AEDBE CHAPTER 12.2

 A Eunuch’s Dream of Being Emperor by Li Ximin

CHAPTER 12:  THE SECRET CHAMBER AND THE DUNGEON

The Secret Chamber and the Imperial Delusion

Chapter 12 Part 2

Inside the inner quarters, Dongzi was sharing an evening meal with Grandpa Li.

Grandpa Li dined with excruciating, dainty refinement, lecturing Dongzi incessantly that food must be chewed meticulously and swallowed in micro-portions—wolfing down meals was the behavior of low-born peasants, whereas Dongzi was destined to be the sovereign ruler of Tang Town. Dongzi kept his eyes stubbornly glued to his bowl, refusing to meet the eunuch's terrifying gaze, a cold barrier of resistance hardening in his gut. He had zero desire to ascend into the ranks of the "upper classes"; he longed only to remain a free, untamed child with his soul and kindness intact, untainted by the horrifying multiplicity of faces and monstrous secrets harbored by Grandpa Li.

Dongzi's heart yearned simply to be a bird soaring through open skies.

Then, faint and clear through the courtyard walls, he heard Abao's distant shouting.

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His heart surged with violent life—Abao had come for him! Dongzi had feared Abao had abandoned him forever. Earlier that day, while Old Man Yu droned through the mind-numbing recitations of the Three Character Classic, Dongzi’s mind had drifted entirely to Abao, finding the dry, oppressive schooling utterly intolerable. The normally gentle, erudite Old Man Yu was secretly a tyrant; catching Dongzi’s wandering attention, he would crack a heavy wooden ruler across the boy's palms with vicious force, stinging him until he bared his teeth in agony.

Dongzi shoved his stool back, making to bolt toward the gates.

Grandpa Li’s voice dropped like a slab of ice: "Sit down."

An invisible, hypnotic spell seemed to shackle Dongzi’s limbs, forcing him back into his seat against his absolute will.

Abao’s voice faded away into the night, and with it, Dongzi’s soul tore loose from the Li mansion. For Abao to scream his name so urgently meant something profound had occurred; it was no ordinary summons to play. Though he had missed the specifics of Abao's shouts, his chest churned with gut-wrenching anxiety.

Once the meal concluded, taking advantage of a moment when Grandpa Li and Li Cilin retreated into private council, Dongzi slipped away from Canglong Courtyard and sprinted toward Dahē Courtyard. Knowing the gate sentries would bar his exit, he approached them directly, only to be blocked cold at the threshold. Dongzi loathed these armed thugs who lorded over him with borrowed authority.

He flared up, demanding, "What right do you have to bar my path? Open this gate!"

The guard put on a pleading, servile face: "Imperial Grandson, it's not that we enjoy locking you up, but the Emperor and Commander Li gave strict, absolute orders. Put yourself in our shoes—without their explicit decree, if we let you walk out and they drop the axe on us, who takes the blame? We're just scraping a living working these grounds, have mercy on us! If you truly wish to leave, go beg the Emperor and Commander Li; if they grant permission, we wouldn't dare block you for a second!"

Dongzi thought fast, demanding, "Fine, I won't force the gate... but you must answer me one question truthfully."

The guard bobbed his head eagerly, "Ask away, ask away! Anything within our knowledge, we'll spill!"

Dongzi pressed, "Good. Tell me—what was Abao shouting outside just now?"

The guard chuckled nervously, "Nothin' important, really. The kid just came by to announce that your elder sister is back... and that she's fallen sick."

"Ah—" Dongzi’s eyes flew wide with horror.

How could that not be important?! He had harbored relentless dread for the fate of his sister and mother; now that his sister had returned crippled by illness, panic clawed at his throat. He threw caution to the winds, making a desperate break for the open gate. Terrified out of his wits, the sentry lunged forward, hooking his arms around Dongzi’s waist from behind. Without hesitating, Dongzi sank his teeth straight into the guard's wrist. The man let out a squeal like a stuck pig, his grip loosening instantly, allowing Dongzi to tear through the gateway at a dead sprint.

