Chapter 609: The Palace and the Taoist Temple

In fact, although the appearance of a mysterious man disrupted some of Zhao Wusi's deployments, his goal of ordering people to kidnap the empress dowager was basically achieved this time.

And even in the original book, his deployment was actually disrupted.

But that person was not Chai Xin, but Cheng Shifei.

In the original novel, the person who saved the Queen Mother was Cheng Shifei, and because of that he got the opportunity to be assessed as Huang Zi's number one secret agent.

In comparison, the current situation is more in line with Zhao Wushi's interests.

It not only undermined the emperor's majesty, but also demonstrated Cao Zhengchun's incompetence. At the same time, the people who finally rescued him were his two adopted sons.

In such a comparison, no matter whether the target is the emperor or Cao Zhengchun, doesn't Zhao Wusi appear to be more wise and powerful?

Again, Cao Zhengchun, as the supervisor of the East Factory, even had actual control over the Jinyiwei, but he allowed the thieves to sneak into the palace and successfully kidnapped the empress dowager...

This can no longer be described simply by the word "incompetence", it can be completely defined as "dereliction of duty".

I'm afraid that according to the emperor and the empress dowager's true thoughts, they would want to cut him into pieces.

However, the emperor was well aware of the dire situation in the court, with internal and external troubles constantly looming. Apart from a few civil servants, the only forces he had left were eunuchs.

Although Cao Zhengchun's notoriety as a "eunuch party" has spread throughout the court and the country, he is still the only one who can compete with Zhao Wusi.

If Cao Zhengchun was destroyed at this time, it would be tantamount to handing all the power in the court to Zhao Wusi.

For an emperor, he would rather hand over all power to eunuchs, civil officials, or even military generals than give it to a wise prince who is away.

No matter how much the eunuchs trouble themselves, they are still incomplete human beings after all, and no one will support them in rebellion, let alone in declaring themselves emperor.

As for civil officials, it would take three years for a scholar to launch a rebellion, as they had no military power and also cared about their own reputation.

Throughout history, there are very few precedents of civil officials rebelling, and as for those that ultimately succeeded, they can be counted on one hand only.

Even if power is delegated to military generals, the risk is smaller than delegating power to princes.

After all, as a subject, no matter how much a military general tries to justify his rebellious behavior, it cannot change the fact that he is committing treason and betraying the king.

It is different for princes, especially Zhao Wusi, a prince with a special status, and Zhao Sheng, an emperor with an even more special status.

The previous emperor had several princes, but none of them lived beyond the age of thirteen. They all died young.

Zhao Sheng was the third son of Zhao Quan, the late emperor's cousin. He was adopted by the late emperor at the age of fifteen and was made crown prince in the same year.

Zhao Sheng's biological father, Zhao Quan, died early. In fact, he was taken to the inner court by the previous emperor to be raised when he was seven years old, and was not officially adopted until he was fifteen years old.

Two years ago, after the death of the previous emperor, Zhao Sheng ascended the throne.

Zhao Wusi is the youngest brother of the late emperor and is only 48 years old.

Logically speaking, Zhao Wusi’s blood relationship with the late emperor, and even with the previous emperors, is closer than that with Zhao She.

Moreover, as his martial arts and power grew day by day, his ambition had already grown unknowingly, but it had not yet been revealed.

In his opinion, Zhao Sheng was just a young boy who was far inferior to himself in both ability and legal legitimacy.

In fact, even Zhao Sheng himself agreed with this view deep down in his heart.

Otherwise, Zhao Wusi's ambition would not have grown to such an extent within just two years after the death of the late emperor.

"Useless thing! If it weren't for the two adopted sons of the Emperor's uncle, the Queen Mother's life would be in danger!"

Zhao Sheng looked at Cao Zhengchun who was crawling on the ground, his face filled with uncontrollable anger.

"Don't you brag to me all the time that you have fifty years of Tiangang Boy's Kung Fu and can protect me and the Queen Mother? It seems that you are just bragging!"

In fact, only half of his anger was directed at Cao Zhengchun, and the other half was directed at Zhao Wusi.

In the emperor's opinion, since you, Zhao Wusi, have such ability, you found out the whereabouts of the empress dowager in less than two hours and rescued her successfully.

Then why did the thieves make such a big noise when they broke into the palace, but there was no sign of anyone from the Huolong Villa?

With the reaction speed of Huolong Villa, they could rescue the Queen Mother at a very fast speed after the incident, but they couldn't detect the thieves' movements beforehand?
In Zhao She's opinion, Zhao Wusi was most likely standing idly by and watching himself and Cao Zhengchun make fools of themselves and be laughed at by the entire court.

