Chapter 232 - Infiltration
"Useless!" He was so angry that he smashed another vase in the study. "A bunch of useless people! They can't even handle such a small matter!" The spy's disappearance meant that Guixu Sect had noticed and detained him without hesitation. This was a naked provocation!
"Your Highness, please calm down," the staff member trembled with fear. "I'm afraid the Guixu Sect's move is intended to test us, or perhaps as a warning. We..."
"Probing? Warning?" Prince Jing's eyes were sinister. "I want to see how capable they are! Send more people! No need to hide anymore. Put pressure on me and test their limits! Also... send a message to the palace and have Concubine Li find a way to get His Majesty to..."
Before he could finish his words, another confidant hurried in and handed him a secret letter.
Prince Jing's face darkened after reading it. The letter had come from his spies in the palace, saying someone had been secretly investigating the fate of the immortal concubine from over twenty years ago, even contacting some elderly people...
Fairy Concubine…Luo Hongyi…
Prince Jing crumpled the letter into a ball! He was finally certain that the woman who poisoned him was targeting the past! How much did she know? What did she want to do?
A sense of panic gripped him, as if things were about to get out of control. He had to stabilize Luo Hongyi as soon as possible!
"Prepare the car! I want to go to the God Burial Abyss in person!" Prince Jing stood up suddenly. He decided to meet Luo Hongyi in person. Maybe he could throw out some bait, such as the news that her mother might not be dead, to stabilize her first, and then make plans later!
However, when he arrived at the Burial God Abyss with a large number of guards and asked to see Luo Hongyi, he only received a cold response from Chu Linyuan: "She's not here."
You're not in the sect at this critical moment?!
Prince Jing's heart skipped a beat. That ominous premonition reached its peak! Where had she gone? Did she go...to Kyoto?! To the palace?!
"Master Chu! I have something important to discuss with Miss Luo, which concerns the whereabouts of her biological mother! Please give me some convenience!" Prince Jing suppressed his anxiety and tried to put pressure on her.
Chu Linyuan simply stood outside the sect's formation, his black robe fluttering, his aura as unfathomable as the abyss. He didn't even unsheath his sword, but uttered a single word: "Wait."
Endless pressure spread out, making it difficult for the guards of Prince Jing's Mansion to breathe and afraid to move.
Prince Jing's face turned pale. He knew the other party wouldn't buy it. Continuing to hold on was pointless and could only put him in danger.
Without Luo Hongyi, his plan would be completely ruined! He must return to Beijing immediately!
"Let's go!" Prince Jing almost gritted his teeth and spat out these three words. He hurriedly left with his men in a panic. Alarm bells were ringing in his heart, and he just wanted to get back to his nest as soon as possible.
What he didn't know was that while he was on his way to the Burial of Gods Abyss, Luo Hongyi, Xie Zhao, and Su Tang, who was good at hiding and recording, had already obtained some of the palace's formation vulnerability maps and fragmentary intelligence provided by Su Tang's live broadcast room.
He disguised himself and quietly sneaked into the capital of the Dayan Dynasty. He even contacted several old palace maids who had served in the palace of Luo Hongyi's mother, Concubine Jin.
Just as they expected, Concubine Jin was extremely generous and kind to others in her past. Even after she lost power, many of her old friends were still grateful for her kindness.
From the fragmentary, sad and fearful accounts of these old palace servants, a tragic picture of the concubine gradually became clear, which also confirmed some of the previous information.
Finally, an old eunuch, almost at the end of his life, trembled and said another key name: "Cold Palace... Xinzheku... Concubine Zhao... She... She was once a close friend of Concubine Jin... Because she spoke up for the Empress... she was..."
After getting the clue, the three of them immediately managed to sneak into the cold palace area which was as silent and desolate as a tomb. In a dilapidated palace room, they found Concubine Zhao, who had already gone mad and had a head full of white hair, but still showed her former glory.
She was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused, and kept muttering words like "Sister Jin", "child", "poisonous...such a vicious plan...", "Queen...Concubine Li..." and so on.
From her confusing and fear-filled narrative, an even more horrifying truth emerged - the conspiracy back then was far more vicious and complicated than they had imagined, and involved even more people!
"Time is running out. We have to go to Prince Jing's Mansion. Then we can rescue Concubine Zhao." Xie Zhao calculated the time and said to Luo Hongyi who looked angry.
"Let's go..."
The night was as dark as ink, and Prince Jing's mansion was like a dormant giant beast, hidden deep in the bustling Kyoto.
Inside the high walls, the patrolling guards' footsteps were orderly and heavy, and in the dark, countless auras, some bright and some dark, intertwined to form a tight security network.
Three ghostly figures, with the help of the shadow escape talisman carefully drawn by Xie Zhao and the shadow incense prepared by Luo Hongyi that can perfectly blend into the night, sneaked into this dangerous place silently.
"The team on the left consists of three people. They will patrol crosswise after half an incense stick of time." Su Tang's low voice was transmitted to the ears of Xie Zhao and Luo Hongyi through the miniature communication talisman.
She hovered in the shadow of a towering tower outside the palace, her psychic eyes flickering in the night. Adjusting the angle of the image stone in her hand, she relayed the patrol's route, the positions of the sentries, and even the subtle energy fluctuations at certain formation nodes, clearly feeding the two below her. She was the eyes and ears of this operation.
Xie Zhao held his breath and concentrated, the Jinghong Talisman Pen trembling imperceptibly at his fingertips, ready to draw runes to break the ban or create illusions at any time.
Luo Hongyi was like a poisonous snake in the dark night, sensing any unusual medicinal or poisonous smell in the air. A faint dark green mist lingered on her fingertips, which could both give an early warning and instantly make any guards who accidentally approached faint.
The three of them worked in perfect harmony, like a precise scalpel, accurately avoiding wave after wave of patrols and bypassing one hidden trigger formation after another.
"According to the vague memories of those old eunuchs and the rough layout of the palace provided by Senior Mo Chen," Xie Zhao said in a voice transmission, "the study is a key area, and there must be a secret room. But the entrance is probably extremely hidden."
They slithered through the shadows of the buildings like geckos, finally arriving at the heart of the palace—the courtyard where Prince Jing's study lay. The study was brightly lit, clearly indicating the owner hadn't yet rested, but there was no sign of anyone inside, suggesting he had temporarily left.
"Opportunity!" Xie Zhao's eyes flashed.
The three of them slipped into the study like a wisp of smoke. The study was luxuriously decorated, with ancient books and antiques aplenty, but none of them had the heart to admire them.
"Search separately! Pay attention to the trap!" Xie Zhao whispered.
Luo Hongyi's gaze swept over the various jades and porcelains on the antique display shelf, a faint venomous mist emanating from her fingertips, sensing the subtle differences in the materials. Su Tang, on the other hand, carefully scanned every inch of the walls and floor with her image stone, searching for any potential energy gaps or mechanical structures.
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