Yin Zheng escorted Hu Xiaotian to the door. Seeing no one nearby, Hu Xiaotian used Secret Voice Transmission to ask him, "Little Yin, I've always treated you as a brother. Have you ever truly regarded me as your Big Brother?"
Yin Zheng's expression changed, and he said in a trembling voice, "Why would you say such a thing, Big Brother? I've always told you everything I know, holding nothing back."
Hu Xiaotian asked, "How long have you been serving His Majesty?"
"A while now," Yin Zheng said. "Though it hasn't been all that long."
"Do you know those eight guards around His Majesty?"
Yin Zheng shook his head. "No. They were all sent by Mr. Hong of the Heavenly Secrets Bureau. Mr. Hong is the person His Majesty trusts most."
Hu Xiaotian asked, "When did Mr. Hong last come to see His Majesty?"
Yin Zheng thought hard, then said quietly, "The day His Majesty set out for the Heavenly Dragon Temple, shortly before you went to the palace to see him."
Hu Xiaotian remained skeptical. He still could not determine whether Yin Zheng was one of Hong Beimo's men. Anyone capable of serving two successive sovereigns was no ordinary fellow; even in the Imperial Palace, such people were rare.
"Do you suspect me of something, Big Brother?" Yin Zheng asked.
Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice. "His Majesty may be planning to kill me. You'd best keep your distance from me from now on."
Yin Zheng's expression changed again. "How could that be? Hasn't His Majesty always favored and trusted you?"
"The heart of a sovereign is unfathomable," Hu Xiaotian said meaningfully. "I thought my loyalty should have spared me such treatment, too."
"No," Yin Zheng said. "His Majesty would never treat you that way, Big Brother."
Hu Xiaotian shook his