Escape from the Imperial Palace

Outside Weiyang Palace, the lights blazed brightly. Teams of imperial guards marched one after another, a spectacular sight.

Ning Chen led the carriage outward. The moment he passed through Weiyang Palace's main gate, he stopped, watched a squad of guards pass by, and took the initiative to block their path.

"Young eunuch, what can I do for you?" Since Ning Chen had come out of Weiyang Palace, the guard commander at the front did not dare neglect him and spoke politely.

"Empress Dowager has an urgent matter that requires this servant to leave the palace and handle it. But with the palace under such strict lockdown, coming and going is highly inconvenient. I fear I may delay the task Her Majesty entrusted to me, so I hope General can escort me out."

Ning Chen's gaze swept over the squads of guards filing past, and anxiety flashed across his face. Then he withdrew his gaze, looked at the guard commander before him, and pleaded.

"This..."

The guard commander looked troubled and hesitated for a moment.

An assassin had broken into the Imperial Study at night. They had been ordered to patrol, and by rights, they could not leave their posts without permission.

Yet Empress Dowager's affairs could not be delayed either. If he refused, he would inevitably displease the mistress of Weiyang Palace afterward.

"If General does not believe me, this is a token bestowed by Empress Dowager. General may take it and personally confirm it with Her Majesty."

As he spoke, the anxiety on Ning Chen's face deepened. He took out the Moon-shaped Jade Pendant Changsun had given him from his robes, handed it to the guard commander, and urged him on.

"Very well. I shall escort you, young eunuch."

The instant the guard commander saw the Moon-shaped Jade Pendant, the last trace of hesitation in his heart vanished. He nodded in agreement. This was Empress Dowager's personal token; many palace guards had seen it before. There could be no mistake.

Ning Chen secretly let out a breath of relief. He had chosen to stop the guards before Weiyang Palace's gates precisely to lower their guard against him. Even the most cautious person had blind spots in their perception. As long as one made good use of them and guided them carefully, one could create an illusion difficult to see through.

"Young eunuch, you look quite young. You must not have entered the palace long ago, right?"

The guard commander instructed the others behind him to continue patrolling, then stepped forward to take the carriage reins. As they walked, he asked casually.

"Yes."

Ning Chen nodded somewhat sheepishly. "I entered the palace only recently. Thanks to Miss Qing Ling's care, I now do odd jobs in Weiyang Palace."

"Young eunuch, you are fortunate. Everyone in the palace knows that Empress Dowager is virtuous and benevolent, and treats those beneath her with great generosity," the guard commander said with a friendly smile.

"General is absolutely right."

Ning Chen answered with a smile, though he strongly disagreed inside. These fools had all been deceived by Changsun. He did not know whether she was virtuous and benevolent, but she was not generous to those below her in the slightest. She had fooled him several times already. Otherwise, he would have been living free and easy outside the palace long ago, rather than desperately fleeing in the middle of the night.

"Well, if it isn't Little Ning. Where are you off to so late at night?"

They had not gone far when a voice like a drake's quack suddenly sounded nearby. Ning Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he inwardly cursed his bad luck.

Following the voice, he saw a figure slowly approaching, dressed in a sapphire-blue robe embroidered with cranes, holding a whisk, and wearing a jeweled cap topped with peacock feathers. The man looked at Ning Chen with a sinister half-smile. "What a coincidence."

"Eunuch Zhao Jin." The guard commander recognized the newcomer and politely cupped his hands in greeting.

"General Ling." Zhao Jin returned the greeting, then asked with narrowed eyes and a smile, "May I ask where General and Little Ning are going?"

"This young eunuch is leaving the palace on Empress Dowager's orders to handle a matter. I happened to be escorting him part of the way. Eunuch Zhao, do you know this young eunuch?"

Ling Xiao was slightly surprised. Zhao Jin had served at the Xia Emperor's side for more than twenty years and held an extraordinary position. How did he know a newly arrived little eunuch?

