Chapter 202 The Secret of Yeyouting

Chapter 202 The Secret of Yeyouting

Chapter 202 The Secret of Yeyouting
Those people were still waiting in front of the hall, awaiting the summons from the chief eunuch. Concubine Lan, the only one sitting on the embroidered cushion, stood out from the crowd. No one would regard this small stool as a privilege in Zhaode Palace.

Zhang Wei stepped over the threshold, glanced at the two people who had not left yet, and spoke loudly.

"There is an imperial decree for Concubine Lan to enter the palace for an audience."

After ending her torment under the gaze of everyone, the woman ran quickly, lifted up her palace skirt and walked up the stairs, thanking Eunuch Zhang profusely, who had done nothing but reward her with an embroidered cushion.

Qin Shuner stood in the courtyard, feeling extremely confused.

The original plan was to bring him into the Forbidden City as an attendant and find an opportunity to meet the man from Yeyouting. Everything was done quietly, but something unexpected happened. He fought a draw with Mei Xin in Sihuang Pavilion. Li Yu had a name in the imperial concubine's mind, and I'm afraid he had attracted the attention of many people.

"Let's go, Eunuch Qin."

Zhang Yu looked much more relaxed, holding a long golden tassel in his hand.

At the other end was a white jade plaque with cloud patterns, with "peace and tranquility" engraved on the front.

Concubine Wan would reward this kind of palace pass to her trusted confidants who performed their duties well as a token of favor, but its actual use was very limited.

Qin Shuner also has one.

"Go...where?"

"Eunuch Qin is in the guard room in the Forbidden City."

Qin Shuner understood that he had no intention of leaving the palace at all.

The two walked out of Zhaode Palace.

The winding pond is shaded by willow trees, and the setting sun shines across the horizon.

A fat swan spread its wings and walked on the waves.

This place is open and unobstructed, and although eunuchs from the inner court pass by from time to time, it is still relatively easy to talk to them.

Qin Shuner looked at the Peaceful Sign and whispered, "Mr. Zhang, you don't want to go today, do you?"

"Eunuch Qin's guess is really accurate."

"Mr. Zhang, this is the Forbidden City!"

Qin Shuner was as anxious as an ant on a fallen leaf in the pond. The imperial palace was like the Taiye Pond beside the Wansui Mountain. It seemed sunny and calm, but no one knew what kind of turbulent waves were brewing underneath. Once they were stirred up, in an instant, the waves would overturn the boats and everyone would die without a burial place.

"The place you are going to is Yeyouting again."

"What happened to Yeyouting?"

Qin Shuner sighed, "Most of the slaves imprisoned in Yeyouting are the family members of criminal officials and the children of the royal family. They will never be released unless they are pardoned. The most elite guards of the Imperial Horse Administration are stationed there all year round, and there are also masters from the inner court on duty."

"I understand what you said. I will make my own decision on how to proceed."

Zhang Yu was used to hanging around in the underworld, so being in the Forbidden City was like being trapped in a cage. Besides, he was also worried that something might happen in the long run. He could only temporarily blackmail Qin Shuner with a half-true and half-false "fatal hole", but how credible was it? If his identity was exposed, he would not be able to leave even if he wanted to.

Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, Qin Shuner said, "Mr. Zhang has the Peace and Trouble Card. He only needs to go find the chief steward of Zhaode Palace, the eunuch Zhang mentioned earlier, and report to him. Then he can stay in the guardhouse for the night."

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "From what Eunuch Qin said, you don't plan to stay in the Forbidden City tonight?"

Qin Shuner whispered, "I've thought about it carefully. I need to make some arrangements at Guangxi Manor and prepare reliable personnel in case the palace investigates. I have to go out of the palace to handle this matter myself."

"Then Eunuch Qin can go by himself."

Qin Shuner looked at Zhang Yu and begged, "Mr. Zhang, can you help me unblock the deadly point?"

He could clearly feel that as time went by, his head became heavier and his vision went dark from time to time.

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "No."

"Mr. Zhang..."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Come to see me before the hour of Mao tomorrow. Eunuch Qin, please relax. My unique acupuncture technique is very precise and powerful. I guarantee that you will not die before the hour of Mao."

Qin Shuner was a pure villain, and there was no means to threaten his life enough to scare him so much that he dared not resist. If he was allowed to catch his breath, he would bare his fangs and bite him from behind.

The guardhouse is located in the southwest corner of the Green Willow Pond, only thirty or forty steps away from the main gate of Zhaode Palace.

There are two rows of bungalows with green tiles and red walls, and a large patch of golden bamboo leaning against the back. In spring and summer, the eunuchs suffer from mosquito bites, and except for the nights they are on duty, they would rather leave the palace and go back to the Twelve Prisons to sleep.

Each room was of the same style, only four or five square meters, barely big enough for one person, with a wooden bed and a wooden table, extremely simple, even worse than the one that servants of ordinary wealthy families lived in.

The Da Diao Temple has eight living quarters outside, and its status is comparable to that of a king or a prince. But when they arrive in the Forbidden City, they can only live in such a house. This is also to remind them that no matter how powerful they are, they are just slaves of the emperor.

