The Child Emperor-Chapter 329: An Unusual Night

Hua Bin felt he had truly grown old. Recalling his youth – the fine clothes and spirited horses, the swift vengeance and gratification – he felt nothing at all. It was like a legend that had happened to someone else, and a foolish legend at that. The Marquis Junyang from years past had been completely unaware that he was wasting his time and energy.

He drank a cup of wine and sighed. A smile appeared at the corner of Hua Bin’s mouth. “Nothing more than this,” he said. “Nothing more than this,” he said again.

Outside, the sky had already darkened. The few soldiers in the Honor Guard Battalion had retired early. Hua Bin poured and drank alone, his mood serene, vaguely feeling like he was a worldly sage who had seen through the coldness and warmth of human nature.

But Jincheng was certainly not “beyond the world.”

Someone pushed open the door and entered uninvited. Seeing Hua Bin, he stepped forward several paces, dropped to his knees with a thud, and called out excitedly, “Father.”

Hua Bin gently shook his head. After all, he was not a worldly sage – he had countless ties to this world, and the young man before him was the most important thread.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“When Father is in danger, heroes throughout the realm rise up to rescue you. How could I stand aside?” Hua Huwang became even more excited, raising his head to examine carefully. “I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to worry, but tonight we can leave Jincheng. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Hua Bin very much wanted to remind his son that there had never been any so-called “heroes throughout the realm.” The pugilist world was a general term that encompassed all kinds of people. The heroes each harbored different intentions and could never “rise up” together to accomplish one thing. But thinking of how he himself had been making the same mistake for decades, he didn’t want to say more.

“How are the preparations going?”

“Everything’s ready. We enter the prince’s residence at the first quarter of the second watch. If all goes smoothly, we can be out in a quarter hour. We leave the city promptly at the third watch, and there are people waiting to receive us three miles outside the city – that’s all been arranged too.”

Hua Bin nodded.

“Can that woman be trusted?” Hua Huwang couldn’t help but ask.

“She’s a descendant of Chen Qi, with Righteous Isle vouching for her. Her poisoning of the Emperor has been confirmed…” Though he said this, Hua Bin didn’t trust Meng E. After seeing his son Hua Huwang, he felt even more that being cautious was correct. “Tonight’s plan must be delayed.”

“But…” Hua Huwang was startled.

“Only delayed a short while – three quarters of an hour.”

“But the people waiting outside the city…”

“It’s fine to let them wait a while.” Hua Bin had always had a plan in his mind that he would execute even if his son didn’t appear. “First let others scout the path for us, and also test whether Meng E can be trusted. If anything unexpected happens, you leave immediately and absolutely don’t come back to find me.”

“Father…”

Hua Bin’s expression became stern. “We father and son cannot both be trapped here. After leaving the city, immediately have the Xiongnu attack the city – there’s still time to save my life. If you hesitate for a moment, neither of us will live to see tomorrow morning.”

“Yes.” Hua Huwang had no choice but to agree.

“Go. Prince Donghai also lives in the prince’s residence, and the guard isn’t strict. If you can’t assassinate the Emperor, then send someone to kill Prince Donghai. That would give the Xiongnu something to account for. They might not know about the brothers’ struggle, so they should be quite pleased upon hearing it’s the Emperor’s brother.”

“Yes.” Hua Huwang had formerly been friends with Prince Donghai, but now he didn’t argue for him at all. He rose and withdrew from the room, hurriedly left the Honor Guard Battalion, and met with several companions on the street. They lived nearby and could observe both the Prince Dai’s residence and the Honor Guard Battalion.

There were no ambushes around. It appeared the Emperor knew nothing about what would happen tonight.

Han Ruzi indeed knew very little, because Meng E also couldn’t extract the full content of the plan. She only knew one thing: tonight someone would come to take the Emperor’s head, then flee Jincheng overnight with both the head and Hua Bin.

