Shen Lixue was startled and turned around abruptly. The newcomer was dressed in a light blue robe, elegant and graceful. A faint smile appeared on his handsome face, warm and comforting. His eyes were deep as pools, but unfocused: "Third Young Master, what are you doing here?"
“Just like you, I’m preparing to enter the palace!” Lu Jiangfeng’s voice was clear and pleasant.
Shen Lixue's eyes flickered: "Then can I disguise myself as your servant and follow you into the palace?" As proud as Dongfang Heng is, he disdains hiding. Knowing that the palace has issued a warrant for his arrest, he is very likely to come here to see what's going on.
Lu Jiangfeng shook his head, his face grave: "I'm afraid not!"
Shen Lixue frowned: "Why?"
Lu Jiangfeng raised the corners of his mouth: "I'm wanted by the authorities. Entering the palace openly would be like walking into a trap..."
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "What exactly happened?" Lu Jiangfeng was the third young master of the Marquis of Zhenguo, yet he was also wanted by the authorities. The matter was more complicated than she had imagined.
"If I'm not mistaken, it was Consort Shu and Duke Mu who stole the imperial guards' military tally, imprisoned the Emperor, and plotted a rebellion!"
Duke Mu, who should have been sentenced to a severe crime, strode out of the Jingzhao Prefecture covered in blood and rushed into the palace. All the residences of high-ranking officials who had a grudge against Duke Mu's family were massacred by the Imperial Guards. As clever as Lu Jiangfeng was, he quickly figured out the ins and outs of the matter after a little thought.
Shen Lixue nodded in understanding. She too had incurred the wrath of the Duke of Mu's mansion; no wonder the imperial guards had issued a warrant for her arrest. "What are you doing in the palace?"
Shen Lixue risked entering the palace to see Dongfang Heng. Could Lu Jiangfeng also be entering the palace to see someone?
Lu Jiangfeng's expression darkened slightly: "An hour ago, a decree from the Imperial Palace arrived, summoning my grandmother and mother to the palace. Half an hour later, the Imperial Guards stormed into the Zhenguo Marquis's residence..."
News of the mutiny in the capital will soon reach the border. Consort Shu has captured the old lady and the wife of the Marquis, probably to coerce the Marquis of Zhenguo, since he commands hundreds of thousands of soldiers. If he comes to suppress them, Consort Shu and the Duke of Mu will never have a peaceful life again.
The Duke of Mu's mansion and the Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion have always been enemies. With the old lady and the Marquis's wife falling into the hands of Consort Shu, how could they possibly have a good life?
Shen Lixue frowned: "You saw it too, there are a lot of Imperial Guards standing at the palace gate. With your martial arts skills, even if you sneak in, you will be discovered!"
Lu Jiangfeng smiled gently: "If you want to rescue people secretly, you absolutely cannot go through the palace gate. I know a hidden passage that leads directly to the palace!"
Shen Lixue's eyes lit up: "Where?"
"Follow me!" Lu Jiangfeng smiled slightly, turned around, and strode forward.
Shen Lixue glanced at the heavily guarded palace and hurried after her. With the emperor imprisoned, the palace had become the domain of Consort Shu, and they needed to conduct their business in secret.
After a cup of tea, Lu Jiangfeng stopped in his tracks: "This is it."
Shen Lixue looked at the high palace wall and frowned, saying, "It's just an ordinary wall with no door. Could there be some kind of mechanism in the wall?"
“There’s no mechanism yet!” Lu Jiangfeng’s white jade palm lightly touched the hard wall. The dry, solid white ash between the bricks quickly turned into a sticky, soft mass. He grabbed a blue brick and gently pulled it, and a piece of the solid wall was hollowed out.
Shen Lixue blinked, then looked again. Two or three blue bricks had been removed, and a faint light shone through, revealing a small section of the palace scenery: "You used the Spring Breeze Technique?"
Shen Lixue had once heard Dongfang Heng say that there are all kinds of martial arts in the world, which are profound and extensive. There is a kind of martial art called "Bathing in Spring Breeze", which has a high heat that can melt ice and frozen soil and cook pastries and food.
