My wife has a secret

Chapter 84 The Queen's Bedroom

The old fire starter emitted a gentle glow, lighting up the dark surroundings.

Under the dim light of the fire, the two of them searched deeper into the secret passage.

……

The long and narrow secret passage was bottomless. Xu Qing no longer remembered how long he had been walking. Only the sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty air, making overlapping sounds of "tap tap tap".

There was an eerie silence here, and the pressure on Xu Qing suddenly increased. He felt like he could hardly breathe.

Just when he felt dizzy, two fingers pinched his philtrum.

"The air in the secret passage is thin. Ordinary people cannot adapt to the environment of the secret passage, not to mention that we are walking quickly... Try this."

Xu Qing took the small bottle handed to him by Shui Haozi, opened the stopper, and immediately felt refreshed and his complexion improved.

After recovering, Xu Qing asked curiously, "You have so many treasures on you? Didn't the prison boss take them away?"

"Hehe, they think my things are unlucky, so they just throw them in the corner of the dungeon... This empty Qi bottle is a treasure of my Fa Qiu lineage, specially used to deal with special situations in the tomb."

The two continued on their way.

At this time, Xu Qing's impression of water rat had changed a lot.

If the other party is really a sinister and cunning villain, he can just let himself stay where he is and leave.

Now it seems that he is on his side.

"Boss, let me ask you something... You are so arrogant in Suzhou, won't your wife at home care about you?"

Perhaps to relieve boredom, Shui Haozi asked about Xu Qing's situation in Suzhou.

"My master's wife used to be very strict with my master. I thought all men were like this after marriage."

Xu Qing thought of the boast he had just made, and he added, "Who dares to control me? I, Xu Qing, have one wife and three concubines, and I'm about to marry a fourth young lady... Look at those people in my backyard, who dares to say no?"

"That's awesome, Boss!"

When Shui Haozi heard that Xu Qing was living a free and unrestrained life, he immediately gave him a thumbs up.

Since there was no one else underground, Xu Qing started to blow it boldly.

“It seems to be the end?”

At the end of the secret passage, there is an extremely hard wall.

Xu Qing stopped here and observed carefully for a moment, confirming that this was a special wall under the palace, specifically used to defend against enemies digging tunnels.

Conventional shovels and spades simply cannot chip this type of material.

"This is the outer layer of gold and stone bricks. There are three layers of bricks on the outer layer of the underground to prevent people like us... But this secret passage was built by the concubines from the palace. It should be a gap left intentionally by the workers when laying the foundation."

"But this is designed like a skylight, how are we supposed to get up there?"

The exit was above the two people's heads. While Xu Qing frowned and thought about countermeasures, Shui Haozi walked to the front alone, then jumped up on the spot and supported the walls on both sides with his feet.

The boy climbed up like a crab, and soon reached the top and threw down the rope from the top.

Xu Qing grabbed the hemp rope and slowly climbed to the exit.

Having had experience climbing at the bottom of a well before, Xu Qing was already familiar with rope climbing and it didn't take him too long.

But the key to the problem is not how to climb up, but that the design of this secret passage is somewhat anti-human.

Xu Qing originally thought that this exit would be built in a dry well somewhere in the imperial palace, but he never expected that by climbing up the wooden frame at the exit, he would come to the beam of a palace.

Removing a wall panel and looking down, one can see that the decoration inside the palace is extremely gorgeous and magnificent.

Exquisite dragon and phoenix carvings can be seen on every piece of wooden furniture. Even the jade window frames on both sides are inlaid with crystal clear colored glaze, which is quite elegant.

There were also several palace maids going in and out of the door frame below, seemingly busy with something.

How could there be anyone?
Xu Qing pricked up his ears and heard the sound below.

"Where is the Emperor?"

A soft and charming voice sounded, and then a shrill male voice responded.

"In reply to the Empress, the Emperor is still in the Ministry of Justice for the trial... The people I sent were all driven back by the Prince, who told us to wait in the palace for the right moment to open the gates to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

"absurd!"

The female voice sternly stopped him, "How can he, a prince of a different surname, command the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the people in the palace? Is he planning to bully his superiors and plot a coup?"

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is in his hands..."

This sentence made the woman silent, as if she had lost her mind.

Xu Qing hid on the beam and heard the conversation between the master and servant clearly.

Although the young emperor was still young, for the sake of the continuation of the royal bloodline of the Great Qi Dynasty, the ministers in the court still advised the empress dowager to establish a queen for him.

