Chapter 25: Turning One's Hand into Clouds

  The moon is high in the sky, and several judges from the Temple of the Imperial Clan have been secretly summoned to the palace. The Crown Prince's East Palace has been implicated in a case of witchcraft, but it is being kept secret within the palace. However, such a big move cannot be hidden. As a result, at this time, the shadows of the Imperial Guard are all over the entire rear palace. The Emperor is still unconscious, and the affairs of the palace are being handled by Empress Xiao. She has secretly invited the Emperor's younger brother, the 13th Prince, to come to the palace to take charge of the situation.

  On the scene of the fire, countless palace maids were crying and wailing in unison. Although no evidence was found in Qing Xia's Lanting Palace, as a member of the Eastern Palace, she was also implicated and taken into custody. Chen Fei, De Fei, and others cried bitterly, losing their elegant and noble demeanor, frightened out of their wits. Just moments before, some low-ranking servants and palace maids had been burned alive right in front of them, and these women who lived deep within the palace were all scared out of their minds, with some almost becoming hysterical. The interrogators from the Grand Temple were gruffly questioning the consorts and palace maids who had already been found to have evidence against them, and many people, under the shock and torture, were forced into making false confessions.

  Qing Xia Yuan had thought that at the very least, they would be handed over to the Da Si Fu for a trial and sentencing, but she hadn't expected these people to be so ruthless and impatient. Chu Li was now in charge of the imperial city's military power, no wonder they were being so cautious.

  Things quickly took a turn for the worse, and within an hour, Chu Li secretly met with the abbot of the Great Buddha Temple in the suburbs of South Chu City. He had learned the art of witchcraft from the barbarians of the southern border and was plotting to harm the current King of Chu, with the intention of ascending to the throne as soon as possible. The evidence was sufficient, with both human and material evidence present, and there was even a motive for the crime. Everything seemed to be settled in an instant, as if the dust had already settled.

  An imperial edict was quickly spread out of the East Gate of the Imperial City. The Emperor is critically ill and summons the Crown Prince to return to the palace immediately.

  Qing Xia held the hand of Xiang Ju tightly, who was pale with fear, and sat firmly among the crowd. After all, there was no substantial evidence to prove her involvement in the witchcraft case, and the Zhuang family's power was too great, so she didn't suffer any abuse for the time being. However, she deeply understood the principle of "when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter". If Chu Li lost this premeditated struggle for power, the entire East Palace would be buried with him.

  Although she didn't have a good impression of Chu Li, she had to admit that she didn't want him to fall. This turmoil came too suddenly, and it happened to be at the same time as the escape of the Qi prince and the confrontation with the Qi state. Chu Li put most of his energy outside the palace, which allowed someone to take control by force. Moreover, he had only returned to the country for a year, and beneath the seemingly glorious surface was a thin layer of ice - one misstep would lead to disaster. An unstable regime is a direct factor in creating riots, but Qing Xia also had to admit that if it weren't for her, Chu Li wouldn't have been so easily taken advantage of. After all, Qi An was released by her.

  The many servants and maids of the Orchid Pavilion were imprisoned together with those of the Cloud Soaring Palace in a dilapidated palace. Qing Xia sat with her people in the east wing, while outside in the central hall were Dan Fei and others. The entrance was guarded by a large number of fierce guards, the windows were all sealed, and the surroundings were tightly enclosed. Qing Xia knew that at this time, the imperial palace must be on high alert, and since the rebels had carefully planned such a large-scale riot, they must have made thorough preparations and arrangements. Moreover, there was another plan to ensure that after Chu Li and Old King Chu died, the situation could be brought under control.

  At this time, as long as Chu Li stepped into the imperial palace half a step, he would definitely have no luck, and once he died, it would mean that everyone in this house would follow him to the Yellow Springs. Qing Xia, who had narrowly escaped death nine times in the explosive shell of the military department, couldn't die in this palace coup in such a muddled way.

  Forget it, Chu Li will just provide for himself and drink for himself. He has also taken over his wife's body to avenge his enemy. Today, he will repay him a little kindness and save himself while helping him out at the same time.

  "Xiangju, take off your clothes." Qingxia whispered in Xiangju's ear.

  Xiao Yatou saw Qing Xia and immediately took off her own clothes, exclaiming in surprise: "Your Majesty?"

  "If we let the prince return to the palace, we will all be finished. I must leave the palace to report the news."

  "No, Your Highness!" Xiangju was shocked and blurted out loud, but Qingxia quickly covered her mouth. The little maid hastily signaled herself to keep her voice down, and only then did Qingxia remove her hand. Xiangju grasped Qingxia's arm with urgency and said sorrowfully: "The outside is full of rebels, Your Highness absolutely cannot go out and take risks. The Crown Prince will surely eliminate the bandits and come to rescue us."

  "Waiting for him? I'd rather rely on myself." Qing Xia impatiently took off her own clothes and threw them to Xiang Ju, saying in a low voice: "Stop nagging, hurry up!"

  "Your Highness," Xiangju's tears burst out, she knelt on the ground and tightly grasped Qingxia's hand, crying: "If Your Highness must go, let Xiangju go instead. It doesn't matter if Xiangju dies, but Your Highness' precious life can't be risked."

  Qing Xia was moved by her words, seeing how pitiful she looked crying. He reached out to pull her up, smiling as he wiped away the tears on her face. In a low voice, he said: "Silly girl, no one is going to die. Alright, stop crying and listen to me. Don't worry, your mother isn't someone who can be easily killed by others."

