Chapter 39: Silencing a Witness?

Successfully entering the Prince Xing’s Mansion seemed like a stroke of luck, but in reality, it was a situation fraught with peril.

They knew your background. As the rivals of the Prince’s Mansion, why would they ever place their trust in you, let alone allow you to meet the Prince’s only son? Providing a roof over your head and three meals a day was already more than they owed you.

This was a real headache.

After some observation, Zhu Hao figured out his current predicament. This courtyard was akin to a woodshed or a lumber warehouse for the mansion, and the room he occupied was meant for the night watchman. Although inside the mansion walls, it did not belong to the inner residence; it was a transition zone between the inner and outer estates.

To enter the inner residence, one had to pass a checkpoint or scale a wall over two meters high. With guards patrolling, it was nearly impossible to cross.

Zhu Hao pondered. What would be the point of entering the inner residence anyway? He was here to act as a spy to gather information, not as an assassin.

The warehouse was rarely visited. The courtyard was piled high with wood and tools, and he had to eat with the carpenters and laborers from the mansion’s eastern courtyard. This group was led by the "Two Evils."

"Two Evils" was a nickname Zhu Hao had coined. The names fit the men—they were truly wicked, hated by all. One was Hou Chun, the other Li Shun.

Hou Chun was not a craftsman but a troublemaker among the laborers. He had distant connections to an official in the Mansion’s Secretariat and was accustomed to being arrogant and overbearing, constantly berating others. Li Shun was the foreman of the carpenters. He was cold, humorless, and cruel in his dealings, frequently docking wages at the slightest provocation.

Beneath the Two Evils were the "Two Lackeys." Their real names were unknown; people called them Daxi and Jianmao Jue. "Jianmao Jue" was a local dialect term meaning stingy; the man was petty and vicious, serving as Hou Chun’s right-hand man.

On his first day, when Zhu Hao went to the canteen for lunch, he was immediately targeted by Hou Chun and Li Shun. Li Shun threw two cold rice balls into Zhu Hao’s bowl with a stony face, and Hou Chun signaled for Jianmao Jue to "escort" Zhu Hao back to the yard.

"From now on, just chop wood here. If you dare to wander out, I’ll kill you!" Jianmao Jue threatened viciously.

Zhu Hao argued, "Then how am I supposed to eat?"

Jianmao Jue sneered, "If we call you, you eat. If we don’t, you stay here and starve before you’re allowed to cross the line."

The afternoon passed, and as night fell, the second watch drum sounded, yet no one came to call Zhu Hao for dinner. He simply left the courtyard himself, walked through the alleyway flanked by high walls, and entered the eastern canteen. He found the group had already finished eating and was gathered around an outdoor stove in the backyard, gambling.

Only then did they ignore him. He was left to scrounge for leftovers to fill his stomach, and no one bothered him until he finished and left.

Most of the people working in the mansion were recruited locally, men with families who lived off a steady salary. They didn’t have the money or status for wine and women, but gambling was something anyone could participate in. When they had much money, they gambled big; when they had little, they gambled small. That night, Jianmao Jue was the house dealer, shouting and swaggering at the gambling table, looking quite imposing.

Leaving the kitchen, Zhu Hao didn't rush back. He followed the alleyway toward the inner residence, but after only a few steps, he ran into guards from the Mansion’s Ceremonial Guard Department.

"Who goes there?" a guard barked.

"I... I am here as a companion reader. It’s my first day, and I’ve lost my way back to my quarters," Zhu Hao said, bowing.

The guard pointed to the alley behind him: "Turn the corner and you're there. You are not allowed near the inner residence!"

These guards seemed to know his identity; their attitude was hostile and full of suspicion, which gave Zhu Hao a massive headache. He had no choice but to turn back.

Zhu Hao pondered. Since Zhu San and Zhu Si could slip out of the heavily guarded Prince Xing’s Mansion to play, there must be secret routes connecting the inner and outer courtyards, allowing them to easily bypass the two walls.

But he had just arrived; figuring out the situation wouldn't be easy. The problem remained: simply entering the inner courtyard was meaningless. The most important thing was to quickly establish contact with Zhu San and Zhu Si to facilitate his next plan and gain the mansion's trust.

...

Inside the inner residence of the mansion, Zhu San and Zhu Si were finishing their lessons for the day. As dusk approached, they spotted Yuan Zonggao hurrying by.

"Master Yuan!" The two children ran toward him. Yuan Zonggao smiled and nodded at his two young masters.

Zhu San asked, "Master Yuan, I heard the companion readers for us have been chosen. Why haven't we seen them in the last two days? When are they coming?"

"Oh?" Yuan Zonggao feigned surprise. "Wasn't it the Lu boy who was sent to be your companion?"

"Him? He’s too young... he hasn't even started his schooling, he barely knows any characters... Didn't they say the two chosen companions were learned and about our age?"

Zhu San was well-informed and had been asking around for two days, but the tutors and guards had avoided the question, leaving him to ask Yuan Zonggao directly.

