Chapter 102 How to Thank Me
Yang Manyan's eyes lit up and he turned back in surprise, "Your Majesty, this place is empty!"
The yang numbers of the main and guest sides of the Qian hexagram are both seven. Although this ebony bookshelf is very large, it only has six layers, and the seventh layer is most likely the ground.
She didn't have much hope at first, but when she saw that the seventh book pulled out from the sixth layer was the "Book of Changes", she became more and more certain that there was another secret behind this bookshelf.
Not only is the arrangement of the books exactly the same as the Qian Gua, the word "Gan" also corresponds to the Qianqing Palace.
Sure enough, there was indeed a hollow floor tile underneath.
The emperor said nothing, his eyes were dark and his face showed some complicated emotions.
He had often come to Xuanguang Pavilion over the past ten years and was familiar with the interior layout, but he had never connected the placement of books with the hexagrams, let alone thought that the late emperor would have set up a mechanism here.
Since they had worked together on handling memorials, he had witnessed Yang Manyan's ability to remember everything she saw, but he was still amazed by her keen insight.
But the more he knew about her goodness, the more bitter he felt. In front of others, they were always the king and his subject.
Yang Manyan pulled out a jade hairpin from her hair and tried to pry the floor tile open along the gap, but she didn't have enough strength to pry it open.
"Your Majesty, please come and help me open it." She turned back again, looking eagerly for help.
The two of them came without any palace servants, so naturally they had to do it themselves.
The emperor smiled softly, then stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and took over her hand of the jade hairpin that still carried the warmth of her palm.
He had practiced martial arts for many years and was strong enough to lift a tripod, but he only used 20% of his strength to pry the floor tiles loose.
The jade hairpin also broke into two pieces.
Yang Manyan was stunned. How could it be pried open so easily?
After removing the bricks, you can see a small gilded box placed in the groove at the bottom. It is exactly the same as the treasure box hidden behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but it is smaller in size.
The emperor reached out and took out the box. The two of them looked at it carefully and found that it was not locked, so they opened it directly.
What caught my eye was a finely crafted pure gold key.
Yang Manyan suddenly hugged the man's arm, his face full of surprise, "Finally I found the key, I can open the treasure box!"
The treasure box was made with great precision. She had originally asked skilled craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department to try to pry open the lock, but to no avail.
The craftsmen said that there was a mechanism inside the treasure box. If it was pried open forcibly, not only would the lock be broken, but the mercury in the interlayer might also flow into the box and corrode the items inside.
Otherwise, why would she go to so much trouble to find the key?
The emperor raised his lips slightly and said jokingly, "Since it was I who helped pry open the floor tiles, how do you plan to thank me?"
"Why is the emperor so fussy?" She whispered again, "It's just a piece of cake for you."
Her eyelashes trembled and her cheeks flushed.
Unable to succeed, the man said hoarsely, "Why did you run away when we first met last year?"
Yang Manyan muttered quietly, "You didn't say who you were at the time..."
The more she thought about it, the more she felt wronged. "It would be a serious crime to lose my innocence when I was selected as a concubine. If I don't run away, who knows if my family will be implicated."
The emperor frowned slightly, the lust in his eyes still there, and he leaned close to her ear and asked in a hoarse voice: "If I had revealed my identity at that time, would you not have run away?"
"Of course." Yang Manyan said without hesitation, "If I knew you were the current emperor, I wouldn't run away."
It should be said that even if she was given ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to run away.
The room was silent and the atmosphere was frozen for a moment. The emperor's eyes were dim and unclear, and all kinds of emotions were surging in his heart.
A slight error can lead to a huge loss.
While the man was distracted, Yang Manyan quickly broke free from him and reached out to take out the key from the small box.
"Your Majesty, let's go back first. It's important to open the treasure box and take out the secret decree." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled it.
The emperor sneered, then took a deep breath to suppress his desire.
As the sky gradually darkened, the two of them returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the afterglow of the setting sun.
As soon as she stepped into the hall, Yang Manyan hurriedly lifted up her skirt and ran inside to find the treasure box that was temporarily stored in the warehouse of the west warm pavilion.
The eunuch chief Chang Ying and others had not yet had the chance to salute, and when they saw her like this, they were a little confused for a moment.
"Your Majesty, what happened to Yang Shangyi? Would you like us to go and take a look?" Chang Ying asked hurriedly.
"No need, all of you step back." The emperor waved his hand and strode after them.
The light in the warehouse was dim. He picked up a glazed palace lantern from the warm room table and walked in.
Yang Manyan stood in front of the table, calmed himself down, and then inserted the pure gold key he had just found into the keyhole of the treasure box.
After twisting it, the lock of the treasure box opened with a "click".
She couldn't help but hold her breath, her whole body froze, and she dared not move.
The emperor raised his eyebrows, raised his hand and opened the lid of the treasure box, only to see a bright yellow gold-sprinkled imperial edict inside.
As Su Jingyi said, it was indeed a secret decree written by the late emperor himself, and its content was exactly about the life stories of Xiao Yan and Su Qinglan.
Qingning Palace where Concubine Wei Shufei lived.
The last ray of light golden afterglow enveloped the palaces and pavilions. As night fell, the palace servants lit the wall lamps around the palace in an orderly manner.
In a moment, the lights were on as bright as day.
On the embroidered couch by the window, Concubine Wei Shu and Song Minghui, the daughter of Marquis Wu Ding, sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.
"Minghui, I know that you will suffer some injustice because of this arrangement." Concubine Wei wiped her tears with a handkerchief, her voice choked with sobs.
Song Minghui was stunned, seeming a little at a loss.
Concubine Wei Shu continued, "You also know that Yang Shangyi is extremely jealous, and the emperor is protecting her. If you don't get married first, the prince won't be able to give you a status even if he likes you..."
Song Minghui's cheeks flushed, and she clutched her sleeves tightly with both hands, "My Lady, is this also what the Crown Prince meant?"
"Of course." Concubine Wei Shu held her hand and said seriously, "The prince was born after ten months of pregnancy. I know exactly what he is thinking."
"When it's done, I will ask the Crown Prince to grant you the title of concubine."
Song Minghui's face became hotter and hotter. Thinking of how Empress Xu brought her niece to Concubine Wei Shufei's birthday banquet yesterday, she became even more alert.
"Then, I will follow your arrangements in everything..." She lowered her head slightly, speaking shyly.
"I feel relieved that you can think positively about it." Concubine Wei said with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, a gleam of light flashed in her eyes.
She didn't care what the prince thought.
As long as he ordered her special ylang-ylang fragrance, the matter was settled and the prince could not deny it.
How deeply in love did the late emperor have with that crazy woman Xu in the past, yet he was not able to resist her ylang-ylang fragrance?
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