zChapter 1009 - Truly Furious! (1/2)

Entrance into the Imperial Palace was restricted. Ever since Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu had been reinstated, the security in the palace was growing tighter and tighter. Not only were people without official business not permitted to enter, but even the people who lived in the palace were not permitted to move around freely.

At present, movement inside the inner palace was limited to visiting Cun Shan Palace. Though there was no limit on visiting one another, with the oppressive atmosphere in the palace, nobody wanted anything unlucky to occur.

When Feng Yuheng entered the palace, she felt that the Imperial Palace on this night was even more oppressive, as group after group of imperial guards continued their patrols. There were now more than three times more guards than in the past. There were a few times when she came out of her space and nearly bumped into a group of imperial guards. This forced her to shrink back into her space.

Slowly, she found that not all of the people patrolling were imperial guards. After all, it was impossible for so the imperial guard to have grown in number so quickly. Thinking about it long and hard, the eighth prince must have brought those 30 thousand troops into the Imperial Palace and added them to the imperial guard.

She tightly furrowed her brow and watched the large groups of troops move around the palace. Suddenly, a profound feeling of concern filled her. This was 30 thousand troops! They were all in the palace. Was this not the rhythm of changing the government whenever they wished? As for why old eighth still had not made a move, it should be that he still did not have more subordinates under his command. It was such that he knew that even if he ascended the throne, that position would not be stable. Sooner or later, he would be removed for someone else! That was why he chose to take a more steady path, one that was more justifiable- have the Emperor hand over the position.

That sort of extremely urgent feeling surged forth once more, and she suddenly realized that she could not delay any longer. Who knew when the Emperor would be controlled by the gu to actually write the edict to hand over the throne. If that ever happened, it would be too late. They could not go and tell the people of the world that the Emperor had been controlled. That this edict had been written with feelings that contradicted what could be seen, who would believe such a thing? So what if they were believed? To the people of the world, regardless of whether it was the eighth prince or it was the ninth prince, it was all the same to them. They were both the sons of the emperor. No matter how they fought, they both had the surname Xuan. There was not much difference.

But to them, things were a little different. If old eighth ascended the throne like this, what would they be considered? What sort of end would they meet? Would they really need to leave “home” and go away?

While thinking about this, she headed in the direction of Imperial Concubine Li’s Zhang Ning Palace. It was bitterly cold in the last month of the year, and it was so cold at night that it was hard to endure. It was colder the nearer she got to the inner palace. The entirety of this large inner palace felt just like a cold palace. All of the palaces had their gates tightly shut, and some did not even bother keeping a guard outside. There was not the slightest sign of being lived in.

Zhang Ning Palace was a very large palace. Aside from the Empress’ Jing Ci Palace and Imperial Concubine Yun’s Winter Moon Palace, this might be the most amazing place; however, when she arrived at Zhang Ning Palace, she felt that this palace was very gloomy. Just as she came out of her space, she unconsciously shivered, as an extremely uncomfortable feeling washed over her.

Feng Yuheng did her best to settle her nerves then began to walk inside. The closer she got to Imperial Concubine Li’s bedchamber, the more she felt that something was off. She could faintly hear some strange sounds. It sounded like someone was crying, and it also sounded like someone was singing. The sound was quite unique, and it suddenly made her recall the professional wailers at funerals. They cried while singing, and it made for a very strange atmosphere.

But how could there possibly be a funeral in this place?

Curiosity filled her, as she increased her pace. The inside of Zhang Ning Palace did not have very much security. After all, those guards could not get into the residences of the members of the imperial harem, and she completely looked down on the eunuchs and servants that stood guard. It was only after arriving in front of Imperial Concubine Li’s bedchamber that she discovered that the candle inside was still lit in the middle of the night. As for Imperial Concubine Li’s personal palace maid, Zuo’er, she was currently stationed outside the door. From time to time, she would peer inside with a look of anxiety and helplessness.

Feng Yuheng hid her figure and directly entered the bedchamber by using her space. When she came back out, she really would have been given quite a fright if she had not prepared herself mentally beforehand.

What was Imperial Concubine Li doing? Why was this room… like a mourning hall?

That was right, at present, Imperial Concubine Li’s bedchamber was furnished like a mourning hall. There was a funeral banner, an incense table, a memorial tablet, and even a casket. There was also a brazier placed on the ground, and Imperial Concubine li was kneeled next to that brazier, throwing in handfuls of joss paper. At the same time, she muttered: “Come what should come, and leave what should leave. I’ve sent you off, so don’t come back. The dark road is cold, so wear warm clothes. Pass through the world in between and ignore everything that is happening. Come what shall come, leave what should leave. The light shall disperse and never come back again.”

Ever for Feng Yuheng, facing this sort of scene caused her to shudder. Imperial Concubine Li’s words seemed as though they were sung, and the tone was very strange. It was a little as if she was singing in a play. She looked up and carefully examined the memorial tablet. There, she saw the ninth prince’s name, Xuan Tianming, had been written. At Imperial Concubine Li’s side, there was a small doll made of a white fabric that had a piece of paper attached to it. The paper also had Xuan Tianming’s name on it.