Chapter 872: Shadows in the Flames

Failing to locate his missing subordinates, Boss Li hurried back at top speed. Just as he was about to reach his destination, a group of people appeared on the road ahead. There were more than a dozen of them, with the leader dressed in a bright red brocade official robe—clearly a high-ranking commander. Feeling a shiver of fear, Boss Li knelt down without hesitation and kowtowed three times.

“Sir, I have important news to report!”

Kowtowing to superiors was a common practice in the military, so when the young officer in the red robe saw a flag approaching, he paid it no mind and continued walking. But instead of stepping aside, the man knelt down and spoke those words. Recalling the stern expression of Duke Cheng Zhu Yong during previous troop reassignments, he dared not neglect the matter. He signaled to the soldiers beside him, and two of them immediately stepped forward and helped Boss Li to his feet.

“What do you want to report?”

Boss Li hadn’t expected his words to draw such cautious treatment. At that moment, soldiers on both sides held his arms tightly, preventing him from moving even slightly, not to mention turning his head. The officer in front of him, whom he didn’t recognize, also had a cold expression, which filled him with even more panic.

“I am Li Dahai, a junior officer from the Fifth Post of the Left Gate. After finishing my duty, I found one of my soldiers, Yao Heizi, knocked unconscious and stuffed in a cabinet. The others who should have stayed behind are missing…”

“Stop talking nonsense. How many are missing? How long ago did this happen?”

His speech was cut off, but Boss Li didn’t dare disobey. He quickly replied, “Zhao Daniu, Jiang Laohu, and Qian Yongsan. It was about over ten minutes ago. I searched everywhere but couldn’t find them.”

At that moment, the officer, who had been confused about the reasons behind the overnight troop change, gasped and immediately summoned a soldier to report to Duke Cheng Zhu Yong and Marquis Xing’an Xu Heng. Only then did he turn to Boss Li and say, “Such a serious matter, and you tried to handle it on your own without reporting in time! Since they are your subordinates, you should know where they usually go. Take us there now. If you find them, you can atone for your mistake. If not…”

There was no need to say more—Elder Li already understood, so he quickly nodded with a mournful expression. Fortunately, he had been mentally prepared even before kneeling down; at least he wasn’t acting recklessly now. Though he didn’t put on an airs with the soldiers below, he had an advantage that most people didn’t notice: he liked to meddle in others’ affairs. Usually, whenever he happened to spot one of his subordinates, he would follow to see what was going on. So this time, after just a brief thought, he mentioned several places: Huntangsi, Baishi Bridge, Baochao Si, and Xibao Factory. Once these four locations were confirmed, the officer immediately sent four soldiers to inform others, then ordered the rest to lift Elder Li up and head rush to Baochao Si—after all, among these places, the closest to where they were now was Baochao Si, aside from Huntangsi. But Huntangsi was right next to the Dongchang Security Office; unless someone wanted to die, they wouldn’t go there to cause trouble.

Searching along the same routes he had just used to look for people, Elder Li finally realized the scene here had changed completely. Not only was the security stricter than before, but just by looking at their uniforms, it was clear that the shift change had already taken place in such a short time. Compared to those soldiers who stood motionless like nails in place, their group moving along naturally stood out sharply. Yet, thanks to the token and insignia in the hand of the officer leading the way, they moved smoothly north along the moat in front of Donghuamen and then west.

“Young Lord!”

Surrounded by strict surveillance from all sides, Elder Li just trudged forward in a daze. It wasn’t until he heard this call that he suddenly snapped out of it. Looking around, seeing that everyone else seemed normal, he quickly stretched his neck to look ahead and noticed another group of about a dozen people approaching, with the leader speaking respectfully to the officer just now. At that moment, he couldn’t help but smile at a soldier holding his arm and ask, “Sir, may I ask—who is this Young Lord mentioned earlier…?”

“It’s the eldest son of the Baoding Marquis… If it were someone else, you wouldn’t have been able to turn your crime into a merit so easily.”

