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The little incident involving He shi didn't cause much of a stir in Bishui Alley. The family quickly forgot about it and had their own businesses to attend to, without much thought spent on irrelevant people.
However, to prevent any future trouble, Yao shi decided to send a letter to Yao Yuan, informing him about the visit of He shi.
After that, He shi indeed never visited again.
In the eighth month, the scorching heat of late summer persisted in the capital. The Emperor almost went to the imperial summer villa.
In the end, he didn't go. Firstly, he was busy with state affairs, and secondly, he was awaiting updates from Eunuch He's investigation.
Eunuch He had people keeping an eye on the Count Yong'en Estate, the maiden family of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. They observed for a long time but didn't notice any suspicious activities. Count Yong'en Estate was not entirely clean, but those were trivial matters unrelated to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
However, Eunuch He did make a discovery. He found evidence of collusion between Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and Yuan Tang, the hostage prince from the State of Chen.
During the previous assassination attempt by Yuan Tang, it was Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's planted spy in the palace who leaked the Emperor's whereabouts to Yuan Tang.
The Emperor had long known that she lacked maternal affection, but he didn't expect her to be so heartless. He clenched his fists and said, "Isn't she afraid at all that Zhen will die by Yuan Tang's hands!"
Eunuch He speculated that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had a backup plan. She wouldn't allow Yuan Tang to truly kill the Emperor; at a critical moment, she would probably dispatch the Dragon Shadow Guard.
Her primary goal at the time was to shift blame onto the Empress Dowager and sow discord between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
However, she didn't anticipate that the Emperor would encounter the little miracle physician and be saved by her. The little miracle physician even exposed Yuan Tang as the assassin!
"Have those spies been removed?" The Emperor asked coldly.
"In response to Your Majesty, they have all been dealt with." Eunuch He replied.
If it weren't for this incident, who could have imagined that there were over ten spies of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing in his Huaqing Palace? It was actually more than those planted by the Empress Dowager around him!
He truly blamed himself for only focusing on the Empress Dowager in the past and never being cautious of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
The Emperor slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Zhen was so foolish!"
"What did Your Majesty say?" Eunuch He didn't hear clearly.
"It's nothing." The Emperor replied, putting his hand down. "Regarding those people, is there nothing else?"
Eunuch He didn't speak, his gaze falling on Eunuch Wei's face.
Eunuch Wei's heart skipped a beat, "What are you looking at me for?"
Eunuch He cryptically said, "If this servant remembers correctly, Eunuch Wei, you were chosen by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and sent to serve by the Emperor's side."
Eunuch Wei's face changed dramatically, "Old He! Stop stabbing me like this!" He knelt down and looked at the Emperor behind the desk, "Your Majesty, this servant is loyal and devoted to you! I hold no ulterior motives!"
The Emperor looked at Eunuch He silently, then said to Eunuch Wei, "Alright, get up. Zhen doesn’t suspect you at all."
Eunuch Wei wiped away his tears and stood up, "Thank you, Your Majesty." He glared angrily at Eunuch He, "Humph!"
These two old men… always seemed to enjoy squabbling with each other.
Shaking his head, the Emperor continued, "What about the whereabouts of the other three Dragon Shadow Guards?"
"She refuses to say." Eunuch He said, hesitating for a moment, "This servant suspects they are no longer in the capital."
After all, they had searched every possible place in the capital. Unless Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing killed them and buried their bodies, there was no way they could have disappeared without a trace.
But Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing wouldn't kill the Dragon Shadow Guards nor was she capable of killing them.
"Wait." Eunuch He thought of something and murmured, "There's one place we haven't investigated."
Heavenly Music House.
Ordinary people couldn't enter Heavenly Music House, but if one had the Emperor's decree, of course they could. However, Eunuch He didn't think it was the wisest course of action.
He decided to secretly infiltrate it first.
Coincidentally, as soon as he arrived at the back door of Heavenly Music House, he ran into Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao and Eunuch He had crossed paths in the county town before.
"Oh? It's you." Gu Jiao recognized Eunuch He. He was the eunuch who accompanied the Emperor during his first visit to the county town's medical hall for a venereal disease treatment.
Back then, she commented on a man’s temperament being so effeminate, and that man turned out to be Eunuch He.
Eunuch He also recognized Gu Jiao.
There had been a small unpleasant incident between them before, and it was Eunuch He who was unhappy at the time. After all, he had been the one treated rudely.
Seeing Gu Jiao again, naturally, he didn't have a good expression, "Why would Physician Gu come to this place?"
"I was just passing by." Gu Jiao replied, "And you, why are you here?"
Eunuch He answered casually, "I was ordered to investigate Heavenly Music House."
Gu Jiao looked him up and down in his night-clothes and asked, "Are you planning to... sneak in?"
Eunuch He didn't respond with words. Instead, he answered her question with action—— he took out a black cloth and covered his face.
Gu Jiao made a sound of realization, "I think you're going to be kicked out."
Just as she finished speaking, Eunuch He, who used qinggong to leap into the Heavenly Music House, was indeed kicked out by the experts inside.
Gu Jiao looked down at Eunuch He, who was lying on the ground like a dead fish, and curved her lips, "Ten taels of silver, and I'll take you in."
Eunuch He turned his face away.
He refused.
Eunuch He tried climbing over another wall.
Eunuch He tried climbing over a different wall.
It was unknown how many walls Eunuch He had tried climbing over.
Fifteen minutes later, Eunuch He limped his way back to Gu Jiao, his face blackened, and reluctantly took out ten taels of silver.
Gu Jiao didn't accept it and raised an eyebrow, "Twenty taels."
Eunuch He exclaimed in shock and anger, "You clearly said ten taels earlier!"
Gu Jiao shrugged, "The price has gone up just now."
Eunuch He: "..."
In order to fulfill the task given to him by the Emperor, Eunuch He ultimately humiliated himself by giving her a twenty-tael silver banknote.
He simply considered it an official expense. He could always go back and tell the Emperor that he spent fifty taels of silver, which would mean he still profited by thirty taels.
Gu Jiao had come to the vicinity of Heavenly Music House today for a house visit. Little San's carriage was parked across the street, and Gu Jiao changed into men's clothing and put on a mask inside the carriage.
She had Eunuch He take off his night-clothes and wear ordinary travel clothes. Then she took out a token and led Eunuch He into the Heavenly Music House.
"Why do you have a token of Heavenly Music House?" Eunuch He asked suspiciously.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment and responded seriously, "Because I'm awesome?"
Eunuch He: "..."
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