Mystery at Lanting Chapter 6

The pitch-black night covered the imperial city like a thick quilt. All the magnificence and grandeur were replaced by dark shadows. The lights in the imperial city were like fireflies lurking in the jungle, gradually appearing in every corner of the imperial city, embellishing this magnificent royal building in the night.

Jonathan Di's official sedan slowly landed at the gate of the imperial city. Before he landed, the eunuch Oliver Hu, who had been waiting at the gate for a long time, came up to him, helped Jonathan Di out of the sedan, and hurriedly took Di Gong to the palace.

"Oh, Eunuch Hu, what is going on? I am almost defeated by you!" Jonathan Di said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Di. The emperor is looking for you in a hurry. Captain Wan Hu of the guard has searched almost the entire capital, but you are really hard to find!" Oliver Hu said while apologizing with a hint of complaint.

"I'm sorry, Eunuch Hu, there is no official business in the mansion today, so I took Nathan Li and Gabriel Zeng to inquire about the people's sentiments. Why is the emperor so anxious to summon the old ministers? Is there something big happening?" Jonathan Di still smiled.

"You can still laugh? I'm afraid you don't know that someone has died in the palace! Although the emperor looks calm on the surface, he is very worried in his heart, so you'd better hurry up and go to see the emperor with me!" Oliver Hu begged.

"A murder occurred in the palace?!" Jonathan Di was secretly shocked. An ominous premonition surged from all directions like the dark night, making him breathless. "Who is in trouble?"

"It was a eunuch and a palace maid from the prince's palace. They were killed outside the prince's bedroom. The blood was all over the ground. It was so tragic!" Oliver Hu seemed to be very reluctant and said in a trembling voice with his hands covering his face.

"Prince's Palace?" Jonathan Di's eyes suddenly flashed, and he thought to himself: Could it be that Matthew Wu is still unwilling to let the prince go, or are these old ministers of Li Tang going to take action again?

"Okay, my Lord Di, Lord Di, please come with me to see the emperor!" Oliver Hu begged.

Jonathan Di followed the trembling Oliver Hu to the door of the main hall, and a majestic female voice came from inside: "Is Jonathan Di here? No need to announce it, just come in."
 
"Your Majesty, obey your order!"

Jonathan Di glanced at Oliver Hu secretly, and saw that this old eunuch who had been in the palace for many years still had a humble expression on his face.

Oliver Hu seemed to be an unshakable figure in the palace, having gone through two dynasties smoothly. Emperor Gaozong liked him very much for his cleverness and understanding when he was in power. After Victoria Wu ascended the throne, Oliver Hu was even more favored by her.

Perhaps it was because of his ability to judge the situation that he always seemed to be on the right side in every shift in the center of power. This also seemed to be one of the reasons why the ministers in the court respected him so much.

Jonathan Di walked slowly into the hall and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Jonathan Di wants to see you."

"Huaiying, come and sit down." The voice of this ruler who rose to power from the harem now sounded pale and weak, and seemed to carry a hint of sigh, which made people sigh that time passes and beauty is hard to come by again.

Di Gong slowly raised his head and looked at Victoria Wu. Although she lived a life of luxury, there were still some white hairs on her head. The traces of time could not be stopped from climbing up the forehead of this noble empress.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Jonathan Di walked to the center of the hall and sat down on one side.

"Huaiying, a murder occurred in the palace last night. A eunuch and a palace maid in the Prince's Palace were killed at the same time. Did you know?" Victoria Wu asked.

"I just heard about it from Eunuch Hu." Jonathan Di replied respectfully.

"What do you think about this matter?" Victoria Wu looked at Jonathan Di expressionlessly, as if waiting for him to give her a satisfactory answer.

"Human life is at stake, and I dare not make random guesses. Please let me inspect the scene and conduct a thorough investigation before I can give you an answer." Di Gong said calmly.

"Yeah." Victoria Wu nodded and quietly looked at the pillar of the empire: decades of relationship between the monarch and his subjects had left too many traces on his face, gray hair had quietly occupied the old man's wise head, and the pressure of government affairs had made his proud spine slightly hunched.

Victoria Wu's heart trembled slightly, and she looked at Jonathan Di deeply: "Huaiying, your hair has turned white!"

"Haha, time is merciless. I am already over 60 years old and I am afraid I can't assist Your Majesty for long!" Jonathan Di said with a faint smile.

"Nonsense!" Victoria Wu laughed and scolded, "You old fox, you need to live a few more years. I still have a lot of things that I need your help with!"

After saying this, Victoria Wu rushed outside and said, "Oliver Hu, bring him in!"

"I obey your command!" Oliver Hu, accompanied by several guards, happily came up to Jonathan Di carrying a small box.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Di Gong was a little surprised.

"Open!" Victoria Wu waved to Oliver Hu, and Oliver Hu asked the guards to open the box, which contained some supplements such as ginseng and deer antlers.

"Huaiying, these are the ginseng and deer antlers that Goguryeo presented to me as tribute. You happen to be here, I will ask the guards to send them back to you later. You must take care of yourself!" Victoria Wu patted Jonathan Di on the shoulder and said with a smile.

Jonathan Di felt a warm feeling in his heart: for decades, Victoria Wu had promoted him directly from a county magistrate to the capital, and she almost always obeyed his orders and never had any suspicion of him.

