Agente secreto Wind Boy

Capítulo 11

At this moment, Zhao Kai, the master of the Prince of Yun's mansion, had no interest in Zhao Gou. Instead, he was carefully re-examining his ally, Liang Shicheng. The man was still the same, without the slightest change, and his face was as obsequious as ever, which Zhao Kai found somewhat disgusting. However, the unexpected discovery that this eunuch knew martial arts made him genuinely interested in Liang Shicheng again.

"Lord Liang, it's still early before the banquet. Shall we talk later?"

Liang Shicheng smiled so broadly that two mounds of flesh appeared on his fair face, and said, "Please, Your Highness."

The two of them arrived at Zhao Kai's secluded courtyard, where all the maids had been dismissed. Zhao Kai flicked his robes, slowly sat down, and raised a probing gaze to Liang Shicheng, saying, "Lord Liang, you have lived in seclusion in the palace for many years, and I was truly surprised to learn that you possess such high martial arts skills. My father's entourage is indeed full of talented people, far beyond my reach!"

"Your Highness flatters this old servant. My meager skills are only good for emergencies and are truly useless. His Majesty is surrounded by many talented individuals, but these will all belong to Your Highness in the future, so why bother comparing them?"

Liang Shicheng's words were clever. He repeatedly emphasized that his martial arts skills were nothing compared to those of the imperial guards, and he also clearly expressed his support for the Prince of Yun, which made Zhao Kai feel much more relaxed.

Zhao Kai then wondered if he was being too suspicious. This old cunning servant had been in the palace for many years. If he didn't have some skills and tricks, how could he have reached his current position? He had never said that he knew martial arts, but he had never said that he didn't either. If he were to interrogate him so rashly, and offend this pawn, wouldn't that be a loss?

Both men were harboring their own agendas, but Zhao Kai, desperately needing Liang Shicheng's influence with Emperor Huizong, had no choice but to back down temporarily. However, a question lingered in his mind, so he asked, "Your Excellency is so concerned about Ninth Brother's drowning today; it seems you value him highly. What is the reason, Your Excellency?"

Liang Shicheng chuckled and said, "Your Highness has misunderstood this old servant. This old servant is only doing this for Your Highness's own good!"

Zhao Kai raised an eyebrow, listening as he continued, "Although His Highness the Ninth Prince wasn't valued by the Emperor before, since he broke his leg this spring, and after hearing the Crown Prince investigate the horse-raising eunuch's underhanded tactics, he's taken him to heart. If His Highness falls into the water in the Prince's residence today, regardless of whether he's injured or not, it will be implicated. The Emperor won't blame you, but I'm afraid he'll connect the two events and become suspicious!"

Upon hearing Liang Shicheng's words, Zhao Kai was suddenly startled. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Gradually, he even believed that Zhao Gou or Zhao Huan had deliberately caused him to fall into the water!

"Thank you for your help, Lord Liang. I almost fell into your trap and nearly wronged you. It was all my fault, and I apologize to you."

"Your Highness, please don't do this. This old servant serves Your Highness in accordance with the will of Heaven, and I would gladly die for it."

Zhao Kai felt at ease. With such a crucial person serving him so faithfully, he felt that victory was already in sight!

It's no wonder he had such a misconception. Liang Shicheng's position in front of Emperor Huizong was no lower than that of any other minister. When he was still serving in the palace, he was deeply trusted by the emperor and knew all about Huizong's hobbies. Now that he was a court official, he did many things for Huizong that he wanted to do but could not, and his favor with the emperor rose even higher.

With someone who understood his father's thoughts so well helping him, and given that he was already favored by his father, Zhao Kai felt that it was only a matter of time before he overthrew Zhao Huan.

Just as Zhao Kai was feeling quite elated, Liang Shicheng said something that greatly shocked him: "This old servant has heard that His Majesty intends to marry Princess Maode to Cai Xiao, the fourth son of the Cai family. I wonder what Your Highness's thoughts are on this?"

