With this thought, Xu Mingyi immediately and silently hid behind a thick bodhi tree.
Her back was pressed against the tree trunk, and she held the sleeve crossbow tightly in her right hand.
The wind blew, and there was a rustling sound all around in the darkness. She was even a little unsure whether she heard it correctly.
And if she hadn't misheard such a subtle movement, there must not be many people on the other side, so it shouldn't be difficult to solve it.
While she was concentrating on gathering strength, the cry of the Third Eye suddenly sounded above her head.
"Chirp!"
Xu Mingyi's expression changed upon hearing this, and she subconsciously raised her head to look above her head. She saw the big bird standing on the trunk of the tree, flapping its wings without any regrets.
Xu Mingyi felt something was wrong.
Tianmu can be regarded as a seasoned senior in the job of guarding the wind, and he has never held her back like this.
unless……
Could it be——
Thinking of a possibility, Xu Mingyi's heart beat a few times, and she poked half of her head out from behind the tree, looking in the direction she came from.
There is indeed someone behind her!
Although the footsteps were light now, they seemed to be undisguised compared to just now. In the dimness, there was a dark figure walking towards her.
This was outside the mausoleum, and there were only a few yellow lights hanging in the distance. They couldn't see each other clearly for a while.
It was the cry of the Third Eye that allowed them to identify each other.
Tianmu has already flown towards that figure.
Xu Mingyi also ran out from behind the tree and ran quickly towards the person.
She rushed forward, stretched out her hands in the darkness and hugged him tightly.
She was very strong and ran very fast, almost knocking him back a step.
He pretended to be hurt by the impact and let out a muffled laugh.
Xu Mingyi could feel that he was wearing a fine silk robe. The robe was very thin and soft, but his figure under the robe was strong and strong. His breath was clean and refreshing, and his body smelled like it had just been exposed to the sun.
He also reached out and hugged her, his tone was filled with joy of reunion, low and gentle, but he asked first: "Didn't you agree to stay in Beijing and wait for news?"
Her identity has not been exposed, and it is safest to stay in the city at this time. He also agreed with her in the previous plan.
When he learned that she wanted to go to the city alone, he was extremely opposed to it. If she discussed it with him, there would be no discussion. She must have known this. When the letter was sent to Ningyang, she had already entered the city.
He could only step up the deployment of everything and make the plan go as smoothly as possible.
"Didn't you also promise not to come to Lingshan? You're just waiting outside to be picked up?" Xu Mingyi raised her head from him and asked him in a tacit tone.
No one on the left or right is obedient, so don’t say anything to anyone else.
Wu Chao smiled vaguely and sighed.
He knew that she would not stay in the city obediently.
Without asking too much, she knew the reason - something might happen to her, so she had to keep an eye on it to feel more at ease. She even had other plans.
She won't let this plan fail.
And he is the same, and because of the same reason, he understands the other person's thoughts.
The original plan was for the prince to come here, and he and the Duke of Zhen were outside to support him. He knew what this meant - with the prince here, why should he come to take care of anything? In the end, it was the prince who wanted to bear the risks and variables alone.
, leaving stability and "victory results" to him.
He couldn't agree.
Prince, father, has shouldered too much on his own over the years.
And he, who has never shared anything for his father, is the one least qualified to enjoy the benefits.
Therefore, he must come.
Father is here, Zhao Zhao is here, how could he not be there?
The manpower that can be brought in is limited, and if there are many of your own people, and if your own people can make up your mind, you can deal with it secretly, the risk can always be lower.
On this point, the two of them had the same idea.
"There are heavy troops guarding Lingshan Mountain at this time. How did you get close to this place?" Although there was no movement around, Xu Mingyi still pulled the person to a dark place to avoid it.
Tianmu also followed suit.
Wu Chao answered her: "I met Ji Xiu this afternoon——"
Xu Mingyi was a little surprised.
The emperor had just arrived today, but his movements were fast enough, and he had already established a good relationship with Ji Xiu.
In this case, it is not surprising that he can approach the palace easily.
She then asked, "Are your prince and grandfather ready?"
"Don't worry, everything is going according to plan and everything is ready." Wu Chao said, "We just have to wait for the day after tomorrow."
only--
"Why do you have to come here late at night?" He glanced around. This is the entrance to the mausoleum, and it is also the place where sacrifices will be held later. Although there are no heavy guards at the moment, there will be guards patrolling by. And she came all the way.
It must be risky.
He approached this place tonight in order to understand the situation and hide in the palace in advance so that he could make arrangements for the future.
Although he had the information sent by Ji Xiu as a reference, he always had to check it out personally to be sure whether everything was as the other party said.
When he came, he noticed another equally suspicious person approaching, so he followed behind.
At first I wasn't sure it was Zhao Zhao, so I just followed him and never showed up.
"I'm here to get something..." Xu Mingyi said in a very low voice, grabbed one of his wrists and said, "Follow me."
Seeing the two of them leaving like this, Tianmu's eyes widened and he mumbled twice in confusion - is the master he hasn't seen for a long time blind? Why can't he see it at all?
