Jade of Another World

Sunlight streamed onto the magnificent palace, illuminating its solemn vermilion walls. On this auspicious day, the entire palace was enveloped in an atmosphere of solemnity and celebration. The eunuch's high-pitched voice echoed through the palace: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: My son, Nangong Jin, is exceptionally virtuous and capable, and is hereby appointed Crown Prince to succeed to the throne. It is hoped that he will diligently govern the country and live up to my high expectations. This is the imperial decree!"

Dressed in magnificent princely robes and wearing a golden crown, Nangong Jin stood tall and straight in the center of the palace, receiving the homage of the crowd. Although he wore a humble smile, his eyes revealed excitement and determination. This was an important step on his path to becoming emperor, and a milestone in his years of hard work and ambition.

However, beneath this peaceful facade, undercurrents were surging. The deposed Crown Prince and Consort Xi harbored resentment; how could they willingly watch Nangong Jin ascend to the position of Crown Prince so smoothly, thus utterly crushing them and ensuring their eternal damnation? Therefore, during the preparations for the investiture ceremony, they secretly conspired to plot a sabotage plan that would overturn the entire ceremony.

The deposed crown prince sat opposite Consort Xi in his cold palace, his eyes flashing with resentment: "What right does he have to take my place as crown prince? Today, I will make his investiture ceremony a joke, and let Father Emperor know that he chose the wrong person! The Phoenix Maiden of Destiny is in my hands, and only I can be the crown prince."

Consort Xi was also filled with resentment. She gritted her teeth and said, "That's right, we must not let him succeed. How can my years of hard work in this deep palace be ruined in an instant? This plan must be foolproof, otherwise, neither of us will ever have a chance to rise again."

They gathered a group of loyal confidants, some lured by personal gain, others harboring resentment towards Nangong Jin, all rallying under their banner. On the day of the investiture ceremony, these individuals, according to a pre-arranged plan, would infiltrate the ceremony from various directions. Some would create chaos, while others would prepare to strike at Nangong Jin at a crucial moment. A thrilling conspiracy was about to unfold at this solemn investiture ceremony. Would Nangong Jin be able to detect the danger, successfully avert the crisis, and safeguard his position as crown prince?

The deposed crown prince and Consort Xi's meticulously planned sabotage was extremely insidious and cunning. They first bribed several eunuchs in charge of the ceremony's arrangements, instructing them to tamper with the key supporting structures of the venue. With just a pre-arranged signal, the structures would collapse, creating chaos and panic. Taking advantage of the confusion, their hired assassins would then shout, "Your virtue is unworthy of your position! Heaven and man are angered! Heaven is angry... Run!" This would disrupt the investiture ceremony.

Meanwhile, Consort Xi, using her connections in the palace, secretly applied a special fragrance to the investiture robes prepared for Nangong Jin. This fragrance, when combined with another secret drug, would produce a dizzying odor. Their plan was to have a subordinate disguised as a palace maid release the drug near Nangong Jin at the crucial moment of the investiture ceremony, causing him to be publicly humiliated and lose his authority.

Furthermore, the deposed crown prince had gathered a group of highly skilled martial arts outlaws, disguising them as guards and lurking in concealed locations at the ceremony. If the previous plan failed to completely prevent Nangong Jin's investiture, these outlaws would suddenly appear, kidnap Nangong Jin, and use his life as leverage to force the emperor to rescind his decree and reinstate the deposed crown prince. They attempted to use this series of interconnected conspiracies to completely bring down Nangong Jin at this crucial moment of the investiture ceremony, thus regaining their lost power and status.

In another corner of the capital, Liu Si and Lin Ning were quietly discussing their plan. Liu Si said with a solemn expression, "Miss Lin, now that the Crown Prince is being conferred his title, the defenses of the palace and the Crown Prince's residence will definitely be relaxed. This is the perfect opportunity for us to rescue Lin Wan, and we cannot miss it."

Lin Ning nodded slightly, his eyes filled with determination: "Young Master Liu is absolutely right. Wan'er has been trapped in the Crown Prince's residence for many days. Every moment of delay increases her danger. We must act as soon as possible."

They meticulously planned every detail. Liu Si had sent people ahead to scout out the guard changing times and patrol routes throughout the Crown Prince's residence, drawing up a detailed map. Lin Ning, on the other hand, prepared some sleeping potions and weapons for self-defense, just in case they encountered resistance.

