The world is like a prison, my body is holy

"Snapped."

The teacup slammed hard against the black gold brick and shattered into pieces.

The no-longer-young new emperor, Zhaode Emperor Chai Heng, his face flushed red, slammed his hand on the imperial desk and roared with a ferocious expression, "He's deceiving Heaven! He's deceiving Heaven! What exactly does Wang Erhu want? Does he even respect me as the emperor? Haven't I been kind enough to him?"

Cao Jin, the Martial Virtue Envoy who was then the head of the Martial Virtue Division, the secret intelligence agency of the Great Zhou Dynasty, knelt down in the palace like a quail, daring not to move or say anything, for fear of offending this familiar yet unfamiliar new emperor.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he presented himself to the world as someone who treated his court officials well and was open to advice.

But as the new emperor's eyes and ears, and his secret dagger, he understood better than anyone else the new emperor's capricious, stubborn, and cruel nature.

He took over the Wude Division on the day the new emperor ascended the throne, and from that day on, he began a massive purge, killing people every single day. From court officials and imperial guards to retired officials and palace eunuchs, hundreds of people were implicated at a time, and the confiscation of property and the extermination of families were commonplace.

Even on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, imperial edicts ordering executions were delivered to him.

In just two short months, the entire Wude Division had killed so many people that they were numb with fear. Everyone would be terrified and turn ashen-faced at the sight of a eunuch coming out of the palace.

This former official of the Eastern Palace had only been in charge of the Martial Virtue Department for a little over two months when he began to worry about his future and what would become of him.

He was completely baffled. How could the kind, approachable, and wise Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace have changed so much in just two months?

Although the late emperor was senile in his later years, he was never so harsh and ungrateful!

Cao Jin tried to shrink himself into a ball, fearing that he would attract the attention of the already enraged new emperor.

But the enraged Emperor Zhaode ultimately did not let him off the hook...

"What are you, Wude Si, good for?"

Enraged, Emperor Zhaode smashed many furnishings in the palace, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed his spear at Cao Jin: "It's been so long, and you still haven't found out the truth about that wicked minister? Do you also hope that I die soon so you can find a new master?"

Sensing that malicious gaze falling on him, Cao Jin felt his heart clench, and his heartbeat almost stopped.

He dared not argue, nor dared he defend himself; he could only kowtow repeatedly, shouting hoarsely, "Your Majesty, please understand! This humble subject only hopes that Your Majesty will live as long as Heaven and be immortal, so that this humble subject may serve Your Majesty for all eternity! How could I dare to have such a treasonous, heartless, and deserving death without a complete corpse..."

His massive head slammed into the thick gold bricks, producing a dull, metallic sound. Soon, his forehead was broken, and a large amount of blood oozed out.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhaode's intense malice softened slightly, and he also called for a halt. He simply stepped forward and kicked Cao Jin to the ground, angrily rebuking him, "Useless idiot, what use are you to me!"

Despite being beaten, Cao Jin suddenly felt a sense of relief, knowing that he had finally survived today...

He hurriedly turned over and crawled on his knees to Emperor Zhaode's feet, knelt down, and kowtowed at his feet: "Your Majesty, I know my crime and beg for punishment."

Emperor Zhaode let out a heavy breath, turned around, and slowly walked back to the palace with his obese body. He then turned around and sat heavily on the dragon throne...

Seeing this, the trembling eunuch Guo Defu quickly beckoned to the trembling eunuchs on either side. The eunuchs immediately braced themselves and stepped forward, hurriedly cleaning up the mess on the ground.

Guo Defu watched the clumsy movements of the young eunuchs and sighed inwardly. Too many people were dying in the palace. If they continued to die like this, he would really not be able to find any young eunuchs with good eyesight.

Fortunately, Emperor Zhaode's attention was not on these innocent eunuchs at that moment...

He took a cup of perfectly warm tea from Guo Defu's hand with a blank expression, took a sip, and said coldly, "Has that old dog not confessed yet? Can't your Wude Division even handle a toothless, spineless dog?"

Cao Jin inwardly groaned, but outwardly he feigned composure, adopting a confident demeanor, and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, on the day that traitor Wang Erhu entered the palace to pay homage to the late Emperor, only that old dog was serving by the late Emperor's side in the Chui Gong Hall. To avoid pressing too hard and losing our leads, I am trying to find a way to pry open that dog's mouth without resorting to torture..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhaode was enraged and immediately threw the teacup he was holding at them, shouting, "A bunch of good-for-nothings! What use are you to me?!"

