Chapter 100: Domineering White Moonlight 19: Not leaving any way out for yourself

The decree to imprison the crown prince was like a huge rock thrown into a deep pool, which immediately caused huge yet subtle ripples in the court and the harem.

The ministers who had originally surrounded the prince were in a panic and were eager to draw a clear line with the Eastern Palace. The literati and poets who had previously praised the prince fell silent and no one dared to defend him. The status of the officials of the Eastern Palace in the court plummeted from heaven to mud, and everyone looked at them with aversion and avoided them.

The changes in the harem were more direct and chilling.

Ali knelt outside Shou'an Palace all night, and the Queen Mother only sent Su Yue to persuade her to go back early the next morning, saying that the prince was young and energetic, and occasional hardships could temper his character and help him understand what it meant to be loyal to the emperor, patriotic, and filial to elders.

The palace door closed again. Ali's legs were numb, and the cold dew all night had wet her dress and hair.

Mingshuang and Lanxin cried and came forward to help her up: "Princess! Why are you doing this?"

Ali's face turned pale, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. He whispered, "No matter what, we have to give it a try."

Being in the harem, she had no way of meeting the emperor to plead for mercy, and could only place her hopes on the empress dowager and the imperial concubine.

Before coming to Shou'an Palace, Ali had already gone to Qixia Palace, but was asked to leave by the imperial concubine's palace servants. They said that the imperial concubine was sad about this matter and fell ill. The emperor issued a strict order that no one was allowed to disturb her and anyone who violated the order would be executed.

The Queen Mother became her last hope, but now, even this glimmer of hope was shattered.

Ali hadn't had a drop of water the whole night and was so weak that he kept falling even with Mingshuang and Lanxin supporting him.

Her knees, which had been kneeling all night, were filled with damp cold. She hadn't felt it before when she was kneeling, but now, just standing up made her feel cold and painful, and her teeth were chattering.

Lan anxiously asked the palace maids at the side of Shou'an Palace, "Sisters, please help us and help the princess out of Shou'an Palace?"

The palace servants turned a deaf ear to him and continued to stand quietly with their eyes lowered, with no one stepping forward to help.

After finally helping Ali out of Shou'an Palace, the sedan chair from Yinyue Pavilion still didn't arrive.

Ming Shuang, who was usually gentle, couldn't help but get angry: "This bunch of lazy bastards! I don't know where they've gone to. How dare they let the princess wait for them here? I'll definitely teach them a lesson when I get back!"

The young palace maids behind them were trembling with fear and could only bite the bullet and reply, "My princess, the palace maids who carry the sedan chairs in each palace are under the jurisdiction of the Inner Court Office. We sent the message long ago, and we don't know why they haven't arrived yet..."

Ali felt dizzy and gritted his teeth as he said to Ming Shuang and Lan Xin, "No need to wait any longer. Let's go back."

Seeing this, Mingshuang and Lanxin had no choice but to do as they were told.

The master and her two servants walked slowly on the way back to the palace. The palace maids who used to be respectful and fawning to her, when they saw her, either avoided her from a distance, as if they had seen the god of plague, and wanted to slip away close to the wall, or they bowed hastily and walked away quickly with their heads down, whispering to the people around them at her back.

Ming Shuang couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to argue with them several times, but was stopped by A Li: "You have been wronged by following me these days."

She had witnessed it all with her own eyes, and the grievance and anger they both felt would only be a hundred times greater than hers.

In addition to the decree to imprison Xie Jingchuan in the Eastern Palace, a few hours ago, the emperor summoned several princes and relatives into the palace, hoping to select a suitable person from their descendants to completely replace Xie Jingchuan.

The decree to depose the crown prince had been issued, but the time had come, so it was just a formality.

The future of a deposed prince who angered the emperor can be imagined, and she, a fake princess who only knew how to rely on the deposed prince, would end up even more miserably.

However, within just two days, the world within the high walls and deep palace had changed rapidly. The rapid change of faces and the coldness of people's hearts made Ali terrified.

All the respect and fear that she had taken for granted in the past came from Xie Jingchuan's undisguised preference and protection for her.

It was he who built an invisible barrier for her in the bottomless palace, keeping out all the open and secret attacks and the coldness of the world.

The sky was bright, and a few rays of morning light shone on the empty palace road. Ali suddenly stopped, thinking of the night of Xie Jingchuan's birthday, when they ran hand in hand on this palace road.

Now I am still in the same place, but the people around me are no longer there.

