Chapter 45: Ruthless (Part 1)

Over the next few days, Zhu Hao met with the Zhu family siblings once again.

This time he was prepared. Although he did not bring the rabbit into the manor, he made ice cream instead—two small bowls of it. He reasoned that the two children shouldn't be allowed to eat their fill all at once; a mere taste would keep them longing for more and ensure they would come back.

Zhu Hao had briefly considered slipping some croton beans or some other drug into Zhu San's portion of ice cream to prevent her from interfering with his upcoming plan, but after some thought, he abandoned the idea. If the brother and sister came together next time, he would simply knock them both out then.

Zhu Hao specifically dropped a hint to Zhu Si, "Tomorrow, find a way to shake off your elder brother and come alone. I have prepared something wonderful for you, much more interesting than a revolving lantern."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Si's eyes lit up instantly, though he was quickly pulled away by his sister.

By the afternoon, at the spot he had agreed upon with Lu Song, Zhu Hao drew a cross symbol with a charcoal pencil and quietly waited for Lu Song to keep his appointment.

For his upcoming plan, it was best to have Lu Song's cooperation. If Lu Song did not come, the plan could still be executed, but for a child like him, it would be somewhat overly complex. Most importantly, he could not allow pointed-cap and the others to grow suspicious.

When night fell, Lu Song finally arrived.

"Young Master Zhu, I have already inquired about your background... It is indeed as you said. Your relationship with the Zhu family is poor, and your late father gave his life for the country, leaving only you as his sole bloodline. You truly need not enter the Prince's Manor to court danger."

Lu Song was an honest and kind-hearted man. Upon learning that Zhu Hao's father, like himself, had come from the Brocade-Clad Guard and had died a heroic death, he naturally felt sympathy and pity.

Zhu Hao said, "You worry too much, Commander Lu. If I leave the manor now, do I suppose I will have a good life? If the Zhu members drag me back, the property left by my father will be swallowed up by the clan."

For a young child to recount the secrets of internal clan struggles with such a solemn expression made Lu Song feel that the boy was overly precocious, leaving him with no heart to comment on the internal affairs of the Zhu family.

"Commander Lu, I have specially invited you here this time to ask for a favor. Tomorrow, please invite pointed-cap and those other craftsmen for a drink. I am counting on you," Zhu Hao said.

Lu Song had assumed Zhu Hao had some urgent matter to discuss, and upon hearing this request, he looked at Zhu Hao in utter confusion.

Zhu Hao explained, "In wine there is truth... I hope Commander Lu can help me get pointed-cap and the others drunk to see if they truly wish to get rid of me, and how they intend to carry it out. Given Commander Lu's status, they shouldn't hide anything from you. If Commander Lu feels it inconvenient to show your face, you may have someone else do it on your behalf. Here is the wine money."

With that, Zhu Hao produced two liang of silver.

Although this sum of silver was not large, it was enough to buy a fair amount of wine and fine delicacies.

For a child to produce two liang of silver all at once greatly astonished Lu Song. During the Zhengde era, before large amounts of silver from South America had flowed into the Ming Dynasty, the value of silver was quite high. In terms of actual purchasing power, it was roughly equivalent to seven or eight hundred yuan in the early twenty-first century. Although the currency value would drop rapidly by the Wanli period, two liang of silver was still worth around two hundred yuan, which was certainly not a small amount.

Lu Song was skeptical of Zhu Hao's explanation, but after careful thought, he could not figure out the underlying logic. He sought confirmation and asked, "Getting them drunk is just to probe their malicious intentions against you?"

Zhu Hao nodded. "Commander Lu, on that day they discussed getting rid of me, you heard it with your own ears. I want to know if they have truly harbored murderous intent. If I am facing a threat to my life, I think I will follow your advice, leave the Prince's Manor of Xing, and no longer concern myself with the affairs within."

Zhu Hao's reasoning was airtight.

Lu Song thought about it seriously and said with a troubled expression, "If I invite them to drink, they might not necessarily accept. After what happened last time..."

Zhu Hao smiled. "If Commander Lu invites them under the guise of an apology, would they refuse to show face? I also know this might put Commander Lu in an awkward position. If there is any money left over from buying food and wine, consider it my treat to Commander Lu for a drink."

