Chapter 106: Palace Change
June 16, 15:30
Shen Kuo said goodbye to Xu Chong and quickly returned to Qionglin Garden outside the city. He did not enter Old Yang's house but went directly to the Prince Consort's Mansion. Everyone in the Prince Consort's Mansion knew him, so they naturally let him in. However, the Prince Consort was not there. The housekeeper said that he thought it was unlucky to be here and had gone to hide at a relative's house. Shen Kuo went to the garden alone to look for him.
He quickly found the poplar branch deep in the wall and began to search underneath it. Unfortunately, it was too late to find it, so he asked the housekeeper for an oil lamp and squatted by the wall to search. The people in the Prince Consort's mansion were in a panic. Except for the Prince Consort and the old lady who hid in the country with their relatives, the servants also scattered to seek refuge in various places. Naturally, no one cared about him.
Shen Kuo searched for a long time in the bushes under the wall and found a bamboo tube as thick as a thumb. There was no bamboo forest nearby, so he didn't know what it was. He also didn't know if it was left by the thief. So he wiped it clean and kept it with him. He searched for a while, but found nothing. Just as he was about to leave in a frustrated mood, he felt something sharp under his feet. He raised his leg and saw an iron hook hooked on the sole of his shoe. He quickly picked it up and took a look. It was an iron hook.
He went to the rockery, put the oil lamp on the stone, wiped the dog's paw carefully and put it in the light to look at it carefully. The rockery must have been sprinkled with manure to ward off evil spirits, and a foul smell hit his nose, but it did not interrupt his recollection.
This is indeed a claw hook in the Western Qiang Claw. The Western Qiang Claw imitates the human hand, with a total of four hooks, each with a joint, so it can be used as a flying claw to hook the eaves and branches, or the claw hook can be held up to form a chain hammer that can kill the enemy from a distance. This thing can indeed be used as a , but it also has a delicate part, which is the joint like a knuckle. Its joint is a reverse locking mechanism. If it grabs something, it can withstand a lot of force, but if it collides with the back of the joint, it is easy to be damaged.
Shen Kuo recalled that ten days ago, when he swung out the flying claw in order to sneak into the Yan Mansion, he hit it against the wall several times because he was not familiar with it. This was probably the reason why Wang Sheng later complained to Xu Chong that his Western Qiang claw was a little loose.
Out of his interest in machinery, he did observe it carefully after borrowing it. So he was a little dizzy now, because he was almost certain that this fallen claw hook was from Wang Sheng's Western Qiang claw. The curled blade caused by him throwing it carelessly and hitting the ground was still there.
You must know that Wang Sheng is on duty in the palace at this moment, and the imperial guards from other places have been particularly valued by the emperor recently. They are no longer guarding the first three palaces, and have even replaced the imperial guards to guard many important places, such as the emperor and the queen's bedrooms.
He didn't dare to think further, Wang Sheng and his group of brothers had suppressed Wang Ze's rebellion in Hebei. They did have some contact with Maitreya.
He quickly left the Prince Consort's Mansion, mounted his horse and hurried towards the city. It was already time to close the city gates, and his horse was stopped and could not enter. So he suddenly had an idea and went to the west gate. He happened to know the officer guarding the gate there, because after he shot down the toy made by Yu Jing, which was a metaphor for the sun and the moon in the same sky, the deputy lieutenant who helped him aim and string the bow was now a military officer and was in charge of the west gate. Naturally, he recognized him.
So Shen Kuo changed his route to the west gate. When he passed by Yuqing Zhaoying Palace, he saw that the palace gate was closed and there were soldiers patrolling around. Since the day when he shot down the leather bag that was lifted into the air by the heat, there have been imperial guards here. It is said that they are afraid that bad guys will covet the heavenly book hanging inside.
When he arrived at the west gate, the drawbridge was suspended, so he raised his badge and shouted loudly. The soldiers on the gate recognized him and knew that he was the hermit who shot down the monster, so they hurried to find the gate officer. The gate officer took a few glances from a high place and confirmed that he was the benefactor, so he opened the gate and let him in.
