Chapter 198 A Secret Maneuver
The Crown Prince sneered: "He likes reading memorials so much? Then I'll grant his wish."
Let him, starting tomorrow—no, starting today—be submerged in this endless stream of memorials.
After saying that, he looked at Xiao Ling with a strange expression and said:
"He's reviewing memorials, so let's free up some time to do something else."
Xiao Ling understood the Crown Prince's look perfectly; it was the same expression the Crown Prince always gave when they were children and wanted to do something naughty.
As the three were talking, someone came from outside to announce:
"Princess Consort, Her Highness the Eldest Princess requests your presence at Chunhua Palace."
Xie Yunyu glanced at Xiao Ling and the Crown Prince and said:
"Do you have any skilled female servants? Give me two."
The crown prince glanced at Le Shou after hearing this.
Le Shou said, "Your Highness, we do not have any female servants, but we have two skilled eunuchs."
Xie Yunyu said, "That's fine too, as long as you can come with me to Chunhua Palace."
The Crown Prince thought for a moment and said, "Le Shou, why don't you go with the Princess Consort?"
Xie Yunyu bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Xie Yunyu took her leave and led Leshou to Chunhua Palace.
Upon entering the hall, Xie Yunyu saw the Empress and the Princess sitting calmly, but their expressions were not good.
After bowing, he walked to the seat below the eldest princess and asked:
"Mother, have you found anything?"
The eldest princess shook her head.
"We sent her to the Thousand Buddha Hall at the very back of the palace to pray for the Empress Dowager. After that, we searched the place thoroughly, but found nothing."
Xie Yunyu thought for a moment and said, "Mother, shall I go and take a look?"
"Yes, I called you here so you could come and see."
Xie Yunyu nodded, then said, "Mother, who knows about Chunhua Palace? Give me an old person to accompany you."
The eldest princess glanced at Granny Sun beside her, and Granny Sun stepped forward and said:
"This old servant greets the Princess Consort."
Xie Yunyu nodded: "Let's go, show me around Chunhua Palace."
After saying that, he led his men out, and Le Shou and two eunuchs quickly followed.
The Empress's head maid also followed with her entourage.
Xie Yunyu led a group of seven or eight people out, first looking around the courtyard, then pointing to the corner tower in the distance and saying:
"I want to go up to the top of that highest corner tower."
Without saying a word, the nanny led her toward the corner tower.
Upon reaching the corner tower, Xie Yunyu stood there, looking around and nodding as she did so.
"I see. So you don't even need to go out to see that huge lotus pond."
Moreover, the scenery here is exceptionally beautiful.
After Xie Yunyu finished her reflection, she turned to look at Le Shou:
"Leshou, could you please tell me where these palaces are?"
Rakuju looked around and began to introduce them one by one:
"That place with its pointed corners and upturned eaves is the Empress's Ganquan Palace."
That place is the Jiaofang Palace of the Virtuous Consort, and behind the shade of the trees is the Yong'an Palace of the Virtuous Consort.
Further on, in that place with the very high roof, is the Empress Dowager's Yongshou Palace..."
Xie Yunyu suddenly pointed to a majestic rooftop and asked:
Where is that?
“That is His Majesty’s Taiji Palace, where the Empress Dowager currently resides,” Le Shou replied.
Xie Yunyu then asked, "Where is the Imperial Study?"
Le Shou pointed to a rooftop in front of the Taiji Palace that was almost completely obscured by the trees and said:
"That yellow roof, in the shade of the trees."
Xie Yunyu frowned upon hearing this and said, "Is Chunhua Palace really that close to the Imperial Study?"
From Xie Yunyu's perspective, the two places are almost on the same line, separated only by the Guanghe Hall.
Fold it in half with the Guanghe Hall as the midpoint, and the two parts will overlap perfectly.
As soon as Xie Yunyu spoke, everyone looked over.
The head maidservant beside the Empress said, "The Princess Consort is right. We wouldn't have noticed this problem if we weren't standing here."
From the Imperial Study to Chunhua Palace, one cannot pass directly through Guanghe Hall; one must take a detour to the Imperial Garden.
Therefore, the servants usually felt that the two places were far apart.
Now, looking at it, it's so close at hand.
Granny Sun said, "Chunhua Palace wasn't originally called Chunhua Palace. It was called Fengqi Palace, and it was the residence of empresses throughout the ages."
