Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 482 Emperor Song
A surge of excitement welled up in the seventh brother's heart: this young lady's promises were incredibly generous, and she was extremely lavish. A few dozen taels of silver were nothing to her. Two years ago, he had been bailed out of jail by this young lady through bribery after being involved in a lawsuit. Since then, he had been working for her, doing odd jobs like gathering information. For the past two years, he had lived quite comfortably on this basis. Now that he had completed such an important task entrusted to him by this young lady, the reward would surely be enough for him to live a carefree and happy life for quite some time.

As he was thinking this, he saw Ah Zi's smile becoming even more adorable, and for a moment he was completely mesmerized. Then he heard Ah Zi shout and point behind him: "Look, what's that?"

Old Seven turned his head and looked at the alley entrance. It was pitch black, without a single ghost in sight. Only a few withered leaves drifted by in the slightly cool evening breeze.

Old Seven was feeling strange, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, when suddenly he felt a numbness in the back of his neck, and a sweet fragrance lingered around his nose—this was the last scent he would ever smell in his life.

The seventh brother's body slumped down like an empty sack, a strange smile still on his face, as if he had seen the wonderful life he would enjoy after receiving his reward in his last moments.

"Hehe, if it weren't to make the act more convincing, why would I need to tease a fool like you?"

Azi giggled and bent down, her two fair fingers reaching towards the back of Lao Qi's neck. She carefully pulled out a thin silver needle, the tip of which glowed with an eerie light.

"You've wasted another one of my Jade Scale Needles. To kill you, why go to such lengths?"

Azi chuckled and untied a heavy purse from her waist, stuffing it into Lao Qi's still-warm palm: "Keep this to pave the way for the little devil on his journey to the underworld!"

After thinking for a moment, he tossed down another waist tag, then walked away slowly, hands behind his back, humming a little tune.

The pale moonlight shone quietly on the waist tag, where the three characters "Huangcheng Si" were faintly visible.

The next day, in a private room of a teahouse in Kaifeng.

Murong Fu listened to Azi's report and nodded lightly: "You did well, but your act of throwing away the waist token at the end was a bit unnecessary."

Azi laughed and said, "Anyway, even the master himself can't figure out which faction these dead eunuchs belong to. Let's just stir things up even more and let them guess for themselves."

"However, Master, there's something I don't understand. Didn't you say you were going to the palace to treat that old woman? Why did you spread the news that this old hag doesn't have many days left to live?"

Murong Fu smiled and said, "Little Azi, what do you think of these people in the court? Are they good or bad?"

Azi thought for a moment, then shook her head awkwardly: "I don't know. My only contact with these people in the government is when I'm short of money, I steal a hundred or two taels from the treasury. But those corrupt county officials sitting in the court, putting on airs and acting all high and mighty, do look quite convincing. Last time, one of those corrupt officials was so audacious that he wanted to take me as his concubine. Hehe, that very night I ran to his room, tied him up, cut off his ears and nose, stripped him naked, and hung him upside down on a book. I even sold his wife to a brothel, and I heard she later became the top courtesan there. Hehe, it was so much fun."

Murong Fu shook his head helplessly: It seems that Azi's evil aura is something she can never change in this lifetime.

Murong Fu said, "You are right about one thing: these corrupt officials and their wives, who look respectable, are essentially no different from prostitutes in brothels."

"The palace is a big brothel. Everyone is a prostitute and a customer. They hate that others have things and grieve that they don't. They play along, throw tantrums, and trip each other up behind the scenes. Their methods are incredibly dirty."

"The only difference is that prostitutes don't wear clothes to work, while the high-ranking officials in the court are always impeccably dressed." "Now, you say there are only so many customers, and only a few top courtesans, and suddenly a newcomer arrives wanting a piece of the pie. Don't you think this newcomer will become the center of attention? Will she have an easy time from now on?"

Ah Zi listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, as if she had heard something extraordinary.

"The only solution is to make it clear that you won't be staying long, that you're there to elevate the brothel's image, and ideally, make one appearance and never show your face again. That's the only way to stay safe, understand?"

Azi pondered for a moment, then smiled sheepishly: "I don't understand!"

"As Zhang Dun said, it's obvious that the Empress Dowager is old and ill. Even if she's lucky enough to live another year or two, anyone who isn't blind can see that the young emperor will inevitably take over the reins of power. I intend to use this opportunity to treat the Empress Dowager to advance my career. It may be fast, but once the young emperor takes over, I will definitely be among the first to be targeted for retaliation. I'll end up pleasing neither side. Both sides will treat me as an enemy."

"So, the best way is to put this matter out in the open, so that the young emperor or whatever new party comes to power later will be embarrassed. At most, they'll kick me out of the court, which suits me just fine. I can then spend a little money and pull some strings to get myself exiled to a place near Yanyun. Hehe, wouldn't that be much more convenient!"

Azi's eyes widened, and after a long while, she stuck out her tongue and shook her head, saying, "Heavens, there are so many twists and turns in here. It's even more troublesome than dealing with those scheming senior and junior brothers in the Starry Constellation Sect. Master, what's wrong with your brain?"

Murong Fu smiled helplessly, then flicked Azi's forehead with two fingers, causing Azi to scream and yell for quite a while before calming down.

At this moment, in a secluded courtyard within the palace.

A young man dressed in a bright red robe listened with a gloomy expression to a report from another young man who appeared to be a eunuch.

After a long silence, the young man in red slammed his hand hard on the table: "These censors and officials are simply too arrogant! Does that old hag think I'm just a cat she keeps and can be manipulated at will?"

The eunuch hurriedly knelt down and whispered, "Your Majesty, please be careful what you say! Beware of eavesdroppers!"

A flash of resentment crossed the young man's eyes. After a long silence, he sighed softly, "How could I not know that walls have ears? Otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to you alone here. I am nominally the supreme ruler, but in reality, I am a caged bird, never free. Back then, just because I found a wet nurse for my young fourteenth sister, some people spread rumors that I had a child at a young age and was licentious. To avoid suspicion, my grandmother simply sent my fourteenth sister to be raised outside the palace. To this day, I don't even know the whereabouts of my only biological sister from both parents."

"Sometimes, I even doubt whether my father is really that old hag's biological son. Is it possible that, like Emperor Renzong, it was a case of a cat replacing the prince?"

The young eunuch was terrified: "Your Majesty, please be careful what you say! If even a single word gets out, I could lose my head no matter how many times I lose it."

The young man in red robes sighed and said, "Never mind, little boy, you don't need to be so nervous. Did you see your godfather when you left the palace this time? Is he alright?"

The young eunuch, addressed as "Little Boy," exclaimed excitedly, "Does His Majesty still remember my godfather? If he knew, he would be overjoyed! My godfather is still in good health, but years of poverty and illness have taken their toll, and his spirits are not what they used to be. Back in the day, he led an army of over 100,000 to fight against the Western Xia, how majestic he was! Now, in Bianjing, he can't even afford a decent house." As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.

This young man in red robes is none other than Zhao Xu, the current emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, who is twenty years old this year.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu sighed and said, "Another day, you should quietly leave the palace and give him one hundred strings of cash. Don't say it's from me. Consider it a gift on behalf of my father, the Emperor."