"Maode?" The smug look on Zhao Kai's face vanished completely. Princess Maode was the most beautiful and talented among all the princesses. She was deeply loved by Emperor Huizong, who married her off to Cai Xiao. What a great favor that was!

If this had happened two months ago, he would have been very happy, because the Cai family had fully supported him at that time. But now, Cai Xiao had openly sided with Zhao Huan, and that old fox Cai Jing had even claimed to be ill and refused to see him. How could he not be angry!

"That old fox Cai Jing dared to betray me!" Zhao Kai said angrily.

Liang Shicheng advised, "Your Highness, please do not be hasty in your anger. The eldest son of the Cai family still supports you, but it is still undecided who Grand Tutor Cai will support. Everyone in Bianjing knows that Cai You and his fourth brother are at odds. I'm afraid Cai Xiao is only supporting the Crown Prince because he opposes Cai You. As for the Grand Tutor, he is probably torn between his sons and wants to wait and see. Once Cai Xiao is eliminated, the Grand Tutor will only be able to rely on his eldest son to stand on Your Highness's side."

Zhao Kai nodded thoughtfully and said gratefully to Liang Shicheng, "I am not well-informed and know very little about things. I will have to rely on you, Lord Liang, from now on!"

"This old servant is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

As dusk fell, the banquet began amidst a great commotion. The princes and several high-ranking officials sat at the head table, with the rest of the guests distributed below them.

Qin Zhen stood behind Zhao Gou, looking at the feast on the table, feeling very hungry. Her stomach also rumbled in agreement, but she had no choice but to serve food to Zhao Gou and couldn't eat a single bite herself.

A number of people of varying builds and sizes sat around a large round table. Qin Zhen recognized only a few princes and the two Cai brothers. Cai Xiao was there in place of Cai Jing, so he sat at the head table, while Cai You sat at a smaller table below him, his resentful gaze fixed on Cai Xiao's back. Cai Xiao pretended not to notice and kept eating without saying a word.

Qin Zhen noticed everyone's gaze and expressions. It was so convenient to have the identity of a maid as a cover; not only could she follow Zhao Gou everywhere, but no one would notice her.

After looking around and returning, she noticed that Zhao Gou's food was untouched. So, fulfilling her duty as a maid, she asked, "Your Highness, is the food unpalatable? What would you like to eat?"

Zhao Gou was not used to Qin Zhen's attitude and felt a little embarrassed. He left his seat and walked to Zhao Kai's side, saying, "Third Brother, I saw that they were setting up a stage over there when I came. I'll go and play there first."

Zhao Kai asked like a good older brother, "Are you full after eating this much? The opera troupe isn't ready yet. Let's go watch the show together after everyone has finished eating."

"I'm really full, you guys eat..."

Before Zhao Kai could say anything more, Zhao Gou grabbed Qin Zhen and ran off. Zhao Kai smiled to himself. A child is still a child. He couldn't even resist the allure of a theatrical troupe. Such a child posed no threat whatsoever. He really didn't understand why his mother was in such a hurry to get rid of Zhao Gou.

Zhao Huan, who was sitting at the same table, also smiled, but his smile was very clear, because he saw that Zhao Gou had a bulging ball of pastries in his hand. Was it for Qin Zhen?

Volume One: Fate Determined 020 - Know Yourself and Your Enemy to Attack

Ever since Qin Zhen had a brief meeting with Liang Shicheng at the Prince of Yun's residence, someone from the palace came to contact her. Only then did she realize that Liang Shicheng had arranged for people to take care of her in the palace long ago, but he felt that she was still too young and should not need these assistances at the moment, so he did not show himself too early.

However, the open falling out between the Cai brothers was clearly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. Liang Shicheng guessed that Qin Zhen was about to take action, so he quickly had his eldest disciple in the palace, the newly appointed chief eunuch Li Yan, contact Qin Zhen.

