Chapter 172: Trace of the Holy Medicine

During the day, the two of them strolled leisurely around the Qiu-left Palace.

Given His Majesty’s usual demeanor, playing hide-and-seek was hardly his style. Yet, since they were on foreign soil, it was still wiser to keep a low profile.

Guided by him, Xue Xue walked into an unfamiliar, secluded area—a jade lake surrounded by weeping willows. The graceful willow branches gently brushed the lake’s surface, stirring the faint, shimmering ripples and dancing lights.

It was exceptionally tranquil here, without a soul in sight.

"Where is this?" she asked, looking around at the serene scenery with a hint of confusion.

"Clearly, this is a lake," His Majesty replied.

"..." Yet, the lake looked somewhat familiar.

Slowly walking to the water's edge, she surveyed the lake and realized this was none other than the Jade Flower Lake where Qiu-left Liyue had once brought her. Looking across from here, she could vaguely see the stone steps where Qiu-left Liyue had sat with her for a while.

That meant the Chenxi Palace must be nearby.

"Ziqing, I know where we should go." Although they were currently hiding out in the Qiu-left Palace, staying indefinitely at the Morning Dew Pavilion was certainly not a long-term solution. The Chenxi Palace, therefore, made an excellent choice.

Moreover, Qiu-left Liyue's mother must know many things, such as the whereabouts of the sacred medicine.

Morning Dew Pavilion.

In the vast study, a finger gently tapped against the desk. The dark wood emitted a crisp, resonant sound—tap, tap, tap—in a rhythmic cadence, much like the performance of a percussion instrument.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now? If Taixi falls, it means our Wu Kingdom suffers defeat after defeat. It will deal a massive blow to our morale and bodes ill for our future."

Just moments ago, news had arrived from Taixi that the Ji Kingdom had suddenly launched an offensive against it. There was no doubt about the formidable strength of the Ji Kingdom's military. Consequently, the Wu Kingdom would absorb a severe shock.

"Your Majesty, we might as well dispatch reinforcements. Taixi must be strictly defended. If we let the Ji Kingdom continue to act so arrogantly, they will soon claim there are no capable men left in our Wu Kingdom."

"Have you all finished speaking? I shall make my own decision." The tapping on the desk abruptly ceased. Qiu-left Liyue cast a glance at the bickering veteran ministers.

Indeed, if things continued this way, the Ji Kingdom might soon march into his capital and annihilate their Wu Kingdom...

Yet, he felt not a shred of anxiety. Why on earth was that?

Perhaps there was something far more important in his heart that he needed to do.

He looked out the window. Since no trace of Little Xue could be found in the city of Qi'an, where on earth would this little snowflake drift?

Over there, Xue Xue was groping her way forward with Ji Wuqing, relying on the locations etched in her memory. Finally, after pushing through a thicket of green bushes, a palace courtyard came into view.

Gazing at the distant courtyard, situated in a relatively secluded spot and surrounded by lush vegetation, it exuded a faint aura of chill and eeriness. It stood like a monolith shrouded in darkness, defying clear sight.

"Is this the courtyard of Qiu-left Liyue's mother?" Ji Wuqing looked at the distant compound and drew a conclusion.

"Mm. But that Imperial Consort Chenxi doesn't seem very well known to the world; she's a rather mysterious figure in the palace." No, she should be described as a formidable woman not to be trifled with.

"There are plenty of secrets in the palace. We only need to know that she is Qiu-left Liyue's mother." In truth, he knew a thing or two about Qiu-left Liyue; the secrets within the palace were always sinister and unacceptable to ordinary people.

And as for Qiu-left Liyue, his mother could be considered to have endured humiliation to carry out her mission.

Only by enduring what ordinary people could not endure could one survive until the end...

"I seem to recall that I was the one who brought you to the Chenxi Palace, so how does it sound like you know more about it than I do?" Xue Xue could not help asking.

"One always hears whispers of these things, though none of them are ever pleasant." Living in the palace, such rumors were bound to reach one's ears. Even though this was exclusive to the Wu Kingdom, it was often mentioned with relish in the Ji Kingdom as well.

After all, those old grievances had caused quite a sensation back in the day...

"Is that so?" Xue Xue stared at the palace courtyard not far away and let out a soft sigh.

The two slowly approached the Chenxi Palace. Guards stood watch outside the courtyard gates; though they appeared ordinary, they were exceptionally vigilant. For anyone else, the slightest disturbance would have exposed them.

However, Xue Xue was being held in the arms of Ji Wuqing. They approached along the side of the courtyard, and although they were very close to the guards' post, with a single flash of movement, Ji Wuqing scooped her up and leaped onto the palace wall.

luego, holding her close, Ji Wuqing jumped down from the wall, unhurriedly carrying her as he strolled down a secluded path.

The Chenxi Palace was dead quiet. For a long while, not a single soul was seen about—a stillness that borders on the frightening.

