readytorunbook Chapter 392: Face is the Pass
Chapter 392: Face is the Pass
Zhou Chang took the skinny monkey to Xiayuan.
Along the way, he pretended to be concerned about the fire and the assassin, but when he arrived at the imperial physician's office, he learned that Xu Wei was summoned to Shufangyuan, the home of Concubine Yi, Gu, because he felt unwell after eating too much at the Emperor Lin's dinner.
Could it be that the one who is ill is Emperor Lin?
Zhou Chang couldn't help but feel suspicious, so he turned around and took the skinny monkey to Yi Yang Gate, hiding in the dark. Gao Yuan also followed.
Yiyang Gate is the only entrance and exit between the inner and outer palaces in the Hunting Palace.
If Xu Wei wants to leave the inner palace, he will have to pass through this gate.
But after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of Xu Wei, but he received several greetings from the imperial guards.
Zhou Chang finally felt that the imperial guards did have a good impression of Prince Yi, and they were still concerned about his safety at this time and advised him to return to his residence to avoid danger.
But Zhou Chang was worried.
The original plan was to execute Xu Wei like Liu Dexia after capturing him, but it was estimated that it was too late to destroy the body like Liu Dexia.
Then there was another way, which was to dump the body in the mountains and forests, but who would have thought that Prince Duan not only set the fire but also brought in assassins, making all actions not as convenient as expected.
Judging from the letter paper dropped from Liu Dexia's body, Emperor Lin must have suddenly felt unwell and called the imperial physician Xu Wei to treat him. However, from the map passed by Peng Liang, it can be seen that the main place to be set on fire tonight is the imperial study.
According to the custom in previous years, on Concubine Yi's birthday, Emperor Lin would stay overnight in Concubine Yi's palace. At the end of the birthday banquet tonight, Emperor Lin did return to Shufang Garden with Concubine Yi's palace.
Then "being ill", "delayed", and "waiting for news" all seem to fit the bill.
However, since Emperor Lin was in Shufang Garden, and the main place in the inner palace that was set on fire was the Imperial Study, was this arson and assassination aimed at the emperor?
If it wasn't directed at the emperor, who else could it be directed at?
The situation is unclear now, and there are many people watching.
The longer Zhou Chang waited, the more he was bound to attract attention.
Moreover, now that the Hunting Palace is on fire and there are assassins, the princes who are interested should go to His Majesty to protect him. Even someone as "careless" as Prince Yi should stay indoors.
After all, tonight was not a complete waste, and she had done her best for King Yi.
When thinking this way, he did not feel any objection from Prince Yi's consciousness.
Zhou Chang had already made up his mind to retreat. Just as he was about to instruct Shouhou to hint to Gao Yuan to cancel the plan, a slender figure in a light blue scholar's robe came running from the west side of the palace wall.
Although there was an anxious look on Wen Qingyan's face, the light from his aquamarine gown was even more dazzling under the moonlight.
Zhou Chang was stunned. Why did he suddenly appear here?
He immediately realized that there could be no other reason why Wen Qingyan was here. He must be worried about Yuan Qi.
Wen Qingyan was panting and in a panic. He turned a corner and rushed directly into Yi Yang Gate without any hindrance.
Jingyang Hunting Palace is not like Dalin Palace. Yiyang Gate is the only gate among the four gates of the inner palace that is connected to the outer palace. Now that the Hunting Palace is in chaos, Yiyang Gate is wide open and there is no one guarding it. She was so busy thinking about Xu Wei's affairs that she didn't notice anything unusual.
The imperial guards who were supposed to be guarding the gate were all transferred away, and the eunuchs who were originally on duty also disappeared.
Zhou Chang had a strange feeling, and then he remembered that he had promised Yuan Qi to pick her up, so he whispered to Gao Yuan: "Gao Yuan, the rest of the plan has been cancelled. You go back to Laiwu Garden first, and Skinny Monkey and I will go pick up the princess."