It turns out that along the way, they have only had each other by their side.

*

The East Palace is located on the east side of the imperial city. The entire palace is majestic and solemn, with nine layers of jade steps winding up. Each level is carved with coiled dragon patterns, which is imposing.

This was the place Ali was most familiar with, but now, the vermilion palace gate was heavily locked, and two rows of imperial guards stood in front of the jade steps. They were wearing armor and carrying swords, ready to go. If anyone tried to approach, they would be quickly taken down.

After nightfall, Ali sat in the star-gazing pavilion half a mile away from the East Palace. From this angle, he could see a corner of the East Palace, hidden by the trees.

During these three days, she noted down the time and number of the imperial guards' changing of guards, but she could not think of a way to bypass them and enter the East Palace, and she never saw Xie Jingchuan appear.

Thinking about how he had been beaten with a stick and had no one to treat him, and now even his life or death could not be confirmed, Ali couldn't help but become anxious and irritable.

She stood up and walked back and forth in the pavilion anxiously, and inadvertently saw a familiar figure.

Ali picked up a small stone at her feet and threw it in that direction. The man was startled and when he saw it was her, he quickly ran up.

"Princess! Mo Wen pays his respects to the Princess!" Before he opened his mouth, he had already knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to Ali.

Seeing that he didn't look well, Ali told him to get up quickly: "Mo Wen, why are you here? Do you know what the prince's situation is like now?"

Mo Wen then stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "After the decree came down to confine the Eastern Palace, we were all taken back to the Inner Court Office for reassignment. I don't know Your Highness's current situation. I was really worried about Your Highness, so I came here tonight to see if there was any way to get in."

Ali's heart sank even more. He slowly sat down on the stone table and asked, "Where are you working now?"

Mo Wen gave a bitter laugh and said, "I am His Highness's personal eunuch. Those sycophants have assigned me to the Ice Cellar Department."

Ali was stunned.

It is midsummer now and the palace needs a lot of ice. The people in the ice cellar have to transport hundreds of kilograms of ice bricks to each palace every day. It is a very torturous job.

She saw Mo Wen's hands hanging by his side. It was clearly a hot summer day, but he had red and swollen chilblains on his hands.

Ali took out a bottle of ointment and handed it to him: "Take it back and apply it."

Because she didn't know when she would see Xie Jingchuan again, she carried a lot of medicine with her these days just in case.

Mo Wen fell to his knees with a plop, refusing to accept it: "Please punish me, Princess!"

Ali was even more confused: "What am I punishing you for?"

Mo Wen lowered his head, his face filled with regret. "Before the Eastern Palace was sealed, His Highness entrusted me with a message to the Princess, but I was unable to carry it out. It's all because of my incompetence that I've let His Highness and the Princess down!"

Ali was shocked: "He...did he bring me any message?"

Mo Wen stood up and carefully took out a letter and a red jade pendant from his bosom: "Your Highness had a premonition that this day would come, and he had already arranged a way out for the princess."

He placed the things on the table and continued, "His Highness said that you have the title of Princess, and it is for the sake of your reputation. His Majesty will not take action against you. However, after that, your situation in the palace will inevitably be extremely difficult."

"When Your Highness was in the army, he once met a general. Now that general is leading an army, in exchange for this jade pendant, he will provide refuge for the princess."

"Then the princess will only need to ask to leave the palace and go to Enci Temple to practice. As for leaving the palace and the journey thereafter, Your Highness has arranged for trusted aides to meet you. These people do not belong to the imperial palace, but were personally trained by Your Highness. They are loyal to Your Highness and are absolutely trustworthy."

Mo Wen pushed the letter in front of A Li again and said, "After leaving the capital, your contact outside the city will take you to a place. With this handwritten letter from Your Highness, you will meet someone. He will hand over the silver, money, jewelry, and property deeds in different prefectures that Your Highness has prepared for the princess."

"These are enough to keep you well-fed and well-clothed for the rest of your life, without having to worry about making a living."

Ali's fingertips felt cold, and he clenched the jade pendant tightly in his palm, unable to utter a word.

When did he... arrange all this?

He has been so busy these days that he barely leaves the ground, sleeping only two or three hours a day. How can he find the energy to make these detailed and thorough arrangements?

Mo Wen kowtowed again, his voice trembling with tears, "His Highness told me to tell the princess that he knew exactly what he was doing, that he knew he would be in great danger after this, and that he also knew that the princess did not really like this imperial city, so he prepared all this for you long ago so that you could escape unscathed."

