A close call
Flames erupted instantly within Xiling City, accompanied by screams. Tang Feng and his companions at the imperial mausoleum also heard the commotion. "It seems it has begun... Let's go!" Tang Feng activated the mechanism to open the secret passage and headed towards the underground palace. Lin Siwen and Li Yunyu followed behind, while Zhou Ziliang brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for anyone else. Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Li Yunyu asked, "Sir... why must you execute Consort Rong? You executed Fourth Brother to prevent him from releasing a tiger back into the mountains, but Consort Rong is a woman of virtue, why must she also be executed?" Tang Feng, carrying a torch, walked ahead. The underground palace was eerily quiet, save for the echoes of their voices and the patter of water droplets on the rocks. "How much do you know about Pu Yuan?" Tang Feng continued walking without stopping. Li Yunyu shook his head and looked at Lin Siwen. Lin Siwen replied, "We might not know much, but if the late Crown Prince were still alive, he might know something. As for Pu Yuan, since they split off from Da Ruan, they are still considered the legitimate successors of Da Ruan. We, on the other hand, seem like rebels. So His Majesty rarely allowed the mention of Pu Yuan back then, so by the time it came to us... we hadn't heard anything about it." Tang Feng smiled. "When I was young, I entered the palace by mistake and overheard some dissenting words. Since then, I've been hunted down. However, I fell off my horse at the time and don't remember anything from before... Later, after Han Jiuhua died, I thought it wasn't impossible that Li Yunheng and Rong Ji wanted to kill me. After all, they probably knew very well that I helped the Ninth Prince seize the throne. But why did they start hunting me when I was only sixteen?" Kill? I only found out later... It turns out Consort Rong was Pu Yuan's spy. But I admire her; navigating the palace for decades is something not everyone can do... So... you must find out the truth before killing her. Make them spill everything they know and don't know." A fierce glint flashed in Tang Feng's eyes. "I didn't want to do this, but if we don't eliminate the threat completely, things will be very difficult later." Li Yunyu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Sir... how did you know Consort Rong was Pu Yuan's spy? Did someone tell you?" Tang Feng smiled, not intending to reveal Su Zili's existence. "It was just an old acquaintance who told me." Zhou Ziliang, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly spoke up. "An old acquaintance? Xiao Feng, you have an old acquaintance I don't know?" Tang Feng was a little embarrassed; he'd almost forgotten Zhou Ziliang was there. He pulled Zhou Ziliang aside. "It's Su Zili..."
Zhou Ziliang was stunned, looking at Tang Feng with some shock, and asked in a low voice, "You saw him?" Tang Feng nodded, "If I didn't see him, how could I dare to go see Li Linglan so openly alone?" He took out Su Zili's letter and waved it, "Now I can only gamble that his late-blooming love is worth less than grass. After all these years... you should have figured it out by now. The sins I committed before the new year should be repaid now."
Seeing the two of them gossiping amongst themselves, not letting anyone hear, Li Yunyu whispered to Lin Siwen, "What do you think they're saying, sir...? They won't let us know. Could it be sweet nothings between husband and wife...? But aren't we on important business?" Lin Siwen nodded in understanding. "Sir, what are your plans after entering the palace?"
"You and the Ninth Prince take these people and go deal with Consort Rong's matter first. Ziliang and I will go to Li Linglan's side." Lin Siwen nodded. "Be careful. Although the sounds of the siege outside will distract the people from the Protectorate,... His Majesty may also have some people around him, so please be careful." Hearing Lin Siwen's instructions, Tang Feng nodded and smiled. "I know, don't worry, I have Ziliang." Watching Lin Siwen and Li Yunyu leave, only Tang Feng and Zhou Ziliang remained in the underground palace. Tang Feng took a few steps and then stopped. "I think I'll go in alone first. You go check on Brother Chen and the others."
"No way." Zhou Ziliang refused without even thinking. "Do you think this is a court session? What if something goes wrong?"
“I won’t be fooled by him a second time. As the saying goes, ‘once bitten, twice shy.’ Don’t worry. Although General Meng is brave and skilled in battle, he’s not exactly a commander-in-chief. You’ll have to lead the troops. After all, the Dingbei army has many soldiers, and they are all your trusted men. General Meng must be having a hard time commanding them.” Seeing Tang Feng’s insistence, Zhou Ziliang didn’t say anything. He gently pulled Tang Feng into his arms and sighed, “You… what can I say to you… Fine, you knew I would listen to you. Okay… then be careful.” Tang Feng smiled, “It’s alright… why are you so nervous?” Zhou Ziliang was amused by Tang Feng. He reached out and pulled Tang Feng’s waist into his arms, gently kissing him, “You’re going to risk your life yourself, and you won’t even let me be nervous for a moment? Isn’t Xiao Feng being a little petty?”
"You'll have to put up with it anyway. If you can't take it, you can always get a divorce, right?"
"Of course not."
Seeing Zhou Ziliang's serious expression, Tang Feng couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright, alright, I agree. Can you let go of me now? Things are more important. If you keep holding me like this, when will I be able to go in?" Zhou Ziliang released his grip and gently kissed the corner of Tang Feng's mouth, "Go ahead, be careful."
