Just as Wei Shuxuan was feeling puzzled, Chief Eunuch Li happened to pass by. He bowed to Wei Shuxuan and said, "Young Master Wei, you're back?"
"....Ah, Chief Eunuch Li, do you know where the Fifth Prince has gone?" Wei Shuxuan asked him about Xin Zizhao's whereabouts upon seeing him.
"Replying to Young Master Wei, this lowly one doesn't know where His Highness the Prince has gone. But this lowly one knows that His Highness took a group of guards out."
"Took a group of guards out? What does he want to do by taking so many people out?" Wei Shuxuan was a bit confused. "Alright, Chief Eunuch Li, you can go and attend to your duties first."
Wei Shuxuan returned to her room. Just as she had changed her clothes and her hair was still uncombed, she heard the sound of a door opening from the adjacent room. She immediately knew that Xin Zizhao had returned. She quickly ran out of her room and happened to see Xin Zizhao about to enter his room. "Xin Zizhao!"
Hearing the voice, Xin Zizhao turned his head. The moment he saw Wei Shuxuan, he was completely stunned. His gaze was firmly fixed on her. And when Wei Shuxuan saw Xin Zizhao standing still, she called his name several times. "Hey, Xin Zizhao! What are you doing? Why are you staring at me blankly?"
Xin Zizhao quickly came to his senses. He took another look at Wei Shuxuan and then shifted his gaze. He suddenly grabbed Wei Shuxuan and dragged her into her room. "Look at yourself. What a mess you are! Running out without combing your hair properly. Do you really want everyone else to know that you're a girl?"
Wei Shuxuan was startled. She reached out and touched her head. Sure enough, her hair was messily hanging down her back. She must have forgotten to comb it after changing her clothes just now.
"Why didn't you say so earlier! You just stared at me intently all the time. I even thought something was wrong with you!" Wei Shuxuan exclaimed. She sat down in front of the dressing table on one side, picked up a comb and started to comb her hair. Soon she had neatly coiled her hair into a bun and secured it with a white jade hairpin.
After combing her hair, Wei Shuxuan turned around and looked at Xin Zizhao. "Speaking of which, Chief Eunuch Li said you took a large group of guards out. What did you go for?"
Actually, Xin Zizhao had no intention of hiding anything from Wei Shuxuan. He told her, "I took them out to arrest a person."
"Arrest who?" Wei Shuxuan just asked casually. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized something. She widened her eyes and looked at Xin Zizhao on one side. "You didn't go and arrest that chief eunuch, did you?"
Xin Zizhao raised his eyebrows. From his look, it was obvious that Wei Shuxuan was right.
"Damn it! You actually dared to arrest him? Aren't you afraid that the Empress Dowager will come after you?" Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but feel worried about Xin Zizhao's actions.
"Why should I be afraid of her?" Xin Zizhao counter - questioned Wei Shuxuan. This counter - question left Wei Shuxuan at a loss as to how to answer him.
"Although this Eunuch Jin has the Empress Dowager as his backer, as a prince, even if I want to deal with him, no one would dare to blame me."
Wei Shuxuan curled her lips. It was really true that power could cover the sky with one hand. And that speech just now was quite childish.
"So did you find out anything useful?"
It should be noted that after Xin Zizhao had his men use a sleeping incense to knock out Eunuch Jin, he took the unconscious Eunuch Jin to a secret chamber in Fenghe Hall for interrogation.
Eunuch Jin was tied to a chair by the guards beside Xin Zizhao. His hands were bound to the chair and his feet were also tied up. Xin Zizhao waved his hand, and Xin Shang immediately had someone pour a bucket of water on the unconscious Eunuch Jin to wake him up.
A bucket of ice - cold water was poured from head to toe. Eunuch Jin was quickly woken up by the cold. In a daze, he seemed to see several figures in front of him. He focused his eyes and only then could he clearly see those figures. They were all wearing masks. Among them, the man sitting in the middle wearing a half - white mask with gold trim should be the leader of this group.
"Who are you? How dare you kidnap me? Don't you know who I am?" Eunuch Jin spoke in a very overbearing tone. It seemed that with the Empress Dowager backing him up, he could act recklessly.
"Are you asking who I am?" The man wearing the half - mask stood up. "Then I'll let you see who I am."
The man took off his mask. Eunuch Jin opened his eyes in surprise. "Fifth, Fifth Prince Your Highness?!"
Seeing that it was the Fifth Prince Xin Zizhao, Eunuch Jin lowered his head dejectedly. This was completely different from his arrogance just now. Xin Zizhao walked up to him with his hands behind his back. "I'm going to ask you some questions now. I hope you can answer me honestly."
"....Yes."
Eunuch Jin replied feebly. Xin Zizhao didn't want to beat around the bush with this kind of person. "I'm asking you, who ordered you to send people to monitor my father's daily life and words and deeds?"
Eunuch Jin obviously didn't expect that this matter would be discovered by the Fifth Prince. In this situation, he didn't know whether he should say or not.
Xin Zizhao immediately saw the hesitation on Eunuch Jin's face. He knew that Eunuch Jin's psychological defense was starting to crumble. He had to press on and completely break down Eunuch Jin's defense.
"Anyway, whether you say it or not, you're doomed."
As soon as these words were spoken, Eunuch Jin couldn't help but be startled. His eyes were full of panic.
"However, if you answer well and I think you're not lying to me, I might just spare your life. Moreover," Xin Zizhao lowered his eyes and looked at Eunuch Jin's crotch. "Don't think I don't know what you're hiding. If I were to say it out, you'd be dead and gone without a trace."
"I'll say, I'll say."
He never expected that his secret would be known by the Fifth Prince. Just as the Fifth Prince said, whether he said it or not, he was doomed. And from the current situation, it seemed that His Majesty doted more on this newly - returned Fifth Prince...
After weighing the pros and cons, Eunuch Jin lowered his eyes. "It was the Empress Dowager who ordered me to do this. She told me to select some trustworthy people to enter the palace. After the maids and eunuchs who originally served His Majesty died, she sent these people to serve His Majesty and record His Majesty's daily life and words and deeds."
"Besides that, what else did that woman order you to do?" Xin Zizhao continued to press.
"Nothing else, just this. Fifth Prince Your Highness, please spare this lowly one's life! This lowly one knows his mistake!" Eunuch Jin cried and begged for mercy.
"Are you sure? Are you sure you didn't poison my father?" Xin Zizhao pressed on. He stared directly into Eunuch Jin's eyes. Seeing that there was an evasive look in his eyes, Xin Zizhao knew that Eunuch Jin must still be hiding something.
"Really nothing else!"
Xin Zizhao wasn't in a hurry. "Well, then keep you locked up until you talk."