It is said that when the two got married, the little emperor was only seven years old.

The eunuch called the woman "Empress Dowager", so the name of this bedroom was obvious.

"I didn't expect that the exit of the secret passage was on the beam of Changle Palace. No wonder the secret passage could be dug so deep. Relying on the power of successive empresses, they were able to dig such a tunnel in the airtight imperial city."

Xu Qing figured out the origin of this secret passage and analyzed the current situation.

It was a foregone conclusion that Prince Kang Yuwen of Dongwan would rebel.

But from the conversation between the queen and the eunuch, Xu Qing got an extremely important clue.

That is, the little emperor himself is not in the palace, but is controlled by the Prince of Dongwan in the Ministry of Justice.

He had been wondering why the guards in the Ministry of Justice did not hunt him down and did not use all their strength to suppress the prisoners' rebellion. Now it seemed that they had more important orders.

This way, everything makes sense.

"Water Rat... Where are the people?"

Xu Qing originally wanted to find Shui Haozi to discuss countermeasures, but when he turned around, he found that there was nothing behind him.

His heart skipped a beat and he looked towards the secret passage he came from.

There was not a single person in sight.

"The brat deserted the battlefield..."

Although Xu Qing was very unhappy with Shui Haozi's behavior, at least he brought this guy to the palace by himself, so he did something.

The rebellion of Prince Dongwan is imminent, and he must find his aunt as soon as possible and take her away from the palace.

Xu Qing made up his mind and tried to climb over the beam.

People usually don't look up due to their daily habits, and the beams in the bedroom are very high, so Xu Qing has enough space to hide.

As long as he could climb along the beam to the other side, Xu Qing would be able to reach the side room next door and find an opportunity to leave.

"Humph, if we really want to let Prince Kang enter the harem, who will sit on the throne, the emperor or the Prince of Dongwan?"

"My lady..."

"Don't try to persuade me. If I let him take charge of the palace, my life will not be easy."

"Then what the lady means is..."

"Zhang Yong, you followed me when I entered the palace. Over the past few years, I have climbed from a young lady from an aristocratic family to the throne of empress, and I have lived a life of fear every day."

Xu Qing crawled forward while listening to the conversation downstairs.

But suddenly a creaking and cracking sound broke the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

The beam is cracked!

As luck would have it, the beams in the queen's bedroom shattered under Xu Qing's body.

The beam he was holding fell directly down, smashing the wallboard. Xu Qing lost his balance and had to hold on to the back half of the wooden pillar tightly.

"who!"

There were several screams from below, but Xu Qing had no time to care about anything else because he was hanging in the air.

"There's someone else on the roof? Capture him now!"

Xu Qing heard the eunuch giving orders to others, so he decided to try his luck and let go of his hands and jumped down.

In order to catch him, the eunuch was standing right below him.

When Xu Qing jumped, he used the man as a cushion, stepping on the eunuch so hard that he cried out in agony.

However, he also fell to the side due to the force of the fall.

Before Xu Qing raised his head, he heard a cry and smelled the scent of perfume coming towards him.

Looking up along the gilded boots on the ground, a woman wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe was sitting on a phoenix chair.

Her long, jet-black hair fluttered gently, and her red lips were charming and tempting.

Xu Qing could guess the identity of the woman in front of him without even thinking.

This person should be the queen of the young emperor of Da Qi, Gongsun.

"Hurry up and hold him down! Don't disturb the Phoenix Chariot!"

Seeing that the palace maids on both sides were about to rush over, Xu Qing took out the knife and prepared to hold the queen hostage.

At the critical moment, Xu Qing's wrist suddenly lost its strength, as if some poison had removed its strength.

"Damn, how could this happen?"

But the eunuchs would not give him time to recover his strength. Several of them rushed forward, held Xu Qing's head, and dragged him down the stairs.

Xu Qing's hands and feet were numb and he was unable to resist.

"Drag him out and hand him over to the Imperial Guards to be chopped off..."

"and many more!"

When the eunuch was shouting, Empress Gongsun suddenly spoke.

"The Queen..."

"Let him go. I want to question him."

"Yes."

These people stepped aside, and Empress Gongsun stood up from her seat and carefully looked at Xu Qing in the audience.

She slowly walked to Xu Qing and asked, "Who are you?"

Xu Qing could tell from Empress Gongsun's voice that she was still not calm and was obviously frightened by what had just happened.