The bodyguard who spoke was one of those brought out by Meng Jun from the military governor’s office, so he was less cautious. Seeing Li Laolao’s shocked expression, he couldn’t help but smirk. Compared to those on duty guarding the imperial city that night, Meng Jun, the eldest son of the Marquis of Baoding, was nothing special. Duke Zhu Yong, Marquis Zhang Xin, Marquis Chen Zhong, and Earl Xu Heng were in charge of the four gates of the imperial city, with countless other military governors patrolling the area. All the troops were conscripted from the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau, not the regular troops everyone was used to, and each person only had two personal guards, so naturally, no one expected anyone to try anything suspicious.

Among the four eunuch departments, the Timber Conservation Department, which handled firewood and coal, often allowed access to high-ranking officials, making it a place everyone rushed to get into. As for the other departments—the Music Department, the Bell and Drum Department, and the Treasury Paper Department—they were completely ignored. The Treasury Paper Department was located on the west bank of the Jinshui River, with no other government offices nearby. Plus, separated by the river, few outsiders came here, not even during previous troop rotations. After all, there was nothing important here—just ordinary paper of varying thickness.

Yet, this quiet place filled only with ordinary paper was now surrounded by over thirty people. Still, Meng Jun didn’t rashly order an attack. He waited until another group of reinforcements arrived, including two people from the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau, before giving the order. Immediately, the first group of over a dozen people split up and surrounded the building from several directions.

At the same time as the first sound of breaking through the door and shouts came from inside, an angry cry erupted. Soon after, there were sounds of tables, chairs, and benches being overturned, angry shouts, the clashing of swords, and screams of those covered in blood—all of these sounds followed their predecessors and rushed into the ears of those outside.

The two people from the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau hadn’t expected this to be the actual location. Their previously composed expressions instantly fell. Meng Jun grabbed his sword and ordered the remaining dozen people around him, “Guard all the exits—don’t let anyone escape! Baozi, go get buckets to prevent arson!”

As he spoke, a thought crossed his mind. It seemed there were quite a few people inside, but although the outside troop rotation was orderly and contingency plans were in place, it was still impossible to keep everything hidden forever. If someone came to report, the people here should be able to respond—why did it seem so unprepared?

Though he thought so, before long, a loud noise suddenly came from inside, followed by bursts of flames and thick smoke. He couldn’t afford to dwell on these chaotic thoughts anymore and hurriedly ordered people to put out the fire. Although the Golden Water River separated this place, a fire here wouldn’t affect other areas, but a fire in the imperial palace was still a major incident! Even after nightfall, the palace wasn’t silent. Though the emperor was absent and something had happened in the Renshou Palace, there were no more nobles punishing maids, and without the sound of bells announcing peace, the guards outside the walls of the palace and the imperial city were much more vigilant than before. The sound of the bells was like small stones creating ripples in the night sky. It hadn’t snowed in two days, and thick clouds covered the sky, hiding the moon and stars. Without the moving lanterns, it would be hard to see anyone walking by. The lanterns along the West Second Long Street, which ran north-south in the Western Six Palaces, had been lit. According to palace rules, aside from the eunuchs and maids assigned to each palace, the other officials from the twenty-four bureaus had returned to their respective posts, while the laborers and attendants went back to the corridors near the watchtowers at Shunzhen Gate. Thus, along the entire West Second Long Street, only the tightly closed palace gates could be seen, with no one else except the patrolling eunuchs. The lantern light stretched out the solitary figures. Suddenly, a door in one of the palaces slowly opened a crack, and a figure slipped out silently before hiding in a corner. Soon, figures also appeared faintly from various palaces, and when they gathered, there were seven of them in total. All wore eunuch attire and were huddled together in secret discussion. The passing night watchman didn’t even glance at them but covered his mouth and yawned loudly. “Go!” Without another word, the group ran south along the West Second Long Street. Though they tried to keep their footsteps light, somehow, their steps suddenly became synchronized in the night. Fortunately, dogs were not allowed in the palace, so no barking disturbed them. When they reached the Zhosim Gate, the eunuch on duty didn’t even lift his eyes at the large group arriving. They didn’t exchange greetings upon meeting but simply nodded solemnly and made gestures. Then the two gates, which should have been tightly locked, slowly opened a crack. Perhaps because the gates were regularly oiled and maintained, the whole process was completely silent.