Han Ruzi was somewhat puzzled by this plan. “Since the pugilists rescuing Hua Bin want to poison me, why do they also want to take my head?”

“Poisoning was their initial plan, meant to create chaos so they could rescue Hua Bin in the confusion. They didn’t expect the Xiongnu to surround Jincheng. Now they’ve colluded with the Xiongnu and must bring Your Majesty’s head out of the city to receive the Xiongnu’s assistance.”

“Heh, don’t the Xiongnu want to use me to lure reinforcements from various places anymore?”

“I’m not quite sure. I suspect there are also divisions within the Xiongnu – some want to besiege without attacking, others want a quick decisive battle.”

Meng E’s speculation made some sense. The Eastern and Western Xiongnu had only unified last year, so internal strife was quite normal. Han Ruzi hoped that the envoy Qiao Wanfu, who had already left the city, could find the right person to negotiate with.

As night deepened, Meng E said, “I should go receive the assassin now. Your Majesty, please be careful.”

Han Ruzi grunted in acknowledgment, and Meng E turned and left the room.

Meng E had proposed to Hua Bin that she “assassinate” the Emperor herself, but Hua Bin had refused, insisting on sending his own assassin. Meng E only needed to guide the assassin into the Emperor’s bedchamber. As for the specific timing, he had not revealed it, so Meng E had to guard the meeting point throughout the entire night.

Gaining Hua Bin’s trust was difficult; drawing out those pugilists hiding in the city was even more difficult.

Han Ruzi sat by the window, his mind focused not on the approaching assassin, but on the Great Chanyu, whose whereabouts remained unknown.

The door opened, and Guard Captain Wang He quietly entered, saying in a low voice, “Your Majesty, everything has been arranged. For safety’s sake, should Your Majesty perhaps…”

“We will remain here.”

Wang He had no choice but to say, “I’ll stay by Your Majesty’s side. The men outside will act when I give the signal.”

“Mm.” Han Ruzi indeed needed a guard by his side.

The room had no lamps lit, and the two men sat and stood in darkness. After a while, Han Ruzi asked with some curiosity, “What do the guards use to signal?”

“Special porcelain whistles,” Wang He immediately replied.

“We had a porcelain whistle when We were young,” Han Ruzi said with a slight smile.

Wang He was surprised by the Emperor’s composure. “Our whistles are somewhat special – they can produce different sounds. Tonight we’ve chosen bird calls that only guards can distinguish.”

“Good.” Han Ruzi pointed at the window paper. “How should we monitor the situation on the other side?”

Wang He stepped forward. “Your Majesty, please move aside for a moment.”

Han Ruzi stood and moved to one side. Wang He took out a dagger, held it with both hands, and gently cut a circle in the window paper, creating a small round hole. He immediately put away the dagger and stepped back several paces. “Your Majesty, please return.”

Han Ruzi sat back on the stool, leaning close to the window. One eye aligned perfectly with the small hole in the window paper, allowing him to see the bedchamber diagonally across – his bedchamber, the place the assassin would target.

“How will you monitor?” Han Ruzi asked.

“I’ll stand by the door.”

“Do what you need to do. You don’t need to constantly guard by Our side.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Wang He retreated to the doorway, peering outside with one eye while occasionally glancing at the Emperor with the other. In the darkness, the Emperor’s figure was just a vague shape, like a large vase placed by the window.

For Wang He, capturing the assassin was secondary; his most important duty was protecting the Emperor’s safety.

The Emperor trusted that female guard too much, which made Wang He deeply uneasy.

Time passed bit by bit. Neither man spoke as they quietly observed across the way. The courtyard was empty, with only the occasional patrolling guard passing through quickly without lingering.

Near the second watch, Chief Overseer Liu Jie emerged from his room with a lamp-carrying eunuch, checking everywhere. He was a conscientious and responsible man who couldn’t rest easy without looking around.

He nearly ruined the Emperor’s plan.

