Rong Jin took the teacup and asked, “Are you this considerate to the Crown Prince as well?”
Tong Sui shook her head.
“I’ve only ground ink for the Crown Prince before.”
Rong Jin let out a cold snort that didn’t reveal whether he was happy or displeased, but he took a sip from the teacup he received, his face regaining some color compared to the pallor from earlier.
It wasn’t until nightfall that Tong Sui returned to her small shabby house.
Chu Yunyu didn’t come today.
Tong Sui found it a bit odd—he usually appeared early, but tonight, there was no sign of him even after dark had settled.
Tong Sui asked the system, “Has something happened to Chu Yunyu?”
The system replied, “Don’t worry, Chu Yunyu offended Rong Jin and was punished by the Empress to be confined in Yangxin Pavilion. He should be fine after a few days.”
There had always been irreconcilable contradictions between Chu Yunyu and Rong Jin—one was a power-holding official, and the other was a young prince filled with ambition.
Even without Tong Sui in the middle, their conflicts would have erupted over other matters.
It was an unsolvable dilemma.
After filling her stomach with the leftover pastries, Tong Sui fell asleep.
The next day.
When Tong Sui woke up, she remembered that Chu Yunyu was under house arrest; he had no reason to go to the Ministry of Personnel anymore.
The two young eunuchs appeared again after a long absence.
“Get up quickly, the Crown Prince wants to see you.”
Tong Sui frowned. Hadn’t Chu Yunyu been confined? How could he still see her?
Although she had doubts in her mind, she changed her clothes and followed the two out, walking along a narrow path toward a place she didn’t recognize.
This clearly wasn’t the direction of Yangxin Pavilion.
Tong Sui stopped and asked, “Where exactly are you taking me?”
The two young eunuchs exchanged a vicious glance and lunged at her, “Of course, we’re taking you to meet the King of Hell!”
Tong Sui swiftly dodged.
She heard a splash behind her.
Turning around, she saw one of the eunuchs had fallen into the water.
Clearly, they had lied to lure her to a desolate pond, intending to drown her.
The other eunuch spat and pulled out a prepared dagger, approaching Tong Sui menacingly. “Don’t blame me for being ruthless; it’s your fault for offending someone you shouldn’t have!”
Tong Sui stepped back cautiously, watching the dagger in his hand.
As he charged at her, she sidestepped and kicked the dagger from his hand onto the ground, hearing another eunuch scrambling out of the water behind her.
Tong Sui’s current body was weak, making her no match for the two. She could only run down the main road as instructed by the system.
She wasn’t running fast and felt like lead was filling her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
The system urged her, “Left! Left!”
Tong Sui turned without having time to see the figures at the intersection and bumped straight into someone.
The person took two steps back from the impact.
She caught a faint, familiar scent of medicine, reminiscent of Rong Jin.
“How dare you! Who dares to bump into Supervisor Rong! Capture him!”
A sharp voice shouted from behind.
A swarm of Jinyiwei drew their swords and surrounded Tong Sui—just as she escaped from one threat and fell into another. It truly was terrible luck.
A weak cough came from above Tong Sui’s head, “No need, put your swords away.”
Rong Jin?
Tong Sui looked up to meet his slightly pale yet handsome face. In that moment, her eyes lit up as if she had found a strong ally, flooding her with a sense of security.
Rong Jin asked, “What happened?”
Tong Sui pointed to the path behind her and quickly reported, “Someone just tried to kill me; they were chasing me, so I kept running.”
The chill in Rong Jin’s eyes intensified as he raised his chin.
Several Jinyiwei quickly apprehended the two young eunuchs, binding their hands and forcing them to the ground.
Beside them, Feng Yongchang whispered, “Supervisor, they look like they’re under the Directorial Temple’s control.”
The two eunuchs trembled in fear; usually, they wouldn’t even have the chance to flatter Feng Yongchang, let alone the renowned Rong Jin.
“You really have guts,” Rong Jin’s voice was calm but icy. “Just in time; I haven’t had the chance to test the new torture methods I’ve researched yet. I’ll use you to try them out.”
“Please spare us! Please spare us!” The two eunuchs knelt and begged, “We were under orders; it was—”
They were abruptly cut off, as if someone had forcibly grasped their throats, spitting out black blood before collapsing on the ground.
The Jinyiwei moved forward to examine, “Supervisor, the two have been poisoned beforehand; they have already lost their breath.”
Rong Jin coldly regarded the corpses on the ground, his gaze chilling as he muttered, “Whatever I want to protect, no one can take away from me again.”
He slowly approached, took a Jinyiwei’s sword, and swung it.
Blood sprayed onto the gray stone pavement, separating the corpse from its hand.
Rong Jin discarded the sword and accepted a silk handkerchief handed to him to wipe his hands.
“Deliver these hands to the Empress. Make sure to inform the Directorial Temple overseeing the management—heads should roll for incompetence. Additionally, alert the stationed Jinyiwei in Tongzhou to control the grain transport overseer and conduct a thorough investigation from the Northern Garrison.”
“This… this…” Feng Yongchang hesitated. “Supervisor, do you really want to do this?”
If this operation proceeds, it would mean solidifying enmity with the Empress’s faction. They already had numerous enemies in the court.
As for fostering a prince to ascend the throne, there were plenty of princes to choose from; it wasn’t necessary to pick Tong Sui. Regardless of who became a puppet emperor, it wouldn’t matter.
There was no need to stir up such trouble for this matter.
Rong Jin shot him an icy glance, “What, can’t you understand what I’m saying?”
Feng Yongchang dared not retort, only silently accepted.
Tong Sui stood in a daze.
She hadn’t expected Rong Jin would go to such lengths over this incident. They were not related, and he truly had no need to go this far for her.
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