There is a god in the sky

Chapter 152 Split Operation 5

The man released her hand, turned around and knelt by the bed, saying gently, "Your Majesty's body is precious, and I am a disabled person, so I dare not defile your phoenix body."

This servant is willing to select a strong and healthy man for Your Majesty, so that Your Majesty may experience true and ultimate pleasure.

The Empress remained unmoved.

"You're no longer willing to serve me?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling, but I'm afraid Your Majesty won't be satisfied."

The Empress naturally knew that this was not enough to satisfy her.

But what could she do? She really liked this boy.

Moreover, she is the Empress. If she were to have an affair with a man, and the matter were to be exposed, it would not only ruin her life.

"Alright, step down. Let's not mention this matter again."

The man dressed and left the bedchamber.

He walked slowly toward his residence with his hands in his pockets, and all the palace servants he encountered on the way knelt down and bowed respectfully.

He lived not far from the central palace, occupying a palace all to himself, and was served by a number of palace maids and eunuchs.

A pool of hot water has been prepared inside.

The servants bowed their heads and retreated, none daring to look up.

They vividly remembered that once a palace maid couldn't help but peek at the head steward, and her eyes were gouged out on the spot.

Therefore, everyone knew that after the head servant had finished attending to the Empress, they should never, ever go and offend her.

The door closed gently, leaving only Li Ge inside.

He stripped naked and walked into the pool, immersing himself completely in the hot water.

He only surfaced when his chest ached from holding his breath, and he gasped for air.

He stayed in the water for a long time until his skin turned red before he came out.

After drying himself off and putting on his clothes, he rang the bell to let someone in to serve him.

A palace maid gently wiped his hair with a cloth, while another knelt beside him and trimmed his nails.

"Master, your servant Zhang Cheng has returned." A eunuch entered and knelt before him.

Li Ge waved his hand, and the palace maids serving him immediately bowed and withdrew.

"How's it going?"

"King Zheng has agreed to your request and has brought you a great gift."

Li Ge lay on the rocking chair, his eyes closed, and said, "It seems that King Zheng is not as indifferent to state affairs as rumored. Indeed, how could someone in his position not have any ambition?"

"Should we form an alliance with King Zheng?"

"It's not really that, it's just mutual exploitation."

Li Ge reached out to him, and the latter gently took his hand and helped Li Ge up.

"Manager, your hands are a little cold. Is the charcoal fire in the room not burning bright enough?" Zhang Cheng asked with concern.

Li Ge said coldly, "This temperature is just right; too warm a temperature can easily make people lose themselves."

He stood on the cold floor and said to Zhang Cheng, "Stay by Consort Li's side and I'll transfer you to the Imperial Kitchen after the New Year. I'll give you a month to firmly grasp control of the Imperial Kitchen."

Zhang Cheng agreed without hesitation.

His life belongs to Li Ge; he will do whatever Li Ge tells him to do.

However… “Steward, shouldn’t we send someone over to Consort Li’s side?”

"This is not your concern."

Zhang Cheng hurriedly admitted his mistake, "Yes, yes, this servant has overstepped his bounds."

"Has the situation in the south been investigated? Who sabotaged our plans?"

"It's been investigated. It was Lord Xiao Ji, who was recently transferred to the Capital Judicial Commission. He's the one who stole over a thousand catties of gunpowder from Tong'an County."

Li Ge laughed, and his handsome face shone brightly because of the smile.

Zhang Cheng finally understood why the Empress Dowager doted on Eunuch Li so much. Even ignoring his talent and abilities, his face alone was enough to fascinate any woman.

"Let him be, we're not the ones who should be worried."

What if the Crown Prince makes a move?

"How dare the officials below report such a trivial matter to the Crown Prince? If they can't even handle such a small matter, they are not worthy to carry the Crown Prince's shoes."

Zhang Cheng sometimes couldn't understand why, although the head of the household was from the Eastern Palace faction, he wasn't loyal to the Crown Prince and the Empress.

At this moment, he seems to be hoping for something to happen to the Crown Prince.

"Alright, step down. Don't meddle in other people's business. Just do your own thing."

"Yes."

After Zhang Cheng left, Li Ge looked at the cold, empty room and muttered to himself, "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer, and I will definitely walk up to you openly and honestly."

Shen Lan covered Xiao Ji with the blanket, and he had fallen asleep in the chair at some point.

His face was actually quite young, not even twenty years old, but he was already a veteran in the officialdom.

Perhaps years from now, Xiao Ji's stubbornness will be worn down by officialdom, but at this moment, he possesses an admirable sense of justice.

Xiao Ji opened his eyes and met Shen Lan's gaze.

He stared intently, seemingly not fully awake, his eyes filled with boundless tenderness.

Shen Lan's heart was pounding, somewhat lost in this tenderness.

She was about to get up when Xiao Ji grabbed her arm.

He said in a hoarse voice, "Don't go."

"Dream?"

What beautiful and romantic scene did I dream about?

Xiao Ji blinked, his eyes gradually clearing.

He let go of her hand and pulled the blanket up around him. "No, are you sleepy?"

"Thankfully, it's almost dawn."

"Go lie down on the bed for a while."

Shen Lan nodded, and lay on the bed fully clothed for a while. The room was warm from the charcoal fire, so it wasn't actually very cold.

In the darkest hour before dawn, the horses in the post station suddenly began to neigh in unison.

The sound was so shrill and painful that it woke all the guests.

"What happened? Is the stable on fire?"

"Go and see."

Chen Shi also led his men downstairs, and when they came out, they saw all the horses foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground.

Was he poisoned to death?

Among these were their horses; without horses, their goods could not have been transported to Bianjing today.

"Who poisoned the horses? Find the person quickly! What if they poisoned our food?"

Ignoring their commotion, Chen Shi led his men to inspect their goods.

Tonight is the second half of the night shift under Officer Wu's command, with over a hundred people on duty, so there's absolutely no chance of anything going wrong.

"Did you see who poisoned it?" Chen Shi asked Officer Wu.

The latter shook his head, "We've been patrolling, but we haven't seen anyone appear in the stables."

The two inspected the goods, and then went together to inspect the stables.

They found poisonous plants in the feeding troughs, and the horses had died because they ate them.

"The fodder is very fresh; it was just put in recently," Chen Shi said in a deep voice.

Officer Wu hurriedly retorted, "Impossible! No one came near just now. My men were watching."

Faced with the facts, even Officer Wu himself began to lose confidence.

Chen Shi comforted him, "Don't be nervous. If the opponent is a master and fast, it's not impossible for them to find an opening."

Just then, a scream came from inside the building, "Someone's dead..."

The two exchanged a glance, realizing something was wrong.

It seems that this batch of dead horses was just a diversionary tactic.