Chapter 81: A Midnight Visit to the Imperial Palace

Li Chongyuan and Lan Wutong lay flat atop the palace wall, watching as the night patrol strode across the stone-paved road below. Once the coast was clear, the two of them leapt down, dashing along the shadowed edges of the flowerbeds toward the inner palace.

Earlier that day, everyone had gathered in the rear gardens to practice martial arts and amuse themselves. Seeing that Li Chongyuan and Lin Qingli were of similar age and clearly fond of each other, Zilan had tried to bring them together for some privacy. But Lan Wutong kept joining in their games, to the amusement and exasperation of the group. Seizing an opportunity, Zilan took Lan Wutong aside and told her of her intentions. Lan Wutong widened her eyes in surprise, “If they’re in love, isn’t that a good thing? Why be afraid of others finding out? Even if they manage to keep it a secret now, won’t they have to marry in public someday? Will they be able to hide it then?”

Zilan could only laugh and cry at once. “If you’re always hovering around them, how can their feelings grow?” Lan Wutong thought for a long moment. “If they can’t love each other when someone else is present, perhaps their feelings aren’t that deep after all.” With that, she hopped away, leaving Zilan thunderstruck. Lan Wutong, born in the Miao region, simply didn’t understand the rituals of the Central Plains—there was no explaining it to her. Zilan could only sigh in resignation.

Back in the garden, while chatting idly, conversation turned to their eldest senior brother. Every time Li Chongjun returned from the palace, he would be sullen for half a day, and lately he had shut himself up in the study, refusing to see even his junior brothers and sisters. Everyone found this odd. Lan Wutong, ever brazen and reckless, suggested, “Instead of just guessing, why don’t we sneak into the inner palace to see for ourselves?” The group cheered, but Zilan, worrying about causing trouble for Li Chongjun, pleaded with them not to go. In the end, they reluctantly agreed.

But once curiosity has been piqued, who can truly restrain themselves? At the hour of the Boar, Lan Wutong quietly woke Li Chongyuan to suggest a nighttime foray into the palace. Lin Qingli wanted to join, but Li Chongyuan, knowing her martial skills were the weakest, worried she would be in danger should trouble arise, so he refused.

By this hour, all palace residences had closed their doors for the night. Lan Wutong, who had once followed Zhang Yizhi into Daming Palace, knew the palace paths well. Leading Li Chongyuan through a series of turns, she brought him into the rear palace, scaling walls whenever they blocked their way.

Avoiding the patrols, they gradually approached the inner sanctum. Just as they entered the Imperial Garden, a stern voice rang out from behind: “How dare you trespass into the forbidden palace!” Five eunuchs in red palace garb had appeared behind them. Startled, the two realized the eunuchs had stood so silently—motionless as corpses, their red robes blending perfectly with the palace walls—that they had gone completely unnoticed.

Reacting instantly, the pair turned and aimed for their acupoints. The eunuchs, however, were surprisingly agile—not evading the attack, but instead advancing with raised palms. These were the Phoenix Guards, specially trained to defend the inner palaces.

Selected from young eunuchs upon entering the palace, they were then trained by martial experts, mastering a unique style both sinister and ruthless. Despite their skills, their lives were confined within the palace walls, and they lacked real-world combat experience. They occasionally sparred with other palace guards, but, knowing the odd tempers and narrow-mindedness of these castrated men, others would always feign defeat. Over time, the Phoenix Guards began to overestimate their abilities. Thus, upon seeing Li Chongyuan and Lan Wutong, they did not call for help, but sought to capture them and claim the merit for themselves.

Li Chongyuan struck at his opponent’s eyes, but the eunuch did not flinch—he brought his palm straight down towards Li Chongyuan’s head, a move willing to perish together. Luckily, Li Chongyuan’s cultivation was deep; he quickly changed moves, striking the Qimen acupoint to immobilize his foe before he could react.

He kicked the mute acupoint of another, dropping the man to the ground, unable to cry out. Lan Wutong pounced on the remaining three. One stretched both arms straight for her face, but she sidestepped, slipped under his arm, and struck him at the back, felling him instantly. The last two, realizing things had gone awry, tried to flee—reaching into their sleeves for copper whistles, preparing to sound the alarm.

Li Chongyuan was alarmed. If those whistles sounded, elite guards from every corner would swarm, making escape impossible. At that critical moment, a shadow flashed across the wall. Someone landed before the two eunuchs, striking simultaneously with both palms. The eunuchs grunted as they flew backward, their whistles sent flying. Before their bodies hit the ground, the figure caught up, immobilizing them with a finger strike.

Pulling a face, the newcomer laughed, “And you said I’d be a burden. Now, who’s the burden?” It was Lin Qingli!

