Chapter 77: Secret Chamber
Seeing the Crown Prince ordering Xiao Fuyu to be taken away, Qian Deng still had something important on his mind, so he quickly said to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, I have a few more questions for the Princess."
The prince nodded in agreement.
"Princess Changyi, our young master, Shangluo, has been missing for several days. His father, Shang Biejia, has been searching for him throughout the capital. I hope Princess Changyi will inform us of his whereabouts in a timely manner to prevent his family from worrying."
"What Shangluo? Our Princess Mansion..." Xiao Fuyu was about to deny it subconsciously when Yan Penglai interrupted her quietly, "Yes, Shangluo noticed something was going on. We were afraid that he would harm our plan, so we kidnapped him—"
At this point, he looked at Xiao Fuyu and said, "Did the princess imprison Shangluo in the secret room of the study? It seems that only the princess can open that secret room in the study."
Xiao Fuyu woke up as if from a dream, took a deep breath, and said hurriedly: "Yes, he... Shangluo is hiding in my house, in the secret room of the study, but only I know how to open the secret room!"
Although Qiandeng felt that her reaction was a bit strange, Shangluo, whom she had been looking for for a long time, was indeed in the princess's mansion. She could not care about him for the moment and just wanted to pick him up first.
Yan Penglai said, "Shangluo has been imprisoned in there for many days. The secret room is so closed and empty. We must release him as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he is harmed, I will be held responsible."
Xiao Fuyu burst into tears: "I... I am willing to take people with me and release him now."
Qiandeng asked the prince: "I hope Your Highness will show mercy and rescue Shangluo first."
Upon hearing that it was Shang Biejia's fourteen-year-old son, the prince immediately summoned the guards and asked them to escort Xiao Fuyu back to the princess's mansion first.
Qian Deng was concerned about Shangluo and asked the Crown Prince for permission: "After all, Shangluo had an accident in my house. I want to go there together and bring him back."
The Crown Prince was in a state of confusion, but he reluctantly nodded. "You accompany Changyi. After rescuing Shangluo, send her to the Zongzheng Temple. I... must sort this matter out carefully and figure out how to report it to my father, the emperor, and my mother, the empress."
After all, Xiao Fuyu was the princess consort he was about to marry, so the prince had to return to the East Palace to discuss with his advisers immediately, and come up with the most appropriate disposal plan before dawn, and submit it to the emperor, empress and the court for decision.
When setting out for the princess's mansion, Qian Deng asked the guards to keep an eye on Yan Penglai, and subconsciously looked for Ling Tianshui to take him to the princess's mansion.
As a result, he was not among the people waiting outside the hall, and he did not even show up before leaving.
"Why is this person...every time he has the chance to show up, he's always gone?"
Qian Deng frowned helplessly. No wonder he could only reach the Si level with such amazing abilities. If he had such abilities, why didn't he display them in front of the prince and others? Why would anyone think of promoting him?
Fortunately, Ji Linyou was waiting outside. Seeing that she was going to the Princess's Mansion to pick up Shangluo, he immediately volunteered: "I'll go with the County Master!"
The two of them brought their palace guards and followed the Eastern Palace guards to Princess Gao's mansion.
Seeing the princess being escorted back late at night, everyone in the princess's mansion was panicked.
Siwei Suwan recognized the escort leader as the Eastern Palace's Zuo Siyu, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet and ask, "Liu Siyu, why did His Highness send you to escort the princess? It's not usually the female officials..."
Before she finished speaking, Zuo Simu had already roughly pushed her away so that she would not block the way ahead: "Lead the way to the study!"
Xiao Fu Yu was brought to the study after pushing aside the panicked maids in the mansion.
The female official in charge of the princess's residence hurried forward to open the door, holding up the palace lantern and inviting them in.
The lights in the study were on, and I could see the treasure chest and bookshelf separated by a huge desk in between, with a screen at the back blocking my view.
When I walked to the desk, I found that the space behind the screen was narrow and only one person could pass through.
Zuo Simu stepped forward and saw that there was indeed a secret door on the wall behind the screen. It was obviously the secret room where Shangluo was imprisoned.
However, the secret door was solid, with various birds and beasts embossed on it, but there was no handle. It was obvious that just as Xiao Fuyu said, only she could open it.
Zuo Simu ordered the Princess of Changyi to be taken behind the screen to open the door, but the place was too small and the eight-foot-tall jade screen was nailed to the ground, making it difficult to move. Xiao Fuyu had to go to the secret door alone to open it.
Xiao Fu Yu raised his hand and pressed lightly on a few inconspicuous recesses on the door. With a slight creaking sound, the secret door slowly opened a crack, and then a burst of thick smoke rushed out.
Xiao Fuyu's urgent voice came: "It's poisonous!"
The soldiers in the rear subconsciously covered their mouths and noses, and immediately turned around and retreated behind the screen.
Xiao Fuyu had already slipped into the secret door. With the sound of the door closing with a click, the extremely solid door closed again, and there was no trace of anyone behind the screen.
Zuo Simu was shocked and immediately rushed over, trying to press the recessed areas on the door, but there was no movement.
He cursed, turned around and walked out of the study. Seeing Qian Deng standing in the corridor waiting, he said angrily, "The princess has hidden in the secret room. I'm afraid there is a secret passage in the secret room, and she wants to take the opportunity to escape."
Qiandeng was stunned.
The prince did not choose the Three Judicial Departments, but asked the Zongzheng Temple to deal with Xiao Fuyu, which meant to give him a lighter sentence.
Moreover, although she plotted to seize the Changhua Palace, designed a plan to marry into the Eastern Palace during a funeral, and slandered the Huihe prince, her crime was not punishable by death. Although she lost her position as Crown Princess, she was still a royal relative after all, and she would still have no shortage of fine clothes and delicious food.
Choosing to escape means that she would rather abandon her status and completely ruin her future.
Why? How could Princess Changyi be so foolish as to make such a choice?
A thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately remembered that after her previous crimes were exposed, Xiao Fuyu cried and shouted that she wanted to come back to burn a stick of incense for her mother before leaving; and when she heard Yan Penglai mention Shangluo's whereabouts, she immediately changed her tone and agreed.
Could it be that there are crimes in the secret passage that are more serious and terrifying than what she has revealed? In order to avoid being discovered, she must eliminate all of this as soon as possible.
What on earth is more important than her identity as a princess, the survival of the princess's mansion, and everything she has now? It is a matter of life and death and must never be exposed to the public?
Qiandeng immediately turned around and looked at the panicked maids behind her, and found Su Wan and the female official in charge of the clerk.
"Is there anyone in the mansion who knows how to open this secret room?"
Aunt Su Wan shook her head and said, "The princess only occasionally orders trusted people to come in and clean this secret room. We servants have never been allowed to do so."
Qian Deng asked again, "Is there a secret passage in the secret room? Do you know where it leads to?"
Su Wan and the other female officials had no idea, and the other maids and guards had even less idea.
The Prince's Mansion's Zuo Siyu could only say, "After daybreak, go to the Ministry of Works and find a few skilled craftsmen to see if there's a way to open the door."
"Wouldn't the flowers be cold by the time we get to daybreak?" Ji Linyou thought for a moment and said anxiously, "Please wait a moment, my lady. I'll go find Jin Tang right away. The Jin family has so many experienced foremen, maybe there's someone who knows about this..."
"Looking for people and conducting research at the same time, how long will it take?" A sharp voice came from outside, and then a sturdy and upright figure turned in from the corridor and strode into the study.
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