Inviting pointed-cap and the others to drink under the guise of an apology sounded quite reasonable. After all, pointed-cap had not taken any beatings last time, and for a commander of the Prince's Manor Guard to warm up relationships with the manor's craftsmen over drinks was entirely justifiable.

Lu Song had already felt that since he had previously helped Zhu Hao discipline those craftsmen with malicious intentions, Zhu Hao owed him a favor anyway. Without further pretense, he accepted the two liang of silver.

"Inviting them to drink is fine, but it might not yield much information. Hou Chun, who stands behind pointed-cap, has close ties with Senior Clerk Yuan, and they are merely taking orders..."

This was, in effect, telling Zhu Hao indirectly that Yuan Zonggao had long been on guard against him, and it was the subordinates who, grasping his underlying intent, wanted to eliminate Zhu Hao as a trouble.

Zhu Hao said, "Man proposes, God disposes. As long as I can determine the extent of their intentions, it will be enough. I must trouble Commander Lu."

...

Lu Song had originally thought Zhu Hao had important matters concerning the Zhu family or even the Brocade-Clad Guard to relay, only to find out it was merely asking him to invite pointed-cap and the others for drinks.

After returning home, Lu Song pondered over it repeatedly, concluding that this was a way for the Zhu family to test the true attitude of the Prince's Manor.

Thus, he made up his mind: even if pointed-cap and the others had no intention of doing away with Zhu Hao, he would deliberately exaggerate the danger to frighten Zhu Hao into leaving.

Having such a little fellow who knew his background inside and out—a fellow undercover agent—staying in the manor and constantly seeking him out... what if someone discovered them?

In short, he was a dangerous figure. Even if pointed-cap and the other men didn't make a move, he could not allow Zhu Hao to remain in the manor for long.

After sending Lu Song away, Zhu Hao did not rest. He climbed up to the roof to gaze at the stars, just as he had done on previous nights.

What Zhu Hao hadn't told Lu Song was that his reason for inviting pointed-cap and the others to drink was that once this group got drunk, they would uninhibitedly run outside to the alleyway to relieve themselves, conveniently creating the conditions for his next step.

"To successfully become a study companion, I have no choice but to take a risk. Tomorrow's fire must be lit!"

...

The plan proceeded smoothly.

In the morning, Zhu Hao made arrangements inside his room.

To start a fire, the most crucial thing was that the initial flame could not be too large or flare up too violently. At first, the fire had to be controlled within a very small area without spreading rapidly, and ideally, it should produce a large amount of smoke. All of this required prior layout.

As noon approached, Zhu Hao saw Lu Song, accompanied by two guards, carrying two large jars of wine into the kitchen courtyard.

Zhu Hao thought to himself that Lu Song was far too earnest. Given two liang of silver, he only needed to buy a little wine to get pointed-cap and the others drunk. Were these two large jars meant to intoxicate every single craftsman?

Putting other thoughts aside for the moment, Zhu Hao went back inside to prepare the ice cream and iced plum juice. He hung up all the revolving lanterns and the shadow puppet cutouts he had specially purchased from the market. Crafted meticulously by skilled artisans, the images on the parchment paper were hollowed out and colored, looking remarkably lifelike.

Having prepared everything, Zhu Hao stepped out of the courtyard.

He needed to slip away first to manufacture an alibi. When Zhu Si arrived, he would find himself missing his host, but he would surely be attracted by the little trinkets prepared for him.

Zhu Hao had already laced the ice cream and iced plum juice with a mixed powder of datura and monkshood. The dosage was small, but it would be more than enough to knock someone out cold for a couple of hours.

Zhu Hao waited outside for quite a while. The most critical link in his plan was for Zhu Si to show up.

If Zhu Si and Zhu San had come together, it would have been manageable—at worst, he would have knocked them both out. But if Zhu Si failed to show, all his previous efforts would be wasted, and he would have to wait for another opportunity. Would Lu Song be willing to invite those craftsmen to drink again?

Setting aside whether Lu Song would be willing, he would have to spend money once more...

