066 Blood Finally Stains My Hands (1)

This marriage had nothing to do with love and everything to do with politics, which left me thoroughly uninterested in watching it unfold.

Jiang Ye had arrived with Du Ruoqing, and his gaze kept drifting to me, sometimes lingering, sometimes fleeting, making me deeply uncomfortable. I knew that, given the chance, he would never let me go.

I withdrew to the outside of the Eastern Palace and found Long Zhan standing guard at the entrance.

“Lord Long, you just said what you did—aren’t you afraid Feiyue—oh, I suppose she’s the Crown Princess now—aren’t you afraid she might really throw herself into the lake?”

Long Zhan stared straight ahead, his tone flat. “Whether out of indifference or misunderstanding, I have never spoken a single lie to her.”

His words startled me. If he has never uttered a single lie, then it means Long Zhan truly never cared for Han Feiyue. All her heartfelt devotion was indeed wasted.

“Then why keep the wine pouch she gave you?” I asked.

“If it had been from you and I threw it away directly, wouldn’t that mean I had no sense of sentiment?”

He had a point. Perhaps, just as Long Zhan said, he regarded Han Feiyue as a sister, or perhaps as a disciple. If something is given by a sister or a disciple, how could he so casually discard it?

All the consorts, princes, and princesses had come to offer congratulations, and the Eastern Palace was teeming with eunuchs and maids. I realized this was a perfect opportunity.

“Lord Long, would you be willing to leave your post just this once?”

Long Zhan turned his head to look at me. “What harm is there in doing it once?”

I couldn’t help but say, “Lord Long, you don’t even know what I’m asking you to do yet.”

Long Zhan gave a soft, open smile. “It’s hardly murder, arson, or robbery.”

“Something of the sort. If you don’t mind, Lord Long, let’s pay a visit to the Office of Affairs.”

“The Office of Affairs?”

I nodded. “No need to ask for details now. I’ll explain later. For now, we’re going there as thieves. Will you join me?”

“In all my years as commander of the Imperial Guards, I’ve never tasted what it’s like to be a thief. Why not try it once?”

I joked, “If we go, you can’t have regrets. If we get caught, you mustn’t say it was me who took you.”

“If we’re discovered, we’ll take the poison I brought and end it all.”

I glared at him. “Lord Long, it’s only the eighth day of the New Year, and the festival isn’t even over yet. We haven’t even begun—couldn’t you say something more auspicious?”

Long Zhan couldn’t help but smile. “Only you would believe such things. If my skills as a thief are so poor I get caught, then someone else should have long taken my post as commander.”

I pursed my lips, lifted my chin, and replied, “You’re right, Lord Long. Let’s go!”

“Let’s!”

I brought Long Zhan along, partly because I knew he must be in low spirits after what happened with Han Feiyue and thought he might as well leave the Eastern Palace; and partly out of my own selfishness—for if any danger arose in the Office of Affairs, with Long Zhan there, I’d have a way out.

Xiao Xiao, for your own sake, you’ve finally learned to calculate and make use of others.

Walking beside Long Zhan, I stole a glance at him, then quickly looked away.

Our timing was calculated—the Office of Affairs would be at its emptiest. I’d been quietly watching Xiao Lu these last few days and knew he returned to the Office at regular intervals. Every eunuch actually had a room there, but to better serve their masters, they were also assigned quarters within the palace, so it wasn’t common for them to return to the Office.

Xiao Lu’s betrayal of Zhang Bitong was beyond doubt. What I wanted was proof of his collusion with Lin Tanwei. Lin Tanwei was a merchant’s daughter; she understood the value of mutually beneficial relationships. Xiao Lu wouldn’t help her for nothing, and whatever he received from her wouldn’t be foolishly hidden in Cuiwei Palace.

If they could find a jade bracelet on me in Cuiwei Palace, it was just as possible they could search Xiao Lu’s room and find other incriminating items. Therefore, I was certain the evidence wasn’t in Cuiwei Palace, but here in the Office of Affairs.

He wouldn’t just stash things for himself—he’d also want to curry favor with Qiu Ronghai.

I asked Long Zhan to come along so we could search Xiao Lu’s room and find what Lin Tanwei had given him.

Today was a day of great celebration; even the eunuchs with nothing to do had run off to the Eastern Palace to join the festivities. Thus, Long Zhan and I made our way without any obstacles.

“Come with me, Lord Long.” I already knew which room was Xiao Lu’s and led Long Zhan straight there.

I opened the door, closed it behind us, and said, “Now is the time to be thieves, Lord Long.”

He cast his eyes around. “You think there will be anything valuable here?”

I lifted my chin. “Of course. Whoever finds it first gets to keep it.”

“Very well!”