Coming out of the Zhisimén, the group quickly ran eastward along the main street. By the time they reached the Daohémén, a dozen or so people had already gathered there, all wearing the same patterned round-collared shirts. Though there were many of them, none dared make a sound; they simply waited quietly, even as the bitter cold wind turned their faces blue and their hands and feet numb, yet not a single complaint was uttered. Before long, as faint strange noises could be heard from somewhere outside the palace walls, the tightly closed Daohémén suddenly swung wide open.

Although the eunuchs here were all young— the oldest of them having only spent three years in this prison-like palace—they rarely went outside aside from performing menial tasks. Yet this didn’t stop them from memorizing every passage within the palace, especially the two main gates: Lishunmén and Daohémén. Beyond these gates lay the Juluan Palace and the Jiefeng Palace, and further on was the Renshou Palace. There resided the most noble woman in the world, who now held great power. And today, that woman was their target. If they could capture her, they would enjoy endless wealth and glory!

The group filed into the Daohémén. Seeing only four eunuchs at the entrance, dressed similarly to them, they assumed they were inside allies and didn’t think further. They signaled to each other and ran straight north. But after going a short distance, someone suddenly stopped and looked back. Seeing the Daohémén, which had only been left slightly ajar, gradually closing behind them, he suddenly realized what was happening.

“Stop running! Something’s wrong!”

His deliberately lowered voice still rang out clearly in the quiet night. Immediately, several people in front of them turned around. They usually didn’t keep in touch and didn’t even know each other’s identities. Now, gathered together, many of them stared at the speaker with cautious, even wary, eyes until he spoke again.

“Even if the guards have been moved, this alley is right next to the Renshou Palace—how is it that there’s not a single person here? Also, the Baoshanmén to the north, which should have been open, is closed too. Where are all the reinforcements?”

At these words, everyone was instantly shocked. This long alley was the only route from Renshou Palace to the rear palaces of Huluan and Jiefeng. Commonly referred to as “Dog Bay” by the eunuchs in the palace, more than a dozen people suddenly realized something was wrong. It should have been a thoroughfare with exits in all directions—aside from Dahe Gate and Lishun Gate at the back, there was Baoshan Gate to the north and Yuanwu Gate and Lianhua Gate on the other side. Yet these gates, which should have had people coming out to meet them, were utterly silent, as if everyone inside had died.

A clever young eunuch rushed back to Dahe Gate in two steps at a time, checked it out, knocked gently on the door a few times, and exchanged secret signals. But the gate remained firmly closed, showing no sign of movement, as if the person who had let them in was just an illusion. Just as everyone became alert, a series of sounds reached their ears. A few people looked around, but the gates on all sides seemed unchanged. Finally, someone looked up and let out a cry of surprise.

As others also looked up, a large net suddenly descended from the sky. Before those quick enough to draw their prepared weapons could react, more people saw silhouettes on the high walls on both sides—their numbers were several times greater than theirs. When someone tried to slash at the net with a knife, they found the knots to be extremely difficult to cut, causing even greater panic.

“Those who don’t kneel will die!”

Although these people had already braced themselves for death by being stabbed in the groin before undertaking this deadly task, when they suddenly realized that what awaited them was not glory but knives and blades, some could no longer hold on. As soon as that voice was heard, someone in the crowd suddenly knelt with a thud. One person led the way, followed by a second and a third. A few resisted stubbornly, but as Dahe Gate opened again, figures armed with sticks rushed in and started beating everyone indiscriminately. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the dozen or so people under the net were either kneeling or collapsed, motionless.

Seeing this, Zhong Huai, the aged eunuch in charge of the imperial stables standing on the ladder, breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least Renshou Palace hadn’t been bloodshedted; otherwise, not to mention the emperor’s return, the situation would have been utterly chaotic. Yet as he descended the ladder, a loud noise suddenly came, startling him. Seeing a flame in the southwest corner, his expression immediately darkened.

Was that the Baichao Department?