The Child Emperor-Chapter 263: Escape from the Palace

Lin Kunshan stood with a group of palace guards in the courtyard, waiting to intercept anyone trying to leave the palace as soon as the signal came from outside.

Shang-guan Sheng had opened an eastern palace gate under the pretense of facilitating troop movements. Security was lax there, and anyone trying to slip out of the palace would likely try that route. After exiting, there was an unavoidable alley, where Lin Kunshan and his men waited in a courtyard by the exit.

After the second watch, a clapping sound came from outside. About a dozen palace guards pushed open the door, but Lin Kunshan remained seated on the only stool, smiling quietly as he waited.

Soon, they brought in someone who had tried to leave – a eunuch in his thirties who was trembling in fear, practically being dragged into the courtyard.

“What’s your name?” Lin Kunshan asked kindly.

“Jiang… Jiang Tianfu.'”

“Hmm, good name. Why were you trying to leave the palace?”

“Someone at home… is sick.”

“Eunuchs have families?” Lin Kunshan was surprised.

The eunuch nodded desperately, looking around at the guards for help. When no one responded, he explained, “With permission from the Empress Dowager or Your Majesty, eunuchs can have families. The Empress Dowager allowed it.”

Lin Kunshan chuckled, tempted to ask where these family members came from, but he had more important matters. “Hand it over.”

The eunuch hesitated, glancing around at the soldiers as if embarrassed by the crowd. After some reluctance, he reached into his robes and fumbled around before producing a small package, which he very reluctantly handed over.

Lin Kunshan was smiling, but as soon as he took the package he noticed the weight was wrong. The imperial seal was made of jade and shouldn’t be this heavy. His smile faded as he quickly opened the package.

Inside were three small gold ingots.

“What is this?” Lin Kunshan’s smile disappeared completely.

“This is… a small token of appreciation for your excellency.” The eunuch answered honestly, not recognizing the fate seer and defaulting to “your excellency.”

Lin Kunshan tossed the gold to the ground. “Where is the imperial seal?”

The eunuch looked confused. He knew what the imperial seal was but couldn’t fathom how it could have anything to do with him. Bewildered, he said, “It should be… with the Keeper of the Seal.”

“Search him thoroughly, from head to toe,” Lin Kunshan ordered. Having dealt with important officials, he had no patience for a common eunuch and preferred direct methods.

Two soldiers held the eunuch’s arms while another searched him carefully. They soon found another package of gold and jewels, but no imperial seal.

“Why were you sneaking out of the palace?” Lin Kunshan demanded sternly.

“Someone at home…”

“You’re lying. What illness requires you to carry so much gold?”

“It’s true, they’re very sick.”

“Cut off his hand,” Lin Kunshan ordered.

A soldier drew his sword, and Eunuch Jiang Tianfu fell to his knees. “Spare me, your excellency! I’ll tell the truth!”

Lin Kunshan waved the soldier back. “Speak quickly.”

“There are rumors…” Jiang Tianfu glanced nervously at the surrounding soldiers again, his voice trembling. “Rumors in the palace that if the palace guards are defeated, they’ll kill all the palace servants. Everyone is scared, I’m scared too, so… so I wanted to escape and hide for a while…”

“Everyone?” Lin Kunshan suddenly felt uneasy.

“Yes, yes, I’m not the only one trying to leave the palace. Soon…”

Before Jiang Tianfu could finish, a chorus of clapping sounds erupted outside. A soldier burst through the door, saying urgently, “Dozens… no, hundreds of people…”

Lin Kunshan rushed to the courtyard gate in alarm and looked out at the street.

In the darkness, countless people were running frantically – eunuchs, palace maids, and what appeared to be even some soldiers. They made no sound, just desperately running as if being chased by wild beasts.

Lin Kunshan stood dumbfounded. As the crowd was about to pass by, he finally shouted, “Stop them! Stop them! Don’t let a single one escape!”

The palace guard soldiers rushed out of the courtyard, but they were too few in number – only about fifty facing hundreds of desperate runners. Before the soldiers could even form ranks, the two groups had already collided.

Many people were knocked down by sword sheaths and hilts, but even more broke through the blockade, fleeing into nearby streets and alleys. It would be nearly impossible to track them all down now.

Lin Kunshan stood frozen at the doorway. He had been deceived – Yang Feng had anticipated this move and had a large group of people cover the escape of the seal bearer. As for how Yang Feng had coordinated with the palace people, Lin Kunshan was completely baffled and uninterested. He only regretted one thing: why had he assumed the seal bearer would leave the palace alone?

Because the imperial seal was too important, he had thought Yang Feng wouldn’t dare entrust such a precious item to multiple people. He never expected that Yang Feng’s method of motivating people to flee the palace had nothing to do with the imperial seal at all.

Coming to his senses, Lin Kunshan lifted his robes and crept along the wall toward the alley exit. After just a few steps, soldiers stopped him, saying, “Mr. Lin, we’ve caught everyone. Come with us to report to General Shang-guan.”

This was far from “caught everyone” – more than half the crowd had escaped. But the soldiers didn’t want to take responsibility. With their limited numbers and inadequate preparation, they could only blame the fate seer who had devised the strategy.

Under soldier escort, Lin Kunshan walked toward the palace with a pale face, frequently looking back while contemplating how to “naturally” escape blame for losing the seal.

The idea of “dividing the realm into three” surfaced in his mind again.

