Chapter 79: Discovering a Secret Connection
“Yes. This way, honored guests.”
The guide bowed and led the way. He seemed utterly convinced of the identity of anyone who could make it this far safely. And so, the eunuch, who appeared to be in his thirties, said little more, not even bothering to question their identities, projecting an air of carefree detachment from the world.
Wei Wanlan hurried to follow, with Fu Jun and Xiao Ji close behind. The three of them walked in a line behind the eunuch. Trailing them were two rows of palace maids, carrying lanterns and incense burners. The light from the lanterns danced like fish and dragons, and the fragrant smoke from the incense curled gracefully. Silver bells were tied to the ankles of all the maids, creating a cool, tinkling sound as they walked.
For Wei Wanlan, everything was both strange and intensely familiar.
Fu Jun and Xiao Ji surely felt the same, though they were all too busy observing their surroundings to exchange words.
The procession passed by the Secretariat.
Wei Wanlan’s brow twitched. A certain person suddenly came to mind, and he stopped. In the bright lights and faint mist of the imitation palace, he asked, “May I go over there first?”
Fu Jun also paused.
The eunuch said flatly, “That is the Leopard House. The animal tamers’ evening performance has already passed. If the honored guests wish to see it, you may wait until tomorrow.”
Wei Wanlan froze, asking blankly, “What did you say? What is that place?”
A hint of nonchalant innocence crossed the eunuch’s face as he repeated leisurely, “The Leopard House.”
The Leopard House? A house for raising leopards?
Xiao Ji leaned in and explained in a low voice, “Young Master, in ancient times, there were places of pleasure for monarchs, where rare and exotic beasts were kept for amusement. They were called Leopard Houses.”
So Yuan Xizai had turned the Secretariat into a zoo. If this entire secret base was modeled after the late Emperor’s blueprints, then changing the Secretariat into a Leopard House was a hundred times more absurd than the original young emperor’s idea of turning the imperial garden into a menagerie! No one would believe they weren’t blood brothers.
Naturally, he had no interest in the Leopard House. Wei Wanlan had no love for watching caged animals, and he certainly didn’t want to be chased by wild beasts again. He continued to follow the eunuch guide back to “his” Hall of Purple Empyrean.
Along the way, they saw many other sights.
The Censorate, which should have been one of the three judicial offices along with the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice, was now only a shadow of its former self. Even the main gate of the government office was gone, replaced by a tall pavilion that seemed to pierce the clouds. The structure, with its flying eaves and multiple stories, left Wei Wanlan stunned.
“This isn’t called the Censorate either?”
“Correct,” the eunuch guide said matter-of-factly. He seemed unfazed by the visitors’ reactions, which in turn gave him an air of casualness. As if telling an amusing anecdote, he said to Wei Wanlan, “Honored guest, do you find this pavilion high?”
Wei Wanlan nodded. “It is very high.”
The eunuch guide covered his mouth with his fingers and chuckled. “When the Master was building this pavilion, he invited the first group of honored guests for a banquet. Most of them had to rest three times before reaching the top. The Master laughed heartily and gave this pavilion a rather interesting name: the Three Rests Terrace.”
The shadow of that absurd emperor… and this elegant, corrupt official of Luoyang. Like a phantom, like a festering sore, it became more and more real, more and more clear before Wei Wanlan’s eyes.
The aftershock of his astonishment finally ignited the young emperor’s anger. But he suppressed it. He knew this was not the time to make a scene. He asked, “Is there more?”
The eunuch smiled and continued his introduction. “Of course, there is more. If the honored guests wish to have a good time here, there is the Jasper Pond, the Langyuan Garden, the Shanglin Palace, the Hall of Strange Flowers and Rocks, and the Pavilion of Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. You could spend ten days and ten nights and still not have your fill. I wonder if the honored guests require company?”
“There’s company here as well?”
“You jest, honored guest. Fun is, of course, more fun with company.”
“What kind of company is there?”
“Beautiful girls and handsome boys. For you to choose as you please.” The eunuch added, “And if the honored guest seeks novelty, there are the soft and gentle maids of Silla, the agile slaves of Kunlun, and the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Persian women…”
“Then let me ask you about the Tianlu Pavilion.”
“A good question. The honored guest knows how to have fun. That is the world’s largest gallery of erotic art.”
Linghu Zheng would kill you if he knew!!!
Wei Wanlan had to swallow hard several times to calm himself.
Finally, the Emperor of Great Wei asked a question that was a bit of a party-crasher. His doe-like eyes widened, and as the nominal leader of the group, he tried to project an air of authority, imitating the big bad guy. “And what if I don’t want to have fun?”
“Heh. The honored guest jests.” The eunuch’s brow lowered slightly. The mood shifted from a warm spring breeze to one of hidden menace. The dozen or so palace maids all smiled, turning the copper handles of their incense burners as if to change the fragrance.
“Wait,” Wei Wanlan stopped them. Steeling himself, he said in a flat voice, “I was joking. This is so much fun. Of course, I want to have fun.”
“Yes,” the eunuch guide smiled. “No one dislikes having fun.”
“Let’s continue,” Wei Wanlan said, starting to walk again.
In his heart, he understood a little more about Yuan Xizai’s corruption case. The investigating officials and censors who had come to Luoyang had either truly fallen into this den of money and pleasure, or they had been forced to join, giving Yuan Xizai evidence that ensured their silence. Entrapment and coercion—his methods were truly despicable.
Seeing the artfully arranged trees of varying heights in the courtyard, Wei Wanlan’s eyes narrowed. That was the Hall of Purple Empyrean.
He stood outside it. The eunuch guide stood beside him. A moment ago, he had been guiding and explaining, but now he had stopped, simply smiling. “The study is in the side hall. Honored guests, please enter on your own.”
