Chapter 24: The Wind Rises in the Imperial City
Perhaps what people say about being a virtuous person or a refined and elegant gentleman is exactly this kind of scene before our eyes.
The young man in a blue shirt, with clear and bright eyebrows and eyes, was reflected in the plum garden's sparse snow, exuding a faint sense of detachment and elegant refinement. The faint scent of tea wafted gently through the air, but in reality, Qing Xia wasn't one to appreciate tea; in modern society, opportunities to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea were scarce. It was only because he had once studied Japan's tea ceremony for a task that he had a rough understanding of the procedures. However, due to his emotional state at the time, he hadn't paid close attention to the flavors in the tea, just like how one might not appreciate the taste of wine when they're drunk. Today, sitting amidst the snow and under the plum trees, he felt an extraordinary sense of clarity.
Taking over the purple sand tea cup from the man's hand, he brought it to his nose and smelled it, only to feel a refreshing and elegant aroma rushing towards him, and couldn't help but praise: "So fragrant!"
The man in the green shirt smiled faintly, his face had an indescribable warmth and elegance. Qing Xia saw that beside the stone table there was a guqin and a long xiao, as well as a stove with high-quality sandalwood incense, the incense burner was a light purple color, looking very delicate and small, secretly leaving a deep impression. However, his face remained calm and composed, peacefully sipping tea.
"Looking at the girl's dress and demeanor, she doesn't seem like a palace maid, but rather a newly entered courtesan from the Yingge Pavilion?"
Qing Xia shook her head, "The old emperor is really something, at his age, half of him is already buried in the ground, and he's still selecting consorts and beauties. It's truly cruel." She lightly blew on the clear tea in her cup and smiled as she replied, "I'm just a passing traveler, I won't be staying for long, sir may not often see me again in the future."
"This way," the man didn't ask any further. One hand lightly grasped the tea cup, while the other hand used its index and middle fingers to gently tap on the right thigh.
This is an unconscious action, and many times the person doing it won't even realize it. It's like how modern special police often unconsciously touch their waist and armpits because that's where they usually hide their guns, or how actors often touch their throat because that's their livelihood. This is the same principle as when a prostitute habitually sniffs herself for bad breath before going out to meet clients. Qing Xia just gave it a light scan and could tell that this man must have something very important placed there. But what was clearly a precious sword might also be a hidden dagger, or a poisonous needle for assassination.
The elegant and refined young master, is often a ferocious beast that devours people, the more impossible the person is, the more cautious Qing Xia's heart becomes, only this caution cannot be revealed.
"How did you get in? This plum garden has always been a forbidden place in the imperial palace, didn't anyone stop you?" The man's pleasant voice slowly sounded, carrying a hint of soothing charm.
Qing Xia raised her head, with a faint smile on her face, and said in an odd expression: "No way, I've been on this road all along, but I haven't seen a single guard."
Just then, the red-clothed girl who had been there earlier suddenly flashed out from behind a plum tree, not avoiding him, and opened her mouth to the man without making a sound, but changing the shape of her lips. The man nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. Qing Xia glanced at them sideways, knowing that they were using sign language, which she had also learned for a period of time, but was not proficient in, so she couldn't openly look and didn't know what she was saying. She only thought to herself, it's probably Jiayun who deliberately got rid of the guards outside the plum garden, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to walk in so easily.
"It was Jia Yun causing trouble, it's easy for you to come in, but going out later might be troublesome, so let's do this, follow me from the backyard later and avoid trouble."
The man's voice was soft and gentle, saying slowly. Qing Xia raised her eyes to look at this man who seemed like a banished immortal, neither affirming nor denying, nor expressing gratitude. The clear wind brushed against her face, carrying the fragrance of plum blossoms from the entire garden, Qing Xia closed her eyes and slightly tilted her head back, her mouth corners gently curving upwards as she said: "This place is truly beautiful, it's right to restrict outsiders from coming in, otherwise a crowd of people would swarm in and destroy the elegance and serenity of this place."
The man slowly shook his head and smiled faintly, saying: "This place is remote, it's said to be quiet and elegant, but in fact it's desolate. Coming once or twice is fine, but if you come often, it's lonely. The people of Chu Palace are mostly busy and won't waste their time on this plum garden."
"Exactly!" Qing Xia nodded heavily with a tilted head, "To enjoy happiness, one must also have a clear and peaceful mind. Beautiful scenery is also subjective."
The man seemed to have come with the intention of speaking, his gaze softening as he looked at Qing Xia and said: "I often linger here, if you're free, you can come more often."
"I like the bustle." The woman in white cotton robes with bright eyes and white teeth shook her head, "I say nice things, but actually I'm a complete and utter commoner. I often come here to add some vulgarity to Mr.'s place." After finishing speaking, she tilted her neck and drank the tea water from the small cup in one gulp, stood up with a smile and said: "Although the tea is good, when you're really thirsty, only cold water can quench your thirst. I won't disturb Mr.'s quiet anymore, so I'll take my leave, see you later."
"Miss, you're in such a hurry, is there something urgent?" The man slightly raised his eyebrows and looked at Qing Xia with a calm gaze.
Qing Xia smiled lightly and said, "There's no urgent matter, it's just that if someone can't find me, they might make a big fuss. When the time comes, it'll be a mess for everyone. Although my heart is not in the palace, I still have to put on a show. This is the sorrow of ordinary people, sir won't understand."
"Oh?" The man's eyebrows rose, and he looked at Qing Xia with a profound gaze. He said lightly: "In that case, please feel free to do as you wish, miss. Just be careful on the way, for in the depths of the palace, people's hearts are treacherous, and one must speak carefully when meeting others. You are a rare intelligent woman, I truly hope to see your smile often in the future."