The two men stood in front of the table, facing a map drawn on a piece of straw paper, on which the distribution of the palaces and gardens in the Forbidden City was marked. After Zhang Yu looked at it several times, he nodded slightly.

"Mr. Zhang, do you really remember it?"

"remember."

"Okay, I'll burn it then."

Qin Shuner took the straw paper with trembling hands, placed it on the candle flame, and watched it gradually turn into ashes. From time to time, he looked outside the door with a guilty conscience, then took the teapot and poured out the ashes that had not yet been completely extinguished, to dispel the smell of burning paper in the room.

Zhang Yu saw that he was very cautious and asked, "Is it necessary?"

Qin Shuner said with a sad face: "Privately painting the palace with ill intentions is a crime punishable by extermination of three clans. Burning paper in the Forbidden City is a crime of three levels. If you start a fire unintentionally, you will be punished by eighty strokes of the cane. If you start a fire intentionally, you will also be punished by extermination of three clans..."

Eunuchs are the emperor's slaves. Killing them does not require the use of national laws, and the turbans in the outer court will only applaud. The only thing they can rely on is the imperial power. They are willing to be lackeys for their master to eliminate dissidents and bear the infamy. If they show the slightest disloyalty, they will be killed like slaughtering a dog.

"Whether it's the imperial court or the martial arts world, they all have a special liking for killing three clans of a person. It seems that it's difficult to show off such thunderbolt methods, which is not enough to make dissidents fear and submit."

After Qin Shuner left, Zhang Yu closed the door, sat on the bed, and practiced the Beiming Divine Art.

Until midnight, there was a sudden strong wind, the bamboo forest rustled, and countless black shadows swayed on the ground.

A figure suddenly appeared and sneaked into the lush willows beside the curved pool. After avoiding two teams of guards, he immediately turned around and headed towards the southeast corner, walking and stopping from time to time. He walked for four or five miles without any trouble.

There are many flowers, trees, stone forests and winding waters on this road. The terrain is relatively complex, making it easier to hide your tracks.

"It's a pity that the easy road has already been walked."

Zhang Yu looked at the corridor, which was sandwiched between the palace walls. Guards patrolling at night passed by from time to time.

To the east are Chuxiu Palace and Tai'an Palace, and to the west are Chunhua Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace. These four small palaces are adjacent to each other, and their combined area is only half the size of Zhaode Palace. They are all home to low-ranking concubines.

Wan Zhen'er was an imperial concubine, and there was a difference of three levels between the two.

Fortunately, the wind blew in the middle of the night, and dark clouds half-covered the moon, so the light outside was not very bright.

The sound of orderly footsteps was heard.

The patrolling guards came out of the corridor from north to south. The one in front held a palace lantern to light the way ahead, and behind him followed nine guards with swords, all of whom were elite palace guards selected by the Imperial Stables.

"I can only take a gamble!"

After they left, Zhang Yu quickly rushed out, performed the "Chasing Clouds and Lightning" technique, and entered the corridor.

This corridor is three miles long, and you can reach the bottom with a stick.

Zhang Yu did not dare to stop for a moment, and frantically poured Bei Ming Qi into his legs, activated the Flying Cloud Divine Art, and in just seven breaths, the black shadow ran against the wind and ran three miles away, finally getting out of the tunnel before the next team of guards arrived. "Fortunately, I didn't get caught in the jar!"

Zhang Yu let out a long sigh and thought to himself, "There are many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Imperial Palace. I've always heard that people from the martial arts world can go in and out of the Forbidden City as if they were in an empty city. It seems that is only for the Grandmasters. The top martial artists can go there anywhere in the world. If ordinary people underestimate the military power controlled by the court, they will die without knowing how they died."

At this time, we have arrived at the northeast corner of the harem. With its back against the palace city that is two meters high on the northeast sides, there is a half circle of wall built to enclose this area. It is called Yeyouting, which sounds nice, but in the simple words of later generations, it is the sewer of the imperial palace, which is used to dispose of those shameful things.

"The Yeyou Courtyard is in front."

Zhang Yu hid in the corner and suddenly felt that this place was extremely quiet. After a while, he did not see any patrolling guards passing by. He quietly leaned out and looked to the right.

Unexpectedly, not a single guard was left in front of the gate of Yeyouting.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then flew up the high wall and landed in the courtyard...

In a room in Yeyouting, a candle that was found temporarily flickered on the long table.

Perhaps it was because it had been damp for a long time, and the light would occasionally pop, as if it would go out in the next second.

"Cough cough~"

The man was about forty years old, with a sallow complexion and puffy eyes. He wore a bright yellow round-collared dragon robe with a black brocade cloak on the outside. He seemed to have some difficulty sitting on the chair.

"Cough cough cough..."

Another violent cough.

He leaned back against the chair, put his arms on the armrests, and managed to sit still.

"His Majesty."

When the eunuch attending him saw this, his eyes welled up with tears. He quickly took off his coat, folded it into a square, and placed it behind the man.

"Thank you, Zhao Ban."

