Jiuxi

Chapter 610: 608 [Step by Step]

The Duke's Mansion, the east wing.

Eunuch Wen Changbao huddled in a corner, not daring to do anything that might cause misunderstanding from others.

The so-called other people refer to the six masters who are responsible for watching over him. In fact, there are a total of eighteen people divided into three shifts, who take turns to stay by his side day and night, and even watch him when he goes to the toilet.

Ever since he smashed the tray near the altar of the imperial mausoleum, Wen Changbao knew that he was doomed to die, but he still clung to this world, thinking that it would be a good thing to live one more day.

However, after being locked up in the Duke's Mansion for two whole days, no one came to interrogate him, which made Wen Changbao feel uneasy and confused.

Looking back on his muddled and mediocre life, Wen Changbao was overwhelmed with depression. He desperately wanted to find someone to confide in, but he also knew that he could not say anything and had to keep those secrets to himself, otherwise his family would be implicated.

Just as I was daydreaming, a group of neat voices suddenly came from outside the door.

"Greetings, sir!"

The next moment, the tightly closed door was opened, and a few rays of sunlight came in, and the dust in the air was vaguely visible.

Wen Changbao suddenly became nervous and swallowed subconsciously.

Lu Chen walked in slowly, holding a file in his hand, followed by Tan Zheng and others.

"Give him a chair."

Lu Chen sat down first, and then gave instructions to Tan Zheng.

"Yes, my lord."

Tan Zheng agreed, then dragged a chair over and placed it three feet away. The guards in charge of guarding Wen Changbao lifted him up and placed him directly on the chair, still standing around him.

"Everyone go down, Tan Zheng stays."

Lu Chen looked calm. With his martial arts skills, he certainly didn't need to be overly cautious as if facing a powerful enemy. What's more, the eunuch in front of him only had brute force.

As everyone left, the room seemed a little empty.

Lu Chen looked at this unremarkable eunuch. He looked very uneasy, yet he was trying to be stubborn.

Wen Changbao really didn't expect that after waiting for two days, the person who appeared in front of him was Lu Chen.

As a eunuch with a certain level of experience in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he certainly knew the tremendous power of this young duke.

He is in charge of military affairs both at home and abroad, has made countless military achievements in his life, is a minister appointed by the late emperor to assist him, and has a desire to save the current emperor.

Not to mention that Wen Changbao had already committed the crime of assassinating the emperor, even if he had done nothing, if Lu Chen wanted to deal with him, it would only take a few words.

As the saying goes, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Lu Chen just sat there leisurely, and drops of cold sweat appeared on Wen Changbao's forehead.

"Wen Changbao, I am now 27 years old and have been in the palace for 13 years. You are from Li County, Linhai Prefecture, Jiangzhou. Your family was very poor since childhood. You came to the capital to seek refuge with your relatives but failed, so you took the initiative to enter the palace."

To Wen Changbao's surprise, Lu Chen did not interrogate him directly. Instead, he opened the file and slowly narrated his life story.

Lu Chen's eyes fell on the paper and he continued, "You worked as a sweeping eunuch in the Palace Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for three years, and were later transferred to the Internal Servants Bureau. Four years ago, you were transferred to the Internal Affairs Bureau, and two years ago, you were promoted to the eighth rank of official. Therefore, you are qualified to appear at the funeral of the mountain mausoleum and offer the funeral ceremony for His Majesty."

Wen Changbao pursed his lips and looked down at the ground.

Lu Chen said calmly, "You have been in the palace for thirteen years, and you are still very far from being a junior eunuch of the fifth rank. However, considering that you have no noble support, it is not easy for you to get to where you are now step by step. You were born in a poor family and went to Beijing alone at the age of fourteen. When you were in a desperate situation, you castrated yourself and entered the palace. It can be seen that you are a very tenacious person. Over the years, you have been very cautious and frugal in the palace. Whenever you save some money, you will find ways to send it back to your hometown in Jiangzhou to support your parents."

His tone was very calm, but Wen Changbao felt so excited that his eyes unconsciously turned red.

"Generally speaking, you are a person who knows your limits, has good intentions, and is filial."

Lu Chen gave his own judgment, and then said with emotion: "A person like you would actually think of assassinating the emperor."

Wen Changbao bit his pale lips tightly, still keeping silent and allowing himself to be slaughtered.

Lu Chen handed the file to Tan Zheng standing next to him with some boredom, adjusted his sitting posture slightly, and said leisurely: "Do you want to live?"

These three simple words shot into Wen Changbao's heart like a sharp arrow.

He subconsciously raised his head and looked at the calm young duke opposite him, an extremely struggling and difficult look emerged on his face.

"Can……"

Wen Changbao only said one word and then immediately shut up.

Lu Chen said meaningfully: "In fact, the moment His Majesty chose you, you knew you would not survive, but you had no right to refuse. If you obey His Majesty's will, you must die, but your family can live, and they can live better than before. If you disobey the order, you will definitely die, and all the people you care about will die too. You can't hesitate in this situation, you can only do what His Majesty asks, and at the same time hold a hope that His Majesty will not break his promise and your family can survive well."

