A Professional Avenger - Chapter 23

After Lin Yuetian discarded YueJun and replaced him that day, half a month passed by in a flash.

During this time period, Zheng Hongxuan didn’t have time to summon either YueJun or the Eunuch-Lin Yuetian. Being an Emperor was not a trivial matter after all. Honestly speaking, aside from getting irrational when it came to the Original Body, Zheng Hongxuan could be said to be a somewhat responsible Emperor who took his job seriously.

Or perhaps, it was also partly due to another reason, just as the System had commented,

[“If you want to train a person, you must grind his temper first[1].”]

Unexpectedly, after half a month, when Consort Lin reported that the new eunuch given by the Emperor to her side, had disappeared, Zheng Hongxuan was aghast and greatly shaken. He immediately issued an order to search every corner of the palace, including all of the main palace[2] and naturally the palace where YueJun lived at—yet, they found nothing.

Only after the 7th day of searching did they finally fish out the body of a ‘eunuch‘ who ‘threw himself into the well‘ from the well located in the Imperial Garden. They also found a letter written with blood, carefully hidden and protected in the innermost of the said eunuch’s belt.

There was a rumor afterward, saying that once His Majesty read the bloody letter presented by the palace servants, he couldn’t hold himself and had fallen ill thereafter. It seemed like the stimulation had impacted him quite seriously, exceeding Lin Yuetian’s initial estimation.

He didn’t waste time and took advantage of this God-given opportunity to play the role of the favored male lover YueJun, to ‘accidentally‘ stumbled upon the  ‘anxious Consort Lin‘ who was on her way to care for the sick Emperor, in one of the paths at the Palace. She was filled with worries over the well-being of the Dragon’s body[3], so in a fit of rage, Consort Lin subjected him to the punishment of ‘being beaten to death.‘ Afterward, the corpse was ‘thrown out of the palace‘.

Zheng Hongxuan was greatly shaken and was still lingering on his sick bed. He couldn’t be bothered about such trivial matters.

After all, YueJun was nothing but a tool he used to humiliate the Original Body. Now that the Target was no more, the life and death of the tool man were not worthy to arouse Zheng Hongxuan’s mood swings at all. In this way, Lin Yuetian successfully faked his death and escaped from the palace.

Afterward, it was said that apparently, General Lin was worried about his younger sister’s current state. So, he sent a ‘little maid‘, Yuexiang, to take care of her. This way, the young maid Yuexiang continued to wander freely in the palace.

It was normal for General Lin to send new aid to his younger sister. The Emperor had not sat on the Dragon throne for a long time, the bloody haze from the power struggle had yet subsided, however, the Emperor who should still be at his peak and full of vigor had fallen ill instead.

This kind of situation would inevitably prompt a restless state in the palace.

General Lin was concerned about his younger sister’s safety, so out of consideration, he sent a capable maid to take care of her.

What an exemplary good older brother!

***

The System, [“…”]

“?? What’s wrong with you?” Lin Yuetian asked while braiding his hair inside his assigned room. “You seem like, you have something to talk about.”

[“No, there’s nothing particular that I’m thinking about. Actually, cross-dressing is not a big deal, it’s just a rare sight to behold for me.”]

The System even felt that Lin Yuetian’s cross-dressing was done fabulously. Then again, it’s not surprising for this guy to have experience in this regard. Thinking about it, there was a mixed feeling in his heart[4].

In the end, he changed the subject and asked, [“Why did you fake your death again? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to have contact with Zheng Hongxuan and performed your usual outrageous operation with your identity?”]

Lin Yuetian adapted to the new role he took and adjusted his expression. When looking in the mirror, what reflected on it was a maiden with a bashful smile on her face. The System almost got scared frozen by the sight of it.

While maintaining the young maiden’s shy smile, Lin Yuetian first said, “Different people required different strategies to deal with.”

Afterward, he continued to elucidate, “Zheng Hongxuan is an Emperor. His status stipulated him to be a character with high self-esteem, he must have the arrogance and bearing of a Monarch. It’s also a fact that he’s indisputably ruthless. Even if I stabbed him several times, he will not obediently return my love and sincerely say I love You like the Original Body wanted him to. So, for this kind of person, direct use of violence is the last resort[5].”

“Well, besides, isn’t there a common routine…it’s that kind of, you know, where the Scumbags always starting to regret after the victims died? So I simply let my identity die early and put Zheng Hongxuan into that state.”

The System, [“…”]

“Why didn’t you speak anymore?”

Lin Yuetian used the dainty and lovely appearance of a palace maid to gently reassure the System, “Rest assured, you know that I will do my job without fail.”

[“No, I just think it’s incredible,”] The System said in a deep voice, [“To think that you have actually read Scumbag romance novels before, is just…”]

“That’s just me gathering information on what’s popular nowadays.” Lin Yuetian explained, “After all, I’m a person who loves my job and dedicate myself to studying any auxiliary skill I may end up using.”

[“?? What’s with the sudden boasting? You don’t have to remind me of your narcissistic side all the time, you know?”]

“For your information,” Lin Yuetian added, “I spent decades in the last modern world.”

[“Do you think I’ll forget? My memory isn’t that bad. Don’t look down on others too much!”]

“Another trivia,” Lin Yuetian continued on, “In the modern world, there’s such thing like Google Dad, Baidu Mom, and other third parties.”

