Chapter 186

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The copper bell's sound rippled outward in circles through the night like water waves, carrying along all other noises, spreading out from Lianqing Guan together.

Though it was deep night, the nearby households could not sleep; in the Lu Hou Mansion, Feng Xu and his wife sat in the hall, and a crowd of sons and daughters had also been startled and gathered around, discussing the matter of Lianqing Guan in low voices.

Before long, a servant came to report, saying in a low voice: "Just now it was heard that Yi Ming Gongzhu committed suicide out of fear of punishment..."

The sons and daughters in the hall were even more clamorous and changed color; Feng Xu exclaimed in surprise: "Although I knew this princess had a rather fierce temperament before, who would have expected she actually harbored such terrifying intentions."

Lady Qiao's face turned somewhat pale; Lianqing Guan was close to home, she had also gone to worship there, and like many wives and ladies she had privately asked Yi Ming Gongzhu for the secret to preserving youth; the princess was nearly forty yet still radiant, how could one not want to emulate her?

The princess had even given her a jar of face cream, which she applied very sparingly... thinking of it now, could it really have been made from the bones and skin of virgin boys and girls?!

Thinking of this, Lady Qiao turned her head and suddenly retched uncontrollably.

The servants and maids bustled about; Feng Mi and Feng Yi, the sisters, crowded around to comfort her, pat her back, and hand her water; after Lady Qiao barely managed to suppress the churning in her stomach, she pressed one hand to her chest and waved the other, dispersing the sons and daughters in the hall: "Alright, don't discuss this matter anymore, the hour is late... all of you hurry back."

Feng Xian and elder brother Feng An left first; after Feng Mi gave the birth mother another round of careful concern, she rose to take her leave, but Feng Yi dallied, and no matter what looks she gave her, she still knelt by her mother's side, pouting, wanting to speak but stopping.

Feng Mi spoke to urge: "Yi'er, go back."

Hearing this call, Feng Yi, unable to bear the urging, instead boldly asked the dissatisfaction in her heart: "Mother, Father, I heard people say that wretch... hiss!"

Feng Yi's words were unfinished when her arm suffered a pinch from her mother; she could only reluctantly change her words: "... Aunt's daughter, what Tianji, is she really going to become Crown Prince's consort?"

The confirmation of Tianji was the day before yesterday; in just a few short days, many conjectures had already spread.

Feng Yi was quite dissatisfied: "Even if our Feng family is to produce a Crown Prince's consort, why should it fall on this latecomer's head? How come this good luck..."

"Whether it's the Feng family or not, where does that matter? What matters is still this identity of Tianji, isn't it?" Lady Qiao fiercely poked her daughter's forehead, scolding in a low voice: "And right now it's merely rumors... no more nonsense, go back."

Speaking, she also instructed Feng Mi: "Mi'er, you keep a watch on this mouth of hers for me."

Feng Mi pursed her lips and smiled, answered yes, stepped forward and pulled her sister up; Feng Yi half-pushed half-went along with her departure; they left the hall gate, and she was still muttering "why her".

Lady Qiao sighed in her heart as well, why her, relying on the aunt still having good fate, not only surviving a great calamity, but the child brought back from outside actually having such fortune.

The Crown Prince is already seventeen years old; hastily settling the Crown Prince's consort is an urgent matter; it happens that right now the Tianji Star incarnation has already become clear, and it is a young woman... Tianji appears, Zicheng flourishes; with such a special identity and meaning, the Emperor having the intention to bestow marriage is also for the consideration of the dynasty.

It's not her own daughter; Lady Qiao's heart is sour and bitter, but in the end it's a Feng family child; if it truly comes to pass, it is still a great good thing, only...

"If His Majesty truly has this intention, he will surely still have to wait for Father and Mother to return; at that time I fear the two elders may not necessarily nod in agreement..." The couple were already lying on the bed, the lamp extinguished, Lady Qiao only then spoke a sentence in a low voice.

These past years, she always felt the mother-in-law's words occasionally held doubts, as if still not certain that child was definitely the real one, insisting on waiting for the aunt to wake up and identify her.

"It won't happen; this is a major matter, how could Father and Mother defy the Holy Will." Feng Xu closed his eyes, as if about to fall asleep.

"Precisely because it's a major matter..." Lady Qiao turned her body to face her husband, gently pushed his arm, voice unable to be any lower: "Let's say one sentence in private, could that child possibly have been found by mistake?"

"There is a portrait, there are the Eight Characters, everything matches." Feng Xu: "I traveled thousands of miles to personally bring back the child, how could there be a mistake."

"That's true; under heaven there shouldn't be such a coincidental thing." Lady Qiao sighed: "The heir has already been this devoted and exhaustive, yet Mother still seems to have reservations... these two years, Father also forbade us from getting close to the Rui family... whether this matter can succeed, with Father's temperament, it's really hard to say."

