Below, Xiao Bixing was staring at his subordinates searching for tunnels when he suddenly heard alarmed shouts from outside, followed by several soft sounds, and red plum blossoms splashed across the window paper.
Xiao Bixing rushed out in shock to see several guards collapsed in the snow, while a black shadow seemed to be carrying someone and flashed past.
Xiao Bixing: “Chase them!”
The crowd surged out of the reverse-facing rooms and out of the rear courtyard, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
He Zi jumped down from the wall and, following Palace Master’s earlier guidance, entered the room with the tunnel.
However, he didn’t understand mechanisms. After searching for quite a while without finding the entrance, he was getting anxious when suddenly the Western chiming clock on the wall rang several times, and then the wall before him slowly opened.
A person stood in the darkness, bowing to him from afar.
He Zi squinted for a long while before recognizing this as the capable but frightening young man from the Gu family.
Gu Xiaoxiao stood against the wall, saying, “I didn’t expect the Grand Tutor to come.”
He Zi asked, “Is your father well?”
“Father is safe. Please follow me, Grand Tutor.” Gu Xiaoxiao very actively led the way immediately. He Zi knew he simply didn’t want to make conversation.
Ahead was a narrow passage that could only accommodate one person. The usually uncommunicative Gu Xiaoxiao suddenly spoke softly, “Grand Tutor, has something happened?”
“Yes, the Xiao family has escaped from prison and is conducting large-scale arrests of high ministers to use as hostages.”
“Then… what’s the reaction in the palace?”
He Zi was silent for a while. Ahead, Gu Xiaoxiao turned around. He rarely looked directly at others, but his gaze was very urgent at this moment.
After a long pause, He Zi said with some difficulty, “I haven’t had time to go to the palace yet… Something should have happened, but I don’t know the specific situation.”
Gu Xiaoxiao said nothing.
He Zi knew what he wanted to ask about, and sighed inwardly.
Turning a corner, the space ahead suddenly opened up into an extremely large area lit by oil lamps, with people of various heights scattered throughout – some reading books, some pacing in place, some sitting cross-legged on mats with eyes closed, and some cursing.
Minister Gu, Minister Jiang, Minister Zhang, Minister Cai, the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court… they were all there.
This was an unexpected joy for He Zi.
Minister Gu, who had been reading, put down his book and asked directly, “How are things outside?”
He Zi said, “The Xiao family has escaped from prison and is conducting large-scale arrests of high ministers. All your residences have been visited.”
Upon hearing this, several old ministers looked over, even the drowsy Chief Judge on the couch opened his eyes.
Their faces showed disbelief. Though they had hidden here, they hadn’t expected the situation to become this serious.
After a long while, Minister Jiang said, “…The Xiao family is truly formidable.”
Minister Zhang said, “When Old Gu sent someone to find me, I thought he was joking. Even after hiding here just now, I remained skeptical. Who would have thought…”
He Zi said, “I’m quite surprised that Minister Gu could anticipate the enemy’s moves. And he even dug such a tunnel?”
Minister Gu pointed indifferently at his son standing in the shadows, saying, “Ask him.”
Gu Xiaoxiao stood against the wall in the shadows with no presence, and when questioned, he didn’t step forward but said softly, “Someone once called me a groundhog, so I dug this hole.”
All the distinguished men: “…Ah?”
“I was just restless and wanted to do something,” Gu Xiaoxiao said. “I designed a little device in my bedroom that would fall over when there was vibration. We’re not far from the Criminal Ministry here. When the Xiao family blew up the prison, my little device fell over, so I got up and notified Father. Father had people climb onto the roof and saw endless red banner flowers in the wind and snow, plus what seemed to be firelight from the direction of the palace city. He made a decisive decision and invited all the distinguished ministers here.”
Minister Jiang stroked his beard, Minister Zhang raised his eyebrows, thinking it was more than just “inviting.”
Wasn’t it that people suddenly burst into their rooms in the middle of the night and carried them out wrapped in their bedding?
Even their family members were arranged by this father and son – truly worthy of being the steward of all Great Qian.
Minister Gu said with apparent disdain, “Xiaoxiao has a tendency to overthink and likes to stockpile things. Since this tunnel was dug, it’s fully equipped. Setting aside everything else, we and our family members and guards could eat and drink here for a month without problem.”
Everyone cast appreciative glances at Gu Xiaoxiao. Minister Jiang couldn’t help but sigh, “Xiaoxiao is truly virtuous. If he were…”
He was thinking such a person would make an excellent national father-in-law, but suddenly remembered the scenery he saw that night on the palace wall and immediately stopped speaking.
All the distinguished men thought of this incident and sighed inwardly that childhood sweethearts indeed couldn’t compete with present beauty.
The Crown Princess was good in every way except for her lustful nature.
The Chief Judge suddenly asked, “How is the palace?”
