An hour later, Li Huowang finally arrived at the palace. As always, the towering red walls and the guards stationed on them were still exuding an oppressive aura.
Li Huowang hated the place, so he picked up the pace. He just wanted to get his rewards as soon as possible.
A eunuch guided them into the palace. Li Huowang had already co here once, but he still couldn't morize the winding paths. It was as confusing as a maze, and he took so many turns that he felt dizzy.
This ti, Li Huowang didn’t see a golden palace. In other words, he was not heading into the middle of the palace but sowhere on its flank. Li Huowang recalled Liu Zongyuan's words. He said that the emperor was dying at the ti, so the emperor must be deep in the ground by now.
While Li Huowang was thinking idly, the eunuch stopped in front of an arched gate.
"We're here. The director is here," said the eunuch in a feminine voice.
“The director used to be part of the Surveillance Bureau, so it shouldn't be that difficult to talk to him,” Lian Zhibei said. Clearly, she was familiar with the director.
The two walked through the arched gate, and Lian Zhibei took the initiative to show Li Huowang the path. She appeared to be very familiar with the place. Soon, they reached the treasury and found the director of eunuchs.
“Oh, why are you guys so late? Has the Surveillance Bureau actually beco this incompetent? It’s been three months since the mission was posted. A spiritual sin is the final material that we need, and the Imperial Preceptor has been waiting for it for a while now. He's been urging us to find it every day!”
“Sir Zao, you used to work in the Surveillance Bureau, and I'm sure you know that a spiritual sin isn't that easy to obtain. We had to work very hard just to track it down. Here, look at how fresh it is," Lian Zhibei said. She was a social butterfly, so the eunuch with the surna Zao was soon smiling from ear to ear.
Soon, a piece of paper with a red stamp was handed over to them. Lian Zhibei accepted it with shaking hands.
“You know where to claim the rewards, right? I hope you don’t need to explain it," said the eunuch before ignoring them outright. He wrote sothing and burned it inside a bronze urn.
The smoke rose and drifted out of the window. Sir Zao’s face relaxed greatly afterward. Sir Zao then ordered the rest of the eunuchs to retrieve a jade plate encrusted with agate. Then, he ordered them to place the spiritual sin's carcass on the jade plate.
“We will leave you to your matters now.” Lian Zhibei smiled and took away the piece of paper with a red stamp.
"We're not going to retrieve the rewards here?”
“No. We have to go to the vault to exchange for it. Let’s go. Did you bring so silver? It’s easier to deal with the higher-ups than the little ghosts[1] whose greed is infinite."
“Why is it so tedious to do business here?” Li Huowang asked, frowning.
Lian Zhibei was about to retort when soone abruptly shouted, “The emperor is here~!”
Lian Zhibei’s face paled. She ran toward a corner of the wall and knelt with her forehead pressed firmly against the ground.
However, Li Huowang did not bother kneeling for the new emperor. He stood next to Lian Zhiben and sunk his body image into the ground, becoming invisible.
“Long live the emperor~!”
“Long live the emperor~!”
“Long live the emperor~!”
After the three chants, Li Huowang finally saw the emperor. The emperor was wearing black royal robes and a golden crown with veils. Nurous courtesans and eunuchs walked down slowly behind him.
Li Huowang narrowed his eyes and was surprised to see the emperor's face. He had seen the emperor before, and he was none other than the boy who had approached Bai Lingmiao during that festival. As far as Li Huowang could rember, the boy had bought a fake jade cat at the ti.
The emperor walked slowly past Li Huowang, allowing the latter to confirm that the boy he had seen at the ti was indeed the new emperor.
He’s the new emperor?! Li Huowang thought. He truly could have never expected that the new emperor would be that boy who had courted ladies nonstop during that festival. Well, it’s normal behavior for a boy, I guess.
Li Huowang was acquainted with the new emperor, but he had no intentions of befriending the latter. The emperor seat of the Liang Kingdom had changed owners three tis in just a few months, so Li Huowang was convinced that it was the most dangerous job in the world.
Li Huowang was still invisible as he stared at the procession walking past him. Just as he thought nothing could go wrong, an old man walking beside the emperor suddenly glared in Li Huowang’s direction. “Who’s there?!”
The emperor was imdiately surrounded by the courtesans and eunuchs. Then, several guards appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Li Huowang.
The guards were about to thrust their weapons in Li Huowang’s direction when he erged and raised the Surveillance Bureau’s identity plate.
Everyone ca to a screeching halt, but a tense atmosphere shrouded them. The guards had no idea what to do, as Li Huowang didn’t seem like soone who was trying to assassinate the emperor. If he wanted to assassinate the emperor, why was he invisible and staring at the emperor?
The guards turned to the Imperial Preceptor.
“Who are you? Why are you here?!” the Imperial Preceptor roared. He was strong, so a re sentence made Li Huowang feel suffocated, and he could hardly move. Li Huowang could swear that he had never felt this way since he beca a fake Hong Zhong.
Li Huowang looked up at the old man and recognized him. The old man before him had been fighting alongside the previous emperor with a special sword in hand.
Lian Zhibei finally made a move and showed them the paper in her hand before explaining, “We're here on behalf of the Surveillance Bureau, but we should be executed for scaring the emperor!”
Everyone sighed after learning that it was all a misunderstanding.
The Imperial Preceptor looked at an old eunuch with dissatisfaction. “Is this how you do things? How can the official mbers of the Surveillance Bureau be allowed to enter the palace—”
"It's you!" soone exclaid, interrupting the Imperial Preceptor.
The new emperor walked out from the crowd and walked up to Li Huowang, but two old eunuchs stopped him before he could even walk two steps toward Li Huowang.
1. Referring to the people working as admins or lower positions where they usually take bribes ☜
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