"We have met once, that is all." Zhao Jin brushed it off without explaining further. Then he looked at Ning Chen beside Ling Xiao, smiled darkly, and spoke with hidden meaning. "Little Ning, I had originally wanted to transfer you to serve at my side, but Empress Dowager got you into Weiyang Palace first. What a pity."

"Hehe." Ning Chen gave a foolish laugh to cover it up and wisely did not explain further. Anything he said would offend someone. You and Changsun can fight it out yourselves.

Zhao Jin circled the carriage once and said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "The imperial palace is rather chaotic at present. General, you should inspect it carefully, lest anything go missing."

Ning Chen's heart sank, and his expression changed slightly. That damned old pervert.

Ling Xiao gave Ning Chen a troubled look. Normally, they should not interfere with errands from Weiyang Palace. But Eunuch Zhao had already spoken up to remind him; if he still did not inspect it, it would be difficult to justify.

"General Ling, follow the rules. But please be careful," Ning Chen said in a low voice.

Ling Xiao nodded, stepped forward, lifted the carriage curtain, and climbed inside to begin his inspection.

The carriage was piled full of boxes, one stacked atop another. Ling Xiao opened the outermost box, only to find it filled with porcelain pieces. He moved it aside and opened another, which was likewise packed with porcelain.

Ling Xiao had served in the palace for nearly ten years and recognized these as commonly used palace items. They were exquisite, certainly, but in terms of value, they were merely passable.

Weiyang Palace possessed countless treasures. Any one of them would surpass this entire carriage of porcelain. If this were theft, it was truly not worth the loss.

"Ah, General, be careful!"

Just as Ling Xiao moved one inspected box aside, Ning Chen's expression changed and he cried out.

The next moment, a burst of crackling rang out. The entire box of porcelain fell through its bottom into the carriage compartment and shattered into a complete mess.

Panic appeared in Ning Chen's eyes as he said anxiously, "Ah, I forgot to tell General. The lower boxes are somewhat old. Empress Dowager's instructions were urgent, and she said that with the token, there would be no further inspection, so it would not matter. I was in such a hurry that I forgot about it."

Ling Xiao's face turned ugly as well. Though what had been broken was not some rare treasure, it still belonged to Weiyang Palace. Moreover, Empress Dowager had been so urgent in her instructions that it surely had an important use. At that thought, Ling Xiao shot Zhao Jin a displeased look. It was all this damned old eunuch's fault. If the old fellow had not meddled, he would never have made such a grave mistake.

Below the carriage, Ning Chen sighed softly and said with a miserable expression, "General, please finish inspecting quickly. This servant must hurry and complete the task so I can ask Empress Dowager for forgiveness."

Hearing that Ning Chen had no intention of shifting all the blame onto him, Ling Xiao's impression of him immediately improved. Then he compared him with Zhao Jin, who stood nearby watching the joke. Whose words could be trusted and whose could not required no further thought.

With that in mind, Ling Xiao jumped down from the carriage and said solemnly, "No need to inspect further. Young eunuch, leave the palace quickly. Do not delay Empress Dowager's task. If Her Majesty blames us for the broken items, Ling Xiao will bear it together with you."

"Many thanks, General."

Ning Chen looked grateful, though he felt a little guilty inside. Ling Xiao was being so righteous—was it really right for him to fool the man like this?

Naturally, the thought of guilt flashed by only briefly before vanishing without a trace.

The Buddha said: If I do not enter hell, who will?

Unfortunately, what he had always practiced was: If I do not enter hell, let someone else enter it.

Besides, a little eunuch escaping from the palace was not truly a serious crime even if discovered. It was still far from being sent to hell.

But if he were caught, then he really would be entering hell!

Seeing that nothing had been found, Zhao Jin gave a cold laugh and strode away. His arrogant attitude was truly irritating.

After some thought, Ning Chen more or less guessed the reason. He had only met Zhao Jin twice, so there was no real grudge between them. During their first meeting, Zhao Jin had even seemed inclined to give him a hand. Yet today, his attitude had changed as though they were two different people. There was no need to think hard to know it was because of Changsun.

Within the imperial palace, open and hidden struggles never ceased, and choosing one's side was crucial. It now seemed that Zhao Jin was most likely standing with the Western Palace, which was why he showed hostility toward someone from Changsun's palace.

