Chapter 722: What a Twist of Fate!

At the same moment, in the secret chamber.

Xiao Ningyuan paced back and forth in the stone chamber, unable to recall how many circles he had turned.

"Can you stop turning?" Xiao Ran sat at the table, watching Xiao Ningyuan sway back and forth, his eyes growing dizzy, "You've spun my head around."

"I'm in a hurry!" Xiao Ningyuan halted, turned and glared at him, "What time is it now? It's already bright outside! They still haven't returned!"

"What good does haste do?" Xiao Ran took a sip of tea.

He kept pouring tea for himself, not knowing how many pots he had drunk, "The little brat has Xiao Er and Lu Qi with him; wherever they are, they're top‑notch fighters. Stop worrying pointlessly."

"It's precisely because they are with him," Xiao Ningyuan finally shuffled to the table and plopped down, "That's why I'm anxious!"

"You know they never oppose whatever Tuan Tuan says; I don't even dare imagine where Tuan Tuan might have gone."

"According to Eunuch Cheng," Feng Zhou lifted his brush and drew a sprawling, crooked shape on the paper.

He didn't even lift his head: "From the Imperial Garden to Huarong Hall, at a normal walking pace, a round trip takes only the time it takes for one incense stick to burn."

"Even adding the time they spend searching inside, speaking, and exiting, it shouldn't exceed one two‑hour period in total."

"But now it's been nearly five two‑hour periods…"

"Five two‑hour periods!" Xiao Ningyuan cut him off, his voice rising a few notches, "Why calculate it so precisely? Still think I'm not hurried enough?"

Feng Zhou looked up, an innocent expression on his face: "Young master, I was just trying to figure out where Tuan Tuan could have gone after being gone so long!"

"You can calculate that?" Xiao Ningyuan rolled his eyes, "Fine, then tell me, what did you figure out?"

Feng Zhou, his face earnest, said: "I've worked out three possibilities."

"Three?" Xiao Ran sat up straight, earnest, "What are the three?"

Feng Zhou shook his head and gestured, "First, they were trapped by the Imperial Guard in Huarong Hall, unable to escape."

"Second, when they left Huarong Hall they ran into the Imperial Guard and were trapped in the Imperial Garden."

"Third, they went elsewhere and were confined somewhere inside the Palace."

"Is that all? What a mess of calculations," Xiao Ran glared at him, "You mean, no matter how you compute, they're all trapped inside the Palace?"

"Exactly!" Feng Zhou lowered his head, looking at his drawing: "Otherwise, with Xiao Er and Lu Qi's foot power…"

"Tuan Tuan is only that small; the two of them could take turns carrying her, and in five two‑hour periods they could circle the Palace… one hundred sixty‑seven times."

Everyone: "..."

"What a bookworm!" Xiao Ran slapped his own forehead, "I actually listened to the whole thing."

Xiao Ningyuan had no patience for their bickering, but thought Feng Zhou's words held some merit.

He turned his head toward Eunuch Cheng: "Gonggong, you're most familiar with the Palace; tell us where they might be trapped?"

Eunuch Cheng kept his eyes closed, silently muttering something.

Hearing Xiao Ningyuan's question, he slowly opened his eyes, glanced down at the Xiao Feifei curled at his feet, and bent to pick it up.

Xiao Feifei obediently nestled in his arms, its two amber eyes half‑open, motionless.

"Young master," Eunuch Cheng's voice was steady, "I've served in the Palace all my life; I'm best at reading people's features."

"Xiao Er and Lu Qi don't bear the short‑life sign, and the Princess need not be mentioned; she is a blessed Immortal Envoy star protected even by the Three Pure Ones."

"Young master, Ninth Prince," Eunuch Cheng glanced at them, "You two are so anxious you're up in the rafters; the Princess is wherever she is."

"Instead of burning up with anxiety and losing composure, just sit calmly and wait for the Princess to return."

Xiao Ningyuan opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.

Xiao Ran let out a snort of laughter: "Gonggong is right. Xiao Ningyuan, just sit for a while, stop pacing back and forth."

Xiao Ningyuan glared at him, lifted the tea on the table, and took a sip.

Eunuch Cheng gently stroked Xiao Feifei's long fur: "The Princess isn't here, and you aren't making a fuss, how well‑behaved."

Xiao Ningyuan stared at the fluffy white ball, feeling a sudden pang of sorrow.

Xiao Ran silently watched for a moment, then reached for a piece of chicken, walked over and placed it near Xiao Feifei's mouth.

Xiao Feifei twitched its nose, lifted its eyelids to glance at him, kept its mouth closed, and rested its chin back on Eunuch Cheng's arm.

On the city wall, King Chen and King Qing stood side by side before a battlement, their faces brightening after hearing the Imperial Guard's report from last night.

"Excellent!" King Qing placed both hands on the battlement, his eyes sparkling, "The Supreme Being truly is unfathomable, to have such a wonderful thing!"

He grew more exhilarated: "With this fire tube in hand, no matter how many Xibei troops come, we can burn them all!"

"Xiao Yuanhang may have sky‑piercing abilities, but even he can't withstand eighteen fire tubes firing together!"

King Chen nodded slightly, after a moment's thought raised his hand toward the row of fire tubes and ordered, "Leave two here, send the remaining sixteen to the other city gates."

"Jingcheng has nine gates; each gate mounts two."

"Understood!"

The guards, together with the Imperial Guard, carefully lifted the fire tubes and the ballista bases away.

King Qing, in high spirits, turned to King Chen: "Brother, the Imperial Guard says this was unearthed from the Grand Temple last night."

"Tell me, how did the Supreme Being know? Neither you nor I knew the Grand Temple still concealed such a weapon."

King Chen glanced at him: "Since the Supreme Being can entrust such a weapon to us to help the army defend the city, why should we ask further and risk displeasing him?"

King Qing nodded silently: "Your words are indeed correct, brother."

King Chen leaned down, brushed the dragon pattern on the fire tube, and said slowly, "This morning the Supreme Being sent me to the wall for a look, so I inquired about it."

"He ordered the palace's 'Record of the Grand Engineers of the Construction Office' to be fetched and examined carefully."

"Inside, the Palace, Grand Temple, the Six Ministries, and even each city gate—everything built by our dynasty is recorded in detail."

"But after I leafed through the volume from cover to cover, I found the Grand Temple's entries stop at the Sleeping Hall; beyond that it's a blank page."

"Blank?" King Qing's face showed doubt, "Does that mean it hasn't been touched since the previous dynasty?"

"The Grand Temple was originally built by the previous dynasty; when our dynasty began, we moved the ancestral tablets one by one."

"If our dynasty never altered it, then these items must be relics of the previous dynasty."

"So that's it!" Qing Wang listened with great interest, "Your words make sense, Prince Brother. The Imperial Ancestral Temple houses the spirit tablets of emperors."

"Besides those who originally built the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the previous dynasty, who else could have buried such a powerful weapon inside?"

"I'm just guessing too." Chen Wang gazed out at the city, the magnificent rivers and mountains right before his eyes, "I suppose this Heavenly Fire Tube was left by the previous dynasty's emperor to guard Jingcheng."

"It's a pity they never got to use it; instead, it's come in handy for us."

Qing Wang threw his head back and laughed: "Heaven's will! Truly, heaven's will!"

Inside the Fortune Luck Teahouse.

Tuan Tuan blinked her eyes: "Second Uncle, shall we take that fire‑spitting weird thing to Father?"