Chapter 480

Xiao Er hurriedly comforted her, "Don't worry, the eldest son won't be in trouble."

He pulled the ancient book from his chest and handed it to Chu Yuan, "National Preceptor, this is what the miss found in the study."

Chu Yuan set Tuan Tuan down, took it, slowly flipped through it, and the more he read, the more his brows furrowed.

Tuan Tuan tugged his sleeve, "Master, what does it say inside?"

Chu Yuan replied, "It is a very profound astrology."

Tuan Tuan, a little disappointed, said, "Oh, I thought it was something that could locate the key."

Chu Yuan smiled, pulled her forward, "It might not be useless; let the teacher take a good look and then tell you, okay?"

"Okay!" Tuan Tuan looked toward the secret passage, "Why isn't big brother back yet?"

"Who's missing me?" Xiao Ningyuan's voice suddenly came from the secret passage.

"Big brother!" Tuan Tuan leapt up joyfully, carefully stepping over Xuanwei's skeleton, and ran deeper into the secret passage.

"Miss! Wait! It's too dark!" Xiao Er hurriedly pursued.

He hadn't yet entered when Xiao Ningyuan emerged already holding Tuan Tuan.

The party emerged from the secret passage, each with a gray, dusty face.

Tuan Tuan stretched out a small hand and wiped her brother's face, "Big brother, why are you so covered in dirt?"

Xiao Ningyuan, after his sister's pat, wrinkled his nose, "Of course! That dry well was full of soil!"

He pinched Tuan Tuan's little nose, "So, did you find the key?"

Tuan Tuan drooped her little head, "No."

She looked up toward behind her big brother and asked, "Third Elder Brother?"

Xiao Ningyuan set her down, "We never actually found the way, but it wasn't without any gain."

Lu Qi stepped forward and set down the bundle of clothes he was holding, "That cold palace is truly vast! Everywhere is pitch black, nothing can be seen clearly."

"We walked in circles, not knowing which direction to take to find Seventh Prince; we saw the courtyard's drying clothes, taking one here, one there, stitching together several outfits to bring back."

"Next time we go, we can change into palace garments, won't draw attention."

"We kept waiting, having figured out that the patrolling Imperial Guard passes by every hour, and only then did we come back."

Chu Yuan looked at everyone, "Not bad, Tuan Tuan found the ancient book left by Xuanwei, Ningyuan discerned the Imperial Guard's patrol pattern, everyone gained something."

Tuan Tuan suddenly recalled, "Master, we also saw a masked person!"

Chu Yuan and Xiao Ningyuan were startled, "Who in the palace would dare wear a mask?"

Xiao Er interjected, "Indeed, that man seemed very familiar with the Imperial Study; he came alone and even sat on His Majesty's dragon throne, flipping through the memorial tablets on the desk."

Xiao Ningyuan was stunned, "Sitting on the dragon throne? Flipping through memorials? Could it be Chen Wang or Qing Wang?"

Chu Yuan shook his head, "If it were Chen Wang or Qing Wang, why wear a mask?"

The group mulled it over, but ultimately had no clue.

Chu Yuan said, "You all quickly rest; after waking, we'll make plans."

"Okay!" Tuan Tuan let out a small yawn, "Third Elder Brother, wait another day for me!"

Chu Yuan smiled, turned and left.

After a night of turmoil, everyone fell onto their backs and slept, sleeping straight until the sun had moved west.

The group finally rose, and Chu Yuan entered, his face full of fatigue as if he hadn't slept all night, yet his eyes shone astonishingly.

Xiao Ningyuan's heart leapt, "Did something happen outside again?"

Chu Yuan shook his head, "No, I spent the night studying the ancient book Tuan Tuan brought back, and discovered a possible hiding place for the key."

"What?" Xiao Ningyuan sprang up sharply.

"Master is truly amazing!" Tuan Tuan, just opening her eyes, heard the end of the sentence, groggily sat up, "Master found the key! We can go home now!"

Xiao Ningyuan patted her little head, tucked her back into the quilt, "Keep sleeping then."

Everyone laughed.

Chu Yuan placed the ancient book on the desk, opened to a page, and pointed at the yellowed star map.

"Look here, everyone. This page depicts the Ziwei Enclosure star map, originally symbolizing the emperor's dwelling."

"But there is an anomaly here," he said, pointing to a star specially circled in cinnabar, "The annotation beside this auxiliary star reads: 'Eclipse position, Kun invades the main enclosure, light hidden in impurity.'"

Xiao Ningyuan focused his gaze, "Kun invades the main enclosure, Kun being earth, does it refer to the harem?"

"More than that." Chu Yuan flipped several pages, then pointed to a dense hexagram passage, "This segment: 'Kun above, Li below, Mingyi flies, spreads its wings. There is a destination, the master has words.'"

Xiao Er furrowed his brows, "What does this hexagram text mean?"

"The Mingyi hexagram, with Li fire below and Kun earth above, means the firelight is covered by earth, brightness is impaired, exactly reflecting the time when the Empress Dowager wielded power and the saintly emperor's authority was weak."

Chu Yuan lifted his head, a spark flashing in his eyes, "The final line of the hexagram text, 'the master has words,' is the key."

"In ancient times the character 'yan' (speech) and 'key' share the same origin, often used as a cipher. This 'master' refers to the one occupying the Kun position."

Xiao Ningyuan inhaled sharply, "Could it be the Empress Dowager?"

"Exactly." Chu Yuan closed the ancient book, "National Preceptor Xuanwei is proficient in I‑Ching theory and astronomy; he hid this restoration key in the Empress Dowager's palace, the most ingenious hiding place."

"The star map points to the Kun position, the hexagram text hints at the Empress Dowager, the calendar also confirms the celestial signs; the three converge, all pointing to the Empress Dowager's Shoucheng Palace."

Tuan Tuan, at some point, slipped down from the bed, crawled to the table edge, "So the key is with the broken Empress Dowager!"

Chu Yuan was startled, "Broken, broken Empress Dowager?"

Xiao Ningyuan suppressed a laugh, "Yes, the key is inside the broken Empress Dowager's palace."

Lu Qi asked, "Isn't Shoucheng Palace larger than the cold palace? Even if we manage to enter, the palace's guards are strict; where would we look?"

Tuan Tuan, however, was unconcerned, "As long as we know where to look, it'll be fine! We'll always find it."

Xiao Er smiled, "Miss is right! Fortunately the miss found this ancient book, otherwise we wouldn't know where the key is."

Xiao Ningyuan said, "Alright! Since the key's whereabouts are known, let's set it aside for now."

Saving lives is urgent; tonight we go find the Seventh Prince, first rescue him from the Imperial Palace.

Next we'll look for the key; although the Longevity and Accomplishment Palace is big, our Tuan Tuan will surely find it!

Tuan Tuan proudly shook their little head: 'Exactly!'

That night.

Xiao Er, Lu Qi, and the guards were all burly; they simply couldn't fit into those eunuch outfits, so Xiao Ningyuan had no choice but to dress as a eunuch.

He awkwardly adjusted the clothes on his body.

Everything felt off.

Tuan Tuan had already climbed onto Xiao Er's back, poking out their little head to look at him: 'Big brother, you look great in this outfit!'

Hmph, uh, ah... I don't feel that way.

Everyone couldn't help but lower their heads and snicker.

Xiao Ningyuan rolled their eyes: 'Let's go.'

Everyone again entered the secret passage, emerging from the dry well of the Leng Gong.