“Wait a moment,” Wei Wanlan said.
The eunuch stopped. “What is it, honored guest?”
“Are there entertainment options here as well?”
The eunuch gave an enigmatic smile and bowed. “It is not for this servant to say. You will understand once you go inside.” With a flick of his horsetail whisk, the eunuch turned, and the procession of palace maids followed suit, their lanterns and incense burners slowly receding into the distance.
Wei Wanlan stood before the Hall of Purple Empyrean, not knowing what he was about to face. In a moment of hesitation, he blocked the door. Behind him was Fu Jun.
His mind was already in turmoil, and Fu Jun’s presence so close behind startled him, making him feel a little flustered. He was once again enveloped, however lightly, by Fu Jun’s clean scent.
Could it be that Fu Jun is eager to settle a personal score with Yuan Xizai? Is that why he’s rushing me to go in?
Wei Wanlan stammered, “S-sorry, am I blocking your way? Let’s go in quickly…”
The lights in the study were off.
With a creak, Wei Wanlan pushed the door open. Xiao Ji quickly lit a gauze lantern, and the room was instantly illuminated.
Wei Wanlan took in the scene before him, his eyes wide. The furnishings of this “Hall of Purple Empyrean” study were not identical to his own.
There were no memorials on the desk, the kind the Regent often read. Nor was his own copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Illustrated Collection, which he had secretly hidden among his proper books…
The most prominent things on the desk were paintings and calligraphy on gold-flecked paper, still in Yuan Xizai’s hand. The characters were in the beautiful Slender Gold style.
Opposite the desk was a huge mural. It was hard to see the details without a lamp, but the overall tone was quite ancient.
Examining calligraphy and paintings was the court scholar’s specialty, not to mention that Xiao Ji was always eager to show off in front of Wei Wanlan.
In no time, Xiao Ji had looked through all the visible works and reported, “Young Master, these are merely works Yuan Xizai created to pass the time. There is nothing here that could be used to convict him.”
But Wei Wanlan had just learned a trick from Fu Jun.
“I… no, I know that the space under this desk is very wide, and the tabletop is especially thick. If you cover it with a tablecloth, you could hide things inside.”
If it was the same model as the desk in the Hall of Purple Empyrean.
Back when he had first transmigrated into the book and was engaged in a battle of wits with the big bad guy, Wei Wanlan had tried to stuff his toys, which were about to be mercilessly confiscated by the Regent, into all sorts of random places.
Of course, Xiao Ji knew nothing of this. He simply said, as usual, “The Young Master is brilliant.”
At the brilliant Wei Wanlan’s signal, Xiao Ji began to feel along the desk, inch by inch.
Just as Wei Wanlan had said, the space under the desk was wide, and the wood was extremely thick. As he was pressing along, he suddenly felt his fingers sink downwards. Perhaps he had triggered some internal spring, because a drawer, about two fingers thick, popped out from the desk!
Wei Wanlan didn’t know if the real desk in the Hall of Purple Empyrean had such a sophisticated mechanism.
Xiao Ji had already taken everything out of the drawer, his face beaming with a kind of unspeakable excitement that made his voice a little unsteady. “Young Master, there are letters!”
The letters were fanned out in the court scholar’s hand. “This is wonderful, Young Master.”
“Even if, in the worst-case scenario, we can’t find the ledgers, Young Master, just the fact that Yuan Xizai dared to build a palace in violation of regulations and imprison court officials, plus any incriminating clues from these letters—we can investigate Yuan Xizai. This is enough for a conviction!”
He took the envelopes.
But for some reason, Wei Wanlan noticed Fu Jun, who was standing beside him, stiffen slightly. A flicker of something passed through his handsome eyes as his gaze also fixed on the letters.
However, Wei Wanlan didn’t think much of it. They had fought side by side on this journey, their lives intertwined. He naturally interpreted Fu Jun’s subtle change in demeanor as anticipation for achieving their goal.
“Let’s open them,” Wei Wanlan said.
Fu Jun’s lips gradually tightened into a thin line.
Wei Wanlan lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the envelopes in his hand. He opened them.
But—
Strangely…
Several of the envelopes were made of simple kraft paper. They weren’t the hard paper sealed with dried flowers, nor were they flecked with gold, scented with incense, or decorated in any way.
These letters were completely different from all the other written materials Wei Wanlan had seen here. They were not elegant and magnificent like Yuan Xizai’s style. They were simple, cold, the wording concise, exuding an air of stern authority and unquestionable power.
Perhaps Wei Wanlan wouldn’t recognize the handwriting of others, like Yuan Xizai’s, no matter how beautiful it was.
But he could definitely recognize this person’s handwriting. He had seen it too many times.
These letters were from the Regent of Great Wei, Su Jingzhi—the big bad guy.
Wei Wanlan couldn’t believe it. But the truth was laid bare before him: Yuan Xizai and the Regent were in private contact.
Wei Wanlan subconsciously sniffed the letter paper, searching for any evidence that this connection was real. But perhaps they had been in the drawer for a long time. There was no scent.
He picked out a few key sentences, skim-reading the characters he recognized.
The one in the Slender Gold style read—
“Your servant, Xizai, pays his respects: I hereby present ten thousand gold to Your Highness to show my loyalty at your feet. Your servant looks forward to the day Your Highness ascends to the great treasure, replacing the young lord to right the heavenly throne. May heaven bless my king and grant you eternal prosperity.”
And the Regent’s reply:
“Good.”
The letters in Wei Wanlan’s hand were the Regent’s responses to Yuan Xizai’s fawning sycophancy.
He was filled with infinite disbelief. His throat was dry, but his heart was pounding violently.
At that moment, his gaze shifted to the mural in the study. As he looked closely at the ancient-style painting, his pupils constricted even further…
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