"You were caught in his anger..."
Outside the main hall of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, Liu Yu carefully applied the medicinal oil he carried with him to Chen Qing's burned eyes.
"This student understands..." Chen Qing answered quietly.
He had actually prepared himself for this long ago. That was how things were for the weak. When something happened, whether they had done right or wrong, whether they could gain anything, or even whether they could survive-all depended on the mood of the strong.
At that moment, that powerful man was in a very bad mood, and Chen Qing had suffered an undeserved calamity. But what could he do? Who could help it if the man was stronger?
"Any ideas?" Liu Yu asked as he applied the medicine.
"The fox demon isn't a fool..." Chen Qing stood and looked at the trembling palace maids. "She deliberately humiliated Her Majesty's corpse to unsettle His Majesty. But by enraging him like this, wasn't she afraid he would kill everyone here in his fury?"
Liu Yu frowned. "These palace maids in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility were all orphan girls Her Majesty adopted back then. Her Majesty was kind and generous, and treated her servants extremely well. Whenever a palace maid came of age, she would personally find her a marriage match, either an imperial guard or a wealthy merchant with an excellent reputation. None of them would be ill-treated, and she would even provide a dowry herself. His Majesty's love for her extends even to the crows on her roof. He wouldn't readily lay hands on these palace maids."
"Not readily doesn't mean not at all..." Chen Qing said coolly. "The fox demon has already infiltrated the palace, and now even Her Majesty has fallen victim. Whatever the cost, His Majesty won't let that fox demon leave. Otherwise, how could the inner palace ever be at peace?"
Liu Yu did not argue. That was indeed true. In the current situation, if they could not find the fox demon, they would surely rather kill the innocent than let her escape. Otherwise, if the fox demon could become the empress today, she could become some noble consort tomorrow. There would be no guarding against her!
"You mean... the fox demon has a way out?"
"Yes!" Chen Qing nodded. "The fox demon could disguise herself as the crown prince and kill the empress, but where did she hide the corpse? The Palace of Earthly Tranquility isn't large. How much time had passed after His Majesty rushed outside just now? Yet she managed to hang the corpse back up at the entrance to the main hall. That means the corpse wasn't hidden very deeply. She might even have been able to take it out at any moment."
"But with His Majesty present, wasn't she afraid he would discover it if it was so poorly hidden?"
"So there's only one possibility. She could take out Her Majesty's corpse at any time, yet there was absolutely no chance of His Majesty discovering it!"
A gleam flashed through Liu Yu's eyes. He, too, was extraordinarily intelligent, and immediately thought of something his disciple Wang Ye had mentioned in his letter.
"The Yin-Yang Road?"
"That's the only possibility!" Chen Qing drew a breath. "Back then, that fake Yuchi Peng used a Ghost Horse to take Lord Wang Ye and me onto the Yin-Yang Road. After the incident in Liuzhou, we never saw that Ghost Horse. We suspected the fox demon's accomplices had already brought it to the capital!"
"Only a ghost general can control a Ghost Horse..." Liu Yu's brows knitted tightly, and his expression grew increasingly grave. "To think that besides the Thousand-Faced Fox, they could find a living ghost general... They certainly came well prepared. But if that's the case, we're in trouble!"
Ghost Horses could travel between yin and yang. If a ghost general had already rescued her in the brief moment when His Majesty rushed outside, the inner palace would truly never know another peaceful day!!
"No..." Liu Yu suddenly shook his head again. "There are countless barrier spell formations within the imperial palace. Even if a Ghost Horse can travel between yin and yang, it will trigger those formations if it doesn't know the barriers' layout. And how did they bring a Ghost Horse into the imperial palace?"
"A Ghost Horse can be disguised..." Chen Qing sighed. "We already confirmed that in Liuzhou. We don't know what method they used, but it could indeed be disguised as an ordinary-sized horse. With the fox demon entering the palace disguised as His Highness the Crown Prince, bringing in an ordinary-looking horse wouldn't have been a problem!"
"What about the arrangements inside the imperial palace?" Liu Yu pressed. "Do you know that the palace's spell formations were laid out jointly by dozens of mighty spellcasters in the capital? Not only is their structure complex, their positions change every three days according to the arrangement of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. Apart from the spellcaster on duty that day, not a second person in the world knows the layout of the palace's spell formations and barriers. For a Ghost Horse to travel between yin and yang inside the palace, it must know that layout. Otherwise, it would be courting death!"
"Not even His Majesty knows?" Chen Qing froze.
"His Majesty isn't a spellcaster. Even if he were told, he wouldn't understand!"
"Then what if that spellcaster was replaced?" Chen Qing asked in astonishment.
"Impossible..." Liu Yu shook his head. "Leaving aside the fact that those ten spellcasters possess extraordinary abilities, with few in the world capable of threatening them, even if one were replaced through the fox demon's illusions as you suggest, someone who hadn't participated in laying out the formations couldn't preside over the palace's vast spell formations and barriers, even if they were a top spellcaster!"
"I see..." Chen Qing asked again, "Then is it possible that one of those ten great spellcasters is colluding with the fox demon? We already deduced that the fox demon must have the support of a major force in the capital!"
