It's hard to tell who's friend and who's foe.
She was shocked, firstly because she didn't know who this person was, and secondly because she didn't know how much of her conversation with Li Lanxiu had been overheard by him.
However, since things had come to this, she suppressed her panic and calmly curtsied.
The man sized her up without saying a word, then slightly turned half his body to let her pass.
On her way back, she racked her brains, repeatedly replaying and examining the process of meeting the man in her mind.
Li Lanxiu had never acted like an official in front of her, but when this conversation ended, she suddenly coughed in a pretentious manner, clearly indicating that she should leave, as if she had already noticed who had come.
In fact, in terms of martial arts skills, she was no less skilled than Li Lanxiu. There must have been a reason why Li Lanxiu was willing to befriend her. However, at that time, she was preoccupied with Yanxiu's matter and was also extremely nervous for fear of being discovered by Li Lanxiu, so she had no time to pay attention to anything else and did not hear the person coming from outside.
Therefore, the visitor could only hear the last few sentences of their exchange at most.
She recalled their last few exchanges one by one.
Li Lanxiu said, "Five years ago, when my father died on the battlefield as an ordinary soldier, it was the Grand Secretary Shangguan who specially allowed me to inherit the military rank and promoted me to the Shenji Camp. After that, I relied on my own abilities to rise step by step into the Imperial Guard system and reach my current position. Since Grand Secretary Shangguan's niece is in trouble, and it is also your request, Lingying, I cannot refuse."
“She hasn’t been happy in the palace all these years, so it’s perfectly normal for her to want to go back to her parents’ home for a while.”
Li Lanxiu then ended the conversation with a cough.
"You may return first. I will take care of what you have to say."
She replied, "Thank you for your trouble, Sister Lanxiu. I'll head back now."
That was all the person heard. But inevitably, he mentioned "Lord Shangguan's niece" and "she hasn't been happy in the palace all these years."
With these two conditions combined, anyone with a little imagination can guess that it refers to Empress Yanxiu.
Zhao Lingying was like a cat with its fur standing on end, her whole being tense, as if she had a thorn in her side.
Yanxiu's plan must not have any flaws.
We need to find out who that person is before we can think of a solution.
Of course, she could also trust her sworn sister. Since Li Lanxiu had decided to get involved, she must have her own way of covering it up in front of that person.
It is unknown who that person is, who can enter and leave Li Lanxiu's guard camp without being notified.
Judging from the color of his uniform, he was a colleague of Li Lanxiu at the same rank. Their military uniforms were identical in style.
He must have a very close relationship with Li Lanxiu to be able to do this without being informed.
The more Zhao Lingying pondered, the calmer she became, and more clues kept emerging in her mind.
Given that he and Li Lanxiu were both commanders of the Imperial Guard and had a close relationship, coupled with the fact that they were of similar age and appearance, the answer to who this person was was already obvious.
Since Yanxiu became pregnant, Zhao Lingying had already put considerable effort into understanding the personnel matters within the palace, so she wasn't entirely clueless. Because her ambition was to assist Yanxiu in ascending the throne and becoming the master of the Golden Palace, many relationships needed to be sorted out starting now. Her act of befriending Li Lanxiu was also a move made under this mindset.
Xie Lang, the third son of the Xie family.
Even when Zhao Lingying was far away in Wu County, he knew that the Xie family was a noble family among the powerful clans of the time. Although they did not show off their talents, their members were mostly unrestrained and carefree. Their influence and strength accumulated over generations were comparable to that of the Shangguan family.
If they could win him over, it would be equivalent to having the support of the Xie family. Because the Xie family is now fading into obscurity, among the current generation still serving in the palace, only Xie Lang has the seniority to serve as a strategist in the Tiger Guard.
However, it's unclear whether this person is friend or foe, and what she cares about most is Yanxiu's plan. She absolutely cannot let any information leak out from her and ruin everything.
After that, she visited Qiwu Palace even less often, and would occasionally inquire about Xie Lang from Li Lanxiu, intentionally or unintentionally.
She said, "Was that the person I met at Sister Lanxiu's place last time General Xie? Sister Lanxiu seems to have a good relationship with him, as she allows him to enter her home."
Li Lanxiu was wiping the sword when he heard these words and paused involuntarily.
That sword gleamed like cold light on snow, light yet sharp, clearly a masterpiece at first glance.
The Wu region was renowned for its sword forging, boasting famous swordsmiths like Gan Jiang and Mo Xie in ancient times. Zhao Lingying could clearly see the two characters "Xiuyi" engraved on the sword. With her keen eye, she estimated the sword to be worth no less than a hundred taels of gold, something only a powerful and wealthy family could possess. She felt slightly puzzled; given Li Lanxiu's frugal and simple lifestyle, how could he have acquired such a renowned sword?
She was so focused on finding out about Xie Lang and Li Lanxiu's relationship that she didn't have time to think about anything else.
Li Lanxiu straightened up, smiled and looked at her, saying, "It's rare to see Lingying paying attention to a strange man, especially one you've only met once. What, Lingying, would you like me to introduce you to him?"
Zhao Lingying was slightly taken aback, and immediately realized that Li Lanxiu had misunderstood. In a flash, she replied, "I had no such intention. It's just that the matter I asked Sister Lanxiu for last time is not something to be discussed with outsiders." She paused deliberately and drew out her voice, "I just don't know if this person is considered Sister Lanxiu's 'insider' or 'outsider'."