The man sighed and smiled helplessly: "My body... Could it be that I have really sinned against the heavens?"

The old eunuch who was serving quietly wiped away his tears and said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How could a father punish his son? As long as you take the medicine and rest well, you will get better soon. Didn't Your Majesty say that in September, you will follow the example of Emperor Taizong, visit Youyan and hunt yellow sheep? We are all looking forward to that grand event."

Late at night, he secretly visited Yeyouting. This person was none other than the Yousheng Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who had claimed to be the sovereign for eleven years.

Emperor Yousheng smiled and nodded: "Okay, I will definitely go there then, and I will also go to Ma Qing's house. I only trust your medical skills."

Opposite the long desk, there is also a chair, with a dark shadow cast on the tall wall.

Sitting on the chair was an old man with white hair and beard, wearing prison clothes. His body was hunched and stiff, his eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and he seemed not to have heard the emperor's questions at all, and he kept muttering to himself from time to time.

He was none other than Ma Yangchun, the imperial physician who had retired and returned to his hometown.

"Do not kill me!"

"Don't kill me, I don't know anything..."

The old eunuch took two steps forward and placed his hand on Doctor Ma’s wrist.

"The pulse is steady, the breathing is not disordered, why are you pretending to be crazy?"

"Ma Yangchun, if you still have half a conscience, you should answer His Majesty's question truthfully."

Ma Yangchun seemed even more frightened. He curled up in his chair and refused to say anything.

"Zhao Ban, don't embarrass him, just go and guard outside the door."

"Your Majesty, how is your body?"

"What's there to worry about? Even if... not at this moment."

Seeing the emperor say this, the old eunuch had no choice but to retreat.

Emperor Yousheng looked at the candle that was getting dimmer and dimmer with mixed feelings. Being in an imperial family, he was originally just an idle prince, and inherited the throne by chance.

He knew that he was not a qualified monarch and was afraid of everything: death, illness, and mountains of official duties. But he had never done anything bad and had lived a mediocre life for eleven years until today.

"In the early years of the Yousheng era, when I returned from the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship my ancestors, I caught a severe cold and was bedridden, missing three months of court."

"Rumors abounded in the capital, saying that I had no moral integrity, was unworthy of my ancestors, and had sinned against the gods, which is why the disease was bestowed upon me."

"I remember that the imperial doctors at that time were helpless and the disease was not getting better. Of course, it is not their fault. I am the emperor. When I use medicine and acupuncture, I always try to be cautious and prudent. I don't seek to achieve results, but to avoid mistakes."

"But Ma Qing stepped forward and gave me acupuncture. That needle cured my cold and also secured my throne."

The king and his minister were the only ones left in the room.

Ma Yangchun looked towards the emperor, and his eyes gradually regained clarity.

He trembled and said, "Your Majesty... Do you still remember..."

Emperor Yousheng laughed at himself and said, "I am a mediocre king. I may not know the six ministers and I may write the prime minister's name wrong, but for the ministers around me and those who have done me a favor, I will keep them in my heart even if they are cursed by the world."

Ma Yangchun closed his eyes. His family of 56 people, young and old, were all in Shen Sansi's hands.

"Your Majesty... Ask me, I will tell you everything I know, and everything I say is true."

Emperor Yousheng coughed and covered his mouth with a handkerchief. It took him a while to catch his breath.

"Is she... is she really pregnant with Longzi?"

Ma Yangchun closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then slowly said, "I don't know."

Emperor Yousheng started coughing violently again. He smiled bitterly and said, "You still don't want to say it."

Ma Yangchun said with embarrassment: "It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I don't know how to say it..."

"That day, Concubine Lan invited me into the palace."

"I originally thought that you were here to see Lady Lan, but she said that it was Miss Su in the palace who was feeling unwell."

"I was confused, but I still checked Miss Su's pulse. It was indeed... a happy pulse."

Emperor Yousheng's face suddenly turned red, his eyes sparkled, and he said anxiously, "Since she is pregnant, then...then why do you still say you don't know...You are my most trusted imperial physician. You should know that she slept with me just a month ago after reading the daily records."

Ma Yangchun sighed and said with a wry smile: "That brings me to my doubts."

Emperor Yousheng said angrily, "What's so suspicious about this? Do you also believe the rumors in the market and think that I am incapable... incapable of doing human things?"

Ma Yangchun quickly shook his head and said, "My doubt is... I have never seen Miss Su Huanzhen from beginning to end. When I took her pulse, there was a curtain between us."

Emperor Yousheng frowned and said, "This... this isn't suspicious, right?"

"The way of practicing medicine is to observe, listen, ask and palpate. I am seventy-eight years old this year. Since I became the Imperial Physician, I have never set up a curtain when examining the pulses of the empresses in the harem. When I went to Chuxiu Palace, Concubine Lan was always polite and welcomed me to the palace gate. Why would a palace maid set up a curtain when examining a patient?"

Emperor Yousheng was silent for a while, then asked, "What do you mean?"

"I dare not conclude whether the person who is pregnant behind the pearl curtain is Miss Su Huanzhen."

(End of this chapter)