flstandardbreds Chapter 109: Ding's Revenge, Sneaking into the Qing Palace
Chapter 109: Ding's Revenge, Sneaking into the Qing Palace
"Is the news true?"
Zhuoqing's voice sounded a little anxious.
The dark figure standing outside the door responded:
"It's absolutely true. I'm afraid he has already entered the palace!"
Zhuoqing stood up suddenly, clenched one hand into a fist, and the knuckles crackled:
"Back off... Zhuosen, go to the palace now. I'm afraid that the remnant of Ye Dingzhi is going to assassinate King Qing!"
Zhuo Sen was about to take action, but was held back by Zhuo Qing:
"If he resists desperately, you might as well chop off his head with a sword and bring it back. Then Master will go to His Majesty to ask for credit for you!"
"Master will go to Pingqing Palace to serve His Majesty soon. We must not let this slip!"
Zhuosen bowed slightly:
"As ordered!"
……
Prince Qing’s Mansion, east kitchen in the backyard.
"Grandma, don't put chopped green onions."
Ying Xian came closer to Madam Liu and spoke softly.
Madam Liu has always liked this pretty girl, and a smile broke out on her face:
"Yingxian, why haven't you eaten yet so late today?"
Ying Xian sighed:
"Alas... Your Highness has been like a madman for a few days, and has lost his appetite..."
"I've been serving you these past few days and can't leave you alone, so naturally I don't have time to eat."
Nanny Liu skillfully sprinkled a handful of floating flour on the freshly rolled noodles, shook them a few times, and then put them into the boiling pot.
She said in a very sympathetic tone:
"We have worked so hard, Mammy has rolled out two liters of noodles for you, and we will add an egg later, so you can't go hungry!"
Ying Xian's almond eyes lit up and she said delicately:
"Thank you, Mammy!"
Just as Ying Xian picked up the steaming noodles, Ye Dingzhi had already rushed all the way from the general's mansion to the outskirts of the royal palace.
It was already past the hour of Xu, and the guards on duty had less than an hour left to change shifts and were feeling sleepy.
Ye Dingzhi strolled around the perimeter of the Qingwang Mansion at his leisure. Because of his ordinary appearance and the fact that it was already late, he did not attract any attention.
After figuring out the positions where people were guarding, Ye Dingzhi already had a plan in mind...
The palace covers an area of more than one hundred acres, with more than one hundred houses of various sizes. If you are not an insider of the palace, it would be difficult to find the location of King Qing.
Fortunately, during the first test of the academy, King Qing bribed Ye Ding and brought him into the mansion, which allowed Ye Dingzhi to memorize the way to the mansion.
Under the cover of night, Ye Dingzhi quietly walked around to a wall in the back garden that was shaded by golden pine and green cypress.
He first jumped onto the wall with half of his head exposed, checked the situation inside, and when he saw that there was no one around, he turned over and jumped into the back garden.
After landing, he tiptoed into the pines and cypresses, and Ye Dingzhi looked out from the shadows of the trees.
I found two palace guards holding lanterns patrolling about 70 to 80 feet away, walking towards this side...
"Yao Saner, did you hear what the housekeeper said yesterday?" The tall and thin man on the left suddenly said.
"What?" The companion who was asked turned around and replied.
"A young girl has come to the teahouse in the west courtyard. She is only fifteen and looks so pretty!" The man showed an obscene smile on his face.
"Hey! Zhao Erkui, you already have a wife, but you still think about this. How shameless of you!" Yao San scolded.
The guy called Zhao Erkui felt guilty:
"Third brother, third brother, don't say that... If you don't allow thieves to steal, you can't allow thieves to think about it, right?"
Yao San pushed Zhao Erkui:
"Be careful that Aunt Hu, the waitress, finds out. If she tells the housekeeper, you'll be punished!"
Zhao Erkui said angrily:
"Oh, Third Brother, you are too old-fashioned. It's not a big deal for us to gossip..."
Yao San rolled his eyes at him and continued walking forward.
After taking three or four steps, he suddenly stopped. Zhao Erkui didn't understand what was going on.
"What's wrong, Third Brother? Did you see a ghost?"
Yao San slapped his thigh fiercely:
"Oh, my head is in turmoil... Miss Xian'er just came out from the main hall of the inner hall and asked me to go to the tailor to get some winter quilts to send to the inner hall..."
