Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Looking at Zhao Jiu standing so close, Chen Da’s legs went weak. If Zhao Jiu had not sealed his acupoints and left him unable to move, he would already have dropped to his knees.

“M-my lord, w-we can’t read,” Chen Da said aggrievedly.

What did it matter whether Zhao Jiu had left them messages if they could not read them? Chen Da had assumed they were random scribbles left by some foolish brat.

Fuck! All that effort for nothing!

Zhao Jiu had thought these two were simply stubborn blockheads. It turned out they were illiterate.

Goddamn it! Couldn’t employers raise their basic entry requirements? These two were seriously dragging down the quality of the service industry!

Zhao Jiu was extremely displeased.

He patted Chen Da’s shoulder. His tone was mild, but the threat within it was unmistakable.

“You’d better give me a convincing reason. Otherwise, even if I don’t want to kill you, my foot might.”

“M-my lord, someone hired us. They paid us to… make trouble for you…”

After speaking, Chen Da added, “Preferably by beating you up…”

What?

Make trouble for me?

Zhao Jiu’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in disbelief.

Wasn’t this only his second visit to the Capital? Someone already found him unpleasant enough to have him beaten?

And they planned to do it with these two street thugs?

Was this for real?

“Do you know who I am? You still dared make trouble for me? Are you sure you didn’t find the wrong man?”

“No, there’s no mistake. That person showed us both who you were. It was definitely you, my lord,” Chen Da hurriedly replied.

He had only acted because someone hired him. It was not as if he had personally wanted to cause Zhao Jiu trouble.

This truly broadened Zhao Jiu’s horizons.

He had met arrogant people before, but never anyone arrogant enough to make trouble for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Who did that person think he was, Ding Xiu?

Even someone at the absolute ceiling of combat strength needed leverage before taking on the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Yet this fellow had charged straight in.

Heh. Brave!

Zhao Jiu pulled off his Embroidered Uniform Guard Waist Token and held it before Chen Da’s.

“See it clearly? You’ve got quite some nerve, making trouble for me!”

When Chen Da saw the words “Northern Division” on the Embroidered Uniform Guard Waist Token, cold sweat poured from him. In moments, he looked as though he had been caught in a downpour.

“My lord, it wasn’t me! I was only paid to do a job. This has nothing to do with me…”

“Heh.”

Zhao Jiu put away his Waist Token and sneered.

“Do you think it’ll be that simple just because you say it has nothing to do with you?”

“Under the law, assassinating an officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is punishable by penal tattooing and exile for three thousand li. Do you want to explain yourself here, or in the Imperial Prison?”

At the words “Imperial Prison,” Chen Da nearly pissed himself.

If he had known Zhao Jiu possessed such an identity, why the fuck would he have made trouble for him? He would have thanked Heaven if Zhao Jiu did not make trouble for him!

He hurriedly defended himself.

“It truly wasn’t my idea! How would someone like me dare make trouble for the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Someone paid us brothers ten taels of silver to pick a fight with you.”

Hearing Chen Da’s voice nearly crack with fear, Zhao Jiu sneered.

“Lies? Keep making them up. I can just as easily say that you tried to assassinate this official.”

“My lord, you can’t twist right and wrong and falsely accuse me…”

“Twist right and wrong?” Zhao Jiu scoffed. “If I say that’s what happened, then that’s what happened. Let’s see whether they believe you or me. Once you reach the Imperial Prison, we’ll see whether you still think I’m twisting right and wrong!”

Zhao Jiu deliberately spoke harshly to frighten Chen Da. People were more likely to tell the truth when gripped by extreme terror.

By the time Chen Da finished listening, all three souls and seven spirits had nearly fled his body.

If he was taken to the Imperial Prison, he would be on Zhao Jiu’s territory. Whether he died or not was another matter, but losing a layer of skin was guaranteed.

Chen Da no longer cared about the code of Jianghu.

“I know who wanted to make trouble for you, my lord! I know!”

“Who?”

Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Zhao Jiu stopped frightening him. A gentler approach would make the truth easier to hear now.

“I don’t know exactly who it was. I followed the man, and he entered a Princess’s Residence. I truly don’t know his exact identity.”

