Chapter 6 Is This Still A Human Face?

  Huálíng Palace was built on a mountain, and at night the temperature is much lower than in other places. Yè Yǔshān thought this was one of the reasons why many people felt chilly when they approached it. She wasn't afraid; from childhood she had lived with her father in the graveyard, where even if there were several skull racks in front of her eyes, she wouldn't feel anything.

  Under the moonlight, the Huálíng Palace, with its half-closed door, exerted a terrifying allure. She slowly walked to the entrance, pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  The courtyard is almost the same as during the day, with withered branches and flowers in the flowerbeds, and a layer of leaves on the ground. There is a small pile of leaves by the corridor, which should have been swept to one side by someone. The old pillars of the corridor have many faint marks on them, which upon closer inspection appear to be caused by whips.

  Strange?

  Wasn't this place burned down by fire?

  The front yard doesn't show any signs of being burned, but several pillars have scars from whips, which were intentionally covered with mud to conceal the marks of a fight. However, the quality of the mud was too poor, and after a long time of wind and rain, it fell off, making the scars even clearer.

  He pulled out a dagger from his bosom and dug away some of the mud with it. The whip marks were not only clear but also particularly deep. Judging from what he saw, the whip marks should have been left by an expert with internal force, and at that time, he had shown mercy, otherwise, the pillars on both sides might have been broken by the whip.

  "Girl, what are you doing here at midnight?"

  A hoarse voice came from behind, Ye Yuxuan turned back to see a woman in white clothes, with disheveled hair covering half of her face, the other eye was swollen and bruised, and there were uneven scars on one side of her forehead. Just seeing this half-face was enough to prove a person's courage.

  Yeshi Yurong looked at herself and the woman asked curiously: "Miss, aren't you afraid of this face?"

  Ye Yuxuan shook her head and replied calmly, "What's there to be afraid of? People who look too good may have even darker hearts."

  Hmmm...

  The woman nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on her face, but it was hard to make out on that somewhat distorted and twisted face.

  However, Ye Yushuang could see the smile in her eyes. Looking at the woman again, she saw that the woman had a noble and elegant temperament hidden beneath her rough appearance, which was innate and emanated from within, and even the coarse clothes couldn't conceal it.

  "The girl's courage is quite large, dare to ask which courtyard the girl belongs to?" The woman asked with a gentle tone, the wind blew up her hair, and half of her face was vaguely visible.

  Heaven!

  Is this still a human face?

  Ye Yuxuan suppressed the urge to vomit, and a sympathetic gaze reappeared in her eyes. She forced a faint smile and casually mentioned an identity: "Nanny, you can just call me Yuxuan, I work at the Zhao Ming Palace."

  The old woman listened to Ye Yuxuan finish, suddenly became excited, nervously staring at Ye Yuxuan's mouth as she muttered: "Chao Ming Palace... that... that is the crown prince's palace, the crown prince... how is he doing?"

  "Can eat, can sleep, everything is fine." Ye Yusan replied simply, having noticed the woman's tension, and carefully asked: "Auntie, have you been to Zhao Ming Palace before?"

  "Nothing... nothing..." The old woman shifted her gaze away, paused for a moment, and then said faintly: "The prince is the future king, how could I have such good fortune? I've been in this place for almost 25 years now. Since that big fire here, no one dares to come."

  "Why is she here?" Ye Yusan asked directly.

  "Alas..." The old woman let out a long sigh, then began to speak: "I was born an unlucky person. After my face became disfigured like this, no one wanted to get close to me. Lord Jing took pity on me and since no one dared to come here, he allowed me to move in."

  Jing Gonggong, the emperor's right-hand man, was that eccentric eunuch she had met during the day. Ye Yuxuan thought to herself, furrowing her brow, and then looked at Hua'er with a sympathetic expression, saying: "Hua'er, you've really suffered."

  The old lady nodded, stretched out her hand to pull up Yeyu Xiang's hand, and kindly reminded: "Yeyu Xiang, you are very good-looking, not like a maid's fate. Take good care of the prince, the prince has a kind heart, one day he will help you rise above."

  Unintentionally lowering her head, Ye Yuxuan was stunned for a moment. Although there were wrinkles on Nainai's hands, the fair and tender skin didn't look like it belonged to someone who had done hard labor since childhood. Thus, Nainai's identity couldn't help but make her suspicious.

  "Girl, are you lost?" The old lady asked anxiously.

  "Uh-huh!" Ye Yusan nodded and casually gave a reason: "Auntie, I'm from the Crown Prince's residence, just entered the palace two days ago, not familiar with this place. Couldn't sleep at night, thought of going out for a walk, didn't expect to get lost."

  The old lady's body trembled slightly, releasing Ye Yuxuan's hand, and her eyes flashed with panic. Turning around, her voice was a little hoarse: "I heard that the crown prince's consort is Miss Ye from the Ye family, very beautiful, Your Highness should like her, right?"

  This is obviously a lie, since Auntie and Grandpa Jing are so close, they must know that Nan Mu Yu never agreed to this marriage, and should also know that he has a woman he likes outside the palace.