He galloped on the empty street, rushed straight to Xihua Gate, dismounted and went to the palace gate. The eunuchs at the gate recognized him, and he also had a waist badge, so they let him in. After entering the palace, he went directly to Gyeongbokgung Hall.
Jingfu Hall was the place where the hell transformation picture suddenly appeared on the wall ten days ago. Xu Chong had been guarding here for the past ten days. When he entered the palace, he found that the number of guards in the passages had increased a lot. There were talismans on the walls of the palace and peach wood swords hung on the doors. It can be seen that the palace still wanted to be decent, and no one brought the toilets and commodes filled with feces and urine outside to ward off evil.
When he arrived at the palace gate, he ran into Xu Chong, who was walking back and forth outside the Yanhe Hall like an ant on hot pan. Xu Chong was stunned to see Shen Kuo, as he did not expect him to come into the palace at night.
"How did you get here?" Xu Chong asked anxiously.
"I came in with my own badge."
"You've come just in time. I'm just busy with something."
"I have something to do, too."
The two of them were stunned for a moment, and Xu Chong pulled Shen Kuo to a secluded place and said, "You speak first."
"I just went to the Prince Consort's house." Shen Kuo said as he took out the broken hook and gave it to Xu Chong. Xu Chong spread it in his palm and looked at it for a long time.
"It is indeed his. Could it really be him?"
"Aren't you coming into the palace today to test him? How about it?"
"I did try it, but he was hesitant and refused to take out the claw. I also felt suspicious and was waiting to go out of the city to find you tomorrow. I told you about this. Who knew you would come here by yourself?"
"I feel that there must be an insider in the palace. The person who received the information about the imperial concubine's death on the eighth day of the first lunar month and then sent it out via the prayer lantern must be someone in the palace." Shen Kuo said.
"No, no, we, the soldiers from other places, were summoned to guard the palace after the hat monster appeared that day. Wang Sheng and I also entered the palace on the night of the eighth day of the first lunar month, so it couldn't be him."
"Then there must be someone else?"
"This matter is of great importance. It is better to report it to Shi Yaban immediately."
The two of them decided that it would be best to find Shi Wenbin first, after all, he was in charge of this mess. Xu Chong said that Mr. Shi was probably being scolded in the official bedroom, Funing Hall, because every night when Shi came out of Funing Hall, he always looked gloomy and had a bad face when he saw anyone.
It was almost time, so the two hurried to the gate of Funing Palace, just in time to see Shi Yaban leading two eunuchs out in a huff, probably because they were scolded for their poor handling of the case. He saw that Xu Chong was so inconsiderate and stood in front of him, so he wanted to vent his anger.
"Xu Jieji, you also know the rules of the Imperial City Division. Everyone has their own responsibilities and cannot walk around randomly. If a demon really comes and you are not on duty, the government will blame you. Should it punish you or me?"
"Sir, I have something important to discuss with Mr. Shen."
As soon as Xu Chong said this, Shi Yaban immediately understood. He quickly dismissed his attendants and followed the two men to a deserted place.
He had been going crazy these days, hoping that the damned guest star would disappear, but it was hanging in the sky every day, not only in the middle of the night, but also in the morning and evening. The whole city was in an uproar, saying that the nemesis of the Song Dynasty had arrived. The hell map that appeared in Gyeongbokgung Palace had not been deciphered for ten days, so the government summoned him to scold him as a routine. Now that he heard that there was something important to say, he naturally guessed that it must be related to the case, which was simply a life-saving straw.
Shen Kuo and Xu Chong told him everything, of course leaving out the part about sneaking into Yan's mansion. Shi Wenbin was not very smart and was a little confused at first, but he soon got the point.
"I think I understand. You two said that the thief who stole the magic pen from the Prince Consort's mansion last night was most likely this Wang Sheng?" said Shi Yaban.
“I’m not sure yet.”
"Wang Sheng. I know this man. He is having an affair with Lian Xiu, a maid in the Queen's palace."
Shi Wenbin was in charge of the Imperial City Department. He knew all the trivial matters in the palace. Even Xu Chong didn't know that his good brother was secretly hooking up with a palace maid, but he knew it.
