Chapter 213 Snow Valley Python

Chapter 213 Snow Valley Python

Chapter 213 Snow Valley Python
Legend has it that Erlang of Guankou split a mountain to save his mother, and the mountain was split in two, creating a story of filial piety that will be passed down through the ages...

The two mountains together are shaped like peaches, covered with ice and snow all year round, just like the glass world described in Buddhist scriptures, which is forever outside the sky and untainted by dust.

Unfortunately, the mountain is shrouded in light smoke and mist, in which golden phoenixes are flying and singing, guarding the treasures deep in the valley.

"Sizzle~"

Like the sound of cloth tearing.

Two giant hands stretched out from the edge of the clouds in the sky. In just an instant, they tore apart the light smoke and mist covering Taoshan Mountain. Along with a phoenix cry, the immortal phoenixes flying in the sky were also shattered into pieces.

Everything comes to a halt.

The world became silent.

Zhang Yu heaved a sigh of relief, feeling relaxed. Several acupuncture points and barriers related to breaking through the postnatal realm showed signs of loosening at the same time. He had not expected that the inexhaustible residual poison of the Poison Dragon Pill could have such a miraculous effect.

"The harmony of yin and yang can help to break through the inner realm. What's the reason for this?"

Outside the pearl curtain, Guan Shengren’s jade flute was playing the seventh note, which sounded gentle, mournful and plaintive, like weeping and complaining.

"The wind swirls outside the curtains, the cool moon fills the idle steps. The candles are extinguished on the silver table, the precious tripod is buried in the smoke. The drunken soul is hard to break free, the brilliant one is forced to endure. Whenever you come here, you take the opportunity to discuss poetry. Well, the people of Dingguang come to compete......"

Zhang Yu stood up, tied his python robe with his belt, and took the Ziwei sword from the table.

The ground was piled with broken phoenix robes, phoenix robes, trousers, and silk stockings...

Zhang Yu glanced at the window. It was already night and it was pitch black outside.

In this Sihuang Pavilion, before I knew it, it had gone from noon to evening and the day had passed just like that.

But this is not surprising. It is common for people in the martial arts world to be obsessed with martial arts. The two of them have seen the world. At the beginning, they could be said to be evenly matched. They fought back and forth and it was difficult to tell the winner.

After all, the opponent was a Kun Dao, so how could she defeat Zhang Yu, who came from a legitimate martial arts family? She was on the decline after fighting for 300 rounds, and then she was completely out of strength and soon could only beg for mercy.

"Time flies so fast!"

Concubine Wan Guifei only wore a nine-dragon and four-phoenix crown, rolled her eyes, and knelt on the embroidered couch with a pillow in front of her, leaning backwards, like a heavy drinker who had been imprisoned in a mountain temple for a long time, suddenly met a wine seller, drank enough at once, and was so drunk that she rolled her eyes and could not move.

"No matter what the outcome of tonight is, it's time to leave."

Zhang Yu was quite pleased with himself. The fire in his heart that had been aroused for the past few days had been burning fiercely, and tonight he finally let it all out.

"The Imperial Palace... is too dangerous."

Zhang Yu picked up the broken flying phoenix robe on the ground and put it on Concubine Wan. He also put down the soft smoke silk hanging on the golden hooks on both sides of the embroidered couch. He smiled softly at the unconscious woman inside the gauze curtain and said, "My Lady Concubine, I am no longer able to command you. I will take my leave now."

The beaded curtain was lifted.

Cuizhu saw Commander Li coming out of the embroidery room in high spirits. She remembered the unbearable sound she had vaguely heard before and felt ashamed and afraid. She quickly lowered her head to hide the heat on her face.

Zhang Yu looked at her and smiled, "What's wrong with you?"

Cuizhu whispered, "Nothing, I heard nothing, nothing."

Zhang Yu approached slowly. The woman had plain features and ordinary looks, but she looked quite interesting in the palace official uniform.

Cuizhu leaned against the wall, with no way to retreat: "Commander Li, I really didn't hear it..."

Zhang Yu chuckled and whispered, "Even if you heard it, what can you do? You don't want to die, how dare you interfere in the Empress's affairs?"

Cuizhu quickly shook her head.

"The Queen is resting. Do not enter without permission!"

After Zhang Yu finished speaking, he turned around and left Sihuang Pavilion.

Zhaode Palace is very large. In addition to the main hall, Fengning Hall, there are two side halls, six or seven attics and courtyards, and various residences for eunuchs and servants, totaling hundreds of houses.

"Meet Commander Li!"

A team of guards, carrying lanterns, came from the other end of the corridor and bowed quickly.

"Thank you for your hard work, brothers. Is there anything unusual?"

"Reporting to the commander, everything is peaceful and smooth."

