Five in the evening.
In the pavilion of the Qianan Palace, the old emperor was still ill at ease, so he left the scene and left the princes to entertain themselves.
Qi Xunyi clapped his hands, and the circus troupe entered the hall. The leading lady had a snake-like waist, revealing her snow-white abdomen. She wore a pair of flowing golden trousers, and a crimson, pearl-studded chest wrap. Her snow-white breasts complemented her delicate waist, and there was a primitive, seductive wildness in her beauty.
The princes were used to seeing well-behaved ladies, so they found this kind of wildness refreshing. They put down their wine glasses, and the crown prince looked over with a smile.
The performers of the acrobatic troupe were all very agile. Halfway through the performance, they performed a trick of throwing people in the air. Dozens of people piled on top of each other, each leaning outward, forming a human-shaped tower. The princes looked up and were amazed by the flexibility of the performers' bodies. They did not notice that the human tower was nearing the center of the hall and was getting closer and closer to the top. There was only a little more than a person's distance away from the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince didn't notice, either, because Qi Xunyi had suddenly taken out something for the Crown Prince to admire. The Crown Prince's eyes lit up the moment he saw it. It was a Map of the Four Stars, with thirty-six horizontal and thirty-six vertical words. It could be read forward, backward, forward, backward, horizontally, or diagonally. However, the content wasn't a poem, but a general outline of the art of war.
"Is this the legendary betrothal gift that the crown prince of Limitless Nation gave to his fiancée when he was thirteen? It's said to contain the thirty-two strategies of the art of war, and it's been kept in the palace. Where did you get it? "
"It's a rubbing, of course." Qi Xunyi smiled. "I know Your Highness loves the art of war, so I took great pains to find it for you."
"Ah, what a treasure!" The crown prince took it and studied it obsessively.
Qi Xunyi looked up, and his eyes flashed.
The flirtatious woman immediately flipped her body, like a swallow flying into the forest, leaping through the water and sweeping the waves. Her toes touched the ground, and the glittering golden bracelet danced beautifully in the wind. In the blink of an eye, she reached the top of the human-shaped tower.
The tower was so tall that one could reach the dome, and when the dancer reached the top, the human-shaped tower suddenly fell!
"Ah!"
Amidst the cries of alarm in the hall, the human tower suddenly stopped.
The acrobatic troupe was indeed skilled. They didn't fall apart because of the intense and difficult movements. They fell to an angle with the ground and stopped. The dancer, who was at the top of the tower, fell in front of the crown prince. Her black hair fell like a waterfall, blocking the view of the guards in the back of the hall. Her beautiful face and bright red lips were right in front of the crown prince's eyes. That seductive smile seemed to be waiting for the crown prince to reach out and pluck at any time.
Her slender fingers could reach out and touch the Crown Prince's throat with just a light stretch!
*****
It was past two and a half!
Outside the Palace of Xin, it was a mess. Three thousand imperial bodyguards were squeezed together, rushing into the Palace of Xin with all their might, trying desperately to put out the fire.
Fang Minghe's army was obstructed at the city gates. Just as they were about to open the gates, a group of people appeared out of nowhere. The person at the front was dressed in snow-white robes and had cherry lips. He said that Fang Minghe was lying and that the city gates could not be opened. The other party did not come into contact with the army, but killed several of the spies that Fang Minghe had arranged to open the gates, temporarily blocking the 50,000 soldiers outside the city gates.
It was past two and a half.
Qi Xunyi leaned forward and eagerly discussed the reading method of the Map of Stars with the crown prince. His body covered the crown prince, and his eyes swept over the dancer!
The dancer suddenly raised her hands!
"Report!"
A loud shout broke through the killing intent of the unintentional target at this moment!
"The Palace of Xin is on fire!"
The crown prince suddenly looked up, and the dancer retracted her hands.
When they raised their heads, they realized that from the water pavilion of the Qianan Palace that overlooked the entire palace, countless fiery red dots suddenly blossomed in the palace. They danced wildly and gradually merged into a sea of fiery red that continued to spread. The Xin Palace, which was the furthest away, was even enveloped in the leaping red light. It was like a huge cloud of colorful clouds that illuminated the entire northwestern sky!
