Love Lock

Chapter 269 Palace Secrets
"Let me see what it is!" Da Shiqi squeezed forward again, and when he saw the object in Da Jiu's hand, a look of surprise appeared on his young face. "A pearl earring?"

It was an exquisite pearl earring, with a long strand of hair wrapped around the silver hook.

"Judging by its quality, it's quite valuable, not like an antique." Da Jiu rubbed the surface of the pearl with his rough fingers. "And..."

"And what?" Everyone crowded around, and Da Shiqi asked impatiently.

Da Jiu held the earring up to the light: "Look, there's still moisture on the pearls, and the hook isn't rusty, which means it hasn't been long since it fell off."

This discovery thrilled everyone.

Da Shisan patted the dust off his sheepskin coat and said firmly, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and look ahead! Maybe there's treasure ahead!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's walk some more, let's walk some more." Everyone perked up immediately, and the fear on their faces disappeared.

The group continued forward, their footsteps echoing in the deep cave.

After walking for about half an hour, Da Jiu, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, almost causing the people behind him to bump into each other.

"What's wrong?" Da Shisan muttered in dissatisfaction.

"Light...there's light ahead!" Da Jiu turned off the solar-powered light in his hand and excitedly pointed ahead.

Sure enough, a hazy ray of light shone down from above, casting a circular halo on the damp ground in front.

The group quickened their pace and arrived beneath the light source.

Looking up, a well opening appeared prominently overhead, about three or four zhang high. Dim sunlight streamed through the well opening, mixed with snowflakes.

"It's snowing outside..."

Da Shisan reached out and caught a falling snowflake, watching it melt in his palm.

Da Jiu squinted and estimated the height: "This looks like an abandoned dry well. Look at the wooden barrels hanging above."

"Could the owner of that earring have fallen from here?" Da Shisan suddenly asked, his voice echoing at the bottom of the well.

"It couldn't have fallen from here; someone wearing an earring must have passed through the cave." Da Jiu touched the moss on the well wall: "This moss..."

He scratched it with his fingernail. "The top layer is new, which means someone has touched it recently."

Da Jiu carefully put the earring into his pocket and said in a deep voice, "No matter what, we have to find a way to get up there and see where it is, and why someone would use this method to get in and out of the dry well?"

Just then, a woman's soft voice came from the well, her voice like snowflakes falling in the cold wind, carrying a hint of worry and tenderness.

"Remember to be back before noon tomorrow. Make sure you have your things safe and don't lose anything." The woman's tone was full of earnest advice, as if every word was imbued with concern.

Then came a high-pitched male voice, as if he had deliberately lowered his voice.

"Don't worry, Sister Yunshu! I'll definitely be back as soon as possible." The voice was full of youthful vigor, but its high-pitched quality made it sound somewhat comical.

"Shh!"

The woman suddenly became alert and stopped her.

Da Jiu, who was in the dry well, tensed up instantly. He made a neat gesture to his brothers behind him, clenched his right fist and pushed it forward, then spread his five fingers to the sides.

They had practiced this advancing and dispersing movement countless times under Han Lei's guidance.

The brothers of the Big Character Team immediately disappeared silently into the shadows at the edge of the dry well, like the receding tide.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the light coming from the well opening.

A moment later, the woman named Yun Shu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and her voice rang out softly again: "Then sit down, I'll see you out."

The man with the high-pitched voice responded, and by the dim moonlight, everyone saw a rough wooden bucket swaying as it was lowered from the well.

A small, thin figure was crouching in the bucket, gripping the hanging rope nervously.

At the wellhead, a woman wearing a dark cloak was laboriously cranking a rusty pulley; her figure appeared particularly frail in the wind and snow.

When the barrel was halfway down, the woman suddenly leaned out again, a corner of her cloak fluttering in the wind: "Remember, go and come back quickly."

He spoke these words quickly and softly, as if afraid of being overheard or for the other person not to remember them.

"Okay! I understand!" the man replied somewhat impatiently, his voice echoing faintly against the well wall.

The wooden bucket finally touched the bottom of the well, making a muffled "thump" sound.

The man nimbly jumped out of the wooden tub, looked up and waved towards the well: "Sister Yunshu, you can go back now. I'm leaving first."

His face looked exceptionally young in the moonlight, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a cautious glint in his eyes.

The man was so focused on saying goodbye to the woman at the well that he didn't notice that less than three feet away in the shadows, Da Jiu was holding his breath and pressing himself against the well wall.

He was completely unaware that six strong men were hiding in the darkness around him. They were as still as statues, with only their eyes reflecting a wary glint.

