Chapter 10

Jingzhe's original name was Cen Wenjing, and he was nineteen years old this year.

Coincidentally, because he was born on the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects), his nickname at home was also Jingzhe.

Xiangyang and Fancheng are not far, but it took several months to go back and forth, plus the investigation time, for a reason.

The Cen family's ancestral home was in Xiangyang and Fancheng. Jingzhe's father, Cen Xuan, was once a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. His mother, Liu, was a commoner. They had two children in total.

The eldest son was Jingzhe, and the youngest daughter was Cen Liang.

Twelve years ago, a corruption case was uncovered in the Ministry of Revenue. Cen Xuan was implicated. Due to lax supervision and accepting bribes, he was charged with multiple crimes, and his entire family, old and young, was raided.

Cen Xuan's parents had already passed away. The Cen family was originally a family of commoners, and it was only with Cen Xuan that they began to show signs of prosperity. However, before they could establish themselves in the capital, something happened.

Cen Xuan was beheaded, the female relatives were sent to the Jiaofang Division (a government agency for entertainment), and Cen Wenjing was castrated and sent to the imperial court. On the day he was escorted to the Jiaofang Division, Liu found an opportunity and jumped into the river with Cen Liang, and their bodies were never found.

After Cen Wenjing entered the palace, the eunuch who raised him changed his name to Jingzhe. When he was ten years old, when various palaces were selecting new recruits, he actively recommended himself to Chen Mingde. Chen Mingde eventually took him in, and Jingzhe has lived in the North House ever since.

Jingzhe's past deeds were very clear, and even without sending people to investigate, he was clean.

Ning Hongru still remembered that Emperor Jingyuan's interest in Jingzhe began a few months ago.

That day happened to be the death anniversary of Empress Dowager Cisheng.

Every year at this time, Ning Hongru was very worried, fearing that some ignorant person would offend the emperor at this time. Emperor Jingyuan had a bad temper, and once he flared up, who knew if anyone would survive?

The entire imperial city was ancient, decaying, and steeped in obscure memories. Those within it were easily swallowed by it, or they would sink with it, becoming silent, boring monsters.

Emperor Jingyuan was a beast nurtured in this ancient city. When he ascended the throne, his tyrannical nature brought only destruction.

However, the king holding the scepter sat on the throne, his body, solidified by resentment and blood feud, was filled with coldness, more like a solidified stone statue, silently decaying.

Ning Hongru revered this silently spreading deathly silence. A slight approach felt as if he was being dragged by this brutal gloom, easily torn to shreds.

He stood by Emperor Jingyuan's side, trembling, watching the stone statue on the throne day after day.

"Go and investigate which people from Chenghuan Palace were on duty today."

On the day of the death anniversary, Emperor Jingyuan, who finally appeared, said, casually wiping his fingers.

Crimson blood, like smeared fuel, seeped into the cracks. The vivid color burned on his pale white skin. For a moment, Ning Hongru thought that the silent stone statue seemed to have come alive.

"Also, go and investigate a young eunuch named Jingzhe from the North House."

Emperor Jingyuan had developed an interest in someone or something.

For Ning Hongru, this was, of course, a good thing.

He was afraid that His Majesty would continue to be so heartless and emotionless that even approaching him would freeze him. But for the person, or thing, favored by Emperor Jingyuan, it might not be a good thing.

Because everyone who made Emperor Jingyuan feel "interesting" did not end well.

Jingzhe entered the palace at the age of seven. The reason for his entry, the people involved, and how he got to the North House... all these details were quickly presented on the emperor's desk.

Emperor Jingyuan's finger tapped on a name.

"Chen An?"

He was the head eunuch responsible for this group of young eunuchs the year Jingzhe entered the palace.

Ning Hongru bowed: "Chen An died of a sudden illness two years ago." His mind raced, and he immediately knew why the emperor was asking this. He then added, "Every year on Chen An's birthday, Jingzhe would send him a gift. Their relationship has always been good."

"Investigate Chen An," Emperor Jingyuan said first, then added, "And send someone to Xiangyang and Fancheng."

Ning Hongru immediately agreed.

He just didn't expect that this investigation, going back and forth, would take so much time, and indeed, something was found.

