Chapter 996

　　Your Majesty, You Are Vigorous in Old Age

　　The security around the Imperial Palace was very tight, but that was strictly in regards to others. In this world, there was practically nowhere that Feng Yuheng could not get into. With her pharmacy as a hiding space, she could move around without any resistance. This included bringing along a grown man like Xuan Tianming, as that only required a little more care. There was no other difficulty.

　　The two were both people who were extremely vigilant, especially Xuan Tianming. With internal strength, his hearing was extremely good, as was his night vision. He was also extremely familiar with the layout of the Imperial Palace. That was why he was the one to guide Feng Yuheng on this trip through the Imperial Palace.

　　When the two arrived within the vicinity of Winter Moon Palace, they found a space to come out. Xuan Tianming quickly pointed out a few places them quietly said: “Those places will have people who are not the female guards from Winter Moon palace. Instead, they came under other orders.”

　　At present, to speak of other powers in the Imperial Palace, there would only be the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. Feng Yuheng furrowed her brow. With such tight security, what exactly did the eighth prince intend to do? Could it be that he wanted to control the Emperor until the day came when he was ready and could directly usurp the throne?

　　She did not continue to remain and pulled Xuan Tianming back into the space and said: “Us going into the palace to check up on imperial concubine mother is most important. I keep feeling that it’s a good thing that we came tonight. If we waited a little longer, I fear that Winter Moon Palace would no longer be safe.”

　　Xuan Tianming also felt the same about this matter, following her through the space a few times. Finally, the two stood behind the screen in Imperial Concubine Yun’s sleeping quarters. Feng Yuheng took the initiative to walk past the screen to go and call Imperial Concubine Yun; however, she found that the person was not on the bed.

　　She hastily turned around and shook her head at Xuan Tianming. At this time, they heard the sound of footsteps belonging to palace servants coming from the outside. Immediately following this, they heard a granny ask the palace servant standing guard outside: “Has Her Highness still retired to her chambers?”

　　The palace servant replied: “I did not see her come over.”

　　The granny sighed and said: “I heard that she has been sitting on the moon-viewing platform ever since the afternoon. Now, it’s already past midnight, yet she still has not come back. I really am worried about Her Highness’ health.”

　　The palace servant said: “With this sort of thing happening in the palace, Her Highness must be feeling unhappy. Don’t look at how Her Highness did not want to see His Majesty in the past yet allows him to visit now. When the time comes, she still chases His Majesty out. Having been with Her Highness for so many years, are you still not able to understand? Her Highness does think about His Majesty. It’s just that she can’t get over her own temperament. This servant had thought that His Majesty was earnest in his feelings for Her Highness, but now it seems…” She paused for a bit then continued: “To say something improper, after not seeing each other for over 20 years, His Majesty would think about her every day. But now that he has seen her and seen her quite frequently, it’s just that sort of a deal. In the end, His Majesty is a man. When a fish has eaten the bait, it will no longer want more.”

　　“Alright, just keep this sort of talk limited to inside Winter Moon Palace. You must not speak without a filter when outside.” The granny lectured the palace servant, “In the end, he is the Emperor, and he is the ruler of the world. Right now, the inner palace sees Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu hold the most influence. If you want to keep your head, you need to keep your mouth under control. Who knows what might happen if your words were to get out. Your little life would be gone.”

　　“Granny is right.” The palace servant’s voice rose once more, “This servant is just venting some frustrations for Her Highness. Aside from this, I will not speak out of turn.”

　　The two inside the room heard this conversation and also felt unhappy. Although they did not believe that the Emperor would be this sort of person, so what if they did not believe it? The things had already happened, and the Emperor had even said that he would be giving the throne to the eighth prince. Feng Yuheng had a question on the tip of her tongue that she did not dare ask. Was this Emperor really still the Emperor?

　　“Let’s go to the moon-viewing platform.” Xuan Tianming tugged at her and said with concern. “She started drinking in the afternoon. Who knows just how drunk she has become by now.”

　　In truth, Imperial Concubine Yun had a high tolerance for alcohol, and the wine that she was drinking did not have a high alcoholic content. It was just some plum wine. Although she had been drinking for quite a while, it would not be enough to get her to be completely drunk. But she was still a little tipsy. At the very least, when Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng stood in front of her, she just asked in a daze: “Who are you two? How did you get in?”