“We’ll sneak in through the west side gate of the Crown Prince’s residence. The guards there are relatively weak, and there’s a flower bush that can serve as cover,” Liu Si said, pointing to the map. Lin Ning pondered for a moment before adding, “Once inside, we’ll first find the place where Wan’er is being held. I’m worried the Crown Prince might have set up traps, so we need to be extra careful. Once we rescue Wan’er, we’ll lead our horses away from the stables on the east side. It’s closer to the side gate, making it easier to escape quickly.”

The two discussed the plan repeatedly, striving for absolute certainty. They knew the operation was extremely risky; failure would not only endanger Lin Wan's life but also place them in grave danger. However, to save Lin Wan, they could only hope for a smooth ceremony on the day of her investiture, allowing them to successfully rescue her and free her from that terrible prison.

The plan to depose the crown prince was proceeding at full speed. Nangong Jin was not unaware of the impending danger. Although he was focused on the many matters of the investiture ceremony, he had already secretly arranged for people to take precautions, thanks to the keen intuition honed in the palace intrigues and the reminders from his advisors.

Knowing the dangers of palace intrigue, Nangong Jin instructed his most trusted and capable strategist, Su Jin, during the preparations for the investiture ceremony to keep a close eye on the movements of all parties, especially the actions of the deposed crown prince and Consort Xi.

As entrusted, Su Jin deployed numerous spies around the palaces of the deposed crown prince and Consort Xi, as well as in other places they might frequent. Soon, the spies reported that suspicious eunuchs were frequently entering and leaving the deposed crown prince's palace, and several of these eunuchs were responsible for arranging the grand ceremony. Su Jin became suspicious and immediately informed Nangong Jin of this.

Nangong Jin immediately ordered the secret arrest of one of the eunuchs and brought him to a secluded location for interrogation. Initially, the eunuch remained tight-lipped and refused to confess, but after Nangong Jin used a combination of threats and promises, and hinted at severe punishment for any failure to confess, the eunuch finally relented and revealed that they had tampered with the crucial support structure of the ceremony venue. Nangong Jin quickly dispatched his trusted craftsmen to inspect the site, and they indeed discovered the tampered areas. The craftsmen immediately repaired and reinforced the structures, while secretly detaining all the other eunuchs involved, ensuring the deposed crown prince was unaware that the plan had been exposed.

Regarding Consort Xi's plot to tamper with the ceremonial robes, one of Nangong Jin's attendants overheard two palace maids in Consort Xi's palace discussing the strange uses of a particular fragrance, vaguely mentioning its connection to Nangong Jin's investiture ceremony. Sensing something amiss, the attendant quickly reported this to Nangong Jin. Nangong Jin, considering Consort Xi's potential revenge, ordered a thorough inspection of the prepared investiture robes, and indeed discovered the barely perceptible traces of the fragrance. He immediately ordered specially made sachets prepared to counteract the nauseating smell produced by the mixture of the fragrance and medicine; simultaneously, he intensified the scrutiny of those who approached him on the day of the ceremony, especially those responsible for arranging the robes and providing close service, subjecting them to rigorous identity checks and body searches.

Regarding the deposed crown prince's plan to gather outlaws disguised as guards to kidnap him, Chen Feng, the commander of Nangong Jin's guards, discovered through his informants in the capital that a group of unfamiliar martial arts figures had been frequently gathering at a secret hideout near the palace. Their suspicious behavior suggested they were not ordinary martial artists. Following this lead, Chen Feng investigated further and discovered that these people were colluding with the deposed crown prince and learned of their plan to infiltrate the palace disguised as guards on the day of the grand ceremony.

Upon receiving this information, Nangong Jin quickly made arrangements. He ordered Chen Feng to lead a group of elite guards to set up ambushes along the routes these martial arts figures might take. At the same time, during the changing of the guards within the palace, he deliberately mixed his trusted guards in and devised a special set of codes and gestures to quickly distinguish friend from foe in critical moments.

Meanwhile, he dispatched his trusted commander of the guards, leading the most elite troops, disguised as ordinary servants, to various corners of the ceremony site to closely monitor all suspicious persons and movements. On the day of the ceremony, they rigorously checked anyone who approached them to prevent suspicious individuals from getting close.

In this covert struggle against the deposed crown prince, Nangong Jin, through her wisdom and decisiveness, gradually thwarted his plot. Despite the deposed crown prince and Consort Xi's persistent attempts to sabotage the investiture ceremony, their plans were repeatedly thwarted by Nangong Jin's pre-arranged defenses. On the day of the ceremony, the deposed crown prince and Consort Xi proceeded with their plan. The moment the desperate assassins who had been lying in wait to create chaos appeared, they were surrounded by Nangong Jin's guards, and a fierce battle ensued. However, due to the thorough preparation and advantageous position of Nangong Jin's guards, they quickly subdued the assassins.

