Chapter 168: Escape from the Palace, The Meeting of the True and False Xue’er
The sudden fire in the Cold Palace diverted the attention of countless guards, and coupled with the recent assassination attempt on the Imperial Daughter, the entire palace was in chaos.
These consecutive events made people suspect that there was a problem within the palace.
Although the fire in the Cold Palace was quickly extinguished, it still burned the entire palace down.
Imperial Concubine Min, who had been locked in the Cold Palace, was secretly taken out and temporarily housed in her previous palace.
However… this “secret” clearly wasn’t very secret.
As if deliberately arranged, the news of Imperial Concubine Min quickly spread.
The guards and maids in the palace whispered amongst themselves, causing unrest.
Although Luo Xue remained in bed, the entire Imperial Daughter’s palace was under her control, countless surveillance formations surrounding it.
She was waiting for dinner time. Only then, with the strict security of the Imperial Daughter’s palace, would maids enter.
When a group of maids carrying food entered the palace, Luo Xue’s spirits lifted slightly.
At the same time, she heard the maids, although their heads were lowered, communicating secretly through spiritual power.
“Hmm?”
Luo Xue’s curiosity was piqued. She had set up many formations in the palace, including eavesdropping formations that could even intercept voice transmissions.
The maids were only at the Spirit Condensation Realm, while Luo Xue’s formations were at the Core Formation level. Eavesdropping on their conversation was easy.
“…”
After listening for a while, Luo Xue frowned deeply.
Besides some idle chatter and discussions about the sudden fire in the Cold Palace, the maids also mentioned Imperial Concubine Min.
Luo Xue then learned that Imperial Concubine Min’s imprisonment in the Cold Palace had been a secret until the fire exposed it.
Now, Imperial Concubine Min was near the Imperial Daughter’s palace. Her original palace was next to Princess Xue’s. After all, they were mother and daughter, so it was understandable for them to live close to each other.
“Why at this time…”
Luo Xue frowned slightly, just as she was about to ponder further, the maids arrived at her door and knocked gently.
“Your Highness, it’s time for dinner.”
“Bring it in.”
Luo Xue said softly, her voice weak.
She was still playing the role of the injured Princess Xue.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids’ respectful voices echoed, and they gently pushed open the door.
After the maids entered, Luo Xue slowly sat up in bed, looking tired.
As she expected, all the maids carrying the food were at the Spirit Condensation Realm. No one stronger entered.
After all, they had to be wary of outside invaders and spies within the palace. Princess Xue was the victim of the assassination attempt, and if possible, they would even replace the maids with mortals to prevent further accidents.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. Even the weakest maids in the imperial palace were at the Spirit Condensation Realm.
Luo Xue sat on the bed, a small table with exquisite food placed before her by the maids.
“Please enjoy your meal, Your Highness. We will wait here until you’re finished.”
The maids stood respectfully, their heads lowered, not looking at Luo Xue.
Looking directly at the little princess while she ate was disrespectful. They were professional palace maids and wouldn’t make such a mistake.
This was exactly what Luo Xue had planned. She picked up her chopsticks and slowly started eating.
The surrounding formations silently activated, the maids’ senses gradually being blocked, their vision also slowly freezing, but they didn’t notice.
After Luo Xue finished eating, the maids were temporarily trapped in an illusion formation, losing their awareness of the real world.
“Time to work.”
Luo Xue stood up and looked at the maids, a troubled expression on her face.
“Why are they all so… well-endowed… Is there no one who’s a bit smaller, flatter?”
Luo Xue muttered inwardly, her gaze scanning the maids.
Luo Xue was only 1.5 meters tall, and with her… average development, it was difficult to find someone similar among the palace maids.
In the end, Luo Xue could only choose one who was relatively close, but even she was over 1.6 meters tall, her slightly developed chest something Luo Xue couldn’t match.
“Fine, you’ll do.”
Luo Xue took a deep breath, carefully pulled the maid onto the bed, and used the Thousand Faces Cultivation Art to disguise herself as the maid.
