At the same time, it was a quarter past five.
Lao An, the deputy chief eunuch of Xuande Hall, walked out of the hall and looked at the bustling scenery in the distance. He massaged his waist and staggered to his room at the back of the hall. His room was the location of the Western Sixth Palace. It was remote and quiet, close to the Cold Palace and the Xin Palace. Even if today was a grand event in the palace, it had nothing to do with him. The old eunuch, who was nearly seventy years old, pouted and staggered back to his room.
As he passed by a secluded corridor, the old eunuch suddenly stopped.
In front of him, a man and a woman, each wearing a eunuch and a palace maid uniform, were passing by a rockery.
"Who is it?"
The guard who was patrolling the Xuande Hall stopped outside the door and looked over.
The man and woman turned around in a panic. The palace maid's face turned slightly red when she saw the unfamiliar eyes. She shyly withdrew her hand.
The old eunuch was old but his eyes were not old. When he saw the cylindrical object in the woman's hand, he was startled. He immediately understood that it was a fake and fake show.
The old man smacked his lips and remembered his "food" Cui Huan in the palace. He could not help but smile wretchedly. He waved his hand and signaled the couple to leave quickly. Then, he waved to the guard.
The guard changed direction and left.
The two bowed their heads but did not leave. The old eunuch walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and turned around in surprise. "Huh?" He coughed.
"Eunuch, save us!" The palace maid suddenly rushed forward and choked with sobs. The old eunuch looked at her and frowned.
"Eunuch … We are the palace maids of the Xin Palace … Now … Now we don't dare to go back …" The palace maid raised her head. Although her face was slightly yellow, her eyebrows were beautiful. Her tearful expression was charming. Her eyebrows were elegantly raised. Even though she looked sad, there was still a bit of spirit in her eyes.
The old eunuch looked at her with pity. He felt that this girl's skin color was not good. At first glance, he knew that she came from a poor family. Otherwise, with such a talent, she could be a concubine. Why would she stay in the cold palace and pretend to be a eunuch's wife? When he thought of this, he felt a sense of compassion for the fairer sex, and hesitantly looked at the opposite side.
There were soldiers coming and going, and the checks were very strict. No wonder this pair of wild mandarin ducks did not dare to return to the palace. As the Deputy Chief eunuch, he could indeed cover for them. But why should they take the risk for unrelated people?
The old eunuch pulled up his sleeves. His old eyes were blurry, and his expression was perplexed as he gazed at the sky.
Yun Hen and Meng Fuyao looked at each other. She raised her eyebrows and nodded at Yun Hen with her chin. Yun Hen frowned and snorted softly through his nose. Meng Fuyao immediately poked his waist hard. Yun Hen had no choice but to take out a bag and pass it to her.
Meng Fuyao beamed with joy as she received it and presented it to the eunuch with both hands. "You've worked hard, eunuch. This is a small token of my appreciation."
The old eunuch straightened his back and waved his sleeves at her. She cleverly stuffed the heavy bag into his sleeve. The old eunuch looked at her appreciatively, then glanced at Yun Hen and laughed. "You blockhead, you sure have good luck with women." He looked at the object in Meng Fuyao's hand obscenely and signaled for the two of them to take a plate from the side hall and follow him.
Yun Hen's face darkened, and he gripped the plate tightly. When he saw Meng Fuyao stuffing the cylindrical object into her pocket, he could not help but blush. Fortunately, the night was dark, and no one noticed.
Meng Fuyao coughed awkwardly and looked up at the sky. Once again, she blamed Zhan Beiye for this. 'If you hadn't sealed my vital qi, would I have needed to use this tool?'
Just as the old eunuch, Lao An, led Meng Fuyao and Yun Hen out of Xuande Hall and headed towards Xin Palace, an armored guard came up to them. He glanced at the three of them and could tell that he recognized Lao An. He smiled and asked, "Eunuch, it's late. Where are you going?"
"Here," Lao An raised his chin in the direction of Xin Palace, his eyes filled with impatience. "Shen Cainv in the palace is acting up again. She said she caught a cold and sent someone to ask me for some cotton to make winter clothes."
"Is such a small matter worth bothering eunuch to come here personally?" The guard's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.
"Hey, you don't know." The old eunuch tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "I'm afraid that Cainv will fall ill again, so I followed them here to take a look. Have you heard of Shen Cainv's illness? Hmm … I heard that it's stained with something not too clean … "
He coughed and stopped talking.
