After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The Side Hall Exploded!

 

The Emperor had come into a windfall and was in high spirits. The black-faced men now had official posts and were equally delighted. Lu Bin, overnight, had gone from a nobody to a phoenix, joining what he believed to be the Emperor’s grand blueprint, and was thrilled. Zhou Xun, seeing the matter resolved, was also pleased.

 

The only one who wasn’t happy was Madam Lu.

 

Not only had she been scolded harshly by her son, but she also found herself glared at by several angry men demanding payment. If it weren’t for the black-faced men restraining them, a few of them, in their agitation, might have already struck her.

 

But the matter didn’t end there. Before leaving, the young man in black turned to her and said, “Madam, let’s take a trip to the authorities.”

 

Lu Bin interjected, “My mother, she…”

 

“Don’t worry, we just need to ask her a few simple questions,” the young man in black said, waving his hand with a bright smile. “And besides…”

 

Lu Bin: …

 

The young man in black: “The tea at the yamen is free.”

 

Free tea wasn’t exactly something to be excited about. Still, the yamen was bright and spacious, with someone nearby taking notes. Madam Lu stared at the envelope, unable to figure out how Zhou Xun had managed to find it, containing leftover talisman paper, hidden in her home.

 

She didn’t know that Zhou Xun had already been suspicious of the paper. He had seen the envelope earlier and pinched a piece of the talisman paper — it hadn’t been treated with any toxic chemicals and wouldn’t harm anyone. So, using it to teach Madam Lu a lesson and potentially uncover the organization behind her was entirely reasonable.

 

Madam Lu stammered out her confession.

 

“The group selling the talisman paper is called the Red Lotus Sect. How did you contact them? What’s your code phrase?”

 

“They’re not a criminal group, they’re a sect…”

 

“I say they’re a criminal group, so they are! Incitement, fraud, endangering public safety!” the Emperor roared, slamming his brush on the table. “Answer properly!”

 

Madam Lu: …

 

“They told you to leave the money under the stone lion and bow three times, and the next day you’d find the talisman paper?” The Emperor frowned deeply. “Other than that, there’s no other way to contact them?”

 

Madam Lu hurriedly replied, “That’s right, that’s right. I’ve never even seen their faces…”

 

“You’re lying!”

 

The Emperor shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “If you haven’t seen them, how did you learn their contact methods? When was your first meeting with them?”

 

Madam Lu, trembling, finally spilled everything. She had first heard of the Red Lotus Sect in a clinic, introduced by a mysterious woman who later took her to see her cured son. That’s why she believed it so firmly. When she met the so-called saintess later, she had been blindfolded and couldn’t recall the path. The saintess had also worn a veil, so she didn’t remember her face.

 

The Emperor immediately dispatched people to investigate the house where the woman’s son had lived, but of course, it was empty. Frustrated, the Emperor interrogated Madam Lu about every detail but found no further clues. In the end, she was given a stern education before being released.

 

“Post today’s scam on the public announcement board in the square,” the Emperor instructed a junior official. “Illustrate it clearly. Cover the victim’s identity and call Lu Bin ‘Li Hua.’ Yes, that’ll do.”

 

Junior official: “Your Majesty, last time, the scam victim was also called Li Hua. Recently, several scholars named Li Hua have come to complain, saying that it’s led to a stereotype of ‘Li Hua being foolish and easily scammed,’ which has seriously impacted their careers.”

 

The Emperor: “Then use Wang Xiaoming or Li Xiaolang. Pick one!”

 

After dismissing the official, the Emperor turned to Zhou Xun, who was lost in thought, and lamented, “The trail ends here. What a loss! Aside from the Lu family, how many others have been scammed by these villains?”

 

Watching the Emperor’s display of concern for the people, Zhou Xun took his hand to console him, saying, “Such fraudsters, endangering public safety, must indeed not be tolerated.”

 

The Emperor: “Just think, one Lu family alone lost dozens of taels of silver. Adding up the others, it’s thousands, tens of thousands of taels! None of it went into my pocket but instead into the coffers of this cult. What a waste! Hey, where’s your hand? Why’d you pull it away…”

 

Zhou Xun quietly withdrew his hand.

