In the dead of the night, Little Li was sitting and leaning against a couch in the side hall just outside Eunuch Liu’s bedroom. Drowsiness overwhelmed him as his upper and lower eyelids battled each other again and again. Every time he nodded off and his body was going to fall, he jolted himself awake, not daring to truly fall asleep.
Tonight was his turn to be on night duty for Eunuch Liu during the second half of the night. This was the time when Eunuch Liu would frequently want to drink water or even get up to go to the toilet. So the moment he called out, someone must promptly respond by preparing drinking water or lighting up the lamp.
“Woof…! Woof…!”
Dog barks suddenly rang out from outside Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. They were particularly ear-piercing in a silent night like this. Little Li was once again jolted awake just when he was about to doze off again.
There were very few dogs in Deer Villa, and there was only one dog which could wander around during the night. Goldie popped into Little Li’s mind. Everyone in Deer Villa knew that Yan Liqiang kept a dog.
That dog better not wake Eunuch Liu up! Little Li muttered to himself as he cast a worried glance at Eunuch Liu’s bedroom, hoping that the dog would stop barking soon. If Eunuch Liu was woken up by it and got mad, he would have Little Li go out to get rid of the dog. That would be troublesome. If he couldn’t beat the dog up, he would have a hard time with Eunuch Liu. If he did beat the dog up, he would offend its owner. Both parties were people he couldn’t afford to offend…
Just when Little Li was praying in his heart for Goldie to stop barking, Goldie, who had stopped for two seconds, suddenly resumed barking. Not only that, it was barking even louder than just now…
“WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…!”
Goldie’s barks resonated far and wide into the night. It was barking like crazy, as though it had just seen a thief.
Litte Li was exasperated. He hurriedly got up and quickly tiptoed his way out of the side hall into the yard. He beckoned forth a guard on night duty and whispered his order, “Go outside and chase that dog away quickly, don’t let it wake Eunuch Liu up! Remember, that dog belongs to Deputy Manager Yan. Refrain from hurting it. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble…”
The guard received his orders and quickly went outside…
Just then, Little Li heard Eunuch Liu’s voice coming from his bedroom. He hurriedly turned around and ran back inside. Parting the beaded curtains, he went into the bedroom and lit up the lamp.
Eunuch Liu sat up on his bed in his white silk robe. As soon as he stretched out his hand, Little Li quickly served him the warm water he had prepared.
“WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…!”
The barking from outside grew in intensity. From the sounds of it, the dog seemed to be running around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. The guard who went out probably wasn’t able to seize the dog.
When Little Li noticed Eunuch Liu pause mid-drink for a split second, and cold sweat nearly broke out on his forehead.
Eunuch Liu squinched his eyes as he listened carefully. “That dog…”
“Eunuch Liu, I have already ordered the guard to chase it away just now…” Little Li hurriedly bowed in response.
“I recall that it is Commandant Yan’s dog?”
“Most likely!”
Eunuch Liu listened to the incessant barking from outside as he pondered for two seconds. “I heard from Commandant Yan that his dog is quite clever and seems to understand humans particularly well. It followed him here from the Gan Province and has never barked like this at night out of the blue. Go out and see what is going on…”
“Understood!” Little Li hurriedly left Eunuch Liu’s bedroom and went outside of the residence upon receiving his orders.
It had only been a short while, but the two guards who came out to chase the dog away were already drenched in sweat. Goldie was extremely intelligent. Under the condition where they couldn’t beat or kill Goldie, the two guards had chased the dog for a full circle around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard, but they still failed to capture it.
As soon as Little Li came out from the courtyard, Goldie immediately ran toward him. Little Li was shocked as he quickly evaded it, thinking that Goldie was going to bite him. Little did he expect Goldie to bite on his pant leg. It whimpered and wagged its tail as it tried to pull Little Li in the direction of Yan Liqiang’s courtyard…
Little Li was shocked as he asked in disbelief, “You… You want me to go to Commandant Yan’s courtyard?”
Goldie immediately let go of Little Li’s pant leg. It barked twice softly and even nodded…
Little Li was aghast. “Something happened to Commandant Yan…!”
Goldie let out two whimpers again and nodded. Not only Little Li, but even the two guards also gaped at the sight before them. None of them had ever seen such an intelligent dog.
“W-Wait for me…! I will go inform Eunuch Liu first…!” Little Li gulped after he finished speaking. He turned around and quickly went back into Eunuch Liu’s courtyard.