With a reference, Luo Xue’s disguise skills were quite reliable.
In a short time, Luo Xue transformed into an almost identical copy of the maid.
After changing into the maid’s clothes, even her own mother wouldn’t be able to tell the difference just by looking.
Next was…
“Sorry, I can only make you a temporary stand-in for the stand-in…”
Luo Xue glanced at the maid apologetically and used the Thousand Faces Cultivation Art on her.
The Thousand Faces Cultivation Art was a special technique. Since it could be used on herself, it could naturally be used on others, just requiring a higher level of proficiency.
Transforming the maid into Princess Xue consumed a lot of Luo Xue’s energy.
Fortunately, the final result was passable. Although it wasn’t a perfect disguise, it was enough as long as no one looked too closely.
Luo Xue set up a slumber formation on the bed. Once activated, the person lying on it would sleep soundly.
And Luo Xue herself inconspicuously blended into the group of maids, then deactivated the illusion formation, and finally, using Princess Xue’s voice, completed the final step of her plan.
“Alright, I’m going to rest now, you can all leave.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maids replied in unison, almost making Luo Xue think that her illusion formation had failed. How could these maids recover so quickly after she just deactivated it?
But when Luo Xue looked at them, she saw a lingering daze in their eyes. The effect of the illusion formation hadn’t completely worn off; they were just reacting instinctively.
However, the maids didn’t suspect the “Princess Xue” on the bed at all.
They quickly tidied up the room and left with the food trays, completely unaware that one of them had been replaced.
Luo Xue walked at the back of the group. The maid she chose was relatively quiet and hadn’t participated in the gossip with her colleagues on the way here, which saved Luo Xue some trouble.
The more one spoke, the more likely they were to be exposed.
All the maids, their heads lowered, walked out of the palace.
The security in the imperial palace was currently limited. The checks on maids entering the Imperial Daughter’s palace were very strict, but there weren’t many checks on those leaving.
Luo Xue stealthily looked around. Powerful auras were everywhere.
The patrolling guards were all at least at the Nascent Soul Realm, their strength unfathomable to Luo Xue.
However, their expressions were filled with anxiety.
“Just an assassination attempt on the Imperial Daughter shouldn’t cause this much commotion. It seems the strange fire in the Cold Palace is the true source of the unrest…”
Luo Xue pondered, then looked at another, even more luxurious and grand palace not far from the Imperial Daughter’s palace. It was the “Snow Palace,” Imperial Concubine Min’s residence, although it had been vacant for over a decade.
The security around the Snow Palace was even tighter than around the Imperial Daughter’s palace, which meant that Imperial Concubine Min’s importance was indeed much higher than that of her, the stand-in.
However, Luo Xue was mistaken. Even the real little princess wasn’t as important as Concubine Min.
The news of the fire in the Cold Palace had reached the Immortal Emperor even before the assassination attempt, and it was the Immortal Emperor himself who had ordered Concubine Min to be taken out of the Cold Palace.
“Fortunately… now… I should find a chance to go to the imperial study.” Luo Xue’s eyes flickered. “I’ll bring back my… Princess Xue before the next meal.”
The longer she waited, the more variables there would be. Luo Xue didn’t want to take too many risks.
The maids, carrying the food trays, nervously walked towards the imperial kitchen.
The imperial kitchen was located in a remote corner of the palace complex, the servants’ area.
Now, all the guards were concentrated near the Cold Palace and the Snow Palace, so security around the imperial kitchen was lax.
Upon returning to the kitchen, the maids all breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.
“Xiao Lan, why haven’t you said much along the way?”
The lead maid suddenly looked at Luo Xue and asked with concern.
“No-, nothing…”
Luo Xue was stunned and shook her head, looking flustered.
“Pfft, you’ve been in the palace for so long, and you’re still so timid.”
The maids laughed and went about their own business.
Luo Xue found an excuse to leave the imperial kitchen and, as she was pondering how to sneak into the imperial study, suddenly sensed a familiar aura.