Jonathan Di often punished Wu nobles who broke the law, and Victoria Wu never stopped him, and even strongly supported him. This is also the reason why Matthew Wu was deeply afraid of Jonathan Di.

Jonathan Di was very moved: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your trust!"

In a dark corner outside the hall, a shadow lurked beyond the light, watching all this quietly.

A scornful smile flashed across his lips, and then he dodged and hid in the darkness again, sneaking towards the harem.

After receiving the order, Jonathan Di strode out of the hall. As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw a tall and gorgeously dressed young man walking towards him with a chuckle from afar.

The man wore light makeup, had thin eyebrows, and fair skin. He walked up to Jonathan Di with a strange smile on his face and said flatteringly: "Lord Di, are you going back? I heard that a bloody incident happened in the palace. It's time for you to show your magical powers again, haha!"

Jonathan Di felt disgusted. Lucas Zhang, the male favorite presented by Princess Taiping to the emperor, pestered Victoria Wu almost every day, flattering her to the utmost and affecting the emperor's management of his country.

He and his brother Zhang Yizhi oppressed the people, accepted bribes, and even wanted to interfere in political affairs. It was getting more and more excessive!

It’s just that the emperor likes him very much, and Victoria Wu cleverly avoided his advice several times. It seems that it is not the right time yet!

Di Gong sighed in his heart, then looked at him coldly, said "hmm" as a reply, then turned around and strode away, leaving Lucas Zhang with his back.

Lucas Zhang snorted heavily. With the emperor's favor towards him, all officials bowed their heads and looked down upon him, but this old man never bought into his account, and even openly called him a "cholera in the palace" and a "ghost".

He slandered Di Gong in front of the emperor several times, but was scolded by the emperor, "What's so good about an old man? The emperor still likes him so much!"

Lucas Zhang caressed his own snow-white skin lovingly, sniffed the precious incense on his body intoxicatedly, and said to himself: "It's still good to be young!"

"Let's go back to the palace!" Lucas Zhang said to the two followers behind him in a sarcastic tone, then he flicked his sleeves and walked away shyly in the direction where Di Gong left.

The exquisite gilded incense burner emits a unique fragrance, which is the incense presented to Victoria Wu as a tribute from the Western Regions.

There were exquisite dishes on the main table in the living room. Lucas Zhang picked up a jade cup with his white jade fingers and whispered to Oliver Hu beside him: "Come on, Lucas Zhang toasts to Hu, the chief steward!"

Oliver Hu quickly raised his glass and said, "Alas, I am just a eunuch, as lowly as a dog. How dare I trouble you, Lord Zhang, to toast me? I will drink first as a sign of respect!"

"Eunuch Hu, you are joking!" Lucas Zhang stroked Oliver Hu's shoulder. Oliver Hu felt nervous, but still looked at him with a smile on his face. Lucas Zhang said flatteringly, "Everyone knows that you, Eunuch Hu, are a veteran of two dynasties and are deeply loved by the late emperor and the emperor. Lucas Zhang will need your care in the future!"
 
"I dare not, I dare not. You, Lord Zhang, should take care of me! Haha!" Oliver Hu also said to Lucas Zhang.

The two of them tacitly drank the delicious liquid in the cup and burst into laughter.

"Please invite Eunuch Hu here today. I have a delicious dish to treat you!" Lucas Zhang said with a charming smile.

"Oh? Then I must taste it carefully!" Oliver Hu said with a smile.

"A few days ago, Goguryeo paid tribute to a batch of "flying dragons", and the emperor gave me two. I really have to thank the emperor for his great grace!"

(The "flying dragon" is not a real flying dragon, but a very rare bird) Lucas Zhang bowed to the sky and said.

"Oh, then I'm in for a treat today!" Oliver Hu looked at the door expectantly.

"Someone, bring Feilong up!" Lucas Zhang shouted to the outside of the door, but after a long time, there was no sign of the servant.

Oliver Hu couldn't help but feel a little gloating in his heart, but he couldn't show it, so he could only ask softly: "Master Zhang, is this flying dragon not ready yet?"

"These servants are getting more and more unreasonable. I told them that I would be inviting guests today, but they are so indifferent. I must beat their B*tts!"

Lucas Zhang said angrily: "Please wait a moment, Mr. Hu. I will go and urge them myself!" After saying that, he walked out the door angrily.

"This clown, relying on the emperor's power to look down on others, will be punished by Lord Di sooner or later!"

Oliver Hu was thinking when he suddenly heard Lucas Zhang scream outside the door, followed by the sound of porcelain breaking, and then a "bang" as if a bag full of things fell down.

Oliver Hu was shocked and went out to see what was happening. He saw Lucas Zhang sitting on the ground, his face full of fear, his body shaking badly, and his right hand pointing at something on the side of the marble corridor.

Oliver Hu looked in the direction of his finger and also sat on the ground in fear: he saw a servant sitting against the carved stone pillar in the corridor, with a plate of steamed flying dragon quietly placed on the ground, which had long been submerged in bright red liquid, and the bright red color continued to flow from the cracked wound on the servant's neck. His left arm was missing.

Behind him, a palace maid holding wine was lying on the ground. Bright red blood quietly flowed from her fair neck, mixing with the blood of the servants, and gathering at the bottom of the steps like a shallow stream.

"Oh my God, someone is killed again!" Oliver Hu screamed in horror.