"Just check the back garden by yourself first. I'll go get the winter blanket... Your Majesty will feel cold soon!"
As he spoke, Yao San ran to the front yard holding the wobbly lantern.
Zhao Erkui responded:
"Third brother, slow down!"
Then he hummed a little tune and walked towards the pine and cypress trees where Ye Dingzhi was.
There is a pavilion in front of the pine and cypress trees, with a lampstand at each corner. I don’t know why there is no candlelight today.
Maybe it was because there was no one around on a snowy night, so the servants in the mansion were not busy, which gave Zhao Erkui a job.
He walked straight towards the pavilion, and saw that he was only ten feet away from Ye Dingzhi...
Zhao Erkui gently took out half a candle from the lantern and just as he carefully lit the first lamp, he felt a numbness on the back of his neck and fell to the ground like mud.
Behind him was Ye Dingzhi with a cold gaze...
……
Ying Xian quickly finished a large bowl of egg noodles. She took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth:
"Thank you for your hard work so late at night, I will go back to the inner hall first, you should also go to bed early!"
Aunt Liu smiled and said:
"Miss Xian'er, you are so polite. If you are hungry, just let me know. We will prepare whatever you want to eat!"
Ying Xian thanked him again and left the east kitchen.
The east kitchen was not far from the inner hall where Qing Wang Xiao Xie was, but Ying Xian walked in a hurry.
She always felt vaguely uneasy, and for some reason, her heartbeat seemed to be much faster than usual.
Just after passing through the corridor, the back door of the inner hall was right in front of him. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed in front of Ying Xian's eyes and blocked his way!
"Qiang!"
Ying Xian was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. He subconsciously drew his sword and aimed it directly at the chest of the black shadow!
"Who are you!"
Yingxian let out a delicate cry.
"clang!"
The long sword in Ying Xian's hand was knocked back by the black shadow. She didn't see the man's movements clearly, but saw a burst of sparks in the night. She guessed that the man had a weapon in his hand!
"It's so dark, why doesn't Miss Yingxian carry a lantern?"
The person who spoke used his internal energy with one hand, and with the purple light released by the internal energy condensed in his hand, Ying Xian could see that it was Eunuch Zhuosen.
"Zhuo...Zhuo Sen, the great eunuch! I was disrespectful just now, please punish me!"
Ying Xian put away his sword, bowed, and spoke with a hint of guilt.
Zhuo Sen smiled lightly:
"It's okay, you're not slow to react. I'm here to protect King Qing on the orders of Grand Supervisor Zhuoqing. I had no choice but to rush in because of the emergency!"
"When you meet the Green King later, remember to tell him for me, so that he won't accuse me of being impolite!"
Ying Xian was shocked when he heard this:
"Could it be that Grand Eunuch Zhuoqing knew that someone was going to do something bad to His Royal Highness Prince Qing tonight?"
Zhuo Sen nodded:
"Enough of the idle chatter, take me to where His Highness is! The assassin may have already come in..."
Ying Xian didn't say much, and walked quickly towards the back door of the inner hall with Zhuo Sen.
……
Ye Dingzhi was holding a lantern in his hand at this time, and the dim candlelight cast a shadow on his face.
He was wearing the gray cloth gown that Zhao Erkui, the servant in the mansion, had just worn. It looked a little bulky when worn over his own clothes.
After a few breaths, Ye Dingzhi had found the main entrance to the inner hall where King Qing was.
Because Ying Xian was protecting King Qing closely, no guards were assigned to guard the main gate of the inner hall.
Ye Dingzhi looked around privately and saw that there was no one around, so he leaned his head against the door and listened to the noise inside.
There was only the sound of a man's steady breathing, as if he was fast asleep.
Ye Dingzhi followed the sound of breathing and found the window where he was. He poked a hole with his finger and took a closer look. Qing Wang was sleeping soundly on the bed wrapped in a quilt...
The true energy around Ye Dingzhi condensed instantly. He blew out the lantern and threw it under the window, then opened the front door and ran straight to the sleeping Qing Wang Xiao Xie!
"You bastard, you have destroyed my family. Today is the day you will pay with blood!"
Ye Dingzhi gritted his teeth and approached Qing Wang step by step. His right arm was already filled with internal strength. He only needed one punch to smash Qing Wang's dog head through!
……