Chapter 231
The capital area was strategically important.
If a large army wanted to enter the Capital City, just the troops alone would not be enough. There would also need to be a convincing marshal to lead them.
Otherwise even if the army reached the city walls, they would be stopped outside the gates and would only be able to choose to attack by force.
But the Capital City walls were exceptionally high, and the defenses were not to be underestimated either. Even using force, it would take a very long time and likely spill rivers of blood.
But it would be different with Marshal Xu Zhan leading the troops. As the current Minister of War, and with the seal of office in hand, it would be very easy for him to effortlessly open the city gates.
Hearing that Li Yao had already sent word to the troops in Yizhou and those guarding the borders, Xu Zhan was immensely impressed.
“Miss Li, you have worked hard this time.”
Li Yao thought to herself that for the sake of all this mess, she had even missed going home for the New Year celebrations, so she really had worked hard.
She hoped it would all be over soon.
When night was falling, the two of them went their separate ways.
Marshal Xu went to the south gate to wait for the army, while Li Yao snuck into the Imperial Palace.
Before the army reached the palace, she had to make sure the old emperor was still alive, otherwise all their efforts would have been wasted.
Over the past period she had already been in and out of the palace more than ten times, so she was very familiar with it. Although tonight the crown prince wanted to make trouble and security in the palace had been increased, she was still easily able to sneak past the guards.
Arriving at the old emperor’s bedchamber, she held some camphor under his nose and he soon drowsily awoke.
“What’s the situation?”
“The army will arrive soon.”
“Good, once they arrive then all will be well.”
After enduring silently for so many days, the old emperor no longer had the dispiritedness he had previously shown. On the contrary, he wanted to stay alive now more than ever before, otherwise all the grievances he had suffered would have been for nothing.
But just then, the noisy sound of many people and horses arriving could be heard from outside the palace. It seemed the crown prince would soon arrive as well.
“It looks like Heaven still won’t give me a chance,” said the old emperor.
“Things aren’t that bad yet,” Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “We can hide for a while.”
“Hide where?”
“Your Majesty is more familiar with the palace than I am, where do you think would be the best place to hide?” The old emperor pondered: “Let’s hide in the Imperial Kitchen. But how will we get out of here?”
Li Yao pointed to a rope hanging down from the ceiling, making the old emperor shudder.
He was just skin and bones, yet they wanted him to climb onto the roof?
But things had already reached this point, so he had no choice but to risk it.
Li Yao quickly climbed onto the roof, then had the old emperor tie the rope around his waist so she could pull him up.
Having lived in the palace his whole life, it was the old emperor's first time on the roof. With Li Yao's support, the two of them carefully crawled to the edge of the roof and crouched down to hide.
Soon after, the gloomy-faced crown prince arrived. But when he entered the bedchamber and discovered the old emperor had disappeared without a trace, he flew into a violent rage.
"Where has His Majesty gone?"
The guards who had been keeping watch all turned ashen-faced with fear, kneeling on the ground and not daring to speak.
"Useless good-for-nothings! Seal off the entire palace immediately! Send more people to search!"
The surrounding soldiers quickly dispersed, some going to seal off the various gates while others took men to search each hall for any trace of the old emperor.
Seeing it was time, Li Yao lowered the rope and slid down to the ground. The old emperor steeled his nerves and awkwardly slid down as well. Then, while evading the guards everywhere, they hurried towards the Imperial Kitchen.
Compared to the other halls, the kitchen clearly was not regarded as important.
Everyone shared a common misconception that His Majesty would most likely be hiding in one of the imperial consorts’ palaces. No one would ever think to look for him in the kitchen.
The head chef and sous chefs were all frightened by the commotion in the palace. They gathered nervously at the door, whispering among themselves.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Yao and the emperor easily slipped into the kitchen.
But by an unfortunate coincidence, Chef Wang had just come out of the kitchen at that moment. He came face to face with the two of them.
A dagger had already slid into Li Yao’s hand. Finding the chef looked familiar, she exclaimed: “Chef Wang?”
"Miss Li?" Chef Wang had once been assigned to Li Yao's household to cook for Liu Yun. He had even learned some culinary skills from Li Yao, so he immediately recognized her.
But no matter how hard he wracked his brains, he could not fathom why Li Yao would show up in the Imperial Kitchen.
Moreover, she was supporting a frail, trembling old man!
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, wondering if he was dreaming.
"Who is this...?" he began.
"This is His Majesty," Li Yao stated bluntly.
Chef Wang: ......
This was all too bizarre!
Li Yao, who should have been thousands of miles away, had not only shown up in the kitchen but had brought His Majesty the Emperor along with her! "There's no time to explain. Help us find somewhere to hide."
"Alright, follow me!" Chef Wang reacted swiftly, immediately leading them to the room where he took his breaks while on duty.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the accommodations here are quite poor," he said apologetically.
"At a time like this," the old emperor said with self-mockery, "just having a place to hide is more than enough."
"Chef Wang, you should leave quickly," Li Yao urged. "And remember, no matter who asks, don't let anything slip."
"Don't worry." Chef Wang felt like his ancestral graves were about to spew out green smoke.
As long as they made it through this night, the glory and wealth that would await him in the future would be limitless!
Of course, he was not doing this for glory or wealth, but for Great Ling's world!
...
After failing to locate the old emperor in any of the palaces, the palace guards soon turned their attention to where the palace maids and eunuchs resided, as well as the laundry rooms and kitchen.
Just as Chef Wang was on tenterhooks, several dozen guards charged menacingly into the kitchen and began recklessly rummaging through everything.
Chef Wang had never been so terrified. The guards were about to reach his quarters and he broke out in a cold sweat, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
Bang! A guard kicked open the door to his room. Chef Wang's eyes squeezed shut as he thought to himself - this is the end.
He expected to hear someone shout "Found them!" But after waiting for a bit, there was no such cry. The guard who had searched his room quickly left and continued on to the next one.
What was going on here?
Could Li Yao and His Majesty have already escaped? Amidst all his doubts and suspicions, the guards soon finished combing through the entire kitchen.
"They're not here, let's go!"
Seeing the guards were all gone, the chefs once again began whispering among themselves.
"Who were they looking for anyway?"
"It must have been assassins."
"You've been reading too many street operas. What kind of fearless assassin would dare sneak into the imperial palace at night?"
...
Meanwhile, Chef Wang noticed two unfamiliar faces that had mysteriously appeared amidst the familiar crowd. He hurried over to them and brought both into his room.
It turned out that while the guards had been away, Li Yao had disguised both herself and the emperor in makeup and borrowed some of the chefs' clothes for them to wear. Then they had quietly blended into the crowd.
It had been an extremely risky maneuver but also remarkably safe when carefully considered.
In the pitch dark, everyone was milling about casually. Who would have noticed two extra people?
With Chef Wang running interference, it had been a brilliantly executed sleight of hand.
Having evaded the guards’ search, the old emperor could finally breathe easy.
Now all that was left was to wait for Marshal Xu to lead the army here.