Han Ruzi had secretly left his bedchamber before dark, hiding in an uninhabited room in the eastern wing. Zhang Youcai knew about this, but Liu Jie did not. He had been sent away to fetch something at the time and had handed it over to Zhang Youcai upon his return.

Han Ruzi had no idea the Chief Overseer would be so thorough. Liu Jie checked every room – those with occupants had to be barred from inside, while those without occupants he would push open to look inside.

The two eunuchs drew closer and closer. Wang He didn’t know what to do. Han Ruzi didn’t want to startle Liu Jie, so he stood up, walked to the door in a few steps, and pressed himself against the wall. Wang He stood on the other side.

Liu Jie pushed open the door, and the other eunuch extended the lantern inside, illuminating half the room.

Liu Jie stood in the doorway, looked around, closed the door, and continued checking other rooms.

Wang He breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor’s choice had actually been simple, and the process of avoiding Liu Jie had been without incident, but precisely because he was the Emperor, everything was completely different. Wang He increasingly felt this Emperor was extraordinary.

Han Ruzi sat back on the stool and continued watching through the window.

Liu Jie’s room was right next to the Emperor’s bedchamber. After completing his rounds, he returned to his room to sleep peacefully. For him, this night was perfectly ordinary.

Han Ruzi had been sleeping these past few days, though he wasn’t actually tired—he was simply bored. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait too long before the assassin finally appeared.

What surprised Han Ruzi was that the assassin wasn’t someone Meng E had brought in from outside, but rather emerged from a room in the west wing. The figure stood under the covered walkway for a while, then silently made their way toward the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Despite the weak moonlight, Han Ruzi could still recognize that it was Zhang Qinyan.

According to Meng E’s understanding, the Zhang father and daughter were not allied with Hua Bin. They had remained by the Emperor’s side for another purpose—a long-term purpose that didn’t seek immediate success.

Yet Zhang Qinyan had suddenly appeared on this very night. Was she trying to seduce the Emperor, or had she been persuaded by Hua Bin to assassinate him?

Han Ruzi didn’t know the answer, and he suspected Meng E didn’t either. She was waiting outside the residence for another assassin and had no idea what was happening inside.

Wang He didn’t think so much. In his eyes, anyone could be suspicious, so he placed the porcelain whistle at his lips. As soon as the zither player pushed open the door, he would blow the whistle and catch the assassin red-handed.

“Wait,” Han Ruzi said in an extremely quiet voice.

“Hmm?” Wang He exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“This is a test. The real assassin hasn’t arrived yet,” Han Ruzi said with certainty.

Wang He was slightly stunned. “Once she goes in, she’ll discover His Majesty isn’t there…”

Han Ruzi remained silent for a moment, then said, “There’s someone on the bed. She might not be able to tell if it’s real or fake.”

Wang He was stunned again. It turned out the Emperor’s preparations were more thorough than he had imagined. There was one question he didn’t ask: if the zither player was indeed the assassin, then whoever was lying in the Emperor’s bed would become a scapegoat.

Wang He didn’t care, and while Han Ruzi cared a little, he had to take this risk. Tonight he not only needed to catch the assassin but also get Deng Cui out of the city. These two matters were closely related.

Zhang Qinyan stopped in front of the Emperor’s bedchamber door. Han Ruzi couldn’t see clearly what she was doing, but the experienced Wang He could roughly guess. He said in an equally quiet voice, “She’s spraying sleeping drugs into the room. How does she have such things?”

Han Ruzi could guess from whom she had obtained them. Hua Bin was an old fox, using Zhang Qinyan to test for traps.

Han Ruzi smiled coldly without making a sound. He didn’t consider Hua Bin an opponent at all. If it weren’t for the need to get Deng Cui away, he wouldn’t even have bothered setting up this ambush.

Zhang Qinyan slipped into the Emperor’s bedchamber. Wang He stared without blinking, but Han Ruzi had already turned his gaze away, his mind still thinking about the Great Chanyu.

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