 

Though he pulled his hand back, Zhou Xun continued pondering how to find more clues about the Red Lotus Sect. Suddenly, the Emperor exclaimed, “I’ve got it!”

 

Zhou Xun: “What is it?”

 

The Emperor: “Grid search! Flip over every stone lion in the capital…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Thinking carefully, Zhou Xun suddenly seemed to recall something. Picking up the talisman paper, he brought it to his nose to sniff.

 

The Emperor: ??

 

“This paper has a familiar scent,” Zhou Xun murmured, furrowing his brows. “A strong fragrance of cosmetics, and…”

 

He thought hard about where he had encountered this scent before and suddenly remembered, stating in a low voice, “Warm pear fragrance.”

 

“What?”

 

“The smell of warm pear fragrance.”

 

Zhou Xun answered.

 

The Emperor also grabbed the paper and sniffed it. “Seems like there’s some sort of…”

 

Zhou Xun: ?

 

The Emperor: “Some kind of scent I can’t identify. Anyway, it’s fragrant. How do you know it’s warm pear fragrance?”

 

In response to the Emperor’s clueless statement, Zhou Xun replied helplessly, “A year ago, a merchant gifted Prince Five a block of warm pear incense. He often burned it, so I became familiar with the scent…”

 

The Emperor: …

 

“I understand now.” The Emperor slapped his thigh.

 

Zhou Xun: “What have you figured out?”

 

The Emperor: “The culprit is Prince Five! He harbors resentment against me and secretly runs a cult from his home… Hahaha! I’ve always wanted to deal with him! It’s a pity I couldn’t find a reason to punish him before and had to keep him under house arrest. Finally, I have an excuse to send him to Siberia to mine coal!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

Watching the Emperor cheer with joy, Zhou Xun couldn’t help but smile wryly.

 

So the Emperor had been holding a grudge about sending Prince Five to Siberia all along?

 

Shaking his head, Zhou Xun said, “It’s unlikely to be Prince Five. Smell this again. This cosmetic scent—Prince Five isn’t interested in women.”

 

The Emperor slapped his thigh again. “I understand now!”

 

Zhou Xun: “…What have you figured out this time?”

 

“He’s been confined by me for so long that he’s probably developed a psychological disorder and started cross-dressing as the saintess,” the Emperor speculated. “And why is the saintess veiled?”

 

…Zhou Xun decided to play along. “Why?”

 

The Emperor slapped his thigh again. “Of course, it’s to hide his male identity! That’s why he specifically covers his face! Now, all the clues are complete!”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The Emperor: “Oh, never mind. I just want an excuse to convict him!”

 

Zhou Xun: “…The money is also important.”

 

The Emperor finally adjusted his attitude a bit, ceasing his far-fetched reasoning and his “Mouri Kogoro-style” deduction. Scratching his head, he asked, “Then what do you think is the reason?”

 

“Warm pear incense is rare and expensive; even a small piece is worth its weight in gold. Moreover, noble families often find its sweetness cloying and prefer sandalwood instead. Adding the strong cosmetic scent…” Zhou Xun closed his eyes briefly and continued, “First, someone who can afford warm pear incense must be wealthy. The supply channels for warm pear incense are also limited. The fact that this fragrance is so deeply infused into the paper suggests it was constantly burned. Someone willing to spend so much money on it—there aren’t many in the world. If Your Majesty investigates, you’ll quickly find them.”

 

“Second, while the cosmetic scent is strong, it’s ultimately not elegant. At the very least, it wouldn’t belong to the wife of a noble household or the daughters of high officials. So that leaves…”

 

“A brothel?”

 

Zhou Xun nodded.

 

“Then investigate the brothels. Also, check with the merchants in the city to see if anyone else has purchased it, to avoid wrongfully accusing someone,” the Emperor said. “In any case, ultimately…”

 

“This matter will be handled by me!” he said with a cheerful smile. “From now on, you can focus on reading your books and studying!”

