Chapter 39: The Ninth Ding of Zhong, Zhong Bin (Fourth Watch, First Watch)

  It is not clear what kind of idea Zhu Houzhao had, but he was quite enthusiastic about adopting sons. Historical records show that during his tenure of over a decade, he adopted more than 100 sons. However, many of these adopted sons were only given the surname Zhu by Zhu Houzhao, and only two were relatively favored, one being Qian Ning and the other being Jiang Bin, who was far away in Xuanfu.

  Qian Ning was originally a child of a poor family in Yunnan. Eunuch Qian Neng, who was serving as a military supervisor in Yunnan, bought him as a household slave because he liked his cleverness and agility, so he followed the surname "Qian". After Qian Neng's death, his family members were promoted, and Qian Ning became an official. Because Qian Neng had a previous relationship with Liu Jin, Qian Ning got to know Liu Jin, and he deliberately tried to win him over, so later he was recommended to serve as a guard beside Zhu Houzhao. Due to Qian Ning's exceptional archery skills, particularly his "opening left and right bows" technique, he gained the favor of Zhu Houzhao, who loved martial arts. At one point, Zhu Houzhao took Qian Ning with him wherever he went, and later even adopted him as a son, giving him the surname "Zhu".

  There were several times when Zhu Houzhao got drunk at banquets and fell asleep with his head on Qian Ning's belly. After this was known to the court officials, it somehow spread out, so in the streets of the capital city, there was a rumor circulating for some time that Zhu Houzhao was a good homosexual.

  It was for this reason that Zhu Houzhao deliberately kept his distance from Qian Ning, so as not to cause misunderstandings with others. However, deliberately keeping a distance does not mean that the feelings have become distant, after all, Zhu Houzhao is still a person who cherishes old relationships, and this deliberate distance has made Zhu Houzhao occasionally think of it and feel somewhat sorry for Qian Ning.

  At this moment, Qian Ning called out to concede, and Zhu Houzhao took the wooden box filled with precious notes beside him and handed it over to Qian Ning. He smiled and said: "Alright, let's stop here for today. You've lost the most, I'll compensate you."

  "Thanks to Your Majesty." Qian Ning happily accepted the reward and asked Zhu Houzhao with a smile: "Your Majesty, you haven't said why you're so happy today. What's going on? Tell me and let me share your joy."

  The Emperor Zhu looked at Qian Ning with a smile and said, "I recently met an extraordinary person who became my sworn brother after just one meeting. I thought he was only good at playing around, but unexpectedly, he had great insight and solved several difficult problems for me in just a few words. His methods were so ingenious that even I couldn't help but applaud. Tomorrow, I will convene the imperial court meeting to let them see how formidable my elder brother is."

  "Your Majesty...... big brother?" Qian Ning was stunned, he had followed Zhu Houzhao for a long time and understood his arrogance deeply. He never thought that Zhu Houzhao would one day acknowledge a stranger as his elder brother, and on top of that, Zhu Houzhao's expression was full of pride and satisfaction.

  Qian Ning felt a slight sourness in her heart, as the Emperor had been distant from her lately. She had thought it was because she had committed some fault, but it turned out that the Emperor had "found new love" elsewhere.

  Zhu Houzhao had no idea what Qian Ning was thinking, and with a good mood, he suddenly stood up and said: "Hmm, it's not early either. Tomorrow we still have to convene the cabinet members for an inner court meeting, so let's stop here today and rest separately."

  "Escorting Your Majesty......" Zhang Yong, Liu Jin and Qian Ning knelt down on one knee to pay their respects.

  Zhu Houzhao was just about to leave when a leopard guard suddenly walked in. The leopard guard knelt down and saluted Zhu Houzhao, saying: "Your subordinate pays respects to Your Majesty."

  "What's the matter?" Zhu Houzhao asked. He knew that under normal circumstances, the leopard guard would not enter the entertainment house, and if he did, it must be to report something.

  "Report back to the Emperor," replied Leopard Guard, "the Eastern Depot sent word that Jiang Xia, the master of Xiangyang Manor, was ambushed by assassins tonight..."

  "What?" Zhu Houzhao exclaimed in surprise.

  Before Leopard Guard finished speaking, he hastily opened his mouth and asked: "How is Big Brother now? Is he injured?"

  In a moment of urgency, Zhu Houzhao directly called out the two words "Big Brother".

  "Leopard Guard slightly hesitated before answering: 'Reporting back to Your Majesty, Jiang Zhuang Master was not injured.'"

  "Whew..." Zhu Houzhao let out a sigh of relief. "As long as you're not hurt, that's all that matters. You scared me to death."

  Zhu Houzhao patted his chest, calmed down, and then his face suddenly turned gloomy. Zhu Houzhao's eyes narrowed into a thin slit, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

  "Liu Jin, I ask you, who has the highest martial arts skills in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

  Liu Jin thought for a moment and said, "To answer Your Majesty, the one with the highest martial arts skills should be Zhong Bin, the deputy commander of the Northern Guard. He is exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship, and his techniques are unparalleled. However, he is cold and aloof by nature and not good at speaking, so even though he has the strength to be one of the top nine, he remains only a deputy commander."

  "The strength of the nine middle tripod." Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly, "The strength of the nine middle tripod should be enough. From tomorrow on, send this person to Xiangyang Mountain Villa as a guard and let him protect Jiang Xia closely."

  "Yes!" Liu Jin replied.

  Immediately afterwards, Zhu Houzhao said with a fierce tone: "Investigate for me, investigate clearly who sent the assassin this time. If there is evidence, no matter who it is, I will make him pay the price!"