"That's good. Fengning Palace and Sihuang Pavilion are where the Imperial Concubine often lives. When patrolling there, we must be extra careful. We must not let go of any suspicious spots. We must not let the assassination at Yeyouting happen again."

"I understand, Commander, please rest assured."

"You guys continue, I'll go look somewhere else."

Zhang Yu saw the lantern gradually disappearing at the end of the corridor, and turned to walk towards the main hall of Zhaode Palace.

The commander of the guards had the authority to inspect and patrol everywhere. Without the restraint of Zhang Wei and Mei Xin, the master of Zhaode Palace was completely defeated. He could almost treat the entire palace as his own back garden. But he only had one night, and at dawn, he had to escape from the palace.

"I've met Mr. Li."

In front of Fengning Palace, two palace maids were holding lanterns and replacing candles on lampposts in the corridor. When they saw Zhang Yu coming, they hurriedly stopped what they were doing, retreated to the sides of the corridor, and bowed.

"No need to be polite, you continue."

Zhang Yu raised his eyes and saw the tall maid who was taking the lampshade. She had a voluptuous figure. He still felt a little unsatisfied. Before, in Sihuang Pavilion, he stopped the fighting because he saw that the other party was almost out of breath and he was afraid of losing his life.

"No wonder so many top martial arts masters love to go to the palace whenever they have something to do. The best things in the world are collected here. As long as your martial arts skills are high enough, you can take whatever you want. For example, you can comfort the poor people in the harem for the emperor who is too busy. It is indeed a treasured place that makes people happy."

Zhang Yu suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

The two maids were about to move forward, but stopped in their tracks.

The tall maid turned around and asked, "My Lord, do you have any other instructions?"

"Lend me a lantern."

After Zhang Yu put on the green jade ring, his six senses became sharper and he could see in the dark, but it was still different from being under the light of candlelight. He wanted to find the Bi'an token, and having a lantern would make it easier.

"Yes, my lord."

The tall maid saw that Zhang Yu was handsome and had an outstanding temperament. The maids in Zhaode Palace were privately saying that a very good-looking guard commander had come, but a palace maid of her low rank could not normally have contact with him.

When they took the lantern, their hands touched accidentally.

Zhang Yu smiled and asked, "What's your name?"

"The servant Lan Rui."

"What a nice name. Come to Fengning Palace tomorrow morning and I will return this lantern to you."

"Yes."

Lan Rui was secretly delighted. The palace maids were trapped in the high walls all year round and had no contact with men. They often formed a relationship with powerful eunuchs. Not only could they comfort each other spiritually, but they could also get promoted in status and wealth by clinging to each other. To put it bluntly, it was also an exchange of beauty and power, which was more naked than outside.

The last sister who did the same rough work as her was immediately transferred to the side of the imperial concubine just because she became a "fake husband and fake wife" with the fat eunuch with acne all over his face who was next to Zhang Zongguan. The work was easy and the rewards were quite a lot.

Lan Rui thought of this and was full of anticipation.

"squeak~"

The side door of Fengning Palace was pushed open, and Zhang Yu walked in openly, holding a lantern.

The hall at night lost its daytime splendor and became ordinary without the blessing of imperial power and majesty. From the perspective of future generations, it might be just as good as the main hall of the library of his inferior 985 University.

There is a small door on the left side of the phoenix chair. After entering it, there are five or six large rooms, including a bedroom, a dining room, and a study.

Zhang Yu looked at the three characters "Qun Shu Ge" on the door lintel. They were elegant and graceful. He often served at the bedside and had seen many correspondences. He recognized at a glance that they were written by the Imperial Concubine.

"Wan Zhen'er said that the Bi'an token is in the study."

Zhang Yu pushed open the door of the study, and inside there were several rows of bookshelves, sandalwood tables and chairs, all kept spotlessly clean.

"This is Zhaode Palace. For Concubine Wan, this is her own territory and a relatively safe place. This token is not particularly important, so she probably won't keep it away on purpose."

Zhang Yu prayed silently in his heart. If he couldn't find the Bi'an token and go to the Imperial Stables to mobilize those Jinyiwei before dawn, his mission would be a complete failure, and the loss would be too great.

A quick look at each row of bookshelves.

They are all books, nothing special really.

Zhang Yu finally walked to the desk, where pens, ink, paper and inkstone were neatly placed.

However, behind the table and chairs, there is a row of separate bookshelves close to the wall.

There seemed to be something else besides books.

"It should be here."

Zhang Yu casually hung the lantern on the corner of the table, stepped on the official hat chair, and took down the four wooden boxes. The boxes were locked, but for a martial arts master of his level, such padlocks that were completely useless.

"Cang!"

Zhang Yu took the copper lock and the bolt out of the box easily, just like picking red dates.

The first wooden box mostly contained letters.

