Chapter 483: He Is the Emperor

Xiao Ningyuan spread a plain white xuan paper on the table, Xiao Er ground ink, and Eunuch Cheng sat at the edge of the table, his fingertip slowly tracing the paper.

His fingertip moved, drawing a winding line: "Here is the Leng Gong. From the Leng Gong heading east, through this barren garden, lies the former site of the Laundry Bureau, now vacant, and further north is …"

Xiao Ningyuan's brush tip, following his description, rustled across the paper, and the halls and palace walls gradually took shape.

"This is Shoucheng Palace," Eunuch Cheng's fingertip tapped, "and adjacent on the east side is Dezheng Palace."

Xiao Ningyuan's brush paused: "Dezheng Palace?"

Eunuch Cheng nodded: "It is the residence of Noble Consort De and the Twelfth Prince."

Tuan Tuan, perched at the table's edge, brightened: "Xiao Shi Er! I used to go there often to play with him!"

Eunuch Cheng looked at Tuan Tuan, his eyes gentle: "Indeed, this old servant remembers clearly, Little Princess was then hurrying with a small dog carriage, running around the palace together with the Eleventh and Twelfth Princes."

Tuan Tuan thought longingly: "My big wolf!"

Xiao Ningyuan, however, stared at the two adjacent palace grounds on the map, his brows slightly furrowed.

The Twelfth Prince has now been enthroned as the new Emperor; Dezheng Palace is surely guarded tightly, and with the two palaces adjacent, any slight movement would alert the Imperial Guard.

Eunuch Cheng read his thoughts: "The Eldest Son is worried about the night‑patrolling Imperial Guard, right?"

Xiao Ningyuan nodded.

Eunuch Cheng smiled faintly: "If the masters give no special orders, starting at midnight each day, the Imperial Guard passes outside the palace wall at regular intervals."

"If you enter during this gap, nothing will go wrong."

He paused: "However, there is another method as well."

Xiao Er clasped his fists and said: "Sir, please speak."

Eunuch Cheng's fingertip moved to the center of the map: "Imperial Garden."

His voice lowered a bit: "In the previous dynasty there was an Emperor, debauched and lawless, who especially liked to frolic with palace maids."

"He, for novelty's sake, ordered many hidden passages to be carved within the palace, solely for concealment and chase, which we call 'Tiger Caves.'"

"Tiger Caves?" Tuan Tuan blinked, "Are they for big tigers to live in?"

Eunuch Cheng chuckled, lightly patting her hand: "Not real tigers; it means the Emperor was like a tiger or wolf, catching people in the caves."

He turned to Xiao Ningyuan: "These passages criss‑cross everywhere, many starting from the artificial hills and rock peaks of the Imperial Garden, leading to many remote corners of the palace grounds."

"After His Majesty ascended the throne, finding them filthy and ominous, he ordered all the cave entrances sealed with iron doors."

"All told, this is a palace secret that has not been mentioned for decades."

A flash of brilliance sparked in Xiao Ningyuan's eyes: "Sir, you mean these passages are still open?"

"Yes, they're merely locked, not filled in."

Eunuch Cheng lifted his hand and pointed to an inconspicuous corner on the west side of Dezheng Palace: "This old servant remembers, behind the artificial hill at the base of Dezheng Palace's western wall, there is precisely an exit of a Tiger Cave."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged glances, each seeing excitement in the other's eyes; to find such passages still in the palace was truly a pleasant surprise.

Xiao Ningyuan's breath quickened: "Is there a Shoucheng Palace?"

Eunuch Cheng shook his head: "Shoucheng Palace is the Empress Dowager's residence, so it does not exist. But Shoucheng Palace is adjacent to Dezheng Palace,"

"If you exit the Tiger Cave of Dezheng Palace, climb over the east wall, you'll reach the rear annex of Shoucheng Palace, a place that usually only stores clutter and is rarely visited."

"Excellent!" Xiao Ningyuan slapped the table, "We can slip into Dezheng Palace through the Tiger Cave in the Imperial Garden, then head to Shoucheng Palace, thereby avoiding the Imperial Guard's patrols."

He clasped his fists in salute to Eunuch Cheng, solemnly saying: "If you had not informed us, in this vast Forbidden Palace we would be like headless flies, directionless and struggling. Please accept my bow!"

Eunuch Cheng hurriedly rose and helped him up, his eyes slightly reddened: "Eldest Son, you've exhausted this old servant. Now I can still be of some use, and my heart feels much steadier."

Chu Yuan could not help but exclaim: "Without your guidance, Sir, even if secret passages existed, we could not accomplish anything."

"Little Princess's insistence on rescuing you, Sir, was truly a wise move."