  "Yes, your humble servant obeys." Liu Jin replied.

  Zhu Houzhao finished speaking and left. Liu Jin stood up, looking at Zhu Houzhao's back as he walked away, his heart filled with doubts. He nodded to Zhang Yong and Qian Ning before following him out of the theater.

  On his way out of the leopard house, Liu Jin was preoccupied with several questions.

  Jiang Xia was stabbed, and the Emperor immediately sent a master to protect him. This proves that the Emperor attaches great importance to Jiang Xia. Moreover, from the Emperor's last tone, it is clear that he has been truly angry. It seems that Jiang Xia will be valued in the future and carefully cultivated. Who knows when he will enter the imperial court as an official and become a colleague with himself? Such a person who is favored by the emperor, once he enters the officialdom, what can stop him?

  But why did the Emperor send people from the Imperial Guards to protect Jiang Xia? If we're talking about skilled fighters, my East Factory has more than the Imperial Guards. Does the Emperor not trust me?

  Investigate the assassin who killed Jiang Xia, no matter who it is, they will have to pay the price. The only person who could possibly offend Jiang Xia is probably Cao Yuan and Li Dongyang, what does the Emperor mean by this? Is he finally determined to take action against that old scoundrel Li Dongyang?

  Too many doubts, Liu Jin couldn't clear his mind for a moment. He shook his head and simply stopped thinking about it. When he looked up again, he found himself already standing in front of the leopard house.

  The emperor's mind is indeed complex and difficult to understand, but in fact, Zhu Houzhao directly ordered the selection of high-ranking officials from the Jin Yiwei to protect Jiang Xia, the most important reason being that he wanted to keep his identity a secret.

  There were many skilled people in the East Factory, but most of them were eunuchs. Otherwise, they would be like Qian Ning, who had become gentle and reserved due to being with eunuchs for too long. Such a person approaching Jiang Xia would inevitably make Jiang Xia unhappy. Zhu Houzhao did not expect that this small thought would make Liu Jin uneasy in his heart.

  The relationship within the imperial court is complex, with the Dongchang and Jin Yiwei being both subordinate and independent from different perspectives. To put it simply, the Jin Yiwei was a special agency that had the power to supervise, arrest, interrogate, and imprison anyone from princes to commoners. The Dongchang was also a special agency that could supervise officials and also oversee the Jin Yiwei, thus there existed a certain level of subordination between them.

  However, the two are also naturally formed systems. The predecessor of the Imperial Guards was one of the 22 guards under the direct control of the emperor, and it was also the most personal guard of the emperor. They were not only responsible for supervising officials but also for guarding the safety of the emperor and maintaining the security of the Forbidden City. Although they actually belonged to the imperial court, in name they were subordinate to the Five Armies Command, so tracing back to its origins, the Imperial Guards can be considered part of the military system.

  The Eastern Depot was controlled by eunuchs, with the holder of the seal or the brush from the Imperial Household Department's Office of Ceremonial also serving as the depot's director, so the Eastern Depot belonged to the eunuch system and the Embroidered Uniform Guard naturally formed a separate system.

  In short, although the Embroidered Uniform Guard appears to respect the Eastern Depot on the surface, they actually have a mutually restrictive relationship. Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao said that he would let the Embroidered Uniform Guard send an expert to protect Jiangxia, Liu Jin would have had many doubts and misgivings in his heart.

  Beisi, in fact, is the abbreviation of Jin Yiwei North Zhenfu Si. The Jin Yiwei has two Zhenfu Si, one in the south and one in the north. Generally, the South Zhenfu Si is responsible for managing the administrative affairs of the Jin Yiwei, while the North Zhenfu Si is in charge of the imperial prison, with extremely great power. As the saying goes, "The Northern Town Envoy, from the fourth rank, when a second-rank official sees him, he must show respect." This means that although the Northern Town Envoy is only a fourth-rank official, even a second-rank official must show respect to him, which shows how great the power of the Northern Zhenfu Si is.

  Zhong Bin is twenty-nine years old this year. He was originally an orphan and was adopted by Zhong Chaoyang, the commander of the fourth division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, at the age of seven. After Zhong Chaoyang's death, he took over Zhong Chaoyang's position and entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When Zhong Bin was young, he had an unusual encounter and followed a master swordsman to learn martial arts from the age of eight. After entering the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was initially silent and taciturn, often being ostracized, and many dangerous cases were handed over to him for follow-up.

  But it was also because of this that Zhong Bin was able to make a name for himself in the Imperial Guards, his exquisite and unparalleled swordsmanship allowing him to triumph over superior numbers on several occasions, single-handedly infiltrating enemy camps to complete missions. As time passed, Zhong Bin has become widely recognized as the top master of the Imperial Guards, but his taciturn and cold demeanor has hindered his career advancement, despite having earned enough merit to qualify for a position as a Pacification Commissioner. Yet, until now, he remains only a deputy commander of one of the four divisions, with a fifth-rank official title.

  Perhaps this title doesn't look lowly, but under the Vice Commander-in-Chief there is a Commander-in-Chief holding him down, Zhong Bin is equivalent to having no real power, still a lone and isolated individual.

  This time he received an order from his superiors to come to Xiangyang Mountain Villa to protect a man named Jiang Xia. Although he didn't say anything after receiving the task and just left with his long sword, Zhong Bin was very clear that this was another attempt to push him away.

  Anyway, Zhong Bin has already gotten used to it, and can be said to be numb to all this.

  P.S: Four updates today, hoping everyone can send collection and red tickets.