The flames illuminated the surroundings, and one could vaguely see a crowd of people outside the Palace of Xin, squeezing in like black ants. The princes looked on, and their expressions changed.
The Palace of Xin was remote, and how could the royal guards rush over to put out the fire in the middle of the night? Unless … they were there from the start!
What did it mean for the army to gather in the middle of the night? The princes were born into the royal family, and they had learned the art of emperors since they were young. They played tricks, and they immediately thought of a horrifying possibility.
Everyone's eyes turned to the crown prince. The crown prince's gaze was cold, and his face was calm. But someone who was attentive noticed that the fingers he was holding on to the Map of Stars had turned white.
Beside him, Qi Xunyi's face was ashen, and his eyes flickered. But before he could say anything, the crown prince suddenly put down the Map of Stars and flicked his sleeve.
The dancer, who was hanging in mid-air, was immediately flung away by him. She fell to the ground, slid a few feet, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"The palace is on fire, and this woman is still hanging around!" The crown prince flicked his sleeve and strode out. "Men, follow me!"
"Crown Prince!" It was Qi Xunyi who stood up. "According to the rules of Taiyuan, a son should be at his side on the day of His Majesty's birthday. You're the crown prince, so you shouldn't break this rule. Let me go."
"Third brother." The crown prince looked at him and smiled warmly. "This is an emergency. Father won't blame me, but you've reminded me. Since I'm leaving, you're the eldest here, so please take care of the brothers and nephews of the Zhu family."
Without waiting for Qi Xunyi's reply, the crown prince hurried down the stairs and left with the guards of the East Palace.
Qi Xunyi stood in the pavilion, gritting his teeth in silence. After a while, he gave someone a look outside the pavilion, and someone immediately turned to inform Yan Lie and Fang Minghe.
Qi Xunyi stood there, thinking about it. He couldn't understand how the palace could still be on fire under his net, and how the crown prince was alerted to the danger and escaped.
Just as he was fretting, a trusted aide came up to him and whispered something in his ear.
Qi Xunyi's eyes lit up, and he turned back with a forced smile. "I'm going to change. Help yourselves, brothers." He then left in a hurry.
He was still within the boundaries of the Qianan Palace, but he was heading towards a side hall at the back of the palace. It was heavily guarded, and no one was allowed to enter.
Qi Xunyi quickly entered the hall, and the door closed behind him. The courtyard was extremely quiet, and no one entered his secret territory.
He stopped in front of a quiet room and deliberately coughed.
In the room, a man who was admiring the paintings on the wall turned around with a smile. Although he was wearing a mask, it didn't hide the brilliance in his eyes. It was like the reflection of the moon in a jade spring, rippling with light and deep.
*****
At the same time, it was a quarter past five.
In the side hall that Qi Xunyi had just entered, a screen on the left side of the building suddenly moved halfway, and a pair of quick-witted eyes popped out of the ground.
Black Mercury spun around a few times, and suddenly, someone pushed it out of the ground. Behind him was a wretched young man with a pale face and eyes as cold as the night.
"What is this place?" Meng Fuyao's black, mercury-like eyes rolled around as she looked around curiously.
Yun Hen frowned as he looked around. He didn't know either. Most of the secret passages in the Taiyuan Palace were one-way, and one could only enter but not exit. The two of them had chosen a way out of the secret passage in the Xin Palace, but this was the only place that didn't have any markings. Meng Fuyao had decided on this path, and judging from the layout, it seemed like they had walked into the center of the palace.
He stood there quietly, and suddenly made a gesture to her.
"Someone's talking nearby."
The long window was half-closed, and Yun Hen looked at the main room through the crack. Lights were suddenly lit there, and the silhouettes of two people talking to each other could be seen. One of them was wearing a loose robe, and his posture was elegant.
The first one should be Qi Xunyi, and the second one … The corners of his mouth curled into a murderous sneer. He must be the one hiding behind Qi Xunyi, the one who had helped him execute his plan to kill his brother and force the Emperor to abdicate?
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