Ita Era

Chapter 156
night!
Following the navigation, Wang Meng rode back to his residence. Relieved to remove his heavy armor, Wang Meng found that there were quite a few people at home, including the necessary steward, maids, concubines, and twenty guards.

Soaking in a hot bath, Wang Meng felt completely relaxed. He heard the curtain being lifted and turned his head to look. A maidservant of about fifteen years old walked in gracefully: "This servant has come to scrub your back, sir."

Wang Meng wasn't familiar with the maid, so he closed his eyes and hummed in agreement. A pair of slender, jade-like hands touched his back, then moved to his chest, and entered downwards...

Wang Meng knew this was called "climbing into bed," but he didn't refuse. It would be foolish not to take advantage of an NPC. Although underwear is undeniably attractive, one can still remove it if they so choose.

Just as Wang Meng relaxed, his mind filled with lewd thoughts, a steel needle pierced his lumbar spine. Before Wang Meng could even open his eyes and react, the maidservant's right hand plunged the steel needle into Wang Meng's cervical spine, then she quickly retreated, avoiding Wang Meng's fist.

"Tsk tsk!" Ding Shi entered the inner room from the outer room, looked at Wang Meng in the bathtub, opened his fan to half-cover his face, and said smugly, "Isn't this our invincible commander?" He waved his hand, dismissing the maid. Not to mention the maid, the entire courtyard was his people.

Wang Meng was completely immobilized and roared, "Ding Gou, are you fucking crazy? Didn't you already complete the mission?"

Ding Shi said, "I was asked to do this."

Wang Meng asked, "Who?"

Ding Shiyi closed his fan, sat down on a chair, and said, "Your Highness."

Wang Meng: "The Red-Clad Prince? Impossible."

Ding Shi said, "Do I still need to lie to you at this point? The Crown Prince is Consort Xian's child, and Consort Xian is the daughter of the Zhao family. Consort Xian's mother gave me 20 taels of silver, hoping I could do the Crown Prince a favor. The Crown Prince got the news and came to me, hoping I could get rid of you. Otherwise, who do you think wanted to kill you during the day?"

Ding Shi said, "Why would a mere Imperial Guard like me kill you? We're all just employees. If the Emperor wanted to kill you, would it have to be this complicated? Of the remaining people, Princess Su Su has already completed her mission, and no one would ask her for help. Imperial Physician Hua Shan was the first to die. Only Empress Chu Yu and the Crown Prince in Red are left."

Ding Shi asked, "Who do you think can persuade me to help? Chu Yu? Yes, Chu Yu did ask me for help, but not to kill you. She wanted to investigate the powder, but she's stingy. I can't go against my conscience and the rules of the game to help her. So, that leaves only the Red-Clad Prince. The reason the Prince wants to kill you is simple: you're in charge of the security of the Imperial City. If he kills you and replaces you with his people, it's equivalent to him successfully usurping the throne."

Wang Meng was speechless, then said, "But the Crown Prince is my son."

Ding Shi was shocked, Ding Shi was confused, Ding Shi didn't believe it. What kind of bullshit background is this?
Wang Meng said, "I grew up with Consort Xian and we had a secret affair. I never expected that after I went to the border to join the army, she would be brought into the harem by that dog emperor Yu Yuan."

Ding Shi: "Who told you that?"

Wang Meng: "Consort Xian and the system."

Ding Shi: "The system told you the story background, that you knew Consort Xian and slept with her, but it didn't tell you that the Crown Prince is your son, right?"

Wang Meng: "No. It was Consort Xian who said the Crown Prince is my son."

Ding Shi: "You believe her just because she says so?"

Wang Meng: "Killing the emperor won't cost me anything. Besides, I have to choose between two missions, and I can only choose to kill the emperor. Stop talking nonsense, I really hate you now."

Ding Shi innocently replied, "It was the woman in red who instigated it."

Wang Meng: "This isn't the first time you've attacked me under the instigation of others."

Ding Shi chuckled: "You still owe me several thousand dollars, I'm your creditor." He threw down his fan and drew his embroidered spring knife.

Unable to move, Wang Meng asked, "Consort Xian ordered me to kill the Emperor, and the Crown Prince sent you to kill me? Isn't that ridiculous?"

Ding Shi said, "It's quite funny, but I'm only responsible for helping." He then plunged a knife into Wang Meng's chest.

Wang Meng was about to spit a mouthful of blood at Ding Shi's face. Even if he couldn't beat him, he would still disgust him.

Ding Shi released the Embroidered Spring Blade, snapped his fingers, and the Thunder Ninja Headband appeared on his right hand.

Wang Meng swallowed all the blood in his mouth and raised his thumb with all his might: "Brother Ding, well done! On behalf of my whole family, I thank you and your ancestors for eighteen generations."

Ding Shi chuckled: "It's not like I'd give it to you for free."

Wang Menghu's eyes widened, and then he died.

The next second, Wang Meng's soul punched and kicked Ding Shi.

