Chapter 112

“There’s no time.”

“I have to go.” Shen Yu whispered.

“Girl.” Ge Liangji suddenly spoke, looking at her seriously, “Listen to me. Stop investigating. If you also fall for this, how can I explain to your father?”

Shen Yu looked at him deeply, didn’t say a word, and walked towards the dim end of the prison.

As soon as she stood at the door, a group of people rushed in. The one leading the way was a Dali Temple official, followed by the Jinyiwei in their flying fish robes.

Thankfully, the person leading the way at the front gate wasn’t Dali Temple’s Deputy Minister, Zuo Zong, otherwise she would have been recognized.

Before Shen Yu could think further, the leader had already walked up to her. He was startled when he saw the prison warden, “Why are you here?”

The prison warden said, “Minister, there’s no way. The execution is tomorrow, and I’m afraid something might happen tonight, so I came to keep an eye on things.”

The Minister nodded, flashed his badge, and said, “I’m here to assist the Jinyiwei in taking the prisoner, as ordered by the Emperor.”

Shen Yu couldn’t leave now, so she could only go in with the jailer. She thought to herself that if she was exposed now, this alley would have both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that there wasn’t enough space for a street battle. They couldn’t attack in a group, they could only take turns. But it also meant that once they defended the exit, she wouldn’t be able to get out.

The jailer opened the door. Inside the cell, Ge Liangji looked up and saw Shen Yu returning, and he was stunned for a moment.

But he quickly adjusted his expression and said, “The Jinyiwei. Is the Emperor asking to see me?”

The Jinyiwei was always directly under the Emperor’s control. No one except Emperor Tongxu could mobilize them.

Shen Yu thought to herself, Ge Liangji would definitely be executed at noon tomorrow to appease the public. But what did Emperor Tongxu want to do by taking him away in the middle of the night?

Ge Liangji was taken out of the prison. The cell was no longer important. The Minister casually threw the keys in his hand and said, “Lock it up.”

He threw the keys in Shen Yu’s direction. Shen Yu caught them, and her heart sank.

It was a heavy set of keys, and she couldn’t tell which one was for the cell door.

She held the keys, thinking about making a show of it. As for whether she actually locked it or not, no one would check, probably.

Fortunately, the prison warden was smart. He snatched the keys from Shen Yu’s hand and said impatiently, “You’re so clumsy. Let me do it.”

Shen Yu waited for him to lock the door and walked to the door with him. The Minister sent the Jinyiwei away and happened to see the two of them walking towards him when he turned back.

His gaze fell on Shen Yu, and a look of suspicion flashed across his face.

Shen Yu realized something was wrong and quickly said, “It’s good that the Jinyiwei took the prisoner away. We can relax now and don’t have to worry anymore.”

The Minister’s eyes shifted, and he thought to himself, that’s right. Since the prisoner was taken away smoothly, it means that nothing went wrong inside Dali Temple. This shift can be considered over.

The prison warden said, “Minister, since the prisoner has been taken away, let’s go back to our previous arrangements. The people down there have been on edge for days, they’re exhausted.”

The Minister nodded and said, “Those who need to change shifts, change shifts. Everyone go back.”

The prison warden stretched, smiling, “I’ll take the brothers to have some drinks. We’ve been working hard these days.”

He then patted Shen Yu on the shoulder, “Come on, let’s go have a drink with your old brother.”

Shen Yu followed the prison warden. When they left Dali Temple, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was about to speak, but Shen Yu made a silencing gesture and looked towards the palace alley.

The Jinyiwei hadn’t gone far yet. The prisoner carriage carrying Ge Liangji was making a rattling sound as it rolled over the stone road.

Shen Yu leaned over and whispered, “I won’t go back yet. Tell him that I’ll be back by noon tomorrow at the latest.”

The prison warden said “Okay,” but before he could stop her, he saw a figure rise from the ground, leap onto the wall, and disappear into the darkness after a few flips.

“What amazing martial arts!” The prison warden couldn’t help but praise.

The Jinyiwei’s prisoner carriage drove through the palace alley. Shen Yu ran quickly on the roof, taking off the Dali Temple jailer’s clothes as she ran, leaving only her night clothes. She quickly surpassed the group.

The Jinyiwei were all top-notch fighters. She didn’t dare to get too close. After running for a while, she silently leaped down from the wall, prostrated herself on the ground, and waited for her opportunity.

The prisoner carriage got closer and closer. She clenched a stone she had picked up and aimed carefully. She threw it, and the stone hit the eaves, shattering the tiles.

“Who’s there!” The Jinyiwei stopped.

The tiles fell down with a clatter. While they were distracted, Shen Yu rolled under the prisoner carriage, clinging to the bottom, and entered the palace with the carriage.

The prisoner carriage seemed to drive for a long time until it stopped in front of a palace.

Emperor Tongxu was leaning on a couch. When Ge Liangji got closer, he looked at him carefully and suddenly said, “Old Ge, why have you become like this?”

Ge Liangji took two steps forward, and the iron shackles on his hands and feet clattered, “Your Majesty is the same.”

“We’re old.” Emperor Tongxu shook his head, “Back then… never mind. Sit down and have some tea. It’s been a long time since we’ve been together as ruler and subject. I’ll send you off.”

Ge Liangji sat down at the table, picked up a cup of tea, and took a sip, praising, “Good tea.”

“Can you tell what kind of tea it is?”

Ge Liangji shook his head.

Emperor Tongxu seemed to be just asking casually, changing the subject, “I have no one left to trust, no one to speak freely to.”

Ge Liangji said, “Your Majesty, you’re thinking that the criminal is still a dead man, and he can take the secret to the underworld. That’s why you asked the criminal to come tonight, right?”

Emperor Tongxu sighed, “Old Ge, you were the Minister of the Household Department before. You should be able to see clearly from your position. My empire has been hollowed out by these corrupt officials.”

Ge Liangji laughed, “The corrupt officials Your Majesty is talking about, I’m one of them.”

Emperor Tongxu was stunned, “That’s true.”

Shen Yu was lying on the roof, listening carefully. She had broken a small hole in the roof tiles, just enough to see everything below.

This was the first time she had seen Emperor Tongxu. He was completely different from the image she had in her mind. He looked no different from an ordinary old man, even more tired and haggard.

The conversation below continued.

“I’m a miserable emperor.” Emperor Tongxu took a sip of strong tea to refresh himself, “Although I’m the emperor, I’m just like you, I can’t do as I please. Sometimes, it’s not that I want to do this, but the situation forces me to do it.”

“When I took over the Da Zhou empire from the previous Emperor, it was already in ruins. I was once full of ambition and thought I could make a difference. But after a lifetime of toil, I’ve only solved one of the five evils.”

Fratricide, eunuch power struggles, corrupt officials running rampant, internal party strife, and external enemies were the five evils.

Emperor Tongxu had solved the problem of eunuchs, which was already a remarkable achievement.

“Six of my sons died in fratricide, six!” Emperor Tongxu’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Now only a few of them are left. Jifeng is fine like this. I envy him. He’s the most carefree prince. Zhaonian is benevolent. It’s both good and bad for an emperor to be too benevolent. If he had been born in a peaceful era, he would have been a good emperor. But he was born at the wrong time. This broken empire needs an emperor with determination. The Crown Prince is determined and capable, but… never mind.”

Ge Liangji said, “That’s still better than me. Now my children and family members are either exiled or forced into prostitution.”

They talked until dawn, just like old friends reminiscing, and they didn’t mention any key information.

Except for Emperor Tongxu’s “never mind.”

What was hidden behind that helpless “never mind”? Was it related to the Yanliang Guan case?