The woman named Yun Shu remained silent for a moment before giving a soft reply.

She peered out until she saw the man's figure completely disappear into the passage on the other side of the dry well, then she let out a barely audible sigh.

The sigh, carried by the night wind, drifted to the bottom of the well, like a fallen leaf gently brushing past everyone's ears.

Then came the sound of the well turning, and the woman's figure gradually disappeared from the well opening.

Da Jiu waited for about fifteen minutes, and after confirming that there was no further movement at the wellhead, he tiptoed to the beam of light cast from the wellhead.

He raised his right hand, brought his index and middle fingers together and pointed forward slightly, then pressed his palm down in a forward gesture.

The brothers of the Big Character Team immediately moved like a group of cheetahs ready to pounce, crouching low and moving with specially trained, light steps, silently chasing after the cave.

They moved through the narrow passages and soon disappeared into the deeper darkness.

The deeper you go, the darker it gets.

Darkness filled the narrow passage as if it were a tangible substance, and the damp air was thick with the smell of decay and earth.
The man with the high-pitched voice took out a tinderbox, lit a candle, and walked through the cave passage.

The candlelight, no bigger than a soybean, didn't illuminate very far, and the man walked very slowly, his steps uneven.

To speed up their pursuit, Da Jiu and the others lit up the solar-powered lamps. The bright white light pierced the darkness and could illuminate more than ten meters away.

The lamplight cast their rapidly moving shadows on the uneven stone wall, like several ferocious beasts poised to pounce.

"Hurry up!" Da Jiu commanded in a low voice, his voice echoing between the stone walls.

He could sense his target was not far ahead, a figure stumbling in the darkness, fleeing in panic like a startled rabbit. The candlelight, no bigger than a soybean, flickered in the distance, so faint it seemed it could be swallowed by the darkness at any moment.

The candle holder clearly heard the commotion behind him, and his footsteps became even more unsteady. The candlelight flickered violently, casting distorted shadows on the stone wall.

"what!"

A sharp scream shattered the silence.

The candle holder turned around and saw a bright light chasing after him, with many menacing black shadows in the light, like ghosts.

Walking alone in this gloomy cave, the man was already feeling uneasy. When he suddenly saw this scene, he was so frightened that his face turned pale instantly.

His face was ashen, his eyes were wide open to the limit, and his pupils were constricted to the size of pinpoints.

Da Jiu could see the man's appearance clearly by the light: a thin face, no beard, and unusually smooth skin. Even in his fear, he subconsciously raised his pinky finger.

The candle wax dripped onto his slender fingers, but he was completely unaware.

"Ah—don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!" The shrill voice was choked with sobs.

The man turned and ran, but tripped in his panic. The candle slipped from his hand, rolled a few times on the damp ground, and the flame struggled stubbornly for a few moments before finally going out.

Darkness enveloped the man again, but the solar-powered lamp in Da Jiu's hand relentlessly pursued him, exposing him completely to the light.

The man was so frightened that he trembled like a leaf and ran forward using both his hands and feet.

"stop!"

With a loud shout, Da Jiu rushed forward in three steps and grabbed the man's shoulder with his iron-like hand.

"what--"

Another piercing scream rang out, and the man's legs buckled, causing him to kneel on the ground. He raised his hands above his head in a gesture of surrender, and his wide sleeves slipped down, revealing his slender, pale wrists.

"Spare me! Lord Ghost, spare me!" His forehead was pressed against the ground, and his voice was clearly trembling with sobs.

Lord Ghost?
It turned out that the man had mistaken Da Jiu and the others for ghosts.

Da Jiu looked down at the trembling figure.

Even in fear, the person's movements carried an eerie softness—shoulders tucked in, neck tilted forward, and the curve of their lips when speaking was excessively delicate.

"Who are you? Why are you in this secret passage?" Da Jiu's voice was deep and dangerous, like a drawn sword.

"This servant...this servant just...just wanted to go out and see his family..." the man stammered, his teeth chattering and making a "clucking" sound.

Da Shisan stepped forward, the solar-powered light shining directly into the man's face: "Why didn't you take the main road when visiting your family? Why did you insist on going through this dry well and secret passage?"

Under the light, the person's skin was almost transparent, and the bluish blood vessels under the skin could be seen.

Da Jiu suddenly leaned down, grabbed the man's chin, and forced him to raise his head. Under the bright light, the smooth chin and deliberately groomed eyebrows were clearly visible.

“You’re a eunuch,” Da Jiu said coldly, not as a question, but as a statement.