What a pity. If he had not been in such a hurry to leave the palace, he truly would have liked to stay and properly deal with that old fellow.

Ning Chen shook his head regretfully, then glanced at Ling Xiao and said,

"General, let us go."

"Yes."

Seeing Ning Chen's expression change slightly, Ling Xiao assumed the latter was worried about being punished when he returned. He never imagined Ning Chen was depressed because after leaving the palace today, he would no longer have a chance to stab Zhao Jin.

Perhaps even Ning Chen himself had not noticed that in these brief days at Weiyang Palace, whether in his actions or his thoughts, he had consciously or unconsciously judged matters from Changsun's standpoint.

Even if his mouth refused to admit it and complained endlessly about Changsun's faults, the emotions in his heart could not lie. Ning Chen appeared to leave with ease and without attachment, yet he had never truly let go.

The journey out of the palace went fairly smoothly. With Changsun's token and Ling Xiao's escort, the guards at the palace gates let them pass after a brief inspection.

No one would have imagined that the carriage behind the little eunuch who had just escorted Empress Dowager back to the palace was carrying the assassin who had attempted to kill the Xia Emperor and broken into the Imperial Study at night.

Once outside the palace, Ning Chen immediately drove the carriage toward Du'an Pharmacy. The anxiety he had kept hidden all along finally appeared on his face. The carriage galloped forward, kicking up dust in its wake.

Nearly an hour later, the carriage stopped before the pharmacy. Ning Chen took Mu Chengxue from the bottommost hidden box in the carriage, carried her in his arms, rushed forward in two strides, kicked open the pharmacy's wooden door, and ran anxiously toward the inner courtyard.

"Shopkeeper, save her!"

The commotion in the front courtyard had been so loud that the shopkeeper had heard it long ago. He came out, about to angrily rebuke the intruder, but when he saw Ning Chen, he suppressed his temper and instinctively shifted his gaze to Mu Chengxue in Ning Chen's arms.

Yet at that one look, the shopkeeper's heart rose into his throat.

"Get inside quickly."

Seeing that the woman was in extremely critical condition, the shopkeeper immediately ushered Ning Chen into the room. Once Mu Chengxue had been laid down, he promptly stepped forward to examine her.

"Go to the main hall and bring me my silver needles. Quickly," the shopkeeper ordered rapidly as he examined Mu Chengxue's injuries.

"Alright."

Ning Chen did not dare delay. He immediately ran to the front hall to find what the shopkeeper needed.

A short while later, Ning Chen returned with the silver needles and handed them to the shopkeeper, then stood at the side and watched nervously.

"Do not just stand there. Go boil hot water, as much as possible," the shopkeeper snapped as he took out the silver needles and glanced back at Ning Chen.

"Alright." Ning Chen nodded, then hurriedly ran out again to boil water in the kitchen.

A quarter of an hour later, Ning Chen had set a large pot of water to boil in the kitchen. He first brought back a basin of hot water and saw that the shopkeeper was already applying needles to Mu Chengxue. His expression was grave and utterly focused.

Before long, sweat streamed down the shopkeeper's forehead. His moon-white robe was soaked through and clung to his body, leaving him looking thoroughly bedraggled.

The shopkeeper had not told him to speak, so Ning Chen did not dare disturb him. He could only stand guard at the side and wait for instructions.

About another quarter of an hour later, the exhausted shopkeeper stood up. His body swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.

"Is the hot water ready?" The shopkeeper steadied himself and asked.

"Yes, it is ready," Ning Chen hurriedly answered.

"Undress her and bathe her," the shopkeeper said wearily.

"Me... me?" Ning Chen froze, instantly unable to remain calm. He pointed at himself and stammered.

"If not you, then me?" The shopkeeper tossed out those words and naturally walked toward the door.

"The water must not be too hot—slightly warm will do. Watch the time. It cannot be too short, but it must not exceed one hour."

"Alright... alright..." By the bedside, Ning Chen had already gone blank, nodding instinctively.