Security is actually this lax... he thought.
He had long heard that after Prince Cheng established his own household, he had managed it poorly, indulging in luxury and spending without restraint. Before long, his household had fallen on hard times, its expenses exceeding its income.
To cut costs, more than half the guards had been dismissed, and ceremonial trappings and other expenses had been pared back wherever possible. Only the servants attending Prince Cheng had increased rather than decreased.
He had never believed it before, but judging by the security at the prince's estate, those rumors did not seem entirely unfounded.
I should find a few servants and ask around first.
After briefly getting his bearings, Teng Zijing leaped down and slipped inside, heading straight for the servants' quarters.
He had no idea that the moment he jumped down from the high wall, a pair of eyes hidden in the darkness had already locked onto him.
Concealed among the shadows of the trees, Chen Quan watched Teng Zijing and marveled inwardly. His Highness truly foresaw everything! A Grandmaster is a Grandmaster indeed. This power to know things before they happen must be almost supernatural!
Chen Quan's admiration for Zhou Cheng deepened.
He knew all the stories about the Four Grandmasters by heart.
Yet none of them possessed anything as miraculous as Zhou Cheng's ability.
He believed that, given time, Zhou Cheng's unique gifts would inevitably allow him to surpass the Four Grandmasters and reign supreme over the world!
That was why he and his brothers devoted themselves wholeheartedly to every task Zhou Cheng assigned, however small, striving to execute it flawlessly.
To ensure nothing went wrong that night, he had posted men early at several elevated spots overlooking the estate.
The instant Teng Zijing appeared, they spotted him.
Chen Quan gave a small hand signal, and the hidden guards closed in like a net.
In the outer courtyard, Teng Zijing suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He whipped around to find more than a dozen figures blocking his escape.
Chen Quan bore down on him with his eighth-rank cultivation. Teng Zijing was only seventh rank, and concern for his wife and child kept him from striking too hard. Within ten exchanges, his arms had been twisted behind him and he was pinned to the ground.
"Send someone to inform His Highness. Teach this assassin a lesson first," Chen Quan ordered coldly. Then he remembered that Zhou Cheng had used the word "invite" and added, "Be careful. Don't kill him."
Candle flames swayed gently in the outer study. Wearing only a light robe, Zhou Cheng sat behind the desk, regarding the escorted Teng Zijing through sleepy eyes.
"Just you? I thought Fan Xian would come too..." he muttered, then waved a hand casually. "Let him go."
The two guards hesitated for a moment before obeying and releasing Teng Zijing.
Teng Zijing immediately stood up. Before he could speak, Zhou Cheng said with his eyes half closed:
"You're Teng Zijing, the guard at Fan Xian's side. I know why you're here.
"I won't waste words. I invited your wife and child here to threaten you into helping me keep watch on Fan Xian.
"Agree, and your wife and son will remain safe. Refuse, and you can imagine the consequences."
Teng Zijing clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened, his eyes fixed on Zhou Cheng.
Rather than give an immediate answer, he suppressed his anger and asked, "Where are my wife and child? Are they all right?"
"They're in the inner courtyard, well fed and comfortably housed." As though remembering something, Zhou Cheng's lips curved slightly. "Speaking of which, your wife is quite a fierce woman. When she learned I intended to use her to threaten you, she even entertained some dangerous ideas.
"Unfortunately, she had a child with her. It took me only three sentences to make her obediently serve me. To be honest, your wife is not only lovely and luscious, but quite skilled at attending to a man!"
[Negative emotions from Teng Zijing +999!]
The system notification sounded, finally dispelling Zhou Cheng's lingering irritation at having his sleep interrupted.
He had not lied.
Teng Zijing's wife was indeed rather attractive, and she had been attending to him recently.
She was the one who prepared the hot water for his daily baths before and after his activities.
Everything Zhou Cheng said was true, though anyone listening could easily take it another way.
Blood vessels spread across Teng Zijing's eyes, and veins bulged at his temples. But after looking at Chen Quan beside him and Zhou Cheng some twenty feet away, he could only grit his teeth and swallow every emotion.
"Why choose me?" he asked hoarsely.
"Because sending people to secretly watch Fan Xian is too much trouble and costs too much. Using someone already at his side is easier, more convenient, and more efficient," Zhou Cheng said casually.
"Fan Xian is merely Count Sinan's illegitimate son, raised in Danzhou. Even if he is betrothed to the commandery princess, whether the marriage will happen remains uncertain. What makes him worthy of such attention from Your Highness?"
Zhou Cheng smiled and shook his head slightly. "Heh. Even now, you're still trying to fish information out of me?"
But he did not mind. "I can tell you plainly that Fan Xian's identity and background are far more complicated than you imagine.
"If the entire Capital were a great game board, Fan Xian would be the stone placed at its very center.
"The game throughout the Capital will unfold around him. Knowing Fan Xian's movements means knowing how the game is changing.
"Put that way, you should understand!"
Teng Zijing froze for a moment. He had not expected Zhou Cheng to attach such importance to Fan Xian.
Zhou Cheng yawned. "I've said everything I should and shouldn't. After answering so many of your questions, isn't it time you answered mine?"
Teng Zijing hesitated, then finally lowered his head, stepped forward, and dropped to one knee. "...I, Teng Zijing, am willing to serve Your Highness and monitor Fan Xian."
"Good!" Zhou Cheng stood and drew his robe together. "You can return to Fan Xian now and let him keep paying to employ you. Think of yourself as an outsourced worker. Whatever wages Fan Xian pays you count as wages from me."
"...Yes." Teng Zijing kept his head lowered.