Hua Shan's soul watched from the side: "I thought I was going to watch porn, but it turned out to be an assassination film, then it turned into a palace intrigue film, then an ethical drama, and finally it ended with the villains getting their way."

Ding Shi ransacked Wang Meng's residence, finding four gold ingots in a drawer. He despised the corrupt official Wang and pocketed the gold.

The Imperial Guards transported the bodies of the former steward, maids, and guards back from the carriage and casually dumped them in the courtyard.

After seeing that his subordinates had finished their business, Ding Shi walked out of the Wang residence, then walked back in, and exclaimed in alarm, "There have been bandits committing crimes! Immediately notify the Prefect!"

"Yes." Zhang San accepted the order and rode away.

Ding Shi looked at the gruesome scene and exclaimed in astonishment, "I wonder what kind of villains have the audacity to do this. I will immediately report to His Majesty that you should stay and help the Prefect handle the situation."

Li Si and the others clasped their hands in response: "Yes."

Ding Shi handed Li Si two thousand silver notes and turned to leave.

Li Si and the others said, "Respectfully seeing off our lord."

Ding Shi rode into the palace and woke up Yu Yuan, who had just fallen asleep. He said, "I just received news that Wang Meng's entire family was wiped out, not a single chicken or dog was spared. Even the earthworms in the ground were pulled out and split in half."

Yu Yuan was still half asleep, but he immediately snapped out of it and asked, "Wang Meng is dead?" He checked the group chat.

System notification: Wang Meng is dead. The instance timer has entered its 48-hour countdown.

Yu Yuan asked, "Who killed him?"

Ding Shi said, "I don't know."

Yu Yuan squinted at Ding Shi and said suspiciously, "It seems that only you have the ability to kill Wang Meng."

Ding Shi said, "Yu Yuan, you underestimated everyone."

Yu Yuan understood the implied meaning and said, "But you killed Wang Meng."

Ding Shi chuckled and readily admitted, "I did it. He wanted to kill you, so I killed him."

Yu Yuan: "I don't believe it."

Ding Shi said, "I can only tell you that he wants to kill you. As for why he wants to kill you, and why he didn't make a move tonight, that's your problem. You now have the opportunity to completely control the imperial city."

System notification: The Imperial City Guard cannot be without a commander for even a day. Please appoint a new commander within three hours. There are ten people who can be appointed, including Ding Shi, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Princess.

Yu Yuan picked up a pen, copied down the names of six people excluding Ding Shi and the other three, and handed it to Ding Shi: "Check their backgrounds for me. I'll give you three hours." That damned Su Su, she tricked him out of his top scholar position. How could she lie? How could she lie?

Ding Shi nodded: "Okay."

After leaving the Imperial Study, Ding Shi returned to the Command Post, picked up a pen, and wrote the characters "Qi Jia" after the names of the six people. He then instructed Zhao Liu to deliver the list to the Imperial Study in two hours.

At one in the morning, Ding Shi went to the Blue Pavilion alone, hired a woman, gave her 50 taels of silver, and asked her to guard the door and provide wake-up service. Ding Shi took a shower and then had a good night's sleep.

They have a home, and even maids to share it with, but given Wang Meng's example, who would dare to go home to sleep?
At this point, Ding Shi had completed his mission and settled his debts of gratitude. Now it was time to just laze around and wait to die. However, leaving the instance alive would be ideal. The only one who could kill him now was the Emperor. With the Emperor's order, Zhang San and the others certainly wouldn't dare to get involved, and he couldn't defeat the Imperial Guards.

The next morning at eight o'clock, it was time for the morning court session.

An imperial censor impeached officials from the Qi faction, and Yu Yuan immediately imprisoned three officials for questioning. He was furious and exhausted; he had used all his secret guards to gather intelligence and had only managed to arrest a few people, while half the court officials were still from the Qi faction. The system had only given him enough time for one more court session. After the morning court session, Chu Yu waited for Yu Yuan in the imperial study, her temper flaring: Didn't this dog emperor know how busy he was? The harem's parameters were already about to explode, and yet he still appointed her as the commander of the Imperial City Guard. Had she ever heard of an empress concurrently serving as the commander of the Imperial City Guard?
When Yu Yuan saw Chu Yu, he went up to her with a smile and the two entered the imperial study. Yu Yuan explained, "You are the only person I can trust."

Chu Yu complained, "Don't you have the Embroidered Uniform Guard under your command? I asked Ding Shi for help, but he didn't give me any face at all."

Yu Yuan frowned: "Ding Shi? The Embroidered Uniform Guard should be my sharpest weapon, so why didn't he help me at all?"

Chu Yu looked at Yu Yuan and said, "This kid has a problem."

Yu Yuan: "That's right. The Embroidered Uniform Guard only works for the emperor. As the emperor, I asked him to frame the Qi family, but he played the justice card with me. Even if they are not enemies, they are still two-faced. Chu Yu, we have to cooperate."

Chu Yu asked, "How do we cooperate?"

Yu Yuan said, "I have four secret guards. You will command them to gather evidence of the crimes committed by the Qi faction officials and help me stabilize the Imperial City Guard. As for your harem, I will handle that."