"This time is different; Father and Mother will not oppose." Feng Xu said again.

He was always this mild and slow; Lady Qiao lost interest, sighed "hope so", then said "reckoning it's been a month too, the two elders and the aunt should be on their way back", turned over and slowly fell asleep.

Feng Xu on the side then slowly opened his eyes.

Through the thin curtain, he looked at the window illuminated by moonlight.

In the dream she was constantly watched by a pair of eyes; Ming Dan struggled for a long time and finally woke with a start, panted for a while, then slowly sat up.

Qiao Jiang, who had attended day and night by her side these months, was exhausted to the utmost, sleeping very soundly on the floor mat beside the bed.

In Xian Tai Palace there was a Taoist who explained the illness qi that Ming Dan had been unable to dispel these months as Tianji connecting with the National Fortune — because disasters and epidemics were unceasing, this manifestation appeared on Tianji's body; once this drought disaster ends, Tianji will surely recover health, flourishing together with Great Qian.

Making Tianji recover as soon as possible is the top priority; yesterday the palace had already dispatched doctors to come, they are currently resting in the next room, ready to be summoned at any time.

Surrounded front and back, cherished like a national treasure, after recuperating these two days, tomorrow she must enter the palace for an audience, using Tianji's identity, Shaowei's name for the audience... once exposed in the future, it would be the great crime of deceiving the sovereign.

Ming Dan tightly clutched the embroidered quilt, fear flowing in the air, drilling into her lungs with each breath, but in her mind rang Feng Xu's words from yesterday when he came to see her: 【Good child, you just set your mind at ease; with Uncle here, there's nothing to fear.】

With the previous guard, Ming Dan could not simply understand this sentence; she kept thinking, what does Feng Xu want to do? Or rather, what has he already done?

A bold conjecture emerged in her heart: perhaps, from now on, no one in this world would be able to expose her...

Ming Dan's fingers groped to the Birthday Wood Token under the pillow; it was what Feng Xu brought yesterday and gave to her, telling her to take it for the audience.

The room had candle flame left; Ming Dan cupped the wooden token in both hands, staring fixedly at the Eight Characters on it.

These simple eight characters, how magical, they actually built a Tong Tian Lu for her; as long as she steps onto it, she stands above ten thousand people... at that time, she need fear no one, and need not fear Shaowei either!

At this moment, an exceptionally loud voice rang in her heart: Isn't this precisely the turning point she bitterly longed for!

When she made her vow she had said, as long as Heaven does not begrudge bestowing a turning point, she would surely grasp it tightly, and in one leap escape from this narrow predicament!

The tightly gripped wooden token seemed to have infinite bewitching power; Ming Dan closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, countless cowardice and struggles finally dissipated at this moment.

The room was utterly silent; the young girl's heart pounded wildly.

The heartbeats and breaths of everyone in Weiyang Palace were also chaotic and uneven.

News from Lianqing Guan spread back; Yi Ming Gongzhu raised a large batch of dead soldiers to plot treason and committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and those cursed puppets were presented before the Sage...

The Emperor's rage stirred his emotions and body; the imperial physicians had only just withdrawn from the Inner Hall.

"We know she never truly wanted to cultivate; many things We let her have her way... yet never expected she actually hated Us this much in private, that even in death she would use resentment to curse Us." The Emperor leaned against the back of the dragon desk, lip color pale, face iron-green.

"Quan Shan, the matter of that year, you are also clear... could it be We have not treated her well enough?" The Emperor called Yan Mian's courtesy name, saying a sentence only Yan Mian could fully understand.

"Yes, Your Majesty has never treated her poorly." Yan Mian did not speak further, not a trace of emotion between his brows, only saying: "Your Majesty, though Yi Ming is dead, the deeds she committed must still be investigated to the bottom."

"It is to investigate thoroughly..." The Emperor looked toward He Pingchun standing by awaiting orders: "Return to Lianqing Guan, together with Liu Qi search carefully; even if you level Lianqing Guan inch by inch, you must search until clear."

Since there is this puppet that she clung to even in death, there may not be no more vicious curses.

He Pingchun accepted the order and withdrew; the Emperor coughed; Guo Shi, while stroking the Son of Heaven's back, said: "Your Majesty, quell your anger; this is not without a silver lining... that demonic Taoist originally refused to confess to having accomplices no matter what, yet Commander He still uncovered this heaven-shaking secret affair; it shows Heaven's protection..."

He Pingchun, who had just retreated to beside the curtain, paused at these words; discovering Lianqing Guan was not his achievement...

"With this one move to purge the treacherous villains who bring disaster to the state, it is truly an omen of prosperity following adversity," Guo Shi continued to urge, "Your Majesty must take care of your Dragon Body; tomorrow you still have an audience with Tianji."

