Chapter 431

Within the imperial family, affection is even less than that of ordinary commoner households. When Father Emperor held power, he intended to marry her off to Shajia; now that Elder Brother has taken power, she still cannot escape the fate of becoming a political tool. Long Xi Yue sighs at her own fate, and cannot help but think of her fellow sibling far away in Xichuan. If there is anything she still holds dear in her heart, it is this brother. Now her brother Long Yefang is under house arrest by the Xichuan Li family, becoming their hostage, and it is unknown what future awaits him. It is unimaginable that the siblings' destinies are both so tragic. Thinking of this, Long Xi Yue cannot help but let out a sigh.

Hu Xiaotian came in carrying a stack of books at that moment, just happened to hear Long Xi Yue's sigh, looked at her with concern, and placed the stack of books on the desk: "Senior Eunuch Li of the Cangshuge just had someone send these over, saying they are the book list you previously prepared, Your Highness."

Long Xi Yue nodded: "Just put it there for now."

Hu Xiaotian saw her solemn expression, as if she had something on her mind, and softly said: "Princess, if there is anything troubling you, could you tell me so I can help share your worries?"

Long Xi Yue said: "Before, I always wanted to see Father Emperor one more time before leaving Dakang, but now that I actually have the chance to meet him, I find myself hesitating instead."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "A father-daughter reunion should be a good thing; I don't know why the Princess feels hesitant."

Long Xi Yue said: "Better not to meet; meeting again would only add to the sorrow."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If the Princess does not wish to go, she simply need not go." In his view, this meeting is full of intrigue.

Long Xi Yue bit her cherry lip and said: "I have lived this long, and the total number of times I have spoken with Father Emperor is only seven." She remembers this clearly.

Hu Xiaotian nodded. In the eyes of ordinary people, royal offspring gather all kinds of favor, called "golden branches and jade leaves"; everyone looks up to them, feeling endless envy, yet who could imagine their sorrow? In the imperial family, affection is thin; most royal children cannot even obtain the most basic paternal and maternal love.

Long Xi Yue said: "But when I think that I am leaving this time, I fear I will never have the chance to return in this life or the next; emotionally and rationally, I should go see him and bid him farewell."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If you feel uneasy, I will accompany you." He also had not forgotten the person Li Yuncong entrusted to him.

Long Xi Yue's beautiful eyes flashed with an unusual luster; Hu Xiaotian's steady and resolute expression made her feel at ease from the bottom of her heart, perhaps this is what people call a sense of security. Long Xi Yue gently nodded, and the corner of her mouth finally showed a long‑absent smile. Hu Xiaotian's motive for going forward was not simple either. Accompanying Long Xi Yue was only one reason; another was to take advantage of this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the situation on Illusory Peak. Li Yuncong had sent a little eunuch to deliver the message, and his true intention probably lay precisely here.

Illusory Peak lies at the center of Jade Pond; originally there was a long bridge connecting it to the shore, but after the Retired Emperor Long Xuan'en took up residence in the Spiritual Heaven Palace, the Emperor Long Yelin ordered the bridge destroyed. Illusory Peak thus became a completely isolated island in the middle of Jade Pond.

Long Xuan'en nominally resides here to enjoy his twilight years in the Spiritual Heaven Blessed Land, but in fact he is being confined by the present Son of Heaven, Long Yelin. To prevent Long Xuan'en from escaping this place, Illusory Peak has been set up with extremely strict defenses: a sentry every five steps, a post every ten steps, with the ten top experts of the inner court taking turns on guard duty, overall coordination entrusted to Mu Rongzhan. This shows that Mu Rongzhan is still highly favored by Long Yelin. Hu Xiaotian has previously inquired about Mu Rongzhan's allegiance; the outside world's evaluation of him is that he is impartial and aloof, but during the former emperor's reign he was not given important posts, only becoming the commander of the inner court guards after the new sovereign ascended the throne. From this we can infer he should be Long Yelin's man, though it is unclear what his relationship with Ji Feihua is. According to Hu Xiaotian's current understanding, Mu Rongzhan seems to be maintaining neutrality between Ji Feihua and Quan De'an.

Since Long Xuan'en was imprisoned here and contact with the outside world was cut off, for so long no member of the imperial family has been permitted to come visit. With the New Year approaching, and because Long Xi Yue is about to be married far away, she has been granted an exception. Speaking of this matter, Long Xi Yue had proposed it long ago, but she could not obtain approval until today, when it finally came to pass.

Jade Pond is an artificial lake; its surface stretches a hundred qing, the water color is deep blue, the deepest point is about ten zhang. The lake surface is calm, the water clear enough to see the bottom; the white clouds in the high sky and the surrounding scenery are clearly reflected in the water, blending lake, mountain, and sky into a crystalline whole, the view is picturesque and breathtaking.

The ferry landing was rebuilt from the remaining end of the former long bridge, and at its entrance four guards were waiting.

Upon seeing Long Xi Yue arrive, the four simultaneously said: "Greetings, Princess Anping, Thousand Years, Thousand Thousand Years!"

Princess Anping's entire delicate form was wrapped in a black cloak; her beautiful eyes swept over the few people, and she softly said: "No need for formalities!" She handed over the pass certificate in her hand.

The leading guard looked at it, then said: "Commander Mu Rong has ordered us to await the Princess's arrival here; please!"

