32 The Perfect Momen (2/2)

6:15 PM.

Qi Xunyi turned his body eagerly toward the crown prince, to discuss the listed strategies and to block him in the process. At that moment, he threw the lady dancer a signaling glance.

The lady dancer raised both hands swiftly.

”Report!”

A high cry threw off the perfect moment.

”The Xin Palace's on fire!”

The crown prince's head jerked up, along with the withdrawal of the lady's hands.

The rest of the audience did the same. When they looked out from the Qianan Water Pavilion, they spotted countless red dots blossoming within the palace grounds. Flames were dancing wildly, gradually forming a sea of red and expanding outward. As for the Xin Palace that was located the furthest away, it was basically wrapped in galloping red waves. The rising smoke resembled clouds that were tinged with sunset hues, illuminating the whole of the northwestern skies.

Outside of the Xin Palace and its surroundings the flames looked like small heads that marched inward like migrating ants. The sight left the witnessing princes in shock.

After taking into consideration the desolate location of the Xin Palace and the abruptness of the fire, it did not make sense for the imperial guards to arrive so quickly, unless... they had been there all along.

What did that signify? A horrific possibility immediately came to the minds of the princes, who had been born into respective royal families and raised to study palace politics and tactics.

The audience turned their gaze toward the crown prince, who appeared calm and deep in thought. Only the observant ones noticed that he was gripping the diagram so tightly that his fingers had turned white.

He turned toward Qi Xunyi, whose face was void of colors. Without waiting for any response, the crown prince put the map aside and flung his sleeve downward.

The lady dancer, who was in midair, slammed onto the ground and slid a meter forward, a mouthful of fresh blood spurting out from her mouth.

”The palace's on fire, and this girl's still swaying about, how annoying,” the crown prince commented, lifting his sleeve and ordering, ”Guards, bring me there.”

”Crown Prince!” Qi Xunyi called out before standing up. ”It's His Majesty's birthday, and according to Taiyuan customs, the emperor's son must remain here. You're not going to act against it, are you? I'll go.”

”Third younger brother,” the crown prince responded with a warm smile. ”It's an urgent matter, so I'm sure Father will not blame me. You did remind me, though, that you're the second oldest. I'll leave you to take care of the younger brothers we have here today.”

At that, without waiting for an answer, he hurried down the steps and was quickly escorted out of the east palace.

Qi Xunyi fell into a daze, clenching his teeth in silence. A long time later he shot a meaningful glance to someone outside the pavilion, who then rushed off to inform Yan Lie and Fang Minghe.

Qi Xunyi pondered over the unexpected situation again and again, not understanding how a fire could've started and even alarming the crown prince. He felt something wasn't right, and hence, he excused himself from the crowd.

Amid his frustration, a trusted aide approached and whispered something.

Qi Xunyi's eyes lit up, and he turned around, forcing a smile. ”I'll go get changed. Please make yourselves at home.”

He walked toward a side hall at the backmost part of the Qianan Palace, which was heavily guarded.

Qi Xunyi sped into the hall, and the doors behind him closed shut. The courtyard was extremely quiet since no one was allowed to enter his secret territory.

He stopped before a quiet room and let out a deliberate cough.

Inside the room stood a man, admiring the paintings on the wall with his hands cupped behind his back. He had a mask on, but it did not rob the brilliance from his eyes. Like two bright reflections of the moon found on a water surface, they glistened so peacefully yet profoundly.

...

6:30 PM.

Qi Xunyi had just entered the side hall when a screen on the left side shifted slightly. A pair of eyes could be seen, darting about in a quicksilver manner, resembling two pairs of mercury.

The black eyes made a few more rounds when someone behind gave a small push. A sneaky individual appeared in full view, out from the door, followed by a youth whose face was pale and eyes as cold as night.

”What is this place?” Meng Fuyao scanned her surroundings with her black, mercury-like eyes.

Yun Hen frowned as he scanned the place. He, too, couldn't recognize it very well. Many of Taiyuan palace's hidden passages had no exits, and after much exploration, the two youths had chosen this path since it had no specific marks on it. Judging by the decoration in the room; however, it seemed that they had arrived in the center of the palace.

He stood still, suddenly making a hand gesture.

”Someone's talking.”

Yun Hen peeked through the long curtains, half-covered, into the master bedroom. There were lit lamps inside, and he saw a pair of shadows, one belonging to a person with loose robe and graceful posture.