The stone lions still stand majestically in front of the gate, but the once majestic gate is now patchy and jagged, and the plaque above the gate is covered with cobwebs, blocking the large letters on it, making it even more eerie in the darkness of the night.
In front of the gate is a busy road, but even in the daytime few people pass by the gate, and only at night do the watchmen pass by with trepidation.
Gu Yi stood at the bottom of the steps, tilting his head up and looking silently at the once majestic and tall, but now decaying gate.
Xiao Si and a few other juniors stood behind him, lined up in a row.
After a long time, Gu Yi picked up the steps and walked steadily up to the door, two of the boys followed him and crouched on the ground.
Gu Yi touched the words carefully one by one, engraving their strokes Avray into his mind, and then leapt into the house with a click of his toes.
Xiao Si and a few of his boys followed suit.
Inside the mansion, the dead grass and weedy trees were everywhere, almost drowning their bodies.
Xiao Si took out a fire-flame and lit it up, trying to find a way forward, but Gu Yi was already walking forward, and Xiao Si hurriedly followed him.
Two of the boys had already gone ahead, plucking away the weeds and wading out a path to the pavilion that used to be inside the house.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
The beaters came from afar, banging their clappers, “Quarter past the hour, beware of the fire and candles!”
After shouting, out of the corner of his eye he seemed to see a bright light, and instantly inclined his head to look over to the high pavilion of the ruined royal residence, flashing with a light that flickered on and off.
“Ghost, haunted, haunted! ……”
The watchman was so frightened that he threw away what he was holding, rolling and crawling as he ran and shouted.
……
The following day, morning court.
The hall was as quiet as it had ever been, and the mighty officials who normally fought with words were as mute as if they had not said a word today.
They heard the shouts of the watchmen last night, and sent their slaves up the wall on ladders to look quietly towards the ruined royal residence, and saw the light flickering from afar.
The King’s Palace was forbidden to the Emperor, and even if they lived there, they would go around. Not daring to touch the Emperor’s bad luck. Not to mention the fact that they would avoid such a big event, lest they be categorized as part of the King of Qin’s party and lose the lives of their family members as well.
The emperor sat on the dragon chair and looked down at the civil and military officials with a stern face. He opened his eyes early in the morning to the news and was so angry that he smashed several tealights.
“All the lovers, why are you all dumb today?”
No one dared to respond, and the hall was deathly silent.
“Duke Ding Guo.”
“My lord is here.”
The Duke of Tingguo stepped forward and bent slightly at the waist.
“Have you heard about last night’s incident?”
“I have heard.”
“Who do you think did it?”
“Your Majesty ……”
The Duke of Ding was fearless, “I don’t know. ”
The Emperor’s face became even harder as he stared at him.
Duke Ding kept his bowing posture and did not move.
“If I remember correctly, the son of the King of Qin is twelve years old, right?”
“If Your Majesty did not say so, I had forgotten that there was such a person.”
The Emperor laughed coldly, “Consort Qin was the daughter of the Duke of Ding, and she was quite favoured by you and your wife back then. How long has it been since he passed away, and the Duke of Ding doesn’t even remember his daughter?”
“Your Majesty, after the incident, Your Majesty did not involve me in it, and I have long since severed ties with the wife of that sinful minister.”
Hearing him say the word “sinful minister”, the emperor’s face became a little more pale, “In that case, I will leave this matter to you, make sure to find out who did it.”
“I obey the order.”
……
“Your Excellency.”
The eunuch in charge of Kunli Palace was waiting on the way out of the palace, and when he saw the Duke of State, he bowed towards him, “Her Majesty asks you to come over.”
The officials who had left the court passed by them in twos and threes, used to this.
In just a few years’ time, she was crowned Consort Xian and gave birth to the fifth prince, who is now eight years old.
“Lead the way.”
The eunuch in charge answered and led the way.
When he entered Kunli Palace, he dismissed all the palace staff and retired himself, closing the door and guarding the entrance.
“Father ……”
Consort Xiao Xian looked at Duke Ding eagerly.
Duke Ding Guo and invisibly nodded, Xiao Xian Fei covered her chest and reddened her eyes, “He, he ……”
Duke Ding shook his head, signaling her not to ask.
Xiao Xianfei’s eyes became even redder.
Duke Ding’s voice was smooth and no different from the usual, “Last night someone saw a bright light at the Sin King’s residence, the Emperor was furious and sent me to investigate the matter, if there is nothing else, Your Majesty, I will retire.”
After saying that, he quickly lowered his voice, “Xiao’er did not consult me on this matter, and I do not know what he intends to do? You should keep your emotions steady, and I will let someone give you news once I have asked him.”
Consort Xiao Xian nodded her head.
When he came out of the palace, Duke Ding took a team of imperial guards to King Qin’s residence.
The seal on the government door was still there, the writing on it had faded and was mottled and yellowed.
The Duke of Ding waved his hand and the commander of the imperial guards came forward to tear the seal open, and the group entered the palace.
There was a path that had been trodden through the weeds, and when they followed it, they reached the pavilion, where a burning torch was thrown on the ground, but there was no trace of the rest.
The Duke picked up the torch and looked at it carefully, but saw nothing unusual. He handed it to the Commander of the Imperial Guard and stood in the pavilion, looking around, without any strange look on his face.
The Commander Sun looked into his eyes and lowered his eyelids slightly.
“Can the Sun Commander see anything unusual?”
“Someone must have been here, but this person behaved strangely, only coming to the gazebo and not going anywhere else.”
“Because standing inside the gazebo you can see the full view of the House.”
Commander Sun was stunned, then he let his eyes look over and could indeed see the entire Qinwang Mansion.
Commander Sun changed his complexion.
Back then, when King Qin broke into the palace with his sword, he almost killed the emperor and was killed by a chaotic arrow through his heart. The emperor was furious and ordered the beheading of everyone in the Qinwang Mansion.
When he went there with the imperial troops, he found that the Qin Wang’s palace had long since been emptied, even the palace maids and eunuchs who served him were nowhere to be found, including the Qin Wang’s son who was not yet a year old.
“Your Majesty’s meaning is ……”
“Someone is trying to mess up this session, or trying to do something with this session.”
Commander Sun was alarmed and hurried back to the palace to report, the emperor was furious, “Investigate, give me a good investigation, anyone who enters the city in these few days, don’t let anyone go!”