If this dragged on and the people in the manor discovered that Zhu San and Zhu Si kept running over to his place, they would cut off his access, and all his previous efforts would go down the drain.

This was why Zhu Hao had to act hastily.

As he was deep in thought, he spotted Zhu Si hopping and skipping over. Taking a closer look, Zhu Hao saw that neither Zhu San nor Lu Bing was following behind.

Watching Zhu Si step into the courtyard, Zhu Hao's plan was officially put into motion.

...

Inside the kitchen courtyard of the East Side Compound, a banquet was currently underway. Lu Song was playing the host, specially treating pointed-cap and the others.

Hou Chun did not come, but Li Shun was present, along with the three men who had been beaten last time and the craftsman on duty today.

After a few days of recuperation, the three beaten men had recovered somewhat. Lu Song used the pretense of an apology banquet to show that the report had nothing to do with him—his previous actions had been entirely helpless, carried out under orders from above.

Had he not been caught red-handed by Hundred-House-Hui Lin, Lu Song would have preferred to forget his family mission rather than pick up his father's duty, let alone live in constant terror day after day.

He knew well that if he did not obey Hundred-House-Hui Lin's orders to investigate intelligence in the manor and instead allowed his identity to be exposed, he would find himself despised by both sides and unable to establish a foothold in the Prince's Manor of Xing.

At the banquet, Lu Song unconsciously drank a few extra cups.

Pointed-cap, who was naturally Hou Chun's top henchman and usually didn't even deign to look at Li Shun, shouted across the table, "If you need anything in the future, just tell me. If your family window is broken or you need to fix a door, I'll definitely come over and help. The warehouse is fully stocked with materials, take as much as you want."

This was, indirectly, an admission that when materials mysteriously went missing from the manor's warehouse, he had a hand in it.

Lu Song inwardly curled his lip. He had invited them to drink just to get them to do carpentry work for him?

Just as he was about to tell the kitchen to add another dish, he suddenly felt something was amiss. After pondering for a long time, Lu Song finally realized that Zhu Hao hadn't come to the kitchen for lunch today.

Lu Song thought to himself, "This bunch here is running their mouths and shouting wildly. If you, brat, wanted to know whether they intend to kill you, couldn't you come and eavesdrop yourself? Could it be that you were afraid to come personally because this mob would be on their guard and refuse to talk?"

Just as Lu Song was about to ask pointed-cap what impression they had of Zhu Hao and what their subsequent plans were, he saw pointed-cap sway to his feet and stagger toward the entrance.

"He..."

Lu Song pointed, intending to chase him back himself.

Da Xi, sitting nearby, grabbed his arm. "Old Lu, never mind him. He's just going out to stretch his legs."

"Stretch his legs?" Lu Song was baffled.

Old Song, sitting at the same table and sharing the drinks while already quite drunk, slurred, "He's just going to take a leak."

"You don't go to the latrine to piss, why run outside? Hey..." Lu Song wanted to call the man back, but the fellow had already cleared the doorway and likely wouldn't turn around even if he heard him.

"Commander Lu, keep drinking. This wine is truly excellent..."

Lu Song had felt that something was a bit strange, but with fine wine before him, he grew a bit greedy. Coupled with the urging of those beside him to drink, he cast other thoughts aside and decided to wait until pointed-cap returned to ask how they planned to deal with Zhu Hao.

...

At this moment, Zhu Hao had already slipped into the courtyard once.

He had been worried that Zhu Si hadn't eaten the ice cream and plum juice and thus hadn't lost consciousness.

Upon confirming that Zhu Si had indeed passed out and seeing the revolving lantern spinning quietly beside the little fellow's head, Zhu Hao nodded inwardly. This indicated that after Zhu Si arrived and found him absent, he had spotted the delicious treats and, ignoring everything else, ate the ice cream and drank the plum juice while taking down the revolving lantern, lifting its cover to light the candle and play with it.

Before long, the drug's effects took hold, and the little fellow slumped over the octagonal table, fast asleep.

The group of craftsmen were all drinking over by the kitchen, so naturally, no one was minding the warehouse side. This was yet another reason why Zhu Hao had asked Lu Song to invite those men for drinks—to prevent anyone from running over to the storehouse and ruining his grand plan.