Chapter 64 Leaving the Palace (Part 1)
Not far from the Cold Palace, in the vast palace grounds, a dazzling red flame rose unnoticed. The thick smoke from the burning buildings drifted here, making the air smell scorching and increasingly pungent.
Qingqing half-carried and half-dragged Yan Dibai, tentatively peeked out to look around, and was not quite used to this sudden change.
The palace gates were empty on both sides, not a single guard in sight.
Looking in the direction Lin Xiang had left, her heart sank uncomfortably, and only then did she truly understand the meaning of Lin Xiang's last words.
He was willing to risk his life to save Yan Dibai's life amidst this chaos.
The moment the old man finished speaking, Qingqing clearly felt the boy in her arms stiffen for a moment.
Unexpectedly, she witnessed the loyalty she had only ever seen on television, and Qingqing was filled with indescribable astonishment. She only had a second to reflect on this simple yet solemn scene before earnestly questioning Yan Dibai.
"Your Majesty, according to Prime Minister Lin, which palace gate should we enter through?"
Yan Dibai clung to Qingqing, forcing his dark eyes to focus on the distance, and responded to her words in a low voice.
"...Yeting".
It was barely audible, yet it immediately made her pay close attention.
"The Imperial Household Department?"
The first time she heard decadent music was in the Yeting Palace.
After a pause, Qingqing's eyes immediately lit up: "Yes! How could I forget? There's a small door in the Yeting Palace for emptying chamber pots!"
Dai Xian used to walk that way!
Qingqing opened the medicine given by Lin Xiang and roughly fed one-third of it to Yan Dibai's mouth.
"Since it was given by Prime Minister Lin, it certainly won't harm Your Majesty. When we slip out of the palace gates later, I hope Your Majesty will do everything in your power to escape with me. Please do not fail Prime Minister Lin's trust."
Upon hearing this, Yan Dibai's thin face showed no change, only his chest trembled slightly, and he quickly looked away.
He gazed at Qingqing's unusually focused face, his mouth slightly open. The pale powder was hard to swallow, so the boy instinctively stuck out his scarlet tongue, moistening it with saliva and slowly rolling it down his throat.
Seeing that the medicine had been taken down, without waiting for the effects to take hold, Qingqing wiped the white residue from the corner of his lips with her sleeves, then twisted her outer robe into a thick rope and tightly bound Yan Dibai's waist against her.
In the blink of an eye, Yan Dibai suddenly felt his body sway, and his waist was painfully constricted by the knotted rope.
The warmth of her body seeped into him through her clothes, and Yan Dibai felt unbearably hot. They were so close that the slightest movement of hers caused him to involuntarily shift his own body. They had truly become, in a practical sense, bound together like grasshoppers on the same string.
The pain stirred a power within him that gave him the strength to turn his head and see the girl's profile, which was covered with a thin layer of sweat.
Its bright, dark eyes darted around, quickly assessing the situation. Then, finally finding a viable route, its eyes gleamed even brighter.
She strained with all her might, her teeth nearly grinding to powder, before she could barely straighten her back. Taking a deep breath, Qingqing tugged at the knot around her waist, making sure it was tied securely for the second time. Then she turned to the sickly Yan Dibai and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The next moment, Yan Dibai felt his weak arms being pulled and wrapped around her thin shoulders and neck.
With a sway, several barely noticeable blue veins suddenly bulged on the back of the girl's slender neck.
Qingqing clung tightly to Yan Di's white legs, then staggered a few steps with difficulty, looking towards the east: "Let's go."
-
"It's gone off accidentally!!!"
"The princess has gone mad! The princess has gone mad!"
"That jade bracelet is mine! It was a gift from a noble person, give it back!"
"Miss! The lord has prepared a carriage for you. You can join our army immediately by going through the side gate!"
"Brother Chen?" Xiao Yuanshu was shocked by the continuous wails, and was even more startled by the pile of corpses beside him after leaving Chonglan Palace.
Her brother protected her very well, but having never personally witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield, she nearly vomited several times along the way.
Just then, Xiao Yuanshu saw Chen Mian leading an inconspicuous carriage and solemnly waving at her from a distance. Overjoyed, her eyes welled up with tears after days of grievances, and she hurriedly stepped forward to stand beside Chen Mian.
Where is my brother?