She had only visited the Chenxi Palace twice before. The first time was with Qiu-left Liyue, and back then, the palace had seemed normal enough. The second time, she came alone and hadn't paid much attention to its condition. Besides, whenever she visited previously, she had always been accompanied by others. Experiencing the Chenxi Palace this way, alongside Ziqing, she couldn't shake the feeling that an inescapable eeriness permeated the entire compound.

"I remember Consort Chenxi's bedchamber is in that direction. We're walking in the exact opposite way," she reminded him, still cradled in his arms.

"Hush, let's circle around from the back," Ji Wuqing said softly. He seemed to have a plan of his own, causing Xue Xue to quietly shut her mouth in utter reassurance.

With him by her side, she felt there was nothing left for her to worry about.

The layout and architecture of the Chenxi Palace were quite grand, even though the interior furnishings were extremely ordinary, lacking the splendor and luxury typical of royal palaces.

Yet the compound was abnormally quiet, resembling a desolate mansion where everything around was lifeless.

"The Chenxi Palace isn't as likable as its name suggests; it's so lifeless."

"Probably because it's piled high with too many wronged ghosts and lingering spirits." Suddenly, Ji Wuqing lowered his head and offered her a mischievous smile, seemingly trying to frighten her.

With an expressionless face, Xue Xue gazed calmly at him, "Clearly an elegant courtyard, what a pity..."

People always said the imperial palace was the most prosperous and extravagant place on earth, and its inhabitants were of golden branches and jade leaves, incomparably noble. Yet, even a place of residence could not find peace; getting a sound night's sleep was probably a luxury.

In such a bizarre place, how could anyone manage to sleep?

Gradually, Ji Wuqing carried her around to the back, where palace maids began to appear in the vicinity.

"Why won't you put me down?" Ji Wuqing had been carrying her the entire way; didn't he feel tired at all?

"Now that Xue'er mentions it, my hands do feel a bit heavy." His Majesty seemed to have just realized it.

"…Hush, there's no shortage of formidable martial arts experts protecting this place." With that, she regulated her breathing, terrified of being discovered by those people.

"It's clear that Qiu-left Liyue is a filial son."

"If his mother is right here in the palace, what danger could there possibly be?" Such tight security somehow felt rather suspicious...

"The palace is often the most dangerous place of all," Ji Wuqing said.

Hearing this, Xue Xue understood. Just as Ji Wuqing had settled her mother outside the royal palace, for her mother, the palace was indeed the most perilous place imaginable. Although Ziqing was already the king of a nation, danger could still strike unexpectedly.

The two successfully slipped into the bedchamber, and Ji Wuqing carried her up a large tree. The branches hung beside the roof of the bedchamber, and the dense foliage and leaves concealed the two of them within.

Prying open an old red tile, the scene inside the bedchamber became clearly visible.

However, their vantage point was slightly off-center, so the view they captured was also somewhat skewed.

Xue Xue's eyes peered inward for a good long while before fixing upon a slender figure.

The woman sat before a dressing table, draped in a thick bathrobe that made her frail frame appear even weaker and more helpless—like a branch that would snap at the slightest touch, with nothing to lean upon.

She seemed to be alone in the bedchamber. As she sat before the mirror, she slowly raised a hand and unwrapped the white silk blindfold covering her eyes.

She wasn't blind?

Indeed, who said everyone wearing a blindfold was blind?

Pondering this, she continued to look downward, catching sight of one normal eye in the mirror, alongside another... pupil-less eye...

"Hush." Gently, a pair of large hands covered her eyes. "It's better not to look at these things; they are of no use to us."

Was this perhaps the painful price of surviving in the inner court?

Xue Xue's heart was a whirlpool of mixed emotions, involuntarily recalling the fate of Yuan Xue in her previous life. Just like Yuan Xue, though she wished to stay out of trouble, things in the harem never went as desired, and she was ultimately dragged into its depths, ending her life with a cup of poisoned wine.

"Consort, has your eye affliction flared up again?" Just as she was thinking, Mother Sun's voice drifted from within the bedchamber.

"You know, Mother Sun, that iron fire-tongue has been stabbing into my eye all this time, hurting relentlessly." Then came Consort Chenxi's slightly sighing voice, laced with a trace of madness, "Yet that crazy woman probably won't believe until the day she dies that I would ever have a day of resurrection..."

She seemed immensely gratified, the corners of her curling up as she stared at her own terrifying eye in the mirror.

"Let this old servant apply the medicine for you. With such relentless pain, His Majesty will be heartbroken if he finds out." Mother Sun also sighed. It was precisely because of those past events that their consort had turned into such an erratic state of mind.

"How would Liyue know? He grew angry with me over that woman, growing distant from me, his own mother."

"How could that be? Consort, please don't let your imagination run wild..." The two women in the bedchamber conversed back and forth, leaving Xue Xue somewhat bewildered.

She began to doubt why she had even brought Ji Wuqing here in the first place.

Were they just here to eavesdrop on their gossip?

"If His Majesty were truly estranged from you, he could easily go back on his word regarding the sacred medicine now to win that woman's favor, yet His Majesty said nothing."