The System was stumped for quite some time unable to produce any comeback. He was thinking about what might be hidden or implied beyond Lin Yuetian’s words. But then he remembered, that Lin Yuetian was previously explaining why he had read Scumbag romance novels.

He was dumbfounded, more than that time when Lin Yuetian suddenly smashed the stone on YueJun’s head, and got immediately enraged, [“You fooled me! Didn’t you say you’ll never talk any bullshit!?][6]

“I didn’t say any joke, I’m stating the truth~” Lin Yuetian replied as he walked out of his room and headed to Ganquan Palace.

***

He went straight inside Consort Lin’s assigned palace and stood behind Consort Lin who was in the middle of putting on accessories and a hairdo.

Consort Lin glanced at him, and lazily instructed the other palace maids, “All that’s left is minor details, you all can retire first, leave the rest to Yuexiang to serve.”

“Understood,” Lin Yuetian smiled sweetly, ignoring the shudder of the System. “This maid will serve Niangniang well.”

After the other maids walked out of the chamber, Consort Lin covered her lip with her hand, hiding her smile as she spoke,

“You really have some skills. Not only did you able to complete an important job splendidly, but the skill to disguise as a woman is even more stunning…”

“It’s an honor to receive praise from the Consort.” Lin Yuetian answered modestly.

“…You have done a good job during this time,” Consort Lin started, then corrected her remarks, “I don’t know what you wrote in that suicide note for it to shock His Majesty to such an extent, even so, it has caused His Majesty becoming more insecure and paranoid these days…”

Speaking about the Emperor’s paranoia of those that can’t be seen by human eyes, naturally, it was also Lin Yuetian’s handiwork.

After the successful escape and re-entering the palace, he had not been idle. He was working hard, spreading rumors in the palace all day long!

For example, one day in the middle of the night he’d sit by the well, wearing a Senior Scholar robe, sobbing with his disheveled hair down. Another day, he’d hide in some deserted corner of the palace, and let out a screeching wail. The day after tomorrow, when he accompanied Consort Lin to visit the Emperor on his sick bed, he’d secretly threw nails and hair under the bed, scaring the servants who cleaned the room later, and of course, Zheng Hongxuan.

Due to Lin Yuetian’s various efforts, the entire palace was plunged into a horror-like ambiance. There was an atmosphere of people falling into feudal superstitious beliefs everywhere.

Some people even boldly guessed, “Hey, it must be Prime Minister Lin who was killed unjustly, returning to the world as a ghost.”

Some others said, “That may not be the case. It should be the ghost of that eunuch, who once served under Consort Lin who died inexplicably.”

While another part of the people believed, “Or perhaps, it may actually be the male lover, YueJun, who was beaten to death by Consort Lin. His ghost returns to the living and wants to exact revenge on her!”

Regardless of everyone’s assumption, in Zheng Hongxuan’s eyes, there’s only one possible explanation for these supernatural phenomena: Lin Yuetian really did return as a ghost!

***

“Believing in Fuedal Superstition is really not good.” Lin Yuetian sighed and talked to the System.

[“How come these great words sound so cheap when they came out of your mouth?”]

The System then asked him in return, [“Didn’t Consort Lin suspect you as a hidden pawn from the Emperor to test her and General Lin? How did the two of you suddenly shed all pretense now?”

“It’s simple. Probing, investigating, and analyzing the current state. Anyway, if I were the Emperor’s deliberate pawn, then he might have intended to make himself a bait and lay a trap. This tactic is quite good, however, there’s too much of a mess happening lately. The Emperor has indeed fallen ill, there are also rumors of ghosts in the palace. Not to mention the commotion in the Court. If this was really Zheng Hongxuan’s deliberate action, it’s way too overdone. In case General Lin really takes the bait and deals with a surprise attack, Zheng Hongxuan will be finished.”

Lin Yuetian also added, “Besides, they still have to rely on my supposed identity as former Shadow Guards in their regicide. After all, even General Lin has to send his younger sister to the harem to reach a consensus, in this case, General Lin’s current stance couldn’t make Zheng Hongxuan bother with creating a fake show to lay a trap. It didn’t take much so much effort to condemn Prime Minister Lin for treason, the same would be for General Lin.”

[“I see…”] The System pondered thoughtfully. [“So, Consort Lin has now completely taken you to her own camp?”]

“Well, at least for now,” Lin Yuetian calmly gave his answer. “She should regard me so…until Zheng Hongxuan died that is.”

***

“His Majesty, in the last 7 days has attempted a ceremony of soul summoning three times. As for His Majesty’s illness, the Imperial Physicians have all tried to diagnose and heal him, all kinds of medicines have also been consumed like it was mere fresh water, all to no avail. No matter how one looks at his body, it doesn’t seem like His Majesty is getting better, but instead, the sickness has worsened day after day. It really does look like a disease coming from the heart.” Consort Lin whispered.

“Around midnight,  3 days later, Bengong‘s elder brother will lead his soldiers to enter the palace. He will direct the attention of the Imperial Guards to himself. At that time, there would be no one in the Emperor’s inner Palace…His Majesty, he can not die in the hands of Bengong‘s elder brother. Do you understand?”

“Understood.” Lin Yuetian put on another sweet smile. “I will be the one who sends him to the underworld.”

***