As it turned out, she had quietly followed them from the moment they left, tailing them unnoticed. It was Lin Qingli’s intervention just now that prevented disaster. While he was grateful, Li Chongyuan was also bewildered: “Those two had decent martial skills—even Lan Wutong would have struggled, yet she subdued them in just a few moves. Though she’s trained hard, her progress is simply too fast. And those strikes didn’t belong to the Asura technique’s method of using skill to overcome strength. Has she learned another style?” He did not realize Lin Qingli had been secretly practicing the Muscle-Tendon Classic day and night, and her martial prowess had already advanced far beyond before. Yet, as she concealed her true abilities, and since he had never seen the real Muscle-Tendon Classic, he could not comprehend it.

With the eunuchs dealt with, the three found the most direct route to Linzhi Hall. Originally a reception chamber for inner officials, at Empress Wei’s request, Emperor Zhongzong had converted it into a sleeping hall—receiving ministers in the front, and resting with the Empress in the rear.

All other palace buildings were dark, only the great red lanterns at the gates swaying in the night breeze. Yet Linzhi Hall blazed with light. Suddenly, laughter rang out from the rear chamber—women’s laughter, lilting and inappropriate. The Daming Palace, always solemn and strict, was not a place for such wanton merriment. The three, sensing no one nearby, gathered their inner energy and leaped onto the roof, carefully lifting a tile to peer inside.

Within the hall, three figures were at play. On the dragon bed sat a man and a woman, both in their underclothes. The woman’s robe had fallen open, her full, pale breasts swaying as she laughed and played dice with the man. Nearby, another man in yellow undergarments whispered advice to the woman.

After a moment, the man laughed, “You lose again! Ha!” The woman shot the man in yellow a glare, complaining, “It’s your foolish advice!” With that, she tossed her robe aside, baring herself as she continued the game.

Lin Qingli, being a maiden, flushed crimson at the sight, averting her gaze. Lan Wutong, raised among the Miao, was unbothered by such displays—she watched brazenly, giggling behind her hand.

Li Chongyuan found it extraordinary—who in the palace would dare such licentious games? Just then, a eunuch entered and bowed to the man in yellow, reporting, “Your Majesty, the elixir has arrived. Your servant greets the Empress and Lord Wu.” In the Tang court, for propriety’s sake, all medicines were called “elixir.”

The trio gaped in shock. The revelers in the rear chamber were none other than Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian, Empress Wei, and Wu Sansi. Wu Sansi laughed from the bed, “Since His Majesty’s elixir has arrived, perhaps you should drink it first, and then let’s see who wins the next round.”

Li Xian, looking resigned, rose and shook out his yellow robe. “Very well, I’ll take the elixir first. Wait here for me.” With that, he followed the eunuch to the side hall.

Lan Wutong whispered, “What a farce! Another man flirts with his own wife, and the husband not only isn’t angry but stays to watch. Truly, the world is full of wonders.” As soon as Li Xian left, Empress Wei spat in contempt, “Good, now he’s gone. Don’t have to see his face, always reminds me of that dog of a Crown Prince—how infuriating!”

Wu Sansi grinned, “Let’s hurry, we can still enjoy ourselves before he returns.”

Empress Wei frowned, “How can one enjoy pleasure in such a short time?”

Wu Sansi replied, “I have a method sure to leave you weak with delight.” He pulled her into his arms, and she nestled in, letting him caress her at will.

As they grew entangled, a eunuch’s voice suddenly announced, “The Emperor returns!” The curtains parted, and Li Xian staggered back in. Though brazen, Empress Wei dared not continue her dalliance before him. She rose and threw on her robe.

Li Xian approached the dragon bed and frowned at the sight. Wu Sansi smiled, “Her Majesty won a round just now and claimed a robe as her prize.” Li Xian, displeased, said, “Didn’t I ask you to wait?” Wu Sansi flattered, “Without Your Majesty’s guidance, I lost. Clearly, only with your wise rule can the realm know peace.” Hearing this, Li Xian grinned, his spirits restored.

Lan Wutong murmured, “There’s something strange about the Emperor’s medicine. Did you see how unsteady he was when he entered? His eyes were glassy, he moved like a corpse.” Having seen many poisons in the Miao lands, she recognized the signs of intoxication at once.

Li Chongyuan said, “Since they went to the side hall to drink the medicine, let’s investigate.” The three dropped from the roof, circled to the side hall, and slipped in through the window. Inside, two young palace maids dozed, oblivious to everything. Lan Wutong quietly drew some dregs from the medicine pot, sniffed them, and knew at once the potion was laced with something sinister. She tucked the dregs into a pouch, and the three slipped out the window, leaving the maids still none the wiser.