Chapter 65 Little Wan Has Been Discovered
“This, this…”
Wei Wanlan’s cold sweat was about to drip down as the Jinwu guard across from him watched him.
Even if his nose were to grow, he didn’t want his identity to be exposed and be dragged back to the palace, perhaps even being sent to the big villain’s desk by the Jinwu guards.
Wuwuwu, Your Majesty is going to be severely punished…
He cast a pleading glance at Secretary Xiao. As expected, Xiao Ji did not disappoint, his excuse seamless:
“It’s because the County Prince and this official entered the palace through Xuanhua Gate. Danfeng Gate is closer to the County Prince’s residence when leaving; you can confirm with the guards at Xuanhua Gate.”
Xuanhua Gate and Xing’an Gate are almost on opposite sides of the palace.
If the Jinwu Captain really insisted on confirming, he might delay Secretary Xiao and Cheng’en County Prince for a long time, which would not be appropriate. Therefore, Jinwu Captains generally wouldn’t do that: “Since Mr. Xiao says so, that’s how it is.”
Wei Wanlan let out a long sigh of relief.
As soon as he stepped out of Xing’an Gate, he heard the Jinwu Captain whispering to several soldiers nearby:
“Although we are just guards, those who enter and exit are all high-ranking officials, but from now on, when you verify, you must ask a few more questions. The superiors said that many troops have been withdrawn from Zichen Palace recently, and the inner defense has been relaxed, so the outer defense must be tightened.”
“Yes! We understand!”
Wei Wanlan’s heart thumped for a moment.
No wonder no one had followed him when he left Zichen Palace. It seems that the Regent’s strategy towards him has changed, but if he goes out now, might he implicate the soldiers at Xing’an Gate, causing the big villain’s wrath?
Yes, and the palace servants in Zichen Palace…
Little dove’s heart softened again. This is the downside of not being in charge; he couldn’t protect many people.
Wei Wanlan suddenly turned around and asked Xiao Ji: “Warrior, do you have a brush?”
Xiao Ji’s sleeve was practically a treasure bag; of course, he had a brush. This brush was made of purple jade, warm and heavy in the hand, with a cluster of purple bamboos carved on the handle.
Secretary Xiao even provided the emperor with flower-patterned paper:
“Your Majesty has gained freedom by leaving the palace and is going to the East Capital to handle matters; this is certainly full of mixed emotions. Shall you compose a poem? Do you need this minister to rhyme with you? Or create a poem on the same subject?”
So you carry a brush and ink to record inspiration and write poetry.
Civil servants have a thousand good qualities, but sometimes their elegance is unbearable. Xiao Ji also couldn’t get rid of the habits of a scholar.
Wei Wanlan certainly wouldn’t use the brush to write poetry.
He held the brush, dipped it in ink, and while the Xing’an Gate Jinwu guards were not paying attention outside the palace gate, he quickly wrote on the wall. It wasn’t writing; it was drawing. The dragon’s claws worked hard to draw.
After finishing.
Wei Wanlan put away the brush, tilted his head to examine the wall, and felt that it was alright. He returned the brush to Secretary Xiao: “Alright, let’s go. With these measures, even if the Regent discovers that I left the palace privately, I hope he won’t be too angry with others.”
“This—”
What is this drawing?
Xiao Ji didn’t know where to start praising the artwork. Because these paintings were neither meticulous nor freehand; there were four paintings in total, all of which were drawings of hands and eyes.
The young emperor always did things that surprised him yet made him unconvinced.
Xiao Ji dared not rashly comment on the emperor’s artwork; he just tentatively said: “Is this a martial arts manual created by Your Majesty?”
Wei Wanlan was enigmatic:
“This is the crystallization of human wisdom.”
Xiao Ji’s elegant face was slightly tense. He was a bit dumbfounded but didn’t dare to speak; looking at the strange charts full of brushstrokes, he nodded as if he understood.