Tang Feng turned around and rolled his eyes. "You really know how to take advantage... One kiss isn't enough... You charge for another kiss next time... Honestly."
"Xiao Feng, what are you muttering about?"
Realizing his complaints had been overheard, Tang Feng gave an awkward laugh. "It's nothing... I just think... it's pretty good. I'm leaving now. Also... see you at Zhaixing Pavilion. Tell Brother Meng and the others to attack the palace as soon as they see Zhaixing Pavilion on fire."
Tang Feng walked out of the underground palace and finally came out of the Empress Dowager's study. Hearing the noise outside, he knew that the palace must be in chaos. Tang Feng left the Empress Dowager's palace by moonlight and walked towards Emperor Yun's bedroom by memory. At this moment, he heard the sound of horses' hooves. Tang Feng held his breath and hid by the wall to peek out to see what was going on. But before he could peek out, an arrow grazed his cheek and dripped blood onto his collar. Tang Feng touched his stinging cheek and took two steps back, only to see Sima Ru sitting on his horse, bow and arrow in hand, looking at him. Although Sima Ru was wearing a mask, it couldn't suppress the murderous aura emanating from him. Tang Feng took a few steps back, only to hear Sima Ru say with a smile, "Lord Tang... how have you been? We are ordered to kill anyone who tries to enter the main hall, whether Lord Tang is human or ghost... none of you can pass." He then drew his bow, aimed at Tang Feng, and was about to shoot. Tang Feng hurriedly ran back, but because he was unfamiliar with the palace's layout, he was quickly cornered. Looking at the high wall behind him, Tang Feng felt a cold sweat break out on his back. Listening to the approaching hoofbeats, it was as if the world had stopped.
"Hey bro, what are you standing there for!" Tang Feng looked up and saw Zhang Mobai clinging to the wall, just like when they first met. Tang Feng quickly snapped out of his daze, grabbed Zhang Mobai's outstretched hand, and climbed over to the other side of the wall. The two sat down under the wall until the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance. Only then did Zhang Mobai let out a long sigh of relief, then looked at Tang Feng and punched him in the chest. "You didn't say a word while you were alive! Everyone was worried sick!" Tang Feng rubbed his aching chest and smiled. "Luckily I was rescued... otherwise you wouldn't have had anywhere to punch me..."
"You're feeling better? I don't want to see you sickly again."
Tang Feng nodded. "I want to get back what Li Linglan owes me... My father's life... It's not something he can just take away. Even imperial power has its rise and fall." Seeing that Tang Feng was much more ruthless than before, Zhang Mobai felt more at ease and gently hugged Tang Feng. "Little brother... Welcome back."
"I'm sorry... I've entrusted you with too much... All these years, you've been implicated because of me." Tang Feng patted Zhang Mobai's back. "This time... I won't be soft-hearted anymore. Otherwise, I'll really be letting you down." Hearing the shouts of battle outside, Zhang Mobai frowned. "Where's Ziliang? He actually let you enter the palace alone. Ever since your affair with the Ninth Prince came to light, His Majesty has ordered the Protectorate to patrol the palace every day in case of emergency. But His Majesty probably didn't expect you to still be alive... You didn't even bring any men with you into the palace. If Lin Siwen hadn't told me this news a couple of days ago, were you planning to wait until the Ninth Prince ascended the throne before telling me?"
"Lin Siwen told you?" Tang Feng was somewhat surprised, after all, he hadn't told Lin Siwen to tell Zhang Mobai about the plan, fearing he would worry about him. He hadn't expected Lin Siwen to secretly tell Zhang Mobai. "Yes, he said the palace is fraught with danger, and you didn't know that since you just got back, so he told me to wait in the palace. I didn't expect to actually run into it." Tang Feng smiled awkwardly. "I didn't expect to be saved by a junior."
"Don't underestimate him. He's incredibly smart, shrewd as an inch. But you didn't make a mistake in saving him back then. So, you could say you didn't lose by all means."
Tang Feng smiled helplessly. "Alright, the pursuers are gone. I'll wait for Ziliang; I have something to tell him."
Zhang Mobai looked at Tang Feng with disdain, "Tsk tsk tsk, you've seen him for so long and you still have things to say to him... Alright, alright, I won't bother you anymore. Let's get together later. It's been so long since we sat down and had a drink together. Let's have one after this is over, until we're all drunk!"
"Alright, let's drink until we drop."
Seeing Zhang Mobai leave, Tang Feng turned to look at the Zhaixing Pavilion, the highest observation deck in the palace, and slowly walked towards it. Tang Feng lifted his clothes and climbed to the top of the Zhaixing Pavilion under the moonlight, overlooking Xiling City. At this time, Xiling City was already ablaze with flames, and screams were continuous. Suddenly, Tang Feng was hugged by someone. "Is everything taken care of?"
"It's all taken care of. What are you looking at now?"
"I'm watching... the imperial power that Emperor Yun cares about and the Xiling City that he controls. Xiling City... has witnessed so many joys and sorrows."
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