exploration
“The Imperial Music Bureau…” Su Feng rubbed his throbbing temples and nodded to Zhou Yanzhi. “You’re right. I’ll go retrieve the files now.”
Watching Su Feng walk away, Zhou Yanzhi sighed deeply, turned around, picked up the case files on the table, and then left the library, riding straight towards the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Only the dust floating in the library slowly settled down.
...
The rising sun cast its golden rays silently upon the Forbidden City, making the glazed tiles shimmer with a soft golden glow. A gentle breeze stirred, moving the tiny dust particles within the invisible golden light.
Inside Yuande Palace, all was as quiet as ever.
"Squeak—"
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
Dressed in simple attire, Jie Xiangsi groped her way to push the window open wider. Through the open lattice window, the warm sunlight quietly fell upon her, gilding her with a light golden glow.
Feeling the warmth on her face, Jie Xiangsi sighed silently. It was another new day. Since she lost her sight and hearing, and could no longer distinguish between day and night, this was the only way she could tell the time.
Judging by the time, someone should be coming in to deliver the food soon.
Thinking of this, Jie Xiangsi weakly tugged at the corners of her mouth.
I don't know what the empress in this palace wants to do with her. She captured her, but didn't interrogate her or do anything to her. She just provided her with good food and drink every day and took her pulse every day, as if she was afraid that she would die.
Actually, they didn't need to go to such lengths. The Xiao family's great hatred had not been avenged and their grievances had not been cleared. She was unwilling to die, and naturally, she wouldn't be so foolish as to seek death.
...
"Squeak—"
Suddenly, the tightly closed palace doors were pushed open, and someone walked in.
As if sensing something, Jie Xiangsi closed the window and looked in the direction from which the tremor came. In the past few days, she had been able to discern the direction of people by the tremors in the ground when they walked by.
It was probably another mute servant who brought her food.
She smiled in that direction and walked to the small couch that had been specially prepared for her. As she walked, the heavy iron chains on her ankles dragged on the ground, making a clattering sound.
From the windowsill to the small couch, the originally taut iron chain gradually became a tangled mess.
The visitor placed the lunchbox on a high table to the side, took out the food one by one, and thoughtfully picked up each dish and placed it into a porcelain bowl. After doing all this, the visitor took a pair of wooden chopsticks from the lunchbox and placed them in Jie Xiangsi's hands.
This means it's ready to eat.
Jie Xiangsi lowered her eyes, gripped her chopsticks tighter, took the porcelain bowl handed to her, and began to eat slowly. She paused, noticing something, but then continued eating as if nothing had happened.
—This meal still contained the "Moon Gazing Powder".
Perhaps because her other senses were more acute after losing her hearing and sight, she could taste the Moon-Gazing Powder in the food that was served during her first meal.
She threw all the bowls and chopsticks away, but the empress was so determined to keep her alive that she not only made porridge again, but also had someone pry open her mouth and force-feed her the mushy porridge, almost scalding her to death.
After this ordeal, Jie Xiangsi came to terms with it. In any case, whether she resisted or not, she would still end up being drugged anyway, so she might as well let her do it herself. This way, she could pass on some messages and avoid being tortured.
I just don't know how much longer her current body can hold on.
...
Meanwhile, at the other end of the palace, a patrol of armored guards was approaching Yuande Palace. The dappled sunlight made their black iron armor appear even more imposing and cold.
Step by step, step by step...
Looking up, the eaves of Yuande Palace are already visible.
As Xiao Jiangsheng followed in the procession, he glanced at the palace gate out of the corner of his eye and saw a eunuch dressed in dark purple stepping over the threshold. His brow twitched slightly, and his breath hitched for a moment.
The next second, a sharp gaze turned towards them.
Xiao Jiangsheng quickly withdrew his gaze. After the seemingly tangible gaze moved away, he glanced at the palace maids in the hall again with even greater vigilance. When he saw something, his hand holding the sword tightened almost imperceptibly.
His steps were light and agile, and his lower body was extremely stable.
These eunuchs and palace maids are no ordinary people; they are all skilled in martial arts!
With such tight security, are they trying to hide something?
The patrol guards quickly passed the magnificent palace. Xiao Jiangsheng couldn't help but turn his head to look back. Who would have thought that such a luxurious palace was hiding a woman who wanted to overthrow the imperial power?
...
Black boots trod across the bluestone of the palace path, gradually disappearing into the distance.
After his shift ended, Xiao Jiangsheng thought for a moment and said to the person accompanying him, "Brother, I'm new here. Do you know when our next shift is?"
The person standing nearby exclaimed in surprise: "You didn't know that?"
Xiao Jiangsheng feigned ignorance, scratched his head sheepishly, and said, "I'm new here, so I don't quite understand everything yet..."
The man exclaimed "Ah!" and said with understanding, "I understand, I understand. After all, we've been quite busy these days, and Lord Su has been so busy that he's rarely seen." He patted Xiao Jiangsheng on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Remember, our next shift is in half an hour, so you should go and eat something now, we'll be busy later."
