Chapter 680: Let's tidy up

King Chen and King Qing exchanged a glance.

King Chen carefully said, "Your Excellency, does it mean the secret chamber is beneath the Guoshi Residence?"

Masked Man said, "The Guoshi Residence has already been burned to a white ruin; the Imperial Guard watches day and night, yet no one has emerged from the wreckage, so the secret chamber must be underground."

"Princess Jiayou never appeared, so the hiding place must be sizable."

King Qing turned and tried to leave, "I will go and see it myself."

Masked Man raised his voice, "Haven't you figured out what happened with the mess you made last night?"

King Qing's steps halted; he turned to King Chen, and both wore an embarrassed expression.

King Chen vaguely understood, "Your Excellency says the incident last night was also caused by Princess Jiayou?"

Masked Man nodded, "Besides her, who else has the power to make your whispers heard by everyone?"

King Qing, full of doubt, "But how could she have been in the Taiji Hall last night?"

Masked Man shook his head, "Many can accomplish what ordinary people cannot without being on the scene."

King Qing bitterly said, "I will tear her to pieces!"

King Chen recalled the words he and King Qing exchanged last night, sweat beading on his forehead, "Last night I was reckless and spoke out of turn after drinking."

"But the words are already spoken; what should we do now, please grant your guidance, Your Excellency."

King Qing hurriedly added, "Please, Your Excellency, devise a plan for me!"

Masked Man calmly said, "Because you were drunk and missed the morning court today, you need not attend it thereafter."

King Chen clenched his teeth in secret.

King Qing exclaimed, "Your Excellency! Does that not mean the great authority will slip away?"

"The Emperor is merely a wet‑nosed child! If my brother the king and I do not act, should the state affairs be left to the Six Ministries to manage?"

"Great authority slipping away?" Masked Man sneered, "From what you said last night, those ministers will take the royal orders; who else can fulfill the duties wholeheartedly?"

King Qing was speechless.

King Chen bowed deeply, "Your Excellency, you are absolutely right."

"However, if we keep hiding in our residences, we will only cement the drunken words from last night."

"You stay locked in your respective residences," Masked Man said calmly, "and let the imperial physician visit daily for treatment."

"Turbulate for a few days, then post a notice, publicly summon famous doctors, and let everyone in Jingcheng know of this matter."

King Qing was startled, "Pretend to be ill?"

"After that, invite the real person Xuanqing of Xuanqiong Temple to the residence to hold a grand Daoist ceremony."

"Once the turmoil is over, you may return to court to handle affairs."

King Chen understood, "So that means I was possessed last night, all nonsense?"

Masked Man nodded.

King Qing also grasped it, but his brows remained furrowed, "What if the ministers do not believe?"

Masked Man was a bit impatient, "They will certainly not believe, but what was heard last night was not limited to them."

"The urgent task is to seal everyone's mouths. The common folk, hearing the wind, will think it's rain; let them spread it. As long as they believe you were possessed, that will suffice."

"By staying out of sight for now, you also cool the matter. Even if the ministers don't believe, they won't resign."

"If anyone keeps entangling and makes a big fuss out of this, kill them."

"As long as the Xibei rebels are reduced to ash, the court remains in your grasp; what is there to fear?"

King Qing completely relaxed, "Your Excellency truly is a divine being!"

"Your Excellency's plan is brilliant!" King Chen finally set his heavy heart down, "I admire you."

Masked Man looked at King Qing, "You take a carriage to the Guoshi Residence and instruct the Imperial Guard not to appear."

He paused, "You are unfamiliar with civil engineering; bring along people from the Ministry of Works with you."

"Dig three feet into the ground and bring Princess Jiayou up for me!"

"Yes!" King Qing turned and left.

After a while, a carriage stopped outside the Guoshi Residence.

An official dressed in the Ministry of Works supervisor's attire stepped out of the carriage and faced the Imperial Guard.

He pulled King Qing's command token from his sleeve and handed it to the leading Imperial Guard, "By order of His Highness King Qing, in the Guoshi Residence grounds, dig three feet deep; not even an inch may be left untouched!"

The Imperial Guard thunderously agreed.

Iron spades, pickheads, and shovels descended together, dust billowed, and fragments of stone splashed.

The muffled digging sounds were deafening.

Inside the secret chamber.

Xiao Feifei jolted upright, its two fluffy ears standing straight, head lifted, a pair of amber eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"What's wrong, Xiao Feifei?" Tuan Tuan rubbed her eyes, sat up from the bed, and cradled Xiao Feifei in her arms.

Xiao Feifei let out a "yip" and leapt from her arms, scurrying off the bed.

It darted to the stone steps at the secret chamber's entrance, tilted its head upward and stayed still.

Everyone stared at it with baffled expressions.

"Is Cheng Jing back again?" Xiao Ningyuan asked.

Immediately, everyone's ears perked up.

A faint sound drifted down from above.

"Dong, dong, dong..."

Chen Hao asked, "What's that sound? What's happening outside?"

Xiao Er sprang up, and Lu Qi set down his tea cup.

Xiao Ningyuan picked up Tuan Tuan, quickly walked to the stone steps, and listened closely.

He looked at Xiao Er: "Go up and look, be careful."

Xiao Er nodded, said nothing more, and with a few quick strides charged up the stone steps.

Lu Qi followed closely behind.

The two lay pressed against the inner side of the hidden door, putting their ears to it.

The clashing of metal and the shouts of the Imperial Guard blended together, crystal clear.

Xiao Er's face darkened.

The two turned and walked down the stone steps, returning to the secret room.

"They're digging." Xiao Er's voice was heavy.

Everyone's faces changed instantly.

"Dig? Dig what?" Feng Zhou's voice changed tone.

"What else could they dig?" Xiao Ningyuan's voice sank, "Dig us."

Chen Hao's face turned pale: "They don't intend to wait for us to get out on our own?"

"The Guoshi Residence has been burned to nothing, and they still won't give up?" Eunuch Cheng's brows knotted into a lump.

Xiao Ran paced back and forth two steps, then suddenly stopped: "Could it be they're just clearing the rubble?"

Feng Zhou shook his head: "Clearing rubble doesn't need this many people, nor this much effort."

"They're dead set on digging to the bottom."

"Thud, thud, thud..."

The digging sounds grew denser, like a death‑summoning drumbeat.

Tuan Tuan's little face scrunched tight: "Are they going to dig us out?"

Xiao Ningyuan held his sister tighter, his heart thumping.

Lu Qi asked, "If they really dig through, what do we do?"

Xiao Ningyuan looked at him: "Then we can only first hide in the secret passage."

"But this secret room would be completely exposed, and we could never come back afterward."

Eunuch Cheng sighed: "Then there would be nowhere left to take refuge."

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth: "Or we could go from the secret passage into the palace and hide in my palace?"

Chen Hao shook his head: "Even if your palace is still full of the old staff, the palace is crowded and full of eyes; with so many of us, how long could we hide?"

Xiao Ran was left speechless.

Just then, the digging sound suddenly stopped.

Everyone's breath halted for a beat, and silence fell.

After a moment, the digging sound rang out again, denser and more urgent than before.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance, rose together, and went up the stone steps once more.

This time, they lay pressed against the inner side of the hidden door for a long while before returning.

Both of their faces looked grim.

"It seems they've switched shifts." Xiao Er's voice low, "Looks like they're digging in relays, nonstop."

Xiao Ran worried to no end: "Are they trying to turn over the entire grounds of the Guoshi Residence?"

Xiao Ningyuan sighed: "Let's tidy up."