Chapter 20 The Underground Palace: The Path to First Rank for Two Seventh-Rank Brothers (from the Sixth Department)...

Under the moonlit night and starlight, the elegant attire and music of the Wu Shuang Palace gradually faded into the distance. Jin An carried the drunkard along the long palace road, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness.

Jin An was a burly man with considerable strength. Fearing that Feng Tan would fall backward on his back, he leaned slightly as he walked, grumbling, "Brother Tan, you got drunk and spouted nonsense at the banquet between the two countries. You're about to become famous! Poor me, you and I were both kicked out of the palace by King Jing... What a disgrace!"

Just after Prince Jing Fengcheng finished reprimanding Feng Tingxiao, he sent two eunuchs in red robes to throw Feng Tan out. Jin An apologized profusely with a smile, then nimbly carried Feng Tan out of the Wushuang Palace.

As he walked, he sighed, "Brother Tan, you're a newcomer from out of town, and you've already managed to provoke two high-ranking officials of the court. How did you end up having an affair with the Prince of Chu? Sigh, I was so stupid. You're so drunk, what am I supposed to answer?"

Feng Tan closed her eyes and lowered her head, speaking softly, "Did you bring the architectural plans for the inner palace commissioned by the Ministry of Works?"

Jin An paused in his steps, glancing warily at the pink-clad palace maids carrying palace lanterns and the royal guards patrolling in armor. He turned to Feng Tan and whispered, "Brother Tan, it's true that I want to get promoted and make money with you, but what do you need the palace architectural plans for?"

Feng Tan, with his eyes half-closed, spoke clearly and logically, showing no signs of being drunk. "I have a case to investigate."

Seeing that Feng Tan was unwilling to say more, Jin An took a deep breath and asked, "Is it a very important case for Tan-ge'er?"

The boy behind him said calmly, "It's very important."

"Alright then." Jin An sighed. "For someone as cautious as Brother Tan to entrust me with his tasks shows how much he values ​​me. Since we've become sworn brothers, I naturally can't let Brother Tan down! Here, I've already brought it to you. From now on, we're brothers who would risk our lives for each other!"

Feng Tan looked down at the scroll of paper the young man took out from his sleeve and sincerely thanked him: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. No matter what happens tonight, I won't implicate your family."

The heavy night enveloped the imperial palace. Feng Tan gazed at the renovated buildings and halls. The old people were gone, like Zhuangzi's dream; time had passed and everything had changed. But some accounts still needed to be clarified. She still couldn't believe that her mother had committed suicide in that fire.

About fifteen minutes later, Jin An stepped out of the Wu Shuang Gate. Feng Tan looked at the eunuch who had come to see them off from the palace and cried out, "Brother Jin An, I need to use the restroom! I can't hold it in anymore!"

Jin An also looked at the little eunuch and howled, "Don't poop on me! Tan-ge'er, just bear with it, I'll take you to the toilet right away!"

"No, no! I can't leave the palace, I need to poop!"

"..." Jin An thought to himself, "Are all good-looking people this vulgar?" He looked at the little eunuch and said anxiously, "Where's the outhouse? My brother, the dung beetle, is at his doorstep!"

The young eunuch looked to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, with delicate features. Fearing that this young official would defile the noble inner palace, he hurriedly said, "Quickly, sir, come with me!"

The young eunuch quickly led them to the inner palace's latrine area. Seeing Feng Tan go in to relieve himself, Jin An glanced at the dark sky, rubbed his hands together to warm them, and said, "Thank you so much, Eunuch! Look at this freezing winter, you've gone to so much trouble to find a latrine for my brother, causing you to suffer in the cold. I'm truly sorry..."

Jin An took out a silver ingot from the hidden button of his jacket and handed it to the young eunuch, saying, "We know it's not easy for you to do this job. You can go off duty now. We both know the way out of the palace!"

Seeing the young eunuch hesitate, Jin An touched his nose, secretly glanced at the young eunuch in the shadows, and sighed, "Poor me, my brother has such big hemorrhoids, and he's so drunk he's unrecognizable. We'll have to wait an hour or two!"

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch hurriedly said, "Then I'll trouble you to wait here, sir. This servant will take his leave."

Feng Tan peeked out when she heard the footsteps leaving, and Jin An said calmly, "Come out, they're gone!"

Feng Tan flicked Jin An's forehead and laughed, "Your hemorrhoids are the real problem!"

Jin An, seeing that no one was around, stuck out his butt and said mischievously, "Brother Tan, let me show you how big I am!"

Feng Tan: "......"

Beside the outhouse, there was a grove of green bamboo, its color somewhat dim in the depths of winter. Passing through this small bamboo grove, one would reach the Weiyang Palace, where Empress Xiaoxian once lived.

"The road ahead is mine alone." Feng Tan turned her gaze away from the distance and said to Jin An, "Go home."

Jin An didn't know what case Feng Tan was investigating, but he couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Tan is highly skilled and daring, but don't forget that this is the Imperial Palace. I won't ask what you're doing, just be careful."

The moon disappeared behind the clouds, and the bamboo forest behind her stretched out its branches, casting shadows that clung to Feng Tan's official robes. She paused, turned back, and grinned, a hidden current of power emanating from her. "I'll publish a book tomorrow, titled 'The First-Rank Official's Path to Success for Two Seventh-Rank Brothers in Six Subjects'!"

As the winter wind suddenly rose, the bamboo forest rustled. Jin'an had never seen such an unconventional seventh-rank official.