But judging from her attitude, it seems that she still has a chance of survival.

Although Xu Qing didn't understand the situation in the harem, Empress Gongsun had always been suppressed by her aunt and should not be able to report her real name.

But which of the other identities is suitable?
Got it!

Xu Qing suddenly had an idea and replied, "In reply to... the Queen, my nickname is Water Rat, and I am the descendant of General Fa Qiu."

"Fa Qiu lineage?"

Empress Gongsun was slightly stunned, as if she was thinking about something.

The eunuch, who was the queen's eyes and ears, asked suspiciously, "The Fa Qiu clan was sentenced to death for stealing from the imperial mausoleum, and the last person was thrown into the dungeon of the Ministry of Justice. Who are you?"

"How dare Xiaomin lie?"

Xu Qing pretended to be serious and explained, "There was a commotion in the dungeon of the Ministry of Justice. The personal soldiers of the Prince of Dongwan were imprisoned and killed the jailer who was guarding the prison. They also captured the son of the Xu family in the cell next door. We, the death row prisoners, escaped during the chaos."

Now that chaos has just begun outside, these people are not aware of the situation outside the palace.

But after hearing what Xu Qing said, Eunuch Zhang suppressed his restlessness and asked about other things.

"You escaped from the Ministry of Justice. Have you ever seen anyone in the inner courtyard?"

"That place is controlled by the people of the Prince of Dongwan. When we escaped, those personal soldiers ignored us."

Xu Qing said this with a frightened expression, pretending to be timid, "When I ran to the door, I saw the Dali Temple Minister who had tried me. He was stabbed to death by those personal soldiers and was abandoned on the road."

"What a vicious Prince of Dongwan!"

After listening to Xu Qing's description of the atrocities committed by his personal soldiers, the eunuch couldn't help but worry about the little emperor.

If anything happened to the little emperor, his master would never have a chance to make a comeback.

"My lady, this man has told me everything he knows. Can you take him out?"

Xu Qing cursed inwardly and almost couldn't control the expression on his face.

The eunuch knew that he had heard things he shouldn't have, and he wanted to chop himself to death from the beginning.

"Not urgent."

Empress Gongsun narrowed her beautiful eyes and asked softly, "Shui Haozi, you escaped but don't want to save your life. What is your purpose in coming to the palace?"

Xu Qing thought of a countermeasure in his mind, and the next answer would determine his life.

I have to find a suitable excuse to fool these people.

"I want to... seek refuge with Queen Mother Xu."

Empress Gongsun swayed her slender waist and moved closer to Xu Qing.

She blinked her eyes and asked, "Why are you going to her?"

"My master once worked for Empress Zhaowu Shengtian and gained a lot of benefits... Now is the time when Empress Xu is desperate. If I, Shui Haozi, can help her and help her regain power, I will be able to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, and I will never have to worry about not having women again."

Empress Gongsun's pretty face froze slightly as she looked Xu Qing up and down.

As the successor of Changle Palace, she naturally knew that there was an unfinished secret passage in the bedroom.

The only person who could dig a tunnel from the other end and sneak into the palace would probably be a petty thief who robs tombs and steals property.

And judging from the man's dusty appearance, he had indeed been walking underground for a long time and he was not lying to himself.

"interesting."

Another reason why Empress Gongsun trusted Xu Qing was that what the man said was consistent with her memory of the old news.

Legend has it that Empress Zhaowu Shengtian did employ the Fachiu lineage to rob the ancestral tombs of other imperial concubines.

"Shui Haozi, if you want to gain a foothold outside and live a different life... you don't have to seek refuge with Queen Mother Xu. I can help you."

"Miss!"

After being glared back at by Empress Gongsun, the eunuch stopped talking and stood aside obediently.

Xu Qing pretended to be puzzled and asked worriedly, "Queen Mother Xu is the most powerful person in Da Qi. I want to live a life of luxury and comfort..."

Empress Gongsun smiled scornfully and said softly, "Shui Haozi, think carefully. If the Xu family can be the empress dowager, why can't I, Gongsun, be the empress dowager?"

"I...I don't understand."

Xu Qing played the role of an ignorant person to the fullest, and Empress Gongsun believed him and said to him directly: "Water Rat, if you come to my Changle Palace, I can guarantee you a life of wealth and prosperity, and inexhaustible wealth."

"Really?"

Empress Gongsun swept her long black hair up, and her small, shiny earlobes were as red as cherries.

"Of course it's true."

(End of this chapter)