That day, the Yeting sent someone to deliver summer supplies to Zhao Gou. Qinglan led everyone to the storeroom to make arrangements, while Qin Zhen took the letter from the Yeting eunuchs and went to find Zhao Gou.

Qin Zhen played with the letter and said with a smile, "I thought Cai You would come up with some new tricks to deal with Cai Xiao, but it turns out to be the same old tricks!"

After Cai Jing made up his mind to support his fourth son, Cai Xiao, he asked the Emperor for a favor and arranged a position for him in the palace, appointing him as a Palace Guard and a Gentleman Attendant at the Xuanhe Hall. (Note 1)

For men serving in the palace, the most taboo thing is having a relationship with the women in the palace. Cai You wanted to ruin the marriage between Cai Xiao and Princess Maode, so naturally he started from this point.

Zhao Gou put down the military treatise in his hand, took the letter from her hand, read it for a while, and laughed. But after laughing, Zhao Gou said very seriously, "Although it is old-fashioned, it is also a very effective method. If we hadn't known about it beforehand, Cai Xiao would definitely have been wronged this time."

“Hmm,” Qin Zhen nodded and said, “Since he has made a move, we can’t just sit here and get beaten up. I hope he won’t blame me for being too harsh on him.”

Qin Zhen's face was lively, as if she had thought of something fun. She picked up a pen and ink from the desk and scribbled on the paper while explaining, expressing all her ideas.

Zhao Gou read it with delight and said, "The military treatise is truly accurate. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Let's see what he does this time! But... where did you get that secret from?"

Qin Zhen stuck out her tongue and said, "I'm a palace maid. How can palace gossip be kept from us? If one person knows, everyone else will naturally know too. We just don't tell you masters."

Zhao Gou cleared his throat and said, "Although the flow of information is a good thing, it's better if you don't know about these filthy things."

Seeing his expression, Qin Zhen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "We'll talk about that later. I need to go to the Crown Prince's place first, or things might change."

She hurriedly left the study. Zhao Gou picked up the crumpled white paper on the table, crumpled it up, and threw it into the paper basket, but couldn't help but laugh. Before today, he only knew that Cai You was a homosexual and absurd person, but he didn't know that he was also interested in eunuchs! Qin Zhen had just told him this news without changing his expression, which really surprised him for a while.

He then thought that he needed to rectify the atmosphere in his palace after this incident. How could these servants talk such nonsense to Qin Zhen?

In fact, Zhao Gou wronged the palace maids and eunuchs in the palace. Not to mention that they would not know about Cai You’s secrets, even if they did know, who would dare to gossip about Cai You’s son?

As the saying goes, "What the ruler has a preference, the subjects will surely reciprocate." Emperor Huizong enjoyed opera and acrobatics, so naturally, some people would try their best to please him. Cai You was able to gain a foothold in Emperor Huizong's court precisely because he recognized this.

He often dressed up in strange costumes and sang bizarre operas with a group of eunuchs to amuse Emperor Huizong. And tonight, the Zichen Palace was once again filled with noise.

Cai You sang somewhat absentmindedly tonight, glancing at the palace gate from time to time. His mind was preoccupied with the situation inside Xuanhe Palace. Cai Xiao was keeping watch over Xuanhe Palace tonight, a rare opportunity for him to devise his plan.

The heavy palace doors creaked open, and the Grand Eunuch Li Yan, head bowed, hurried toward the Emperor, his face appearing quite grim.

Cai You stopped his recitation and stood aside, secretly chuckling. Shouldn't it be time to report the "Cai Xiao's attempted rape of a palace maid" incident? Fourth brother, don't blame your elder brother for being ruthless; who told you to be so restless at home and insist on going against me?

Li Yan's fat face trembled slightly as he hurried along. He quickly reported, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been poisoned and is unconscious. His condition is critical!"

Emperor Huizong was startled and stood up to ask, "How is Huan'er? Tell me quickly!"

