Chapter 9: Purification

  The Mid-Autumn Festival was a grand festival in the Song Dynasty. In the days leading up to it, the atmosphere of celebration filled the air. Shops were redecorated with colorful lanterns and new goods were put on sale. It was also the season for fresh fruits and crabs to be sold. Fruit shops were piled high with fresh produce such as pomegranates, persimmons, pears, jujubes, chestnuts, and grapes. On Mid-Autumn night, the nobles and wealthy families would hold moon-gazing parties in their gardens, accompanied by elegant music played on traditional instruments like the guqin and sheng. Ordinary citizens would rush to occupy seats at wine houses, where they could enjoy food, drinks, and music while admiring the full moon. Even poor families would buy some wine and dishes, sit together, chat, and appreciate the bright moonlight. Children were the happiest, playing and laughing throughout the night without sleep.

  The village is bustling with excitement, but the Wang Mansion is eerily quiet, devoid of any festive atmosphere. Huang Jingchen returned a few days ago, bringing not only imperial rewards but also a large group of new personnel. The original staff in the mansion were all rounded up and sent to the horse stable for interrogation, replaced by newcomers everywhere.

  "How's the matter going?" Zhao asked Xianxi, who was attending to him while he lay in the bathtub.

  "Second Master, everything has been taken care of. I've brought back Xiang Xi and the three girls, Gui Hua and Huai Hua!" Xiang Xi hastily replied. This time, not only did he escape the purge in the mansion, but also got promoted two ranks from a high-ranking eunuch to an imperial attendant, now holding a formal eighth-rank official position, with his monthly salary increased to eight taels. In the inner court, his rank was second only to Huang Jingchen, who held a sixth-rank position and was the deputy director of the palace.

  "Hmm, they didn't suffer much, did they?" Zhao asked again.

  "Second Master, Xiang Xi was beaten with a board and his butt is all bruised, but fortunately, no bones were broken. Those two girls only got whipped and I was allowed to take them back, they're not seriously hurt, just really scared! Thinking about the scene in the horse stable earlier still makes me shudder, those people from the Imperial City Guard are truly little devils from hell, ruthless and cruel. The former head steward and second steward have been beaten beyond recognition, two of the craftsmen are already dead, and Old Zhang is barely clinging to life; Little Daoist Mingyue is being tortured, his body doesn't have a single unbroken spot, if it weren't for Master Wang pulling strings for me, I'd probably be in an even worse state. Thinking about this makes me even more respectful."

  "Alas, they were all implicated. Mingyue and Old Zhang will probably not survive either. You should be more careful in the future. If you hadn't insisted on going to the giant python, this disaster wouldn't have happened!" Zhao Yan sighed and said.

  "Yes, Your Highness, Xianji thanks you for saving his life, but if there's an order to send him to the knife mountain and sea of fire, he will not hesitate!"

  "All right, no need to show loyalty anymore. From now on, it's better to be less greedy when doing things!" Zhao Che knew that after seeing Xi, he was his own person, and couldn't help but tease him by saying so.

  "What?! How do you know everything, Your Highness?" Xi was shocked, his jaw almost dropping. It turned out that the things he thought he had done secretly, the prince had already known about. He suddenly felt that the young prince he accompanied every day didn't seem like a child at all, but rather an old man with more schemes than Huang Da Guan.

  "Hehe, because I'm a monster!" Zhao Che said with a self-mocking smile.

  "Even if the king is a monster, I'll follow him from now on." Xianji Zhao didn't show any sign of blame and let out a sigh of relief. He supported himself against the horizontal board of the bathtub made by Wangye, dipped his fingers in the bath beans and gently applied them to his body.

  "Looks delicious, but this time the flavor doesn't seem right?" Zhao asked.

  "Your Highness, the bath beans used this time were bestowed by the palace, and it's said that they're configured according to the 'Qian Jin Fang'. They contain seventeen ingredients: cloves, agarwood, aquilaria, peach blossoms, clock powder, pearls, jade dust, osmanthus flowers, papaya flowers, gardenias, pear blossoms, red lotus flowers, plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, white osmanthus flowers, and musk. They're extremely valuable, something ordinary people have never even seen!" Xian Xi hastily replied.