Wen Changbao stared at the ground blankly, his eyes extremely painful. "The reason why I am interrogating you now is because I don't think it is necessary."

Lu Chen slowed down his tone and said slowly: "His Majesty is a very cautious person. He will not allow a eunuch who has been in the Jianwang Palace to appear around him, even if you have only stayed there for a few months. The fact that you can pass Yuan Yuji's review and dare to take action on that occasion is enough to show who instructed you. Originally, I didn't want to pay attention to you, because you are just a death sentence, there is no need to waste time on you."

Wen Changbao finally spoke, his tone like a dull knife sharpening iron: "Then why did you go through this again, sir?"

Lu Chen said slowly: "As a minister, of course I have to share the worries of His Majesty."

Wen Changbao looked confused.

Although he had been in the palace for many years, his status was always very low. Naturally, he could not get in touch with the schemes in the clouds, and he could not understand the deep meaning of Lu Chen's words.

Lu Chen didn't care and explained: "If I'm not mistaken, the order given to you by the palace is to keep your mouth shut and not say anything, right?"

Wen Changbao hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded.

Lu Chen continued, "In this way, the court will not be able to get an effective confession from you, and your assassination attempt will become an unsolved case. Of course, because you have been in Prince Jian's mansion, there will definitely be some suspicion on Li Zongjian. After your majesty ascended the throne, the throne has been very stable, and the only one who can pose a threat is Li Zongjian. Although he has been demoted to a lieutenant of Fengguo by the late emperor, he is, after all, the only blood of the late emperor left in this world besides your majesty. Once he is used by someone with ulterior motives, there is no guarantee that there will be no changes in the future."

This is easy to understand, and Wen Changbao calmed down a little.

Seeing this, Lu Chen said, "So just a little suspicion is not enough. I need a more clear confession."

Wen Changbao was so moved that he mustered up the courage to ask, "My Lord, do you want me to identify Lieutenant Fengguo?"

"Not too stupid."

Lu Chen smiled slightly and nodded, "Your confession can bring Li Zongjian down into the abyss and completely put an end to his ambitions. In addition, confession cannot completely solve the problem. You are likely to appear in front of the court officials and be questioned by them."

Wen Changbao said timidly: "I dare not."

Lu Chen stared into his eyes and said seriously: "So it's still the same question, do you want to live?"

Wen Changbao's lips moved, an extremely conflicted expression appeared on his face, and he nodded slightly.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Since you want to live, then do as I say. When the execution comes, I will arrange for someone to replace you with a death row prisoner. You should know that in this world, apart from His Majesty, I am the only one who can save you now."

Wen Changbao was silent for a long time.

If Lu Chen asked him to change his position, he certainly wouldn't dare to do so, but he would just go one step further on the original basis...

This duke is a trusted aide to His Majesty. Perhaps he understands His Majesty's intentions better, or perhaps the situation outside has changed.

Thinking of his family far away in Jiangzhou, Wen Changbao's desire to survive became stronger.

He stood up and kowtowed to Lu Chen without saying a word.

Needless to say.

Lu Chen stood up and walked out. Tan Zheng called out and the personal soldiers in charge of guarding Wen Changbao came in immediately.

Walking on the tree-lined path in the mansion, Lu Chen looked gloomy and said with a sigh: "In your heart, am I becoming more and more like a treacherous minister?"

Tan Zheng followed closely and asked in confusion, "Why do you say that, sir?"

Lu Chen laughed at himself and shook his head, "Don't play dumb, can't you see why I do this?"

Tan Zheng smiled awkwardly, then said sincerely, "I don't think you are a traitor for doing this. Your Majesty wants to stir up trouble, and you just go with the flow. What's wrong with that? In the final analysis, your Majesty has gone too far. The national mourning hasn't ended yet, but he can't wait to stir up trouble and try every means to target you. Isn't he afraid that these actions will ruin the good situation that the late emperor worked so hard to create? In this case, you must find something for him to do, so that he won't always think of scheming against you."

Lu Chen said dimly, "Your Majesty is just too insecure, but you can't blame him entirely. If it were me, facing a powerful official in his twenties who holds a large army, my first choice would probably not be to spend a lot of energy to open up to him, but to chip away at his power bit by bit."

Tan Zheng shut his mouth wisely.

As they walked forward, Lu Chen said slowly, "Go and do two things."

"Please give me your orders, sir."

"First, keep an eye on the palace for the next few days and notify me when His Majesty summons important officials to discuss state affairs."

"Yes, my lord."

"Second, let Gao Huan help out and use the connections that the Longlin Gao family has accumulated over the years. When I need it, he must deliver a message to the Cining Palace in time."

Tan Zheng's expression froze, but he soon came to his senses and said nervously and excitedly, "I understand."

Lu Chen looked at the lush greenery in the courtyard. There was no smug look on his face. Instead, he let out a complicated sigh.

(End of this chapter)