jdhmnovel Chapter 114 The concubine who died young in the novel "The Emperor Takes His Minister's Wi
Chapter 114 The concubine who died young in the novel "The Emperor Takes His Minister's Wi
That night, the Qianqing Palace was brightly lit.
Le Yan had something weighing on her mind and wasn't sleepy at all.
Lying on the soft couch, she held a storybook in her hands, while Li Li next to her waved a fan, and Hongdou on the other side was learning to embroider with a pile of needles and thread.
Looking at the water clock on the table, Li Li whispered a reminder: "Your Majesty, it's already past midnight (11 PM), you should rest."
Hearing this, Le Yan gently shook her head: "I'm not sleepy yet. If you're tired, you can go downstairs. Hong Dou can keep me company."
According to the book's timeline, the night raid on the Imperial Ancestral Temple occurred at midnight, which made it impossible for her to sleep.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Li Li could only shut up and quietly stand by.
There was no way he could step down; he had to stay by the Empress's side at all times.
In the darkness of the palace, even if someone hurried back and forth, it would be easy to conceal their presence.
Disguised as a eunuch, Song Xue'an slipped out of Changhua Palace. She first went to Chuxiu Palace, then entered Weiyang Palace, and after circling around several times, she slowly headed towards Qianqing Palace.
She didn't dare get too close, keeping a distance, her upturned phoenix eyes cold as she surveyed the brightly lit Qianqing Palace.
"Miss, how are we going to sneak in?"
Appearing behind Song Xue'an was another of her head palace maids, Lian Qiao, while Mu Jin remained in Changhua Palace to cover for her.
Lian Qiao was eager to try, "Miss, why don't we force our way in? I can fight the Emperor's secret guards."
Upon hearing this, Song Xue'an remained silent for a moment, then kicked her: "The Emperor has so many secret guards, and you're just one. Do you think you can beat him?"
Having been doused with cold water, Lianqiao lowered her head dejectedly, muttering to herself, "You could try... ..."
Song Xue'an immediately rolled her eyes at her and scolded in a low voice, "Don't be silly. If you ruin my plans, you can go back to my father and start practicing martial arts again."
Feeling threatened, Lian Qiao immediately shut her mouth and dared not say anything more.
The master and servant huddled under a large tree, cautiously peering at the Qianqing Palace ahead, not daring to make any move.
While they were guarding outside the Qianqing Palace, assassins broke into the Changhua Palace.
A group of men in black forced their way in without explanation, but were quickly discovered by the guards and a fight broke out between them.
Mu Jin, who was guarding the inner hall, frowned deeply. She quickly went out, closed the hall door tightly, and stood guard at the entrance.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes, and she gripped the soft sword at her waist with her hand behind her back, watching the scene ahead with full vigilance.
At the same time, a black-clad guard landed and stood to her left and right, guarding the palace gate together. "Miss Mulan, rest assured, His Majesty has arranged many people to protect the Imperial Concubine. No one will be allowed to harm the Imperial Concubine."
After all, the Imperial Concubine entered the palace because of the Emperor, so they couldn't possibly let something really happen to her.
Mu Jin didn't speak, but just gave him a cold look before becoming completely wary of her surroundings.
There were quite a few assassins who raided Changhua Palace at night, but Emperor Kangning also had a considerable number of secret guards stationed there. Together with the patrolling guards, they quickly drove the assassins to the side hall, away from the Consort's bedroom.
News of what happened at Changhua Palace quickly reached Qianqing Palace. Upon hearing that an assassin had broken into Changhua Palace to kill Consort Song Xue'an, Leyan instantly dropped the storybook in her hand.
Wait a minute, this isn't mentioned in the book either!
Her heart suddenly pounded, and she felt that there was more to come tonight than just this one thing.
If assassins can brazenly break into Changhua Palace, what about Qianqing Palace?
Will they also come and try their luck?
A sense of foreboding rose in Le Yan's heart. She couldn't help but dart her eyes around, looking around anxiously, afraid that an assassin might suddenly appear and pierce her with a sword.
Li Li calmly gave instructions to his subordinates, sending someone to Changhua Palace to protect the Consort, and another person to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to report the matter to Emperor Kangning. He also kept a close watch on Qianqing Palace.
He was also afraid that someone might launch a night attack on the Qianqing Palace.
In a corner of the Qianqing Palace, Song Xue'an was deep in thought, staring at the dog hole that was neither too big nor too small.
"Lianqiao, do you think I can climb in?"
Pointing to the dog hole she dug for her dog to crawl through when she was a child, Song Xue'an was a little worried. She was afraid that she would get stuck in the hole and that would be extremely embarrassing.
Lian Qiao blinked and whispered, "Miss, how about I make it bigger?"
"Don't worry, I will be very careful and won't make a sound."
As long as no one finds out, it's fine.
Song Xuean glanced at her, pursed her lips, took a step back, and gestured, "You can come here."
"Don't make it too big, or it will be too obvious."
If this place weren't so inconspicuous, they wouldn't still be letting this dog hole remain.
If it gets too big, it will be discovered quickly and sealed off.
Song Xuean wasn't sure if she could succeed today, so she wanted to have a backup plan.
The master and servant sneaked through the dog hole, their movements furtive, a stark contrast to the people on the other side who were openly using the secret passage.
In the brightly lit secret passage, a young man in an apricot-colored robe walked slowly forward. As he approached the end, he paused slightly, lowering his eyes to listen to the sounds outside.
The voice of a eunuch was high-pitched and familiar; it belonged to Li Li, the chief eunuch by the emperor's side.
There's another one... ...that's a woman's voice?
Its sweet and soft texture inexplicably stirred something within him.
Could it be Consort Song, who was the emperor's favorite?
The young man lowered his eyes in deep thought, continuing to listen to the conversation outside.
"Your Highness, please take this dagger for self-defense."
Li Li retrieved a small box containing a simple, unadorned dagger, neither too big nor too small, about the length of a hand.
Le Yan didn't say anything unnecessary and simply put the dagger into her sleeve.
He then asked, "Li Li, have all the assassins from Changhua Palace been captured?"
Li Li quickly replied, "Several escaped, and the guards are searching for them intensively."
As for the rest, they have all been taken to the Department of Strict Punishment and are being severely tortured.
However, there's no need to tell the Empress about those things, so as not to upset her.
Li Li stood to the side with his head down, his feet slightly apart, poised to pounce.
Le Yan sat back on the soft couch, glancing at the guards standing outside the door, feeling much more at ease.
She stared intently at the water clock on the table, trying to gauge the situation on Emperor Kangning's side. It was difficult to determine whether he was currently being assassinated.
After all, the book didn't mention assassins entering Changhua Palace, but it happened in reality. Is it possible that the Imperial Ancestral Temple will be peaceful tonight?
After muttering to herself for a while, Le Yan drank three sips of tea to barely moisten her throat.
Just then, a commotion arose at the door. Le Yan looked up curiously and saw two guards dragging two eunuchs from afar.
She tried to get up to see what was going on, but Li Li stopped her, saying, "Your Majesty, don't panic, this servant will go and take a look."
He strode forward, his mind focused on the outside of the hall, and thus he ignored the sudden soft sound coming from inside.
Keleyan didn't miss it. She subconsciously turned her head to look in the direction of the sound and was shocked to find a hidden door in the mural. Before she could cry out, she had already been knocked unconscious.
"what!"
"Li Li, save him!"