Chapter 77

Chapter 78: Distracting the Bored

The drumbeat sounded again, signaling that it was now midnight. Zhao Cheng, who had been lying down with his clothes on, suddenly woke up. He moved his body and looked around. Although it was only a half-moon tonight, it still illuminated the surroundings brightly. Two guards were pacing around, vigilantly watching the area. Everyone else was asleep, snoring softly or loudly. The incense and candles in the memorial hall still emitted a faint glow and smoke, but they had been replaced, clearly by someone while he was drowsy.

"Second Young Master, you're awake!" Jianxi, who was sleeping next to Zhao Cheng, was very alert. As soon as the prince moved, he immediately woke up.

"Yes, don't move. There are at least three groups of people watching us. I don't know if they are friends or enemies," Zhao Cheng observed for a moment and whispered.

"Second Young Master, I can't see anything," Jianxi turned over and looked around. Apart from the lanterns swaying in the cold wind on the palace walls and the closed shops, the cold and empty street revealed nothing.

"Idiot, look at that beggar squatting at the street corner, the lit shop, the clock tower by the palace wall, and the drainage ditch on the street!" Zhao Cheng pointed out each one in a low voice.

"I still can't see anything, there's nothing there," Jianxi looked again but still didn't understand.

"Sigh, look at that beggar first. Regardless of this being the imperial city, have you ever seen a beggar squatting at a street corner on such a cold night? The wind there is the strongest. Isn't he afraid of freezing to death?" Zhao Cheng sighed.

"Oh, not to mention the imperial city, even in Tokyo, beggars don't dare to move around freely. Otherwise, they would have been caught by the guards of Kaifeng Prefecture long ago. At this hour, they should be hiding in warm places or, if they have nowhere to go, finding a door or a porch to shelter. Second Young Master, your eyes are really sharp!" Jianxi nodded.

"Yes, you're teachable. Now look at the clock tower. At night, the time is announced by drumbeats, but there are shadows moving on the clock tower. Is he so full that he's wandering around for food? He must be annoyed by the drumbeats, so he's hiding on the clock tower to watch us. Remember, anything abnormal is suspicious. When you see something that doesn't make sense, be extra cautious!"

"Second Young Master, I understand. That shop is an antique store. At this hour, it should be closed unless they are doing business. So you think there's something strange there!" Jianxi finally figured it out and said excitedly.

"Second Young Master, how did you know there was someone hiding by the drainage ditch?" Jianxi had just finished speaking when Xue Bao, who was sleeping next to him, suddenly spoke up. It turned out he was also awake.

"Yes, Second Young Master, tell us. I can't see anything either," another guard, Qian Chao, chimed in.

At this moment, Zhao Cheng noticed that not only the two of them were awake, but everyone else was also awake, blinking at him, waiting for him to continue. "Hehe, it seems everyone has been woken up by the cold. I'll give you something fun to do to pass the time, and then I'll explain!" he said with a smile. "Everyone, don't talk. Follow my instructions. You two go to the drainage ditch and urinate there, right by that withered flower bed, and aim hard!"

"I'll go first, I've been holding it in!" Jianxi said, eager to go.

"You go for what? You squat to urinate!" Zhao Cheng patted his head and said, "Everyone, listen carefully. Be careful not to get your penises cut off, or you'll be under Jianxi's control when you come back!"

"Phew, phew," a series of sounds like farts echoed around. "Second Young Master, you shouldn't curse like that," Jianxi said, dissatisfied with everyone's laughter.

"I'll go first, I'm about to wet my pants!" Xue Bao said, pretending to have just woken up, and lazily stood up, kicking Zhang Hao to accompany him. The two of them straightened their clothes and walked to the designated spot, casually unbuttoned their pants, and urinated, but there was no reaction. They returned dejectedly.

"Old Xue, you need to get Doctor Wang to prescribe some tonics. You didn't even urinate two feet away!" Hong Ba got up, teasing Xue Bao, preparing to take over.

"Hehe, the colder it is, the harder it is to urinate. Don't laugh at me. A few days ago, I saw my sister-in-law buy some kidneys. Maybe she's toning up!" Xue Bao, though a bit disappointed, refused to admit defeat.

Three groups went, but there was still no movement. "This guy is really tough!" Zhao Cheng was a bit annoyed. This was embarrassing him. He wanted to use this to pass the time, but now it seemed like he was being used to pass the time. He stood up, adjusted his pants, and prepared to go himself.

"Second Young Master, let us go. Don't put yourself at risk!" Pan Long held Zhao Cheng back.

