The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 415 Changing Homes
"Yan Song?"

Zhu Shoujing frowned, pulled the corpse out from under the rubble, and turned its head to examine it closely.

"Really dead?"

Zhu Shoujing's eyes widened.

The corpse was slender, and its once cold, iron-like face was now an eerie bluish-white. Three long, grayish-white wisps of beard were scattered across its chest, and its narrow, gloomy eyes were wide open, emitting an eerie, dead-fish-like light.

His figure, face, clothes, and even every wrinkle are exactly like Yan Song's; there is not a single difference.

This Grand Secretary, who led half of the civil officials in a coup yesterday morning, and who had restrained An Qisheng and made the emperor risk confronting Ji Tianrui to kill him, seems to have died so mysteriously.

Zhu Shoujing waved his hand, and the surrounding soldiers immediately dispersed and left the courtyard. He carried the corpse and walked quickly to the imperial carriage, speaking in a low voice.

"His Majesty……"

The emperor lifted the curtain, stepped down slowly, raised his hand, and drew the corpse into his palm, his true energy sweeping over the body as if it were a tangible substance.

A moment later, however, his brows furrowed.

Zhu Shoujing's heart skipped a beat, and she said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, if it is an imposter, then I will..."

The emperor frowned and waved his hand.

"It's not a fake."

“It is indeed him, not in disguise or as a double. I have had many contacts with him, and Minister Zhu has also placed people around him... Come and see.”

The emperor raised the corpse's right hand.

“He usually holds the pen with the pad of his middle finger when writing, which has deformed his bones over time. The wrinkles on his body and around his eyes are also the result of long-term habits, which cannot be faked.”

"He is indeed dead."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shoujing first breathed a sigh of relief, then became nervous again.

"But...this shouldn't be happening..."

"Yan Song must have been an extremely important partner for both the Eastern Depot and Yingzhou. Otherwise, An Qisheng would not have personally come to protect him when Lord Li came to kill him."

"Even if the people of Yingzhou are not good at scheming, Liu Jin should have been able to foresee that someone would come to kill him tonight... He didn't even leave behind a single Celestial Guardian, and was just crushed to death by the ruins like this?"

The emperor slowly shook his head.

"He didn't die at your hands; he was already dead before we arrived."

Zhu Shoujing's eyes widened suddenly.

"How...how did he die?"

The emperor said in a deep voice.

"Gu, Gu worm."

He threw the body on the ground and glanced around.

After observing for a moment, he slowly walked to the side of the ruins that Zhu Shoujing had cut open, smashed open the collapsed roof beam with a palm strike, and with a quick pull of his claws, dragged out a corpse from inside.

A corpse that looked remarkably like Li Miao, dressed in an ancient-style robe.

Zhu Shoujing exclaimed in surprise.

"Yingzhou!"

The emperor said in a deep voice.

"He also died from Gu poison."

"Beneath the ruins, there are at least three corpses of the Yingzhou Celestials."

Zhu Shoujing pondered for a moment and cleared his mind.

"Therefore, they did not give up on Yan Song. Liu Jin also anticipated that His Majesty would come and left behind celestial guards, but these few people could not stop His Majesty... So the person they used to block His Majesty was Ji Tianrui."

"But Ji Tianrui suddenly turned against them. She not only killed all the Yingzhou Celestials here, but also killed Yan Song in advance."

The emperor nodded.

"Since Yingzhou and the Eastern Depot were willing to entrust Yan Song to her protection, it means that she has gained their trust, and the level of trust is not low. They must have been cooperating for a long time... Why would she suddenly turn against them?"

"What exactly does she want? She has betrayed Yingzhou, and neither Li Miao nor I can accept her cooperation. What is her true intention?"

As the emperor spoke, his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

Although his personality and stance were changed, the experience of being schemed against by Ji Tianrui from head to toe still gave him a headache whenever he thought about it.

Without realizing it, he tightened his grip and snapped the cervical vertebrae of the Yingzhou Celestial's corpse. Sticky flesh and blood splattered all over his hand with a soft "plop," jolting him out of his reverie.

The emperor suddenly clenched his fist.

"not good."

"Li Miao and An Qisheng are keeping each other in check. With me here, Ji Tianrui has been given a free pass... The Imperial Palace! The remaining retainers and celestial beings can't stop Ji Tianrui! She's moved to another location!"

"Let's go! Back to the palace!"

Before they could even board the imperial carriage, the emperor and Zhu Shoujing leaped onto the rooftop and sped towards the Forbidden City.

--------

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Zai stood in front of a map, frowning in thought.

This is a map of Shuntian Prefecture, with more than a dozen labels on it, each bearing a different name.

There is Li Miao, An Qisheng, Yan Song, the emperor, and Ji Tianrui.