  "Is that so, it's just too extravagant!" Zhao Ye shook his head and said no more, letting Jian Xi attend to him. Jian Xi stroked the weak body of the prince, who was thin as a chicken, and from the front, he could pat water on his back and get wet all over. It can be said that he had no strength to bind a chicken, but he easily killed that assassin with extraordinary skills, really making people wonder how he did it, or is he really a monster.

  "Prince Wang, why do you still want them to come back?" Jian Xi said while splashing water.

  "You really are a pig brain, I'm delighted that they're always by my side every day. Who are they if I don't know? Although Osmanthus fragrans is greedy and often steals food, Sophora japonica loves to gossip, but they are simple-minded people. They serve me all day long, am I supposed to let them suffer and not care?"

  "Yes, Your Highness, what about the others?" Jian Xi asked again.

  "Heh heh, I don't know about the others, but there must be a mole among them who is in cahoots with the assassin. I have no way of identifying them one by one, so they'll just have to suffer!" Zhao Ye said with a smirk, "Think about it, this time we encountered danger, it's definitely not something that can be done by one person alone. First, Old Zhang spread rumors about discovering a giant python, and then intentionally told Mingyue about it. Mingyue is young and naive, so she immediately told us about it, and you're impulsive and I'm also young, so we couldn't hold back our curiosity and definitely would have gone to check it out. He grasped our weaknesses and step by step led us into the trap. The person behind the scenes must be meticulous and thorough, knowing everything about our every move. This can only be done by someone who is close to us, otherwise it would be impossible for Li, the manager of the outer courtyard, to do it alone!"

  "Oh!" Upon hearing this, a chill ran down his spine. As the king's attendant and the person most familiar with the king's whereabouts, he was naturally the prime suspect. If it weren't for the king pulling him in, his fate would be the worst.

  "Later, you go to Wang Taichang's place and get some wound medicine for Ping Xi and the others. Don't arrange any chores for them in the next few days, let them recover from their injuries first. If the officials ask, just tell them I said so!" Zhao Chu instructed Jian Xi after finishing his bath and getting dressed.

  "Yes, they will be grateful for your kindness!" Seeing the joy in their hearts was also warm and fuzzy, the king's thoughtfulness was also something they admired.

  Jian Xi waited upon Zhao Zhan and then arranged for two small yellow gates to be guarded at the door before going to Wang Taiyi's place to fetch medicine.

  "Jian Xi, is the king asleep?" Jian Xi had just stepped out when he ran into Huang Jingchen, who was followed by two men. Jian Xi had seen them in the palace before; they were from the Imperial City Guard, with gloomy faces that made his heart skip a beat at a single glance.

  "Yes, Your Excellency, the king is asleep!" Xi Ji hastily made a bow and replied.

  "Ah, you've been working hard these past few days. Everyone in the mansion has reviewed it, so if you're free, come over and listen to it. If there's anything that doesn't sound right!" Huang Jingchen felt like he was getting old, as the continuous labor of several days had left him exhausted.

  "Even high officials need to take care of their bodies!" Xian Ji understood that through this matter, the official had taken him as one of his own, and hastily came forward to support him.

  "Hmm, I've been busy these days, so you have to be more careful, Prince Wang!" Huang Jingchen said to Jian Xi with a pleased attitude.

  A few people came to Huang Jingchen's residence, and Xi quickly instructed Xiao Huangmen to light the candles everywhere, serve freshly brewed tea soup, personally pour it for them with courtesy, and then stand beside Huang Jingchen to massage his shoulders and back, just as respectfully as in the past.

  "Get out, shut the door, and don't let anyone approach!" Huang Jingchen waved his hand to let the little yellow gatekeeper retreat, leaving only the four of them in the house. "Qian Er, now that there's no outsider, tell me what you've found out from the interrogation these past few days?" Huang Jingchen asked, taking a sip of tea and looking at someone sitting below him.

