29 The Situation

An hour later, Shinian finally understood the situation.

After Su Geng and Lu Zhiyao arrived, they began investigating the cause of the string wave fluctuations. During this process, Su Geng discovered that the emperor was actually not in the capital. Sensing something was amiss, Lu Zhiyao managed to become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, while Su Geng disguised herself as his wife. The two brothers they met at the tavern were Lu Zhiyao’s sponsors; the elder brother was named Zhang Chu, and the younger, Zhang Ao. Lu Zhiyao had first met them through a scuffle, and both were deeply impressed by his abilities, willingly accepting him as their sworn elder brother.

At this point, it’s hard not to comment: Lu Zhiyao really lives like a typical time-traveling protagonist. Despite not being of age and having a baby face, he somehow became the elder brother of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—a rather shameless feat.

Though thriving in the capital, they were still unable to determine the emperor’s whereabouts, and the mission was progressing slowly. If that were all, it might have been manageable. However, meanwhile, Shinian had been abducted by Zhu Houzhao at the Hidden Dragon Stronghold to serve as his hostage wife, making an encounter between them only a matter of time.

What made matters worse was that five days earlier, Lu Zhiyao had been drinking with the Zhang brothers. Zhang Ao, harboring resentment toward Liu Jin, vented his frustrations aloud and was overheard by Liu Jin himself. The eunuch Liu Jin flew into a rage on the spot. Lu Zhiyao pleaded on behalf of the brothers, but somehow offended Liu Jin, who abruptly turned his wrath away from the Zhang brothers and seized Lu Zhiyao instead.

Zhang Ao, filled with guilt, lamented, “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been reckless, my elder brother wouldn’t have been implicated because of me...”

Shinian exchanged a glance with Su Geng, who said, “Don’t blame yourself too much. Zhiyao is a lucky man; he won’t come to harm.”

After calming the brothers down, Su Geng continued, “I’ve inquired. Xiao Lu is still safe for now. The day after Liu Jin captured him, he suddenly left the capital, unable to deal with Lu Zhiyao. At the time, I didn’t understand why—now I know it was because he went to fetch Zhu Houzhao.”

Nie Cheng said, “Hmm, I sent him a letter.”

Su Geng was momentarily stunned. Shinian then briefly recounted their recent experiences, concluding, “So, in fact, more than half a month has passed.”

“I see. No wonder Zhu Houzhao suddenly returned.”

Shinian clapped her hands. “Now that we understand the situation, can’t we just rescue Lu Zhiyao and be done? You’re so skilled in combat; why not team up with the Zhang brothers and break him out?”

“It’s not that simple,” Nie Cheng said.

Su Geng added, “The string waves haven’t stabilized. Even if we rescue him, we won’t be able to escape and will likely be captured together.”

Shinian frowned. “Right, why haven’t the string waves calmed? Where’s the discrepancy?”

As she pondered this, she noticed both Nie Cheng and Su Geng were looking at her—Nie Cheng’s gaze clear and knowing, Su Geng’s tinged with surprise. “You don’t know yet?”

Shinian blurted, “…You both already know?”

She immediately glared at Nie Cheng, accusing him of hiding it again. Nie Cheng replied, “I gave you four days, hoping you’d realize it yourself. Discovering the cause of the wave fluctuations is a necessary skill—you can’t always rely on others.”

His words struck Shinian, reminding her she still couldn’t sense the fluctuations in the space-time string. That uneasy feeling returned, and she bit her lip, deep in thought.

What was the cause? It was now the eighth year of the Zhengde reign. Had any major events expected that year failed to occur? Or had someone who was meant to rise to prominence failed to do so... Wait, in the eighth year of Zhengde, if she remembered correctly, previous records said Liu Jin had been sentenced to death by slow slicing and dismemberment in the fifth year of Zhengde...

How was he still alive?!

Shinian’s eyes went wide in shock. Nie Cheng smiled slightly. “Congratulations on piecing it together. Yes, besides rescuing Lu Zhiyao, we have a daunting task—to eliminate Liu Jin.”

Before setting out, Shinian had guessed the mission might be tricky, but she hadn’t expected it to be this perilous. They were even dealing with life-and-death struggles! And just after complaining about movies, here they were, fighting eunuchs—could it get any less original?

Yet Shinian was also surprised that Liu Jin’s survival caused such a major disturbance in the string waves. He wasn’t like Wei Zifu; he didn’t even have a son!

Su Geng explained, “He had no son, but he had cronies. While alive, he amassed enormous wealth, with countless rare treasures in his mansion. He was considered the richest man in the world at the time. When he was punished, many under him suffered as well, including influential figures. The resulting butterfly effect was immense.”

By that logic, they couldn’t simply assassinate Liu Jin; he had to be legally punished in accordance with the historical timeline to maintain the flow, so those under him would also perish accordingly.