Wu Chaowei hurriedly asked Xu Mingyi what she wanted to take, and just followed her all the way around to the back hall where the building is held. Someone was obviously there, and the breathing was heavy and mixed.
When he came outside the room, Xu Mingyi took out the smoke, lit it, squatted down and stuffed it through the gap under the door.
Wu Chao was a little confused.
The people sleeping here must be the eunuchs guarding the mausoleum. What are you going to do to stun them? Could it be that the thing you are looking for is in this room?
After the tube of smoke burned out, Xu Mingyi came to the window, used a dagger to pry open the window, and explained in a low voice: "I'm going to get the key to the mausoleum..."
I was looking for the key——
Wu Chao grabbed her arm: "Wait, I'll go."
A room full of eunuchs, so as not to see anything they shouldn't see or touch something they shouldn't touch.
It's okay if he's not here, but since he's here, he should be able to avoid it.
He was so happy that Xu Mingyi didn't insist. She nodded, gave him a clean sweat towel, and told him to cover his mouth and nose.
Wu Chao took it, put it on the window sill with one hand, jumped up, and turned in silently.
Most of the keys were hung on the girdle of the outer robe. He first came to the screen where the eunuchs used to hang their clothes. Behind the screen were placed chamber pots, wooden barrels and other objects. They must have not been washed for a long time, and the smell was pungent and strong.
Eunuchs who are far away from the palace are inevitably lax and not very particular about everything.
Wu Chao covered his nose and held his breath, thankful that Xu Mingyi was not allowed to come in.
Half an hour later, he came out of the window.
Seeing that he had gotten it, Xu Mingyi closed the window, and the two quickly left the place and went to the front hall.
There were two big bunches of keys, with fifty or sixty keys in them. The two of them tried for a long time before they opened the palace door.
It's not that you can't pry open the window, but this is the main hall, and preparations for sacrifices will be made tomorrow. If you leave any traces, people may notice it.
The closer you get to the end, the more careful you have to be.
The moment the palace door opened, there was light in his sight.
In the solemn and solemn hall, everlasting lanterns are burning at various heights, and there is a faint scent of incense candles that have been there for many years. The spiritual tablets of the late emperor and Xie family ancestors are enshrined in each shrine, and a portrait hangs above the spiritual tablets.
Xu Mingyi's eyes fell on the portrait directly above.
It turns out that this is the late emperor.
She quietly glanced at the boy beside her.
Nothing like it.
Wu Chao partly resembles the Queen Mother and King Yan, and the rest is almost like the Wu family.
As for the late emperor...
Xu Mingyi's eyes returned to the portrait. She saw that Emperor Qingming was quite similar to the late emperor.
Next to the portrait of the late emperor, there was another portrait of a woman. Xu Mingyi glanced at the tablet - thinking that this should be the emperor's biological mother, the rumored Empress Duanxian.
Xu Shi was still very young when he died, and the person in the painting looks like he is only in his twenties or thirties. He is handsome but not charming, with quiet eyebrows and a quiet air of Xiaojiabiyu.
Wu Chao only glanced at it, then withdrew his gaze and asked her, "Zhaozhao, where is the thing?"
Xu Mingyi took him to the incense table.
On both sides of the long case across the hall, in the left and right corners, there is an enamel vase that is more than tall enough for a person.
According to Princess Jingrong's previous instructions, Xu Mingyi tried to move the vase on the right side. Wu Chao saw it and stretched out his hand.
Behind the bottle is the empty palace wall.
Xu Mingyi's fingers groped and tested inch by inch on the wall that was about the same height as his shoulders.
Wu Chao understood.
There is an agency here.
And at this moment, he saw that wherever the girl's delicate white fingers pressed, the wall painted with colorful paintings suddenly slowly sunk in -
As the wall bricks recede deeper and deeper, it can be seen that the depression is a square cavity about seven or eight inches in size.
Seeing that Xu Mingyi was about to stretch out his hand, he raised his hand to stop him: "Be careful."
He didn't even know that Princess Jingrong had informed him about this mechanism, so he was wary of it. He pulled out the long sword from his waist and tested it for a moment. When he noticed something was inside, he reached out and took it out.
The thing should be placed against the mechanism. As soon as it was taken out, the mechanism slowly closed again, restoring the original flat wall.
What he took out was a long box made of dark wood and locked.
Gloomy wood is not easy to split, and this lock looks unusual——
When Wu Chao was thinking about whether to leave here first and find another way to open it, he saw a key handed to him.
He was a little surprised.
I thought that what Zhaozhao said about "coming to get it" was a subtle and appropriate way of saying it... But I didn't expect that he really came to get it, and there was a key.
Xu Mingyi said: "The key was given to me by the eldest princess, and she hid this thing here in her early years -"
As for how the institution was set up, the eldest princess did not mention it in detail, but she had often lived with the Queen Mother in the mausoleum temple, so she thought there would be no shortage of opportunities.
She looked at Wu Chao and said, "Come open it and take a look."
It would be more appropriate for him to open it than for her.
She subconsciously glanced at the portrait of the late emperor again. Wu Chao happened to meet her when he came here tonight, and maybe it was some kind of guidance.
With a crisp popping sound, the lock was opened by Wu Chao.
