As they walked, Luo Wei asked Zhao Fu, "Mister Zhao, was it Mister Fu who came for the second prince just now?"
Zhao Fu answered, "Yes, that was Fu Lai."
Luo Wei responded, "He shares a part of his name with you, "fu"(1), did the two of you start your service in the palace together?"
"To answer the young master," Zhao Fu said, "I"ve always served His Imperial Majesty, Fu Lai"s been in the palace longer than I have."
"Oh, sorry," Luo Wei said quickly, "My mistake."
In the past life, Long Xuan became emperor and Fu Lai finally rose to the top. Zhao Fu had been killed by Fu Lai"s own hand. The two of them were from the same home town, they"d been castrated together and came to the capital at the same time. The only thing was, Fu Lai entered the palace first, but Zhao Fu had gone to the estate of King Wu. Luo Wei didn"t know how the two became enemies, but the fact that he knew they hated each other was enough. If Zhao Fu knew that there was a possibility for Long Xuan to become emperor, then Luo Wei trusted that Zhao Fu would definitely not want to see that reality come to pa.s.s.
It was obvious that Zhao Fu didn"t want to talk about Fu Lai. The eunuch changed the topic through some easy jokes and laughter.
As they arrived at the Hall of Eternal Light, Zhao Fu himself helped Luo Wei change and get bathed.
Luo Wei addressed Zhao Fu, "Mister Zhao, please don"t think I"m being too direct in saying this, but as people, it"s best to not make too many enemies."
Zhao Fu asked, "What does the Young Master mean by this?"
Luo Wei answered, "Mister, I"ve been a study companion to the second prince for years and years. I"ve heard more than my share of complaints about you from Fu Lai."
"That impudent slave, he..." Zhao Fu"s first instinct was to curse, but quickly stopped himself because of Luo Wei.
Luo Wei smiled, "Mister Zhao, the second prince is full of ambition. We don"t know what"s to become of Fu Lai in the future. When the master ascends, so too does his servant. It"s best to be as cautious as you can."
Zhao Fu"s eye twitched as he understood the meaning behind those words. As someone able to become the head eunuch of the Hall of Eternal Light, he was no fool, "The Young Master is right," He attended to Luo Wei quickly and neatly, and kept his voice low, "This humble servant is glad to receive your advice." Zhao Fu knew the truth behind Consort Liu"s act too, he knows exactly what Luo Wei meant. If a servant like Fu Lai followed his master"s success, then Zhao Fu would be doomed to failure.
Emperor Xing Wu spent the entire night at the empress"s hall, then on the second night, he took his rest at Consort Liu"s hall. No one in the palace dared to talk about Consort Liu"s miscarriage from that point forward.
Shang Xi came to see Luo Wei again, having cast his faith wholeheartedly in this young master.
"Keep serving the empress well," Luo Wei instructed Shang Xi, "My aunt needs to keep up whatever daily routines she"d been following before all this happened."
"What about Consort Liu?"
"If she comes to visit at the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix, treat her normally, but make sure you tell Her Imperial Majesty to not mention the matter of the miscarriage. Also, Consort Liu is still the mistress of the Back Palace, so you need to tell the empress that she doesn"t need to inquire about the matters in the Back Palace too much."
"Yes, understood."
Luo Wei motioned for Shang Xi to come closer, "Did you find out more about the packet of safflower that the empress dowager found?"
Shang Xi answered, "I looked into it, but a lot of people came by the main hall that day, it"s difficult to narrow it down."
"Do you know who all these people are?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then take care of all of them."
Shang Xi shuddered. In this context, he knew that "take care of" meant "kill", "Young Master, there are more than twenty of them."
Luo Wei was indifferent, "Then you can say that some things went missing from the Hall of the Gracious Phoenix. Mister Shang, I don"t need to teach you how things are done around here, do I?"
Shang Xi answered in a hurry, "This humble servant knows how. Things really have gone missing in the Hall."
"I"ll let Mister Zhao Fu know," Luo Wei said, "The two of you can discuss who to replace these people with, we can"t have something like this happen again."
"Yes," Shang Xi quickly agreed.
"You can go," Luo Wei pulled out a bag of coins for Shang Xi, his face warm and smiling once more.
Shang Xi excused himself, but took a last glance at Luo Wei as he walked away. Luo Wei was already deep in his book again. No matter how hard Shang Xi looked, Luo Wei seemed like an una.s.suming youth who was unaffected by worldly struggles and had no interest in the affairs of the court, but Shang Xi now knows, this young master"s heart was ruthless.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Fu - Eunuchs are given names in the palace that are different from their birth names, sometimes with their original surnames, sometimes not. Like siblings, eunuchs of the same generation or the same group are named in similar ways. The "fu" in Zhao Fu and Fu Lai"s name means good fortune, or lucky.