The teacup struck Cao Jin squarely on the head, shattering into pieces with a "crack." Warm tea splattered all over his face, mixing with blood as it dripped onto the gold bricks.

Cao Jin dared not wipe the blood from his face, and once again kowtowed amidst the shards of porcelain on the ground: "Your Majesty, I know my crime and beg for punishment!"

Emperor Zhaode looked down at him, a surge of rage rising within him. He opened his mouth and wanted to order his men to drag this good-for-nothing out and chop him to pieces!

But his remaining rationality told him that the old dog was the old man's loyal follower, and that his relatives and friends had all been gone after years in the palace. It would not be easy to pry the old dog open his mouth, and torturing him now would only do what he wanted, allowing him to go to the underworld sooner to continue serving the old man...

The thought of this made him furious again!

Why won't these traitors pledge allegiance to me?
Why do you insist on opposing me?
Who gave them the audacity!
I am the emperor!
I am the true ruler of the world!
His eyes were bloodshot with rage, and he was extremely eager to kill—to kill this good-for-nothing in front of him, and to kill that old dog in the prison…

But his remaining rationality desperately suppressed the intense malice in his heart that was almost overflowing.

He was slightly out of breath and reached out to the side without turning his head. A young eunuch holding a teacup saw this and hurriedly bowed and stepped forward.

Unexpectedly, in his panic, he didn't notice his footing, slipped, and fell straight to the ground.

He watched in utter terror as the ground drew ever closer, and with all his might, he lifted the teacup high above his head...

"Pfft."

His face slammed heavily onto the ground, his hands still firmly holding the teacup. But the force of his violent trembling sent the lid flying off. It landed with a "clang" in front of the dragon throne, chipped at one corner, and rolled to the footrest of the throne with a thud, much to the astonishment of the crowd.

The "clang" wasn't particularly loud, but it felt like a thunderclap in the heart of all the eunuchs in the hall, including Cao Jin, causing their bodies to tremble along with the lid of the teacup that fell to the ground.

The fallen eunuch, trembling like a leaf and pale as a ghost, slowly raised his face...

He met Emperor Zhaode's eyes, which were crimson and shone like red lanterns in the night.

The young eunuch lowered his head in terror, kowtowing desperately like a fish out of water, his forehead bleeding from the force of his blows: "This servant deserves to die, Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Emperor Zhaode, expressionless, leaned down slightly, picked up the cup of tea in his hand that swayed back and forth with his movements, brought it to his lips and blew on it gently. Then, without raising his head, he waved his hand lightly, as if shooing away an annoying fly: "Throw him into the imperial prison and execute him by slow slicing!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two Imperial Guards strode in, grabbed the pale-faced, terrified eunuch who had already lost control of his bladder, and dragged him out of the main hall.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Your Majesty, spare my life..."

Heart-wrenching, mournful cries echoed repeatedly in the empty Chuigong Hall.

When it reached Emperor Zhaode's ears, it sounded like melodious celestial music, soothing the raging fire of evil burning in his chest.

He picked up the teacup, took a small sip, exhaled a breath of stale air, and handed it back to the bowl.

Guo Defu bowed and stepped forward, taking the teacup from Cao Jin's hand without looking at him, and stood beside the dragon throne like a human-shaped tea table. Emperor Zhaode lowered his head, looked at Cao Jin who was huddled in a ball below the steps, and said calmly, "I want to hear the results within three days."

Cao Jin kowtowed: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Emperor Zhaode waved his hand: "All of you, step down!"

Cao Jin kowtowed to express his gratitude and crawled backward out of the main hall.

The numerous eunuchs serving on either side bowed and retreated from the main hall as if granted a pardon.

When the palace doors creaked shut, only Emperor Zhaode and the human-shaped tea table Guo Defu remained in the empty hall.

Emperor Zhaode casually picked up the teacup from Guo Defu's hand, took a sip, and said softly, "You've investigated for so long, do you have any chance of winning against Wang Erhu now?"

Guo Defu kept his head down, looking down at his nose and inward, and did not intend to reply, because he knew that the emperor was not asking him a question.

After a brief silence, a respectful, aged voice suddenly rang out in the hall: "Your Majesty, I have a chance of winning, but it is less than 30%."

As soon as the words were spoken, a mysterious figure appeared silently in the center of the hall. The figure had pheasant feathers in its hair, wore a painted mask, and was dressed in an elaborate garment made of countless colorful strips of cloth. It clasped its hands in a gesture of respect to Emperor Zhaode.

"Thirty percent?"

