Chapter 45: Cruel and Brutal (Part 1)
In the next few days, Zhu Hao met the Zhu siblings again.
This time he was prepared. Although he did not bring the rabbit into the palace, he made ice cream, two small bowls... He couldn't let the two children eat enough at once, so they tried something new and remembered to come again in the future.
Zhu Hao originally wanted to put some croton or some other medicine in Zhu San's ice cream so that she would not interfere with her plans for the next day, but after thinking about it, he gave up.
If the brother and sister come together next time, we can knock him down together.
Zhu Hao specifically mentioned this to Zhu Si: "Tomorrow you should find a way to get your brother out of the way and come alone. I have prepared something good for you, which is much more beautiful than the revolving lantern."
When Zhu Si heard this, his eyes lit up, but he was quickly pulled away by his sister.
In the afternoon, Zhu Hao drew a cross symbol with charcoal at the place agreed with Lu Song, and waited quietly for Lu Song to come to the appointment.
It would be best to have Lu Song’s cooperation in future plans.
If Lu Song didn't come, it was not impossible to implement it, but it would be too complicated for a child like him. The most important thing was that he couldn't let Jianmaoqiao and others become suspicious.
At night, Lu Song finally arrived.
"Master Zhu, I have already inquired about your background... It is indeed as you said, you have a bad relationship with the Zhu family. Your father died for the country, leaving only you as his flesh and blood. You really don't need to enter the palace and risk your life."
Lu Song was a kind person. When he learned that Zhu Hao's father, like him, was a member of the Jinyiwei and died heroically for his country, he naturally felt sympathy and compassion.
Zhu Hao said, "Lu Dianzhang, you are worrying too much. If I leave the palace now, will I have a good life? If the Zhu family takes me back, the family property left by my father will be swallowed up by the family."
A little kid was telling the secrets of the family's infighting in a serious manner. Lu Song felt that the other party was too precocious and had no intention of commenting on the internal affairs of the Zhu family.
"Lu Dianzhang, I specially invited you here this time because I want you to do me a favor. Please treat Jianmaoqiao and other craftsmen to drinks tomorrow. Please." Zhu Hao said.
Lu Song originally thought that Zhu Hao had something important to tell him, but when he heard this request, he couldn't help but look at Zhu Hao with a puzzled look on his face.
Zhu Hao explained, "Truth comes out after drinking... I want to ask Lu Dianzhang to help me get Jianmao and the others drunk, to see if they really want to get rid of me, and how they will do it... With Lu Dianzhang's identity, they shouldn't hide anything from you... If Lu Dianzhang feels it's inconvenient to come forward, you can ask someone else to do it for you. Here's the wine money."
As he spoke, Zhu Hao took out two taels of silver.
Although this amount of money is not much, it can buy a lot of wine and delicacies.
Lu Song was very surprised that a child could take out two taels of silver at one time. During the Zhengde period, when South American silver had not yet flowed into the Ming Dynasty in large quantities, the value of silver was very high. In terms of actual purchasing power, it was about the same as 700 or 800 yuan in the early 21st century. During the Wanli period, the currency value dropped rapidly, but one tael of silver was equivalent to more than 200 yuan, which was really not a small amount.
Lu Song was skeptical of Zhu Hao's statement. After careful consideration, he could not get to the point. He could only ask for confirmation: "Did you get them drunk just to find out from them their ill intentions against you?"
Zhu Hao nodded and said, "Lu Dianzhang, you heard them discuss how to kill . I want to know if they really want to kill me... If I face a life-threatening situation, I will follow your advice and leave Prince Xing's Mansion and no longer care about the affairs of the palace."
Zhu Hao's reasoning was impeccable.
Lu Song thought about it seriously and said with embarrassment: "If I invite them to drink, they may not come. What happened last time..."
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "If Lu Dianzhang treats them to a drink as an apology, will they refuse? I also know that this will make Lu Dianzhang lose face. If there is any money left after buying wine and food, then consider it as my treat for Lu Dianzhang."