Chu Yu asked, "How do we deal with it?"

Yu Yuan said, "I will allocate 100,000 taels of silver to expand the Shenxing Division, with several people in each group keeping an eye on one concubine."

Chu Yu said, "No, the concubines will make a scene."

Yu Yuan: "You are the empress, so people will definitely make trouble for you. You are in a competitive relationship. But I am the emperor, I am the client, and what I say goes."

Yu Yuan extended his hand: "Let's form an alliance."

Chu Yu shook hands with Yu Yuan: "Okay, what about Ding Shi?"

Yu Yuan thought for a moment and then said, "Someone come here."

Four imperial guards appeared in a flash, awaiting orders.

Yu Yuan said, "Commander Ding is exceptionally intelligent and brave. Because the Crown Prince is young, a special decree has been issued that Commander Ding and you will accompany the Crown Prince around the clock. Anyone who disobeys will be imprisoned for defying the decree." This "anyone" includes both Ding Shi and the Crown Prince. In this way, apart from Princess Su Su, the remaining two players are now secured, allowing them to focus on their own tasks.

"Yes."

"Add four more people to keep watch secretly."

……

East Palace.

Ding Shi sat in front of the red-robed crown prince, glaring at each other. There were two imperial guards nearby, and who knew how many more were in the shadows.

The crown prince said discontentedly, "Can you all stay away from me?"

The imperial guards exchanged glances and then left through the door.

The woman in red beckoned with her finger, and Ding Shi leaned forward. The woman in red patted her chair, and Ding Shi shook his head repeatedly: "Don't even think about taking advantage of me."

The woman in red raised her little fist, and Ding Shi shook his finger: Not enough.
The woman in red drew 20 knives and placed them on the table in front of her. The next second, Ding Shi and the woman in red sat down in the same chair.

The woman in red patted Ding Shi on the back, making him bend down, and whispered in his ear, "My mission is to kill the emperor."

Ding Shi already knew this, and said, "Then kill them."

The woman in red said, “According to my plan, I would first get rid of Wang Meng, and my people would take over Wang Meng’s position. Then I could take down the emperor at the palace banquet. I didn’t expect that old bastard Yu Yuan would pull this stunt and let the empress take over as the commander of the Imperial City Guard.”

Ding Shi said, "I've already killed Wang Meng. You don't mean you want me to kill the Empress, do you?"

Red-clad: "What are your conditions?"

Ding Shi: "Conditions aside, I have some bad news for you."

Red-clad: "What?"

Ding Shi: "Wang Meng is your father."

Red-clad: "What?!"

Ding Shi: "This is what your mother, Consort Xian, said to Wang Meng. She begged Wang Meng to kill the emperor."

The woman in red slapped her forehead and said after a long while, "I can buy a poison needle."

Ding Shi looked at the imperial guards outside the palace and said, "These are all experts, experts far superior to me."

The woman in red was at a loss for what to do when the sound of a cuckoo came from outside the window. Ding Shi turned around and saw Su Su. Ding Shi's eyes lit up and he said, "Su Su can kill the Empress."

Red-clad: "But there are people all over here. The imperial guards must have noticed Su Su."

Ding Shi said, "Speak to her in English."

The woman in red was overjoyed and quickly walked to the window: "Hey, the attic."

Su Su asked warily, "What youngest son?"

The woman in red started chattering away, while Su Su haggled and chattered on. The two chattered for ten minutes before Su Su reached out and took a small bamboo tube, looked around furtively, and then left.

As NPCs, the Imperial Guards will strictly follow their boss's orders. The boss has two orders: First, monitor Ding Shi and Hong Yi. Second, keep them together.

An hour later, the system notification came: The Queen has died, and there are 24 hours left in the instance.

System notification: Princess has died. 12 hours remaining in the instance.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince were both in a frenzy. It was now 2 PM, and the Emperor had no time to hold a court session. The Crown Prince was also under surveillance, and even though his men had taken over the leadership, he could hardly find time to contact them.

A new group chat feature allows chatbots to join.

Hua Shan: Gou Yuan, come out here, come out!

You have been blacklisted by Yu Yuan.

Red-clad: Why did you kill the princess?

Yu Yuan: I didn't kill her. She fell from the city wall and died.

Ding Shi: Su Su, why did you die?
Su Su: The woman in red told me that the reward is $50 for a failed mission and $200 for a successful mission. If I die during the mission, the reward doubles. If I live, I can only get $200, but if I die, I can get $400.

Ding Shi was incredulous: You poisoned the Empress and then deliberately fell to your death?
Su Su: Making money, hehe, there's nothing shameful about it.

Red dress: You've gone astray.

Empress Chu Yu: Damn it, you dog emperor, why did you kill the imperial physician? I endured 50 minutes of suffering, and I was poisoned to death.

Hua Shan: Destroy it.

Next up is the final showdown between Emperor Yu Yuan and Crown Prince Hong Yi.

(End of this chapter)