Chen Mian shoved her into the carriage, saying succinctly, "Our lord is currently fighting the Li family in the palace. Although he is confident, it is still dangerous. You must leave quickly and not waste time!"
Xiao Yuanshu had no choice but to stagger into the carriage as instructed, and Chen Mian immediately flattered him, and the wheels began to turn.
She couldn't resist lifting the curtain to look at Chen Mian, only to see that the fire had spread to half of the imperial city. Palace maids were constantly escaping from the inferno.
Before she could react, a eunuch with half his face sliced off suddenly appeared from behind the carriage. He was clutching gold and silver and chased after her, crying and reaching out for help. When Xiao Yuanshu saw that the man looked like he had just crawled out of the underworld, she gasped and hurriedly grabbed a porcelain pot, smashing it hard on the eunuch's head.
With a loud crash, several bloody welts appeared on the eunuch's head. He froze for a moment, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, scattering the treasures in his arms like water. These treasures were quickly picked up by another eunuch who had just appeared.
Xiao Yuanshu froze, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of the eunuch's ferocious, greedy smile. He abruptly leaned forward and pulled back the curtain, clutching a corner tightly in his hand, daring not to look back. Only after the horses passed through the small door Chen Mian had mentioned did the sounds of weapons gradually fade away.
A soldier clad in leather armor stepped forward: "Miss Yuan Shu, please wait a moment. New escort vehicles will be here shortly."
Xiao Yuanshu dared to lift the curtain and peek out again, his eyes falling upon a ground covered in half-dried bloodstains. Several damaged manure carts were parked at the entrance, with a few horses tethered there.
No wonder it's safe; the guards at this gate have clearly been killed off beforehand.
She exhaled angrily.
When will my brother join me?
"Replying to Miss, the lord has not yet made a decision."
Xiao Yuanshu: "..."
I breathed a sigh of relief; finally, a heavy weight was lifted from my heart.
The elder brother and his entourage occupied the west gate, the closest to the inner palace, thus securing a series of exits. Thinking of Princess Xifang, who had held sway over the court for so many days, Xiao Yuanshu leaned against the carriage wall and sneered repeatedly.
This is the Longxi Li family that looks down on the Xiao family.
So foolish and stupid, everything she does is for the benefit of others.
Yan Xifang and her stepson were licentious and promiscuous, so it was only natural that she sided with the Li family. They had secretly sabotaged her, a daughter of the Xiao family, time and again. It was not uncommon for the palace maids to use the pretext of disciplining the servants to beat the palace women around her. These past few days, she had endured this humiliation, living a life of subservience and servitude; the anger she felt was so intense that even burning down these palace women wouldn't be enough.
"These two are indeed siblings, both despicable." Memories of this period flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. Thinking of the various events when she first entered the palace, Xiao Yuanshu gritted her teeth and sneered. But when she thought of the fate of the deposed emperor Yan Dibai, she relaxed her brows a few inches with pleasure.
Yan Xifang cared about her reputation and honor, but the deposed emperor didn't. He had repeatedly used a lowly commoner to humiliate her, and now the infighting had brought retribution upon him; the Yan family branch had been wiped out. If her brother succeeded, and the world changed to the Xiao family, she would then desecrate the Yan family's ancestral graves to vent her anger.
Xiao Yuanshu let out a sigh of frustration and asked the chieftain, "Has any news come from the front about the deposed emperor?"
"It has only been half an hour since the palace was breached, so it is difficult to send any messages."
Xiao Yuanshu paused, then slammed the curtain shut. "It would be better if we were both reduced to ashes along with that lowly slave surnamed Yang."
The guards, unaware of the hidden meaning in her words, simply echoed her sentiments, saying, "Miss, don't be so upset." Xiao Yuanshu, however, paid no heed to this comfort, lost in her own thoughts.
"After going through all that trouble to crawl to that beast's side, he just died like that?"
She murmured to herself, her eyes filled with a strange bewilderment, "Fate... it really is a strange thing."
The Cold Palace is far away, and unless someone helps her like a guide, Xiao Yuanshu knows without a doubt that Yang Liuqing will not be able to escape.
So many people disliked her, yet she was incredibly lucky; no one ever actually killed her.
This time, it might not work, right?
"..." Xiao Yuanshu shook his head, suddenly unwilling to think about the past anymore. In the gap of his thoughts, the soldiers looked around and were about to temporarily close the narrow door to prevent the spread of the war when a scream suddenly came from not far away.
