Dong Gong Mei

Chapter 900 Secretly Leaving the Palace
Zhao Xiwei's life was lonely. She lived in seclusion in the mountains with her mother when she was young and had no old friends. After returning to Beijing to meet her relatives, she forgot everything that happened in Chang'an.

Her empty, confused heart suddenly felt a sense of sympathy and mutual warmth as she listened to He Manzhi's tearful singing.

Her heartstrings were touched for a moment, and she didn't know whether she was feeling pity for the former He Manzhi or for her former self, and she gently held He Manzhi's hand.

She wanted to promise something, such as the belief of sharing weal and woe and the deep love of supporting each other, but when she thought of her own situation, she swallowed the words back when they came to her lips.

Now was not the time for sisterly affection, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Is your father now a Guanglu Doctor?"

At night, the two of them shared the same pillow. Zhao Xiwei looked at the ceiling of the bunk bed and felt not sleepy at all.

He Manzhi cried for a long time, and now she was drowsy and answered vaguely: "Yes, your majesty just promoted me. When he was the crown prince, my father took care of the Eastern Palace for him. Now that he is the emperor, my father still takes care of the Forbidden Garden..."

"But your father can enter and leave the inner court freely?"

"Can... why are you asking this, sister?" He Manzhi turned over. The weather was a little hot, so she fanned herself with her hands and muttered, "Are you hot, sister? I heard that there is ice in the warehouse..."

Zhao Xiwei didn't feel hot, her hands and feet were cold. Liu Jishan said that she had lost a lot of energy due to the miscarriage and was very weak.

Then she smiled and said, "Ice is a valuable commodity, and its price is comparable to that of real gold. Even if the warehouse is willing to give it to us, it will not be our turn." She was still thinking about the business, "Can you do me a favor?"

"What's the deal?"

When the sky was about to dawn, the morning bell rang in the bell and drum tower, and the palace gate with vermilion lacquer and copper nails slowly opened.

A woman dressed as a female official walked out quickly from a side hall of the Purple Palace.

The palace maids who were cleaning were busy wiping the corridor pillars. The person in charge of supervision nodded slightly, and the female official also nodded her chin slightly, but she kept walking, as if she was afraid of delaying something.

The head was surprised and wondered why Aunt Suyu seemed like a different person today. She was silent and had lost a lot of weight.

But when she looked up, the female official had already walked across the imperial road and headed towards the square.

The Purple Palace is the core of the imperial city. It is heavily guarded, with numerous guards, and is protected like an iron barrel.

Zhao Xi lowered his head slightly and passed through the array smoothly.

almost……

In addition to the Zichen Hall, there is the Zichen Gate.

The Zichen Gate is heavily guarded by troops. It is said that they are good family boys selected from the people. His Majesty the Emperor personally trained and selected through layers of selection, leaving only the elite of the elite. In addition to their duties of guarding the Forbidden Palace, they are also responsible for some important military tasks such as spying on intelligence.

These people are so sharp that even if a fly flies in, it cannot escape their sharp eyes.

Everyone entering or exiting this door must show their token and state their name, and will only be allowed through after their identity has been verified.

Zhao Xiwei's heart was in her throat. She followed the group that went out of the palace to buy things. She watched their faces closely, but her ears were perked up as she listened to their careful interrogation.

"Feng Xilai is here to buy for the imperial kitchen."

"It has been verified. Passed."

"The Director of the Shangyi Bureau, Yu Yingying."

"It has been verified. Passed."

"The Imperial Medical Bureau is in charge of medicine, and it can bring people back to health."

"It has been verified. Passed."

……

Each time a name was reported, he presented his own token. One of the guards took the booklet and checked it carefully. After a long wait, the sky was already showing a fish belly white, and it was about to be bright.

Zhao Xiwei prayed silently, hoping that it would not be delayed until the morning court session...

As the eunuch in front was allowed to pass, Zhao Xi hurriedly followed. She lowered her eyebrows slightly, presented the token that had been prepared long ago with both hands, and said in a pinched voice: "Female official of the Purple Palace, Zhu Suyu."

The guard took her sign, glanced at it, saw nothing wrong with it, and then looked at her face again.

Zhao Xiwei came prepared. In the morning, she looked at Su Yu's face, applied a thin layer of powder, drew thin eyebrows, and applied a light yellow makeup.

The female officials serving in the Forbidden Palace all wore the same attire and had the same hairstyle. If one was not very familiar with them, it would be difficult to tell who was who.

The guard took a look and saw nothing unusual, so he handed the token over casually: "Verified, passed—"

Zhao Xiwei had only said half of the word "pass" when his fingers touched the string of the token. Suddenly, the guard's eyes changed, "Wait!"

Everything changes rapidly!

He flipped his wrist, quickly took back the token, and asked, "Purple Palace, Su Yu?"

This shout immediately attracted the attention of others. "Swish!" The guards drew their weapons and surrounded him.

The situation is tense and ready to explode!
"Yes." Zhao Xi raised his chin slightly to let the guard take a look. He looked normal and said, "Lady He moved to the Purple Palace yesterday. She got a little heatstroke during the night. She has to leave the palace to buy some basil plum drink to cool off."

"Miss He?" The guard frowned, half believing and half doubting, "Which Miss He?"

"Don't you know, sir?" Zhao Xiwei was calm as usual. "She was conferred by His Majesty himself yesterday. She is the daughter of Guanglu Dafu He Kui, formerly known as He Liangdi."

"Oh..." The guard heard He Kui's name, looked at Zhao Xiwei again, and seemed to understand a little. He handed the token over again, "Since it's Miss He's business, then go ahead."

Zhao Xiwei reached out to take it.

The guard handed her the token, his expression changed slightly, but his tone became a little more respectful: "Aunt Suyu, please be careful with your steps."

"Thank you."

Zhao Xiwei felt that his attitude was a little strange, but time was urgent and she didn't have time to think about it. She put the token in her sleeve, walked out of the palace gate, and hurried to the outer court - the imperial palace was divided into the inner and outer courts, and outside the inner court was a palace wall.

If you are not an official on duty in the palace, you must stop here.

It was a long way along the palace wall before we reached the outer court - here were the carriages for the concubines to travel. Without the carriages, one could not leave the palace.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth all the way. Zhao Xiwei sat in the carriage, passed through the left and right government offices, and then went out of Chengtianmen Street. The eunuch driving the carriage stopped and they arrived at Zhuquemen.

Zhao Xiwei got out of the car and looked at the long street ahead, suddenly feeling as if she was in another world.

The sky was completely bright, the sun was rising, and golden light was casting long and short slanting shadows on the bluestone ground.

At this time, Zhuque Street was bustling with traffic, the hawking of vendors, the laughter of taverns, and the sound of stringed instruments from music halls, all of which intertwined and complemented the pedestrians dressed in red and green, creating a prosperous scene.

Zhao Xiwei couldn't help but think that if Li Xuanye was really willing to give her a chance to live, if she could leave the palace, if she could enjoy such peace freely, it would be a perfect life.

only……

"This is a crime of deceiving the emperor!"

A voice brought her back to reality.

Li Fengyi sat on the ground, with a bunch of incomprehensible things in front of him. He looked at Zhao Xiwei, who was dressed as a palace maid, with a face full of rejection: "This is a crime of deceiving the emperor, and the whole clan will be executed! I won't do it!"

I'm not in a good mood today and can't write anymore. I'll go to sleep first and write tomorrow...