"That's impossible too..." Liu Yu shook his head. "There is something in the imperial palace that can be activated once every three days to question the heart. If someone harbors treasonous thoughts, they cannot possibly pass its interrogation!"
Chen Qing stared blankly for a moment, and a gleam instantly flashed through his eyes.
As a designer, he knew what it was the moment Liu Yu mentioned it.
The Heart-Questioning Mirror!
One of the seventy-six Artifact Demons, it could see straight through the human heart. Activating it was troublesome, however. It could only be activated once every three days, and could examine only one person each time.
To think the imperial family was using it as an access checkpoint for spellcasters!
"If that's the case, the route through the spellcasters is sealed off..." Chen Qing drew a breath, but then thought of something and said quietly, "Then there's only one possibility left..."
The old hands in the palace all knew there was one place where they must never wander without permission. The consequences of entering it by mistake were even more serious than barging into the imperial study. That place was the Thousand-Crane Palace, where Mr. Bai resided.
Outside the palace, few dared mention this man, yet everyone could feel his presence at all times. The guards who held brushes and paper, recording every official's words and deeds, were all controlled by this gentleman. In many people's minds, he was the most fearsome spellcaster within the imperial palace.
Mr. Bai had no outside contacts and never left the grounds of the Thousand-Crane Palace. Seemingly tireless, he served day and night as the imperial family's eyes, watching over the imperial city.
As usual, Mr. Bai remained immersed in his work. Countless sheets of paper turned into living paper cranes and white rabbits in his hands, heading out of the Thousand-Crane Palace.
The white rabbits ran in many directions, making their way to three places within the palace: the chief palace steward's study, the seal-bearing eunuch's study, and the empress's Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Most of the matters recorded were trivial. The palace guards' daily words and deeds were delivered by white rabbits to the chief palace steward's study, while improper words and deeds by officials of the outer court went to the seal-bearing eunuch's study. The words and deeds of the various palace maids and consorts, meanwhile, were sent first to the empress's Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
If a matter was more important, Mr. Bai would judge it himself, turning the paper into a crane that flew directly into the emperor's imperial study.
At that moment, an old eunuch was instructing a group of new eunuchs and palace maids on the precautions they needed to take.
"When serving in the Thousand-Crane Palace, you must remember the routes. Certain places, especially Mr. Bai's inner hall, must absolutely not be approached without good reason." The old eunuch's eyes were cloudy, but as he gave his instructions, they were exceptionally stern and alert. "Above all, don't get curious about those moving paper objects. If you carelessly damage one, you'll be dragged off and interrogated as a spy."
"Yes..." Everyone's heart tightened, and they hurriedly lowered their heads in acknowledgment.
"Nor should you follow those paper objects out of curiosity..." the old eunuch said ominously. "Don't think you'll be fine as long as you don't damage them and only follow behind. Following them persistently is a grave taboo. If you accidentally damage a paper object, you still have a chance of being released once the interrogation clears things up. But if you follow these things without permission, even palace maids who served Her Majesty back then were invariably beaten to death!"
"Why is that?" a palace maid could not help asking.
The old eunuch stared coldly at that palace maid until her face turned pale and she dropped to her knees. Only then did he say slowly, "Remember... in the palace, don't be too curious. Don't always try to understand everything. Some things in here..."
Before he finished, he suddenly seemed to sense something and jerked his head up, his face instantly filling with disbelief!
A golden figure approached through the sky with terrifying pressure. Golden flames lit the originally pitch-black sky until it shone bright, and the paper cranes taking flight along the way all turned to ash. Every palace maid and eunuch was so frightened by this terrifying spectacle that they prostrated themselves on the ground.
The old eunuch stared blankly at the sky. After only a few seconds, his cloudy eyes were burned bloodshot, and he could not help prostrating himself as well.
His Majesty?
Why was His Majesty heading toward the Thousand-Crane Palace in such a towering fury?
Inside the main hall of the Thousand-Crane Palace, Mr. Bai sensed something and stopped what he was doing. He set down his brush and paper and looked up toward the hall's entrance.
Firelight flashed, and every candle stand in the hall was instantly lit with golden flames. At the entrance, the emperor's tall figure slowly approached. Following behind him was Chen Qing, his face covered in cold sweat.
Damn it, couldn't this old bastard take it easy?
He had truly almost wet himself in fright just now. As a designer, he knew very well how tyrannical the Golden Crow's flames were. According to the setting, never mind touching them-even looking at them a little too long could blind someone. In his agitation, this old bastard had grabbed him and flown straight over. He was already worked up; if his control slipped and a wisp of flame drifted onto Chen Qing, he could be burned to nothing in an instant, without even a speck of ash remaining!
"You mean... him?" the emperor asked coldly. Amid the scorching flames, his tone was utterly icy.
Chen Qing nodded. After composing himself, he stepped forward and bowed. "This student... greets Mr. Origami!"
Mr. Bai froze and looked up at Chen Qing. Usually as expressionless as a wooden figure, he smiled for the first time, revealing teeth as sharp as sawteeth. It looked exceedingly eerie.
"Three hundred years..." Mr. Bai's gaze grew burning hot. "Since I entered the Xiao Household's service, this is the first time anyone has called me by that name!"
At that, Chen Qing looked up and regarded him very seriously. "The second time, surely?"
Mr. Bai: "..."