So we began to search the room separately, checking wardrobes, the bed, under tables and chairs—every corner. But nothing turned up. Xiao Lu had hidden things well.

Standing in place, I pondered where he might have hidden his loot.

Long Zhan spoke up, “So you don’t know where the valuables are? Let me try.”

He looked around and explained, “If something is hidden in a room, the most secret places are usually compartments. They can be in the wardrobe, the wall, the bed, or even the floor.” Long Zhan tapped the wall. “If there’s a compartment, the sound will be hollow.”

His words made everything clear. While Long Zhan checked the walls and wardrobe, I turned my attention to the bed.

I tapped all around it, finding nothing odd. Then I stared at the floor, searching for any irregularities. The floor was paved with black tiles. If Xiao Lu had moved any, there would be gaps or freshly disturbed, damp earth. But I found nothing.

Long Zhan likewise came up empty-handed.

Suddenly, it struck me—there was one place neither of us had checked: under the bed.

“I’ll do it, I’m small enough.” I dropped to the floor and crawled beneath the bed, tapping carefully with my hands. Suddenly, a different sound caught my attention.

Digging with my fingernail, I found a loose tile. I lifted it out and uncovered a hole beneath. Moving two more tiles revealed a box. Inside were two gold ingots and a pair of pearl earrings.

The pearls were round, lustrous, and clearly of top quality. I remembered that Lin Tanwei had once given Zhang Bitong a pair of pearl earrings, saying her father had purchased them at great expense. If my guess was correct, these were Lin Tanwei's bribe to Xiao Lu.

I took one earring and hid it in my clothes, left the rest, returned the box, replaced the tiles, and crawled out.

“Any luck?” Long Zhan asked.

I nodded.

Long Zhan reached out and wiped my face; only then did I realize I must have smeared dirt all over it. I stepped back and wiped it off myself.

“Nothing for you, Lord Long. Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t safe to linger; more eunuchs would soon return, and being found here would be hard to explain.

We reached the door just as I was opening it and saying, “Lord Long, that was a first—”

Before I could finish, Long Zhan clamped a hand over my mouth, grabbed my shoulder, and pressed me against the wall.

At that moment, voices sounded outside. “It really is lively today. Did you see? Our Crown Prince took two wives at once, but he doesn’t seem happy at all.”

The speaker was Xiao Qingzi. Thank goodness Long Zhan stopped me in time—if we’d gone out and been caught by Xiao Qinzi, who already disliked me, he’d have seized the opportunity to make trouble.

“I agree. The Crown Princess was only brought back by Lord Long—she didn’t want to marry the Crown Prince at all. Palace affairs truly are strange.”

“Enough, enough. When Steward Qiu returns, we’ll have a drink with him. If he’s happy, we’ll get our share of the spoils.”

“Yes, I’ll follow the steward.”

“Wait—” Xiao Qingzi suddenly said, his voice much closer. “Is this Xiao Lu’s room?”

“Yes, it is! What do you—?”

“Did Xiao Lu just come back? Why does the door look ajar?”

“I’ll close it. Maybe the wind blew it open.”

Someone approached and shut the door, then said, “Shall I prepare some dishes for Steward Qiu to go with his wine?”

“Go ahead. Once that’s done, the steward will be back soon.”

“Understood, I’ll go now.”

As their footsteps faded, I finally relaxed. Then I realized Long Zhan was still pinning me against the wall—right against my chest.

With his hand over my mouth, all I could do was widen my eyes and let out a muffled protest. Long Zhan realized and immediately withdrew his hand, stepping back as well.

I gasped for breath, doing my best not to let the embarrassment of being pressed against him show.

“Let’s go!” I said.

“Wait,” Long Zhan stopped me. “I suspect the others will return soon. Leaving by the main door is too risky.”

Saying this, Long Zhan opened a window, leapt out, and reached back for me. “This leads to a courtyard. Over one wall and we’ll be on the palace road—no one will suspect a thing.”

Seeing his outstretched hand, I couldn’t help but remember how he’d just crushed my chest.

Xiao Zhi, you’re a eunuch—what are you embarrassed about?

“Hurry up!” Long Zhan urged.

I put my hand in his, stepped onto the windowsill, and let him help me down.

I wiped away the marks left on the sill with my sleeve, closed the window, and left with Long Zhan.

He vaulted the wall with ease, swift and agile. As for me—

Long Zhan stood on the other side, arms open, signaling for me to jump. But I froze, unable to move.

“If you don’t come down, how will you explain yourself if someone sees you?” he warned.

His threat worked—I gritted my teeth, shut my eyes, and jumped.

Yet, somehow, he neither caught me nor did I hit the ground. When I opened my eyes, I found myself sprawled on top of Long Zhan, legs and arms splayed like a toad.

This was even more embarrassing than being pressed against his chest!