Chapter 102: Entering the Palace
“Run! It’s Chen Wudi!!!”
Someone in the crowd shouted fiercely, and the others scattered like frightened birds and beasts.
Chen Cong stepped forward a few paces, picked up a long sword lying on the ground, and suddenly turned around.
“My concubine.”
“General...”
Diao Chan’s expression shifted uneasily.
Her beautiful peach blossom eyes held a mixture of fear, despair, and something indescribable.
Chen Cong smiled and said, “Close your eyes.”
Diao Chan hesitated for a moment but obediently shut her eyes.
The eyewitnesses refused to listen to the victim’s explanation and fled in all directions.
Chen Cong had no choice. He hated being falsely accused above all else, so he silenced anyone who might wrongly blame him.
The sword’s tip dropped like a night hawk piercing the sky—swift beyond perception.
Within the span of a tea cup, the main hall fell silent again, quiet as a graveyard at midnight.
Chen Cong sheathed his sword, then gently wiped the bloodstained blade with Wang Yun’s robe before hanging it at his waist.
Softly, he said, “Minister Wang, tell me, how did Wei Zhongdao end up dead?”
Wang Yun’s heart pounded wildly, a deep unease flashing in his eyes.
At first, he thought men like Chen Cong lived by the code of ‘owning one’s deeds.’
If he killed someone, naturally he would admit it.
Yet who would have thought?
Chen Cong not only denied everything but spoke with such threatening intent, clearly warning Wang Yun to ‘read between the lines.’
Wang Yun realized he had underestimated not only Chen Cong’s martial prowess but also his shamelessness.
But given the circumstances, he had no choice but to ‘be sensible.’
Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s my fault—I didn’t know Young Master Wei was ill, so I invited him to the mansion late at night, which triggered his condition and led to his death.”
“And what about the thirty-six Wei family slaves? Surely they had no hidden illnesses—how did they all die?”
“Alas, those men were too loyal. They all committed suicide to follow Young Master Wei in death.”
“Excellent! Minister Wang, I hope you won’t mind the trouble of writing down everything you just said. The hall is soaked in blood; go stain the letter with some of it and don’t forget to seal it with your official stamp.”
Wang Yun: …
Chen Cong wasn’t afraid of the Hedong Wei family.
But he knew if he admitted to it so openly, Cao the bandit would surely jump up and call him foolish.
What did Cao the bandit always say? Actions and confessions are two different things.
Noble sons are quick to kill but never keen on confessing.
No!
Wei Zhongdao damn well died by his own hand. Why should Chen Cong claim responsibility?
---
After securing Wang Yun’s confession letter, Chen Cong picked up Diao Chan and tossed her back into the chest.
He waited briefly at the Minister’s mansion until shortly after midnight, when representatives from various families brought land deeds and slave contracts, passing them through the mansion’s steward to Chen Cong.
Only when Chen Cong’s silhouette completely vanished into the darkness did Wang Yun finally realize what had happened:
The original agreement was that Chen Cong would take the benefits and produce the official seal of the Ministry of Revenue as ‘evidence.’
But now!
Chen Cong’s intimidation had made him forget to demand ‘evidence’ from the other side, and even worse, he had handed over his own ‘evidence’ to Chen Cong!
And on top of that!
To cover his tracks, Wang Yun never revealed to anyone the identity of the assassin Dong Renxia!
From beginning to end, no court official nor noble family representative had ever seen Chen Cong except him!
If Chen Cong decided to deny everything, wouldn’t this mess fall squarely on Wang Yun’s own head?
---
The imperial palace was in chaos.
With the capital relocation imminent, all palace gates were thrown wide open.
Torches lit the surroundings brightly as armored soldiers came and went, wheeling cart after cart of imperial gold, silver, and jade treasures.
Elite Tiger Guards stood watch at the gates, stopping anyone who tried to enter or leave for inspection.
Those caught hiding small amounts of valuables were flogged twice and forced to surrender their hoard. Those with large caches were immediately seized and beheaded on the spot by the Tiger Guard elite.