  After much persuasion, Xiangju was finally convinced to disguise herself and stay in the house. At this time of war and chaos, everyone's attention was focused on the outside, so no one would notice if a small palace maid was missing.

  The soldiers who went to deliver the imperial edict had set out for some time, and Qing Xia could only hope to take the direct path through Xihua Gate, which would still allow her to intercept Chu Li's carriage on the road. Qing Xia was wearing a palace maid's long skirt, running in the secluded West Garden, when suddenly a figure burst out from a corner and knocked her to the ground.

  Qing Xia steadied herself after a forward roll on the ground. At this time, the noisy voices all around affected her hearing. A dagger slipped out of her sleeve, and she thought of taking care of the approaching person to avoid exposing her whereabouts. At this moment, those who could walk freely outside were either rebels or accomplices of the rebels.

  But Qing Xia hadn't moved, and that person hastily rolled over and crawled to come over, held up Qing Xia's arm, and hurriedly said: "How is it? Is anything broken?"

  Qing Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she listened to the man's tone, which didn't have any hint of hostility. She suddenly put away the dagger that was already pressed against the man's chest. At this moment, it was better to do less rather than more. With a puzzled expression, she looked at him sideways. What entered her line of sight wasn't a suit of armor, but a dark green official robe with a pale blue bird embroidered on the chest, indicating that he was a fourth-rank civil official. The man's hands were slender and bony, and his body had the unique aura of a scholar. Even in such a disheveled state, he still exuded an air of refinement. He hastily helped Qing Xia up, saw that she wasn't seriously injured, and said in a low voice: "You're a palace maid from which palace? You're too bold, daring to wander around outside at this time. If you get caught, it's a capital offense. Hurry up and find a place to hide."

  He finished speaking, turned around and hurriedly left in the direction of Xihua Gate, where Qing Xia was heading. It wasn't until this moment that Qing Xia got a clear look at the man's face. The man didn't have any particularly striking features, but his expression was clear and made people feel very comfortable. His eyebrows were light and distant, his hair stood upright, and his back looked somewhat weak. From the way he ran, it was obvious that he wasn't used to exercising - just a little bit faster and he would stumble and almost fall over.

  The man was in a hurry and didn't know who he was. Qing Xia secretly added caution, tightly following behind him, still running towards Xihua Gate.

  A sudden burst of chaotic footsteps rang out, Qing Xia cried out in a low voice that something was wrong, and before he could even open his mouth to warn the man, he had already been discovered.

  "Lin Changshi, in such a hurry, where are you headed?" A man wearing the uniform of the Imperial Guard reached out with his hand, the long knife on it radiating a cold aura, and blocked the scholar's path.

  The scholar's face changed colour in surprise, and he immediately took a step back. With a loud voice, as if willing to sacrifice himself, he shouted: "You bunch of treacherous officials! I will go to the Crown Prince and expose your crimes, and have you punished according to the law!"

  This idiot!

  Qing Xia furrowed his brow, not even uttering a single nonsense word. The Imperial Guard officer Qing Xia knew, surnamed Cheng, was the leader who came to the East Palace tonight to take someone's head. Obviously, he had discovered this bookworm's trail and deliberately came to Xihua Gate to intercept him. This was great, Qing Xia hadn't revealed his own whereabouts, but a bookworm had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to stir up trouble. Qing Xia gritted his teeth, itching with anger as he watched the situation outside, wishing he could grab that scholar and give him a good thrashing.

  "Think you can leave the palace? We'll see if you have what it takes!" General Cheng snorted, his voice low and stern: "Lin Changshi secretly colluded with the traitorous Chu Li faction. Take him away, no matter whether he lives or dies!"

  Alright, even the prince didn't utter a word, it seems like they've made up their minds to rebel. Qing Xia grasped a few stones in her hand, waiting for the final moment to strike.

  "How dare you? I am the chief historian of the current dynasty, in charge of all compilation and editing at the Imperial Archives. You openly rebel, your crime is heinous! The bookworm clutched a package tightly in his hand, shouting loudly with righteous indignation. Qing Xia cursed under her breath, thinking that this guy was an idiot - if he wasn't even afraid of the Crown Prince, why would he be afraid of the Imperial Archives?"

  Cheng Jiangjun sneered, holding his knife and slowly walking forward. In a sinister tone, he said: "Lin Changshi, go to the underworld and continue writing your history book!" With that, he swung his long knife and chopped down towards Lin Shubao's head!

  At this moment, what are you waiting for? A few stones suddenly brought great power and rushed out with a loud noise. Several torches were knocked down in an instant, just as the clouds in the sky covered the moon, and the Xiyuan Garden was plunged into darkness. Qing Xia quickly flashed out, taking advantage of the chaos, her dagger's cold light flashed out instantly.

  With a flash of the blade, several swift and deadly strikes later, apart from Qing Xia and Lin, the historian, there was not a single person left alive. Qing Xia searched around on the ground for a while, pulled off two sets of clothes from the dead bodies, then grabbed Lin's hand and took off in a mad dash. It wasn't that she was afraid someone would come chasing after them, but rather that she feared if they lingered, the bloody scene would scare this bookworm stiff, and also feared revealing her own martial arts abilities. They ran for quite a while before Lin suddenly let go of Qing Xia's hand, collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily.

  "You... you little palace maid... I told you... to hide... why didn't you listen... it's so dangerous..."