The injured guard shrieked to his companion: "Quick! Sound the alarm to Deputy Commander Li—"

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Dongzi’s cheeks the instant he crossed his family's threshold; the skeletal, premature decay of Li Hongtang’s face pierced his heart like a rusted nail.

With swimming eyes, Li Hongtang choked out, "Little brother... don't weep. Your elder sister has returned safely... it's just that I failed to track down Mother. I've failed you!"

Sobbing, Dongzi buried his face, "Elder Sister, say no more... as long as you're back, nothing else matters."

Li Hongtang brushed the hot tears from the boy's cheeks, her voice breaking, "Little brother, how have you fared over there? The moment I walked through the door and heard Abao's tale, my blood ran cold. Had I been home, I would have died before letting them drag you off."

Dongzi declared fiercely, "Elder Sister, I'm never setting foot back in that place! I loathe it... I want to stay right here with you forever."

Li Hongtang pulled Dongzi into her bony embrace, stroking his hair with trembling fingers: "You won't have to return, little brother. Elder Sister will raise you with her own hands!"

Suddenly, a series of violent, thunderous blows slammed against the outer timber door, startling both siblings out of their skin.

Instantly followed by Li Cilin’s booming, savage roar: "Open this door! Open the damn door for me!"

Dongzi stiffened, "Elder Sister, stay here, I'll answer it."

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The moment Dongzi slid the wooden bolt back, Li Cilin drove his boot forward, kicking the heavy door off its latch with a splintering crash. Caught in the swing, Dongzi tumbled backward onto the packed earth floor. Standing on the threshold stood two lantern-bearing guards—including Wang Hairong, whose shifty, rat-like eyes immediately darted past the frame to peer into the dark interior, dying to verify the rumors that Li Hongtang had rotted into a toothless crone. Striding heavily inside, Li Cilin slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Wang Hairong pressing his face greedily against the door cracks.

Stooping down, Li Cilin hoisted Dongzi bodily off the floor by his collar, his face distorted with rage: "Mother's blood! What are you running back here for, tossing away a golden future on a whim?! Do you have any idea—if the Shunde Emperor cuts us off, we are nothing! Every ounce of my painstaking gamble is pinned entirely on your shoulders! Move, get your ass back with me right now!"

Dongzi dug his heels in, screaming defiance, "I won't go! I'll never go back! I'm staying with my sister!"

Shaking with murderous fury, Li Cilin roared, "Like hell you have a choice!"

He hauled the struggling boy toward the exit.

Dongzi shrieked at the top of his lungs, "Father! Let me go! I'm not going!"

Li Cilin snapped, "Don't ever call me father again! I am no longer your father—you are now the august grandson of the Shunde Emperor! And this hovel is no longer your home!"

Li Hongtang burst from the inner chambers, tears carving tracks through the dust on her cheeks: "Father! Let little brother go—"

Whipping his head around, Li Cilin locked eyes with his daughter. Her grotesque, aged transformation hit him like a physical blow; his grip on Dongzi slackened instantly, and he stood frozen, utterly incapable of reconciling this withered crone with the blooming maiden he had left behind. Seizing the opening, Dongzi ducked behind Li Hongtang, gripping her skirts with white knuckles.

Li Cilin whispered in a dazed, hollow voice, "Are you... Hongtang? Is that truly you?"

Weeping brokenly, Li Hongtang pleaded, "It's me, Father... I beg you, spare little brother, don't drag him away—"

Li Cilin muttered, "Yes... your voice hasn't altered. But in God's name, how did you become this?"

Li Hongtang offered no answer; she possessed no explanation for her curse.

Without warning, Li Cilin turned and strode straight into the inner bedroom. Faint sounds of rummaging, crashing trunks, and displaced timber echoed out into the dark hall where the siblings stood frozen, Dongzi still cowering behind his sister’s skirts, trembling like a leaf in a gale.

What on earth was their father searching for in the bedroom? The question hung heavy between them.