Inviting Jianmaochu and others to drink as a way of apology sounds like a good idea. After all, Jianmaochu didn't get beaten with a stick last time. It's completely reasonable for the guard of the palace's ceremonial guard to get acquainted with the palace's craftsmen and drink together.
Lu Song originally felt that since he had helped Zhu Hao teach a lesson to those craftsmen with ill intentions, Zhu Hao owed him a favor, so he stopped being polite and took the two taels of silver.
"We can invite them to drink, but we may not be able to find out much information. Hou Chun, who is behind the sharp-haired hoe, has a close relationship with Yuan Changshi, and they are also following orders..."
This was an indirect way of telling Zhu Hao that Yuan Zonggao had been on guard against him for a long time, and it was the people below who understood his intention and wanted to solve the problem of Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao said: "Man proposes, God disposes. As long as we can determine the severity of their attack, that will be enough. Thank you, Lu Dianzhang."
…
…
Lu Song originally thought that Zhu Hao had something important to tell him concerning the Zhu family and even the Jinyiwei, but he just asked him to invite Jianmaoqiao and others to drink.
After returning home, Lu Song pondered over it again and again, and thought that this was what the Zhu family wanted to know about the true attitude of the palace.
From this, he made up his mind that even if Jianmaoqiao and others had no intention of killing Zhu Hao, he would still make some alarmist remarks to scare Zhu Hao away.
This little guy who knows him inside and out and is also an undercover agent is staying in the palace, and he likes to contact him whenever he wants. What if he is discovered...
In short, he is a dangerous person. Even if Jianmao Zhuo and others do not take action, he cannot let Zhu Hao stay in the palace for a long time.
After Zhu Hao sent Lu Song away, he did not rest but continued to climb up to the roof to watch the stars as he did in the past.
What Zhu Hao didn't tell Lu Song was that the reason he invited Jianmaoqiao and others to drink was that when these people got drunk, they would run to the outside alley to urinate without any scruples, making it easier for him to carry out the next plan.
"In order to successfully become a tutor, I have no choice but to take a risk. I have to light this fire tomorrow!"
…
…
The plan went smoothly.
In the morning, Zhu Hao made some arrangements in his room.
When setting a fire, the most important thing is that the flames should not be too big or spread too violently. The fire needs to be controlled within a very small area in advance and cannot spread quickly. It is best to have more smoke. These need to be planned in advance.
Near noon, Zhu Hao saw Lu Song and two guards carrying two large jars of wine into the kitchen yard.
Zhu Hao thought that Lu Song was too honest. He just needed to give him two taels of silver and buy some wine to get the sharp-haired hoes drunk. But these two large jars of wine, could they be used to get all the craftsmen drunk?
Without time to spare for anything else for the moment, Zhu Hao went back to prepare the ice cream and iced sour plum soup, and hung up all the revolving lanterns and other things, as well as the carved leather paper for shadow play that he had specially bought from the market... The leather paper was carefully made by skilled craftsmen, and the images on it were hollowed out and colored, making them come alive.
After everything was ready, Zhu Hao came out of the yard.
He had to hide first and create an alibi. Although Zhu Si would come empty-handed, he would definitely be attracted by the gadgets he prepared.
Zhu Hao had put a mixture of Datura and Aconitum powder into the ice cream and iced sour plum soup. The dosage was not large, but it would be enough to knock someone out for an hour or so.
Zhu Hao waited outside for a long time. The most important part of the plan was Zhu Si's arrival.
It would be fine if Zhu Si and Zhu San came together, at most they could just knock them down together. But if they didn't come, then all the previous efforts would be wasted, and they would have to wait for the next opportunity. Then would Lu Song invite those craftsmen to have a drink?
Whether Lu Song is willing to do it or not is another matter. He still has to spend money...