"You may leave. Remember, unless the sky falls, don't disturb my sleep again." Zhou Cheng waved him away and turned to leave.
Zhou Cheng had barely taken two steps when Teng Zijing suddenly looked up.
"Your Highness! Regarding Fan Xian... there is one more matter I must report."
Zhou Cheng stopped and looked back.
Teng Zijing glanced around, hesitation on his face.
"Chen Quan stays. Everyone else, leave." At Zhou Cheng's command, only the three of them remained in the study.
Teng Zijing glanced at Chen Quan, quietly edged half a step forward, and lowered his voice. "Your Highness, tonight Fan Xian... went to the Drunken Immortal Residence and presented a poem to Miss Si Lili."
"What?!" Zhou Cheng first looked stunned, as though doubting his own ears. Then his eyes widened, shock and fury crossing his face. He instinctively stepped forward, coming within ten feet of Teng Zijing. "How dare he-"
At that instant, a cold gleam flashed in Teng Zijing's eyes, and he clenched his teeth!
His seventh-rank true qi erupted. Before Chen Quan could intervene, he darted behind Zhou Cheng. Cold steel flashed in his hand, and the short dagger concealed in his sleeve slid against Zhou Cheng's throat.
Chapter 19: Glimpsing the Truth
The candlelight flickered, its shifting glow illuminating the resolve in Teng Zijing's eyes.
Had he not been utterly cornered, he would never have chosen this path.
The blade was icy against the side of Zhou Cheng's neck, reflecting a faint orange glow.
"You insolent scoundrel! His Highness trusted you and showed you kindness. Even if you won't be grateful, how dare you commit such treason! If you won't think of yourself, think of your wife and child! Release His Highness at once!"
Chen Quan bristled with fury and barked his rebuke. With a metallic clang, the saber at his waist slid half an inch from its sheath. He lowered his stance, poised to spring.
His expression was heated, yet deep in his eyes there was not a trace of anxiety. There was even a faint, almost amused smile.
How could Teng Zijing's little movements have escaped his notice?
He had simply understood his prince's intentions.
Zhou Cheng had readily dismissed the guards, then feigned outrage to give Teng Zijing a chance to take him hostage. Clearly, he wanted to toy with the man!
The secret message about Fan Xian spending the night with Si Lili had been delivered by Chen Quan himself.
Why would Zhou Cheng display such deliberate anger in front of others over something he already knew?
His Highness clearly felt like playing a game. As his guard, Chen Quan naturally had to cooperate and enjoy the show along the way.
As for worrying that Zhou Cheng might lose control of the situation? That was laughable.
It was not that Chen Quan underestimated Teng Zijing.
Even his own all-out strike, backed by peak eighth-rank cultivation, was like an ant trying to shake a tree against a Grandmaster's protective true qi. It could not stir so much as a ripple. Teng Zijing, a mere seventh-rank fighter... hardly warranted discussion.
Teng Zijing was too tense to notice the unusual look in Chen Quan's eyes. Holding Zhou Cheng, he retreated another two steps and spoke in a low, hoarse voice:
"Your Highness! Order your men to stand back! I don't want to hurt you. I only want to reunite with my family! Bring my wife and child here, and prepare a carriage to take us out of the Capital. Once I know we're safe, I will release you unharmed!"
A faint smile rested on Zhou Cheng's face. With his back to Teng Zijing, however, only Chen Quan opposite him could see it clearly.
"Brother Teng, what are you doing? Oh dear! We can talk this through. Why bring blades into it?" Zhou Cheng's tone was relaxed, even a little helpless. "Whatever you want, just say it. Am I the sort of prince who refuses to listen to reason?"
Suppressing his anger, Teng Zijing sneered. "Now Your Highness wants to be reasonable? Were you reasonable when you abducted my wife and child?
"Were you reasonable when you forced me to spy on Fan Xian and betray my friend? I'm just a warrior, my life worth no more than grass, but Your Highness should never have treated me as though I were nothing!
"When an ordinary man is driven to fury, blood spills five paces! If Your Highness refuses my demands, trading the lives of my family of three for yours alone would still be a bargain!"
"How is trading three for one a bargain? Everyone has only one life." Zhou Cheng actually chuckled, seemingly unconcerned by the weapon at his neck. "If Fan Xian were here, he would never reckon it that way."
Teng Zijing tightened his wrist, pressing the dagger a little harder. "Your Highness seems to know Fan Xian very well?"
"It's precisely because I know him that I value him so highly."
"Value him? By using such despicable methods to watch him?"
"Exactly," Zhou Cheng said without a hint of shame. "The more despicable and ruthless I am, doesn't that show just how seriously I take him?"
Such twisted reasoning left Teng Zijing momentarily speechless. He could only draw a deep breath and forcibly suppress the urge to slash with his dagger.
"Enough nonsense! Bring my wife and child here at once. We're leaving the city tonight. I imagine... Your Highness wouldn't want word of tonight's events spreading, either?"
"I don't care!"
"What?!" Teng Zijing had never expected Zhou Cheng to remain so defiant at a moment like this. His dagger hand trembled slightly with anger.
"You think I wouldn't dare kill you? Why? All I wanted was a peaceful life with my family. Why did you have to force me into this? I really will kill you!"
[Negative emotions from Teng Zijing +7!]
Hearing the negative-emotion notification drop to single digits, Zhou Cheng knew he had wrung Teng Zijing completely dry.
He lost interest in teasing him any further.
Feeling the faint chill of the dagger against his neck, he spoke unhurriedly:
"Teng Zijing, this year... you're not yet thirty, are you?"
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