A moment later, Li Cilin emerged bearing a heavy, black-lacquered wooden box. Neither sibling had ever laid eyes on this mysterious chest within the memories of their youth. Slamming the box down onto the central table, Li Cilin snapped, "Come forward, both of you. Look upon this, and perhaps you'll finally comprehend why I must do what I do!" Li Hongtang murmured down to Dongzi, "Don't be afraid, little brother... even wild beasts do not devour their own flesh. Father won't harm you."

Haltingly, Li Hongtang led Dongzi closer to the table.

Li Cilin unlatched the heavy brass clasp and flipped the lid wide.

Li Hongtang’s jaw dropped in sheer disbelief: "Ah—"

Staring up from the interior of the chest was a solid, blinding stack of gleaming gold ingots.

The amber glow of the metal reflected sharply in Li Cilin’s avaricious eyes. He reasoned that no mortal soul could gaze upon such wealth without their resolve crumbling—including his own progeny. Gold possessed the ultimate alchemy to alter destinies, dragging a family out of the mire of starvation into opulent luxury. In a low, hypnotic pitch, Li Cilin pressed his case: "Do you understand now? What I have risked my neck for the Shunde Emperor to achieve—what was it all for? This wealth belongs to us, entirely ours! With gold like this, what can't be accomplished in this realm? Let me spell it out: so long as Dongzi plays his part and returns obediently, our future generations will swim in infinite fortune! Old man Shunde has only a breath left in his lungs anyway; he’s nothing more than a rotting stump waiting to topple! Do you finally see the depths of my painstaking devotion?" Of course, he kept the most burning motive locked securely behind his teeth: avenging his murdered father. The head of Li Shihuai was already dangling by a thread within his grasp; once the final chess piece fell, he would watch that old hound's skull roll into the dirt!

Li Hongtang stared blankly at the treasure, her voice flat and hollow: "What use is an empire of gold? What use? Mother is gone... we can't find her anywhere..."

Li Cilin cut her off fiercely, "Hongtang, tonight I am signing this entire chest over to you! Spend it however your heart desires, I won't interfere—so long as you release Dongzi to return with me."

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Dongzi cried out, "I'm not going back! I want to stay with my sister—"

Li Cilin snapped, his patience evaporating entirely, "I've laid out the heavens and earth for you, and still you defy me!"

Li Hongtang stepped forward, her voice ringing with cold resolve, "Father, take your gold and get out! We want none of it! Mother always taught us that unearned wealth is poison to the soul! And you will not take my brother another step! Go back to your master alone—I will raise little brother with my own two hands!"

Shaking with incandescent rage, Li Cilin bellowed, "You ungrateful, blind wretches! Everything I've built, I built for your sakes! Have you no hearts?!"

Li Hongtang spat bitterly, "Everything you've done has been for your own monstrous ambition! Mother has vanished into the void, yet you carry on as though nothing happened, refusing to lift a finger! And look at me—when did you ever spare a glance for my suffering? If you knew it would come to this, you should have drowned me in a nightsoil bucket the day I drew breath! What good is gold? Can it resurrect Mother? Can it restore my youth? No! In my eyes right now, your precious gold is nothing more than a pile of rotting dogshit!"

Blinded by fury, Li Cilin shoved Li Hongtang violently aside, lunging with his heavy hand to grab Dongzi by the collar.

With catlike reflexes, Dongzi ducked out of his reach. Darting instantly into the small lean-to kitchen, his hand swept across the cutting board, closing around the heavy iron kitchen chopper. He burst back into the hall brandishing the blade!

Li Hongtang shrieked in absolute terror, "Little brother, what are you doing?!"

Li Cilin froze dead in his tracks, paralyzed by shock. He couldn't fathom whether the boy intended to bury the cleaver in his skull or commit some other madness. Slamming his left hand flat onto the wooden table, Dongzi raised the heavy chopper high in his right hand, his voice dropping into a steady, chilling cadence: "Father... if you take one more step to force me, I swear I'll hack my own hand clean off!"

Staring in slack-jawed horror, Li Cilin found his throat completely sealed, unable to utter a single syllable.