In the upper right corner of the map, there was a thick stack of labels, all bearing the name "Liu Jin," numbering about twenty.

Zhu Zai recalled what Li Miao had told him.

"Commander, Liu Jin's method of forcibly splitting himself without cultivating his inner energy can't create too many clones. According to my estimate, there are at most thirty-four or thirty-five. Subtracting those that died before, there are at most twenty left."

“But these twenty clones are omnipresent and difficult to detect, and may appear around you and your family at any time… If His Majesty and I are not present, you cannot eat anything or come into contact with any strangers on your own.”

Zhu Zai sighed and lightly tapped the stack of labels with his fingertip.

Just then, three soft sounds came from outside the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

One long and two short.

It was the same way Li Miao and he had agreed on how to knock on the door when it was inconvenient to meet. Before the Battle of the Imperial Tombs, when the emperor summoned the imperial family to the palace, Li Miao used this code to talk with him at night.

But Zhu Zai's expression suddenly darkened.

"Who?"

He spoke loudly, but secretly waved his hand.

Hidden in the shadows inside the house, Ruan Mei drew the Emei Dagger from her waist and silently appeared at the door.

"Master Zhu, your wife is worried about your hard work day and night, so she personally made some calming soup and asked me to bring it to you."

A clear, high-pitched voice came from outside the door, answering respectfully.

Zhu Zai revealed a cold smile.

He and Madam Zhu had been married for decades and knew each other inside and out. He was impatient and couldn't eat anything when he was anxious, let alone any kind of calming soup. So why would Madam Zhu bother him at this critical moment?
Liu Jin was standing outside the door.

Ruan Mei had already pressed the Emei Dagger against the door, turned to look at Zhu Zai, and was ready to smash the figure outside the door along with the door at any time.

Zhu Zai shook his head and said loudly.

"Come in."

The door was slowly pushed open.

A handsome young eunuch carrying a food box walked in slowly with his head down. Upon seeing Zhu Zai, he quickly bowed and greeted him. The food box remained steady and did not spill a drop.

"Master Zhu".

Zhu Zai had his back to him, his hands behind his back, looking at the map as if deep in thought, and casually pointed to the table to the side.

The young eunuch quickly walked over and put the food box down.

Ruan Mei followed him silently like a shadow, her two Emei daggers pressed against the back of his head and heart, ready to kill him at any moment.

The little eunuch seemed completely unaware, opened the food box, and actually took out a bowl of calming soup, along with a few side dishes, and placed it on the table.

"Master Zhu, please enjoy your meal."

Having said that, he was about to bow and leave.

Zhu Zai suddenly turned around and said in a cold voice.

"Where?"

The young eunuch paused in his steps.

"Naturally, I'm going to report back to the lady... Master Zhu."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zai was absolutely certain that this little eunuch was Liu Jin.

He let out a cold laugh.

"You intend to harm my family?"

The young eunuch answered respectfully.

"I dare not." He slowly turned his head, his handsome face illuminated by the candlelight... revealing a sorrow as plaintive as a woman's.

"I only had a brief affair with you, sir. Now that my life is about to end, I've come to settle things and find peace of mind."

As she spoke, her eyes actually welled up with tears.

Zhu Zai felt a chill and involuntarily took half a step back.

"Are you crazy?"

The young eunuch nodded.

"I suppose so, Master Zhu."

"If you force yourself to do this without cultivating your inner nature, you will naturally suffer a backlash. Every time I lose a clone, I become a little weaker, and the influence of the clones becomes stronger."

“Although Young Master Zhu is a good-for-nothing, you raised him yourself. If Liu Jinyi didn’t truly love him, how could Liu Jin have hidden himself by his side unnoticed?”

"Just like Your Majesty, is it Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi? Who can tell the difference?"

Zhu Zai felt nauseous.

He seemed to see a monster made of the flesh and blood of dozens of corpses, with facial features, hair, nails, and teeth mixed in, vibrating and making human sounds at him.

He finally understood where Liu Jin's inexplicable fanatical loyalty to the emperor came from... Liu Jin was a madman.

Before being divided by An Qisheng, and before infiltrating Zhu Yijing's side under the alias Liu Jinyi, he was already a madman. It was precisely because he was a madman that he was able to withstand An Qisheng's division.

In Li Miao's words from his previous life, he was a patient with "Stockholm syndrome," and would involuntarily fall in love with his perpetrators and enemies.

Because the emperor made him a eunuch, he fell in love with the emperor and became loyal to him; because he had to pretend to be a woman to sleep with Zhu Yijing, this humiliation made him fall in love with Zhu Yijing as well.

He was a complete madman—now he's become a monster.