The palace guards were concentrated in the northern city, while the Southern Army occupied the western city. Fearing betrayal from their subordinate commanders, neither side dared to disperse their forces. The eastern and southern parts of the city were thus abandoned, with almost no soldiers stationed there. Though residents had avoided the fighting, they remained cautious – few dared to go out during the day, and at night everyone hid in their homes.

Those who successfully escaped the palace scattered through the streets and alleys, either returning home or seeking refuge with relatives, quickly vanishing without a trace. Only one young eunuch ran desperately southward, but his pace soon slowed, clearly exhausted.

The young eunuch dared not stop, and when running became impossible, could only walk quickly. Upon reaching the southern city, the eunuch faced a more serious problem – not knowing the way.

The young eunuch only knew to head south, but the further south they went, the narrower and more complex the streets became. In the darkness, even determining direction was difficult, let alone finding an unknown small inn. They could only try to move toward the southeastern corner of the capital.

Three men stood ahead. The young eunuch only noticed upon getting closer and screamed in fright, quickly turning around to find two more men standing behind.

“Hey, this doesn’t look like a eunuch – more like… a woman.”

The young eunuch’s scream and trembling indeed seemed feminine. “Who… who are you?” The voice further confirmed their identity.

“Never mind who we are,” said the man in front. Realizing this was just a woman with no martial arts skills, his tone became more relaxed. “Did you escape from the palace?”

“No.”

“Then why are you wearing eunuch’s clothes?”

“Yes.”

“Which is it?”

“Yes.” The woman calmed slightly. “I’m not the only one. Many people escaped. They say the palace guards plan to massacre the palace servants.”

“Which gate did you leave through?”

“The East Green Gate.” She had no reason to lie.

The men blocking the way exchanged glances. One said, “What’s going on here? If a group of palace maids could break out, why are we sending people to steal keys from the palace?”

“Don’t talk carelessly in front of outsiders,” another warned.

“Where are the others?” the man asked.

“Hiding in the eastern city,” the palace maid replied.

“Then why did you come to the southern city?”

Hearing this was indeed the southern city, the palace maid relaxed slightly. “I… I have relatives living in the southern city. I’m seeking refuge with them.”

The men nodded, seemingly accepting this explanation and stepped aside, but one of the men behind her caught up, saying, “Wait, let’s search her first. She might be carrying royal treasures.”

“Don’t get carried away, Old Wu. We have a mission to complete. What kind of hero bullies women…”

“Get lost! I’m no hero, I just… Look how scared she is. She must have treasures on her. If you won’t search her, I will. The treasures will be mine alone, none for you.”

Another man tried to reason with him but was laughingly pulled away by his companions.

Only one man remained, standing before the palace maid, asking with a smile, “What’s your name?”

“I… I’ll give you money if you let me go,” the palace maid frantically pulled out a silver ingot from her clothes.

The man took it, held it up to the moonlight for a glance, but still couldn’t see clearly. Though the weight felt right, this made him even less willing to let her pass. “No hurry. You don’t leave the palace often, do you?”

“No,” the palace maid cautiously stepped back.

“In the palace, there are only eunuchs and the emperor, no other men?”

She stepped back again. “There are guards too.”

“Can palace maids see the guards?”

“Yes.”

“Hehe, I think you’re lying. You can’t see the guards, and you must have more treasures on you. Hey, you yourself are a treasure. In all my years in the pugilist world, I’ve never touched… Ouch!”

The man clutched his left cheek, drew his sword with his right hand, and turned around shouting, “Who’s there? Fatty, is that you? Show yourself!”

No one appeared, and his companions had already gone far.

Another stone shot out from the darkness, hitting him square on the forehead. The impact was significant, immediately raising a bump. The man retreated in panic, “There really are guards…” He turned and ran to find help.

The palace maid stood frozen, not understanding what had happened.

A figure quietly approached and whispered, “Dong Qing’e, come with me.”

The palace maid jumped in fright. “How do you know my name?”

The person said, “I’m Meng E. We’ve met before.”

“Ah, it’s you! Thank goodness. I have something to give you, from Master Yang…”

“We’ll talk later. Follow me first.” Meng E led the way.

Dong Qing’e followed closely, greatly relieved. “What a coincidence meeting you here.”

“I’m responsible for monitoring the Tan family in this area. We’ll have to fight them soon.”

“Fight? What I brought is more important.”

Meng E stopped. Dong Qing’e stepped forward and whispered two words in her ear. Meng E’s eyebrows raised. “We still need to fight, but we must also send this out. Give it to me.”

Dong Qing’e handed a small package to Meng E, sighing deeply in relief. “What happens next is up to you.”

Meng E led Dong Qing’e through a roundabout route, not toward the inn but stopping instead at a civilian house. She knocked gently, and someone immediately opened the door.

The room was crowded with people. Dong Qing’e spotted a familiar face and exclaimed joyfully, “Brother Cai!”

Cai Xinghai started in surprise and was about to speak when Meng E stepped forward, briefly showing what she held.

Cai Xinghai was shocked. Although he hadn’t had the chance to see it before, he could tell that the seal in Meng E’s hand was no ordinary object. freēnovelkiss.com

He glanced at Dong Qing’e by the door and said to everyone in the room, “Plans have changed. We need to deliver something out of the city to the Weary Marquis. Even if we die, we must succeed.”

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