Only at the last moment did he take action to turn the tide, demonstrating his ability as a wise king.

It could be said that Cao Zhengchun's poor protection was beyond his ability; but Zhao Wushi's behavior was utterly despicable!
This argument may be a bit far-fetched, and it seems more like suspicion for the sake of suspicion. Zhao She has no actual evidence.

Even after Zhao Wusi saved the Queen Mother, he not only did not feel the slightest bit of gratitude, but instead felt even more disgusted and wary - such a character and personality, if placed on an ordinary person, could be said to be somewhat distorted.

But for an emperor, it is an essential quality.

If an emperor is not vigilant enough, his end will be either becoming a complete puppet or being replaced by someone else one day.

In fact, Zhao She's speculations had already guessed some of the facts correctly.

Zhao Wusi did have bad intentions in this incident, and his methods were more extreme and cruel than he had imagined.

"This old slave deserves death, please punish me severely, Your Majesty!"

In his heart, Cao Zhengchun cursed Zhao Wusi and the kidnapper tens of thousands of times, and even suspected that there might be something else fishy going on. However, he did not dare to show it on his face. He just kowtowed in fear and apologized.

As an eunuch, and a smart one at that, he knew very well how to survive, and he knew even better where everything he had came from.

Of course, everything he has now was given by the emperor!

All the civil and military officials in the court, as well as the subjects of the world, hated Cao Zhengchun to the core. If they were not afraid of his power, they would have attacked him and torn him to pieces.

He was just a eunuch and had no family background - if he had these, he would not have entered the palace as a eunuch.

Isn't it because of the emperor's favor that he has such power now?

If he loses the emperor's favor one day, even if he is a martial arts master, as cunning as a fox, and as cruel as a wolf, he will only become a prisoner.

Therefore, Cao Zhengchun would never show any disrespect in front of the emperor.

He wanted to make the emperor dependent on him.

In fact, he has done a very good job so far, and Zhao She has indeed reached the point where he cannot live without him.

So, although he appeared to be terrified and frightened by the emperor's wrath, he was actually quite calm in his heart.

He knew very well that His Majesty the Emperor would never kill him.

At least before Zhao Wusi's complete downfall, the emperor would not kill Cao Zhengchun as long as he did not openly oppose the emperor.

This is exactly the case. After Zhao She was furious, he only gave Cao Zhengchun a punishment of "deducting one year's salary and facing the wall for three months". For Cao Zhengchun, this punishment was no different from no punishment, and could even be said to be a "reward".

Why would he care about a mere annual salary?
As for facing the wall for three months, it was even more enjoyable. It was like a three-month long vacation. It was a good excuse not to have to serve the emperor, the empress dowager and other dignitaries.

As for whether there will be a new eunuch to replace him in the emperor's heart during these three months...

Then we'll have to see if the other party can withstand our fifty years of Tiangang Boy's Kung Fu skills!
Seeing that Cao Zhengchun left the Chuigong Hall without losing a single hair, Zhao Wusi, Shangguan Haitang, and even Gui Hai Yidao, a guy with a cold temperament, couldn't help showing a hint of dissatisfaction on their faces.

"The thief Cao made such a big mistake, but Your Majesty just lightly fined him. This is really... Alas! It's in vain that my adoptive father has worked so hard day and night for the country and the people."

Shangguan Haitang lamented in her heart and even felt sorry for Zhao Wusi.

"If this little emperor continues to act recklessly, the Song Dynasty will be destroyed in his hands sooner or later." Gui Hai Yidao thought with some contempt.

The dissatisfaction and indignation on Zhao Wushi's face were deliberately pretended, just a means to show his integrity and loyalty in front of everyone.

In fact, he had expected the little emperor's reaction and was not surprised at all.

"You do have some tricks, but if you continue to use them, your reputation will be ruined. By then, you will be criticized by everyone. Even if I don't take action, I'm afraid you won't be able to sit firmly on the throne."

Zhao Wusi had an indifferent expression, but he felt quite contented in his heart.

He wanted to use this method of boiling a frog in warm water to make the little emperor walk into the abyss unknowingly.

"Someone, come and give the emperor uncle a seat!"

Zhao Sheng shouted outside the hall, and immediately a young eunuch brought a chair into the hall.

After Zhao Wusi declined, he finally sat on the chair.

"Uncle, your contribution in saving the Empress Dowager is invaluable. I will definitely reward you handsomely..."

