Location: The Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace
Following the incident involving the grain transport memorials, Wang Dehai — the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial — placed an unprecedented amount of trust in Xiao Wuchen. Furthermore, Emperor Zhu Youcheng also recognised the calm and experienced nature of this young clerk.
He involved the Censorate and the Eastern Depot in the investigation into the grain transport, ensuring the impartiality of the investigation by checking the Left Grand Eunuch — a strategy perfectly aligned with Emperor Hongzhi's imperial tactic of balancing the court.
That evening, Xiao Wuchen was summoned alone to the warm pavilion in the Qianqing Palace.
Inside, incense burned, creating a warm and tranquil atmosphere. Emperor Hongzhi (Zhu Youcheng) was bent over his desk, reviewing memorials. He did not look up; his voice was tinged with weariness.
'Wu Chen, you've arrived. You drafted the imperial edict regarding the grain transport, didn't you?'
'Your Majesty, this servant merely followed the regulations of the Directorate of Ceremonial, offering a prudent suggestion. Final approval was given by the Grand Eunuch in charge.' Xiao Wu Chen's posture was humble, placing all credit and responsibility on the Directorate of Ceremonial as a whole.
The Emperor of Daqian put down his brush and looked at him gently. 'No need for modesty. I know you are capable. You haven't been in the palace long, yet you can see through the complexities of the court. That's excellent.'
He stood up, walked over to Xiao Wu Chen and lowered his voice.
'I have summoned you today to secretly investigate a matter. It involves the inner palace, so no one must know about it — not even Eunuch Wang, and certainly not the Eastern Depot or the Black-Clad Guards.'
Xiao Wuchen's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the real test had arrived. The emperor was being so cautious because this was no small matter.
The Emperor of Daqian's face was filled with worry. 'Recently, a strange illness has appeared in the inner palace,' he said. It started with several low-ranking palace maids who developed fevers and coughs. They rapidly weakened and died within days. The medicines from the Imperial Medical Academy have been completely ineffective.'
'What worries me most is...' The Emperor glanced around to confirm that only Xiao Wuchen was present. 'This illness has already spread to the residences of the princes and princesses. Although no one has fallen ill yet, panic has already spread.'
'The Imperial Medical Academy calls it a "plague", but I suspect it's man-made.'
A sharp glint flashed in the Emperor of Daqian's eyes. 'Anyone in the palace could poison someone. But to do so secretly, without the imperial physicians being able to identify the cause, the perpetrator must be exceptionally skilled and well hidden.'
'Wu Chen, I know you are an exceptional martial artist, and your position in the Directorate of Ceremonial is renowned for its intelligence network. I'm giving you a secret assignment."
'Assist in the management of the inner palace' within the Directorate of Ceremonial and secretly investigate the source of the illness and who poisoned it.'
While this task is fraught with danger, it offers immense rewards:
'Assisting in the management of the inner palace's security' enables him to infiltrate key departments within the inner palace, such as the Imperial Hospital, the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Wardrobe. It is a direct expression of the Emperor's trust in his abilities and places him above the scrutiny of the Eastern Depot and the Black-Clad Guards. His martial arts skills can now be openly used for 'security' and 'investigation', providing a legitimate cover.
'This servant obeys.' Xiao Wu Chen knelt respectfully without hesitation.
The Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty took a gold plaque engraved with the words 'Imperial Internal Investigation' out of his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Wu Chen.
'You may use this token to access medical records at the Imperial Hospital, take food from the Imperial Kitchen and enter restricted areas at night. But remember, it can only be used to investigate this matter. Do not misuse it, and never let it fall into the hands of others.'
Xiao Wuchen left the warm pavilion, holding the heavy gold medal tightly in his hand.
He knew that this seemingly imperial favour was actually pushing him into an even darker vortex than the assassination attempt by the Left Commander.
The infiltration of the Black-Clad Guards: The Left Commander must have spies within the inner palace who would undoubtedly monitor his every move.
The jealousy of the Eastern Depot: Although the director of the Eastern Depot had cooperated with him before, upon seeing his rising power, he would surely become jealous and secretly hinder him.
The real culprit: the person capable of causing a 'strange illness' within the heavily guarded palace must be someone beyond imagination — perhaps a member of the imperial family or a high-ranking official.
Xiao Wuchen's battlefield had expanded from the power struggles of the outer court to the shadows of the palace, from counterbalancing the Black-Clad Guards to investigating the poisoning within the inner palace.
He took a deep breath and began planning his first step: starting with the 'medical records' of the Imperial Medical Academy to find the true clues behind the plague.
[Time: night; the palace guards are changing the guard.]