Meanwhile, trapped like a wild beast in a cage, Grandpa Li paced furiously back and forth across the main hall of Canglong Courtyard. Aunt Wu hurried over with a freshly brewed pot of tea, bowing deeply: "Your Majesty... please partake of some tea to soothe your spirit."

Grandpa Li shot her a venomous glare, snarling, "Drink tea? Can't you see this old master's nerves are fried? Away with you—get out!"

Lowering her head in subservience, Aunt Wu backed away.

Grandpa Li resumed his frantic pacing, peering anxiously out toward the dark courtyards.

When the minutes dragged on with no sign of Li Cilin or Dongzi returning, a flash of red rage overtook him; he lashed out with his boot, kicking savagely at a heavy wooden stool. A sharp crack of bone echoed as his toe connected with the leg, instantly sending a bolt of agonizing, piercing pain shooting up his leg. Having momentarily forgotten in his delusion of grandeur that he was a eunuch castrated in early boyhood—rather than a martial arts master like Li Cilin—he had behaved with disastrous foolishness!

Hearing the crash, Aunt Wu materialized from behind the decorative screen like a silent specter, righting the stool before shuffling hurriedly to Grandpa Li’s side as he hopped on one foot, groaning and clutching his bruised toe. She inquired with trembling solicitude, "Your Majesty, please be seated—rest your foot immediately!"

Grandpa Li fumed, "You brainless creature! You come out and coddle the furniture first instead of tending to this old master! Hmph, is a piece of wood more important than my imperial person?! Ouch... ouch—"

Terrified out of her wits, Aunt Wu dropped to her knees, babbling, "This humble slave deserves death! This humble slave deserves a thousand deaths! Naturally, Your Majesty is paramount; next time, this humble slave will prioritize Your Majesty above all else!"

Guiding him carefully into the cushioned grand master's chair, she fretted, "Where does it pain you, Your Majesty? Show me—"

Grandpa Li winced, "The big toe of my right foot. Check it immediately—did the skin break? This old master cannot tolerate the sight of blood!"

Cradling his heavy boot in her lap, Aunt Wu fumbled frantically with the thick cloth fastenings, peeling the footwear away.

Grandpa Li sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, hissing, "Can't you be gentler? You're trying to murder this old master with pain! Why must you always be so clumsy with your paws? I've drilled you a hundred times, yet you never learn! Back in the old days, when I removed the shoes of the Old Buddha, she felt like she was floating on clouds. Ouch... ouch—"

Aunt Wu conciliated submissively, "This slave will reform, I swear it! Next time I shall touch you with the utmost lightness..."

Peeling back his thick wool sock with agonizing care, she cradled his bare foot in both palms, bringing her eyes inches from the joint to inspect the skin.

Grandpa Li urged impatiently, "Well? Is there blood? Tell me—"

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Aunt Wu reported dutifully, "This slave sees no break in the skin, Your Majesty; the great toe is merely bruised a dark purple."

Grandpa Li sighed in profound relief, "No bleeding? Splendid, this old master detests the sight of blood! Ouch... ouch—"

Pressing her lips directly against his bruised toe, Aunt Wu exhaled a steady stream of warm breath, soothing the skin with gentle puffs.

After a moment of this bizarre ministration, Grandpa Li let out a sudden, snorting chuckle. Curling his pinky into an orchid gesture, he poked her playfully on the forehead, "Naughty wretch... you're tickling this old master."

Aunt Wu’s facial muscles remained locked in a rigid, mask-like blankness as she murmured flatly, "So long as Your Majesty is amused... that is all that matters."

Grandpa Li waved a hand, "Enough, enough, put my socks and boots back on. Oh, my poor little grandson... why hasn't he returned yet? This old master's heart is literally shattering into dust!"

As she dressed his foot, Aunt Wu cooed, "Your Majesty must not fret yourself into a fever; the imperial grandson will surely return. Rest your noble heart, do not damage your imperial constitution! Your body is worth more than mountains of gold; should you fall ill from worry, this slave would die of heartbreak!"

Grandpa Li groaned, "How can this old master keep from worrying!"

