On the morning of the fifth day after He Yunxiao left Yinjing, after a long journey, he finally arrived safely in Jingtian City, the capital of Yan Kingdom, with the two female protagonists.
If you include Nangong Yu'er, who was passing by, he actually brought three female leads with him.
To keep a low profile, He Yunxiao deliberately had Ma De stop the car to repair it when they were almost at Jingtian City. When Nangong Yu'er, who was traveling slowly, caught up from behind and asked for help quite eagerly, he made an excuse to let Nangong Yu'er go first.
As expected, with that young woman's air of authority, she became the center of attention the moment she entered Jingtian. Even royalty and nobility had never seen the lavish, gold-plated carriage belonging to the young master of Tingfeng Tower, let alone ordinary people. The streets of Jingtian were deserted as everyone flocked to see what the "daughter of the world's richest man" looked like.
Taking advantage of Nangong Yu'er's popularity, He Yunxiao, along with two equally unassuming female leads, quietly slipped into Yinjing City.
Upon entering Jingtian City, the first thing they needed to do was to meet with the Qi Kingdom's spies stationed there.
Qi was not as good as Yan in terms of espionage, but it was not without preparation.
The Office of the Vice Minister of Revenue of the Yan State.
The Vice Minister of Revenue was a position in the Ministry of Revenue second only to the Minister, holding the rank of third grade, which was already a very high core official position in the court.
"Lord Qian, this is Zhang Lingshan, this is my younger sister Zhang Lingrou, and this is Miss Chu Xiaoxiao," He Yunxiao said respectfully. The name "Zhang Wuji," which belonged to a senior, was naturally just something He Yunxiao casually used to appease Nangong Xiaoniu.
The middle-aged man, nearing fifty with graying temples, gave He Yunxiao an approving look.
"Not bad, young man. You dare to come to the den of dragons and tigers in Jingtian at such a young age."
He Yunxiao quickly replied, "It's all for the sake of Qi Kingdom and Her Highness the Princess."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two got down to business.
He Yunxiao had two things to do in Yinjing: first, to enter the palace to retrieve the border defense map; and second, to rescue Sister Jiang's parents and younger brother.
Not long ago, Qi spies in Yan attempted to rescue Sister Jiang's parents, but the attempt failed. Therefore, it is not advisable to rescue Sister Jiang's family first; instead, we should obtain the border map first, and then rescue her family.
The latter is, after all, a living person. If he disappears, the guards will discover it immediately. If a city-wide search is launched then, it will be inconvenient to do anything else.
Qian Shilang naturally couldn't produce a map of the Yan Kingdom's palace, but he drew a layout of the palace from memory.
Qi and Yan were originally one state, so the royal palaces of Yan and Qi were very similar.
The outer perimeter is surrounded by a high palace wall, followed by the main hall for court assemblies facing south, then the emperor's bedroom, the crown prince's bedroom, the harem, the rear garden, the imperial kitchen, and other facilities.
Based on the location sensing of the border defense map provided by the system, He Yunxiao only knew that the border defense map was located in the Yan Kingdom's royal palace, but he did not know exactly where it was placed. He would have to search carefully after entering the palace.
Therefore, the most important thing right now is how to infiltrate the Yan Kingdom's royal palace.
He Yunxiao didn't mince words and asked directly, "Lord Qian, do you have a way to get us into the palace?"
Minister Qian glanced at He Yunxiao and the other two, especially the delicate Chu Xiaoxiao and Meng Qingrou, and asked in surprise, "Are they going too?"
He Yunxiao said, "They will decide based on the situation. If the defenses are strong, they will go; if the defenses are weak, they will not."
Vice Minister Qian nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly realized what was absurd.
Is it that if the defenses are tight, we need to go, but if they're loose, we don't need to go? Isn't that backwards?
“Young Brother Zhang Lingshan, are you sure you’re taking them there because of the heavy guard? That’s the imperial palace, not a place for sightseeing.”
He Yunxiao naturally wouldn't reveal Chu Xiaoxiao's secret, but simply said, "They have their own methods, sir, don't worry about it. Let's talk about how to get into the palace first."
Vice Minister Qian sighed and said, "Alas, if you had come ten years ago, I would have been able to send you to the palace, but now it's not so easy."
"how so?"
"Ten years ago, there were many concubines in the palace. Anyone could write a memorial to visit their relatives if they were related to anyone. But now, about seven years ago, the current Emperor Yan has ascended the throne. He is not interested in women. There is only one princess from the Ren family living in the harem now, and she is to be supported as the empress. So there is no room for leniency."
Upon hearing the word "Empress," He Yunxiao immediately asked, "Is the Emperor of Yan surnamed Li? Does that mean he's going to marry two empresses, one surnamed Ren and the other surnamed Jiang?"
"good."
"And what about the Empress Jiang?"
Minister Qian said, "The Jiang family is thriving in this generation, with many sons but very few daughters. It is said that there is only one daughter of marriageable age, and she is being raised in another place."
He Yunxiao's mouth twitched. "Is her name Jiang Wuyou?"
Minister Qian shook his head and said, "The Li, Jiang and Ren families take turns serving as emperors of Yan. All matters involving imperial power are confidential, and I do not know the specifics."
Since he couldn't get an answer from her, He Yunxiao gave up on asking.
Anyway, Sister Jiang is safe and sound living in the Marquis's mansion. Once the border defense plan is completed and her parents are rescued and returned to Qi, the Yan Emperor will have nothing to restrain Sister Jiang. At that time, who will care about the Yan Emperor's messy affairs?
The topic then returns to how one enters the palace.
Minister Qian said, “There is a purchasing agent in the palace who is a spy from our Qi state. If you want to enter the palace, you can hide in the wagon he is pulling. However, the Imperial Guards check these goods entering the palace very strictly, and you may not be able to avoid being discovered.”
"Imperial Guards?" He Yunxiao asked in return.
"This is what the current Yan Emperor has done. A group of warriors who bring knives into the palace are the Yan Emperor's confidants and henchmen. They can kill people at will and are not held accountable by the Ministry of Justice."
He Yunxiao nodded. This was a bit different from Mengbao's "female servant with a knife," but more like the "Imperial Guard."
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