"Don't close the door! Don't close the door!"
"Who goes there!" the soldier suddenly shouted, drawing his sword and stabbing it into the ground. Xiao Yuanshu felt a sharp pain in his ear and immediately came to his senses, rubbing his ear and lifting a curtain.
Facing the sharp blades, the girl who had run through the flames exhaled a mouthful of dust mixed with black smoke, hugged the boy who was also blackened by the fire and unrecognizable, and staggered breathlessly to the soldiers, anxiously firing off a string of questions:
"Brother, we are all palace servants of the Yeting Palace! The palace is in complete chaos. I'm afraid if I don't run away soon, I'll be meeting the King of Hell. I have no choice but to take the back road to escape! Brother, please have mercy and spare our lives!"
The girl's voice was rapid, clear, and familiar. Xiao Yuanshu's breath hitched. He lowered his body, his gaze lingering on her bright, black and white eyes three times before his eyes widened in shock.
The soldiers below had anticipated this; they were there to block people from entering and leaving, so how could they let them pass? They thrust their blades forward a few inches further.
"Who knows your real identity?! Do you have an identification card?!"
Qingqing's usually amused face froze.
She painstakingly navigated through one smoky, fiery palace after another, dodging one person after another, only managing to find her way around thanks to six months of work experience in the area. But just when she saw hope, an obstacle appeared in her path.
Meeting the soldiers' cold, piercing gaze, Qingqing's eyes darted left and right with a troubled expression.
"Palace servants who enter the palace no longer have identification tags; they're all locked in the storeroom. Brother, aren't you making things difficult for me?"
She rummaged through her clothes for a while, finally pulling out a pair of pearl earrings she had picked up on the road. She quickly wiped them with the lining of her clothes and handed them over: "Brother, if you don't mind, could you perhaps give me these as a token of my respect? I was so ignorant, please don't take offense—"
The soldier didn't even glance at the earring, snorted, and moved the tip of his knife toward Yan Dibai, whose eyes were tightly closed.
"Stop! What's wrong with the person you're carrying?"
Qingqing was startled, but remained calm on the surface. A thought struck her, and she frowned and whispered, "I dare not hide it from you, elder brother. My sister is exceptionally beautiful, which has aroused the jealousy of a noble person in the palace. They beat and scold her constantly, which has resulted in her being seriously injured and unable to move."
The person on her back must have heard the voice, because they moved their legs. Qingqing's expression immediately became even more bitter. She lifted Yan Dibai up and showed one of his hands to the soldier.
The finger bones were sculpted like eagle claws, stained black by the soot from the roadside, a truly horrifying sight.
The woman's face was half-covered by her disheveled hair, and the few traces of color that could be seen through indicated that she was on the verge of death, her skin clinging to her bones.
Soldiers may not be particularly knowledgeable, but they see dead bodies every day. A quick glance tells them that this person doesn't have much time left, and his scrutinizing gaze softens slightly.
With difficulty, Qingqing bent her knees, carrying someone on her back, and assumed a kneeling position.
"My sister was exceptionally beautiful in her past life, but now she's just skin and bones, tortured beyond recognition... Brother, you have a family too, you'll surely understand the hardships we lowly people endure. Please have mercy and spare my sister's life!"
The soldier didn't take it seriously; after checking their identities, whether or not to let them go wasn't up to him. Turning to the carriage, the soldier asked:
"Miss?"
Upon hearing this, Qingqing looked up and instantly understood the situation. She also looked pleadingly at the carriage.
"..."
There was no sound in the car.
Qingqing didn't care about anything else, put Yan Dibai down and knelt down directly.
Inside the car, it was dimly lit.
Xiao Yuanshu stared expressionlessly at the extremely disheveled girl kneeling in submission, and with a sudden exertion of force, nearly pierced her palm.
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Author's Note: I'm posting what I wrote earlier as soon as I have time. I should be able to update at a normal frequency after the 15th. Working is not a human life. I'm constantly being scolded and suffering, and I don't even earn money, so I keep getting scolded. I never want to work again! [crying] (The "thank you" button is missing, probably because I haven't been online for a long time and can't find it. Anyway, thank you to all the readers who are still willing to read my stories. May you all be healthy and happy! [lucky lotus][lucky lotus][lucky lotus][crying])
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