Seeing the shrewd glint in the Empress's eyes, Shang Dongyang was puzzled: "Mother, we are currently weak, while the Ninth Prince is at the height of his power. Our attack on the Cold Palace failed, and they will surely be more vigilant. I can't think of any other way for us to begin."

"You just need to keep a low profile, secure your position as Crown Prince, and refrain from letting that suspicious emperor find any major mistakes. Other matters will naturally be handled by others," the Empress said with a confident and gentle smile.

Shang Dongyang knew that the Empress was hiding a great secret. Even though he was her biological son, he had never touched this secret, nor had he known even a little bit about it.

All he knew was that the Empress's secret could give him everything he wanted, and that was enough.

To Shang Dongyang's utter surprise, his meticulously crafted secret base was about to be visited by six uninvited guests.

Six masked men dressed in black silently infiltrated the Eastern Palace like night birds.

They knew the terrain and defenses of the Eastern Palace like the back of their hand, and could easily slip through the corridors and halls, avoiding guards and sentries, as if entering an empty place.

We arrived at an inconspicuous group of artificial rocks.

On the surface, this place appears dark and deserted, but in reality, a highly skilled sentry lurks in the shadowy corners of each artificial hill.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the entrance is right here," Wu Zhong said to Shang Xiye and Ji Fengyao beside him in an almost inaudible voice.

"Let's go, rob them all!" Upon hearing this, Xique excitedly clenched her little fists and was about to rush forward.

Wuhen quickly pulled her back: "Wait a minute."

Shang Xiye nodded to Wu Zhong.

Like a cat in the dark, Wu Zhong stealthily crept to the windy spot alone, took out several packets of sleeping potion prepared by Ji Fengyao from his storage ring, and sprayed them.

With a poison-avoiding pill in its mouth, the magpie muttered in confusion, "Why are we afraid of them? Can't we beat these small fry?"

Ji Fengyao chuckled helplessly: "You've spent all your time fighting, do you still want the money? Do you still want all the treasures they looted?"

For every word someone else says, a magpie can say ten.

But when Ji Fengyao spoke, she always obeyed without question: "Miss is right. We're here to make money this time. Let's save the fight for next time!"

Wuhen: "..."

I'm so envious. I wish Que'er could listen to me like that.

Wu Zhong quickly sneaked back.

He was also carrying several sets of clothes with special dark patterns on the cuffs, ghost face masks, and several waist tokens: "These are their clothes and identification tokens. There are several natural barriers and traps in the secret passage. You have to wear these clothes and use their waist tokens to get through."

The group quickly dressed and then stealthily slipped into the artificial rockery.

Several fake caves were built in the rockery complex, and the cave they entered looked no different from the others at the entrance.

The group walked several hundred meters in the dark, winding their way through the maze, until they saw a group of well-equipped, sword-wielding black-clad guards standing in front of a large black iron gate.

Upon seeing the guards, the men remained silent.

Wu Zhong took off his waist token and quickly flashed it in front of them. The guards then made way for them.

After passing through the black iron gate, there is another passageway about two thousand meters long.

Every few hundred feet along the stone walls on either side of the passageway, an oil lamp burned, its dim light making the narrow passageway feel even more oppressive and gloomy.

Upon arriving here, the group held their breath and dared not make the slightest mistake.