Yue Mingxuan shook his head.
In these past few days, besides adjusting the prescriptions for Shang Qinghua and Rong Qinglei, all of his thoughts had been consud by this issue.
Even after racking his brain, he had yet to co up with a good plan.
Shang Qinghua pondered for a mont. "If I still had my martial strength, I could take you and break in myself."
Yue Mingxuan rolled his eyes internally. That statent was aningless; he was bedridden now, struggling even to stand or walk.
Seeing Yue Mingxuan’s indifferent expression, Shang Qinghua continued, "Then perhaps we should leave it for now. Once I recover, I’ll personally take you to confront them."
Yue Mingxuan spoke with resignation, "The dicine only delays the problem. By the ti you’re well enough, grass will be growing over your grave."
Shang Qinghua raised an eyebrow. "Are you cursing ?"
Yue Mingxuan fastened his cloak. "Not a curse. It’s a fact."
Without waiting for Shang Qinghua to react, he swiftly ran out, knowing that without his martial strength, he couldn’t possibly catch up.
Shang Qinghua leaned against the bed, both exasperated and amused.
Yue Mingxuan had clearly taken advantage of his lack of power; once he recovered, he would need to properly teach him what discipline ant.
After he took a deep breath, Yue Mingxuan finally reached the Imperial Garden and allowed himself to relax.
Although he knew Shang Qinghua couldn’t catch up, a faint sense of lingering fear remained.
The day was still early, so he decided to try his luck at the Imperial Consort Zhou’s residence.
Gongsun Xing and the other guest would surely go out for a walk, so perhaps Yue Mingxuan might get lucky and run into them.
After winding through the palace for over half an hour, Yue Mingxuan sadly realized that he was lost again.
Just then, he saw a figure dressed as a eunuch rushing past.
He hurried forward, taking two steps to grab him.
"Do you know where the Imperial Consort Zhou resides?" he asked.
The young eunuch seed as if he were hiding from soone. Suddenly getting caught by Yue Mingxuan, his hand trembled, and a small paper package fell to the ground.
Yue Mingxuan picked it up and puzzled. "What’s this?"
The young eunuch who is clearly guilty as a thief, knelt down imdiately upon seeing Yue Mingxuan’s luxurious attire and the package in her hands. "Please spare , noble one. I will never do it again."
Yue Mingxuan had only intended to ask directions.
Seeing the eunuch react so nervously, he beca sowhat suspicious.
He opened the paper package, pinched a little of its contents and slled it.
It was top-quality lingzhi powder.
It seed he had inadvertently caught a petty thief. "Which palace are you from?"
The eunuch who saw that Yue Mingxuan had no intention of exposing him answered truthfully, "I am Shuyu, from the Imperial Consort Zhou’s palace."
Yue Mingxuan shook the paper package in his hand. "And this lingzhi powder?"
Shuyu had assud Yue Mingxuan was just a prince and originally intended to lie. But he had imdiately seen through the powder inside the package, so he confessed honestly: "My mother outside the palace is gravely ill. I once read that lingzhi can restore life, and I thought this lingzhi powder might do the sa, so I stole it to send to her outside the palace. Please, noble one, spare . I will never do it again."
Seeing that Shuyu’s expression was genuine, Yue Mingxuan handed the package back to him. "Your mother is weak now. Using lingzhi powder will only strain her body. There is a dical hall in city center; take her there."
After speaking, he thought for a mont, then took a gold ingot from his jade bracelet and handed it to him. "When your mother recovers, buy her so proper tonic. And don’t do any more thieving in the future."
Shuyu had not expected Yue Mingxuan not only to spare him but to give him a gold ingot.
For a mont, he was so moved that he didn’t know what to say.
"By the way, do you know where the two distinguished guests have been arranged to stay?" Yue Mingxuan finally rembered the matter at hand.
Shuyu thought for a mont. "I heard they were placed in the Tingfeng Pavilion, next to the Imperial Consort’s bedchamber."
Hearing this, Yue Mingxuan realized that his plan to ’wait and see’ would likely not work.
The Imperial Consort Zhou had placed two n beside her bedchamber, entirely disregarding propriety, which ant the security must be extrely strict.
Since there was no hope of seeing Gongsun Xing and the others today, Yue Mingxuan decided to stop trying to find the way and instead properly ask Shuyu about the Imperial Consort Zhou’s palace.
"Can you tell about the palace of the Imperial Consort Zhou?" he asked.
Shuyu hesitated for a mont, casting a wary glance at Yue Mingxuan.
Gossiping about one’s master behind their back was a dangerous business; if caught, it could an death.
"I... my status is low, so I’m afraid I don’t know what matters might interest soone of noble rank," he said cautiously.
Yue Mingxuan smiled.
He understood Shuyu’s worry, but he was not interested in the consort’s private affairs.
"It’s fine. Just tell casually about the layout of the halls."
Though still a bit hesitant, Shuyu had just received Yue Mingxuan’s earlier kindness, so he imdiately began to describe the layout of the Imperial Consort Zhou’s palace in detail.
As Yue Mingxuan listened, he silently sketched a floor plan of the palace in his mind.
He frowned, realizing that if he wanted to break in directly, he would have to get through dozens of checkpoints first.
Soon, Shuyu finished explaining the basic layout.
Yue Mingxuan nodded and said, "Thank you."
This was the first ti Shuyu had ever been thanked by soone of high status.
Flustered, he stamred, "I... I’m just doing what a servant should do."
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