At a glance, there were letters from ministers in the court who were affiliated with Zhaode Palace, and more than a dozen letters from Wan Chonglou, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Judging from the content, the two of them were quite harmonious in the early stage, but later on, Concubine Wan asked this distant relative to use the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assassinate those who opposed her becoming queen. Wan Chonglou agreed to some of the requests but politely refused others.

The second wooden box also contained letters.

However, there were about fifty or sixty letters exchanged between Wan Zhen'er and Emperor Yousheng. Since the emperor was still the Prince of Qi, the two had developed the habit of sending letters via wild geese. Sometimes the emperor was on an inspection tour outside, and sometimes he was in the Forbidden City. It was a little unknown interest between the couple.

However, the time of the last letter was the seventh year of Tianyou.

"It seems that no matter how loving a couple is, things will change when power is involved."

The third wooden box.

There were the names of some underworld gangs, their personnel, and money and grain books, among which was "Baijian Gang, Meng Baicao, five thousand taels of money and grain every three months" with a red line drawn on this line with a vermilion pen.

Zhang Yu knew in his heart that this was a gang force cultivated by Concubine Wan.

There is only one wooden box left.

As expected, there was a palm-sized iron token inside. It was slightly heavy in the hand, with "Jinyiwei Secret Prison" on the front and a prison pattern of a Bi'an with its mouth open on the back.

Zhang Yu was secretly delighted. He put the Bi'an token into his arms, put the four wooden boxes back to their original positions, and immediately left Fengning Hall and headed towards the northeast corner of the palace.

........................

In the hall of Yeyouting, candlelight flickered.

Eunuch Qin had just finished dealing with official documents and was about to return to his room to rest when he suddenly saw the young eunuch Xizi, leading the 'fifth-class guard' who had come last time on a secret mission, walk in.

His heart suddenly tightened, and he came forward in person to greet him, and sent Xizi to guard outside the door.

"Mr. Zhang, why are you here tonight?"

"You don't welcome it?"

"Of course you are welcome, but..."

"Just what?"

Zhang Yu knew that Qin Shuner was not honest and was worried that he would be implicated, so he walked to the table and sat down, looking at the two very bright candlesticks on the left and right, and the stacks of official documents.

"Get ready. I'm going to Bi'anju."

Qin Shuner was puzzled and said, "Didn't the Imperial Concubine say that she would personally bring the Bi'an token to Yeyouting tomorrow to inspect the Jinyiwei? With your status, Mr. Zhang, you must accompany the Phoenix Carriage. When the time comes, you can enter Bi'an Residence and find any excuse to leave for a while. It will be easy for you to go see that old friend, right?"

Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "I can't wait any longer. I want to see you tonight."

Qin Shuner said helplessly: "Without the Bi'an token, I can't enter the Bi'an Residence. I can't order the people of the Imperial Horse Administration to fight against the Jinyiwei, right?"

Zhang Yu took out the Bi'an token from his bosom, placed it on the table, and said with a smile: "Eunuch Qin, now you have no excuse, right?"

Qin Shuner's eyes were full of surprise: "The Queen actually gave you such an important token?"

He looked at Zhang Yu in the candlelight and suddenly found a red lip mark on the inside of his neck.

Qin Shuner was suddenly filled with suspicion. He walked slowly to the long table, picked up the square-bellied, long-necked pot, and poured a cup of golden tea.

Sure enough, Zhang Yu had a faint scent of fragrant grass on his body, which was very unique.

When you smell it, it is long and far-reaching, with a deep lingering aftertaste, as if you are in a primeval dense forest of towering ancient trees, with a flying bird, a dense forest, a secluded spring, a small snake, a natural and simple order in the chaos, and a primitive and barbaric invasion in the nobility, making people feel as if they are in another time and space, able to dispel thousands of worries.

This golden quetong incense is known as the king of incense. It is used to fumigate clothes or made into sachets to carry around. After a long time, it can turn into body fragrance and last for a long time. According to the imperial physician, this incense also has the miraculous effect of eliminating malaria worms and preventing all kinds of diseases.

This was a tribute from Brunei. Every three years, envoys from small foreign nations in Southeast Asia would board large ocean ships to land in the Ming Dynasty in Guangzhou, and then travel thousands of miles to pay tribute to BJ. Among them, the golden quetong incense was the most important tribute. There were only fifteen or sixteen kilograms of it every three years. In the entire Ming Dynasty, no one except the imperial concubine was qualified to use it.

"How could he have this scent? Could it be, could it be..."

Qin Shuner thought of a possibility and then looked at the lip print, feeling extremely shocked.

Zhang Yu asked, "Why don't you say anything? Don't you believe that this token was given by the Queen?"

Qin Shuner looked at the huge mouth of the Bi'an on the token. Its fangs were cold and sharp, as if it wanted to swallow him in one gulp. He thought to himself, "I don't trust you!"

(End of this chapter)