Before Aunt Wu could fully rise from her kneeling posture, Li Cilin strode into the hall looking as though he had walked through fire. Sensing the oppressive aura, Aunt Wu offered a swift kowtow and melted back into the shadows. Rule of thumb: she was strictly forbidden from remaining within earshot during political consultations unless specifically summoned.

Dropping to both knees before the eunuch, Li Cilin trembled, "Your Majesty... this subordinate deserves death!"

Grandpa Li’s face curdled into a thundercloud. He deliberately withheld the command to rise, demanding icily, "Explain yourself. What is the meaning of this?"

Remaining pinned to the flagstones, Li Cilin stammered, "Forgive my utter incompetence, Your Majesty; I was unable to escort the imperial grandson back to the palace this evening. However, I beg you to set your mind at rest—by tomorrow dawn, I will deliver him back to these halls without fail! I have already doubled the armed cordon around their dwelling; the boy is secure. I beg Your Majesty's supreme indulgence!"

Grandpa Li pounded his fists against his thighs in theatrical despair, wailing, "My grandson! My flesh and blood! If a single hair on his head is harmed, what purpose do I have left in this world? I shall not survive!"

Sweat poured in thick rivulets down Li Cilin’s forehead: "Please, Your Majesty, calm your fears. He remains safe with his elder sister, and my trusted guards watch the perimeter. Nothing can go wrong. If any disaster befalls him, this subordinate will gladly present his head upon a platter!"

Grandpa Li’s voice turned venomous, "And those two worthless curs who let my grandson slip their leash earlier today—have them dealt with severely! Let this serve as a lesson so no one else dares default on their duty. Issue the order: string those two bastards up by their necks from the branches in Dahē Courtyard, leave them without food or water for a full day and night, and let the entire garrison witness the price of negligence!"

Kowtowing deeply until his forehead struck the stone with a dull thud, Li Cilin rasped, "As you command, Your Majesty! I shall execute it instantly!"

Grandpa Li exhaled a ragged breath, "Is there... no way we can bring the boy's elder sister into the palace as well? That would anchor the boy's restless heart permanently."

Li Cilin winced, a look of profound difficulty crossing his features, "That... I fear that is entirely unfeasible, Your Majesty. Her disposition is an exact replica of her late mother's—soft in appearance, but unyielding as iron. Push her too hard and she will shatter the peace entirely. Furthermore, she is currently plagued by a severe, contagious malady; I shudder to think of her bringing pestilence into the inner palace and alarming Your august self. That is a crime this subordinate could never bear."

Grandpa Li narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, emitting a low, skeptical "Hmph."

Still kneeling on the flags, sweat continuing to blind him, Li Cilin awaited his verdict.

Grandpa Li finally flicked a wrist, "Rise. Kneeling like that serves no purpose."

Hastily scrambling to his feet, Li Cilin expelled a massive, pent-up lungful of air.

Grandpa Li instructed coldly, "You must resolve the issue concerning your stubborn daughter promptly. If gentle persuasion fails, employ whatever coercive measures are necessary. This old master will not tolerate the imperial grandson continually staging escapes from the palace; he is the apple of my eye, my ultimate emotional lifeline. Do you comprehend the gravity of this? It is a chronic disease in my chest!"

Li Cilin cursed inwardly with savage venom: Ruthless, psychopathic old freak! Outwardly, however, he kept his gaze welded to the floorboards, murmuring, "Your Majesty may rest easy; I shall settle the matter decisively without delay."

Grandpa Li sighed dryly, "Very well. Now... accompany this old master down to the subterranean black dungeon to inspect that stubborn red-haired demon!"

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This was a subterranean vault of damp, pitch-black misery, where glacial draft winds whistled through every mortar crack, biting straight to the bone. Amidst the suffocating gloom, the missionary John lifted his heart in silent prayer, begging the Almighty to deliver him from this purgatory of flesh, deeply convinced that every ounce of his torment was a necessary trial toward divine redemption.

A heavy iron bolt rattled, and a rusted iron door groaned open—not the gates of paradise, but the portal to this earthly hell.

