Luoyang, Ziwei Palace, Chief of Staff’s Office.
"Damn it!"
Emperor Xiping, furious, slapped the imperial desk, causing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to jump on the spot: "The scoundrel dares to deceive Us too much!"
Standing in the hall with their heads hung even lower, Shen Fa and Wei Heng did not dare to make a sound, eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts.
Having vented his anger, Emperor Xiping picked up the letter in front of him; the familiar handwriting of his beloved daughter made the simple words "repay the money" seem fraught with a teasing threat, as if to say, ’If you don’t return the money, I might just tear up the ticket, you know!’
The more he looked at it, the angrier he became, and in his impotent rage, he struck the imperial desk with such force that it resounded with "bang, bang": "You dog talent, I must kill you!"
The two in the hall bahisa: ’Hehe...’
After stewing in his own annoyance for a while, Emperor Xiping could not help but ask, "What on earth does this stubborn jackass mean? He can’t seriously be blaming his missing money on Us, can he? Is there no justice?"
His piercing gaze turned toward the two men.
Sensing his look, Wei Heng with a shiver turned his head toward Shen Fa: ’Hey, he’s asking you!’
Shen Fa stared blankly at the floor, counting each tile: ’You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me...’
"Bang!"
Emperor Xiping slapped the table, his whiskers bristling: "Are you all mute? Speak up!"
After another glance at Shen Fa and seeing he was still quiet, Wei Heng braced himself, clasped his hands, and said, "Re...reporting to Your Majesty, the incident was sudden, and this servant has yet to receive any useful information."
"Useless!"
Emperor Xiping grabbed a memorial and threw it into Wei Heng’s arms: "You of the Western Factory are all good-for-nothings!"
Wei Heng, fumbling, caught the memorial and said in terror, clasping his hands, "This servant acknowledges his guilt!"
Though he mouthed his admission of guilt, he defiantly muttered in his heart: ’Yeah, we of the Western Factory are useless, so why don’t you let the Eastern Factory take over then!’
After Huang Jin’s death, the position of the head of the Eastern Factory remained vacant. The once-feared Eastern Factory had now become a laughingstock...
Emperor Xiping knew it was unreasonable to vent on the Western Factory and thus turned to Shen Fa, softening his gaze and gently saying, "Zhong He, you are on very good terms with Yang Erlang. What do you think he means by this?"
Shen Fa, with a blank face, finally looked up, and seeing both men, his gaze quickly turned resolute. Clasping his hands firmly, he said loudly, "Your Majesty, I, Shen Fa, volunteer for this mission. I will use all the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guards to fight this scoundrel to the death, never to relent until one of us perishes!"
Emperor Xiping: ???
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Wei Heng: ???
After a long silence, Wei Heng was the first to speak, saying, "Lord Shen, please, do not act rashly. The matter is not yet clear, and there’s no need to rush into a fight to the death with the villain. Let’s focus on the issue at hand first!"
What he implied was: ’You’ve gone too far, lad! Got beaten up and now you want to go off half-cocked?’
With a way out provided, Emperor Xiping also gracefully climbed down from his position, feigning difficulty as he said: "Wei Qing speaks the truth. While Yang Erlang may be somewhat brutish, he is a reasonable man. Since he has written this letter, there must be a method to his madness. Let us, monarch and minister, deal with the issue at hand first. If it becomes unavoidable, Zhong He, you may then go and fight to the death."
What he implied was: ’I have no intention of dying along with that fellow, so don’t drag me into it if you’re seeking death!’
As if not understanding, Shen Fa stubbornly repeated loudly, "Your Majesty, that scoundrel has repeatedly shown contempt for the court’s laws, and beaten court officials numerous times. Instead of remaining passive and waiting to be killed, it’s better to make a decisive move and cut the problem at its root... I once again volunteer to go alone to Luting County to engage in a one-on-one duel with the scoundrel, never to relent until death!"
What he implied was: ’Double-cross me again and I’ll be damned!’
Wei Heng looked up, counting the tiles on the ceiling.
Emperor Xiping delicately sipped his tea...
After a while, Emperor Xiping set down his cup, sighed deeply, and said, "Wei Qing, you also have a considerable acquaintance with Yang Erlang. Why don’t you speak to it?"
Wei Heng, feeling cornered with sweat on his forehead, was about to refuse when he met Emperor Xiping’s unfriendly stare: ’Drop it and see what happens. Do you think you are Shen Shaobao?’
He swallowed the words he had intended to say and, after struggling for a while, finally said with beads of sweat on his forehead, "Your Majesty, based on what I understand of Yang Erlang, his message... serves mostly as a reminder!"
"Oh?"
Emperor Xiping’s unfriendly look loosened as he asked, "What sort of reminder?"
Wei Heng, having no choice but to speak, glanced hopelessly at the battered Shen Fa and resigned himself to say, "This servant is only speculating... The incident was sudden, and Yang Erlang likely can’t be sure who is responsible, but given his prudent nature, he must’ve considered anyone capable and bold enough to dare such an act, including various lords of the court. Of course, this naturally involves the court officials too."
After a pause, he added, "However, since he has written this letter to Your Majesty, he must truly trust Your Majesty, firmly believing that Your Majesty would never stoop to such low actions, and thus he wrote to remind Your Majesty to investigate the court officials, to prevent misdirecting his investigation and causing any unnecessary misunderstandings..."
Even Shen Fa turned his head in surprise at the eloquent eunuch, thinking to himself that the wretched eunuch finally had a brain. It seemed that in the future, if there were to be any passing of blame to this eunuch, it would have to be done more covertly.
The letter had been delivered to the capital through his Embroidered Uniform Guard’s channels, so he knew a bit more than the Western Factory did...
Including Yang Ge’s words targeting Yue Lai Inn outside the restaurant.
And the ins and outs of Hu Qiang from the Chief of Staff’s private troops seeking out Yang Ge...
He knew it all!