After Liu Jin finished speaking, he suddenly stopped, frozen in place like a lifeless object. After a long while, he suddenly trembled.

After he finished shaking, his expression changed.

She reverted to her "normal Liu Jin" appearance, which resembled a doll.

He bowed to Zhu Zaiyi with a blank expression.

"Zhu—"

"killed!"

At Zhu Zai's command, Ruan Mei suddenly made her move!

In an instant, the Emei dagger pierced the back of the eunuch's head and heart, and then with a twist, the eunuch collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times like an insect, and lost his breath.

Zhu Zai looked at the corpse warily.

After waiting for a while, nothing unusual happened.

Zhu Zai frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at the calming soup that Liu Jin had brought on the side table.

He walked quickly to the table and reached out to take it.

"Master Zhu! It might be poisonous!"

Ruan Mei shouted.

Zhu Zai waved his hand, held the bowl to his chest, fanned it a few times with his palm, and smelled it—the next moment, his fist clenched tightly.

This calming soup was indeed made by Madam Zhu!
Madam Zhu knew he was impatient, so she would brew him a calming soup after he finished his official duties. But she also knew he probably wouldn't have time to drink it slowly, so she would remove all the seasonings, add cooling herbs, let it cool, and then bring it to him.

No one else in the world would do this!

Liu Jin really just returned from Madam Zhu's place!
Zhu Zai was extremely anxious and shouted loudly.

"Come on! Everyone, follow me!"

After saying that, he quickly headed towards the side hall where Madam Zhu and Zhu Yijing lived.

Behind him, the celestial guards left behind by Xiaoling Guard, Ruan Mei, and several surrendered retainers sped away with him.

--------

In the west wing of the side hall, Madam Zhu was already fast asleep.

In the east wing of the side hall, Zhu Yijing was still awake.

Only three days have passed since Liu Jinyi's affair was discovered... In these three days, Zhu Zai has not scolded him once, everything is as usual, and he even chats with him about everyday things during meals.

But Zhu Zai stopped discussing serious matters with him.

He knew that Zhu Zai was completely disappointed in him.

It wasn't just because no one noticed anything suspicious about Liu Jinyi, but more so because his dissatisfaction with Li Miao had been made public and voiced.

The fundamental reason Zhu Zai abandoned him was that he felt no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't be as effective as Li Miao's care for him. Therefore, Zhu Zai preferred to give up on training him rather than let him have any thoughts of opposing Li Miao.

He understands everything.

He may be stupid, but he understands Zhu Zai.

For over twenty years, he had constantly thought about how to gain Zhu Zai's approval. His understanding of Zhu Zai far surpassed his understanding of himself.

He understood that Zhu Zai was making the best choice for him.

But to admit this is tantamount to admitting that he will never gain his father's approval.

This caused him pain.

Therefore, Zhu Yijing was unable to fall asleep and just stared blankly at the ceiling.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door.

He slowly turned his head, and the candlelight outside the door cast a shadow on the door.

"Who?"

He reached under his pillow and pulled out a short knife, asking in a deep voice.

"Young Master...it's me."

The person outside the door answered.

squeak-

The door was slowly pushed open, and a palace maid walked in.

"I've never seen you before, get out!"

Zhu Yijing said in a deep voice.

The palace maid, however, paid no attention and continued walking slowly.

Zhu Yijing gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his palms sweating.

"There are celestial beings guarding this place; they will come as soon as I call out... Don't throw your life away in vain!"

He shouted, his voice lacking conviction.

As they were talking, the palace maid came closer.

Zhu Yijing gritted his teeth, his short sword poised to strike.

But the next moment—he suddenly froze.

Because the palace maid raised her head and looked at him with a sorrowful expression.

The face was unfamiliar.

But that look in his eyes was very familiar to him.

Love, admiration, appreciation, and worry.

That was Liu Jinyi's gaze, and it was also the reason he fell in love with Liu Jinyi.

But right now, all he feels is fear and disgust.

"you--"

Zhu Yijing said dryly.

The palace maid looked at him with love and slowly opened her mouth.

"Young Master, I—"

boom!
The next moment, the window frame burst open with a loud bang!

Zhu Zai sliced ​​the palace maid's head off with a single stroke.

"Jing'er! Are you alright?"

"Did he do anything to you? Did he say anything to you?"

Zhu Zai kicked the headless corpse away, walked quickly to Zhu Yijing, and asked urgently.

Zhu Yijing was taken aback.

"Ah... Father still cares about me..."

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a tingling, itchy sensation on his back, as if something was trying to emerge from under his skin.

The feeling, though strange, was extremely slight and was suppressed by his surging emotions, failing to attract his attention.

He said, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Father...I'm alright..."

(End of this chapter)