 

Zhou Xun thought the same.

 

Unfortunately, his peaceful days of studying didn’t last long. On the third day, while he was strolling in the imperial garden, his tranquility was disrupted.

 

“Many high-ranking officials in the capital are asking how the Emperor suddenly acquired such literary talent. They’re all wondering who wrote that prayer text,” Guard Wang said to him with a grin. “The censors, who used to jump three feet high, claiming the Hanlin Academy couldn’t produce good articles without Zhou Cai, were all thoroughly slapped in the face this time!”

 

“Moreover, those in the Cabinet and Grand Council are particularly curious about the prayer text. Duke Huguo, a friend of Zhou Cai, criticized it heavily, but Prime Minister Lu and Minister Yan sharply rebuked him. When Prime Minister Yan later asked the Emperor who wrote the prayer, his face turned green upon hearing the answer!”

 

Zhou Xun nodded but didn’t smile. He gazed at the sky, troubled.

 

Now that he had his own house… Though saying so felt a bit ungrateful, continuing to live in the palace, especially in Yangxin Hall, was becoming increasingly inappropriate.

 

First, it was inconvenient for him to come and go. Second, the Emperor had faced many rumors recently, largely because Zhou Xun was still living in Yangxin Hall. Even Prime Minister Lu’s initial challenges to him were partly for this reason.

 

Third, his new house wasn’t far from the palace. Fourth, when the time came for the imperial examination… He couldn’t very well leave the palace to take the exam and then return, could he?

 

The implications would be terrible!

 

But the Emperor hadn’t thought of this, and Zhou Xun hadn’t found the right moment to bring it up. For some reason, the idea of moving out of the palace felt surprisingly hard to broach.

 

The guard, seeing his silence, pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, “Does Master Zhou have some difficulty?”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The guard offered enthusiastically, “Master Zhou, if you talk to His Majesty about your difficulties, he’ll certainly help you resolve them!”

 

But this was a matter he really couldn’t discuss with the Emperor. Zhou Xun glanced at a carriage parked in front of the East Hua Gate and curiously asked Eunuch Wei, “Is someone visiting the palace today?”

 

“It seems they’re here to present treasures to His Majesty.”

 

Zhou Xun scrutinized the carriage. It looked different from the ones he usually saw—more secure and stable, with some peculiar patterns on it.

 

Suddenly, he recognized the patterns.

 

Weren’t those… the patterns of the research base in the valley outside the city?

 

People from the research base?

 

What had they brought?

 

Even after entering the palace, Zhou Xun was still preoccupied with the matter and also thinking about how to discuss moving out with the Emperor.

 

At that moment, a loud explosion erupted from ahead!

 

Zhou Xun watched in shock as black smoke rose from the direction of Yangxin Hall, followed by the sound of Xiao Li’s panicked screams.

 

“It’s exploded! Yangxin Hall has exploded!”

 

“What about the Emperor? Is the Emperor alright?”

 

“The Emperor is fine! He’s alive! Behind a shield! Everyone else is fine too! But, but…”

 

“But what?”

 

“The ‘fireworks’ flew toward the side hall and completely blew it up!”

 

“It collapsed! It collapsed!”

 

“Everyone, quiet down! I’m fine! I’m alive! All my limbs and senses are intact!”

 

“Your Majesty, this… this device worked fine in the base. It’s never misfired before. How could it explode as soon as it arrived…”

 

Zhou Xun: …

 

The guard: …

 

“Well,” the guard cautiously said, “His Majesty might be in a bad mood today. If Master Zhou has any difficulties…”

 

Zhou Xun: “…Forget it.”

 

The guard wasn’t wrong.

 

If Zhou Xun had any difficulties, he wouldn’t even need to say a word; the Emperor would take care of them for him.

 

Author’s Note:

 

Emperor: Looks like your house… exploded?

 

Zhou Xun: It’s your house that exploded.

 

Emperor: …

 

Zhou Xun: My house is outside.

 

Emperor: QAQ