"The Crown Prince was handling state affairs in the study of the Eastern Palace tonight. After drinking a bowl of ginseng soup, he collapsed and could not get up. The imperial physician was summoned and said it was caused by poisoning. We are now working hard to detoxify him."

"Who on earth poisoned us? How dare they be so audacious!"

Li Yan glanced at Cai You with an almost invisible look, then reported, "The Imperial Guards have detained all the palace servants in the Eastern Palace, awaiting His Majesty's judgment. Only the eunuch Xiao Quanzi, who delivered the ginseng soup, has disappeared without a trace."

Emperor Huizong and Cai You were both taken aback. Emperor Huizong was surprised that the prisoner had escaped, while Cai You was surprised that Xiao Quanzi had been involved!

Xiao Quanzi was beautiful and had delicate features; he had painstakingly chosen her to be his spy in the Eastern Palace. Thinking of this, Cai You suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Without his orders, Xiao Quanzi would never have poisoned the Crown Prince, but this situation… could someone be framing him? Danger!

When he awoke with a start, the Emperor had already set off for the Eastern Palace to see Zhao Huan, leaving only him and a group of eunuchs in theatrical costumes in the hall. One of them walked in and said to Cai You, "My lord, the Emperor has ordered us to leave for the night. This servant will assist you in changing your clothes."

Cai You, in a daze, let the eunuch help him change out of his costume and wash the paint off his face. His expression was like a puppet, but his heart was burning with rage. Had someone found out that Xiao Quanzi was his spy? Who was it? Why was there still no movement from Xuanhe Hall? Had something happened?

As he walked towards the palace gates, lost in thought, a contingent of imperial guards came up behind him and surrounded him.

"Lord Cai, His Majesty has ordered me to take you to the Eastern Palace to assist in the investigation! Guards, take him away!"

The squad leader paid no attention to whether Cai You replied or not, and went straight to tie him up and take him to the East Palace.

In the main hall of the Eastern Palace, Emperor Huizong sat at the head of the table with a pale face, while Cai Xiao, dressed in light armor, stood beside him with a look of shame on his face.

Upon seeing Cai You brought in bound, Cai Xiao immediately knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Your Majesty, my brother must have acted out of momentary folly to commit this unjust act. Please, in consideration of his loyalty to the Emperor, spare his life! I am willing to die in my brother's place!"

"You bastard, don't frame me! What have I done that I need you to plead for me?"

The last vestige of warmth in Emperor Huizong's eyes vanished at Cai You's clamor. He said to Cai Xiao, who was pleading for mercy, "This matter is of great importance. It cannot be easily forgiven with mere pleas. You may leave now."

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Note 1: Qinweilang - an official title in the Song Dynasty.

Waiting-to-be – In accordance with the Song Dynasty system, waiting-to-be officials were appointed in palaces and pavilions, such as the "Waiting-to-be of the Baohe Hall" and the "Waiting-to-be of the Longtu Pavilion," to be in charge of cultural relics and to be ranked below academicians and academicians.

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Volume One: Fate Destined 021 - The Aftermath of the Case

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Cai Xiao stood aside helplessly, and Cai You then turned his gaze from him to the open space in the hall. There, two corpses lay!

At just one glance, Cai You's legs went weak. Besides Xiao Quanzi, the other corpse was actually the palace maid he had plotted to harm Cai Xiao!

Why? What happened? Why are they all dead?

Before he could figure it out, Emperor Huizong asked, "Do you know these two people?"

"I don't recognize him... I don't recognize him!" Cai You hurriedly denied.

Emperor Huizong sighed. That palace maid was clearly the same woman Cai You had presented to him before, but who had been demoted for not serving him well. He himself still remembered her, but he didn't. Was he too eager to make an excuse?

"Very well, summon the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to the palace to investigate." Having asked only this one question, Emperor Huizong decided not to inquire further, for he already knew the answer in his heart. He had always greatly admired Cai You's wit and understanding of his feelings, but given what had happened, he could no longer afford to keep him.