If this goes on for long, the people in the palace will find out that Zhu San and Zhu Si are running towards him and block their way... then all the efforts before will be in vain.
This is also the reason why Zhu Hao acted hastily.
He was just thinking about something when he saw Zhu Si running towards him. Zhu Hao looked carefully and found that Zhu San and Lu Bing were not following behind.
After watching Zhu Si enter the yard, Zhu Hao's plan was officially implemented.
…
…
In the kitchen yard of the east wing, a banquet was going on.
Lu Song specially invited Jianmaoqiao and others to a banquet.
Hou Chun didn't come, but Li Shun was there. Also attending the banquet were the three people who were beaten last time and the craftsmen who were on duty today.
After a few days of recuperation, the three people who were beaten felt better. Lu Song used the excuse of apology to treat them to drinks, which was to show that the report had nothing to do with him... His previous actions were purely helpless and he acted under the instructions of his superiors.
If Lu Song had not been caught red-handed by Captain Lin, he would rather forget his family mission and would never take up his father's job, let alone live in fear all day long.
He knew that if he did not follow Captain Lin's orders to investigate the intelligence of the palace and allowed his identity to be leaked, he would be in trouble both inside and outside and would not be able to gain a foothold in Prince Xing's palace.
At the banquet, Lu Song drank a few more glasses without realizing it.
Jianmao Hao was originally Hou Chun's chief horseman. He usually ignored Li Shun. He shouted at the table: "If you have any problems in the future, just tell me. If your windows are broken or you need to repair a door, I will definitely come to help. There are all kinds of materials in the warehouse. You can get as much as you want."
This was an indirect admission that he was also responsible for the loss of materials from the palace warehouse.
Lu Song pouted secretly. He invited them to drink just to get them to help with the carpentry work?
When he was about to ask the kitchen to add another dish, he suddenly felt something was wrong. After thinking for a long time, Lu Song realized that Zhu Hao did not come to the kitchen to eat at noon today.
Lu Song thought to himself, "They are so loud and noisy here. If you want to know whether they want to kill you, why don't you eavesdrop on them yourself? Are they afraid that if you come in person, they will be reluctant to say anything?"
When Lu Song was about to ask Jianmaochu what their impression of Zhu Hao was and what their plans were next, he saw Jianmaochu stand up shakily and walk towards the door.
"he……"
Lu Song pointed, wanting to get it back himself.
Daxi, who was standing by, pulled him back and said, "Old Lu, don't worry about him. He just went out to have some fun."
"Have fun?"
Lu Song didn't understand what was going on.
Old Song, who was drinking with us, said drunkenly, "I just want to pee."
"Why do you run outside instead of going to the toilet to pee? Hey..." Lu Song wanted to call the man back, but he had already walked out the door and probably wouldn't turn back even if he heard what he said.
"Lu Dianzhang, keep drinking, this wine is really good..."
Lu Song originally thought that things were a bit strange, but with the wine in front of him, he was a little greedy for wine. In addition, someone next to him urged him to drink more, so he didn't care about anything else. He decided to wait for Jianmao to come back and then ask him how to deal with Zhu Hao.
…
…
At this time, Zhu Hao had already entered the yard once.
He was afraid that Zhu Si had not eaten the ice cream and sour plum soup and had not fallen into a coma.
After making sure that Zhu Si had fallen down and seeing the revolving lantern next to the other's little head, Zhu Hao nodded. This meant that Zhu Si came and found that he was not there. There was something delicious next to him, so he didn't care about anything else. He ate ice cream and drank sour plum soup while taking down the revolving lantern, opened the lid, lit the candle and started playing with it.
Soon, the little guy fell asleep on the eight-immortals table due to the effect of the medicine.
A group of craftsmen were drinking in the kitchen, so naturally no one cared about the warehouse. This was another reason why Zhu Hao asked Lu Song to treat that group of people to a drink... to avoid anyone coming to the warehouse and ruining his plan as much as possible.