“Hmm?” Luo Xue’s pupils constricted. “Why is she here…”
…
A while ago, in the imperial study.
When Xue’er slowly woke up, she collapsed weakly onto the bed.
The constant torment of her illness had exhausted her, and she could only persevere with the help of the Immortal Emperor’s technique.
But even so, Xue’er could barely feel her limbs, even lifting her arm was a struggle.
Her time was truly running out. She didn’t even know if she could last until her father returned from his southern tour.
“Xue Ling…”
Xue’er called softly.
A tall, silent figure appeared, standing beside her bed.
Xue’er opened her eyes, looked at the figure’s indifferent expression, and smiled faintly.
It was a puppet, obtained by the Immortal Emperor from an ancient ruin, possessing Soul Transformation level strength.
Puppetry was a lost art in the Great Thousand Worlds now. This was probably the last puppet in this world, and although its strength was insignificant to the Immortal Emperor, as a rare collectible, he treasured it.
To take care of Xue’er’s daily needs, and since her identity couldn’t be revealed, the Immortal Emperor had this puppet serve Xue’er, its true name “Xue Ling.”
Xue Ling looked like a grown-up Xue’er, but as a puppet, it wasn’t sentient.
And Xue’er hadn’t embarked on the path of cultivation, her soul was weak, and she couldn’t control a puppet with her soul like Li Guijiao, so she could only give simple commands.
“Take me to see Mother.”
Xue’er said softly.
She… wanted to give up.
Without permission, Xue’er couldn’t enter the Cold Palace. She could only look at her mother from afar through the palace walls.
She couldn’t understand why her father kept her mother in the Cold Palace, saying it was to protect her. Nor could she understand his complicated gaze.
In her final moments, Xue’er wanted to be with her mother, even if it was just seeing her from afar.
However, Xue Ling didn’t move, instead conveying a message to Xue’er.
“Mother… isn’t in the Cold Palace?” Xue’er was stunned, then became anxious. “Could it be… that something happened to Mother…”
“…”
Xue Ling’s will connected with Xue’er’s again.
“Really?” Xue’er’s face lit up with joy. “Mother really left the Cold Palace? And… she’s back home?”
She could go anywhere in the imperial palace, except for the Cold Palace.
The “home” Xue’er referred to was the Snow Palace. In her vague childhood memories, it was always her mother who took care of her there.
Until one day, her mother was suddenly imprisoned in the Cold Palace, and Xue’er moved to the nearby Imperial Daughter’s palace.
“Xue Ling, I… I want to see Mother…”
Xue’er was a bit anxious. For years, she could only look at her mother from afar, and her mother couldn’t even see her.
When the other Xue’er (Luo Xue) met with her mother, Xue’er was actually happy. At least, her mother could see “her,” even though it was another person.
Xue Ling was silent for a moment, then responded.
The security around the Snow Palace was very tight. Even Xue Ling would have difficulty entering without being noticed.
“What… should we do…”
Xue’er was disappointed.
But she quickly cheered up. This small difficulty couldn’t defeat her.
After thinking hard for a while, Xue’er’s eyes lit up.
“Right, Mother definitely has to eat. If I can sneak in with the maids who deliver her meals… there’s a chance!”
Security around the imperial kitchen was always lax, as it was the servants’ area.
The maids in the imperial palace were weak, only around Spirit Condensation, and monitoring them was a waste of resources, especially now, when manpower was tight.
Xue’er knew the imperial palace like the back of her hand. Although she couldn’t appear in public these past few years, she could move freely within the palace thanks to the Immortal Emperor’s unique concealment technique.
To see her without using any special techniques, one would need to be at least at the Tribulation Immortal Realm.
Xue Ling briefly analyzed the feasibility and responded to Xue’er.
“Okay, let’s go to the imperial kitchen!”
Xue’er struggled to sit up, and Xue Ling effortlessly lifted her into her arms.
“Thank you… Xue Ling.”
Xue’er smiled. Although she knew Xue Ling was just a mindless puppet, she still treated it like a person.
Leave a Reply