The Second World in Ancient Times

Today I was pruning branches in the Imperial Garden and was so tired that my back and waist ached. I was just looking for a place to rest when I heard a few young eunuchs whispering in the corner.

"Hey, have you heard? There have been strange noises in the cold palace recently. Every midnight, it sounds like someone is crying." A young eunuch said in a low voice.

"That's right. Also, I heard from the older generation that there used to be a favorite concubine imprisoned in the cold palace, but she fell out of favor for some reason and died a few days after being imprisoned. Her death was very strange." Another young eunuch looked mysterious.

My curiosity piqued like a kitten scratching its heart. I'd heard a bit about the cold palace before, but this was the first time I'd heard such a strange story. I casually approached them and said with a smile, "What are you talking about? It's so mysterious."

The young eunuchs were startled, but when they saw it was me, they breathed a sigh of relief. One of them said, "Sister Siqing, we were just chatting, nothing serious."

I blinked. "Don't hide it from me, I heard everything. Is it something about the cold palace?"

The young eunuchs looked at each other, and one of them whispered, "Sister, you'd better not ask about this kind of thing. It's no good knowing too much."

I snorted: "I'm just curious, what's the harm?" Although I said this, I became more and more interested in the secrets of the cold palace.

Back at my residence, I was still thinking about the cold palace. Wanqing noticed my absent-mindedness and asked me what was wrong. I told her what I had heard, and she, too, found it strange.

"Si Qing, I think we should stay out of this kind of thing. We are in this palace, and safety is the most important thing." Wanqing said worriedly.

I patted her hand and said, "I know. I just want to find out. I won't do anything bad."

The next day, when I was serving tea to an old eunuch, I deliberately mentioned the cold palace. The old eunuch glanced at me and said slowly, "Girl, the cold palace is not a good place. There is a lot of resentment there."

"Eunuch, I've heard some legends about the cold palace. Are they true?" I looked at him expectantly.

The old eunuch took a sip of tea before slowly speaking, "Some legends are true, some are false. Take the crying in the cold palace, for example. Actually, it's the resentment left by those who died unjustly there in the past. Every full moon night, the resentment grows stronger, and the crying becomes clearer."

My eyes widened. “Has anyone gone in to take a look?”

The old eunuch shook his head. "Go in? That's courting death. There are palace rules. The Cold Palace is a restricted area. No one is allowed to approach it casually unless there is an order from above."

Although I was a little scared, curiosity still got the better of me: "Eunuch, do you know anything else about the cold palace? For example, the favorite concubine who died under strange circumstances?"

The old eunuch was silent for a moment, then said, "That favorite concubine, it's said, had offended a noble in the palace and was framed. Before she died, she cried out that she was innocent. But there are so many people wronged in this palace, and who can truly stand up for them?"

After getting some clues from the old eunuch, my interest in the cold palace grew stronger. I decided to go to the cold palace in my free time to see if I could find any clues.

That day, I used the excuse of delivering something to a nearby palace to wander around to the cold palace. The gates were tightly shut, the lock rusted, and a gloomy atmosphere hung in the air. I walked cautiously, keeping my eyes on every corner.

Suddenly, I spotted some strange symbols in the corner of an ancient palace next to the Cold Palace. They looked like they were carved, and their shapes were peculiar, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I squatted down and examined them carefully, wondering if they were related to the secrets of the Cold Palace.

"What are you doing?" A stern voice sounded behind me.

I was startled and turned around to see a patrolling guard. I quickly stood up and said respectfully, "Guard, I was here to deliver something and accidentally took the wrong road. I saw some strange symbols and took a second look."

The guard frowned and said, "This is not the place for you. Go away and don't go near the cold palace again."

I nodded and left quickly. When I got back to my place, I told Wanqing about the symbol.

"Si Qing, you are taking too much risk. If you are found to be investigating the affairs of the cold palace, you will be punished." Wan Qing said anxiously.

"I know, but I really want to figure it out. Those symbols must have some meaning, maybe they can unlock the secret of the cold palace." I said firmly.

I decided to go to the old eunuch again to ask about the symbol. I brought some cakes and went to the old eunuch.

"Eunuch, I'm sorry to bother you again. Today I saw some strange symbols in the corner of an ancient palace near the cold palace. Do you know what they mean?" I handed the pastry to the old eunuch and asked anxiously.