Xiao Jiangsheng nodded, "I thank you in advance, brother."
The man waved his hand, "You're too kind."
...
Inside the Imperial Medical Academy, Qi Minghua, dressed in a white robe, examined the pills in the porcelain box. After confirming that there were no major problems, he turned and handed them to Eunuch Fu, who was waiting nearby.
"Father-in-law, these are the newly prepared pills."
Eunuch Fu nodded and accepted the porcelain box, replying, "Thank you, Headmaster Qi."
As the porcelain box slipped from his hand, Qi Minghua felt Eunuch Fu gently tap his finger bones three times. He paused for a moment before handing the box over, but quickly resumed his composure and calmly handed it over.
Blessings are struck three times, and the plan is brought forward.
This was the secret code that Emperor Zhaowen and he had agreed upon.
He said that the reason why it was Eunuch Fu who came to collect the medicine today was that His Majesty was probably about to collapse.
"Your Majesty, I know it is my duty to take care of your health." After saying the last word, Qi Minghua paused for a moment, looked around, pulled Eunuch Fu aside, and then leaned closer and lowered his voice to continue, "I hope you can persuade His Majesty that this pill is very effective, but it is also harmful to the body. Please do not take too much."
Their eyes met for a fleeting moment in mid-air.
Eunuch Fu nodded solemnly, "Thank you for your instructions, Chief Physician Qi."
Holding the white porcelain box, Eunuch Fu walked out of the Imperial Hospital and sighed deeply. How could His Majesty not know the simple truth that excessive supplementation harms the body?
But His Majesty... sigh, never mind.
Gripping the porcelain box tightly in his hand, Eunuch Fu composed himself and strode quickly toward the most magnificent palace.
Even if things are difficult, everything is almost settled.
...
After seeing off Eunuch Fu, Qi Minghua, who had spent the whole night in the pharmacy, rubbed her temples wearily. Her eyes were so dry that even blinking was difficult, and drowsiness washed over her like a tide.
After giving his instructions, Qi Minghua hurriedly headed towards his temporary rest room in the Imperial Medical Academy. As a physician, he knew all too well that if he didn't rest now, he might die of heart palpitations.
Forcing himself to open his eyes, he pushed open the door. Upon seeing the person standing in the center of the room, Qi Minghua, who was always calm and composed, even if the sky were to fall, felt for the first time that he was about to experience heart palpitations.
My head, which was already aching from staying up late, was now throbbing with dull pain.
The weariness on his face crumbled inch by inch. Qi Minghua's heart trembled. He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, exclaiming in surprise, "Young General Xiao?"
Xiao Jiangsheng, having removed the human skin mask, nodded. "It's me."
Qi Minghua: "..."
After a moment of silence, Qi Minghua exclaimed in a frenzy, "No, General Xiao, you're in the palace right now! How dare you take off your mask and come to my room so openly?!"
Xiao Jiangsheng lowered his head and chuckled, then put the human skin mask back on and said, "Don't worry, Chief Qi, I came in secret."
Hearing this, Qi Minghua breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, he was probably just too tired to think straight. Xiao Jiangsheng would definitely be avoiding people if he wanted to come; he was truly exhausted and his mind couldn't function properly.
Walking to the round table and sitting down, Qi Minghua closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind, and said, "General Xiao must have something important to discuss with me. Please speak."
To get straight to the point, he was thinking the same thing as Xiao Jiangsheng.
Xiao Jiangsheng casually pulled over a stool and sat down, saying, "You've been staying in the palace for the past few months, waiting to be summoned. Have you noticed anything unusual about the palace guards?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Minghua lifted his eyelids, gave a soft "hmm," and lowered his voice to say, "Ever since His Majesty fell seriously ill, the atmosphere in the palace has been rather strange. The familiar Imperial Guards have been gone for a long time, and in the past month, there have been even more unfamiliar faces."
Xiao Jiangsheng frowned.
Qi Minghua continued, "These days, there are many more guards around the Imperial Hospital. It's not so much like protection as surveillance, which is why I was so startled when I saw you just now."
"I've made some progress on the matter that Ce'an and the others have been asking me to take seriously. However, I still don't have a way to investigate Yuande Palace." As he said this, his eyes became serious. "But the person you're looking for is most likely in Yuande Palace."
After saying that, Qi Minghua took out a small piece of blood-stained fabric from his sleeve and said, "I found this near Yuande Palace the other day. It still has the scent of Wangyue San on it. I think it was probably left by Miss Xiao."
Xiao Jiangsheng took the piece of fabric and stared intently at the bloodstains that had turned brown. After a long while, he closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again and said, "I'm not sure. I need to take it back and let Zhou Ce'an examine it."
Qi Minghua nodded, "That's fine, I was thinking the same thing, but I haven't acted yet because of surveillance."
After carefully putting away the fragment, Xiao Jiangsheng stood up and said, "Then I will take my leave."
Qi Minghua nodded, but then suddenly stopped as he was about to walk toward the small couch.
"General, please wait."
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