  "Uncle, I and Ma San have investigated everyone in the mansion, and we used torture on the most suspicious ones. Everything points to the already deceased Li Guan Shi. He bribed Old Zhang, the gardener of the rear garden, to spread rumors, intentionally telling them to Ming Yue, the little Taoist priest from the temple. And he had figured out the routine of Wang Ye's activities, knowing that on the first day of the month, Wang Ye would go to the temple to burn incense. He calculated that Wang Ye would go there and then ordered Old Zhang to lure Wang Ye to the ambush point in the rear mountain where he was hiding. But he didn't expect that he himself would be killed by Jian Xi."

  "Ah!" Hearing this, Qian Er was shocked by the result of the interrogation, which turned out to be just as Wang Ye had analyzed. And yet, Wang Ye had been hiding in his room since the incident, which made him extremely surprised and he couldn't help but exclaim aloud.

  "What's wrong with Jian Xi?" Jian Xi interrupted Qian Er's words, and Huang Jingchen frowned, asking in a displeased tone.

  "That little scoundrel, actually being used by the villain, putting His Highness in danger, truly deserving of death! Xian Ji was also quick-witted and immediately knelt down with a terrified expression, saying, but he didn't dare say that His Highness had already anticipated the outcome."

  "This time you're indeed at fault, but it's not entirely your blame, they've planned it too meticulously!" Huang Jingchen raised his hand and let Jian Xi get up, Jian Xi hastily lowered his head and stood aside, not daring to make another sound.

  "Ma San, have you found out Li Guan Shi's background?"

  "However, according to the wooden sign on Li's body, it is determined that he is an assassin of the Night Gate. Their identities are all fake and cannot be traced back to their origins. However, I found out that he was introduced into the mansion by someone from the Cui Guogong Mansion, but the person who introduced him died suddenly not long after!" Ma San said with a bow.

  "Oh, is Chancellor Cui the father of Imperial Consort Cui in the palace?" Huang Jingchen suddenly sat up and asked.

  "Exactly!"

  "Choi Debi, how could it be her?" Huang Jingchen stroked his smooth chin and said in a low voice. Debi came from an official family, she was once involved in the palace struggle of framing Queen Wang, but now she only has two princesses, according to reason, she shouldn't be involved in this struggle for the throne, is there another hidden situation? "Is there anyone else involved?"

  "After a thorough investigation, it was found that there were also several other palace maids who had been planted as spies in the palace. They were all low-ranking servants and small eunuchs without any rank, but they only transmitted some messages and did not participate in this matter!" Ma San said.

  "Hmph, they think I'm a sick cat! " Huang Jingchen said with a cold hum, "You handle the rest of the things. Don't let anyone related to the assassination escape, and deal with those spies as you know how. Send all those with unclear backgrounds or connections to the palace to the authorities, and have them punished according to their crimes. This matter must be handled well, we can't betray the trust that Her Majesty has placed in us!"

  "This crime is easy to find, these officials bullied the young king and actually privately divided the 3,000 guan of public funds, their audacity is truly not small, this one point alone is enough!" Ma San said with a smile.

  "You reap what you sow, you'd better be more discreet and don't give others a handle to grab!" Huang Jingchen said.

  "Yes, we will definitely handle things properly and leave no future troubles!" Qian Er and the other person replied in unison.

  "All right, settle the matter cleanly and return to Beijing tomorrow. The empress is thinking of you two, working hard on business and not even able to spend Mid-Autumn Festival at home. I have prepared a gift for each of you, take it with you when you leave!" Huang Jingchen said with a smile.

  "Thank you, Imperial Concubine Tian'en, thank you, Grand Official. We will definitely do our best!" The two of them exchanged a glance, unable to conceal their excitement. This was indeed a wonderful turn of events that brought both fame and fortune. From now on, they would have the imperial concubine from the palace to rely on, and their good days had finally arrived.