When Teng Liu came in, Jing Xunche had already stuffed the letter with the words "Qin Dynasty" into his bosom. He then followed Teng Liu into the darkness with Mu Fengqie.
No one knew what had gotten into the old emperor. Every night, he would increase the number of guards, as if he had paranoia.
"We won't be able to get out tonight. Let's just stay here for the night," Teng Liu led Mu Fengqie and the others to a desolate courtyard.
"I feel like this place is like the Cold Palace in your palace," Mu Fengqie said after looking around.
"This is indeed the Cold Palace, and many people have died here," Teng Liu said with a sinister look at Mu Fengqie, making a face as he spoke.
"Come on, you don't look scary at all, and I'm not afraid of the dead," Mu Fengqie thought. How could a doctor be afraid of the dead?
Teng Liu looked at Mu Fengqie in surprise. Although he knew that Mu Fengqie was a doctor, he didn't expect her to be so brave. Weren't women supposed to be timid?
"Not all women are timid. It depends on the person," Mu Fengqie rolled her eyes at Teng Liu.
Teng Liu awkwardly scratched his nose. He had accidentally spoken his mind.
Mu Fengqie looked around the room. It wasn't too dirty. With a little cleaning, it could be a decent place to stay. She found a cloth to wipe the stool and shook the quilt on the bed.
"Come on, is this really necessary? We're only staying for one night," Teng Liu waved the dust in front of him.
"This place is too dirty. It's better to clean it up. It'll be more hygienic and comfortable to stay in," Mu Fengqie ignored Teng Liu's words. Seeing Jing Xunche looking for something to wipe with, she gave him the cloth in her hand.
While making the bed, Mu Fengqie noticed something strange. "This bed is so weird," she said, looking at the wooden board on the bed.
"What's so strange about it? It's just an old bed that's about to collapse. If you don't like it, I'll take it," Teng Liu said. He wasn't picky. As he spoke, he sat down on the bed.
Mu Fengqie wanted to stop him, but it was too late. She watched helplessly as Teng Liu fell through the bed. Just now, she had accidentally pressed something on the bed, and she had clearly heard a click.
She hadn't had a chance to say anything when Teng Liu fell.
"Let's go down and take a look," Mu Fengqie said to Jing Xunche.
The two of them restored the things on the bed and then followed Teng Liu down. When they got down, they saw Teng Liu sitting on the ground, grimacing.
"Are you okay?" Jing Xunche asked, looking at Teng Liu.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm very tough," Teng Liu said as he stood up immediately. To prove that he was okay, he even took a few steps.
"Since you're okay, let's go and take a look," Jing Xunche said, looking at the stubborn Teng Liu. Anyway, he said he was okay.
Teng Liu limped after them, covering his butt. After walking for a while, they saw two fork in the road. "Which way should we go?"
Jing Xunche held the torch and shone it on the two paths. He didn't find anything strange, which meant that both paths were passable, but they led to different places.
"Let's go this way first," Jing Xunche took Mu Fengqie's hand and walked carefully in front.
After walking for a while, they heard someone talking outside. The speakers were probably eunuchs, discussing what had happened recently.
"We should be almost there," Jing Xunche said. Since they could hear people talking, they should be close to the ground.
Sure enough, after walking for a while, they saw the end. "How do we open this door?"
Mu Fengqie felt around on the surrounding walls but didn't find any mechanisms. Could it be a dead door?
"I know this. According to the distance we've walked, this should be the old man's administrative hall. You can just push the door open from both sides," Teng Liu said.
No one knew the old emperor better than he did. He was so afraid of death that all his secret passages were manual, without any mechanisms.
Not long ago, he had just discovered one of the old emperor's treasure vaults. He didn't expect to find another place today. But why did he dig a passage to the Cold Palace?
Jing Xunche listened to the sounds outside to make sure there was no one there before slowly pushing open the door in front of him.
Sure enough, as Teng Liu had said, this was the administrative hall of Emperor Karlsh.
On the wall of the administrative hall, there was a painting of a beautiful woman.
"Who is this? She's quite beautiful," Mu Fengqie said, looking at the painting on the wall.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's words, Teng Liu looked over. When he saw the person on the wall, his eyes widened. The person in the painting was none other than his mother. He didn't expect the old man to have the nerve to hang a painting of his mother!
Without saying a word, Teng Liu took down the painting and tore it to pieces. He then put the pieces in the incense burner and burned them.
Mu Fengqie and Jing Xunche looked at the abnormal Teng Liu. Thinking of the woman's appearance just now, they found that Teng Liu looked quite like her. Could that woman be...
"Didn't you always want to know why I want Karlsh to perish? The reason is that the old man killed my mother and my unborn brother," Teng Liu said faintly, looking at the ashes in the incense burner. There was no trace of emotion in his eyes.
"I've wanted him to be destroyed for a long time. It's just that I'm still a little short of ability. But with you, I'll definitely succeed," Teng Liu said, looking at Jing Xunche.
Jing Xunche pursed his lips. He didn't expect this to be the reason. "I'll consider it," he said.
Teng Liu didn't force Jing Xunche. Anyway, he could stir up trouble in Karlsh by himself, but it would just take some time.
"Let's go. Let's go and take a look at the other secret passage," Teng Liu said after adjusting his emotions. They had come all the way here. They couldn't go back empty-handed.
The three of them came to the fork in the road and walked along. But this time, it wasn't as smooth as last time. There was someone in this room, and it was a woman.
"Are you not eating? Why are you so weak?" the woman's angry voice came from outside.
Jing Xunche and the others didn't know who the owner of the voice was, but Teng Liu did. It was the eleventh princess, the old man's favorite.
He didn't expect this secret passage to lead directly here. It wasn't that Teng Liu had a dirty mind, but this behavior was really suspicious.
The two secret passages were connected, and one of them led directly to the Cold Palace. What would a noble emperor and a favored princess do in the Cold Palace?