The Emperor closed his eyes, calming his emotions.

Not long after, Rui Ze and Crown Prince Cheng took their leave from the palace interior and exited.

After a while longer, Yan Mian also left Weiyang Palace; the moment he stepped out of the palace doors, a sigh escaped his lips.

This lament was not because of Yi Ming Gongzhu.

The course of the world is unpredictable; the recognized Tianji Incarnation is actually Zhu'er's child.

But since Zhu'er is so extraordinary, her child... indeed ought to be extraordinary as well.

Yan Mian boarded his sedan and departed, while Rui Ze went with Liu Cheng to visit the Empress.

After Lady Huang's death, Rui Hou had been ill; upon hearing of Yi Ming Gongzhu's matter, her mind was shaken, and for a time her condition became critical, so many famous physicians were summoned to attend her.

Upon hearing the news, Rui Ze obtained the Emperor's permission and went with his nephew to see his sister.

Now separated by a pearl curtain, hearing that his sister's breath had stabilized considerably, with no outsiders left in the palace interior, Rui Ze got to the point: "The matter of the death warriors has been investigated and settled. Tomorrow when the Emperor receives Tianji, he may mention the intention of bestowing a marriage... At that time, if Cheng Er is by your side, he should know what to say and what to do to be most proper."

Rui Hou leaned against the sickbed, listening behind the curtain to her elder brother's careful instructions.

But Cheng Er had remained silent; finally opening his mouth, he said: "I have no impression of that lady at all; I do not want..."

"Do not want to marry?" Rui Ze interrupted his nephew's words, angrily exposing: "For that Wu Nu? I think you are truly bewitched!"

"Lord Lu has prestige and is respected by the Holy One, but the Feng Family has no real power; in the future they will not turn around to suppress you... This is already the best choice!"

"The Tianji recognized by the world is the most orthodox among the orthodox; how can she be compared to that Wu Nu of crooked paths and evil ways, with no foundation at all, not knowing if there is a tomorrow?"

"Taking her in as one of your own would suffice; must you really grant her the position of Crown Princess?"

"If you have Tianji by your side, from now on no one will be able to easily shake your position as Heir Apparent... This is Heaven's Mandate; with Heaven's Mandate before you, you commit such a foolish act of putting the cart before the horse!"

"..."

After Rui Ze's stern teaching, seeing his nephew's attitude still not agreeing, using silence to resist him, he could not help but say a heavy sentence: "You dare say this 'do not want' to me; when you stand before your Imperial Father, will you dare say 'do not want' again? Since you have no such courage, all this talk is nothing but useless hesitation! —Unless you do not want to be this Crown Prince anymore!"

An embarrassed look flashed across Liu Cheng's face, and a sentence blurted out: "This Crown Prince position was not what I wanted in the first place! It was you, my Uncle—"

"Cheng Er!" Rui Hou hurriedly interrupted her son's words: "Do not speak nonsense!"

"You..." Rui Ze was furious.

Rui Hou mediated with much persuasion.

In the end, Liu Cheng lowered his eyes and said: "I can do as my Uncle wishes, but I have one condition."

Rui Ze endured his displeasure and did not truly want to worsen this relationship, so he waited for that boy who increasingly had his own mind to propose a condition: "I want my Uncle to give me the Antidote."

This matter was his promise to her, yet he had long been unable to fulfill it, truly feeling ashamed.

Rui Ze sneered in his heart; Antidote, Antidote, always Antidote.

"Very well; when the imperial edict of bestowed marriage is issued, I will immediately present the Antidote."

After Rui Ze finished speaking, he rose and bowed before departing; the conversation ended unhappily.

Liu Cheng returned to Wuzhang Palace, but did not enter the palace interior; instead, he stood alone in the courtyard before a grove of bamboo, gazing at the overlapping palace halls.

He Pingchun said that Jiang Tai Zhu, moved by a feeling, had also gone to Lianqing Guan.

She seemed to always be busy doing things, one after another, almost every one of them startling, dangerous, and shocking.

Like thorny bamboo, with sharp hard thorns on the branches, serrated leaves and prickles on the back, the bamboo joints grew rapidly with crackling sounds; neither wind and rain nor thunder and lightning could stop her growth.

I do not know what ambition she harbors, nor how tall she will grow, but I can feel her goals are clear; no matter the obstacles or confinement, they do not affect her autonomous advance.

Unlike him...

Under the moonlight, Liu Cheng lowered his brows and eyes, looking at his own shadow.

In Lianqing Guan, Shaowei emerged from the San Qing Dian and stood below the stone steps.

Not having slept well for who knows how many days, at this time she was anxious to search, and beads of sweat frequently appeared on her face.

