After the two left the room, Xia Qingqing suddenly frowned. "Brother Song, the imperial palace is so huge. Where are we supposed to look?"
"That's simple." Song Qingshu smiled. "Since Xiao Banhe's identity as the Imperial Father-in-law was exposed, then the person who rescued him that night was obviously his daughter, Xiao Zhonghui, who is now Consort Wen. That also explains why the people in the prison treated her with such respect."
At the same time, he thought to himself, Xiao Banhe and Xiao Zhonghui... they're both characters from The Mandarin Duck Saber. I never expected coming to the capital this time would trigger this story's plot. But their identities are vastly different from the original. Xiao Zhonghui actually became an imperial consort, and according to the earlier intelligence, Consort Wen seems to have borne the emperor a son.
"Your circles are really a mess," Song Qingshu muttered.
They had spent quite a bit of time at the Western Xia delegation and the Imperial City Department's hideout. Night had now gradually fallen, making it the perfect time to infiltrate the imperial palace.
Song Qingshu had already lost count of how many times he had infiltrated the palace. Although Xia Qingqing was with him this time, he still moved with practiced ease, somehow avoiding wave after wave of patrolling palace guards as though he could foresee them.
"Brother Song, you're amazing!" Xia Qingqing's eyes sparkled as she watched Song Qingshu stroll in and out of the imperial palace—regarded by martial artists as a dragon's den and tiger's lair—as if he were walking through his own backyard.
Song Qingshu curled his lips into a smile. "You said that more than once last night too."
"You're awful!" Xia Qingqing blushed, then raised her delicate fists and struck him a few times in embarrassed