Lu Mingyuan stared intently at the hexagram before him, his eyes flickering.
It seemed the squad of Imperial Guards that had just passed was highly suspicious. They might have been involved in the Witchcraft incident—accomplices who let the Demoness of the Demon Kingdom escape.
'Doing nothing, just happening to see them—no benefit, no harm—and I would still incur the Eldest Prince's hatred?'
'This is insane. Guilt by association for hearing something is one thing, but guilt just for seeing something is taking it too far.'
This meant that letting the Demoness of the Demon Kingdom escape wasn't the work of a single person. It was the result of a hidden power struggle, with different parties scheming against one another.
Piecing things together, Lu Mingyuan had reason to suspect he'd been used as a pawn, a sacrifice in the struggle between two factions. Fortunately, with the Six-Yao Turtle Shell, he had managed to save his own skin.
Actively leaking the secret could lead to two completely different outcomes: the Middle Trigram of Good Fortune and the Lower Trigram of Evil. The way he handled it would determine the result.
One path was to use a "borrowed knife to kill," eliminating the traitor indirectly. The other was to tell the Imperial Commander directly, which would inevitably be problematic and create a dangerous situation.
'I understand now. I have to feign ignorance. Even if I report them, I must hide my motives and have an alibi. I can't get sucked into the vortex of the succession struggle.'
Having thought this far, Lu Mingyuan already had an answer in his heart.
The key was still "killing with a borrowed knife." The question was how to find a good "knife" to use.
He walked out the main gate and glanced at the two Imperial Guards at the end of the official path. He instinctively felt they couldn't be trusted.
A few days ago, when the Fifth Prince had nearly taught him a lesson, these two had done nothing. It was clear they'd been bought off and were not worthy of his trust.
"Where are you going, Sixth Prince?"
The two Imperial Guards on duty became alert when they saw Lu Mingyuan emerge from Qingzhu Hall and asked the question.
Lu Mingyuan put on a displeased expression and retorted:
"I should still be allowed to walk around the grounds of these Two Halls and Three Academies, right? They're considered part of the Cold Palace. I've been cooped up for so many days, can't I take a stroll in the garden next door?"
Hearing this, the two Imperial Guards exchanged a look and decided to let him pass.
In this vast Imperial Palace, unless Lu Mingyuan was some peerless Exiled Immortal of the Upper Three Grades, it was impossible for him to take a single step out of the Cold Palace.
Lu Mingyuan walked over to the spot where the squad of Imperial Guards had just passed.
He mentally noted the direction of the great hall they had entered, then went to a garden and began to stroll about, putting on an act.
It was called a garden, but it was really just some rockeries, artificial streams, flowers, and grass, with the chirping of birds all around.
Lu Mingyuan frowned, beginning to ponder how he could expose this squad of traitors without revealing himself.
He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a good plan.
'Maybe I can have Zi Yun tell Mother, and then she can carry out the plan?'
But Lu Mingyuan quickly rejected the idea himself.
'No, that won't work.'
'Zi Yun isn't my trusted confidante yet.'
'If I put Mother in harm's way, she'd probably get dragged into the succession struggle and be in danger too. Mother is my only protection; I can't involve her.'
'Those people in the shadows, there's nothing they wouldn't do. It would be a disaster if they went after Mother.'
'Besides, how would I even explain how I know all this? It might make Mother suspicious.'
Lu Mingyuan believed it wasn't yet time to lay his cards on the table with his mother.
When he was strong enough to protect her, he would gradually let her come to accept the person he was now.
"Sir..."
Suddenly, Lu Mingyuan heard someone speaking from a corner of the garden wall.
Pinpointing the sound, he quickly found the corner. With a light leap, his body as agile as a monkey's, he climbed onto a branch overhanging the wall and perched there.
Now that he had Martial Arts Qi, he just needed to circulate the Powerful Qi to amplify the strength in various parts of his body, like his legs and arms.
Lu Mingyuan faced the corner and listened carefully, discovering a conversation between two Imperial Guards changing shifts.
"I'm afraid I can't make it for duty tonight. Could you let me go home?"
"No."
"My wife is about to give birth. It's an extreme emergency. Can't you find someone to take my place?"
"Absolutely not. We're critically short-staffed in the palace right now. Plus, the Holy Emperor has given a direct order: if we can't find the traitor before dawn, both you and I will lose our heads!"
Peeking over the wall, Lu Mingyuan saw a young, thin-faced Imperial Guard in Scale Armor. With a worried expression, he was speaking to a scruffy, middle-aged man whose helmet was adorned with a Silver Banner. The middle-aged man seemed to be his superior, dressed in a way that suggested a position like a Commander.
'Is Father purging the Imperial Guard?'
Lu Mingyuan thought to himself.
On second thought, it made sense.
After all, for the Demoness of the Demon Kingdom to have been freed from the Imperial Palace dungeons, it meant the Imperial Guard had long since been infiltrated.
His eyes shifted slightly. Looking at the Imperial Guard before him, Lu Mingyuan had a candidate in mind.
...
With the arrival of winter, the sun's time in the sky grew shorter, and it soon set.
The magnificent Great Yan Imperial Palace was quickly enveloped by night. One by one, palace lanterns were lit. Viewed from above the clouds, it would have been a beautiful sight.
However, this beauty was shattered by the CLANKING sound of vibrating armor.
Tonight was destined to be anything but calm. Many armor-clad, saber-wielding Imperial Guards poured out in full force. Among them, one could even spot imposing figures with strange birds and Exotic Beasts embroidered on their chests, wearing Silver Boots, and carrying Imperial Embroidered Spring Sabers at their waists.
They were from Great Yan's supervisory agency—the Bright Lamp Bureau, also known as the "Imperial Capital Brocade Clothing."
The Imperial Capital Brocade Clothing, along with the Advisory Platform Bureau, served to monitor all officials. But unlike the Advisory Platform Bureau, they answered only to the Great Yan Emperor.
"Search!"
A Commander of the Imperial Guard took the lead, a group of people following close behind as they swarmed into Qingzhu Hall.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Is this a rebellion?!"