Meanwhile, on Nangong Jin's side, when the subordinate disguised as a palace maid approached to release the drug, he was recognized and swiftly subdued by the guards. At this moment, the deposed crown prince, seeing his plans repeatedly fail, remained undeterred and personally led his remaining elite guards in an attempt to break through the defenses and capture Nangong Jin. However, Nangong Jin's personal guards fought desperately, and Chen Feng, having dealt with the enemies outside, quickly arrived to provide support. In the end, the deposed crown prince and his elite guards were all captured. Nangong Jin successfully thwarted the deposed crown prince's plot, smoothly completed his investiture ceremony, and officially became crown prince, taking a solid and crucial step towards his imperial ambitions. On the day of the Crown Prince's investiture ceremony, the palace was brightly decorated and bustling with activity. In the end, amidst the worship and cheers of the crowd, Nangong Jin successfully inherited the position of Crown Prince, beginning his new journey toward becoming emperor. This also brought a temporary calm to the entire court after the turmoil. However, he knew that the road ahead was long and that there would be more challenges and conspiracies waiting for him to deal with.

All eyes were drawn to the grand ceremony. Liu Si and Lin Ning seized the opportunity, quietly approaching the Crown Prince's residence. Dressed in commoners' clothes, they moved with the agility of elves. Reaching the vicinity of the west side gate of the residence, Liu Si gestured for Lin Ning to hide in the shadows, while he crouched low and cautiously approached the two guards at the gate. He pulled two pebbles from his pocket and threw them forcefully; the pebbles struck the guards precisely, and both fell silently to the ground.

Liu Si quickly waved, and Lin Ning hurried after him. The two sneaked into the Crown Prince's residence. Following a pre-planned route, they moved along winding corridors and paths, trying to avoid patrols as much as possible. Lin Ning was extremely nervous, but she forced herself to remain calm, gripping the dagger tightly in her hand.

Upon reaching a courtyard, Liu Si suddenly stopped, noticing something unusual about the path ahead. He crouched down and carefully examined the ground, discovering subtle clues to mechanisms. Carefully following the trail of these mechanisms, Liu Si located their trigger points and, with his exceptional skills, successfully deciphered them.

Continuing deeper, they finally arrived at the room where Lin Wan was being held. Liu Si gestured for Lin Ning to keep watch at the door, while he gently pushed open the door himself. Inside, Lin Wan was trapped in an iron cage, her face haggard, but her eyes held a hint of stubbornness. Seeing Liu Si appear, a flash of surprise and excitement crossed Lin Wan's eyes.

Liu Si strode to the iron cage, took out his lock-picking tools, and began to crack the lock. However, the lock was extremely complex, and fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Liu Si's forehead, but he remained focused and his hands continued to move.

Just as the lock was about to be opened, footsteps and shouts suddenly came from outside. Lin Ning's heart tightened; she knew their actions had been discovered. She gripped her dagger, ready to fight. Liu Si quickened his pace, and with a "click," the lock was finally opened. He helped Lin Wan up and said, "Miss Lin, let's go quickly!" The three of them had just stepped out of the room when they were stopped by a group of guards.

Liu Si shielded Lin Wan behind him, fighting alongside Lin Ning. Lin Ning unleashed a fierce swordsmanship, his sword moving like a dragon, felling guards wherever it went. Liu Si, on the other hand, nimbly dodged the attacks, seizing opportunities to counterattack. His hand-to-hand combat skills were also exceptional, each strike capable of repelling the enemy.

But as the number of guards increased, they gradually found themselves in a difficult situation. At this moment, Liu noticed that there were relatively fewer guards on the east side of the stables, and he shouted, "Retreat to the stables!" The three fought and retreated, rushing towards the stables with all their might.

In the stables, they led out their horses and mounted. Liu Si took the lead, brandishing his whip, breaking through the remaining guards' obstruction, and galloped towards the outside of the Crown Prince's residence. Behind them, chaos reigned within the Crown Prince's residence, the shouts of battle gradually fading into the distance. They had finally escaped the Crown Prince's residence and were heading towards safety.

After the plot to depose the crown prince was completely foiled, he was captured by Nangong Jin's guards like a stray dog. At the moment of his escort, his face was full of despair and resentment; his former wealth and glory and his covetousness for the throne had all vanished into thin air.

Nangong Jin gazed at his former adversary without a trace of pity. He knew all too well the cruelty of court intrigue; if the issue of the deposed crown prince wasn't thoroughly resolved this time, it would inevitably lead to endless troubles in the future. Therefore, Nangong Jin decided to first imprison the deposed crown prince in the imperial prison, and then report to His Majesty for a final decision.