Usually they strutted around arrogantly, acting like they were the most formidable people in the world.
But at the critical moment, they dropped the ball!
People from Jizhao Nunnery had already entered Ankang City, yet they didn’t even know!
Worst of all, he had learned about it through someone else’s mouth!
Standing in front of the Grand Princess, Lin Yi felt his face burning with embarrassment.
“You don’t need to be angry,” the Grand Princess said with a smile. “Jingyi and Jingkuan are both masters of this era. Even I can’t easily track their movements—let alone those useless rabble under your command.”
Lin Yi sighed and asked, “Then how did Aunt know they came to Ankang City?”
The Grand Princess smiled.
“Because they sent someone to inform me.”
Lin Yi said in surprise, “They didn’t enter the palace?”
The Grand Princess snorted coldly.
“With that dog Hong Ying guarding the palace, how would they dare come in so openly?”
“They came to see Aunt because of the treasure?” Lin Yi asked quickly.
“Of course,” the Grand Princess replied with a smile. “So you’d better protect me well. If I die, you’ll have nothing left.”
Lin Yi stretched lazily and paced slowly.
“Aunt is being modest. With your skill, even if you couldn’t defeat two opponents at once, you could still protect yourself and escape.”
That was what Hong Ying had told him.
“Escape?”
The Grand Princess mocked lightly. “Where could I possibly escape to?”
Lin Yi laughed. “So Aunt is really that afraid of the people from Jizhao Nunnery?”
The Grand Princess replied, “Who in this world is not afraid of Jizhao Nunnery?”
“Well that’s simple,” Lin Yi said as he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.“Just tell me where the treasure is. I’ll dig it up right now. I’ll gladly bear the trouble for you.”
“If you want it, then take it,” the Grand Princess said while staring into his eyes.
“The entrance is White Horse Temple. As for the exact location, I won’t say. Your Imperial Guards are full of thieves and tricksters—they should be able to find it.”
“White Horse Temple?”
Lin Yi had never imagined the treasure of Jizhao Nunnery would be hidden there!
The Grand Princess said calmly, “At this point, there’s nothing for me to hide from you. Go and see for yourself.”
Lin Yi walked to the doorway and spoke toward a screen wall.
“Did you hear that?”
Pan Duo, who was standing behind the wall, was stunned for a moment before replying,
“I heard, my lord. I’ll go immediately.”
The sun climbed higher and higher.
The courtyard was flooded with blinding light, so Lin Yi moved under the pavilion and leaned back against the railing.
“Aunt has been back for several days, but I haven’t properly shared a meal with you yet. Today I’ll accompany you for a few drinks.”
The Grand Princess sat opposite him and snorted.
“Then I’ll accompany you and wait.”
Lin Yi personally poured tea for her and said, “Pass down the order: add another set of chopsticks at noon and make two extra dishes.”
“Yes.”
After responding, Xiao Xizi shot a glance to He Lian, who hurried away.
But halfway there he turned back. Not daring to enter the courtyard, he smiled toward Jiang Chou, who was guarding the entrance.
“Brother Jiang, the Prince rarely eats in the imperial kitchen. What’s the procedure here?”
Jiang Chou clasped his hands and smiled.
“It’s nothing serious. Lunch is still far away. Just leave the palace and bring Su Yin here. Let him decide everything.”
He Lian slapped his forehead and laughed awkwardly.
“Thank you, brother. My head got hot for a moment—I forgot.”
Then he hurried out of the palace to fetch Su Yin.
The sun grew even stronger.
After standing for a while, Xiao Xizi was also drenched in sweat and stepped back into the nearby corridor for shade.
He steadied his breathing so he could hear immediately if the prince called.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
Without even looking up, he knew who it was—the fly-whisk in his sight gave it away.
He bowed even lower.
“Master.”
Inside and outside the palace, besides his master, who else dared carry a purple jade fly-whisk?
It had been specially crafted for his master according to the style described in Journey to the West.
His master treasured it deeply and never let it leave his side.
As for himself, he didn’t have such status, so he had to rely on the prince’s rewards.
Still, he boldly made himself a sandalwood fly-whisk modeled after Journey to the West. Compared to his old pine-wood one, both the handle and design were far superior.
Sometimes he even used it to beat people—it felt pretty good in the hand.
If only he could learn the Taiyi Fly-Whisk technique from his master, that would be even better.
“These past two days the palace hasn’t been peaceful. Guard carefully. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you responsible.”
Hong Ying said this expressionlessly, then looked toward Lei Kaishan and Tan Fei.
