Hu Xiaotian asked, "Eunuch Li from the Library Pavilion?"
Liu Yuzhang nodded. "Yes, Li Yuncong, the eunuch in charge of the Library Pavilion."
Hu Xiaotian picked up the three books, and Liu Yuzhang added, "Take them over to him now. I ran into him when I went to the Imperial Medical Academy yesterday, and he mentioned them."
Hu Xiaotian murmured his assent, recalling the secret passages beneath the Wine Cellar. One led to the Library Pavilion, and inside it they had found the corpse of a Little Eunuch from the pavilion who had been dead for years. He had already wanted to investigate the Library Pavilion; now he had both an excuse and an opportunity.
The Library Pavilion stood southwest of the Imperial Garden and housed the royal collection of books and illustrated documents. Phoenix-Crying Mountain behind it was part of the royal gardens. The pavilion's magnificent seven-story main building was built against the mountainside, making it the second-highest point in the imperial palace after Misty Mountain.
Hu Xiaotian wrapped the three volumes of the Grand View of Poetry in yellow silk and headed straight for the Library Pavilion. Though both it and the Palace Gardens Bureau were within the palace, nearly three li separated them, and he passed through quite a few checkpoints along the way. By now, he was growing familiar with the palace routes. His frequent comings and goings had also introduced him to many of the guards responsible for security. Whenever he had a chance, he treated them to fruit and fine wine, and they got along very well. Naturally, his journey was unobstructed until he reached the courtyard gate of the Library Pavilion.
For one thing, he did not know the guards stationed here. For another, the Library Pavilion was an important palace site, housing