  "Ah, nanny, the crown prince already has someone in his heart, and this marriage was decreed by the emperor, so..."

  Ye Yuxuan deliberately told Nanny about what happened in the bridal chamber that night, and as she spoke, she walked up to Nanny. Nanny listened very carefully, her hands tightly grasping the hem of her clothes, but because Nanny was too serious, she didn't notice Ye Yuxuan walking up to her at all.

  She raised her head, and her eyes met Ye Yuxuan's gaze. Then she suddenly lowered her head again. After a moment of silence, she lifted her head once more: "It's getting late, you should go back. Don't worry about it, just don't come here again. If the prince finds out you came here, you'll definitely be punished when you get back."

  "Thank you, nanny, for your concern. I'll take my leave first." Yeshi didn't dare to be too hasty and reveal her true identity, so she just smiled at the nanny and quietly exited the palace gate.

  The night wind grew colder, sending a chill down Ye Yuxuan's spine. Hearing footsteps overhead, she suddenly looked up to see a dark figure swooping across the rooftop. Without hesitation, she followed the figure's shadow and chased after it.

  The palace courtyard was complex, with figures darting across rooftops and then carefully making their way through a certain dark alley. Judging from the route taken, this person was extremely familiar with the palace; otherwise, they wouldn't have known those alleys so clearly. Following in the footsteps of that person, gradually, the road ahead became somewhat familiar.

  After following for a while, she suddenly realized that this was the way to Fengyi Palace. However, this person didn't walk through the front gate, but rather a side gate that few people would take. If she hadn't been familiar with the map of the imperial palace, she probably wouldn't have known where this door was.

  The wind howled, the moon in the sky hid behind dark clouds, and as one approached the imperial palace, the lanterns in the corridors grew dimmer. It was said that the empress dowager disliked noise at night, so it was probably intentional to let the servants extinguish those lanterns.

  The figure slipped into the side yard, which was empty and deserted. The corridor had no one in sight, not even a lantern lit up. In this not-too-large side yard, only one room had its lantern lit, and the figure went straight into that room.

  Ye Yuxuan carefully made her way around to the back of the house and came to a stop beside a window. She used her fingers to make a peephole in the window, and through it saw the queen sitting on a chair drinking tea under the faint light, while the figure from earlier was kneeling before her dressed in black clothes.

  "Master, there is no one inside except for the maid sweeping the floor. I have searched the entire courtyard and did not find what you were looking for." The man in black bowed his head to report, his hand trembling slightly as it rested on the ground.

  She raised her eyes and Queen's unusually large eyes took a look at the man in black, unable to see any joy or sorrow, then she lowered her head and continued drinking tea.

  "My lord, I deserve to die! Please, my lord, punish me!" The man in black suddenly lifted his head, with a look of resignation, gazing at the empress.

  The queen put down her cup, and with a calm expression, she raised her hand slightly: "Get up! You are the only one who can go in and come out alive. Be more careful next time, that place is eerie and gloomy, I always feel something strange."

  "Thank you for your concern, Master. However, that place has a gloomy atmosphere, especially the courtyard near the back mountain. As soon as I entered, I smelled the stench of corpses." The man in black had a terrified expression, and just thinking about that eerie aura made his skin crawl with goosebumps.

  Backyard?

  Ye Yuxuan made a note of this and decided to take a look at the back next time she went. If there really was a buried body, then that place must be even more extraordinary.

  "Backyard?"

  The queen stood up excitedly, muttering to herself and pacing back and forth. Scenes from the past flashed in her mind, and a murderous aura appeared in her half-closed eyes. Turning around, she suddenly rushed to the man's face: "Are you sure there is a smell of corpses in the backyard? Didn't the bodies of those people who died last time appear on the mountain behind the house? How can there be a smell of corpses in the backyard?"

  "Return to Master Zi, I'm sure that in the backyard there is a smell of corpses, or else I'll go and investigate again tonight?" The man in black nodded firmly.

  "No!" The queen flatly rejected the idea.

  She took a step, walked over to the chair and sat down, picked up the cup intending to drink tea, but suddenly thought of something, put the cup down and beckoned to the man. The man shifted his knees and crawled over, got up and leaned his ear against the queen's mouth.

  The whisper was too small, and Ye Yuxuan couldn't hear it at all. But looking at the two people's gloomy faces, she knew that something was definitely wrong. She just couldn't figure out why, as the current empress, would she secretly send someone to the Cold Palace to find something?

  In the room, after listening to the queen's orders, the man retreated a few steps back, bowed his waist and paid respects to the queen before planning to exit the room. Seeing this, Ye Yusan quickly dodged and hid in a dark corner.

  The man went out of the house and walked along the way he came, as soon as the man left, the lights in the house went out. Then the queen came out from inside, without a lantern in her hand, and walked out of the courtyard along the corridor.

  Ye Yuxuan's eyes stared at the queen's back as she left, and waited for a long time before coming out of the shadows. Afraid of startling the snake by hitting the grass, she didn't immediately chase after her, but instead decided to return to the Zhao Ming Palace first.