Chapter 477: Not Just the Classics

"This notice is posted everywhere; I slipped a sheet off while no one was watching, National Preceptor, please look."

Chu Yuan took it, Xiao Ningyuan leaned forward, and when the two saw it, their faces both changed.

After reading it, Xiao Ningyuan handed the notice to Xiao Er and Lu Qi nearby.

Tuan Tuan asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Xiao Ningyuan looked at his sister's small face, hesitated a moment, and told her the truth.

Tuan Tuan got anxious as soon as she heard, "What about Third Elder Brother of Chen Zhuangguan! Why do they say he did it?"

Lu Qi hurriedly urged, "Don't worry, miss."

Chu Yuan thought for a moment, "They framed this incident on Seventh Prince for only two reasons."

"First, Seventh Prince once acted as regent, and they smeared him, tarnishing his reputation, causing the people to misunderstand him. Second… because of Tuan Tuan."

Tuan Tuan pointed at her own nose, "Me?"

Xiao Er nodded, "They are testing, miss, whether you are in Jingcheng."

Xiao Ningyuan said, "Yes, because your ties with Seventh Prince are close; if he suffers because of this, you would not stand by idly."

He crouched down, looked at his sister pursing her little mouth, and said, "Good girl, no need to worry."

"The notice says the Three Courts will adjudicate, but it does not imprison Seventh Prince; he is only confined within his own Palace, so it seems they will not do anything to him."

"The more you ignore it, the safer Seventh Prince will remain."

Tuan Tuan's little head drooped, "But Third Elder Brother will be sad; it's clearly not his doing, yet everyone blames him."

Xiao Ningyuan crouched, gently pulled her into his arms, "As long as His Majesty can return to Jingcheng, the truth will come out then. Good girl, listen to your brother; for now you can only endure."

"Our most urgent task is still to find the key in that final treasure, so we can completely drive them out of Jingcheng."

Tuan Tuan clutched her brother's neck and nodded gloomily.

Xiao Ningyuan lifted his sister, looked at Chu Yuan, "National Preceptor, which place in Jingcheng remains from the previous dynasty without major alteration to this day?"

Chu Yuan lowered his head, pondering, "Jingcheng itself was the former capital, nothing has been greatly changed."

"But if we speak of a place left from the former dynasty, unchanged and also related to the court affairs, there is only one."

Tuan Tuan turned her head, "Where is it, Master?"

Chu Yuan softly uttered two words, "Palace."

Xiao Ningyuan was startled, then suddenly realized, "Indeed, if the key that can infiltrate Jingcheng isn't in the Palace, where else could it be?"

Chu Yuan frowned slightly, "But given your present circumstances, getting into the Palace would be as hard as climbing to heaven. Even I, without an imperial edict, cannot go in."

"Since His Majesty left Jingcheng, I have not entered the Palace again."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance, "Palace? Entering it now is far harder than entering the former dynasty's imperial tomb."

Chu Yuan patted Tuan Tuan's back, "Don't worry, Seventh Prince is a royal son after all; he will be safe."

"You like desserts; I have ordered someone to buy you pastries from Qiao Su Ge, they'll be delivered soon."

"Thank you, Master!" Tuan Tuan, hearing Qiao Su Ge, thought of Xie Yunshu, "I wonder how Auntie Pastry is doing now."

"Master, did you know, whenever I went to Qiao Su Ge before, Pastry Auntie would pack all the pastries into one order for me, enough to fill half a cart!"

"And she didn't charge me any silver! Next time I take you there, Master, you'll save money!"

Chu Yuan: "…"

He smiled, "Alright, when His Majesty returns to Jingcheng, I'll accompany you for another trip."

Tuan Tuan replied solemnly, "Alright!"

A few days later, Chu Yuan, his face full of worry, entered the secret chamber.

Xiao Ningyuan immediately stood up and asked, "National Preceptor, has something changed outside?"

Chu Yuan was silent for a moment, his gaze falling on Tuan Tuan, who was squatting on the ground playing stone marbles with Xiao Er and Lu Qi, and said, "Seventh Prince is in trouble."

Tuan Tuan suddenly looked up, "What happened to Third Elder Brother?"

Chu Yuan said slowly, "It's spreading outside that Seventh Prince refuses to confess, and in his grief he has fasted to make a statement; he hasn't taken water or rice for several days now."

"Now he is vomiting blood and fainting; the imperial physician says if he still refuses food, he won't survive three more days."

