Hua Zirong sneered to himself as he looked at the bloodstains, ignoring the uneasy stare of Prime Minister Wen. I wonder who emerged victorious?
“Clean this place up, and don’t leave any traces.” Hua Zirong’s command rang out, and the scene was tidied up in short order, making it seem like any other night.
“You may go back now, Prime Minister Wen.” Feeling the chill emanating from Hua Zirong’s gaze as he spoke, Prime Minister Wen quickly nodded and returned to his abode without another word.
Once he closed the door behind him, cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He knew that what had happened just now had been a test from Hua Zirong with his life at stake..
~~~
Back at the imperial palace, Hua Zirong sat in a chair as an anwei knelt before him.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, Hua Ziqing previously snuck out of Liuhua Courtyard to visit Yun Ruofeng’s private room.”
Hua Zirong snickered. “Continue keeping watch. What about Lanshan?”
“Please forgive this subordinate, Your Majesty. Her hidden guards were too skilled, and this subordinate was unable to enter her room.” The anwei spoke with a hint of embarrassment and guilt.
Hua Zirong waved a hand and dismissed him, but as the latter stood up to leave, he fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Hua Zirong smirked upon witnessing a second death. Lanshan, what a signature warning.
A guard hidden in the shadows appeared quickly after seeing what had happened.
“Take care of this quietly, and make sure nobody finds out,” Hua Zirong instructed.
Obeying his instructions, the guard went about the clean-up very quickly.
However, Hua Zirong felt a pair of eyes watching from outside, and decided to deride the visitor. “Stop lurking around since you’re already here,”
Though taken by surprise, a slender and elegant woman gave a greeting as she revealed herself from behind the beaded curtain. She wore a zisha mask on her face, “It’s been a while.”
“So it’s you. The situation in Xiliu must really be dire for you to appear,” Hua Zirong said in a mocking tone.
The woman with the zisha mask smiled. “I’m only a protector of Xiliu. I’m unable to influence anything here.”
“I know of your existence. If you’re here, it would mean that he is too, correct?” Hua Zirong’s tone became unwelcoming as he attempted to suppress the rising emotion inside him.
Sorrow flashed past the visitor’s eyes. “En, but we’re leaving very soon.”
“Not going to stay to spectate? Aren’t you curious if history will repeat itself?” Hua Zirong smirked.
The woman with the zisha mask knew what he was getting at, but she shook her head and said, “Times have changed. There’s no point in staying.”
“Is that so? So you’re here just to bid farewell, and nothing else?” Hua Zirong asked.
“He wanted me to tell you that you can ignore that edict if need be.” The woman then turned to leave after passing on the message.
Hua Zirong sniggered as he thought to himself, You guys are basically dead. What can you change? He then unfurled the other half of the secret imperial scrolls he had obtained from Prime Minister Wen and started going through their contents.
As expected, there was a lot of information within that he was previously unaware of.
He took a deep breath after reading the scroll, his heart heavy with the newfound knowledge.
Xiliu has long been infested with hidden maggots that were causing it to rot from the inside.
What a foolish monarch I am!!!