Everyone immediately looked toward He Zi.
He Zi hesitated, glanced at Gu Xiaoxiao, then said, “When I was coming here, I saw white flag messengers from the palace – Blood Riders leaving the palace.”
The atmosphere in the room immediately dropped to freezing point.
Everyone present was a high official and naturally understood the meaning of this statement.
Even though Gu Xiaoxiao was hidden in the shadows, they could see his face had gone pale.
Suddenly there was a clatter from above.
Gu Xiaoxiao’s face changed as he walked along the passage to the entrance.
His secret chamber entrance had a design – a layer of glass on the Western chiming clock appeared to be a mirror from the outside but allowed one to see outside from within. Earlier, he had watched through this glass and seen He Zi standing outside unable to find the entrance.
Now he stood before the mirror looking out but saw nothing. Just as he was puzzled, suddenly a large face popped up before his eyes.
It appeared extremely suddenly, startling Gu Xiaoxiao into jumping three feet back.
That large face pressed against the glass, looking left and right, then suddenly grinned, showing him an almost ferocious smile.
Gu Xiaoxiao stared at that face and suddenly remembered this mirror was slightly convex – from his angle, people looked quite ugly.
For instance, those eyes were alarmingly large, like a monkey’s.
The posture was also monkey-like. After coming up to greet him, she extended her finger and tapped on the mirror surface.
With this action, Gu Xiaoxiao knew the other party had discovered the entrance.
His face changed and he was about to activate the killing mechanism beside the entrance when he saw that monkey-like person mouth two words to the mirror.
He slowly repeated: “Princess…?”
He Zi, who was listening nearby, said happily, “Has Palace Master found her way here? She’s my lifesaver. Please let her in.”
Only then did Gu Xiaoxiao realize this was one of their own, though he was somewhat reluctant to let anyone into this secret passage – who knew if she might be a Xiao family spy?
And what a strange name.
The Great Qian dynasty had only one princess, and that was Tie Ci.
But that strange Palace Master mouthed two more words.
Gu Xiaoxiao immediately opened the door without hesitation.
Because she said: Tie Ci.
The secret chamber door opened and Palace Master flashed inside. Looking up, she saw a refined young man standing against the wall with a very calm expression, very panicked eyes, and very resistant body language.
She found it interesting and smiled.
With this smile, Gu Xiaoxiao finally discovered she wasn’t a monkey.
She was a woman whose beauty was no less than Tie Ci’s.
But he still had no favorable impression, his back still pressed tight against the wall, still standing straight, asking her, “How is Her Highness?”
Palace Master said sorrowfully, “Dead.”
Gu Xiaoxiao: “…”
After a long while, he turned around, reached out to operate the secret chamber mechanism, and made a gesture indicating Palace Master should leave and not expect to be seen off.
Palace Master’s eyes curved as she found the little recluse quite spirited.
She said innocently, “I didn’t lie. Her heart died.”
Gu Xiaoxiao walked inside with a grim face, no longer wanting to pay attention to her.
Palace Master followed behind him, chattering, “I really didn’t lie to you. I went to inquire about the situation. Liaodong has entered the pass, Prince Changle has rebelled, the city gates were opened by the Rong family, Dayan appeared in Jiusui and the capital, the Emperor has died, assassinated by the Liaodong Prince’s heir in Chongming Palace, and Consort Jing is also dead. At the same time, two of the strongest among the Three Madmen and Five Emperors appeared in the palace city, and the Crown Princess is severely injured.”
With this string of statements, the entire tunnel immediately fell into deathly silence.
Each piece of news was explosive – any one of them could blow people away, but now they all came tumbling out of her mouth, leaving everyone with a sense of unreality.
After staring at her mouth for a long while, the ministers still hadn’t reacted.
There was a muffled sound behind them. Palace Master turned back to see Gu Xiaoxiao pulling his head out of the earthen wall.
He looked somewhat comical. Palace Master should have laughed, but seeing his eyes, she ultimately didn’t.
Thinking of the scene she had glimpsed from afar at the palace city, thinking of the Dayan cavalry rampaging outside the palace city and the civilians screaming and fleeing in panic, and the instant killings that occurred inside and outside the threshold of Chongming Palace, very complex emotions surged in her heart.
The current capital was very chaotic and tragic, and the person in the palace was also in a tragic situation, but she felt for no reason that the person who continued to sit high on the throne, her composure, could slowly radiate from within Chongming Palace and ultimately envelop the entire capital city.
Just like when she first met the Crown Princess and saw those gentle, calm eyes that concealed hidden depths.
She patted Gu Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, saying, “Don’t worry about your Crown Princess. She won’t fall.”
Opposite them, He Zi suddenly stood up.
He knew something major had happened in the palace, but he hadn’t expected the situation to be so dangerous.