Li Lanxiu chuckled and said, "To me, he is indeed not an outsider. My transfer to the Imperial Guard and my promotion all the way to this point are inseparable from Brother Xie's help. But don't worry, as long as it's something I don't want him to know, no matter whether he hears it or not, or how much he hears, he will pretend he didn't hear anything."
She emphasized, "This is what a true confidant is like."
Therefore, for many years afterward, she regarded what happened that night as an accident.
That happened on the night of Yanxiu's daughter's full moon celebration.
Yanxiu had already told her that after giving birth to her daughter, she would stay until the day her daughter turned one month old, and that night she would put everything down and leave Jianzhang Palace.
She added, "That night, don't come to see me off. Stay in your weaving room and pretend you know nothing."
He then calmly added, “Whether I succeed or not, the palace will be in chaos the next day. Everyone connected to me will be subjected to torture. Therefore, you must remain calm and act as if you know nothing about what happens to me or whether I leave successfully.”
Looking back, Yanxiu's instructions were actually a bit strange.
If Yanxiu manages to leave successfully, that's fine. But if something happens to her, she's just a weak and helpless weaving master who only knows how to embroider and sew. Why should Yanxiu advise her to stay put? Does she think she can storm the imperial prison or the execution ground?
She then said self-deprecatingly, "Fortunately, in this palace, apart from Jinlan, no one else is considered my person, and she will go with me. The entire Qiwu Palace is managed by Aunt Chu, so it won't be a burden to anyone else."
She knew that Yanxiu was right, but she was still worried that Yanxiu's efforts would be in vain. Therefore, she informed Li Lanxiu several days in advance and repeatedly confirmed that everything was in order.
That night, the sound of the water clock in the palace seemed particularly long to her. Everyone else had gone back to sleep, but she lied and said she had work to finish, staying in the weaving room alone, facing the oil lamp, stitch by stitch, mending the endless night.
She couldn't go back, because if she did, she wouldn't be able to find an excuse to come out again. But if she stayed in the weaving room, and something happened, she could use official business as an excuse to go to Qiwu Palace or the Tiger Guard Camp.
Yanxiu's desperate and earth-shattering move was something that no one had ever done in the hundreds of years since Jianzhang Palace existed.
I wonder if this golden sparrow can fly out of this century-old golden cage on her own.
In the cramped workshop, a thin lamp on her workbench burned until well past midnight.
After the third drumbeat sounded in the palace, Zhao Lingying rubbed her sleepy eyes, straightened up, blew out the oil lamp, left the workbench, locked the door of the weaving room, and prepared to go back.
The reason she's sitting here tonight is simply because she's so distraught that she needs to find something to do to distract herself from her anxiety.
In this state of mind, it's impossible to fall asleep.
But by this time, it was past the third watch of the night, and the day was considered over. Since nothing unusual had occurred in the palace before, Yanxiu had most likely already left safely.
She had just stepped into the corridor of the weaving room when she suddenly froze.
In the southeast corner, one could vaguely see a large group of people, their armor gleaming, and their numbers were certainly not small.
Beside her on the palace road, a patrol of Imperial Guards soldiers was hurrying along, their armor gleaming, heading southeast.
The southeast corner is the direction of Qiwu Palace.
Torches were being lit up one after another on the city walls and the walls of various courtyards within the palace.
At this time when a curfew should have been in effect, the Imperial Guards suddenly mobilized in such a grand manner, which must mean something serious has happened.
Her heart sank, and she felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, her whole body turning cold.
Disregarding everything else, she hastily grabbed the last Imperial Guard soldier in the column and asked, "May I ask, brother, what has happened in the palace?"
The soldier, who was initially impatient, softened a little when he saw the stunning beauty of the female official in the firelight and her frightened and anxious expression. He replied in a gentle voice, "The higher-ups only said that the entire palace was under martial law and that they were searching for escaped criminals, but they didn't tell us what had happened."
He added considerately, "In any case, it won't have anything to do with the Shaofu. Look, we're going to Qiwu Palace; most likely, someone was taken away there."
After saying this, the man left with the group, leaving her behind, pale-faced and swaying precariously.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and she ran like a madwoman towards the Tiger Legion's guard camp.
We need to find Li Lanxiu.
Such a major event required the mobilization of the entire Imperial Guard; she must know something about the cause and effect.
When later generations recorded history, they would only mention that Zhao Lingying, the head of the Dayan Lantai, was exceptionally talented and resourceful, the most talented woman of her time, but they would never mention that night when she staggered and ran away, looking miserable and flustered.
Never before had she been clearer than she was then that she still had a long way to go and needed to grow in order to protect the people she wanted to protect and do what she wanted to do.
As she stumbled and rushed to the outside of Li Lanxiu's camp, she was intercepted by a man standing with his hand on his sword.
Forgetting her composure any longer, she peered inside, only to find the camp flickering with firelight, but completely deserted. She cried out in alarm, "General Xie, Sister Lanxiu…"
She had only met this man once, but secretly researched his name before she could call him by name. She wandered aimlessly through the palace all night, not caring how suspicious this behavior would seem to a Tiger General.
Xie Lang calmly sized her up, just like last time.
After a moment, he said, "Lanxiu is drunk tonight, so I'll be on duty for her. It's fortunate she's not here, so this trouble in the palace won't affect her."
These words were like a bucket of cold water, gradually waking her up.
She asked in a daze, "What... disaster?"
Xie Lang moved closer to her, staring intently at her, and said in a very low voice, "The Empress's plan to elope with someone has been stopped by His Majesty himself."
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