Shinian’s feelings were mixed. Nie Cheng and Su Geng immediately went into action, busy with unknown tasks over the next two days. They didn’t seek Shinian out, and she did not approach them either. They stayed at the Zhang brothers’ home, where Shinian found herself talking more with Zhang Ao. His impulsive nature had nearly led to a fight upon first meeting, but after learning Nie Cheng was Lu Zhiyao’s sworn elder brother and had come specifically to rescue him, and having witnessed Nie Cheng’s skills at the tavern, Zhang Ao gladly accepted him as elder brother.

Zhang Ao’s most frequent question was, “Miss Shi, do you think Elder Brother Nie and the others can rescue Elder Brother Lu?”

Shinian did not dare tell him the truth: their immediate priority was not rescuing Lu Zhiyao. Their mission was to bring down Liu Jin, and a reckless rescue could complicate matters. If Lu Zhiyao was confirmed safe, they might delay his rescue to focus on more critical tasks.

Current information indicated Lu Zhiyao was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison by Liu Jin. Aside from losing his freedom, he was not being mistreated. Shinian felt she might not see this teammate for some time.

That was her thought—until two nights later, when Nie Cheng said, “We must find a way to see Xiao Lu immediately.”

Shinian was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

Su Geng said, “Just received word—Liu Jin has transferred Xiao Lu to the Leopard House.”

“The Leopard House?”

Shinian certainly knew the place. The Leopard House was Zhu Houzhao’s newly built residence outside the palace. As early as the third year of Zhengde, the emperor had grown tired of living in the Forbidden City and moved out with his trusted concubines. True to its name, the Leopard House was lavish and opulent, housing fierce beasts like tigers and leopards. Zhu Houzhao lived there happily, even relocating his court affairs there. Until his death, the Leopard House was the actual political and military center of the Ming Dynasty.

Why did Liu Jin move Lu Zhiyao there?

Zhang Chu clenched and unclenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “Liu Jin said he wants Elder Brother Lu to duel a leopard, to perform for His Majesty…”

Shinian was stunned for a full three seconds before exclaiming, “He’s insane! How is this any different from just killing Lu Zhiyao outright?!”

Truly, there was no difference. The leopards in the Leopard House were ferocious. A year ago, Zhu Houzhao had wanted to personally tame them but gave up out of fear. Even so, the crazed leopards had killed two palace attendants.

Shinian hadn’t expected Liu Jin to be so cruel. “Is there no way? Didn’t you say before we could ask Commander Qian? What did he say?”

Zhang Ao replied, “Commander Qian said… he has no solution either.”

In truth, Qian Ning didn’t want to get involved. Now, Zhu Houzhao favored both him and Liu Jin equally, with both wielding considerable power. Though Qian Ning hated Liu Jin and wished him dead, he wouldn’t provoke him without certainty. He even warned Zhang Ao, “Don’t mention this again. Lu Zhiyao’s fate is as it should be. If he doesn’t die, it will be you two brothers. Think carefully!”

Zhang Ao slammed his fist on the table. “It’s all my fault! Elder Brother Lu suffered because of me. If he dies, how can I live with myself? I might as well kill Liu Jin first and then beg forgiveness from Elder Brother Lu!”

By the end, his voice was choked with sobs.

Shinian, already anxious, grew even more unsettled. Nie Cheng said, “You needn’t worry too much for now. At least Xiao Lu is still safe.”

Su Geng explained, “The emperor is still in the Forbidden City. If they want a performance, they must wait for him to return to the Leopard House.”

Strangely, Zhu Houzhao had not gone directly to the Leopard House this time but returned to the Forbidden City, where he remained. This unusual behavior caused some ministers to hope the emperor had changed his ways and would no longer act recklessly.

Only then did Shinian breathe a slight sigh of relief and recall Nie Cheng’s earlier words. “So when you say you want to see Lu Zhiyao, you mean…” Could it be that plan of hers—to simply snatch him away? I was just speaking casually, big brother! Breaking into a prison is illegal!

Nie Cheng was silent for a moment. “I have some doubts and must meet Xiao Lu in person to clarify them. Only then can we proceed with the next phase of our plan.”

Author’s note: Let me recommend my good friend Xiao Yan’s entertainment industry novel, *The Best Actor Specializes in Overcoming All Objections*. It has hundreds of thousands of words and is nearing completion—feel free to dive in! It’s much more engaging than my works! Yan is an experienced writer, and the portrayal of the entertainment world is vivid and detailed.

One-line synopsis: Sir, aren’t you going to fake your death and make a comeback?

When Wang Chen was resurrected, he found he had become his own romantic rival.

The handsome young man in the mirror, pale-skinned and beautiful with long legs and a shapely figure, was none other than the eighteen-line actor who had knelt at his producer boyfriend’s feet begging for a role just a month ago.

Wang Chen touched his own flawless backside, feeling a thrill—ah, I must hurry back to my boyfriend and stage a fake death comeback!

*Ten years of emotional history between the two men. Producer x Director reborn as Actor. Available on 166 Reading Network.*