Chapter 888: Zhuge Chi

The Zhao capital appeared calm on the surface, but beneath that calm lay utter chaos.

Those with connections had received the news first and were already quietly fleeing with their families. Quietly was the only way they dared leave. No one dared make the slightest show of it. At present, Zhao Emperor Hai Wuji was like a starving beast. Once he raised the butcher's knife, he would not care what backing or connections a person had at court. The blade would fall, and a head would roll.

As for ordinary commoners whose information came more slowly, their daily lives had never been easy to begin with. Even if disaster truly came, they had no power to change anything. So they went on living as before.

Inside the imperial palace, the eunuchs were more disciplined than anyone had ever seen them. Maids and palace women did not dare speak loudly. Even their footsteps were soft.

Over the past two days, people passing before the Emperor had somehow offended him without even knowing what mistake they had made. Hai Wuji would suddenly start roaring and order them dragged away and beheaded. More than a dozen had already died that way.

The onlookers did not know why. Those being killed did not know why either. They died muddleheaded deaths, never knowing what they had done wrong.

Everyone in the palace lived in fear. Even the imperial consorts spent their days with their hearts in their throats.

The reason was obvious to all.

War was a matter of supreme importance to a state. It should never be begun lightly.

This was the price of beginning one lightly.

They should never have attacked Yan so rashly!

Everyone understood that much, but no one dared say it anymore. The subject had become the Emperor's reverse scale. To mention it now was to court death.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me..."

A faint but terrifying cry for mercy drifted over.

Inside one of the residences, Empress Dowager Shang Youlan, who had been lifting a cup of tea, abruptly looked toward the door. Then she exchanged a glance with the Empress seated beside her.

Unease showed in the Empress's eyes. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end kept it to herself.

Shang Youlan no longer felt like drinking tea. She set down the cup and asked, "How many does that make these past two days?"

The Empress answered uneasily, "Replying to Imperial Mother, fifteen or sixteen by now, I believe."

Shang Youlan sighed. "The Emperor's mind is in chaos. So many ministers tried desperately to dissuade him back then, but he insisted on having his own way. If he had known it would come to this, why act as he did in the first place?"

The Empress forced a smile.

In the present palace, this was probably the only person who dared say such a thing. No one else, herself included, would dare. Saying it amounted to accusing His Majesty of having made a mistake.

While they spoke, both women looked toward the doorway.

A white-haired old eunuch had entered the garden with several young eunuchs carrying trays behind him. No one knew what they had come to deliver this time.

The old eunuch was Zhuge Chi, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace of Zhao.

He still held the title, but he was very old now and no longer had the energy for everything. Most practical authority had already been handed to younger eunuchs. He himself moved only among the few most important masters of the palace.

Seeing him seemed to remind Shang Youlan of something.

She sighed. "That old thing has grown slow with age. He's lived long enough that even if the sky collapsed, he'd still keep doing whatever he was supposed to do. Always the same—never hurried, never flustered."

Then she raised her voice.

"Old Zhuge! Old Zhuge!"

She called twice.

Perhaps the old eunuch's hearing had faded with age, because he gave no response. A palace maid had to hurry over and speak to him face-to-face before he finally began shuffling toward them.

At the threshold, he lifted the hem of his robe and raised one leg with visible effort. Hunched over, he slowly made his way inside.

His clouded old eyes took in the people before him, and only then did he bow unhurriedly.

"This old slave greets the Empress Dowager. This old slave greets Her Majesty the Empress."

Shang Youlan tilted her chin toward the outside. "All that shouting—what happened now?"

Zhuge Chi answered slowly, "Some blind fool of a servant probably made a mistake and displeased His Majesty. This old slave failed to discipline them properly. I ask the Empress Dowager to punish me."

"You old thing, you couldn't survive a punishment. One beating and you'd probably breathe your last." Shang Youlan looked at him. "Old Zhuge, if I remember correctly, you were already serving beside Imperial Grandfather when he was on the throne, weren't you?"

Zhuge Chi bent a little farther. "This old slave was only a child then. The old sovereign looked kindly upon me and let me remain beside him to grind ink and such. It was the old sovereign himself who taught this slave to read and write."

"Yes." Shang Youlan nodded slowly. "I heard about that. Before Imperial Grandfather passed away, he had you serve Imperial Father. Under Imperial Father, you became Chief Eunuch of the palace. Before Imperial Father died, he repeatedly instructed the late Emperor, right in front of you, that he must treat you well. And when the late Emperor was dying and passed the throne to His Majesty, I saw it myself—the late Emperor again repeatedly ordered His Majesty to keep you by his side."

She looked him over with some emotion.

"Thinking back on it, you've already served through four reigns. You're over a hundred years old, a veteran of four reigns. Among all the civil and military officials of the court, there isn't a single person with greater seniority than you."

Zhuge Chi replied, "The Empress Dowager praises this old slave too highly. I am only a servant. I've already grown muddleheaded with age. I cannot accept the title of veteran of four reigns."

"I'm not praising you." Shang Youlan shook her head. "I'm telling you that it isn't because His Majesty has forgotten old affection. You're simply too old. That's why some matters have been handed to the people below you. His Majesty is sparing you the burden. Whatever he may do wrong, don't take it to heart."

Zhuge Chi bowed. "This old slave understands."

"Good. Then I'll speak plainly." Shang Youlan's expression grew serious. "You know what things are like outside. You've served four emperors of Zhao. Whether by sentiment or by reason, you ought to be allowed a peaceful end."