Xiao Wuchen didn't go to the Imperial Hospital or the Imperial Kitchen; he opted for the most direct yet dangerous method: a night patrol.
He knew that, no matter how the murderer tried to poison him, the real secrets and clues would often come to light in the dead of night.
At that moment, he was wearing the plain robes of an ordinary eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, but concealed at his waist was the heavy gold "Imperial Inspector" badge. He began his patrol along the secluded paths of the inner palace like an experienced assassin.
Night was Xiao Wuchen's best disguise. Having reached the 'Traceless' realm in his Flying Swallow Through Willows, his movement techniques had evolved to a superhuman level.
Silent Footsteps: His footsteps landed as lightly as a feather, making no sound even on a gravel path.
Shadow-Clad Movement: He could move at high speed while clinging to the shadows of the palace walls. His movements were minimal and he blended completely into the darkness, like an invisible wind.
He first focused his search on the East Palace area, where the princes and princesses lived. The palace walls here were high and heavily guarded, but Xiao Wuchen easily avoided all the visible and hidden sentries.
He didn't enter any rooms, but instead perched on a high rooftop like a nightingale, using his refined internal energy to enhance his hearing and sense of smell in order to detect any anomalies.
He checked the residences of the three princes and two princesses, but found nothing amiss. Following protocol, all the palace maids and eunuchs had retired for the night.
However, when he arrived at the Hongwen Hall, which was located behind the East Palace and was used as a study by the princes, he suddenly stopped.
A faint, unusual fragrance wafted through the air.
It wasn't a strong fragrance; if he hadn't had such refined inner strength and heightened senses, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. It carried a faint sweetness mixed with the bitterness of herbs, and lingering in its presence brought a strange sense of peace.
A warning bell rang in Xiao Wuchen's mind.
'Something's wrong. This sense of peace has been deliberately created.'
He moved silently along the roof ridge of the Hongwen Hall. The fragrance emanated from beneath the library, deep within the hall — an inconspicuous courtyard usually used for storing miscellaneous items and burning waste paper.
Xiao Wuchen's figure flickered as he descended from the rooftop, landing like a ghost in the shadows of the storage yard.
The small courtyard was stacked high with discarded furniture, tattered books and a large pile of dry firewood. The fragrance emanated from a locked stone house in the centre of the yard.
He didn't rashly unlock it. Instead, he pressed himself against the wall of the stone house and listened carefully. There was no speech inside, only a faint grinding sound, as if something were being ground.
Xiao Wuchen was certain that this stone house was the source of both the fragrance and the sound.
He took an extremely thin gold thread out of his pocket and silently inserted it into the keyhole. With the subtle control only a master of internal energy could achieve, he activated the stone lock's mechanism.
The chains clicked softly. He gently pushed open the heavy stone door, stepped to one side and quickly entered.
The scene inside the stone house caused Xiao Wuchen's pupils to shrink sharply.
This was not a storage room, but a secret alchemy laboratory.
In the centre of the room stood an exquisite bronze medicine furnace with a weak charcoal fire burning beneath it. A peculiar aroma emanated from the furnace. Next to it, a middle-aged eunuch dressed in the robes of a palace official was grinding a pile of powdered medicinal herbs with a stone pestle.
He was completely absorbed in his task and did not notice anyone behind him.
Xiao Wuchen's gaze swept over the powder on the grinding table and fell upon the medicinal liquid simmering in the furnace. He had seen records of hallucinogenic herbs in unofficial medical books at the Imperial Medical Academy, and his eyes narrowed as he recognised them.
The powder was a mixture of several rare hallucinogenic herbs that could significantly reduce the body's resistance.
'This isn't a plague. It's clearly someone concocting a slow-acting poison that weakens people and collapses their immune systems!'
Xiao Wuchen quickly deduced that this person wasn't from the Imperial Hospital, but rather a low-ranking eunuch who was secretly hiding here and periodically poisoning the East Palace area by burning incense or allowing medicinal residue to seep into the water.
He didn't hesitate any longer.
As the grinding sound began, Xiao Wuchen rushed forward like a ghost. He chose to subdue rather than kill.
With a flick of his wrist, his inner force condensed into icy energy and he slammed it against the eunuch's nape.
The middle-aged eunuch didn't even have time to cry out before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, unconscious.
Xiao Wuchen caught him and swiftly but gently dragged him into a dark corner, binding him securely with the hemp rope from the stone room.
He had successfully captured the first survivor and discovered the cause of the strange illness in the inner palace.
[Time: late at night in the warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace.]
Xiao Wuchen didn't waste a single second. He knew that the longer he stayed in the palace, the greater the risk of being discovered.