A small boat was moored before the pier; the boat was not large, about three zhang long and roughly five chi wide, with both ends lifted, somewhat like the Aragon of Venice's water city. Hu Xiaotian first jumped aboard from the shore, then reached out to take Princess Anping's hand and help her into the cabin. Because he suspected that Quan De'an had let him come to Zilan Palace as part of a plot, Hu Xiaotian realized that this trip of Princess Anping to Illusory Peak to visit the Retired Emperor was far from simple; there is an eighty or ninety percent chance that Quan De'an is pulling the strings behind the scenes, setting a trap to drag the unsuspecting Long Xi Yue into it. To lay the groundwork for later framing them as rebels, this old eunuch is indeed scheming meticulously, leaving no means untried.

Hu Xiaotian clearly knew it might be a trap, yet he voluntarily followed Princess Anping here, precisely to use this opportunity to investigate what mysterious things Illusory Peak holds, to fulfill the task Li Yuncong entrusted to him, and also to take the chance to negotiate with him. As for Quan De'an, he does not worry that he will be attacked now, since Ji Feihua has not yet returned, and Quan De'an's ultimate target is Ji Feihua, not himself; to overthrow Ji Feihua one must have patience and cast a long line to catch a big fish, which in turn gives him quite a few opportunities.

Besides the boatman, there were also two guards accompanying them aboard the boat.

The small boat slowly drifted toward Illusory Peak; Princess Anping sat down in the cabin. Hu Xiaotian looked all around, taking in the entire expanse of the palace's largest body of water, except for the lotus pond he had visited before, there was nothing on the surface to obstruct the view. Darkness fell quickly; when the boat reached the center of the lake, the night suddenly overtook twilight, beginning to seep down from the sky bit by bit, while the faint glow of the setting sun still struggled in the heavens and earth, dividing the world into three layers of differing light and dark. Not long after, the middle band of light was completely soaked by night, the water turned pitch black, and the swaying lanterns on Illusory Peak dragged long shadows across the lake surface, swaying with the waves like twisted long serpents.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled the heart‑pounding battle a few days earlier at Bi Yun Lake, and the two giant pythons in the lake. Jade Pond's surface is somewhat smaller than Bi Yun Lake's, yet its depth exceeds that of Bi Yun Lake; who knows what terrifying creatures might be lurking below? In the vast world, nothing is strange; although the surface shows no waves, underneath dark currents surge.

Princess Anping's expression was calm and peaceful; with Hu Xiaotian by her side, she felt that everything had something to rely on, a sense of steadiness she had never experienced in her past years.

Everything appeared to proceed smoothly and peacefully; the shadow of Illusory Peak blocked the light, shrouding the small boat. Hu Xiaotian unconsciously lifted his head; this mountain, which from afar does not look particularly majestic, gives a strong sense of oppression from deep within as one approaches it. Illusory Peak's terrain is steep, rising abruptly from the water, with no paths leading to the summit around its peak. The eastern and western slopes of the mountain are each carved with two gigantic dragons, their heads at the summit, their tails submerged in the water. These two dragons are built following the mountain's contours, their momentum grand and unbroken from head to tail; viewed from afar they resemble dragons leaping out of the sea, grand and imposing. This was the work of Mingzong Huangdi Long Yuan, who, following the advice of his strategist Zhuge Yun Chun, had the dragons carved on both sides of Illusory Peak in the center of Jade Pond, embodying a feng shui pattern that signifies Dakang's dragons soaring to the four seas and the Long clan's realm enduring for myriad ages.

At the southern foot of Illusory Peak lies a waterfall; the waterfall rushes down from the Spiritual Heaven Pond at the summit, a straight drop of a hundred zhang into Jade Pond. Its water circulation system was designed by the famed Dakang artisan Nangong She, the greatest in the dynasty's history; it cycles endlessly, and after hundreds of years the waterfall remains as mighty as ever.

The only way up the mountain is on the northern side of Illusory Peak, where there stands a sheer, steep cliff; the cliff face is smooth, with no grass growing, and there are no handholds or footholds for climbing. Carved into the cliff are the four large characters "Illusory Peak Supreme View".

The boat's hull is narrow and long; its speed across the water is remarkably swift, cutting through the waves and dragging a long white wake behind it. Soon it reached the northern side of Illusory Peak, docking at the far end of the former bridge, whereupon the boatman and the guards immediately pushed the small boat back out.

On the shore stood persons specially assigned to receive them; two guards wore bronze masks, obscuring their true faces, one of them holding aloft a lantern and said in a deep voice: "Follow me, both of you."

Hu Xiaotian originally thought the defenses here were nothing special, but upon arriving at Illusory Peak he finally sensed something amiss. They were first led into a front room, where the masked person said to the two: "Your Highness, before going up Illusory Peak, one should normally bathe and change clothes; nothing brought up from below is allowed to be taken onto the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian's heart leapt in shock—"Damn! What does that mean? Isn't it asking us to strip naked to bathe, then put on the clothes they provide? If that's really the case, wouldn't I be exposed?" He had never imagined there would be such a checkpoint here; had he known, he would not have come no matter what.

For now, the only plan is to stay at the foot of the mountain in order to possibly keep his secret. Hu Xiaotian said to Long Xi Yue: "Your Highness, this humble one will wait down at the mountain's base." To avoid inspection, he could only retreat; having to strip naked in public, his secret would surely be exposed.

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