Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 311 The New Renyin Palace Coup

In early spring, the Forbidden City was still shrouded in twilight.

The north wind swept across the palace walls, swirling fine snowflakes that whistled among the pillars.

Several eunuchs huddled in a corner of the duty room, the fire in the charcoal brazier barely extinguished, casting an indistinct shadow on their faces.

“Another one was carried out of Gyeongbokgung Palace yesterday…”

The older eunuch lowered his voice, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against his knees: "A girl who was only thirteen years old was beaten to death for simply spilling half a cup of ginseng soup."

His throat bobbed, as if he could still hear that shrill cry: "He died before he finished the thirty strokes of the cane, his blood soaked the bench, and the old woman who was washing him changed the water three times..."

The little fire-breasted creature in the corner suddenly shivered.

He was newly transferred to serve at Consort Wang's Gyeongbokgung Palace, and his fingers still bore the blisters from the incense burner he had been burned by the day before.

"I handed over the wrong scroll the other day..."

His voice trembled: "The Empress picked up the inkstone and smashed it!"

As he spoke, he subconsciously touched the scabbed wound on his forehead: "If Huang Gonggong hadn't passed by and shielded me, I'd probably end up like that..."

"what is this?"

The older palace maid sneered, took out some ointment from her sleeve and handed it to the young servant. A bruise was visible on her wrist, as if it had been caused by something hard.

“Last month, His Majesty was meditating and said that my footsteps had startled the gods—”

She suddenly fell silent, and everyone followed her gaze to see a dark shadow flash past the window.

Silence washed over the duty room like ice water.

The charcoal brazier crackled and sparked, illuminating the bewildered gazes of the crowd.

Finally, the dark figure flashed by, and no footsteps were heard.

"Perhaps it's a wildcat..."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but their expressions immediately turned even more grim.

When will this life of constant anxiety end?
They were all children from poor families, and most of them entered the palace because they had no other choice.

Otherwise, no one would willingly harm their own body, or grow old alone, never to marry.

Empress Dowager Jiang was originally kind and rarely punished palace servants, which made other palace servants afraid to use tyrannical methods for fear of displeasing the Empress Dowager.

But ever since Empress Dowager Jiang passed away, that mistress has become increasingly difficult to serve, punishing servants one after another, and the ladies of the palace have also become more ruthless.

One concern was that the emperor's example would influence his subordinates, but the other was that their own palace servants might break the rules and displease the emperor, which would then lead to dislike of the emperor's sons.

The nightmare of the palace servants was about to begin.

"Now only the Queen of the Underworld in Zhaoyang Palace remains, and she is the most benevolent of them all!"

After a moment of silence, the older eunuch spoke again: "I accidentally broke the tribute porcelain, and Her Majesty only said that she would have peace and safety every year..."

The older palace maid chimed in, "It's all thanks to the Crown Prince's benevolence; even the scholars in the Imperial Study praise him highly!"

In fact, in the Imperial Study, the eldest prince was the most foolish when it came to studying.

At first, the gentlemen could offer a few words of praise, but later they could only remark that the eldest prince had grown taller.

Now just ten years old, he looks like a little adult, quite impressive.

Just then, someone muttered, "If only the benevolent Crown Prince had ascended the throne earlier..."

"Well!"

These words were like an invisible hand gripping their necks, startling everyone so much that they froze.

In an instant, even the sound of breathing disappeared from the duty room.

Only when the snowflakes outside became denser, pattering against the window paper, did they make a rustling sound.

"Let's break up!"

After an unknown amount of time, the eldest eunuch was the first to stand up, and the others, as if granted a pardon, filed out.

Their footsteps were hurried, and they quickly disappeared among the surrounding palaces.

Only one person stopped, gritted her teeth, turned around, and stood before the older palace maid, staring intently at her: "What did you mean by what you just said?"

The two exchanged a glance, and the latter led him to a corner, looking at the little fire spirit: "What's your name?"

The young man whispered, “My surname is Zhou. After entering the palace, they all called me Little Zhou. Later, Eunuch Huang bestowed upon me the name Shunli, Zhou Shunli!”

"Zhou Shunli, what a good name!"

The older palace maid nodded: "What do you want?"

The little fire-wielder hissed, "I want to live!"

The older palace maid's voice was low, but still sharp and excited: "If you want to live, you have to do one thing. Do you dare?"

The fire-breasted man's eyes, reflecting the embers, appeared bloodshot. He forced out a single word through gritted teeth: "Dare!"

"Follow me!"

The sound of the third watch gong came from afar, like a death knell.

After the young fire-bringer was led into a secluded house, people gathered outside in the shadows.

"The eunuchs include Zhao Chengen, Li Fuquan, and Zhang De'an... Now there's Zhou Shunli. I've been observing this person for a long time, and he's someone I can use!"

"The palace maids include Su Chuanyao, Xing Cuilian, Chen Juhua, and Xu Qiuhua..."

"Only this many? Aren't we ruthless enough? We need to find a chance to kill a few more?"

“No! Huang Jin has already noticed something. Yesterday, he reprimanded the servants at the Directorate of Ceremonial, forbidding them from being harsh on the servants. If we do it again, it will be easily discovered.”

"But there aren't many servants who dare to resist. Should we wait a little longer?"

"Lu Bing is back. We can't wait for complete preparations; this is enough..."

"Let's train them!"

