The Child Emperor

Cui Teng had slept well, laughing aloud in his dreams. When he was forcibly shaken awake, he naturally felt indescribable anger.

“What?” Cui Teng sat up abruptly, raising his fist, causing the person who had pushed him to jump back a step in fright.

Immediately after, it was Cui Teng who was startled. The person who had awakened him was a eunuch, and standing beside the eunuch were the Emperor, General Deng Cui, and numerous guards.

The events of the previous night suddenly flooded back into his mind. His sweet dream turned into a nightmare. Cui Teng’s face went pale with fright, thinking the Emperor had mobilized forces to take revenge on him. He hastily threw off his bedding, knelt on the bed, first kowtowed to the Emperor, and began speaking: “I thought that was what Your Majesty had bestowed upon me…”

This was the Emperor’s room, the Emperor’s bed. Cui Teng had spent an unforgettable night here, but afterward felt he had caused great trouble. How could the Emperor possibly give away such a peerless beauty to someone else for no reason? And without saying anything beforehand? There must have been some misunderstanding, and he had gone along with the error, committing an unforgivable crime.

Before falling completely asleep, Cui Teng had thought of several excuses, planning to feign ignorance and deflect blame onto misunderstanding. But his changing expression, kneeling and kowtowing, and unsolicited explanations all showed he had long known he had done something wrong.

However, Han Ruzi had not come for this matter. What Cui Teng saw as a peerless beauty, he regarded as merely a pugilist woman with special skills.

“Where is Prince Donghai?”

Cui Teng was stunned. “Your Majesty… doesn’t know about last night’s events yet?”

“That wasn’t last night, it was just now. We’ll discuss it later.” Han Ruzi had originally not intended to pursue this matter, but seeing Cui Teng’s terrified and uneasy appearance, he changed his mind, his tone becoming slightly stern. Cui Teng fell backward. He thought he had slept for a long time, not realizing it had only been a short while. Sitting on the bed in a daze, he gritted his teeth and said: “It was worth it. However Your Majesty chooses to punish me, I have no complaints… uh, no…”

“First tell me where Prince Donghai went?” For Han Ruzi, this was the most important matter.

“Prince Donghai?” Cui Teng’s thoughts finally shifted. “He’s not in his own room… oh, did he escape? That guy, he didn’t even notify me. Probably because he couldn’t find me.”

Han Ruzi’s guess was correct – Cui Teng indeed knew something. “How did Prince Donghai escape?”

“Heh heh, Your Majesty needn’t worry. Prince Donghai is doing good this time – he went to scout the path for Your Majesty.”

Cui Teng recounted how the two servants had escaped from the prince’s residence and Prince Donghai’s plan. “Prince Donghai is disguising himself as an ordinary soldier. If he can gain the Xiongnu’s trust, he promises to bring more soldiers out of the city, and then…”

Cui Teng looked toward Deng Cui, not revealing the complete plan, though there was no need for him to say more. The entire scheme was obvious, though he himself still didn’t understand the full truth.

That a maidservant in the manor was involved in such a major conspiracy while Deng Cui knew nothing about it was truly embarrassing for him, yet he had no way to defend himself.

“Prince Donghai won’t be coming back.” Han Ruzi said. Prince Donghai had still chosen betrayal after all. This wasn’t surprising – as long as the Emperor remained alive and the siege of Jincheng City could be lifted, Prince Donghai had nowhere to flee. What made Han Ruzi angry was that people had escaped Jincheng City to surrender to the Xiongnu; this was such a major event, yet he knew nothing about it. With so many official documents every day, and daily morning court sessions, yet not a single person had reported this matter.

“Prince Donghai will definitely return, then take both Your Majesty and me out together. He promised me.” Cui Teng said with complete conviction, having been thoroughly persuaded by Prince Donghai.

Han Ruzi didn’t argue with him, asking instead: “What about the maidservant from the Deng manor?”

“She probably left the city together with Prince Donghai. That Prince Donghai is really clever – when interrogating the maidservant, he claimed his surname was Chai. Afterward, he persuaded General Fan to release the maidservant back to the Deng manor, saying they wanted to cast a long line to catch big fish. A day later, he sought out the maidservant again, claiming the Chai clan was dissatisfied with Your Majesty, thus gaining the maidservant’s trust. But I didn’t expect them to make contact with those outside the city so quickly – I thought it would take several more days.”

Han Ruzi’s expression changed slightly. He said to Deng Cui: “You can’t leave the city now. Prince Donghai is also an impostor himself, so he might not expose your identity, but that maidservant…”

For Deng Cui, there were not many choices at this moment. “This plan was risky from the start. Hua Bin might not care about his son’s life at all, and those pugilists might change their minds midway. The risk has only increased slightly now. Our escape routes are different, so we might not necessarily encounter each other in the Xiongnu camp.”

“It’s still too risky.” Han Ruzi said to the guard captain Wang He: “Guard that tunnel well, don’t let outsiders sneak into the city. Go to the Deng manor to see if that maidservant is still there, and send someone to summon General Fan.”

“Yes.” Wang He withdrew.

Deng Cui stepped back several paces, knelt on the ground, kowtowed once, and said: “Deng is incompetent and only knows a little about military arts, but I can only speak honestly to Your Majesty: Jincheng has absolutely no ability to hold out. If the Xiongnu attack with full force, Jincheng can hold for at most three days. Gathering the armies beyond the frontier is the only way to break the siege. Even if there’s only a glimmer of hope, I must leave the city. As for that maidservant in my manor—it’s up to fate.”

Cui Teng, who was kneeling on the bed, gave the Emperor meaningful looks, indicating that Deng Cui was not trustworthy. However, Han Ruzi preferred to trust this general he had known for only a short time. “First go see Hua Bin. We must have his cooperation for this to work.”

Han Ruzi turned and walked outside. Cui Teng scratched his head, hurriedly got off the bed, and called out while putting on his clothes: “Wait for me!”

Liu Jie had already awakened and was standing guard outside with a group of eunuchs, equally bewildered. Han Ruzi ordered: “Watch over the zither master and his daughter until We return.”

“Yes, Your Majesty…” Liu Jie watched as Deng Cui, Cui Teng, and a group of guards followed behind the Emperor, becoming even more confused. After everyone left, he hurried into the room to check, only to see Zhang Youcai still fast asleep.

Of the seventeen assassins, eight had been killed, and the remaining nine along with Hua Bin had all been captured alive and taken to the prince’s manor.

Meng E was explaining her plan to Hua Bin: “You only have one chance. Take a few people out of the city, then return to Jincheng. Perhaps you can save both your and your son’s lives.”

“Sigh, how could I… how could I trust you?” Hua Bin stared at the female guard. He had actually always harbored doubts about Meng E, even trying to encourage the zither master to act first, but still failed to escape the trap.

“Because you want the Emperor’s head, and because I did indeed poison the Emperor.” Meng E was not surprised. What she had done was enough to earn anyone’s trust.

Hua Bin sighed deeply. That was right—this female guard had actually poisoned the Emperor, so he had no choice but to trust her. He still didn’t know that the Emperor had also been kept in the dark before, and said: “A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. The Emperor’s fondness for taking risks is definitely not a blessing for Great Chu.”

Meng E didn’t explain. “Great Chu doesn’t need your consideration. First think about your own and your son’s survival.”