"If he could have always protected you, he wouldn't have told anyone else about these things. But now His Highness can't even protect himself, and the only thing he can't let go of is you, Princess!"

His heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand. It suddenly tightened, and Ali felt a sharp pain in his chest.

It turned out that he had long had the idea of ​​disobeying the order and had already made up his mind to confront the emperor without leaving himself any way out.

She took a sharp breath, a sob choking in her throat. "Was he seriously injured that day?"

Mo Wen's whole body stiffened for a moment, and he crouched even lower.

Then, Ali heard his low whimper.

She lowered her eyes and nodded, then solemnly put away the letter and the red jade pendant: "I understand."

*

The imperial guards visible outside the East Palace are divided into outer defense patrols and inner defense guards. The patrolling imperial guards are replaced every hour, and the guarding imperial guards are replaced every two hours.

There are three routes for rotation of guards. The Imperial Guards choose a different route each time, and the pattern is unclear.

Ali hid behind a tree and sat down, sometimes stroking the red jade bead in his hand, sometimes looking at the starless night sky, his face calm.

Time passed little by little, and she leaned against the tree trunk to calm herself down.

She had tried everything, but now the East Palace was surrounded by the imperial guards, and not even a fly could get in. She was at her wit's end.

Unless, she can use the shadow escape technique, so that she can enter the East Palace without being noticed.

However, the art of shadow escape is not a simple elementary technique. With Ali's current level, it is a pipe dream to want to learn it overnight.

As if he had made some kind of decision, Ali looked at the night sky above his head. It was less than half an hour before midnight.

She put away the red jade pendant and concentrated her mind.

If it doesn’t work once, try twice.

If three times doesn’t work, try again three times.

Ali was extra patient tonight, circulating his inner elixir again and again, gathering the originally sparse and scattered demonic energy bit by bit and condensing it in his dantian.

However, no matter how hard she tried, this magic trick just didn't work in her hands.

As the hour of midnight approached, Ali's eyes couldn't help revealing a bit of anxiety, and he quickened his hands' speed.

Finally, after hundreds of failures, Ali saw his own figure hidden under the shade of the tree through the mirror-like lake at his feet. As he moved, he could move silently and quickly along the edge of the shadow like lake water.

Although it is not completely invisible, if it can take advantage of the gap when the imperial guards change guards, it can be concealed from the world.

As if she had breathed a sigh of relief, Ali's legs suddenly went weak and she fell to the ground. Her inner elixir in her heart, which was already insufficient, ached slightly, and the pain spread to her limbs and bones, making her unable to move at all.

Ali hugged his spasming and burning body tightly, swallowed the bloody smell in his throat, and curled up in the grass for a long time to relax.

The moving clouds gradually obscured the bright moonlight, and the surroundings became dark. It was already midnight.

The two teams of imperial guards arrived as scheduled for the shift change. There was no communication between them. Only the sound of armor colliding could be heard in the silent night, sounding cold and hard.

The cool night breeze blew slowly, and in the hurried interweaving of light and shadow, Ali cast a spell and flashed into the East Palace through the side door.

Her meager demonic power was not enough to keep her invisible, and she was exposed as soon as she entered the door.

She immediately hid herself and used her now sensitive five senses to observe for a long time before she was sure that there were no imperial guards guarding the East Palace.

At this time of night, the East Palace was like a tomb of the living dead, desolate and lonely, without any human presence, and there was no trace of the scene of that day.

There was only a dim lamp lit in the main hall of the East Palace. The smell of medicine and oppressive atmosphere filled the air. Xie Jingchuan was not sleeping at this time.

He had his hair untied and was wearing a thin nightgown. His shoulder blades were clearly visible under the blood-stained fabric. He sat motionless by the window with his back to the palace door. His back looked lonely and desperate, as if he no longer belonged to this world.

Until a very soft, trembling call sounded behind him, as beautiful as a dream talk, breaking his chaotic thoughts.

"Xie Jingchuan."

His body shook violently, affecting the wound on his back that had not yet healed. The sudden severe pain made Xie Jingchuan groan.

But he completely ignored the pain in his body. He turned around hurriedly in the flickering light, and his pair of decadent bloodshot eyes stared at the slender figure standing in the shadow.

The dim moonlight filtered through the window, faintly outlining her figure, which was more real than what she had seen in her dreams.

His lips moved a few times, and after a long while, he uttered a broken sound: "Ah, Li?"