A chilling, maniacal chuckle slithered into the cell, followed by the amber glare of approaching lanterns—not the light of divine grace, but the flickering flames of captivity.

Li Cilin marched in the vanguard carrying a twin-wick lantern, while Grandpa Li leaned heavily upon his dragon-headed mahogany cane in the rear.

Halting before a massive, iron-barred cage, they stared down with cold malice at the wreck of a man huddled within. John lay collapsed against the stone floor of the cage, hovering on the absolute precipice of death. His eyelids fluttered weakly; the figures of Li Cilin and Grandpa Li registered merely as blurred, distorted specters in his failing vision. He desperately wished to rasp a protest, but his vocal cords were utterly dead, his throat scorched as though swallowed by live coals and choked by a thick, glutinous phlegm. Starved, dehydrated, and paralyzed in every limb, John could not fathom why these demons had dragged him down into this subterranean tomb, caging him like a wild beast behind iron bars.

Grandpa Li sneered, his voice dripping with venom, "Give the dog a drop of water."

Li Cilin reached out, thrusting a gourd flask through the vertical iron bars: "Red-haired devil, catch!"

Gathering the last flickering spark of his mortal strength, John raised a trembling, skeleton-like hand, clutching the gourd to his parched lips and pouring the liquid down. The ice-cold water rushed into his oral cavity, bathing his raw throat and flooding his hollow stomach; the very essence of life revitalized his withered viscera. The contents vanished in seconds, and he blindly shoved the empty gourd back through the bars. Li Cilin snatched it away, casually hurling the vessel into a dark, reeking corner of the cell where it clattered noisily against the stones.

A surge of warmth crept back into John's limbs—was this sudden vitality a gift bestowed directly by God?

He forced his eyelids open once more, bringing the cruel visages of Li Cilin and Grandpa Li into sharp focus.

Who were these monsters? John possessed zero knowledge of their identities, yet intuition screamed that one of these two fiends was the mastermind behind his abduction and imprisonment. Between them, the brawny brute looked like a murderous executioner, while the pale, waxen elder exuded the aura of a cunning, venomous viper. John concluded instantly that the pale, bloodless old man was the supreme architect of his torture! He parted his lips, frantic to demand the reason for this barbarity, but not a single sound escaped—his voice was entirely gone! The brutal truth dawned upon him with suffocating clarity: the water he had just consumed had been doctored! They had laced his drink with a slow poison designed to strike him mute!

Both of these creatures were spawn of the pit!

Noticing John's desperate, soundless mouth movements, Grandpa Li slithered closer to the bars, his face twisting into a malicious, triumphant leer: "Red-haired devil, your final judgment has arrived! What more do you wish to babble? Hoping to continue your filthy lies and brainwash our Chinese folk with your foreign ghost stories? Hmph, too late for prayers now! You'll have to wait until your next reincarnation to speak another word. But tell me—do you even possess a next life? Unlikely! Let me enlighten you: what do you suppose I despise most under the heavens? I'll tell you—it's you damned foreign ghosts! Your kind scheme to castrate all of China, forcing our people to crawl on their bellies at your feet! Just wait; do not dream of ascending to your Christian heaven—you won't even find sanctuary in the deepest hell. Your eternal destiny is to wander the skies above Tang Town as a wretched, wailing orphan ghost, denied salvation for all eternity!"

A series of guttural, bubbling gurgles scraped out of John's ruined throat—prayers in his native tongue.

Grandpa Li and his henchman understood not a single syllable.

Grandpa Li chuckled dismissively, "Save your breath, red-haired devil... save your energy for the final verdict of the executioner!"

At that exact microsecond, a shrill, bloodcurdling shriek pierced the air from the corridors above.

Grandpa Li jerked violently as though struck by lightning, his grip slipping from the dragon-headed cane, sending it clattering noisily onto the stone flags. Li Cilin’s eyes widened in sudden, blind panic as he snatched the cane off the floor, thrusting it back into the eunuch's trembling hands. Still reeling from shock, his face drained of all color, Grandpa Li stammered in abject terror, "Quickly... get us out of here!"

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