"Leave. Starting today, leave the palace. Go wherever you wish. While I can still command people, I can still have someone escort you. Go now, before it's too late."

Zhuge Chi said, "This old slave appreciates the Empress Dowager's kindness, but I grew up inside this palace from childhood. I truly do not wish to leave."

"Old thing, I am not putting on an act for you, and I am not testing your loyalty. Leave while you still can. If you wait too long, you may no longer be able to."

She continued earnestly, "Others may not be allowed to leave without permission, but you are different. If anything happens, I will bear the responsibility. I can still shoulder something this small."

"Don't go around bidding everyone farewell either. Don't alarm anyone. Just leave quietly. Otherwise word may spread and someone may make trouble for you."

"You've spent so many years in this palace. Go find somewhere peaceful, hide your name and identity, and live out the rest of your days."

Zhuge Chi shook his head.

"Empress Dowager, this old slave is not being sentimental. I've truly grown muddleheaded and old. I can hardly walk and can hardly work. I have lived the palace life since childhood. At my age, if I leave now, I would not know how to survive."

Shang Youlan fell silent.

At last she slowly said, "If that is your choice, then decide for yourself. I can only say that I have done all I can."

She waved her sleeve, dismissing him.

"Yes."

Zhuge Chi bowed to her, then bowed to the Empress. He slowly backed away.

The Empress gave him a slight nod in return.

...

The sun sank.

The last light of sunset was red as blood, bathing the towering imperial palace in a dim golden haze.

Night gradually descended.

One lamp after another lit throughout the palace.

At midnight, more than a dozen figures descended from high above.

"Who goes there?"

A fierce shout rang out.

A group of cultivators inside the palace shot upward to intercept them.

Amid thunderous clashes, three men broke through the interception first. Knowing no true experts remained to oversee the palace, and confident they would have no trouble escaping, they acted with outrageous boldness and charged straight toward the brightly lit imperial study.

Boom!

Roof tiles and masonry exploded outward. A hole tore through the roof.

Inside the imperial study, Hai Wuji was badly startled. Before he could understand what was happening, one man had already seized him by the neck.

The palace's Imperial Guards and cultivators rushed over to rescue him.

A shout thundered from inside.

"Everyone stop! Anyone who moves, and I'll take your Emperor's life! Order your people outside to stop immediately!"

The three men who had seized the Emperor were none other than experts of Qiyun Sect who had been sent to loot the palace.

Three Supreme Elders of Qiyun Sect had personally led the operation.

Their demand that the people outside stop was naturally because the Qiyun Sect disciples they had brought with them were under attack.

Yet Huan Qing, the Director of Imperial Carriage Office who had rushed over in time—and who had taken over Zhuge Chi's practical authority as Chief Steward—showed no concern at all for the Emperor's life.

He gave an order on the spot.

"His Majesty is not inside. Kill!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows smashed through the doors and windows and poured into the room.

The three men inside were badly startled and immediately used the furniture and pillars as cover.

They had never imagined that after capturing the Emperor in one move, the other side would still dare attack without regard for his life.

Amid the chaotic crashes inside, one of them grabbed Hai Wuji and snarled, "Make them stop, or I'll slaughter you!"

Hai Wuji said in panic, "I'm not His Majesty! I'm His Majesty's double!"

One man immediately ran his hands over his face, but found no disguise.

His anger rose.

"Nonsense! You're the man in the portrait!"

"I'm really a double!" Hai Wuji cried. "Otherwise why would they ignore whether I live or die and keep attacking?"

"If you're fake, where is the real one?"

"I don't know! I truly don't know!"

"Then who does know?"

"How would a nobody like me know such a thing?"

They could get no useful answer.

One of the three immediately hurled Hai Wuji outside to test his claim.

The people outside showed no mercy whatsoever.

A storm of arrows turned the man into a hedgehog on the spot.

Only then did the three attackers realize that the man they had seized probably truly was a fake.

He was indeed a double.

Boom!

Bricks, roof tiles, and shattered masonry blasted in every direction. Even broken pillars swept through the crowd outside, sending soldiers screaming.

The three Qiyun Sect Supreme Elders charged out amid the chaos.

Enormous hammer-shaped force projections whirled and swept around them. None of the cultivators trying to intercept them could match the three.

They simply slaughtered their way out.

The assassins had not come blindly. Their operation had been carefully planned in detail.

After failing to seize Hai Wuji, the three immediately headed toward the Empress Dowager's residence, intending to capture Shang Youlan as a hostage instead.

Yet the instant they forced their way into the Empress Dowager's residence, something strange happened.

A violent wind suddenly rose.

Every lamp throughout the residence went dark.

The whole place fell into darkness.

Then one solitary light appeared.

Beneath the corridor eaves, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace Zhuge Chi came walking slowly with a lantern in one hand, his back bent.

Two blind men followed behind him.

Two blind eunuchs.

At the sight of someone, one Qiyun Sect Supreme Elder immediately flashed over, intending to seize him and demand answers.

Whoosh!

The lantern in Zhuge Chi's hand suddenly went out.

The corridor beneath the eaves plunged into darkness as well.

The Supreme Elder who had rushed over discovered that his grasp had closed on empty air.

He had missed.

Then he discovered something even more terrifying.

He could not move.

No matter how desperately he drove his entire cultivation, he could not shift even an inch.

Only then did he realize that someone else had seized him by the neck.

An unimaginable terror flooded his heart.

"This is not a place you should have come."

Zhuge Chi's slow voice sounded beside him.

His hand twisted casually.

Crack!

The Supreme Elder's neck broke.

[End of Chapter 888]