“Your Majesty is wise.”
Out of the palace, into the imperial city.
Leaving Chang’an imperial city allows one to go to Luoyang in the East Capital.
Wei Wanlan knew that Jinguang Gate was currently under repair.
Xiao Ji said: “The repair of Jinguang Gate has created a loophole in the entry and exit of the imperial city. Because this gate cannot be closed, the repair workers only work at night. The last group of craftsmen who entered the city to transport materials and the last group of people who wanted to leave the city would be blocked outside Jinguang Gate.”
There are bound to be omissions in chaos.
Wei Wanlan said: “So we have to wait until nightfall?”
“Yes.”
During this time, Wei Wanlan casually bought some dry food and some changes of clothes.
He didn’t know how to haggle, and he didn’t know the prices; unfortunately, Xiao Ji didn’t either. The former son of a minister, now a high-ranking official of Great Wei, wasn’t short of money, and both were treated as fat sheep and overcharged.
They also had to hire a carriage.
But hiring a carriage wasn’t urgent now.
They had to leave when curfew was about to begin; now, sitting in the carriage, Wei Wanlan felt it was a waste, and the driver would also have to spend time with them, wasting his precious time.
So Wei Wanlan chose to go to Chang’an to eat at a restaurant.
The last time he made an incognito visit, he was chased by the East City Gang everywhere; he had no chance to have a proper meal in Chang’an.
This time was different.
The East City Gang had been eliminated, and Chang’an’s security was good. He sat in Zuixian Tower and ordered a table of good dishes, picked cherries with toothpicks, and looked up at the poems hanging in the building.
This was also an elegant hobby of the ancients. Famous buildings all have poem boards. Many poems were passed down in this way in ancient times when information was not well-developed.
Xiao Ji was eager to try: “Young Master, I’ll be right back.” He changed his address to the emperor and himself upon leaving.
The poem board wasn’t far. It’s just by the stairs.
Xiao Ji went to write; Wei Wanlan propped his chin and looked from below: “Plain… beyond the clouds, palace… setting sun, I don’t recognize QAQ”
His good friend is too cultured.
Not long after going out with Xiao Ji, he encountered something he didn’t understand. On the contrary, he understood when the Regent and Qin Zhen fought on Zhuque Street; the outcome was obvious.
Yet, Xiao Ji pointed to the poem board and respectfully asked, “Young Master, how do you find this poem?”
“The calligraphy is very good.”
Anything Your Majesty doesn’t understand is good.
Who among the people who survived to this chapter in this power struggle novel doesn’t have a skill to show off?
But Wei Wanlan couldn’t help but think of the Regent.
If he were eating with the big villain today, wouldn’t the big villain be holding a knife and forcing him to ask:
“Little Wan, do you think my move to kill just now was decisive?”
“Look at my knife, it cuts iron like mud, and it cuts heads like cutting melons and vegetables; isn’t it fast?”
Little Wan.
Little Wan…
Big villain!
He also called Little Wan in his ear when he forcibly kissed him last night. He heard it; no one had ever called Little Wan while bullying him; only he is bad! QAQ
Xiao Ji saw Wei Wanlan’s face suddenly turn red like a shrimp, puzzled; how could a landscape poem move the emperor so much? He didn’t write a lyrical poem.
The emperor is indeed the emperor; his emotions are more sensitive than ordinary people. He couldn’t keep up.
Xiao Ji took Wei Wanlan’s reaction as praise, called for a few more poem boards, and wrote more happily:
“Again, again, again…”
“——Another one who doesn’t know where Your Majesty has gone; drag him out and chop him up. What use are you?”
“Please forgive us, Your Highness!!!”
Evening. Zhongshu Province.
In front of the Regent’s desk, there were countless people kneeling densely.
Everyone didn’t dare to breathe, and even the white smoke from the bronze incense burner in the Zhongshu Province seemed to be trembling.