Lu Jiangfeng's ability to melt away hard, dry white ash, his "Spring Breeze" technique, has reached an unparalleled level.
“Yes!” Lu Jiangfeng nodded, his face calm: “This is the quietest place we’ve come all this way. There are no guards inside, making it perfect for sneaking in to retrieve the bricks!”
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, watching as the solid blue bricks were removed one by one, silently and unnoticed. Soon, a hole large enough for a person to pass through appeared in the hard wall. Her slender figure walked through it with ease: a person with high martial arts skills can do things with ease; their abilities are indeed extraordinary.
Qianqing Palace
A eunuch, holding a whisk, stood before the desk and said obsequiously, "Your Highness, the daughters of all the civil and military officials have been waiting for a long time at Chuxiu Palace. What do you think..."
Ye Qianlong frowned deeply and waved her hand impatiently: "I will not see them. Tell them all to go back!"
"This..." The eunuch looked at Ye Qianlong with difficulty: "Your Highness, the Emperor's intention is that you must choose a Crown Princess today, otherwise, those young ladies will not leave!"
"I've said I have no interest in choosing concubines." Ye Qianlong suddenly stood up, slamming the book in her hand heavily on the table, her clear eyes burning with anger.
The young eunuch lowered his eyelids, looking troubled: "But His Majesty..."
Ye Qianlong glanced at the little eunuch, flicked his sleeves, and strode towards the door.
"Your Highness, where are you going?" the young eunuch asked anxiously, holding a whisk.
Ye Qianlong strode forward, his angry voice echoing in the air: "Go to the Imperial Study and find Father Emperor!"
The emperor forced Ye Qianlong to choose a concubine, which enraged him. Ignoring the absence of guards and eunuchs outside the study, he rushed in: "Father, I don't like those girls..."
The emperor lay on the bed, his face pale and exhausted, his brows furrowed, and his lips tinged with an unnatural purple, as if he were seriously ill. Ye Qianlong's angry protests stopped abruptly. He paused for a moment, then softened his voice and asked, "Father, what's wrong?"
The emperor coughed heavily a few times, opened his tired eyes, saw Ye Qianlong, his gaze anxious, his lips moved, and he managed to utter a few words with all his might: "Quick...hurry up and go..."
"Father, what happened?" Ye Qianlong was puzzled. Instead of leaving, he strode towards the bedside.
"Cough cough cough!" The emperor was extremely anxious and wanted to remind Ye Qianlong to leave quickly because it was dangerous here, but he was seriously injured and his throat felt blocked. He coughed heavily but could not speak.
"Hehe, what a touching father-son bond!"
Accompanied by a sweet voice, the inner door of the study was opened, and what entered was not a eunuch, nor a palace maid, nor a guard, but Consort Shu. She wore a dark blue palace dress with white waves embroidered on the hem. Her figure was graceful and elegant, and her bright smile revealed an indescribable eeriness: "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"What are you doing here?" After the incident at Wenyuan Pavilion, Ye Qianlong loathed Consort Shu to the extreme. If it weren't for the fact that she was his father's favorite concubine, he would never have let her off so easily.
Despite Ye Qianlong's rude attitude, Consort Shu remained unperturbed, chuckling, "I'm here to wait for His Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Wait for me?" Ye Qianlong frowned as he looked at Consort Shu, wondering what she was up to.
"Wait to send His Highness the Crown Prince on his way, so you can see your mother sooner!" Consort Shu's eerie smile suddenly turned cold, and dozens of guards rushed out from behind her, wielding long swords, and attacked Ye Qianlong with lightning speed.
Ye Qianlong's clear eyes narrowed slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a powerful palm strike at the guards.
The guards' eyes were grim as they dodged quickly. Two guards were too slow to dodge and were hit. Their tall bodies flew backward and crashed heavily into the wall.
Although the other guards avoided the powerful internal force, the residual force grazed their arms, leaving half of their arms numb from the shock.