Chapter 101: Fame and Fortune, Love and Hate

In the quiet inner prison's secret chamber, Jin Zhu crushed the wine cup in his hand, letting the blue and white glaze shards pierce his palm and draw blood.

He slowly loosened his grip, allowing the porcelain shards, mixed with blood, to fall onto the table. "Young Doctor Chen," he began, "my Mishi Division has never been a benevolent place. When outsiders call us arrogant, overbearing, sinister, and vicious, I never argue, because that's exactly what we are. Whether it's me, or Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, we must first climb over the corpses of our colleagues before we can step on the corpses of others to exact our revenge."

Jin Zhu calmly wiped the blood from his hands with a white cloth from the Eight Immortals table. "So," he continued leisurely, "whether you resent me or hate me, you'll have to wait until you climb to my position before you can do anything about it. Don't worry, I won't hinder your promotion. As long as you help me annihilate the entire Liu family, our promise will remain valid forever."

Chen Ji stated seriously, "Lord Jin Zhu, I can understand you."

Jin Zhu calmly replied, "You cannot understand."

Yet, Chen Ji truly did understand.

When Chen Ji hid in Liu Family Village, he knew he couldn't hide for long. What was meant to come would always come.

Jin Zhu!

He saw Jin Zhu in the bustling crowd, smiling as he waved to him, signaling him to follow. Then, without a word, he turned and melted back into the crowd.

He knew what it felt like to seek revenge for his parents: you first had to turn yourself into a madman, then sink endlessly into a world of paranoia, never finding release.

After a moment's thought, Chen Ji said, "Lord Jin Zhu, I can help you get your revenge."

The next second, Jin Zhu's expression changed, and he smiled benignly. "That would be excellent, truly excellent."

He stood on a chair, unbound Chen Ji's chains, helped him sit down, and offered him chopsticks and a wine cup. "As long as you're willing to help me, you'll be like my own brother."

Everyone in the Mishi Division was like a madman, their expressions changing in an instant. As long as there was a common interest, any past grievances could be temporarily set aside.

Chen Ji sat silently at the table.

Seeing that he wasn't touching his chopsticks, Jin Zhu proactively placed a piece of braised pork into his bowl. "I know you're also someone who holds grudges. It doesn't matter. As long as the entire Liu family is dead, you can seek your revenge on me however you wish. You want to clear the suspicions of the Young Lord and the Princess, right? We can both get what we want. I just need the Liu family dead; everyone else can be ignored."

Chen Ji still did not reply.

Jin Zhu smiled. "You already consider the Young Lord and the Princess as friends, don't you?"

Chen Ji shook his head. "No, we're just using each other."

Jin Zhu laughed heartily. "No need to deny it; I see things as clearly as a mirror."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, then turned to Bai Li and said, "Princess, you two should head back first. I just remembered I have some other matters to attend to."

With that, he jumped off the flatbed cart and followed Jin Zhu's retreating figure.

Liu Qu Xing, sitting on the cart, shouted to Chen Ji's back, "Hey, is that just an excuse to avoid treating us? We're still going to Yinxian Tower later! Be back soon!"

Chen Ji picked up the wine cup and drained the yellow wine. "Then I need not say more. I will help the Young Lord and the Princess clear their names, and I wish you, sir, swift vengeance."

Jin Zhu beamed. "Excellent, excellent, that's more like it. Why hide when we can be frank with each other?"

But Chen Ji did not reply.

He looked calm, watching Jin Zhu's retreating figure, which appeared and disappeared in the crowd.

Jin Zhu's steps never stopped. He led Chen Ji around countless street corners until pedestrians grew sparse. Only then did he stop and turn in a dead-end alley.

Chen Ji put down his wine cup, looked at Jin Zhu, and suddenly asked, "Lord Jin Zhu, how long after your sister's death did the Grand Eunuch appear?"

Jin Zhu took a mouthful of food. "You're actually asking if the Grand Eunuch knew of the Liu family's scheme to seize power from the very beginning, yet did nothing, letting my entire family die tragically, and then took me under his wing when my hatred was at its peak?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Jin Zhu scoffed. "The Grand Eunuch is precisely such a sinister and vicious person. Otherwise, why would everyone call him the Poisonous Eunuch? The Grand Eunuch acts without scruple to achieve his goals. He once told me that there are only two sharpest things in the world: fame and fortune. He also told me that there are only two emotions best to exploit: the first is hatred."

"And the second?"

"Love!"

Chen Ji was startled.

Jin Zhu poured a cup of wine for Chen Ji, then filled a fresh cup for himself. He raised his cup across the table. "The Grand Eunuch's methods are ruthless. He transferred me to Luocheng, ensuring that I would inevitably be locked in a death feud with the Liu family. Is this a conspiracy? No, it's an open plot. With love and hatred as bait, even if you know he's using you, you have no way to give up."