Therefore, its location is level with that of the Guanghe Hall of the previous dynasty.
This was to highlight the status of the emperor and empress as being on equal footing.
However, during the reign of the late emperor, the empress's palace was converted into Ganquan Palace, and Fengqi Palace was left vacant.
After Consort Ye gained great favor, His Majesty renamed Phoenix Perch Palace to Spring Blossom Palace and granted it to Consort Ye to reside in.
Xie Yunyu nodded in agreement, and for some reason remembered the tunnel beneath Fenghe Garden.
Could there be an underground passage between these two places?
This way, the emperor could be replaced without anyone noticing.
Xie Yunyu was startled by her own thought.
Damn it, this is a time-travel version of "The Deer and the Cauldron"...
After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Since Consort Ye moved in, has there been any major construction or renovation of Chunhua Palace?"
The old woman replied, "Of course there are."
The late emperor was very fond of Consort Ye, and he included the entire pond of lotus flowers behind her within the boundaries of Chunhua Palace.
At that time, it wasn't enough to simply carry out large-scale construction projects.
Xie Yunyu nodded and continued, "Since then, has there been any construction work on Chunhua Palace?"
The old woman thought for a moment and said, "The flowers and trees have been replaced, and the house has been renovated, but nothing else has been touched."
After His Majesty ascended the throne, he felt that Chunhua Palace was somewhat over the bounds of regulations, so he restored it to its original size.
They rezoned out that lotus pond, and that involved half a month of construction work.
Xie Yunyu nodded, then pointed to the easternmost room, the one closest to Guanghe Hall, and asked:
Where is that?
Neither the old woman nor Le Shou answered.
Suddenly, a palace maid spoke up: "Your Highness, that is a deserted little courtyard, and no one goes there usually."
Xie Yunyu nodded and asked again, "Where is Consort Rong's bedroom?"
The old woman pointed to the main hall and said, "It's right there."
Xie Yunyu nodded and led everyone down from the corner tower.
Upon seeing her, the eldest princess hurriedly asked, "Have you found anything?"
Xie Yunyu nodded: "It's just my speculation, and it still needs to be confirmed."
He then took a piece of paper and marked the two specific locations he had been looking at.
The Empress came over, took a look, and said, "Yes, that's the position."
The eldest princess asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Xie Yunyu drew a horizontal line between the two and said:
"What if there are underground tunnels connecting them?"
The Empress and the Eldest Princess were taken aback. The Empress said:
"I've never heard of a tunnel below."
Xie Yunyu looked at the Empress and said, "There is an underground passage between Fenghe Garden and Chengming Garden."
The eldest princess nodded in agreement: "Yes, that's possible."
"Where do we find the tunnel entrance?"
Xie Yunyu thought for a moment and said, "The tunnels in Fenghe Garden and Chengming Garden are connected to the well by artificial hills."
Chunhua Palace doesn't have artificial hills, so we'll check the wells first.
His Majesty was replaced so quietly that I suspect the tunnel leads to His Majesty's bedroom.
So this one might also be inside the sleeping quarters.
After accepting that the emperor was an imposter, the eldest princess now seems capable of accepting anything, no matter how unbelievable.
So he nodded: "Yes, what you said makes sense. Let's investigate as soon as possible."
Xie Yunyu turned to look at Le Shou: "You take some men and stay behind to help me search the palace."
I'll leave the well-keeping to Mother.
Oh, and pay special attention to that abandoned little courtyard on the far east side.
The Empress glanced at the palace maid beside her and said:
"You're in charge of this well area, go ahead."
After making the arrangements, he took the Princess and Xie Yunyu to Consort Rong's bedchamber.
After the Empress and the Eldest Princess entered, they sat on round stools by the table, their eyes fixed on Xie Yunyu.
Xie Yunyu stood in the middle of the house, looked around, and then went straight to the bed.
"Someone, remove the curtains," Xie Yunyu said.
The palace servants moved forward silently and quickly, removing the curtains from the couch.
Xie Yunyu circled the tent once, a slight smile playing on her lips.
This bed is like a kang (a heated brick bed), and there seems to be a lot of space underneath.
"Move away all the bedding and other items, leaving the tatami mat empty."
Xie Yunyu continued to give instructions.
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