The man froze, then slumped down like a deflated balloon: "Yes...yes, Your Excellency is wise. I...I am a eunuch from the palace."

"What ghost, sir? We're not ghosts." Da Shisan rolled his eyes at him, annoyed.

"Which palace?" Da Jiu's fingers tightened, his nails almost digging into the man's soft flesh.

"The Imperial Kitchen... This servant works in the Imperial Kitchen..."

The eunuch's eyes darted around, avoiding eye contact with Da Jiu. But upon hearing that they weren't ghosts, the fear in his eyes lessened considerably.

A cold glint flashed in Da Jiu's eyes, and he suddenly raised his voice: "Tell the truth! Otherwise, I'll hand you over to the Imperial Household Department right now! Do you know how the Imperial Household Department deals with lying servants?"

"No!" The eunuch let out a shrill wail and collapsed to the ground.

"My lord, spare me! This servant will tell you... this servant will tell you everything..." He gasped for breath, his voice trembling nervously even as it softened, "This servant works in Consort Ru's palace, and Consort Ru's life is not easy..."

Da Jiu was taken aback. "Consort Ru, isn't that the former Imperial Noble Consort?"

He was sent to the capital by Han Lei, and during his time there, he learned more or less about the news from the palace.

The Imperial Noble Consort was the highest-ranking concubine in the palace at the time when Emperor Jing and the Empress were killed in the bombing, and the only one who could step forward to take charge of the situation.

Besides the Empress, Consort Ru was Emperor Qianlong's most favored concubine, so she held the highest status and was granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort.

The young eunuch nodded and lowered his voice, saying, "This is a long story, gentlemen, please allow me to tell you in detail."

Da Jiu stuffed a piece of silver into his hand and urged, "Don't be afraid, just tell me! But you must tell the truth."

"Yes, yes, yes," the little eunuch's eyes lit up, and he stuffed the silver into his sleeve. Seeing that their clothes were not those of people from the palace, he felt relieved and began to tell the story.

"That day, the late Emperor and Empress both perished... well, they were killed in an explosion. The entire palace was in chaos. The Imperial Noble Consort remained calm in the face of danger, immediately ordering the palace gates to be sealed off, and summoned Prime Minister Wei and other ministers to the palace that very night to discuss matters..."

Da Jiu seemed to be thinking: "You mean... His Majesty and Chancellor Wei were prepared all along?"

The little eunuch's lips twitched: "This... this servant dares not make any presumptions. However, His Majesty did indeed ascend the throne when Consort Ru and Prime Minister Wei were in charge of the overall situation."

Da Shisan suddenly realized, and said disdainfully, "So that's how the new emperor came to power. What happened after that?"

"Alas," the little eunuch sighed, "Logically speaking, the late emperor's concubines were all the new emperor's sisters-in-law. After the new emperor ascended the throne, their fate should have been to be dismissed from the palace. However, with a decree issued by the new emperor, except for Consort Ru, all of the late emperor's other concubines were directly made into Dowager Consorts, to stay in the palace to live out their old age and wait for death, and were never allowed to leave the palace for the rest of their lives."

Da Jiu frowned: "Isn't this a disguised form of house arrest? Why would the new emperor do this?"

“Who says otherwise?” The little eunuch pursed his lips and continued, “The late emperor had a concubine named Li who wanted to see her family. She knelt outside the Golden Palace for a whole day and was eventually carried back by the eunuchs.”

Da Shisan clicked his tongue and said, "Then Consort Ru was dismissed from the palace?"

The young eunuch's eyes darkened, and he sighed, "The new emperor's attitude towards Consort Ru is quite different. I don't know if the new emperor is grateful for the favor of the consort in taking charge of the overall situation and helping him ascend the throne, or if he has taken a fancy to the consort's beauty. In any case, right after the coronation ceremony, the new emperor issued an edict to take Consort Ru as a consort."

"To take one's own brother's sister-in-law as a concubine? This... is against the rules of propriety, isn't it?" Da Jiu was shocked.

The brothers in the Big Character Team widened their eyes upon hearing this.

There are such secrets in the palace?

Da Shisan had a gossipy expression on his face.

“Alas! Who can argue with that?” the little eunuch sighed. “Prime Minister Wei led the opposition, saying that it violated moral principles. But the new emperor said to Prime Minister Wei, ‘Consort Ru helped me ascend the throne and has rendered meritorious service. How can I let her end up like those ordinary beauties?’”

"Hiss!" Da Shisan gasped, stroking his chin and muttering, "This new emperor... could he have already had feelings for Consort Ru?"