The young man discovered that his life was about to change.

From serving noble people with trepidation to practicing martial arts with trepidation.

It wasn't really about martial arts; they were just taught how to move, how to walk silently, and how to avoid patrolling sentries.

Learning these things is not difficult.

The nobles in the palace already regarded them as objects, so they themselves had to minimize their presence in order to live a long and peaceful life.

But that was before. Now, no matter how cautious you are, you could be crushed by sudden punishment.

Those with weak temperaments become increasingly desperate and are more prone to making mistakes, while those with resolute temperaments develop different thoughts.

Rather than die quietly...

We might as well go all out and fight to the death!
Days go by.

The snow stopped falling.

But the weather in the capital had not yet truly warmed up when the organizers issued another instruction.

"More and more people are being killed!"

"We can't wait any longer!"

"Tonight! At Jiangxue Pavilion! At Consort Li's residence!"

'Consort Li...' Consort Li is the birth mother of the Third Prince. Compared to the power of Consort Yan and Consort Wang in the harem, she is quite low-key. The number of servants in Jiangxue Pavilion who are killed is also the fewest. It is always the master who issues the decree, and it has nothing to do with this consort.

Therefore, the person with the small fire couldn't help but hesitate.

If they actually succeed tonight, wouldn't it be a disaster for Consort Li?
However, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

When the organizer's gaze fell upon them, everyone gritted their teeth and nodded in unison:
"Done!"

……

As the night deepened and the dew grew heavier, a thin layer of frost clung to the eaves of the Forbidden City.

A dozen or so dark figures crept along the base of the palace wall. Suddenly, the leading eunuch raised his hand, and the group immediately disappeared into the shadows of the plum trees.

A patrol of guards was passing by on the outer path of Jiangxue Pavilion.

Looking at their relaxed and unhurried appearance, everyone's eyes revealed disdain.

I used to think that noble people were born noble and should enjoy delicacies from land and sea.

I was born lowly, and my parents and brothers deserve to starve to death.

but now.

Everyone has realized that even benefactors are human.

Otherwise, why would there be a need for guards?

This shows that even influential people worry about being harmed!

Since that's the case, here they come!
"go!"

After the lax guard patrol ended, the group entered Jiangxue Pavilion with light steps.

The sound came from ahead again, and everyone immediately held their breath and stood close to the wall.

Two palace maids on night watch were holding hand warmers and talking quietly in the corridor.

This wasn't a lack of manners; on the contrary, it was because they were worried about dozing off and not responding to the noble person's call immediately.

It wasn't a big deal before, but now you could get beaten to death.

So they chatted casually.

"Do it."

The elderly eunuchs at the head of the group each took out a handkerchief from their sleeves and approached silently.

Almost simultaneously, the two men abruptly covered the maid's mouth and nose.

"Woo——"

A dying sob mixed with a struggle rang out.

The young palace maid on the right struggled even more fiercely, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, her embroidered shoes scraping against the blue bricks.

The eunuch simply straddled her and found that the hairpin tip was stuck between her bones, so he twisted his wrist sharply.

Fresh blood splattered out like ink.

The person with the small fire avoided looking at it, unable to bear witnessing the scene.

Some of the other actors felt reluctant, while others became excited.

at the same time.

Suddenly, the sound of porcelain clattering came from a side room not far away.

The eunuch's eyes flashed, and with a sudden wave of his hand, the two men rushed inside.

The eunuch Xiao Dezi, who was on night duty, was secretly eating snacks when he was so shocked that he choked. Before he could even cry out, a hairpin pierced his throat.

The pea flour cake in his hand was stained with blood; it fell to the ground and rolled around.

"Is there anyone else?"

The crowd dispersed and dealt with the palace maids and eunuchs on night duty at Jiangxue Pavilion in the same manner.

They acted quickly and ruthlessly.

Xiao Huozhe suddenly realized that the eunuchs and palace maids who had taken action did not seem like servants in the palace at all; they looked even more formidable than the imposing guards.

Fortunately, they were there, and the journey was safe and sound until they reached the palace.

"Are you really going to make a move?"

With the palace door within reach, everyone froze, their palms sweating profusely.

Those who previously committed heinous acts are no exception.

The moonlight broke through the clouds, illuminating everyone's distorted faces.

suddenly.

A cough leaked out from the crack in the window, a rattling sound like phlegm.

"Tsk!"

An elderly palace maid's voice drifted from ahead: "It sounds just like the late emperor before his death."

The young man didn't know which emperor the late emperor was or what he looked like.

In fact, most people here are unaware of this.

After all, the current emperor has been on the throne for twenty-one years.

But after hearing those words, I inexplicably felt that something big was about to happen, and my feet became much more steady, and I had more strength in my hands.

"on!"

As the group rushed into the palace, the leading eunuch and maid slowed down, allowing the group behind them to proceed.

Xiao Huozhe felt very sorry for the maids on night duty at Jiangxue Pavilion, but now, with red eyes, he rushed to the front.

"Who goes there... Ah!"

Behind him were the eunuchs who had been laid down, but his gaze was fixed on the two figures lying on the couch with their necks intertwined.

Especially that middle-aged man.

Little Fire had no idea what the master he was talking about looked like.

All I know is that he is the master of everyone in the palace.

He had never dared to look up at the other person before.

Not once.

until now.

This eunuch is as lowly as an ant.