A bean-sized bead of sweat slid down from her brow bone; Shaowei lowered her eyes, and that bead of sweat swept past her eyelids, smashing onto the shadow before her.

Footsteps approached from behind; Shaowei recognized them as Liu Qi, so she remained in place and did not turn around.

Closer than Liu Qi was his shadow; as he drew nearer, his shadow enveloped and covered Shaowei's shadow.

Shaowei watched her own shadow disappear, and as Liu Qi's shadow shifted, her shadow reappeared.

"Do not move..." Shaowei suddenly directed Liu Qi.

Liu Qi stood still at her command; only to see her lower her head and shift her steps, letting her shadow sink into his shadow.

Copper bells jingled; Shaowei suddenly raised her head, her eyelashes dampened with sweat glistening with moisture, her eyeballs becoming even darker and brighter.

In that instant Liu Qi comprehended what she understood; the two needed no words, immediately set off in the same direction, and Shaowei shouted: "Jiang Mo, follow!"

To hide a shadow, perhaps one can conceal it within another layer of shadow.

Upon searching the secret room and seeing the princess's private treasury, the subconscious assumption was that this was the answer... yet within this subconscious answer perhaps lay another layer of the true answer!

Rushing back to that secret room again, Liu Qi replaced the guard with his own people and began searching once more.

This time with a clear goal, Shaowei went straight to the Jinsinan Muqiang.

This coffin was placed against the wall, extremely large and heavy; Liu Qi squatted down and carefully examined the side of the coffin, saying: "This coffin has no traces of being moved; the mechanism should not be under the coffin."

Shaowei nodded, but knelt down, reaching out to touch the gap between the coffin and the wall; although the tail of the coffin was placed against the wall, both the head and tail of this coffin had extended relief carvings, so there was a certain gap below.

Liu Qi took the torch to illuminate the gap for Shaowei; Shaowei's fingers moved inch by inch along the wall, and as she probed with force, a stone brick suddenly sank inward!

The stone brick moved, and a copper mechanism appeared, but it was extremely complex; to be absolutely safe, Shaowei promptly yielded her place to the worthy one, and had Mo Li kneel down.

Mo Li concentrated fully, his fingers swiftly manipulating the mechanism's position; not long after, a sound of something clicking back into place rang out, and at the part of the wall pressed against by the coffin's tail, a narrow secret door slowly appeared; a pitch-black secret passage lay before their eyes.

Shaowei grabbed an iron rod she had picked up along the way and stepped into the secret passage first.

This Lianqing Guan was often under repair and expansion; the iron rod in Shaowei's hand was one used by craftsmen; thinking about it now, these complex secret rooms were probably completed under the cover of repairing and expanding the Taoist Temple.

Entering the secret passage and walking ten-odd steps, they saw a stone door blocking the way ahead.

By the light of the torch in Liu Qi's hand, Mo Li pointed at a sunken, damaged spot on the left wall of the secret passage and said, "Young Master, the mechanism that opens the stone door has been destroyed!"

Shaowei and Liu Qi both looked over.

The mechanism at the coffin's tail outside was probably not destroyed because such a complex structure, once ruined, would inevitably leave traces and be difficult to repair completely in a short time, which would instead arouse suspicion, whereas the mechanism at this stone door is the most important barrier.

Shaowei gritted her teeth and strode toward the cold stone door; even with her extraordinary strength, the stone door did not budge an inch, showing how thick and heavy it was.

She was knocked back several steps. Liu Qi held the torch in one hand and steadied Shaowei with the other, immediately saying, "I'll have men chisel through here!"

"But the structure here is unknown; chiseling through would take at least several days, and I fear we won't make it in time!" Shaowei's voice was anxious, and she couldn't help shouting at the stone door, "——Jiang Fu!"

Separated by a single stone door, Jiang Fu might be trapped right behind it, which is why Chiyang said she wouldn't make it to find him alive... therefore, every moment of delay could lead to unbearable consequences.

"Young Master, there is another way." Mo Li studied it for a while, looked at the damaged mechanism, and said, "Although the damage has scrambled it, I can use a blade or sword to forcibly pry the innermost connection point, but this is too dangerous — forcing it open will definitely trigger the mechanisms behind the stone door!"

Shaowei did not hesitate at all; she tossed over the short knife: "Open it!"

"Yes, Young Master!" Mo Li caught it and immediately set to work.

Shaowei gripped the iron rod tightly, her eyes resolute, and strode toward the stone door once more.

Even without Chiyang guiding the way, she still found this place; since she found it, she will definitely be able to break through!

The torch was tossed back to the subordinate. As she walked, the three-foot sword rang "Clang!" as it left its scabbard. Shaowei turned her head to look at Liu Qi standing shoulder to shoulder facing the stone door, only to hear him say again, "Until we find him."

?? Good night, everyone.