This villain has become a ghost

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Xuan?!"

Qiu Shuangwan was horrified and immediately dropped the saw in his hand and threw it aside, causing wood chips to fly everywhere.

Xia Ruozhi was fiddling with a pile of unknown liquids and powders in containers. His originally fair and handsome face was now covered in black, and a few strands of his fallen hair curled up as if they had been burned by fire.

Nangong Mingzhu: “…”

Nangong Qianshang: “…”

The air was filled with an unknown smell that made people cough. Qiu Shuangwan and Xia Ruzhi exchanged a glance and saluted together.

But Nangong Mingzhu stopped him by rubbing his eyebrows.

"no."

Fine.

Qiu Shuangwan rubbed her dirty paws on her clothes and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, have you come to Shangxian Palace? Is there something important that you want to see me about?"

Nangong Mingzhu lazily gave Nangong Qianshang a look that said, "You found it, you can do with it yourself," and then he picked up a cold part made by Qiu Shuangwan and looked at it casually.

The corner of Nangong Qianshang's mouth twitched, as he was very emotionally intelligent and well-mannered.

The virtuous concubine, who should have been a delicate beauty with skin as white as snow, eyes as bright as stars, and a face as beautiful as a flower in the spring morning, now acted like a burly man, carrying a saw and making her own Shangxian Palace as messy as a doghouse.

General Qi Sha, who should have been a gentleman in literature and a decisive warrior, is now busy with something. Not only is he in such a mess, but he seems to be enjoying it.

Your Majesty the Emperor should have focused on avoiding suspicion and kept his concubines away from his ministers, but instead he likes to cuckold himself and doesn't even care.

No wonder, it turns out that what Song Zhiyi said to him was true. Shangxian Palace is not a place that ordinary people can enter. It will shock people's hearts and reshape their worldview.

Nangong Qianshang clenched his fist to his lips and coughed lightly. He couldn't bear to look directly at this beautiful scene. After thinking for a while, he decided to get down to business: "Empress Xianfei, you are in charge of many matters of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works. Now... someone has reported that there are some problems in the Ministry of Rites."

"What's the problem?" Qiu Shuangwan widened her eyes.

Nangong Qianshang glanced at Xia Ruzhi.

Xia Ruozhi understood what he meant and was about to turn around and leave.

Qiu Shuangwan wanted to speak up to stop them, but at this moment Nangong Mingzhu put down the parts in his hand, found the only clear spot, folded his arms and leaned against the pillar, looking at them calmly, and said, "Go on, he can listen."

Nangong Qianshang was stunned for a moment, then pondered:

"it is good."

-

Overgrown with weeds, the walls were broken, and moss grew between the bricks, giving them an aged and mottled appearance. The ground in the corner was uneven, covered with weed roots and pebbles. Amidst the ruins, a hole, obscured by weeds, lay about a meter in diameter. As expected, it was a dog hole.

Yue Liuyun was unbelievable.

Yue Liuyun doubts life.

Yue Liuyun covered his forehead and stroked his face, exclaiming, "That's it?"

"Oh," Nangong Wanqing winked, "Life is a rare opportunity. It's meaningful to enrich your life experience, isn't it?"

Yue Liuyun: "...Wow, that's true. That makes a lot of sense."

Drilling through a dog hole, what a wonderful yet unspeakable life experience.

Yue Liuyun quickly accepted this fact: "Come on then."

Nangong Wanqing nodded: "Okay."

"Don't worry, once you get in, there's a secret passage leading to the backyard of Shangxian Palace," Nangong Wanqing continued. "I dug this after you left so I could find Brother Liu Mang more easily. I got busy later and rarely used it, but it finally came in handy today."

Yue Liuyun nodded, then asked worriedly, "There shouldn't be any outsiders in Shangxian Palace, right?"

"How is that possible?" Nangong Wanqing said, "The emperor doesn't go there. The only person who can go there is Xia Ruzhi. Xia Ruzhi lives up to his name. He's very easy to fool. Don't take him too seriously."

Yue Liuyun: “…”

Take asparagus.

But... Nangong Wanqing's words made perfect sense. During her time recuperating in the palace, she often visited Shangxian Palace. Murong Jin's arrival brought about a wave of competition for favor, making the relationships between the concubines in the harem very delicate. They were all too embarrassed to go out and play with Qiu Shuangwan.

Qiu Shuangwan also frankly stated that although he had never intended to compete with them, the days of palace fighting still left a deep psychological trauma on him. He was not that magnanimous, nor was he so heartless as to be willing to reconcile with those who had once plotted against him.

So, Shangxian Palace is safe, bingo.

The two of them went through the dog hole hand in hand.

Then he carefully entered the deep dark passage.

The rough texture and moss growing in the cracks of the stones make it look damp and gloomy, and filled with a musty smell.

Nangong Wanqing lit the tinder, and when she looked back, she saw that Yue Liuyun's face was a little pale.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid of the dark?" she asked with concern.

Yue Liuyun shook his head and said, "I'm fine. It's just... seeing this familiar scene suddenly reminded me of something. Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Let's keep going."

She watched with her own eyes the person she loved dying little by little. Although things are different now, she still felt a pang of pain in her heart every time she thought about it, and it was vivid in her mind.

Fortunately, Nangong Mingzhu is safe and sound now.

"Are you really okay?" Nangong Wanqing was a little worried and held Yue Liuyun's hand tightly.

Seeing her nervous expression and concerned eyes, Yue Liuyun felt warm in his heart.

Since she was little, she was used to hiding her emotions and didn't dare to have any. Even if she was clumsy at times, no one would notice. Although she didn't care about these things, but... it felt really good to be taken seriously like this.

Yue Liuyun quickly regained his composure, shook her hand, and chuckled, "It's really okay, let's go."

Nangong Wanqing held her tightly and quickened her pace.

The road was not long and soon reached the end.

After coming out of the cave, they finally breathed in the fresh air. The backyard was full of lush green trees and gravel paths. At the gate of the courtyard were a few bamboos swaying in the wind. Several palace maids in charge of cleaning and watering the flowers and trees were carrying buckets and brooms. After their figures slowly disappeared, Yue Liuyun and Nangong Wanqing came out stealthily from their hiding place.

The main hall was quiet, and all the palace maids and guards had been dismissed. Yue Liuyun reasonably guessed that under such circumstances, Xia Ruzhi should be in the hall.

Nangong Wanqing skillfully pulled her to the open window.

Yue Liuyun wanted to give her a thumbs up.

This kid really has a special obsession with climbing through windows.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the two of them walked over stealthily, they met the slightly wary and cold gazes of Nangong Mingzhu and Xia Ruzhi in the hall.