Two minutes later, Eunuch Liu came through the courtyard’s door. He was dressed in his long robe and had a fur coat draped around him. Little Li and Little Chun followed beside him with lanterns in their hands, along with several armed guards.
Eunuch Liu glanced at Goldie who was waiting at the same spot for them. He turned his head around and ordered Little Chun, “Inform the officer on duty tonight to deploy a troop of men with their weapons to Commandant Yan’s residence!”
“Understood!” Little Chun accepted his order and ran swiftly toward the Deer Villa barracks with his lantern.
Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie again. “Alright, do you understand my words? If you do, then lead the way…”
Goldie barked twice as though it understood Eunuch Liu’s words, then turned around and ran toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. After running a few steps, it looked back and barked twice again.
Eunuch Liu was amazed, but he wasted no time and quickly strode toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard behind Goldie.
By the time Eunuch Liu and the rest arrived at Yan Liqiang’s courtyard, a troop of soldiers from Deer Villa were also running there with burning torches in hands. A group of soldiers armed with powerful bows and crossbows scattered around Yan Liqiang’s residence and surrounded it.
Goldie directly went through a dog hole in the yard, then barked from inside.
At Eunuch Liu’s a signal, Little Li banged heavily against the courtyard’s door and shouted from outside. “Deputy Manager Yan…! Deputy Manager Yan…!”
After several calls, it was still pitch black in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. His room upstairs didn’t even light up. A guard beside Eunuch Liu immediately flipped over the courtyard wall and went inside to open the courtyard’s door. A few guards holding the burning torches then crowded around Eunuch Liu and escorted him inside the courtyard.
Goldie barked and went upstairs. Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie and was about to follow it.
“Eunuch Liu, be careful. Let us go up first…” A guard beside Eunuch Liu hurriedly reminded him.
“Out of my way…” The expression on Eunuch Liu’s face turned cold. He flung his sleeve and immediately followed Goldie upstairs. The group of guards around him hurriedly followed behind him.
Eunuch Liu’s countenance changed as soon as he arrived on the second floor of Yan Liqiang’s residence. Even through the closed door, Eunuch Liu could pick up the strong scent of blood coming from inside Yan Liqiang’s room. Goldie was barking loudly in distress outside Yan Liqiang’s room as it clawed the bedroom door, leaving its claw marks all over the door. Since the door was locked from the inside, Goldie couldn’t get it to open no matter how hard it clawed…
Without thinking, Eunuch Liu slammed his palm against the door. The door was instantly shattered and broke into pieces. A few guards rushed in first and then cried out in surprise…
Eunuch Liu walked into the room. When he saw the scene in the room under the illumination of the light from the burning torches, his countenance immediately contorted.
A window in the room was left open. There was blood everywhere on the floor. The chairs and cabinet in the room had been shattered. A black crossbow was left on the floor. Under the illumination of the burning torches, Yan Liqiang’s bed was filled with very fine needles that glowed with an eerie blue color. Yan Liqiang’s half-naked body laid motionlessly in a pool of blood. Another man in dark clothes was lying not far from Yan Liqiang, with a short sword impaled through his chest.
Anyone who saw the scene before their eyes could imagine what had transpired in the room!
A few minutes later, Eunuch Liu’s bellow of rage rang out in Yan Liqiang’s room. “LIN QINGTIAN, HOW CAN YOU BE THIS SHAMELESS AS A GRAND CHANCELLOR AND STOOP SO LOW TO USE SUCH A DESPICABLE TRICK! I SWEAR I WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS! I SHALL SHOW THE WORLD HOW SHAMELESS YOU ARE! SOMEONE, PREPARE ALL TROOPS IN DEER VILLA, WE MARCH TO THE IMPERIAL CAPITAL CITY…!”
In less than half an hour, all the soldiers stationed in Deer Villa were fully armored and carrying burning torches on their rhinodrake steeds. They rode onto the public road in the night and rushed toward the Imperial Capital.
As the heart of the Great Han Empire where the Emperor dwelled, the security and defense in the Imperial CapitaL were naturally heavier than usual. Not only that, both were mutually dependent on each other. Upon noticing a troop of men approaching the capital truculently, both the major camps and city defenses situated around the city were alarmed. In turn, this triggered a series of chain reactions.