Emperor Zhaode looked down at the mysterious man with surprise and chuckled, "Didn't you boast that there was no enemy under heaven that you could not defeat?"

The mysterious man replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Majesty, there is indeed no place under heaven that we cannot conquer, but in chaotic times, monsters are bound to emerge!"

Emperor Zhaode: "Wang Erhu is that monster?"

Mysterious man: "Wang Erhu is that monster!"

Emperor Zhaode: "You have no solution at all?"

The mysterious man said, "There is a solution, but it requires time to plan."

Emperor Zhaode: "How much time do you need to plan this?"

Mysterious man: "At least three years!"

Emperor Zhaode laughed: "If I could tolerate this barbarian for three years, why would I need you, these uncivilized barbarians, to serve me?"

The mysterious man remained silent, like a wooden statue.

Seeing this, Emperor Zhaode was furious, but his face remained impassive. He continued to laugh, "Six months! I must see this scoundrel's head within six months... If I fail to do so, I will bear the consequences!"

The mysterious man remained silent for a moment, then bowed silently and collapsed to the ground. His figure then transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished from the spot.

Emperor Zhaode smiled and lowered his head to drink tea.

A moment later, Guo Defu, the human-shaped tea table, suddenly spoke softly: "Your Majesty, that person has left."

The smile on Emperor Zhaode's face vanished instantly, and his expression suddenly darkened.

"Snapped."

The poor teacup, now only a single bowl, followed in the footsteps of its two predecessors and shattered on the gold brick.

……

"...General Wang Wen, the Demon-Slaying General of Huainan Circuit, is loyal to the country and protects the people. I am greatly pleased and hereby bestow upon him the honor of having his son and father both granted. I hereby grant Wang Wen's adoptive father, Huang Xingde, the title of Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, along with five hundred taels of gold and two hundred bolts of silk... This is my decree!"

The chief eunuch, standing behind the incense table inside the gate of the Qinghe Gang, read the imperial edict with intonation and rhythm.

Wang Wen and Huang Xingde led the Qinghe Gang members to bow behind the incense table to receive the imperial decree.

Huang Xingde originally wanted to kneel, but Wang Wen refused to let him.

The chief eunuch who delivered the imperial edict pretended not to see it.

"Congratulations to you and your son, congratulations to you and your son..."

After the imperial edict was read aloud, the chief eunuch who had proclaimed it closed the edict and handed it to Wang Wen with a smile.

Wang Wen raised both hands above his head and said, "Your subject Wang Wen thanks Your Majesty for your great favor. Long live the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xingde and his entourage immediately shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The chief eunuch handed the imperial edict to Wang Wen, and with a forced smile, he loudly encouraged him, "Such an honor is unprecedented in the Zhaode era. General Wang truly has won the Emperor's favor!"

"Yes, yes, His Majesty really remembers me, Old Wang. I must serve His Majesty even more diligently in the future..."

Wang Wen gave a forced smile and made perfunctory "uh-huhs" to appease them. Finally, he turned to the side, raised his chin at Jin Jiu at the back of the crowd, and said generously, "Gentlemen, you have come from afar without having gone through so much trouble. Here are some local specialties to express our gratitude. They are nothing but a token of our appreciation. Please do not find them offensive."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Jiu led a few people forward, carrying strings of festively packaged gift boxes, and handed them out to everyone they met.

Several eunuchs stared at the gift boxes with suspicion. They were all worldly people, but at this moment they couldn't tell whether the gift boxes contained gleaming silver maidens or real local specialties!

If it's the latter, they won't stand for it!
After distributing the gift boxes, Kim Gu, beaming, invited several eunuchs to Tianxiang Tower for a welcoming feast.

Wang Wen personally saw them off, and upon returning to the Qinghe Gang's main hall, he saw Huang Xingde placing the imperial edict above the hall as if it were an ancestral offering, and bowing and paying his respects repeatedly.

He walked in with a smile and teased, "The little emperor isn't here. Who are you putting this up for, old man?"

Huang Xingde turned around, excitedly grabbing his arm: "You've made another big deal? Why would the government suddenly give us an official position? Didn't they just promote you before the New Year?"

"You don't need to worry about that..."

Wang Wen chuckled and replied, "Confidential, you understand what confidential means?"

Huang Xingde seemed to understand but not quite: "Can't I say? Then we won't ask. Anyway, if you need any help from us, just send someone back and let us know. Whether you need people or money, we won't say a word!"

He was full of energy right now, showing the spirit of someone who's still got it. (End of Chapter)