Chapter 62 of 100
Chapter 62: What to Do
13 min read3,345 words
Zhao Cheng also smiled. This old man was still quite adept at handling things. Without a word, he had removed the thorn in his side. Such intrigue and sowing discord were the forte of palace eunuchs. However, sometimes these tactics were more effective than physical violence. If not for Zhuge Liang's tongue, which could rival a million soldiers!
"Then I must thank Uncle Huang. Without your good words, she probably wouldn't have returned to the capital so quickly. But it's just frustrating that the beating was for nothing, and she might even complain to Her Majesty!" Zhao Cheng said. This was also because Yu Zhu was too ignorant, treating her former superior with arrogance and tyranny, without considering her own standing in Her Majesty's heart.
"It won't be for nothing. I've already found her a place in the palace laundry. She'll be sent there directly, ensuring she won't even see Her Majesty!" Hearing Huang Jingchen's words, the old and young man shared an ambiguous smile. Poor Yu Zhu was still dreaming of a promotion after returning to the capital, unaware that her fate had already been decided.
"Uncle Huang, this trip back to the capital must have cost you a lot, right?" Zhao Cheng asked as he sat down.
"Yes, I'm not what I used to be. A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken. This time, I visited a few friends, and it wouldn't be right to go empty-handed!" Huang Jingchen said with a bitter smile.
"Uncle Huang, don't worry about such trivial matters. In less than two years, I guarantee you'll be worrying about having too much money. Use this for now!" Zhao Cheng pushed a stack of banknotes towards Huang Jingchen.
"Oh, who did the prince scheme against this time!" Huang Jingchen didn't hesitate, knowing from the denomination and feel that the stack was worth no less than 5,000 strings of cash, he pocketed it directly.
"Don't be superstitious, this is the money to buy Zhang Kangguo's life!" Zhao Cheng said softly.
"What? Zhang Bin was really assassinated!" Huang Jingchen suddenly stood up, shocked, and without realizing it, swept the teacup off the table with his sleeve.
"Uncle Huang, you knew!" Zhao Cheng bent down to pick up the fallen teacup.
"Zhang Bin's sudden death in the court also raised suspicions of assassination. If the Chief of the Secretariat was indeed assassinated in the palace, it would be a huge responsibility. Who would dare to take it on? So it was only discussed in secret, no one dared to speak out!"
"Uncle Huang, Cai Jing and Zhang Kangguo served in the same court, one in charge of the military and the other in charge of the civilians. They should have been like water and fire not mixing. What deep-seated grudge could they have?" Zhao Cheng asked curiously, he really didn't know about this.
"Zhang Bin was from Yangzhou, served as the Prefect of Yongqiu County and the Transport Commissioner of Fujian, and later rose to the positions of Secretary of the Secretariat, Academician of the Hanlin Academy, and Left Chancellor by relying on Cai Jing. Cai Jing established the list of the Yuan You faction, and Zhang Bin participated in the secret deliberations from beginning to end, making him a trusted confidant of Cai Jing." Huang Jingchen sighed.
"Oh, if he was Cai Jing's confidant, why did Cai Jing want to kill him?" Zhao Cheng asked curiously, he really didn't know about this.
"After Zhang Bin gained power, he set his sights on the position of Chancellor. The Emperor also felt that Cai Jing's sole control over the chancellorship was too autocratic, so he appointed Zhang Bin to the Secretariat to divide Cai Jing's power. However, Zhang Bin didn't know when to stop and secretly monitored Cai Jing, reporting his every word and action to the Emperor. Cai Jing, upon discovering this, instructed the Chief Censor Wu Zhong to impeach Zhang Bin, who was then demoted by the Emperor. From then on, the two became bitter enemies, constantly undermining each other!"
"If Zhang Kangguo knew Cai Jing hated him, why didn't he take any precautions?" Zhao Cheng thought Zhang Kangguo must have been a bit foolish, offending someone and not being careful, staying at home like a good boy.
"How could he not? Before this, he had already survived several assassination attempts. However, he had a habit of drinking tea after court. This time, after drinking the tea, he suddenly suffered from severe abdominal pain, fell to the ground, and couldn't speak. He was taken to the waiting hall and died there. The Emperor was very saddened and posthumously awarded him the title of Grand Master and the posthumous name Wenjian, bestowing great honors. But who in the court didn't know that he and Cai Jing were at odds? There were no mourners at his funeral, which was truly disheartening!" Huang Jingchen said with a sigh.
"It seems these two have thoroughly investigated Zhang Kangguo. Their intelligence work is quite impressive, they are talented!" Zhao Cheng nodded in admiration of his peers, muttering to himself.
"Prince, do you mean the assassins have already been killed by you?" Huang Jingchen, seeing Zhao Cheng smiling foolishly, quickly asked.
"Uncle Huang, no! They are now working in the garden, growing grass and flowers to pay off their debts. I haven't decided what to do with them yet!" Zhao Cheng said with a smile.
"Prince, how did the assassins end up in your residence? What's going on?" Huang Jingchen knew that Zhao Cheng had many tricks up his sleeve and was bold, but he never expected that he could make two ruthless assassins tend to flowers for him.
Zhao Cheng smiled and recounted the events. Huang Jingchen was sometimes shocked, sometimes laughing, and sometimes worried. If he didn't trust that the prince wouldn't lie, he would have thought it was a made-up story.
"Uncle Huang, what do you think should be done with these two now?" Zhao Cheng asked after finishing his story.
"Prince, you are truly brave and wise. If I were in your position, I would have only one way out—flee. I never expected that you could make them submit so completely!" Huang Jingchen said.
"Uncle Huang, you flatter me. They are both experts. If they could leave then, they could leave now. No one could stop them. But they felt that even if they left the residence safely, they wouldn't be safe outside. It's safer to hide here. As for the debt, they must understand that I was just joking with them. We both found a way out, and we understand each other!" Zhao Cheng shook his head and said.
"Aren't they afraid that you might have poisoned them?"
"They could poison Zhang Kangguo, so one of them must be an expert in poison. My little tricks can only fool them for a while. They will figure it out in a few days!"
"Yes, Lu Xiaoyao and Xiao Mei are the two top experts of the Night Sect, known as the Black and White Impermanence. They can kill in an instant and never leave a witness. No one has ever seen their true faces. However, the Night Sect will kill anyone for money, so they have many enemies in the martial world. Lu Xiaoyao took over as the leader two years ago and rarely acts personally. This time, it seems Cai Jing has invested a lot, determined to kill Zhang Bin. He did it secretly, and now everyone only suspects but has no evidence. If we expose this, we might be able to force him out of his position!" Huang Jingchen briefly shared his thoughts.
"Uncle Huang, we might not. As you said, no one in the court dares to expose this. It's not just fear of Cai Jing's power. If the Emperor learns that someone could be assassinated in the heavily guarded palace, how many heads will roll, and how many officials will lose their positions? So they all keep quiet, only keeping it from the Emperor. If we expose this, we will be opposing the entire court!"
"Ah!" Huang Jingchen drew a sharp breath. "Prince, you have deep plans. I only thought of seeking justice for Zhang Bin, but I forgot about these. Cai Jing has placed many of his confidants in the court, even his servants have been given official positions. His people are everywhere. If we strike and fail, we might be the ones to suffer!" Huang Jingchen's admiration for the prince deepened, marveling at the difference a sage's guidance could make!
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