Palace Master said, “The capital garrison took advantage of the open city gates to enter the city and has already rebelled. Governor-General Qi and the Capital Prefecture had to deploy all their forces to intercept them. The Dayan cavalry began causing chaos within the inner city – their numbers are actually small, but their methods are extremely cruel, bringing great terror to the capital’s civilians. After the Xiao family and their associates came up empty at all the high ministers’ residences, they simply gave up and began burning, killing, and looting directly. The Xiao family opened their own oil warehouse and set fire to an entire street. As for the palace, it seems a group of top experts arrived and are directly confronting Chongming Palace. Both sides are now at a standstill.”
The high ministers in the tunnel looked grave.
This was the worst-case scenario.
Their own military preparations were tied up by the capital garrison, the palace was also under threat, and they couldn’t quickly extinguish the Xiao family’s riot, leaving civilians to suffer.
“How many people from the capital garrison entered? All of them?”
If it was all of them, then there would be no hope at all.
Palace Master shook her head. She couldn’t obtain very clear information in such a short time. “I only know the city gates were closed in time, and now Blood Riders and Scorpion Camp people control the city gates.”
Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He Zi frowned. He calculated the balance of forces within the city and found that if voices from the palace couldn’t be heard quickly, if military deployment orders couldn’t be issued, with everyone sealed within the capital city fighting in chaos, it would be very disadvantageous for their side.
“What do you gentlemen plan to do?”
Minister Jiang said, “We are scholars without the strength to truss a chicken. At this time, not being captured by rebel troops would be the greatest support for the Crown Princess.”
The other ministers agreed with his opinion and nodded one after another.
He Zi’s brow remained furrowed.
With not a single high minister coming forward and no one taking charge of the overall situation, it still wouldn’t work.
“Oh right,” Palace Master said, “When I was coming here, I saw Imperial Academy students preparing to sit in protest on Changming Street to block the Xiao family.”
Everyone was silent for a while.
Great Qian had always had a rule of not killing innocent students.
It wasn’t easy for the nation to cultivate cultural seeds – every seedling saved was one more.
Whoever harmed students would definitely be pointed at by thousands of fingers and meet a tragic end. For thousands of years, historical records would pursue them with verbal and written condemnation.
Because of this unwritten rule, throughout dynasties, whether emperors or high ministers, all feared the tactic of students sitting in protest at palace gates. This was why Tie Ci had always attached great importance to academies and cultural traditions throughout the realm.
Even when treacherous ministers held power, they hadn’t violated this taboo. During the Youkang reign, when the powerful eunuch Liu Huan seized power and Imperial Academy students sat in protest at the palace gates, one even spat in his face, yet Liu Huan, violent enough to skin people alive, didn’t kill anyone.
When this tactic was employed, any carelessness would result in eternal infamy – anyone would have to weigh it carefully.
But today was different.
The Chief Judge said in a hoarse voice, “Those not of our race, how can they be educated?”
Yes, today the Xiao clan had brought foreign tribes into their own homes to ravage their own capital and people. The Dayan cavalry were not of their race – how would they care about Chinese cultural traditions and eternal fame in history books?
He Zi frowned deeply, thinking that even if leading students in protest, there needed to be protection and organization – this required someone of great prestige to do it, like himself.
But he needed to rush to the palace.
He asked, “Where is Zhu Yi?”
No one could answer his question.
He Zi assumed Zhu Yi was trapped in the palace. He stood up, saying, “Please wait here for news while I ask Palace Master to take me to the palace…”
Before he finished speaking, he saw Gu Xiaoxiao emerge from the darkness carrying a bundle.
He was dressed for travel.
Feeling everyone’s gazes upon him, he lowered his head and said, “I want to go to the palace.”
Minister Gu sighed softly.
He Zi said, “Then come with me…”
Gu Xiaoxiao turned to everyone and said, “Please accompany me, distinguished ministers.”
Everyone was stunned.
Minister Gu said, “Xiaoxiao, they’re conducting searches outside…”
“I’ll find a way to contact people to protect us,” Gu Xiaoxiao said. “But I’m very worried about the palace.”
“I’m worried about Her Highness. She shouldn’t face enemies alone in such circumstances. We should be standing behind her, no matter when or where.”
“I’m also worried that since someone is forcing the palace, they naturally have some confidence. At such a time, if high ministers don’t come forward and no one intimidates those inside and outside the palace, it could very likely cause chaos. If rebel traitors randomly grab some lackey, write a yellow silk edict and stamp it with a seal, then rule the realm from that point forward, while we still cower here – then Great Qian would be a laughingstock for ten thousand years, and we would have no face to meet the late Emperor in the underworld.”
Gu Xiaoxiao rarely spoke so many words to multiple people at once. After finishing, he didn’t look at anyone and bowed respectfully.
Palace Master watched with arms crossed, a smile playing at her lips and her eyes slightly bright.