Afraid that Zhao Jiu would not believe him, Chen Da hurriedly swore an oath.

“Every word I’ve spoken is true. If even one word is false, may lightning strike me dead!”

In this era, oaths were still reasonably trustworthy. It was not like later generations, when someone could have lightning crashing down on their head and still swear that their love would never change.

Seeing Chen Da willing to go that far, Zhao Jiu believed him somewhat.

He had thought he had offended some Duke or Marquis. Unexpectedly, it was merely someone from a Princess’s Residence.

The Princess herself was probably not involved. Zhao Jiu had never even met a Princess, much less offended one.

Besides, if a Princess wanted to deal with him, why would she hire two street thugs? Wouldn’t it be simpler to approach the Emperor or Lu Wenyu directly?

If the person had entered a Princess’s Residence but was not the Princess, that left only the Prince Consort.

No matter how far a Duke or Marquis had fallen, he would not covet a position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Wasn’t the Imperial Forest Guard good enough? What about the Capital Garrison or the Palace Guard?

Even if they did not want a military post, what was wrong with the Five Courts or the Censorate?

Their fathers or grandfathers merely needed to petition the Emperor and call in a favor. Only someone with something wrong in his head would squeeze into a dead-end organization like the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Only a Prince Consort could not afford to be choosy.

To put it pleasantly, a Prince Consort was the Son of Heaven’s son-in-law. To put it bluntly, he was merely a live-in son-in-law—and one with no prospects at that.

Once he entered the Princess’s Residence, he would immediately be dumped into the Censorate, given a Seventh-Rank post as an Investigating Censor, and granted the Fifth-Rank honorary title of Grand Master for Governance.

What prospects did that offer?

An Investigating Censor might possess the considerable authority to submit accusations based on hearsay, but unfortunately, the current Emperor did not attend court.

Who was the Prince Consort supposed to submit his memorials to? The Grand Secretariat?

He had better be careful, or they might withhold his memorial without action for the next hundred years.

Now that an influential Lower Fourth-Rank Pacification Commissioner position had become vacant within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Prince Consort must have pounced on it like a starving wolf.

He had probably paid an Assistant Commander to secure the position, only for Zhao Jiu to parachute in and occupy it, leaving all his efforts for nothing.

Unable to accept the outcome, he could only hire two street thugs to humiliate Zhao Jiu.

After piecing together the likely cause, Zhao Jiu sighed.

Instead of making trouble for the person who took your money, you came after me. You thought I was easier to bully, didn’t you?

“That was quite an oath. Now I have no choice but to believe you,” Zhao Jiu said.

“I wouldn’t dare speak a single false word.”

After taking some time to recover, Chen Da was finally less afraid. He no longer stammered whenever he spoke.

Zhao Jiu knew that Chen Da was telling the truth, but he still needed some insurance.

“You know what I do for a living. Once I return, I’ll have someone investigate. If the truth differs from what you’ve told me—heh—don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Knowing what the consequences would be, Chen Da nodded repeatedly. He feared that even a moment’s hesitation would land him and his brother in the Imperial Prison.

“Which Princess’s Residence?” Zhao Jiu asked indifferently.

The current Emperor might have only one son, but he had plenty of daughters. Investigating them one by one would be exhausting. It was easier to ask directly.

“The Seventh Princess’s Residence! The Seventh Princess’s Residence in Pocket Alley. I couldn’t have mistaken it.”

Chen Da had lived in the Capital since childhood. Although he could not recognize every residence belonging to a high official or noble, he knew most of them.

Good.

Now that everything had been clearly explained, Zhao Jiu did not make things more difficult for the brothers.

They were merely street thugs paid to perform a job. Arguing with people like them was a pure waste of time.

His fingers moved several times, unsealing their acupoints.

THUD! THUD!

The two men hurriedly dropped to their knees and shouted, “My lord, spare our lives!”

“As long as you know right from wrong, I won’t make trouble for you or take your lives. But keep your mouths shut. If the two of you can’t control your tongues, I’ll make sure you can never speak again.”

Zhao Jiu smiled sinisterly and allowed the two men to leave.

The Prince Consort, was it?

You played dirty first, so don’t blame me for paying you back in kind!