As the cool breeze blew past, she walked a long way, and Qing Xia still seemed to feel the gaze behind her, which was soft but actually sharp. A cold sweat slowly flowed down from her forehead, and her hands and feet were almost trembling slightly. If it weren't for her quick wit, she might have lost her life in this plum garden today. She had experienced many dangers in her life, but none of them were as perilous as the one just now. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
This ordinary plum garden has a cleverly arranged mechanism, which would be interpreted by modern psychologists as a hint, but Qing Xia knew that there was a huge power hidden beneath. She had once encountered it in the UK during a mission, in a Chinese royal family claiming to be descendants of Qin, where she had one of her rare failures, precisely because she underestimated this ancient numerical mechanism. Little did she expect to see it again in a foreign space-time thousands of years ago.
Just now, it seemed like only himself and the man in green clothes, but in fact, there were at least two hundred people hidden in the plum garden around them. Everyone's breathing was steady, without revealing a single trace. If it were an ordinary person, they would not have noticed. But Qing Xia was no ordinary person, and at first, he didn't pay much attention, but later on, he caught a whiff of a man's sweat in the air, and that's when he realized.
The flute and zither sounds heard earlier were actually a secret signal to guide the mute girl, and this numerology mechanism in Mei Garden is not something that anyone can easily access. This was also the reason why that person let me go. These people must have some kind of conspiracy going on here and didn't want to be accidentally discovered by me. If I hadn't repeatedly expressed my intention to leave and hinted that my disappearance would cause unnecessary trouble, I would probably have been silenced forever.
Something big is going to happen in this palace, quietly calculating the position, Qing Xia took a deep breath and walked out of Mei Garden.
Back in the palace, Xiang Ju and a group of servants were searching everywhere for her, almost turning the place upside down. When they saw Qing Xia return, they were all overjoyed.
"Orange, sweep every corner of the Lan Ting courtyard, don't let any place go unchecked. Bring me all suspicious things from suspicious places for my inspection. Remember to find a few reliable servants to do this secretly, and absolutely don't reveal our tracks."
Xiang Yu saw Qing Xia's serious expression and couldn't help but tense up. In the depths of the palace, there were many things that could be said but not explained. With swift and nimble orders, a group of palace servants secretly sprang into action.
By the fiery charcoal basin, several people with pale faces looked at the thing that had been burned into powder and ash by the charcoal, all of them feeling a chill in their hands and feet.
The sky had just turned slightly dark, and the news of the emperor's serious illness came from Zhenggong. The imperial physicians knelt in front of the main gate of Zhengyang Palace, and everyone's mind was violently shaken by the old emperor's coughing sounds inside. Finally, the Shenyuan Temple's shenqu walked out of the emperor's Zhengyang Palace and announced the divine instruction: someone in the palace secretly used witchcraft to harm the emperor and endanger the great cause of Nanchu.
So, on this night, all the palaces and halls were searched by the Imperial Guard. Zhuang Qingxia, sitting in the Lanting Hall, knew that with external forces intervening, the Southern Chu regime, which had dominated for so long, had finally begun a new round of power struggles.
It's almost certain that the Crown Prince's East Palace will be searched, and in every dynasty, whenever witchcraft is involved, tens of thousands of people will die with it. Qing Xia herself wasn't afraid of anything, but once she was investigated, not a single servant in the entire Lanting Hall would be spared. However, at this moment, she could only take care of herself.
As Chuli was not in the palace, since the last dispute with Qingxia, Chuli has been stationed at the Junji Dazheng camp. Even when returning to the palace, it is only a short stay at the Yunxiang Hall. The crown prince's wife passed away, and there is still no one in charge in the East Palace, so when the Imperial Guard arrived, they were immediately thrown into chaos.
Against everyone's expectations, except for Qing Xia's Lan Ting Hall and Dan Fei's Yun Xiang Hall, almost every palace gate found a voodoo doll, and at that time, the East Palace was filled with cries of injustice, from De Chen's two consorts to dozens of beautiful women, Shu Wen, Cai Ren, and Zhao Yi were all locked up by the Imperial Guard. Ruo Fei, because her sister, the former Crown Princess had passed away, was still mourning in the ancestral temple and narrowly escaped this disaster.
Disaster always comes suddenly, Qing Xia sat in the main hall of the Lan Ting Grand Hall, watching the Imperial Guards overturning all the chests and cabinets like wolves, without any anger or panic, her expression calm and composed, unable to see any emotions. Xiang Ju and Xiang Mei stood beside her, listening to the deafening cries outside, feeling a chill in their hearts. Under the long chain lock, locked up was nearly half of the power of the entire Eastern Palace, even the Dongyang Palace where Crown Prince Chu Li lived was searched for evidence of witchcraft.
But even with such a big movement, outsiders still know nothing about what happened inside. The four palace gates of the imperial city were all closed, and inside was chaotic, but outside, not a single message was transmitted.
It's going to turn over today.
Qing Xia furrowed her brow in deep thought, regardless of whether she admitted it or not, her fate was already tied to Chu Li's, if she allowed Chu Li to fall from power and the Zhuang family collapsed, she would also have no way to escape.
An individual's power is so small in front of a country, Qing Xia had long understood the truth, she sat quietly in her seat, but her mind was racing at high speed, that man, was indeed not simple.
It's finally time to show off, hehe... Dong Er is so excited that she can't even breathe~~~
This chapter may be a bit dull, it's for suppressing a big explosion in the next chapter, everyone support me for a moment, roar!