"No, I have to see what this guy is. Even if it's a ghost, a child's urine will make it show its true form!" Zhao Cheng insisted on going. Pan Long had no choice but to follow. Feeling it wasn't safe enough, he also called Hong Ba and Xue Bao, who had already urinated, to join. The four of them swaggered over.

"Are you dogs? You all urinate in the same place!" A man jumped out from the flower bed, pointed at them, and cursed, then ran away.

"Ha ha, you have guts. Come back tomorrow, and I'll treat you to some shit!" The group, seeing the man run out, first froze, then burst into laughter. Pan Long even cursed back.

The man who was urinated on was a spy from the Imperial City Office, ordered to monitor their movements. When he saw Xue Bao and the others urinate, he thought he was exposed. He was tense for a while, but only got two urinations. To complete his mission, he endured. Then two more groups came, and he couldn't take it anymore. Imagine the feeling of being drenched in hot urine on a freezing night, which then froze. Thinking of the generous reward and the approaching shift, he decided to endure a bit more. But when four more people came, he couldn't take it anymore. Hearing the curses, he felt unlucky. He realized he had been exposed and that these people were just playing with him, which made him so angry that he almost spat blood!

The group returned to the crowd, who were still laughing. Zhao Cheng, seeing that no one was sleepy, ordered everyone to sit by the memorial and lit the paper money they had bought during the day. Everyone then understood why the prince insisted on buying so much paper money. It was to use as firewood at night. It seemed he had planned this from the start!

"Hey, brother, come over and warm up. Don't freeze to death!" Seeing the beggar at the street corner looking at them, Hong Ba shouted.

"Alright, I'm exposed too!" The beggar, hearing this, understood and ran away. As soon as he left, the light in the shop went out. Only the guy on the clock tower was secretly relieved, thinking he was safe in the imperial city. But he only felt relieved for a moment. Suddenly, something hit his face, and he blacked out. "Damn, it's not safe here either. They have an insider in the palace!" was his last thought before he fainted.

"Second Young Master, tell us how you figured it out!" The group, warming themselves by the fire, asked.

"It's simple!" Zhao Cheng exhaled, and everyone understood. The prince's eyes were indeed sharp. Though there was a moon, not everyone could see the breath of someone thirty steps away.

The paper money was quickly lit, and Zhao Cheng threw it into the fire one by one. He suddenly thought of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl." His current situation was similar to hers, locked out of his home, warming himself by burning paper money in the cold wind. But he was luckier than her. She only had a few matches, while he had a whole cart of paper money.

As the fire grew, Zhao Cheng stopped feeling sorry for himself and started throwing the paper money in bunches. But it burned too quickly, and before he could warm up, the fire was gone. He decided to stack the paper like a bonfire.

"Jianxi, leave some candles for tonight, just enough. The rest, throw them in the fire!" Zhao Cheng, still not satisfied, threw the remaining dozen thick candles into the fire. The paper, now covered in melted wax, burned brightly and steadily. The group, now warm, circled the fire, roasting their chests and backs.

"Queen Mother, I'm sending you money. Don't be so frugal in the afterlife. It not only makes the Emperor unhappy but also makes you sick and die early," Zhao Cheng muttered as he burned the paper. He calculated that one piece of paper money could be exchanged for one string of coins in the afterlife. Burning like this, he could burn a few million strings of coins in one night. With seven days until the grand ceremony, he could burn enough to stack the coins as high as Mount Everest, enough for the Queen to rebuild Tokyo in the afterlife!

Just as Zhao Cheng was lost in thought, the group, enjoying the warmth, added half a cart of paper money to the fire. The flames were so intense that they illuminated the entire night sky of the imperial city. Everyone had to step back a few steps, forming a wide circle. Zhao Cheng, looking up, suddenly noticed lanterns moving on several high points, followed by the sound of footsteps. Then he saw several groups of people, armed with various weapons, surrounding them. There were at least two hundred of them.

"Damn, are they going to learn from the Americans and send the police to clear the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park at dawn?" Zhao Cheng was startled, thinking of the recent events before he traveled through time. They didn't dare to move him during the day, but now they wanted to take him away at night. "No way, everyone, be on guard. If anyone dares to touch us, fight back with all your might, no mercy!" Zhao Cheng shouted loudly.

The guards, noticing the situation, immediately surrounded Zhao Cheng, drawing various weapons, from three-section staffs to daggers, soft whips, and iron rulers. Pan Long held a short-handled large iron hammer, which he had hidden somewhere, definitely not in his pants!

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