Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 832: Li Xingsheng & Ling Yuezi Extra (04): Secret Investigation
Ling Yuezi returned to the Moonlight Palace.
Because she brought many maids, the people arranged by the Regent King could never get close to Ling Yuezi’s bedroom.
Thus, they couldn’t eavesdrop on Ling Yuezi’s conversations with the maids.
In the bedroom, Ling Yuezi discussed with Ah Qing and Ah Lan the strategy she had just discussed with Ling Xingyun.
"Princess, this idea is great! If the Princess becomes the National Guardian General, she will have the power to eliminate the Regent King in the future!" Ah Qing was very happy.
Ah Lan said, "What if the Regent King plays tricks and doesn’t agree? He has many allies. I remember Luo Da mentioned that in the cabinet, for any major decision, a majority must agree. If everyone disagrees, even the Emperor’s word won’t count."
Ah Qing exclaimed, "Oh dear, what should we do? The Princess doesn’t have any familiar allies here."
Ah Lan’s concern had also occurred to Ling Yuezi.
She smiled slightly, "I’ll go out for a walk tonight and meet with several cabinet ministers."
Earlier, she had inquired about the current situation in the court with Ling Xingyun.
Aside from a few who retired due to old age or illness, most of the ministers she remembered were still in the court.
Among the five cabinet members, only one was unfamiliar to her, the other four were the trusted ministers from the past.
She remembered that those men were trusted by her father, the late Emperor. They should remember her, right?
Ling Yuezi rested for a while, and when dusk fell, she had a little dinner and went out with Ah Qing and Ah Lan.
They had just reached the main hall doors when those monitoring her approached, "Princess, it’s forbidden to leave the palace at night."
Ah Qing raised an eyebrow, "Who set that rule?"
"The Regent King, Your Highness," said one of the eunuchs.
"Does the Regent King go out at night?" Ling Yuezi asked calmly.
"Yes, the Regent King goes out to attend important matters, of course," the eunuch replied arrogantly, chin raised.
Ling Yuezi smiled, "I also need to go out to handle important matters, so I am leaving as well."
She flicked her sleeve and continued striding forward.
Seeing her intent on leaving, the eunuch quickly instructed the palace maids and eunuchs around, "Stop Princess Yue!"
"Yes!"
Several palace maids and eunuchs gathered at the door.
"Are you all looking to get your bones broken? Ah Qing, Ah Lan, beat them up!" Ling Yuezi commanded sharply.
"Yes, Princess!"
The guards sent by the Regent King consisted of two martial-skilled palace maids, four large palace maids, and four burly eunuchs.
Ten people in total surrounded Ling Yuezi.
But Ling Yuezi had brought twelve maids with her.
Moreover, each one was a martial arts expert.
At Ling Yuezi’s command, all the maids charged toward the palace maids and eunuchs.
The Regent King had assumed Ling Yuezi was just a princess, and despite her years living with a guard and learning some boxing, he thought her skills would be superficial and that her maids, being small in stature, wouldn’t be particularly capable.
Thus, apart from two skilled fighters, the others were merely strong, not skilled.
Ordinary strength is like an egg smashing against stone in front of skilled fighters, doomed to lose.
The two martial-skilled palace maids were swiftly taken down by the expert Ah Qing and Ah Lan, and the remaining ten were easily defeated by the other maids.
They all fell to the ground, groaning and begging for mercy.
Standing among them, Ling Yuezi’s voice was icy, "Will you still try to stop me?"
"We wouldn’t dare, Princess."
"I dislike disobedient people and detest those who pretend to obey only to inform against me. There used to be such people, but now the grass on their graves is taller than you. Do any of you want to try defying me?"
Grass on graves?
Did Princess Yue once kill disobedient people?
They were all frightened.
They all knelt, saying, "We wouldn’t dare."
"However, I still don’t trust you, Ah Qing, Ah Lan, knock them out and tie them up, to prevent them from informing the Regent King and disturbing his sleep with my nighttime stroll." Ling Yuezi sneered.
"Yes, Princess." Ah Qing smiled lightly.
The maids busily administered knockout drugs and bound the offenders, and soon all ten people sent by the Regent King were tied up.
The maids dragged them behind the curtains of the side hall.
After Ah Qing and Ah Lan confirmed everything was secure, they reminded the other maids to keep watch, then followed Ling Yuezi out of the Bright Moon Palace.
The nighttime Imperial Palace was nearly deserted, with a pervasive quiet.
Familiar with the palace, Ling Yuezi led them to a secluded side gate.
They needed to leave without attracting attention.
The three used ropes to climb over the palace walls and escape.
The twenty-foot palace wall was even lower than the cliffs of Feihu Village, a much easier climb compared to the fifty-foot back cliff she had climbed for seven years.
Ling Yuezi recalled what Luo Zhencuan had said when she first started climbing: once she mastered it, she could go wherever she wanted.
Thinking of that cliff, she suddenly remembered Li Xingsheng.
That night, she unexpectedly saw Li Xingsheng and his little book boy checking the back hills, easily climbing up and down.
Is he well these days?
Ling Yuezi took a deep breath, banishing other thoughts.
She and her maids swiftly navigated the capital’s night streets.
The Nanyue Country enforced a curfew, and aside from patrolling guards, night watchmen, and night soil collectors, no other people were visible.
The three didn’t want to attract the patrol’s attention, choosing shadowy paths.
Ling Yuezi, Ah Qing, and Ah Lan first went to Shengyan Temple to meet Luo Zhencuan.
Shengyan Temple was a small, serene temple with only five monks.
Luo Zhencuan was an old acquaintance of the abbot, having known each other from years past.
Luo Zhencuan staying there reassured Ling Yuezi.
"Why come at night? How are things at the palace?" Luo Zhencuan asked worriedly upon seeing Ling Yuezi.
Ling Yuezi didn’t want him to worry and simply said, "The Regent King hasn’t been paying much attention to me; perhaps he sees me as a mere weak woman."
She smiled slightly.
Luo Zhencuan relaxed, but still cautioned, "He is cunning and treacherous; never trust him too much."
Ling Yuezi smiled, "Of course, that’s why I’m starting to act." She shared her plan with Ling Xingyun.
Luo Zhencuan was surprised but pleased, commending, "That’s a good plan, great idea!"
Ling Yuezi continued, "I’m worried the cabinet won’t agree, so I plan to meet the five members tonight."
Luo Zhencuan said, "I was the late Emperor’s Hidden Guard and know those five’s weaknesses. Find their Achilles’ heels, and they will surely listen to you."
Ling Yuezi was thrilled, "Great, please tell me, father."
Luo Zhencuan then described each cabinet member’s vulnerabilities.
One relied on his wife’s family for his position, while secretly maintaining a mistress, whose location Luo Zhencuan provided.
Another had a son who was a molester; to keep it hidden, he had the son marry a wife while keeping his family ignorant of the son’s illness.
Someone had accidentally committed murder years ago; the late Emperor spared him due to long service, but the deceased’s relatives were now prominent officials, likely to seek vengeance if they found out.
Additional secrets involved impersonating another’s achievements and having an affair with a sister-in-law.
These details were kept hidden to maintain court balance, with evidence destroyed afterward.
Ling Yuezi memorized these secrets, took Ah Qing and Ah Lan, and returned to the city by night.
She first knocked at a minister’s door.
Not revealing her identity, she simply mentioned an address and requested to see Prime Minister Lv.
The gatekeeper, unsure of her identity but seeing her palace token, hurried inside to report.
Soon, a gatekeeper relayed the message that Prime Minister Lv invited Ling Yuezi to his study for a discussion.