The high officials of the imperial court in the city were woken up from their slumber…
In the dead of the night, Little Li was sitting and leaning against a couch in the side hall just outside Eunuch Liu’s bedroom. Drowsiness overwhelmed him as his upper and lower eyelids battled each other again and again. Every time he nodded off and his body was going to fall, he jolted himself awake, not daring to truly fall asleep.
Tonight was his turn to be on night duty for Eunuch Liu during the second half of the night. This was the time when Eunuch Liu would frequently want to drink water or even get up to go to the toilet. So the moment he called out, someone must promptly respond by preparing drinking water or lighting up the lamp.
“Woof…! Woof…!”
Dog barks suddenly rang out from outside Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. They were particularly ear-piercing in a silent night like this. Little Li was once again jolted awake just when he was about to doze off again.
There were very few dogs in Deer Villa, and there was only one dog which could wander around during the night. Goldie popped into Little Li’s mind. Everyone in Deer Villa knew that Yan Liqiang kept a dog.
That dog better not wake Eunuch Liu up! Little Li muttered to himself as he cast a worried glance at Eunuch Liu’s bedroom, hoping that the dog would stop barking soon. If Eunuch Liu was woken up by it and got mad, he would have Little Li go out to get rid of the dog. That would be troublesome. If he couldn’t beat the dog up, he would have a hard time with Eunuch Liu. If he did beat the dog up, he would offend its owner. Both parties were people he couldn’t afford to offend…
Just when Little Li was praying in his heart for Goldie to stop barking, Goldie, who had stopped for two seconds, suddenly resumed barking. Not only that, it was barking even louder than just now…
“WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…!”
Goldie’s barks resonated far and wide into the night. It was barking like crazy, as though it had just seen a thief.
Litte Li was exasperated. He hurriedly got up and quickly tiptoed his way out of the side hall into the yard. He beckoned forth a guard on night duty and whispered his order, “Go outside and chase that dog away quickly, don’t let it wake Eunuch Liu up! Remember, that dog belongs to Deputy Manager Yan. Refrain from hurting it. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble…”
The guard received his orders and quickly went outside…
Just then, Little Li heard Eunuch Liu’s voice coming from his bedroom. He hurriedly turned around and ran back inside. Parting the beaded curtains, he went into the bedroom and lit up the lamp.
Eunuch Liu sat up on his bed in his white silk robe. As soon as he stretched out his hand, Little Li quickly served him the warm water he had prepared.
“WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…! WOOF…!”
The barking from outside grew in intensity. From the sounds of it, the dog seemed to be running around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard. The guard who went out probably wasn’t able to seize the dog.
When Little Li noticed Eunuch Liu pause mid-drink for a split second, and cold sweat nearly broke out on his forehead.
Eunuch Liu squinched his eyes as he listened carefully. “That dog…”
“Eunuch Liu, I have already ordered the guard to chase it away just now…” Little Li hurriedly bowed in response.
“I recall that it is Commandant Yan’s dog?”
“Most likely!”
Eunuch Liu listened to the incessant barking from outside as he pondered for two seconds. “I heard from Commandant Yan that his dog is quite clever and seems to understand humans particularly well. It followed him here from the Gan Province and has never barked like this at night out of the blue. Go out and see what is going on…”
“Understood!” Little Li hurriedly left Eunuch Liu’s bedroom and went outside of the residence upon receiving his orders.
It had only been a short while, but the two guards who came out to chase the dog away were already drenched in sweat. Goldie was extremely intelligent. Under the condition where they couldn’t beat or kill Goldie, the two guards had chased the dog for a full circle around Eunuch Liu’s courtyard, but they still failed to capture it.
As soon as Little Li came out from the courtyard, Goldie immediately ran toward him. Little Li was shocked as he quickly evaded it, thinking that Goldie was going to bite him. Little did he expect Goldie to bite on his pant leg. It whimpered and wagged its tail as it tried to pull Little Li in the direction of Yan Liqiang’s courtyard…
Little Li was shocked as he asked in disbelief, “You… You want me to go to Commandant Yan’s courtyard?”
Goldie immediately let go of Little Li’s pant leg. It barked twice softly and even nodded…
Little Li was aghast. “Something happened to Commandant Yan…!”
Goldie let out two whimpers again and nodded. Not only Little Li, but even the two guards also gaped at the sight before them. None of them had ever seen such an intelligent dog.
“W-Wait for me…! I will go inform Eunuch Liu first…!” Little Li gulped after he finished speaking. He turned around and quickly went back into Eunuch Liu’s courtyard.