Tuan Tuan's little face turned a bit pale, "Master, will Third Elder Brother die?"

Xiao Ningyuan hurried forward, lifted her, and said, "No, these are all hearsay, likely fabricated rumors released to force us out."

Tuan Tuan's eyes were red, "But what if it's true? What will happen to Third Elder Brother?"

Xiao Ningyuan's throat choked slightly, he gently patted her back, "Good girl, listen to your brother."

"Now the Palace must have set a heavenly net and earthly snare, just waiting for us to go."

"If we rashly appear, not only will we fail to save him, but we'll also drag everyone in."

Tuan Tuan buried her face on her brother's shoulder, and after a long while said gloomily, "I understand."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance, both knowing that Seventh Prince holds an unusually special place in Tuan Tuan's heart.

Xiao Er stepped forward, "Come, miss, may I accompany you to another place for a walk? Let the Great Young Master and National Preceptor discuss further."

"Hmm." Tuan Tuan spread her little arms, and Xiao Er took her.

He looked around; though the stone chamber wasn't small, its furnishings were simple and it lay deep underground, with nothing much to play with, and he felt a pang of sorrow, truly feeling sorry for the miss.

Tuan Tuan said gloomily, "Second Uncle, put me down, please."

Xiao Er gently placed her on the ground.

To find the key, Father and Imperial Uncle must return to Jingcheng to rescue Third Elder Brother.

But the key is in the Palace; how can we get into the Palace?

Six of the Big Dipper stars on the Heavenly Son Sword have already lit up, only the last one remains.

Big Dipper…

Tuan Tuan's gaze fell on the silk star map hanging quietly on the stone wall.

She walked over, climbed onto the chair, and with effort pushed herself onto the tabletop, lifting her little face.

"Master." She pointed to the Big Dipper at the center of the star chart and asked, "Do these stars have names?"

Chu Yuan walked to the edge of the table and replied softly, "Yes, the star you're pointing to is called Heavenly Pivot, the first star of the Big Dipper."

"Then in order are Heavenly Mystery, Heavenly Thread, Heavenly Authority, Jade Balance, Opening Yang, and Twinkling Light; these seven stars together are called the Big Dipper."

Tuan Tuan nodded as if half‑understanding, and with her little finger she pointed to each in turn: "Heavenly Pivot, Heavenly Mystery, Heavenly Thread, Heavenly Authority…"

When her finger landed on the Heavenly Authority star, she paused.

"Huh?" She leaned in closer, her fingertip lightly rubbing the silk, and said, "The underside is different from the other stars—why isn't it flat?"

Chu Yuan startled, and Xiao Ningyuan quickly stepped forward, asking, "What's wrong?"

Tuan Tuan grabbed the edge of the star chart and heaved it up; a corner of the heavy silk was lifted.

She lowered her head and slipped into that gap.

"Big brother, Master! Come quick—look, there's something here!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi had already rushed to the table.

Xiao Ningyuan picked up his sister, while Xiao Er and Lu Qi moved the chairs aside, one on the left and one on the right, and took the entire star chart down from the wall.

On the stone wall, they saw a faintly carved star chart that exactly matched the silk one—a diagram of the Big Dipper.

In the diagram, only the Heavenly Authority star had a piece of black jade inlaid, making it slightly protrude from the wall.

"What is this?" Chu Yuan stared at the piece of black jade, then slowly shook his head. "I've known about this secret chamber for a while, but I never expected the star chart to conceal such a mystery."

"It seems this former dynasty's National Preceptor left behind more than just classics for posterity."

Tuan Tuan slipped out of Xiao Ningyuan's arms, quickly stretched out her little hand, and pressed hard on the black jade.

"Don't move!" Xiao Ningyuan cried, his words not yet finished.

"Click."

A clear sound of a mechanism engaging rang out.

The black jade sank slightly, and immediately—

"Boom…"

A low, rumbling grating of stone came from deep within the wall, and the whole surface trembled slightly.

The stone wall slid inward, opening a gap over three feet wide, and a dark entrance suddenly appeared before them.

A breath of dust and moisture drifted out from within.

Everyone's eyes lit up: a secret passage!

Xiao Er struck a match, lit it, and peered inside; the dim yellow light barely illuminated the first few steps of the entrance.

"Ah!" everyone exclaimed in unison—there sat a skeleton, leaning against the stone wall.