"This is a bit strange..." Shi Yaban walked in the shadows under the palace wall for a long time with his hands behind his back. "I have always known that the queen wanted that pen, but the prince consort refused to give it to her. Did she ask Wang Sheng to steal it? But how is Wang Sheng related to the hat monster?"
Ishibaban started talking to himself, his words showing that his intelligence work was still competent, but his reasoning ability was average.
"If he is a Maitreya, what's the point of stealing the pen? But why does the queen want it too?" He looked up at Xu Chong blankly.
“I don’t know.”
Xu Chong certainly knew the importance of the matter. Shi Yaban's problem involved the Queen, and he could not get involved in it. If there was to be any conclusion, it would be best to let the old man come to it himself. Now there was only a fraction left.
"The little skeleton with the imperial concubine's horoscope was found in the Imperial Garden that day?" He was still reasoning, and neither Shen Kuo nor Xu Chong dared to respond.
"The Imperial Garden is behind the Queen's Kunning Palace. Usually there is no one there. Do you think there are any key points or connections here that I haven't thought of yet?"
"We are stupid and dare not make any speculations." Xu Chong decisively gave up answering.
"The Empress has always respected and loved the Imperial Concubine, and even released the Heavenly Lanterns to pray for her. However... when the Imperial Concubine passed away, the funeral was held according to the Empress's rites, and the Empress had some complaints. The Emperor has also been somewhat distant from the Empress recently..."
He was talking here and there, which actually brought back some memories for Shen Kuo. That day, during the banquet for all the ministers in Jingfu Hall, the emperor got a little drunk, wrote a poem of Emperor Taizong on the wall, and then left alone, leaving the empress there alone, which was somewhat rude. It can be seen that the emperor and the empress were not actually on good terms.
"Oh no, if Wang Sheng has an affair with Lianxiu, and Lianxiu is the closest to the queen... doesn't that mean..." Shi Wenbin finally wanted to get through that layer, but now even he didn't dare to say anything more.
"Xu Jieji, you just said that you tested Wang Sheng? He refused to show you his flying claws?"
"Exactly."
"Oh, how come you look smart but are actually so stupid? How could you do something that would alert the enemy? Quickly...quickly go to the Imperial Garden behind Kunning Palace. Wang Sheng is on duty there today."
Xu Chong was also full of grievances. He tested Wang Sheng, but he didn't regard him as a suspect at all. He just wanted to eliminate his suspicion.
Shi Yaban led the two men to Kunning Palace. When they reached the back garden, they were about to cross the garden to the back door of Kunning Palace when they saw figures from afar. So the three approached cautiously. Shi Yaban had probably been a spy for the Imperial City Department before, and was very good at eavesdropping at the windows. Seeing his age, he tiptoed and lurked, without making any noise.
The three hid behind the rocks and could hear a man and a woman talking. The man was Wang Sheng.
Xu Chong stuck his head out and saw his good brother Wang Sheng talking to the palace maid with a nervous expression, but it was still a little far away and he couldn't hear what they were saying clearly.
They spoke rather fiercely, as if they were arguing about something, but their voices were so low that they could not be heard at all. After a while, several more shadows approached. They were Yan Xiu, Guo Kui, and Sun Li, the guards of Kunning Palace. They had also chased the hat monster in Pan Street before, and finally they came to the puppet shed. In the end, they failed to catch the cat monster and lost five puppets. These people were gesticulating there, and Yan Xiu drew out his sword and waved it in the air, making a desperate struggle.
Xu Chong was horrified. He never expected that it was them. Could it be that these people were involved in some conspiracy? Shi Wenbin was a little scared. He wanted to go back to find someone, but he stepped on a branch and made a noise.
The six people who were plotting over there turned around together and saw Shi Wenbin.
"Since we have failed, let's do it today." Wang Sheng shouted and rushed over with his sword drawn. Xu Chong suddenly stepped out and blocked in front of him. Wang Sheng swung his sword and chopped without mercy.
Xu Chong raised his knife to block it.