He tightly wrapped the unconscious eunuch in the linen he was carrying, leaving only his face exposed, and concealed the crucial evidence from the alchemy room — a small jar of mixed powder and a bottle of brewing liquid — in his clothing.
Activating the 'Imperial Inspector' gold token at his waist, he headed directly for the Qianqing Palace. Relying on the token's authority and his position as a scribe in the Directorate of Ceremonial, he proceeded without hindrance, using the pretext of 'discovering a major security breach within the inner palace and needing to report to His Majesty immediately'.
Seeing the token, the guards of the Qianqing Palace immediately went inside to report, daring not to delay.
Upon hearing that Xiao Wuchen had returned with a heavily wrapped man, the Great Qian Emperor, still not at rest, immediately realised the gravity of the situation.
"Summon him! Summon him quickly!"
Xiao Wuchen dragged the bound eunuch into the warm pavilion and knelt down respectfully.
'Your Majesty,' he said. 'This servant has not failed in his mission. The source of the strange illness in the inner palace has been found.'
He removed the veil from the suspect's face, revealing the cleaning eunuch. The Hongzhi Emperor glanced at him, recognising him only as an ordinary palace servant.
'Who is this?' the Daqian Emperor asked in a deep voice.
'Your Majesty, this man is a cleaning eunuch from the miscellaneous servants' quarters of the Hongwen Hall. His identity is not important; what matters is what he did.'
Xiao Wuchen opened the package and presented a small jar of ground powder and a bottle of brewed medicine. He reported to the Hongzhi Emperor in a clear and concise manner the grinding sounds he had heard in the stone room, the aroma he had smelled, and his own analysis.
'Your Majesty, please look. This is not plague, but a slow-acting, man-made poison. This medicine weakens the body's immunity, making people appear to die from a cold when in reality they are dying from the effects of the medicine.'
The Emperor Qianlong's face turned ashen. Having been born into poverty, he had a deep understanding of the hardships endured by the common people, and he particularly abhorred the intrigues within the palace.
'Imperial Physician! Summon the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy immediately!'
In less time than it took to brew a cup of tea, the Chief Physician arrived, visibly flustered. He carefully examined the liquid and powder, his face growing paler with each passing moment. Finally, he knelt and kowtowed, his voice trembling.
'Your Majesty, Eunuch Xiao was right. This medicine is indeed highly poisonous. We were so focused on the patient's symptoms that we mistakenly believed it to be an epidemic and failed to investigate thoroughly. This medicine is insidious; it can remain dormant for a long time and is beyond the reach of any antidote..."
Upon hearing the confirmation from the Imperial Medical Academy, Emperor Qianlong became enraged. His breathing became rapid and he slammed his fist on the imperial desk.
'Insolent! Someone dared to poison the imperial heir and palace servants right under my nose! This is treason!'
The Emperor glared at the unconscious eunuch, his eyes filled with murderous intent. 'Xiao Wuchen, now that you've found him, get to the bottom of this! I need to know who's behind it all!'
Xiao Wuchen knew that this was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his resolve. He stepped forward. 'Your Majesty, I subdued this man using special methods. He needs my internal energy to unlock his acupoints and awaken. In order to maintain secrecy, I am willing to interrogate him personally before you, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor nodded. "Very well! Granted! This concerns the royal bloodline; show no mercy!"
Xiao Wuchen didn't hesitate any longer. He crouched down and used his internal energy to dispel the icy aura. Simultaneously, he employed a mind-control technique from the Mysterious Ice True Scripture to awaken the suspect.
Still reeling from the shock, the eunuch opened his eyes and saw the enraged emperor above him, and instantly collapsed.
Xiao Wuchen's voice was deep and oppressive. "Speak! Who ordered you to concoct poison here? Whose medicine are you supplying?!"
Overwhelmed by powerful internal energy and fear, the eunuch's psychological defences crumbled completely.
He wept uncontrollably, screaming out a name:
'This servant deserves to die! It was Eunuch Zhang, who serves the Imperial Concubine! The medicine was to weaken the princes so that the Fifth Prince could gain His Majesty's favour!"
The answer struck the warm pavilion like a thunderbolt.
The Emperor of Daqian staggered, almost falling over. His most beloved concubine was suspected of poisoning another prince. Not only was this a palace conspiracy, it was also a profound betrayal of their years of marriage!
'Guards! Separate eunuch Zhang and the concubine immediately! No one is to approach them without my permission!"
Xiao Wuchen, witnessing everything unfold before him, understood. Not only had he accomplished his mission, he had also touched upon the emperor's most sensitive nerve.
By resolving the issue swiftly and directly, he had earned the emperor's absolute trust and solidified his unshakeable position within the Directorate of Ceremonial.