Afterwards, the uncle, nephew and the empress dowager began to exchange pleasantries in the hall and discussed the rewards for Shangguan Haitang and Gui Hai Yidao.

Shangguan Haitang was actually still concerned about Duan Tianya's safety, but at this moment, she couldn't resign rashly. She could only suppress her temper and wait quietly.

Before I knew it, it was dawn.

Twenty miles east of Lin'an, in a dilapidated Taoist temple.

"Cough! Cough!"

Suddenly, a violent cough broke the silence of the early morning.

Duan Tianya woke up from his coma and felt his throat was so dry that it was about to smoke. He felt deep pain all over his body and almost fainted again.

"Awake? Have some water. Also, here are some healing pills. If you trust them, take some."

But at this moment, a man in black robe threw a sheepskin water bag and several porcelain bottles in front of him.

Duan Tianya looked up and saw a young and handsome face, and many images immediately came to his mind like a tide.

After a moment's pause, he picked up the water bag and porcelain bottle on the ground, took out the pills and swallowed them with water. The whole process was done in one go without any hesitation.

Chai Xin glanced at him, then turned to face the rising sun outside the courtyard, and said with some appreciation: "As expected of Duan Tianya, you have some courage."

"It's not that I'm courageous, but I know very well that if you want to kill me, there's no need to do this."

After silently regulating his breathing for a while, he felt a lot more relaxed. Duan Tianya slowly stood up with the help of the wall and bowed to Chai Xin.

"Thank you for saving my life, young man. I will go through fire and water for you in the future. But I have something important to attend to, so I have to leave first."

As he said this, he dragged his seriously injured body and tried to walk out.

However, after taking only two steps, he stumbled and fell again in front of the door.

"Saving you was just a matter of convenience. If you want to repay me... why don't you do me a favor?"

Chai Xin ignored him and continued looking at Chaoyang.

Duan Tianya sat slumped on the ground, his expression unchanged, and said softly: "I'm in this state now, I'm afraid I can't do anything in the short term."

"There's no rush for this. Just investigate what Yagyu Tajima-no-kami is planning. Once you've found out, let me know."

Chai Xin turned around with a smile and spoke lightly.

Duan Tianya's face condensed, he looked up at Chai Xin and said seriously: "Even if you saved me, don't make the wrong calculation. I have absolute trust in my adoptive father, and it is impossible for me to investigate him."

"I am only responsible for making requests. It's up to you whether you do it or not. But who asked you to investigate Zhao Wushi? Or do you yourself suspect that what Karasuma said is true and think that Yagyu Tajima no Kami is in collusion with Zhao Wushi?"

Chai Xin asked two questions in return, but without waiting for Duan Tianya's response, he strode out of the Taoist temple.

"Take two pills three times a day to help you recover as quickly as possible. Let's go!"

After saying that, he lightly stepped his feet, and his body suddenly rose up and flew directly over the courtyard wall.

Duan Tianya sat there, looking at the place where Chai Xin disappeared, and his brows gradually frowned.

"Who is this person, and why did he save me? Could it be that he has a grudge against my adoptive father and is deliberately trying to get close to me?"

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind, and it seemed that he still trusted Zhao Wusi very much.

"Yagyu Tajima no Kami...could he be involved in the kidnapping of the empress dowager? Regardless of whether it's true or not, we must investigate it."

On the other side, Chai Xin quickly moved several miles away from the Taoist temple and arrived at a riverside.

He suddenly stopped, stood with his hands folded across his chest, staring at the rolling river, and suddenly spoke softly: "Come out, if you have something to say, talk about it, don't waste time."

"Let's drink, don't stop, I'll sing you a song, please listen to me..."

Following a drunken whisper, a figure dressed in green walked out from behind a tree in the distance.

The first time Chai Xin saw this man, he recognized his identity and said with a smile: "Why did the world's number one detective target me today?"

"You are truly a strange man. Since I, Zhang Jinjiu, set foot in the martial arts world, I have investigated countless people and events, but with you, I have no place to start and no trace to find."

A strong look of surprise flashed across Zhang Jin's drunken eyes. He carefully looked at this handsome young man with extraordinary demeanor as he walked.

Chai Xin's face now looks to be no more than twenty years old. He has the sharpness of a teenager, the heroism of a young man, the grandeur of a middle-aged man, and even the calmness of an old man.

So many different temperaments are gathered in one young man, but it does not give people a sense of contradiction, but instead makes people feel extremely harmonious.

Even people who lack experience can only see one side of him.

(End of this chapter)