"Your Highness, not only was there an arsonist in the Hunting Palace tonight, but there were also assassins. I'm afraid..." Gao Yuan was worried.
"I don't know where the guards at Yi Yang Gate have gone. I'm worried about the princess. However, Yi Yang Gate is the inner palace after all. If you barge in rashly and are discovered, you will have a hard time explaining yourself." Zhou Chang was only concerned about this.
Gao Yuan groaned: "I will still follow in secret and protect the prince."
"No," Zhou Chang still denied, "Didn't you see how many imperial guards have entered at this time? The inner palace is different from the outer palace. There are so many people and it's hard for you to hide. You'd better go back first. I think I'm familiar with the imperial guards, so there's no danger. Don't worry."
Gao Yuan thought about it again, and then nodded: "In this case, Your Majesty, please be careful. I will go back first."
Zhou Chang nodded, then stood up and rushed into Yi Yang Gate with Skinny Monkey, chasing in the direction of Wen Qingyan.
In the inner palace, there is the imperial study on the east side, the Xiangluan Hall in the middle, and the Shufang Garden, Jingshan Pavilion and other residences for concubines on the west side.
At this time, black smoke was billowing from the direction of the imperial study on the east side, while there seemed to be no movement on the west side.
Zhou Chang took the skinny monkey and headed directly west. According to the map given by Peng Liang, the fire in the inner palace could only be in the imperial study in the east, so the west should be safe.
However, the further west we went, the more shouts and cries for help we heard.
The shouts for catching the assassin never stopped, but it seemed that no one was caught.
After turning a corner, Zhou Chang vaguely caught up with Wen Qingyan.
Wen Qingyan, dressed in a light blue gown, was anxiously searching ahead. He would ask questions when he caught someone, and was also looking for the palace where Concubine Qin lived.
The eunuchs and palace maids fled in panic, and no one questioned or stopped him.
Could it be that because he is good-looking, his face can be used as a pass?
Zhou Chang was wondering when a black shadow flashed before his eyes.
"Your Highness..." The skinny monkey grabbed him, his teeth chattering, "There seems to be an assassin over there..."
Not far away, the bamboo forest was swaying and shadows were vague.
"The assassin is over there..." followed by the shouts of the Imperial Guards. The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, Tang Mao, led his men to chase after them, but this time he did not pay attention to them.
Zhou Chang clearly saw a figure in black disappear behind the bamboo forest.
The imperial guards pursued relentlessly but were unable to enter the bamboo forest.
Zhou Chang turned around to look for Wen Qingyan, but he was nowhere to be found.
"No matter what, let's go pick up the princess and leave." Zhou Chang felt fear for no reason and quickened his pace.
Continuing westward, we saw another canal in front of us. If we wanted to pass through it, we had to go around to an arch bridge more than ten meters away.
A waterside pavilion and flower garden was built on the other side of the canal, which was the only way from north to west to Yunshui Pavilion where Concubine Qin lived.
Zhou Chang ran all the way without taking a breath. Before he even got onto the arch bridge, he heard a palace maid screaming on the other side of the river: "There's an assassin..."
Under the moonlight, it was visible from afar that a palace maid ran out of Yunshui Pavilion on the other side of the canal, shouting as she ran: "Help, there's an assassin, there's an assassin..."
Zhou Chang was startled and looked again. Along with the screams of many women, Concubine Qin Sun with Feng Suo, Yuan Qi with Yuan Jie, surrounded by a group of eunuchs and palace maids, all ran out in panic.
Several men in black followed closely behind and actually flew out from Yunshui Pavilion.
One of the black-clad assassins went straight for Yuan Qi and Yuan Jie.
"Be careful..." Zhou Chang exclaimed, but unfortunately he was out of reach.
Yuan Qi and Yuan Jie were followed by Lu Ju and Lu Ping. The man in black attacked them, and seeing that they could not avoid him, Lu Ping turned around and counterattacked, using her body to hit him.