Ning Hongru recalled the name that appeared on the document today, frowning slightly.

Huang Qingtian.

The current Minister of Revenue, the Empress Dowager's biological elder brother.

After the Cen family's incident, the entire family, old and young, were imprisoned. At this critical juncture, Huang Qingtian had also sent someone to Xiangyang and Fancheng. Now, the Cen family's former residences and fields in the capital and Xiangyang and Fancheng were all under the name of Huang Qingtian's wife, Xu.

In Ning Hongru's opinion, Huang Qingtian would not go to such great lengths to seize these few lands; he had plenty of money and means. So why did he do this... that was worth discussing.

But in the end, whether to investigate or not, it all depended on what Emperor Jingyuan thought.

After all, His Majesty had not yet seen the document sent from Xiangyang and Fancheng today.

And this person had not yet come out of the room.

Ning Hongru silently stamped his foot and changed his posture.

He looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

It was now midnight.

Inside the room, Jingzhe tossed and turned restlessly in bed. He frowned slightly, as if having a nightmare. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was unusually hot.

The friction between his skin and the fabric brought a strange stinging pain. The occasional discomfort almost made him strip off his clothes in his dream, until his parched throat woke him up, and he opened his eyes in a daze.

So thirsty.

His throat felt like it was burning.

Jingzhe struggled to get up, stumbling in the dim room, and fumbled his way to the table.

The teapot on the table was already cold, but he didn't care at all. He eagerly picked up the teapot and poured half a pot of tea liquid down, chilling his burning internal organs.

Jingzhe dropped the teapot. An abnormal heat boiled within him. He tore open his collar, revealing a bit of bare skin. His bewildered eyes were misty, and he desperately tried to gather his fragmented sanity, barely grasping the tabletop.

...No...

The frantic heat burned his sanity, making Jingzhe's thoughts feel as if they were behind a hazy mist... In this empty room, his body shouldn't be so... uncontrollable...

Something...

Jingzhe looked up at the dark room.

He shouldn't have seen it.

"Attention" is an invisible, rootless existence, especially for those who are good at lurking, they are even more skilled in this.

However, if the gaze itself is the source of soul-stirring desire, then even a tiny bit is a burning desire.

Jingzhe stood up, supporting himself on the table. His hazy eyes looked into the depths of the corner, meeting a pair of deep, eerie pupils.

"...I..."

Even speaking was difficult for him, with a hint of bewildered struggle.

Jingzhe stepped on the cold floor, his bare toes tinged with the chill of winter. The icy touch could not bring back his boiling sanity, and he stumbled towards the darkness.

He fell onto a cold body.

That was also cold.

Cold as a solidified stone statue.

Whether it was the arm or the firm chest, both exuded a stiff lifelessness. Even Jingzhe, who had just gulped down half a pot of cold tea, was stunned by the cold.

He propped himself on the chest, dazed for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.

Turning his ear, his drooping head rested against the stone statue's chest.

Thump—

Thump-thump—

He heard a heartbeat.

In Jingzhe's blurred consciousness, this hard stone statue instantly melted into a human, gaining a touch of humanity.

He felt inexplicably wronged, yet also somewhat relaxed. His slender, cold fingers slowly, slowly touched the other's face, until they covered those hawk-like eyes. Only then did he relax.

Like prey escaping from a hunt, he gained a moment to breathe.

"Don't look at me..."

Jingzhe murmured. The burning heat made it impossible to distinguish between dream and reality.

His trembling fingers barely managed to cover the gaze that was like a curse, like a shadow. He let out an unconscious, almost sobbing plea. Naked as a pure newborn infant, yet performing the most wanton and ambiguous seduction.

"...Close your eyes..."

Jingzhe vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He shouldn't be in such intimate contact with someone else... or rather, he hadn't felt skin-to-skin contact for a long time... it was very... strange... but his tired body and mind could no longer resist. His head fell weakly onto the broad shoulder.

After a long time, a large hand stroked his hot, sweaty neck, making Jingzhe, who was struggling in pain, faint.

He was like a startled, tired bird, finally landing on a rootless tree.

Clinging to that fragmented, uneasy familiarity, he rested wearily.