The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 691 - 653: Thief (Second Update)

Eunuch Sanbao’s face was shadowed, "Who is threatening you?"

The young eunuch said, "I don’t know the person behind it, but the one who contacted us was a young palace maid with an unfamiliar face, I don’t know which palace she belongs to."

Eunuch Sanbao suspiciously looked at him, "You haven’t even seen what the master behind the scenes looks like?"

The young eunuch shook his head, "No, the other side hides too well."

He looked at Eunuch Sanbao with teary eyes, "If we weren’t threatened, how could we dare to attack a palace maid in broad daylight at Qingfang Palace? Eunuch Sanbao, please understand, we were left with no choice!"

Eunuch Sanbao remained silent, looking at the eunuch behind him, "What about you? What do you know?"

That eunuch shook his head repeatedly, "What I know is the same as what Xiao Anzi knows, as for anything else, I have no idea."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Sanbao fell into silence.

The eunuch who had his tongue burned fainted, and the two prison guards walked to Eunuch Sanbao and asked him, "Do you want to deal with the rest?"

Eunuch Sanbao hesitated for a moment, "Leave them for now."

The three felt as if they had received amnesty and hurriedly bowed to Eunuch Sanbao in gratitude.

Eunuch Sanbao’s eyes coldly swept over them, "You better make sure every word you say is the truth, or if I find any discrepancies, you’ll all go to the underworld together!"

"We wouldn’t dare deceive you, Eunuch,"

The three said in unison.

Eunuch Sanbao snorted coldly, flicking his horsetail whisk as he left the secret dungeon.

He didn’t go directly to the Cleansing Room; instead, he went to see his foster father, Mr. Cui.

Mr. Cui was serving Emperor Guangxi dinner, and Eunuch Sanbao waited outside for a long time.

By the time Mr. Cui came out, the sky had already turned dark.

"You boy, why are you suddenly here?" Mr. Cui looked at him, "Don’t tell me you’re here to ask for a favor?"

Eunuch Sanbao chuckled, "You’re still the one who knows me, foster father. I haven’t even said a word, and you’ve already guessed my intention."

Mr. Cui scoffed lightly, "Speak, what’s the matter?"

Eunuch Sanbao hesitated for a moment and said, "Foster father, could you give me a token? I want to investigate something in the Cleansing Room."

Mr. Cui said, "Aren’t you now the confidant of the Crown Prince, the lord of the Eastern Palace eunuchs? With that status, is there any small Cleansing Room you can’t enter?"

"That’s true, but with the places I want to investigate, they might not let me in. Without foster father’s backing, I wouldn’t have the confidence; I might be directly thrown out, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?"

Mr. Cui squinted his eyes, "What do you want to investigate?"

Eunuch Sanbao leaned closer and whispered a few words.

Mr. Cui’s face changed dramatically upon hearing it, "Are you serious?"

"That’s exactly why, not knowing if it’s true or false, I need to confirm it at the Cleansing Room," Eunuch Sanbao said, "In theory, those treasures are closely guarded, impossible for ordinary people to approach, let alone take them. Either someone is spreading alarming news, or someone has indeed done something secretly."

"Who would have such ability to bribe the Cleansing Room and steal so many treasures?" Mr. Cui’s face was very unpleasant.

Being eunuchs themselves, their first reaction to hearing such news was naturally one of humiliation.

Regardless of the motives, anyone who dares to touch those things is essentially asking for their lives!

However, Mr. Cui was still at a loss about the whole situation, "Explain to me carefully, what exactly happened? How were those old eunuchs’ treasures taken?"

Eunuch Sanbao thought of the recent events at the Eastern Palace and sighed deeply, "Isn’t it because His Highness turned sixteen? The Empress has been pushing hard, so on the night of the first day of the year, he favored a female official, but that female official was envied, someone used a vile scheme to lure her to Qingfang Palace, and later, she was tormented to death by those old imbeciles. After all, she was His Highness’ first woman, and upon learning the news, His Highness was furious, commanding me to uncover the real culprit in the shortest time. However, when I interrogated them beforehand, those old eunuchs didn’t know who the mastermind was. They only mentioned that someone stole treasures from the Cleansing Room and used it to threaten them."

Mr. Cui sighed upon hearing this, "Is that girl really dead?"

Eunuch Sanbao said sadly, "She’s truly dead, otherwise His Highness wouldn’t be so angry."

Mr. Cui, who spent many years accompanying Emperor Guangxi and often saw the Crown Prince, naturally understood this master’s disposition. His temperament was more stable than his peers, and he generally wouldn’t easily expose his emotions. The fact that he was so furious showed that the matter was extraordinarily serious.

"What a sin!" Mr. Cui sighed, silently mourning for the girl for a moment, then reached down to untie a waist card and handed it to Eunuch Sanbao, "Take this to the Cleansing Room, the people there won’t dare give you trouble."