He smiled. "The Mishi Division raises secret agents like raising venomous insects. Everyone carries a grudge as if everyone carries poison. Colleagues are constantly vying with each other. It's fine for newly joined junior agents, but agents above the Haidongqing rank have absolutely no trust in each other. Do you think I don't want to escape such a tiring life? But how could I leave before my great revenge is exacted?"

Chen Ji was surprised. "Lord Jin Zhu doesn't care?"

Chen Ji stopped walking. "Sir, why did you lead me to this dead-end alley?"

Jin Zhu looked at him, smiling, without speaking. The next moment, a carriage suddenly stopped at the alley entrance behind Chen Ji, completely blocking it.

The wind whistled, and before Chen Ji could react, someone struck him on the neck with a hand chop, knocking him unconscious.

Jin Zhu smiled. "It's not that I don't care, but that the Grand Eunuch doesn't care whether I care. That's his brilliance. Even if I come to hate him, I still have to do as he says."

Chen Ji suddenly felt that Jin Zhu admired the Grand Eunuch, revered him like a father, yet also hated him.

Hatred and reverence intertwined, had become a gray emotion that even he could not distinguish.

He put down his wine cup. "Lord Jin Zhu, I will assist you in finding evidence against the Liu family. Can I leave now?"

Jin Zhu also put down his wine cup, his smile gradually fading. "Are you still in a hurry to attend the banquet at Yinxian Tower? Don't be. You can't leave until there's progress. If you truly want to help the Young Lord and the Princess clear their names, then quickly find a way to apprehend the real traitors. The innocent will be cleared; if they are blameless, they naturally won't fear investigation."

The inner prison's secret chamber fell silent again. Chen Ji and Jin Zhu looked at each other.

However, at that very moment, in his line of sight, he saw a stout figure standing on the street, smiling and observing him.

That figure was like a great bell, waking him from a beautiful dream.

Just as the rising sun must set, even the most beautiful dream must end.

A moment later, Chen Ji slowly asked, "What clues do you currently have, sir, that you can share with me?"

Jin Zhu sat back opposite the table, and after a moment's thought, said, "It's shameful to admit, but following the clues from the Craftsmen's Bureau, I caught a few moles in the Grand Canal Gang. After interrogation, I learned there was a transaction at the Jin Workshop in Hongyi Alley, but the news leaked. I set up multiple ambushes at the Yuzhou border, hoping to capture that Jing Dynasty rogue using firearms, but he still escaped. Now, I want to find leverage against the Liu family, but they're like a hidden turtle, not moving at all, leaving me no way to act."

Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji. "To be frank, repeated setbacks have caused me significant scrutiny in the Directorate of Ceremonial. Even I'm starting to lose confidence. I firmly believe in one thing: do successful things with successful people. You were able to seize leverage against the Liu family before, and I'm sure you can do it again this time."

"Do you have all the recent case files?"

"Yes!"

Jin Zhu left and returned shortly with a thick stack of scrolls.

After quickly flipping through them, Chen Ji looked up and asked, "Lord Jin Zhu, only the Liu family?"

Chen Ji had a dream.

He dreamed that under the beautiful twilight glow, he was still sitting on that old ox cart, with his friends beside him.

Everyone was eating sweet oranges, and the orange-red breeze stirred everyone's hair, as Bai Li smiled and softly sang a ballad.

But as darkness slowly fell, two people jumped off the end of the flatbed cart.

"Only the Liu family!"

Chen Ji then asked, "What time is it now?"

It was just turning dark, in the hour of You.

"Where is Liu Ming Xian, the prefect of Luocheng, right now?"

"Yinxian Tower!"

Chen Ji was surprised. Liu Ming Xian was also at Yinxian Tower?

Jin Zhu explained, "Tonight, Liu Ming Xian's old subordinate, who has been promoted to Magistrate of Yanshi County, is hosting a banquet at Yinxian Tower to thank Liu Ming Xian for his patronage."

Chen Ji stood up and walked out. "Prepare horses. We'll go to Yinxian Tower to find him."

They stood, turned, bowed, and smiled at Chen Ji on the cart, saying, "Until we meet again."

The cart did not stop, and Chen Ji could only watch his friends disappear into the night behind him.

When those two were out of sight, three more jumped off the cart, bowed, and said with a smile, "Until we meet again."

His friends jumped off the cart one by one, bidding farewell, like a play ending and the audience dispersing.

Jin Zhu followed him out, a little confused. "Go directly to him? Do you mean to 'pinch grass to beat a rabbit'? First, pressure him, then observe his movements? That's a good way to expose him, but it's too aggressive."

Even Bai Li complained, "The eunuch faction is arrogant and truly detestable."

Chen Ji remained silent. Though not by choice, he was indeed a member of the eunuch faction now.

He was caught in the rift between Prince Jing's Residence and the eunuch faction, unsure how to navigate between both sides successfully.

Chen Ji said, "No, I am a conservative person."

"You, conservative?"

Chen Ji walked along the long, dim corridor of the inner prison, softly saying, "I think 'pinching grass to beat a rabbit' is still too conservative."