The old eunuch took the cake and looked at me. "Girl, why don't you give up? I don't know much about those symbols, but I heard that they are left over from the previous dynasty. They may be related to the construction of the cold palace or the matter of the favorite concubine."

"Previous dynasty? Is there anyone in this palace who knows the meaning of these symbols?" I asked.

The old eunuch thought for a moment and said, "You could ask the old maids who have been in the palace for a long time; they might know something. But be careful not to get yourself into trouble."

I thanked the old eunuch and started looking for the old maids again. Finally, I found an old maid who looked very kind.

"Mammy, I want to ask you something. I saw some symbols from the previous dynasty near the cold palace. Do you know what they mean?" I asked respectfully.

The old lady glanced at me and said, "How could you see those symbols, little girl? They are not good things. They are a curse, left behind when the previous dynasty was overthrown. It is said that they are related to the fate of the palace."

I was shocked. "Curse? What does that have to do with the cold palace?"

The old nanny shook her head. "I don't know about that. I just heard that things are not going well in the cold palace, and it's definitely related to those symbols."

I felt that to understand these things, I had to look for clues in the palace's historical documents. I thought of the palace library, which must have records about the previous dynasty and the cold palace.

I made an excuse and entered the library. The library was filled with bookshelves filled with all kinds of books. I began to look through them one by one, and the dust in the air flew, making me cough a few times.

"What are you looking for?" A voice suddenly sounded in my ears.

I was startled and turned around to see that it was the librarian, a young eunuch.

"Eunuch, I'm looking for books about the previous dynasty and the cold palace." I replied.

The eunuch glanced at me and said, "Those books are on the innermost shelf, but you'd better not flip through them. Some of them are banned. If you are caught, you will be in trouble."

I nodded and cautiously walked to the innermost bookshelf. I found a few ancient-looking books, their words a bit blurry. I opened one, which recorded some court events from previous dynasties, but did not mention the cold palace or those symbols.

I opened another book, and suddenly, a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and saw symbols similar to the ones I saw near the cold palace, as well as some incomprehensible text. I was thrilled, feeling like I was one step closer to the truth.

As I was studying the paper carefully, I suddenly heard footsteps approaching. I quickly hid the paper and pretended to be tidying up the bookshelf.

"Is it you?" A familiar voice came.

I looked up and saw that it was a palace maid who entered the palace with me, named Xiangling.

"Xiangling, why are you here?" I asked in surprise.

Xiangling looked around and whispered, "I'm looking for something too. I heard there are books about palace secrets in this library, so I wanted to take a look. What about you?"

I hesitated for a moment, then told her my findings. Xiangling's eyes lit up: "I think we can study together, maybe we can unlock these secrets faster."

I was a little worried: "Isn't this too dangerous? What if we get discovered..."

Xiangling held my hand and said, "We just need to be careful. I think these secrets may help us survive in the palace. We can't let this opportunity go."

So, Xiangling and I decided to become secret partners and explore the secrets of the palace together.

Xiangling and I began to study the symbols and words on the paper together. We found a secluded place and compared them with other books in the library, trying to decipher them.

"Look, this symbol seems to be related to the Five Elements. Gold is mentioned here." Xiangling said, pointing to a symbol on the paper.

I looked at it carefully. "You're right. Could this text be related to a direction? For example, the west is associated with metal."

We speculated and researched, and after several days of effort, we finally found some new clues. We discovered that the symbols and text seemed to be a map pointing to a place in the palace that might be related to the secret of the cold palace.

"We have to find this place." I said excitedly.

"But the palace is so big, how can we find it?" Xiangling was a little worried.

I thought about it and said, "We can first determine a rough range based on the clues of the five elements and directions."

We followed the clues to search for that mysterious place in the palace, but unexpectedly, our actions attracted some people's attention.

One day, on my way to meet Xiangling, I felt like someone was following me. I deliberately took a few detours and walked into a secluded palace. I hid in a corner and held my breath.

After a while, a dark figure appeared. I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could sense that he had bad intentions.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" I asked loudly.

The shadow didn't answer, but slowly approached me. My heart raced, and I searched for something to defend myself. Suddenly, I found a stick. I gripped it tightly, ready to fight the shadow.

Just as the shadow was about to approach me, Wanqing appeared. She was holding a lantern and shouted, "Who's there?"