Eunuch Sanbao received the waist card, "Thank you, foster father. Without you, I wouldn’t even know how to proceed with this case."

"You’re my godson; since you’ve come to me, how can I stand by and watch?"

"Indeed, godfather is so benevolent to his son, I will definitely repay my debts in the future." Eunuch Sanbao spoke thoughtfully, "By the way, godfather, about what transpired in the Eastern Palace, may I ask you to keep it secret for now and not let the Emperor know?"

"Alright, I have seen things more than you’ve eaten rice, don’t I know how to be discreet? If the Emperor learns the Crown Prince did such a thing over a female official, who knows what he would think. Naturally, I wouldn’t harm him."

Those who serve close to the Emperor are truly extraordinary, and Eunuch Sanbao was delighted, "Thank you, godfather, I’ll be leaving then."

"Go!"

Eunuch Sanbao took Mr. Cui’s waist card and ran to the Cleansing Room overnight.

The eunuchs on duty during the day had returned to rest, leaving only two on duty dozing by the door.

Upon hearing footsteps, one little eunuch opened his eyes and recognized the approaching figure as Eunuch Sanbao from the Crown Prince’s side, and quickly stood up to bow.

"It’s so late, I wonder what urgent business brings Eunuch Sanbao to the Cleansing Room?"

Eunuch Sanbao was straightforward, "I want to take a look at your Immortal Pavilion."

The little eunuch’s complexion changed, half his drowsiness scared away, "Grandfather... that place is a crucial area of the Cleansing Room, why suddenly visit?"

"There is a case involving a treasure in there, I need to take a look."

The little eunuch was distressed, "We are just low-ranking eunuchs on the night watch, without orders from Eunuch Hai, we dare not open the door for you!"

Eunuch Hai is the Chief Steward of the Cleansing Room, all major and minor affairs here need his approval.

Eunuch Sanbao shook Mr. Cui’s waist card in front of the little eunuch, "Is this enough for you to open the door?"

The little eunuch trembled, unable to make the decision himself, he hurriedly reached out to wake his dozing companion on the bench.

The round-faced eunuch, upon waking, saw Eunuch Sanbao holding Chief Eunuch Mr. Cui’s token, jumped in fright, "Eunuch Sanbao, what brings you here?"

"I want to enter the Immortal Pavilion." Eunuch Sanbao repeated.

The round-faced eunuch looked at his companion, both were equally troubled.

Eunuch Sanbao said, "If you two don’t allow me, I’ll go ask Eunuch Hai if my godfather’s authority is no longer effective in your Cleansing Room."

Both trembled, "You can enter, grandfather, please come in."

Eunuch Sanbao snorted coldly, hung the token on his waist, and followed the two inside.

What is called "Immortal Pavilion" is just a fancy name; inside, there are rows of densely packed small compartments, each with a eunuch’s name, corresponding to the eunuch’s treasure.

Once the eunuch dies, the Cleansing Room will retrieve their treasure and place it with the corpse, this is to keep the body intact, preserving the eunuch’s last dignity, ensuring a better reincarnation in the next life.

Looking around, there must be thousands of compartments in the Immortal Pavilion.

After leading the person inside, the two little eunuchs asked Eunuch Sanbao, "Which one would you like to check?"

Eunuch Sanbao didn’t directly say which one, but asked, "Are all the things in these compartments present?"

"They definitely are." The round-faced eunuch replied, "All eunuchs in this palace have records, once one dies in any palace, it will be confirmed here and their possessions retrieved, once taken, the name on the corresponding compartment is erased, and replaced with a new name later."

"Is that so?" Eunuch Sanbao asked, "Where is the one for Eunuch Rui from the Imperial Household?"

Eunuch Rui was already old and not heavily utilized, only doing some sweeping chores in the Imperial Household, who among these young ones would remember him?

The round-faced eunuch did not know who Eunuch Rui was, so he pointed to a place on the west side, "The ones from the Imperial Household are over there."

Eunuch Sanbao walked over and reached to open it.

The round-faced eunuch suddenly said, "Eunuch Sanbao, we should agree first, you may look, but don’t take anything, otherwise, we won’t be able to account for it tomorrow!"

Eunuch Sanbao chuckled with an indecipherable meaning, "Take it? Whether the things are still inside is uncertain!"

The two were dumbfounded.

Before they could say anything, Eunuch Sanbao quickly opened the compartment, only to find it completely empty, the item originally supposed to be wrapped in silk was gone.

"How could this be?" The round-faced eunuch panicked, "Eunuch Rui is still alive, nobody should have taken his item, how could it be missing?"

"Could it possibly have been stolen?"

Eunuch Sanbao did not discuss the whereabouts of the item with the two, instead, he asked about several other eunuch compartments, opened each one, and found them all empty without exception.