***

The great fire at Weiyang Palace in the eighth year of Chongming's reign (1643) burned half the sky. Historical records state: On the 23rd day of the sixth month of the year Guihai (1643), at midnight, Weiyang Palace was engulfed in flames. The fire blazed like a crimson rainbow across the sky. Empress Xiaoxian stood motionless in the palace, pleading for her sister's life in exchange for the emperor's. The fire engulfed the beams, and no one dared to enter. By the time of Yin (3-5 AM), the palace had collapsed completely, the fire subsided, and the empress's spirit vanished. Emperor Chongming was heartbroken, and with this lingering sorrow, he never appointed another empress.

Over the years, Emperor Chongming renovated almost all the palaces in the imperial palace, but he ordered that Weiyang Palace not be renovated and that palace servants not be allowed to stay there. Gradually, it became a forbidden area of ​​the imperial palace.

When Feng Tan was young, he studied martial arts for three years under Yu Ruxi at the General's Mansion. Yu Ruxi came from a family of martial arts masters and had extremely high talent for martial arts. Feng Tan, on the other hand, had very poor talent for martial arts. After three years of study, he was only good at light-footed movements.

In the stillness of the cold night, she took off her large official robe and put it into her personal bag, changed into a more practical eunuch's uniform, and slipped into Weiyang Palace during the handover between two patrol teams of imperial guards.

The main hall has collapsed completely, and the remaining ruins are blackened by the embers. The four main pillars are either toppled or crooked, and the golden hall is no longer the same as it once was.

Only the willow tree planted by her mother in the courtyard was not burned. Feng Tan touched the thick trunk of the willow tree with her fingers and remembered her mother sitting under the tree when she was a child, gently waving a silk fan and holding her in her arms, humming a nursery rhyme.

"When the willows are lively, spin a top; when the willows are green, set off a clock..."

"My mother's father said that if I miss him, I should break off a willow branch and send it to the Grand Tutor's mansion. In the future, when my little Yongle marries a good man, if she misses me, she should also break off a willow branch and send it to the palace..."

The gyrfalcon landed on Feng Tan's shoulder, nuzzled her chin, and Feng Tan rubbed its head. With a flick of its arm, the gyrfalcon flew up to a branch and stood guard for its master.

Feng Tan opened the imperial blueprints for the inner palace sent by Jin An and, in the dim light, discerned the exact location of the underground passage. To prevent rebellion and the usurpation of the throne, the founding emperor of the Dahuang Dynasty built an underground palace of the same scale beneath the Dahuang Imperial Palace. This fact was known only to the head carpenter in charge of the construction at the time, who was also Jin An's ancestor.

The Dahuang Imperial Palace was in the open, but the underground palace was a top secret. However, over a hundred years later, Dahuang became wealthy and powerful, and the underground palace gradually fell into disuse. The Ministry of Works no longer paid attention to protecting this secret document, which allowed Jin'an to take the opportunity to make a copy.

Weiyang Palace was a golden palace rebuilt by Emperor Chongming to demonstrate his favor towards the Empress. It was built late and naturally did not have an underground passage. However, Feng Youming was afraid that his younger sister would encounter an accident in the palace and be unable to escape, so he secretly blasted a passage open. Very few people knew about this, including Emperor Chongming. It was because of this that Feng Tan believed that her mother would come looking for her after sending her out of the palace.

But she didn't come.

Feng Tan opened the mechanism, and the secret passage opened with a rumble, raising a cloud of dust. She covered her mouth and nose and walked down the stairs.

The underground passage was pitch black, and the musty smell of wood filled the air. Feng Tan frowned, and after confirming that no one was around, he lit a tinderbox to light his way.

After walking through a damp and quiet passageway, the temperature gradually dropped. Feng Tan sniffed, wondering why it was getting colder the further she walked. The passageway wasn't long, and a dim light illuminated a tightly closed stone door ahead. Feng Youming had taught Feng Tan the art of mechanisms, and after feeling around in front of the door for a while, she found a row of eighteen seated Arhat statues. She grasped the fifth Arhat statue in her hand and gently rotated it, and the stone door quietly opened.

An extremely cold air swept over her, and Feng Tan's fingers turned red from the cold. It was pitch black all around, so she took a tinderbox and walked to the oil lamps hanging in front of the stone wall, lighting the candles on all four sides one by one.

Feng Tan blew out the tinderbox and turned around to carefully examine the secret room, which resembled an ice cellar. Strangely, there was no ice here, and the polar chill came inexplicably.

Feng Tan's gaze fell on the lotus platform built in the center of the secret chamber, beneath which was a circular cold pool. A strange feeling welled up in her heart, and her heart suddenly began to pound, as if driven by some mysterious force. Feng Tan stepped onto the steps.

As she approached, a large amount of icy mist began to emanate from the lotus platform. Her gaze slowly moved upward, and the sleeping woman lying in the center of the pink lotus petals gradually came into view.

Inside the ice coffin, the woman's beauty remained undiminished. She wore a crown with nine dragons and four phoenixes, and a golden-red cloud-patterned robe. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was serene and compassionate. She had been sleeping here for many years, and in her hand, she tightly clutched a pink, chubby little girl-shaped toy.

Mohele was about the size of her palm, and it was shaped like a five-year-old girl flying a kite with a smile. Upon closer inspection, Mohele's appearance was almost identical to that of the young Princess Yongle.

Tears streamed down Feng Tan's face, and all her strength suddenly vanished. She collapsed to her knees beside the lotus-shaped ice coffin, sobbing softly, "Mother..."

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