The Regent’s brows were cold and severe, like a weapon that had weathered wind and snow in Suofang.
For some reason, two silver needles were stuck between his eyebrows, and the needle tails were still moving in his flesh; but these two needles didn’t affect his appearance, but instead, because of them, he exuded more killing intent.
Zhongshu Province became even quieter.
So quiet that everyone could only hear their own breathing and their hearts pounding in their chests. They tried their best to minimize their presence; if they angered the living Yama, they could die at any time.
Su Jingzhi put down the government affairs for several Pingzhang Shi to handle and asked the Jinwu Guard:
“Where was the last time you saw the emperor?”
The Zichen Palace Jinwu Guard was trembling with fear, sweat dripping from his armor; feeling as if the cold metal armor was covered with thorns:
“Re-return to Your Highness, outside the palace, Your Majesty specially paused in front of this subordinate; Your Highness asked us not to follow, so this subordinate only paid respects to Your Majesty and then allowed Your Majesty to leave.”
Outside Zichen Palace.
Su Jingzhi pondered this information.
An Ruyi was frightened and pale. It was he who advised the Regent to curb his jealousy and reduce his control over the emperor, but unexpectedly, as soon as he withdrew the Jinwu Guard’s following, the emperor was nowhere to be found!
An Ruyi knew that the Regent must be thinking about finding the emperor now; he didn’t have time to plead guilty; to save his life, he had to find the emperor’s whereabouts, An Ruyi said:
“Your Highness, although Zichen Palace has relaxed its defenses, there are guards at several gates of the palace city; Your Majesty could not possibly disappear out of thin air; Your Majesty does not know martial arts; he cannot climb over the palace walls.”
He doesn’t know martial arts, and he can’t climb over the palace walls; he can only go through the palace gates.
The palace gates have strict token and register systems; theoretically, it’s impossible for the emperor to leave the palace openly; he couldn’t get a token and wasn’t registered at any of the palace gates.
All the Jinwu Captains guarding the palace gates were gathered here.
An Ruyi guided them to recall: “Gentlemen, this matter is of great importance; please carefully recall if you saw a not-too-tall, fair-skinned, big-eyed boy leave the palace alone?”
The Jinwu Generals all thought An Ruyi was crazy.
Unless there were normal procedures, how could they not stop such a situation as An Ruyi described?
All the guards shook their heads.
An Ruyi was a little panicked at this time; he quickly “This, this…” for a long time.
However, his words were not entirely ineffective.
At least the Regent’s gaze swept over the Jinwu leaders of several gates of the palace city, and he found that the commander of Xing’an Gate had a strange expression; his pupils were flickering in his eye sockets; his gaze was erratic.
Then Su Jingzhi pondered for a moment.
His fingertips rubbed the paper at the edge of the memorial on the desk.
His fingers suddenly paused, as if he had suddenly thought of something; he locked his gaze on the kneeling Jinwu Captain of Xing’an Gate and carefully observed whether there were subtle changes in his expression.
Su Jingzhi asked:
“He may not have left the palace alone. He may have been accompanied by someone. Did a young man like that leave the palace?”
The condition is limited again.
Seeming to know that a huge matter had fallen on him, the Xing’an Gate Jinwu leader’s pupils constricted.
Then his mental defenses finally collapsed, and he had to confess everything, his voice hoarse:
“This subordinate saw Cheng’en County Prince leave the palace with someone today. The County Prince is registered, and this subordinate followed the palace entry and exit procedures and carefully checked the information of Cheng’en County Prince… the person indeed has big eyes and fair skin.”
The silver needle fell.
The Regent suddenly stood up from his throne!
The Xing’an Gate guard was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
“Where is he? Who is he with?”
Every word the Xing’an Gate guard said felt like a death knell.
But he still had to speak and dared not hide anything. He kowtowed and said:
“Secretary Xiao Ji.”
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