At that moment, inside and outside the palace, people surged like a tide. Headless corpses lay scattered like tattered rags, dark crimson blood soaking into the earth, giving the place the eerie appearance of a hellish battlefield.
“Stop! Who goes there?”
Before Chen Cong could answer, a general beside him slapped a gate guard across the face.
“Are your eyes blind? How dare you act up in front of the Invincible General? Get lost!”
The gate guard clutched his cheek and retreated, looking wronged and miserable.
Chen Cong never thought to ask who had come to his aid.
“You are—”
“I am Hu Zhen, at your service, Invincible General.”
Chen Cong blinked. Hu Zhen... the name sounded familiar. Then he remembered—he was the commander of the Sishui Pass garrison.
“Hahaha, General Hu! It’s an honor to meet you.”
Like Fan Chou, Hu Zhen had been spared punishment by Dong Zhuo because of Chen Cong’s overwhelming martial prowess.
Unlike Fan Chou, Hu Zhen was truly terrified, haunted by nightmares where the undying fiend at Sishui Pass grimaced menacingly, inviting him to die.
As a result, he refused to resume his post and requested a demotion to city gate captain.
He never imagined that as a mere city gate captain, he would run into Chen Cong again...
He had heard the man had become the Grand Tutor’s son-in-law and newly appointed Minister of Revenue...
---
At this moment, carrying such a large chest into the palace—what else could Chen Cong be doing?
Piecing together the story, Hu Zhen forced a smile and flatteringly said, “General, please come in. Pack whatever you want and take whatever you like. If the chest isn’t big enough, I’ll have someone fetch more.”
Chen Cong laughed heartily. “General Hu, we hit it off from the start. How could I plunder palace treasures and trouble you?”
“Well then...”
Chen Cong pulled Hu Zhen aside and whispered, “Between us, I came to the palace seeking a beauty. In this chaos, if one or two palace maids go missing, the Grand Tutor surely won’t mind, right?”
To assure Hu Zhen, Chen Cong even knocked on the wooden chest and called softly, “Concubine.”
When Diao Chan’s gentle voice of “General” came in response, Hu Zhen’s eyes lit up.
If Chen Cong were allowed to plunder the palace at will, and word reached Dong Zhuo, Hu Zhen would be implicated.
But palace maids? Who would go against the Grand Tutor’s son-in-law?
Not just one or two—if Chen Cong took away one or two hundred, Hu Zhen wouldn’t bat an eye.
He immediately praised, “General, your generosity is exemplary.”
“Ha! Easy to say. But the palace is so vast, I have no idea where the maids live. General Hu, would you be kind enough to show me the way?”
Hu Zhen had no reason to refuse.
He led Chen Cong inside, pointing ahead.
“General, look—pass through the Canglong Gate, continue straight, then past the North Gate, turn east and you’ll reach the Yong’an Palace. Or head west through the Dongming Gate into the Northern Palace, then west again to the Fanglin Garden. Further west past the Shuoping Gate lies the Zhuolong Garden.”
“Do you think the young emperor has beautiful palace maids attending him?”
Hu Zhen paused, then silently gave Chen Cong a thumbs-up.
If he weren’t capable, how could he be the Grand Tutor’s son-in-law?
He added, “General, once you reach Fanglin Garden, turn south and you’ll find the Changle Palace.”
“Thanks.”
Having gotten local directions, Chen Cong wasted no time and plunged into the palace.
Inside, the chaos matched the hellish scene outside the walls, if not worse.
Shouts of battle and cries of despair mingled together.
Among the disorderly soldiers, many had bulging pouches at their waists and bellies, dropping gold and jade as they passed.
Gold items rolled on the ground and were often recovered by others, but jade shattered instantly on impact, losing all value except for the sound.
Eunuchs and palace maids ran about like headless flies, most cut down by marauding soldiers who stripped them of their last valuables.
Those who wisely surrendered their hidden treasures were tied up and driven out of the palace.
Anything of worth was stripped and loaded onto carts.
Even the gold paint on the gate pillars was scraped clean, revealing pale wood beneath—like the last underwear of the glorious Later Han dynasty.