Two minutes later, Eunuch Liu came through the courtyard’s door. He was dressed in his long robe and had a fur coat draped around him. Little Li and Little Chun followed beside him with lanterns in their hands, along with several armed guards.
Eunuch Liu glanced at Goldie who was waiting at the same spot for them. He turned his head around and ordered Little Chun, “Inform the officer on duty tonight to deploy a troop of men with their weapons to Commandant Yan’s residence!”
“Understood!” Little Chun accepted his order and ran swiftly toward the Deer Villa barracks with his lantern.
Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie again. “Alright, do you understand my words? If you do, then lead the way…”
Goldie barked twice as though it understood Eunuch Liu’s words, then turned around and ran toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. After running a few steps, it looked back and barked twice again.
Eunuch Liu was amazed, but he wasted no time and quickly strode toward Yan Liqiang’s courtyard behind Goldie.
By the time Eunuch Liu and the rest arrived at Yan Liqiang’s courtyard, a troop of soldiers from Deer Villa were also running there with burning torches in hands. A group of soldiers armed with powerful bows and crossbows scattered around Yan Liqiang’s residence and surrounded it.
Goldie directly went through a dog hole in the yard, then barked from inside.
At Eunuch Liu’s a signal, Little Li banged heavily against the courtyard’s door and shouted from outside. “Deputy Manager Yan…! Deputy Manager Yan…!”
After several calls, it was still pitch black in Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. His room upstairs didn’t even light up. A guard beside Eunuch Liu immediately flipped over the courtyard wall and went inside to open the courtyard’s door. A few guards holding the burning torches then crowded around Eunuch Liu and escorted him inside the courtyard.
Goldie barked and went upstairs. Eunuch Liu looked at Goldie and was about to follow it.
“Eunuch Liu, be careful. Let us go up first…” A guard beside Eunuch Liu hurriedly reminded him.
“Out of my way…” The expression on Eunuch Liu’s face turned cold. He flung his sleeve and immediately followed Goldie upstairs. The group of guards around him hurriedly followed behind him.
Eunuch Liu’s countenance changed as soon as he arrived on the second floor of Yan Liqiang’s residence. Even through the closed door, Eunuch Liu could pick up the strong scent of blood coming from inside Yan Liqiang’s room. Goldie was barking loudly in distress outside Yan Liqiang’s room as it clawed the bedroom door, leaving its claw marks all over the door. Since the door was locked from the inside, Goldie couldn’t get it to open no matter how hard it clawed…
Without thinking, Eunuch Liu slammed his palm against the door. The door was instantly shattered and broke into pieces. A few guards rushed in first and then cried out in surprise…
Eunuch Liu walked into the room. When he saw the scene in the room under the illumination of the light from the burning torches, his countenance immediately contorted.
A window in the room was left open. There was blood everywhere on the floor. The chairs and cabinet in the room had been shattered. A black crossbow was left on the floor. Under the illumination of the burning torches, Yan Liqiang’s bed was filled with very fine needles that glowed with an eerie blue color. Yan Liqiang’s half-naked body laid motionlessly in a pool of blood. Another man in dark clothes was lying not far from Yan Liqiang, with a short sword impaled through his chest.
Anyone who saw the scene before their eyes could imagine what had transpired in the room!
A few minutes later, Eunuch Liu’s bellow of rage rang out in Yan Liqiang’s room. “LIN QINGTIAN, HOW CAN YOU BE THIS SHAMELESS AS A GRAND CHANCELLOR AND STOOP SO LOW TO USE SUCH A DESPICABLE TRICK! I SWEAR I WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS! I SHALL SHOW THE WORLD HOW SHAMELESS YOU ARE! SOMEONE, PREPARE ALL TROOPS IN DEER VILLA, WE MARCH TO THE IMPERIAL CAPITAL CITY…!”
In less than half an hour, all the soldiers stationed in Deer Villa were fully armored and carrying burning torches on their rhinodrake steeds. They rode onto the public road in the night and rushed toward the Imperial Capital.
As the heart of the Great Han Empire where the Emperor dwelled, the security and defense in the Imperial CapitaL were naturally heavier than usual. Not only that, both were mutually dependent on each other. Upon noticing a troop of men approaching the capital truculently, both the major camps and city defenses situated around the city were alarmed. In turn, this triggered a series of chain reactions.
The high officials of the imperial court in the city were woken up from their slumber…