Yuan Zonggao chuckled. In truth, it wasn't just Zhu Hao; even the son of the local magistrate hadn't been summoned to the two young princes... A newly arrived local magistrate trying to butter up Prince Xing by sending his son to be a companion—who knew what kind of schemes were hidden behind that? How could the Prince’s Mansion summon anyone without a thorough investigation?

However, unlike the stance toward Zhu Hao, the mansion had not yet summoned the magistrate’s son. Currently, the only true companion to Zhu San and Zhu Si was the naive Lu Bing.

Yuan Zonggao said, "As for the matter of the companion readers, His Highness is still considering the details. You needn't worry; you will see them eventually." With that, he excused himself and left.

...

Seeing Yuan Zonggao leave, Zhu San was clearly unsatisfied. Just then, Lu Bing trotted over, holding a *cuju* ball. Behind him was another boy, a year or two older than Zhu San and Zhu Si, a servant the mansion had assigned to them earlier.

"Third Sister, let’s play *cuju*," Zhu Si said, thinking only of play.

Zhu San beckoned Lu Bing over and asked, "You said you got the message out earlier, and that someone you know could pass a word to the rabbit seller... What does that person look like?"

Lu Bing widened his eyes; at his age, he didn't know how to describe someone's appearance.

"How do you know him?" Zhu San pressed.

Lu Bing replied, "I... I took the exam with him. He... he is much better than me..."

Zhu San’s eyes lit up. "Do you know his name?"

Lu Bing shook his head.

"Is his name Zhu Hao?" Zhu Si asked.

Lu Bing nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes, that’s it! His name is Zhu Hao, I remember now."

Zhu San poked Lu Bing on the forehead, complaining, "Why didn't you say so sooner? Wouldn't that mean the message went to him? Do you know if he’s in the mansion yet?"

...

That stumped Lu Bing. The fact that Zhu Hao had entered the mansion wasn't a secret to those tasked with guarding against his espionage, but how could these little ones in the inner courtyard know?

"Go ask your father. He should know... Alright, let's go play!" Zhu San realized Lu Bing was too young and difficult to communicate with, but that wouldn't stop her from using him to get things done. Lu Bing had a father who was a guard officer in the mansion, making him a well-informed source—perfect for meeting the needs of Zhu San and Zhu Si.

...

The first three days of Zhu Hao’s time in the mansion were calm and uneventful. His main duty was chopping wood, though there was no set quota. He went to eat when the time came, occasionally being targeted, but after two days, no one bothered to care about him anymore. Even the "Two Evils" and "Two Lackeys" lost interest. The canteen supply fluctuated, but for a child, he didn't go hungry, and he even got a bit of meat now and then, showing the mansion’s food wasn't bad.

Trying to get into the inner residence was unrealistic, and Zhu Hao found that sneaking out of the mansion was just as difficult. Fortunately, there was a holiday every ten days, during which he could leave to catch a breath.

Currently, it looked like he was trapped, but in reality, he was just working here. The mansion hadn't explicitly forbidden him from leaving forever.

At night, when the surroundings were pitch black, Zhu Hao would climb onto the roof to observe the alleyways. One slight advantage was that this alley was the only route from the southeast of the mansion to the inner residence. When he curled up on the roof at night, no one would notice a child watching from above.

He could record who walked by, when they came, and when they went. Plus, there was a wind-shielded oil lamp at the end of the alley; although it didn't clearly illuminate faces, it allowed him to discern general body shapes, giving him a good impression of the residents.

Strangely enough, while people came and went from the warehouse during the day, not a soul appeared at night.

It wasn't until the fourth night that Zhu Hao, while keeping watch on the roof, heard two laborers whispering: "This place is haunted, it's terrifying..."

Haunted?

Zhu Hao had lived there for a few days, eating well and sleeping soundly. Life was monotonous, but it gave him the peace of mind to reflect on his two lifetimes. Who would have thought he was living in a haunted house?

The next day, while eating, Zhu Hao specifically asked Old Song, a carpenter who seemed kind and had spoken to him before. Only then did he learn that a maid and a guard had been "fooling around" in the warehouse at night. When they were discovered, the maid, consumed by shame and anger, hanged herself there the next day.

Old Song added meaningfully, "You’re still a child, your *yang* energy is strong enough to suppress ghosts. Don't be afraid!"

Zhu Hao wanted to curse out loud. *Afraid? I've already died once; why would I be afraid of a place where someone else died?*

Zhu Hao wanted to ask which guard had been involved, but Old Song became tight-lipped, clearly knowing but unwilling to speak.

The next day, the fifth of the seventh month, according to the established rules, he could go home in the morning and stay for a night before returning.

Zhu Hao still habitually climbed onto the roof. The turn of summer and autumn brought sweltering heat, and being up there was a good way to catch a breeze. Near midnight, two people approached sneakily. They leaned against the courtyard wall, whispering.

Usually, Zhu Hao wouldn't get too close to the alley, but seeing their suspicious behavior, he crept closer to listen.

"...Master said that as long as this brat stays in the mansion, he’ll be a disaster sooner or later. Why don't we just solve the problem for our superiors and..."

Zhu Hao recognized the voice. After a moment of thought, he realized it was Jianmao Jue. He didn't know who the other person was yet.

*Villains!*

Were they planning to... kill him to silence him?