Tuan Tuan slid down from the chair, ran to Eunuch Cheng, and grabbed his hand: "Grandpa, you're so amazing! You're so good!"

Eunuch Cheng felt warmth in his heart, looked down at her, gently brushed her hair top, his voice a bit hoarse: "Little Princess, Dezheng Palace is not as it once was; you must be careful in everything."

Tuan Tuan nodded vigorously, her small hand clenched into a fist and waved: "Yes! Grandpa, rest assured, we will be completely secret, so no one sees us!"

That night, as midnight approached, Lu Qi was the first to leap out of the dry well, glanced around, turned and pulled Xiao Ningyuan out, and Xiao Er, carrying Tuan Tuan, jumped out afterward.

In the night, the Leng Gong was a charred wasteland; the fire from a few days earlier had burned heavily, collapsing most of the row of houses, and the air still held a faint burnt smell.

The few of them quickly found a shadowed spot to hide.

Lu Qi leapt onto the palace wall, crouched and listened; outside the wall came orderly footsteps and the light clank of armor, a squad of Imperial Guard patrolling this spot.

When the footsteps faded, he turned and gave a hand signal.

"Go."

The moment Eunuch Cheng mentioned, the gap was precise—it was exactly midnight!

The group slipped out of the Leng Gong, hurried along the shadow at the base of the wall, and reached the Imperial Garden.

The night was as black as ink, and the strange rocks and artificial hills in the Imperial Garden resembled clusters of deep, dark giant shadows.

Lu Qi carefully felt his way behind several towering Taihu stones.

"Here."

He pushed aside a dense thicket of foliage, revealing a rusted iron door.

The iron door was set deep in a stone foundation, bearing a palm‑sized copper lock, its shackle covered in green rust, clearly untouched for years.

Lu Qi drew his dagger, the tip probing the keyhole, fiddling repeatedly; after a moment, a light "click" sounded as the lock sprang open.

He pushed the iron door open, and a stale, damp odor hit his face.

Lu Qi rushed in first, lit a fire lantern, and the others followed in single file; Xiao Er turned and closed the iron door.

Under the dim, yellowish glow, they examined carefully; the passage was remarkably orderly, wide enough for five or six people to walk side by side, with smooth bluestone paving the ceiling and floor.

"Heh," Xiao Ningyuan surveyed the surroundings, chuckling low, "But to indulge in hide‑and‑seek, it's so extravagantly wasteful—truly rotten to the core."

"No wonder the Holy Virtue Emperor vomits his heart and blood, yet still cannot reverse the decline. Such decadence and decay, riddled with countless wounds, even ten wise rulers could not revive."

Tuan Tuan, however, looked enviously: "Big brother, when we return to the Prince's Mansion, I also want a place like this to play hide‑and‑seek! Will you dig one for me?"

Xiao Ningyuan: "……"

"Fine, wait until we return; let second brother dig for you. The eldest brother doesn't know martial arts, can't dig it."

Tuan Tuan nods seriously: "Alright! Let second brother dig for me!"

Xiao Er gave Xiao Ningyuan a sideways glance, "Big young master, you really are something—just tossing this hot potato to Second Young Master."

The group clarified the direction and headed toward Dezheng Palace.

Though this passage was built solidly, the long years have left eroded marks.

In some sections, dripping water seeped through stone cracks; in other sections the floor tiles had lifted, and stepping on them produced a hollow light sound.

Lu Qi walked at the front: "Watch your step; it's fine, the path is passable."

After about the burn time of an incense stick, an iron gate appeared ahead again.

Lu Qi, following the same method, slipped the Dagger into the crack, the tip pricking and twisting.

"Clack." The hanging lock opened in response.

He carefully used the Dagger tip to lift the lock ring, slowly removed the rusted copper lock, and set it aside.

He pushed open a gap, and outside indeed was the outer wall of a rock garden.

"We've arrived."

The group emerged one by one, finding themselves among the rock garden at the base of Dezheng Palace's western wall.

Xiao Er whispered: "Go to the east wall."

Lu Qi rushed first to the east wall base, flipped onto it, looked around, and silently landed on the ground.

It truly was just a remote little courtyard piled with broken, old junk.

He turned back, with Xiao Ningyuan on his back, and nodded at Xiao Er.

Several people quickly climbed over the wall and finally stepped into Longevity Palace.

Xiao Ningyuan made a hand sign, the group slipped along the wall, feeling their way toward Sanqing Hall.

In the corridor, occasional palace maids and eunuchs hurried by with heads down, and the few of them silently avoided them.

Just as they rounded a passageway and passed a hall, a voice inside shouted angrily, "He is the Emperor; how could he not attend court for many days?"