　　Imperial Concubine Yun had female guards hidden and protecting her at all times. The female guards also really wanted to know the answer to the second question. How did His Highness the ninth prince and the ninth princess get in? But these female guards had all been personally trained by Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua. They could be considered their disciples. It was quite normal for the master to be more powerful than the disciple. Because of this, they just thought of this as a discrepancy in ability. Either way, the person who had come in was one of their own. Who cared how they got in! It was not a problem.

　　Feng Yuheng stepped forward and sat down next to Imperial Concubine Yun. Reaching out and taking the wine cup from her hand, she placed it on the ground before saying: “Imperial concubine mother, it’s His Highness the ninth prince and A-Heng!”

　　Imperial Concubine Yun liked sitting on the ground while drinking on the moon-viewing platform. This floor had some heating installed, which was similar to modern floor heating. It was very warm. Hearing Feng Yuheng’s words, Imperial Concubine Yun took a long time to react. It was only after Feng Yuheng stuck something sweet into her mouth and had her suck on it for a while that she began to sober up slightly. She recognized the two but asked in confusion: “It’s the middle of the night. How did you two get in?”

　　Xuan Tianming rolled his eyes, “Of course, we snuck in. Right now, the palace is filled with old eighth’s people. Just outside Winter Moon Palace, who knows how many hidden guards were placed there. Aside from this, there are a large number of imperial guards who are making their rounds. The security is quite tight.”

　　“Hmph!” Imperial Concubine Yun sucked on the thing in her mouth. She initially planned on voicing her opinions on the eighth prince’s matter; however, she became interested in the sweet thing in her mouth. She asked Feng Yuheng: “What did you feed this One?”

　　Feng Yuheng said: “Imperial concubine mother, don’t worry. It’s just some candy to reduce the effects of alcohol. We heard the palace servants say that imperial concubine mother has been drinking at the moon-viewing platform since this afternoon. Now, it’s alright past midnight, and you can’t keep drinking. You must think about your health.”

　　Imperial Concubine Yun nodded and did not continue on this topic. Instead, she brought up the matters in the Imperial Palace, saying to the two: “You two, tell me, the situation in the palace is strange. In just these three days, it’s been extremely strange.”

　　“Where is this coming from, imperial concubine mother?” Feng Yuheng asked Imperial Concubine Yun, “Did you see some signs?”

　　Imperial Concubine Yun thought for a bit then said: “The old man did not come today, but he did come yesterday. He was not in very good spirits. Initially, he was eating properly, but he suddenly said that his head began to hurt while eating. Holding his head, he rolled around on the ground a bit. This scared me into calling an imperial physician, but when the imperial physician arrived, he was already fine. He was like a normal person. Strangest of all, he completely refused to admit that he had just been rolling around in pain from a headache. He even said that this One was teasing him. Who would be in the mood to tease him over that? Say, isn’t this strange?”

　　“Suddenly having a headache then refusing to admit it?” Feng Yuheng furrowed her brow, “I fear that it’s not admitting it. It might be that he himself forgot? Or it could be said… he didn’t know?” She shook her head then continued: “This is just my wild speculation. I have not had a chance to take a look at Father Emperor’s condition, so everything said is just speculation.”

　　“You shouldn’t continue living in the palace.” Xuan Tianming spoke up and told Imperial Concubine Yun: “Seventh brother’s palace has already been tidied up. Heng Heng and I came into the palace tonight to get you out. Go and stay at seventh brother’s place for a while. We will also be at ease.”