The two men hurriedly cupped their hands.
“Please give your orders, Chief.”
Hong Ying said, “Summon Ye Qiu into the palace. Have him guard Ci’an Palace. Without orders, he is not to leave even a single step.”
The two exchanged glances but dared not disobey. They quickly withdrew.
Xiao Xizi boldly said, “With Master here in the palace, everything will naturally be safe.”
Hong Ying snorted. “Remember what the prince once said: what drives people into madness is usually not incompetence, but arrogance. Although my martial arts have reached some level, I still dare not underestimate the heroes of the world.”
“Master is right,” Xiao Xizi replied obediently.
Suddenly Hong Ying said, “Jiang Chou.”
“Chief!”
Jiang Chou hadn’t expected to be called and became extremely nervous.
Hong Ying said, “You personally go to White Horse Temple. Report any news immediately. The prince is extremely fond of this treasure. If Pan Duo and those useless fools run into trouble, I’ll have to clean up their mess.”
“Chief,” Jiang Chou said cautiously, “Should I go to the Governor’s Office and request troops from the capital garrison?”
The moment he finished speaking, he felt a bone-chilling cold aura.
Terrified, he immediately knelt.
“I know my fault!”
Hong Ying said coldly, “Remember this: I am merely a eunuch. Interfering in state affairs is a capital crime.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Chou wished he could slap himself twice.
How could he say something so foolish!
Mobilizing troops could only happen if Prince He gave the order!
Otherwise, even He Jixiang wouldn’t dare make that decision!
Sigh…
He was simply too stupid.
Hopelessly stupid.
Trying to show initiative didn’t mean he should say nonsense like that!
At the Imperial Kitchen, Su Yin wasn’t there for the first time. Standing with his hands behind his back at the entrance, he asked He Lian, “Did Prince He say what he wanted to eat?”
He Lian shook his head.
“He didn’t say. Just told us to add two extra dishes compared to usual.”
Su Yin rubbed his thick, greasy chin with his broad palm.
“There are only two people eating. That’s hard to arrange. If I make too much, the prince will say I’m wasting food. If I make too little, he’ll say we’re incompetent.”
He Lian nodded.
“Exactly.”
His opinion of this fat man had improved somewhat.
Not everyone in Prince He’s residence was arrogant.
Su Yin hesitated, then said, “It’s too hot for hotpot.”
“You’re right,” He Lian agreed immediately.
He knew nothing about the imperial kitchen.
Su Yin continued, “It can’t be too many dishes, but it can’t look shabby either. So we’ll make it distinctive—Xijiang ingredients, Shengping roast, Eight Immortals platter, Five Raw Meat platter, and finally water-braised calf. Four dishes and one soup. What do you think?”
He Lian said, “I roughly know the other dishes, but what are the Five Raw Meat platter and water-braised calf? I’ve never even heard of them.”
After all, he had served in the palace for years—even served Emperor Delong through his adoptive father.
Su Yin proudly explained, “The Five Raw Meat platter is slices of raw lamb, pork, beef, bear meat, and venison arranged together. As for water-braised calf, it’s stewed young calf. The key is controlling the heat. In the whole Liang Kingdom, fewer than five people can make it!”
He Lian frowned.
“Bear meat? There’s a bear in the palace menagerie, but Consort Yuan loves it dearly. If we kill it…”
She would probably chop his head off.
And Prince He definitely wouldn’t plead for him.
Su Yin waved it off. “Then we’ll make Xunxun sauce fish instead—stuff the fish into a sheep’s stomach and roast them together.”
He only suggested the Five Raw Meat platter to show off anyway.
Besides, Prince He didn’t eat bear meat.
In fact, he didn’t even like tiger or wolf meat. If they actually made it, they’d probably get scolded.
“That works!”
He Lian suddenly became energetic.
“Everyone listen! Follow Mr. Su’s instructions! Anyone who disobeys will be beaten to death without mercy!”
“Yes!”
Everyone in the imperial kitchen responded in unison.
Among the palace managers, aside from Eunuch Xi, He Lian held the most power.
He had the authority of life and death over them.
The sun hung high.
A group of citizens heading to White Horse Temple to burn incense were blocked on the mountain road, including many nobles.
“Who are you bandits to set up a checkpoint here?!”
A middle-aged guard riding a tall horse shouted at Fang Pi.
“This is lawlessness!”
Zhou Jing, dressed in plain clothes, stepped forward and clasped his hands.
“Official business. Please turn back. If you want to offer incense, come another day.”