The black shadow seemed to be startled and turned and ran away.

I breathed a sigh of relief, walked out and said to Wanqing, "Wanqing, why are you here?"

Wanqing said anxiously, "I noticed you were acting strangely lately, so I followed you secretly. I didn't expect there would be such danger. Siqing, what are you doing? You can't take risks like this anymore."

I looked at Wanqing's worried eyes and felt a little guilty: "Wanqing, I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you worry. But I have come this far, I can't give up."

After some twists and turns, Xiangling and I finally determined the location of the mysterious place, which was in the basement of a remote palace.

We quietly arrived at the palace under cover of night. The entrance to the basement was hidden, and we searched for a long time before finding it. When we opened the basement door, a damp smell hit us.

"It's so eerie in here." Xiangling said in a low voice.

I nodded and walked ahead, lantern in hand. The basement was filled with all sorts of boxes and miscellaneous items. We searched inside, hoping to find something related to the secrets of the cold palace.

Suddenly, I found a diary in a box. I opened it and was shocked by its contents. The diary was written by the favorite concubine in the cold palace, and it recorded the process of her frame-up and the secrets of the cold palace.

"It turns out that she was framed by the Queen Mother because she discovered a secret of the Queen Mother." I said to Xiangling.

We continue reading the diary and discover that the Empress's secret is related to the treasure of the previous dynasty. The favorite concubine accidentally learned the clue of the treasure, and when the Empress learned about it, she was framed and sent to the cold palace.

"Are these symbols and words also clues to the treasure?" Xiangling asked.

I thought about it and said, "It's very possible. Perhaps the Queen doesn't want the secret of the treasure to be discovered, so she wants to cover it up."

We decided to hide the diary and continue searching for clues to the treasure, knowing that once this secret was revealed, it might cause an uproar in the palace.

Our actions still did not escape the Queen's eyes. One day, the Queen summoned me to her palace.

"Si Qing, I heard that you have been running around the palace recently. What are you looking for?" The Queen asked, staring at me.

I was shocked, but pretended to be calm: "My lady, I didn't run around. I just passed by some places while carrying out my mission."

The Queen sneered, "You'd better be like this. If I find out you have any evil intentions, hmph, you know the consequences."

I quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I dare not do that. I will definitely behave myself."

After coming out from the Queen, I knew we had to be more careful.

Xiangling and I decided to go to the basement again to see if we could find more clues about the treasure. We carefully avoided the patrolling guards and went to the basement.

This time, we found a painting on the wall of the basement, which showed a map of the palace and some markings. We carefully studied the painting and found that the marked places were exactly where we had guessed the treasure might be.

"We have to find the treasure quickly. We can't let the Queen find it first." I said to Xiangling.

Just as we were about to take further action, Xiangling suddenly betrayed me. She told the Queen our plan, hoping to receive a reward from her.

"Si Qing, I'm sorry, I don't want to live this hard life anymore. As long as I hand you over to the Queen, I can live a good life." Xiangling looked at me, with a hint of guilt in her eyes, but more of a desire for wealth and glory.

I looked at her angrily: "Xiangling, how could you do this? We are friends."

At this time, the Queen appeared with her guards.

"Si Qing, you really have bad intentions. Arrest her for me." The Queen gave the order.

I knew I was in danger, but I couldn't let myself be caught. I picked up a box nearby, threw it at the guard, and took the opportunity to escape.

I ran as fast as I could in the palace, with the guards chasing me closely. I ran to a dead end, and the guards slowly surrounded me.

"You can't get away, Si Qing," said a guard.

I looked at them in despair, thinking that this time it was really over. Suddenly, I thought of the cold palace. Perhaps there was a place to hide there. I turned and ran towards the cold palace.

The guards seemed a little afraid of the cold palace and hesitated for a moment, but still gave chase. I rushed into the cold palace, which was gloomy and cold. I looked for a place to hide.

Inside the cold palace, I discovered a hidden room. Hiding inside, I found some strange devices. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were connected to the treasure. It turned out the treasure was in the cold palace, and the symbols and maps were designed to mislead.

I also found some evidence of the Empress's crimes. I knew that if I could get this evidence out, I could expose the Empress's true face and avenge the concubine.

Just as I was about to leave the dark room, the Empress and her guards arrived at the cold palace. I knew a life-or-death struggle was about to begin.