　　“Why?” Imperial Concubine Yun raised an eyebrow, “Of course, I want to go, but nobody would let me out. Why suddenly let me out of the palace?” She was a little dissatisfied and felt that if she left now, it would mean that she was afraid of Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. What a joke, who did she, Yun Pianpian, fear in this Imperial Palace? But after thinking a bit more, what if she did not leave? She would be talked about as having lost favor. Based on her understanding of the Imperial Palace, even if she did not go out of Winter Moon Palace in the past, that was just the past. Now, she would be described as not having the face to go out because Winter Moon Palace was now roughly the same as the cold palace. Or it could be said that she was unreconciled with being described in this way. Go and contend with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu? That was even less probable. To go and deal with all of the people who would stick up for that woman to try and get to the Emperor, that was not something that Yun Pianpian could do. Thus she changed her tone and sneered, “Heh! The old man has found a joy for women, thus he does not like the look of this Winter Moon Palace. That’s why, regardless of whether or not this One is in the palace, it’s no longer that important. Alright, this One will leave. Either way, I’ve had enough of living in this Imperial Palace.”

　　After a series of thoughts, Imperial Concubine Yun finally agreed to leave the palace with the two. Of course, she could not be brought out while awake. Feng Yuheng said: “There security in the palace is tight. We still need to make some preparations. A-Heng will send imperial concubine mother to rest in your bedchamber to sober up from the alcohol. When we have finished all of our arrangements, we will immediately bring you out of the palace, alright?”

　　Imperial Concubine Yun nodded then advised: “You two must act quickly! This One does not want to stay in this shoddy place for a moment longer.”

　　“Imperial concubine mother, don’t worry.” She laughed and complied. She and Xuan Tianming then helped support Imperial Concubine Yun to her bedchamber.

　　All of the subordinates in Winter Moon Palace were Xuan Tianming and Xuan Tianhua’s subordinates. They were definitely reliable. Although they were surprised by the ninth prince and princess suddenly entering the palace in the middle of the night, they did not find it strange. Especially after hearing the two say that they would bring Imperial Concubine Yun out of the palace, they agreed with it even more. Given the current situation, it would be better for Imperial Concubine Yun to go out and relax a bit. Either way, she would just be going to live in the Chun Palace. It would not be considered improper.

　　They said that they wanted their imperial concubine mother to sober up in her bedchamber; however, Xuan Tianming used a very strong medicine to have Imperial Concubine Yun quickly fall asleep. Feng Yuheng looked at the medicine that he had used, as the corner of her lips twitched. She knew that the people of the ancient world were habituated to using such things, and this made her recall the evil people from the modern world who knocked people out to abduct them. With just a bit of a drug, they could have a child follow them. Thinking about it, it should be something with a similar effect.

　　With Imperial Concubine Yun passing out, she immediately placed the person inside her space’s resting area. Xuan Tianming took care of informing the female guards to keep this secret. Nobody must let word get out of Imperial Concubine Yun leaving the palace. Only then did he hastily leave with Feng Yuheng.

　　The female guards were all unable to understand it. When they left, they were clearly just two people, yet why had Imperial Concubine Yun disappeared. They could only sigh and lament that the ninth prince was strong and had secretive abilities. They then began protecting the now-masterless Winter Moon Palace even more carefully.

　　As for the two who had just left Winter Moon Palace, they did not directly leave the Imperial Palace. Instead, they went in the direction of Zhao He Hall. Xuan Tianming wished to personally take a look at the Emperor. At this time, the old man should not have slept yet. He wanted to take a look at the old man’s mental condition. As for Feng Yuheng, she wanted to secretly check up on the Emperor’s health while nobody was around at night. At the very least, she would gain a basic understanding of the Emperor’s condition. Like that, it would be easier to make a judgment.

　　The two intermittently appeared throughout the Imperial Palace, avoiding all eyes. Passing through the yard in front of Zhao He Hall and arriving at the door to Zhao He Hall, they immediately saw Zhang Yuan drowsily standing next to a column near the door.

　　Xuan Tianming frowned and quietly said: “In the past, Zhang Yuan always stayed at Father Emperor’s side to take care of him. Regardless of who the old man saw, unless that eunuch had something else to do, he would never leave his side. Even if the old man fell asleep, Zhang Yuan would just cover himself with a blanket and sleep under the imperial bed. It would definitely be impossible for him to be resting outside of the hall.” While speaking, he looked inside. It was dark, and there were no candles lit. He could faintly hear the sound of a woman’s voice very charmingly saying: “Your Majesty, you really are still vigorous in old age! This concubine waited for so many years and finally managed to see this day!”

　　TN: The title is from the idiom: “A treasured sword does not age”