A gust of wind passed through the cold and narrow alley, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground. The sound of dry leaves rubbing against the ground sounded like the light footsteps of a woman.
A layer of white fog rose from the ground, condensing but not dispersing. In this cold and serene alley, there was an additional ghostly aura.
The guard captain's lips twitched, and his expression changed slightly. He had been in the palace for a long time and naturally knew that the vicinity of Xin Palace was filled with criminals who had committed crimes. The corpses carried out were all corpses of those who had died violently. It could be said that every corner had been stained with fresh blood, and every space was filled with the souls of those who had died unjustly.
The people of Bing Ge, who drank blood on the edge of a blade all year round, were more superstitious. The captain waved his hand and turned around to signal the guards to make way.
With a snap, the forest of swords and spears retracted in unison, leaving a straight path in the middle of the alley filled with heavily armored guards.
Meng Fuyao and Yun Hen looked at each other, and Yun Hen smiled coldly. Unintentionally, Meng Fuyao saw a bloodstain on the chest area of Yun Hen's robe that was slowly expanding.
Meng Fuyao's expression changed, and she gestured to Yun Hen with her mouth. Yun Hen quietly raised the tray higher to block the bloodstain.
Meng Fuyao looked at the bloodstain worriedly and leaned towards Yun Hen. At that moment, the captain reached out his hand and looked at the three of them with a slightly difficult smile. It was not that he did not trust them, but he wanted to see if these weak eunuchs had the guts to pass through the iron forest of swords, spears, and spears.
The old eunuch's face was a little pale. He swallowed his saliva and felt a little regretful. Unfortunately, the lie had already been told, and he had no choice but to make this trip.
Seeing his embarrassment, the captain felt a little apologetic. He smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Eunuch Lao. This alley is narrow, and we can't spread out, so we can only block here. If you're afraid that our rough limbs will scare you, I'll accompany you."
Lao An was overjoyed and repeatedly agreed. The man came over and walked side by side with Lao An.
Meng Fuyao cursed inwardly. Yun Hen's wound had split open, and more blood was flowing out. Once the man smelled the scent of blood, he would definitely alarm everyone. Moreover, the road ahead was filled with swords and spears. Once they walked through it, the guards only needed to hand over their weapons, and the two of them would immediately be killed. They would not even have a chance to escape!
However, there was no turning back now that they had come this far. Meng Fuyao thought helplessly, 'Even if it's a mountain of swords or a sea of flames, I will not hesitate.' Wasn't she about to pass through a mountain of swords now?
The sky was as dark as iron and the dome was upside down. Everything was suppressed in the heavy and suffocating darkness. Only the long and narrow path of the spear forest, which could only allow two people to walk side by side, led straight to the front. The torches reflected the dark green sharp light of the spear tip and the cold and murderous expression of the bodyguards. It was silent and eerie.
To walk through such a road required courage.
To complete such a path, one needed luck.
Meng Fuyao looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and took a step forward.
The thousand-man army was silent, with only the crackling of the torches covering all sounds between heaven and earth. It was like the chirping of insects, sobbing, and the sound of liquid slowly soaking.
Killing weapons that had been stained with blood were born with terrifying power. The old eunuch originally wanted to say a few words to ease the nervousness of walking through the forest of spears, but when he opened his mouth, he felt his throat being squeezed by some kind of murderous force. It was so tight that he could not make a sound.
The murderous aura was heavy and oppressive. Along the way, they were so cold that they were drenched in cold sweat.
In the middle of the silent journey, Yun Hen suddenly pulled the tray closer to his chest.
At the same time, the guard captain tilted his head and suddenly sniffed. "What's that smell?"
…
At that moment, it was three in the afternoon.
Qi Xunyi's sideshow troupe was already waiting at the side hall of the Qian An Palace.
Yan Lie's shift was already at the last palace gate.
After Fang Minghe finished giving his orders, the army marched out of the main camp.
The men in black from the assassination team were shaken up and down. Like flowing lights, they appeared in every corner of Yan Jing.
A graceful and elegant man in loose sleeves leaned on the couch and smiled as he sipped on a fragrant tea. He took out a golden watch from the Po Luo Country of the Western Region and looked at the time.
"Let's go."
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