“Hmph? Official business?”
The guard persisted. “Which officials? Show your identity!”
Zhou Jing smiled.
“Classified. I’m afraid I cannot tell you.”
“What a convenient ‘cannot tell’!”
The guard snorted and pointed at a carriage nearby.
“Do you know who my master is?!”
Zhou Jing glanced awkwardly at Fang Pi.
Fang Pi stood up from the steps and bowed toward the carriage.
“This subordinate greets Prince Dai. Please forgive the offense.”
Prince Dai?!
The nearby onlookers were stunned.
The person inside the carriage was actually Prince Dai!
“The Imperial Guards are becoming bolder and bolder,” the person in the carriage said calmly.
“Return to the residence.”
He never revealed his face.
Watching the carriage leave slowly, Fang Pi snorted.
“Why is Prince Dai getting involved too?”
Zhou Jing laughed awkwardly. “I don’t know either. Prince Dai has been writing poetry and enjoying himself at home for months without going out.”
“Not going out doesn’t mean he’s honest,” Fang Pi sighed. “Send people to keep watching. If something goes wrong, we might as well slit our own throats.”
Prince He might be merciful.
But Pan Duo and Qi Peng were not.
Those two were cold-hearted killers.
If something really happened, before the prince even found out, grass would already be growing over their graves.
“Yes.”
Zhou Jing and Shan Sanguan answered together.
The pilgrims nearby saw even Prince Dai had left.
What could they do?
These were the terrifying Imperial Guards!
Even high officials rarely dared confront them.
So they all turned back.
Soon only the Imperial Guards remained on the mountain road, and everything became much quieter.
Fang Pi sat on a shaded step beneath a tree, scooped up a handful of stream water, drank, and asked, “Still haven’t found it inside?”
Shan Sanguan replied, “I went up just now. Lord Pan Duo is personally searching every place, but the entrance still hasn’t been found.”
Fang Pi frowned.
“No hidden passage usually escapes Lord Pan’s eyes.”
Especially since many of the Imperial Guards were experts in confiscating property and exterminating families.
When it came to searching houses, they were professionals.
There was no reason they shouldn’t find a secret passage.
Zhou Jing asked curiously, “My lord, what exactly is inside this temple? I heard there’s some treasure?”
Fang Pi glared at him. “If you’re not supposed to know, ask less.”
“Yes.”
Zhou Jing smiled awkwardly and said no more.
It was noon.
After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Yi had been lying around Changqing Palace for a long time without receiving any news. He was starting to grow impatient.
He stood up. “Aunt, please rest well. I won’t disturb you.”
The sun was still scorching.
Lin Yi once again entered Qilin Palace. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
Liu Chaoyuan was still blocking the gate. “Enough nonsense. I’m going in anyway.”
Lin Yi simply pushed him aside and walked straight in.
After Prince He entered, Liu Chaoyuan glanced at Hong Ying standing at the gate and sighed deeply.
“I can no longer see through you.”
Hong Ying replied calmly, “You flatter me, Worshipful.”
Liu Chaoyuan said slowly, “Whether Jingyi or Jingkuan, they are no ordinary people. Chief, you should be careful.”
Hong Ying nodded. “Thank you for the reminder. I will remain cautious.”
Emperor Delong was lying on a couch.
Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes.
“You’ve come.”
Lin Yi sat beside him.
“I haven’t seen Father Emperor for many days. Your son has missed you greatly.”
“What do you intend to do?”
Supported by Lin Yi, the emperor sat up and took the teacup Lin Yi handed him.
Lin Yi asked curiously, “Do you also know the people from Jizhao Nunnery have arrived?”
The emperor replied, “The only people who could make my sister this nervous are Xingchen Sea or Jizhao Nunnery. The disciples of Xingchen Sea are scattered and missing. So it must be Jizhao Nunnery.”
Lin Yi laughed. “There’s a saying: one can know everything under heaven without leaving home. That describes Father Emperor perfectly.”
But inwardly he sounded an alarm.
There were still spies loyal to his father in the palace.
And the emperor had not yet grown senile.
He understood everything clearly.
Suddenly the emperor asked, “So what will you do?”
“Simple,” Lin Yi said boldly.
“When soldiers come, we block them. When water comes, we cover it with earth. No matter how powerful Jizhao Nunnery is, to me it’s just a slightly bigger sect. They won’t be able to stir up any waves.”
He had already labeled Jizhao Nunnery as a mafia-like organization.
Not only would he crack down on them—
He would also eliminate the protective umbrellas behind them.
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