trains his body well, he will live longer in the future.”
Shen Qingzhuo withdrew from the imperial court and returned to his residence.
Halfway through, he suddenly turned around and headed straight towards Changle Palace.
He did not lie in front of Emperor Guangxi. He had been busy with the official duties of the Beizhen Fushi recently, and his little disciple, apart from reading and practicing calligraphy, spent all his time wasting his energy in the martial arts arena.
This time, the two have not seen each other for three days. He couldn’t afford to neglect the education of his little disciple.
It was getting dark. As soon as Shen Qingzhuo stepped into Changle Palace, he saw the palace attendants kneeling on the ground in the outer hall.
“What’s going on?” He casually asked a young eunuch kneeling at the entrance of the palace, “Where is His Highness the Seventh Prince?”
The young eunuch heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the person coming was Young Master Shen and hesitantly said, “Answer, answer Young Master, two girls just came from the Empress Dowager’s palace…”
“Empress Dowager?” Shen Qingzhuo frowned. “Did the Empress Dowager’s palace send maids over?”
He sneered in his heart. The Empress Dowager was too impatient. She couldn’t even wait to plant spies in Changle Palace?
The young eunuch lowered his head. “Yes…”
Shen Qingzhuo looked around and said, “There are only two more palace maids. It has nothing to do with you all. Why are you all kneeling here?”
“This…” The young eunuch said, “Young Master, you should go in and take a look yourself.”
Shen Qingzhuo walked in confused.
Before he could even get close to the inner hall, he heard a series of deafening “crackling” noises, accompanied by the youth’s angry roar: “Get out! All of you get out!”
Shen Qingzhuo was shocked and thought to himself, Is his little disciple going to tear down the house after just a few days of not seeing each other?
He quickened his pace and pushed open the palace door with exquisite patterns, but he happened to bump into a figure running out from inside who fell into his arms.
“Ai!” Shen Qingzhuo subconsciously reached out to support the other party, took a closer look, and then let go of his hand as if frightened and took several steps back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to touch you.”
The woman who bumped into him was wearing a gorgeous palace dress that was untied, her hair was slightly disheveled, and her shoulders were half exposed. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, then pushed him away in shame and anger and ran out.
Shen Qingzhuo was dumbfounded and stood there in a daze.
“Go away ah!” The youth’s slightly hoarse voice exploded in his ears. “Master! Master, save me!”
Shen Qingzhuo suddenly came to his senses and saw a handsome youth on the messy bed with his clothes half-removed. He was holding on to the waistband of his pants and hiding inside. His feet were kicking on the quilt weakly, trying to kick away the woman who was trying to climb onto the bed.
With a “crack”, he seemed to hear the sound of something breaking.
What does this scene of forcibly snatching a young man mean…
“Master!” The youth seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw, and his voice was already a little tearful when he called him.
Shen Qingzhuo pursed his lips and said in a low voice, “Let go of His Highness.”
The woman on the bed was shocked and unexpectedly obedient. She quickly got off the bed and knelt on the ground, “Young Master Shen.”
Shen Qingzhuo asked coldly, “What are you doing?”
The maid replied calmly, “Answer, My Lord, the servant is here to teach His Highness the Seventh Prince the art in the bedchamber on the orders of the Empress Dowager.”
Shen Qingzhuo: “……”
He almost forgot that although his little disciple was only fifteen years old and had not grown up yet in his heart, according to the custom of Dayong, the princes had to visit4Not really visit, it’s like to do this and that… the palace maids when they turned fourteen and would take concubines and marry wives at the age of sixteen or seventeen at the latest.
But Xiao Shen grew up in the cold palace, and later he was the only one who acted as both a father and a master to him. He knew nothing about matters of love between men and women and was like a blank slate.
The palace maid continued, “The Empress Dowager Niangniang has given her oral instructions. His Highness the Seventh Prince is over fifteen years old and still does not know the relationship between men and women. This is against common sense. The servant has ordered one of her sisters to serve His Majesty the Seventh Prince together.”
Shen Qingzhuo: “……”
Good guy, two sisters actually share the same husband…
“Cough, cough.” He cleared his throat and replied in a calm voice, “I already know the situation, you guys go back and report first, I will explain to the Empress Dowager in person later.”
“This…” The palace maid looked at him hesitantly.
Shen Qingzhuo’s face darkened slightly, and he glanced at her coldly, “Why, do you want me to repeat it again?”
“The servant dares not.” The palace maid bowed her head, quickly gathered her scattered clothes, and hurried out.
But she didn’t have time to straighten her skirt and almost tripped to the ground after taking a few steps. Fortunately, Shen Qingzhuo was quick to help her.
“Thank you, Young Master Shen.” The palace maid, who had been calm just now, blushed slightly, gently pushed him away, and continued to walk out.
Shen Qingzhuo returned his gaze to the bed, and seeing that his little disciple was still hiding inside with his arms folded across his chest, he had no choice but to walk over to the bed.
“It’s alright now.” He said soothingly, “Everyone has left.”
Xiao Shen raised his eyes, his beautiful obsidian eyes were filled with tears of humiliation, his thin lips pursed again and again, and finally he accused with a trembling voice, “Master, she, she took off my undergarment and even touched, touched me…”
“Pfft” Shen Qingzhuo, who had been holding back for a long time, finally broke down. Looking at the youth from a good family with an aggrieved face, he held his waist and laughed.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Xiao Shen: “?”
The author has something to say:
The dog bared its teeth: Today, my master holds my waist and laughs at me. Tomorrow, I will bend his willow waist into this or that…
The little wolf cub was forced to open up already, the master is in danger!
