Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 283 Private Meeting
When the night was deep and quiet, the side window of the west wing was quietly pushed open.

Yan Ciwan peeked out and, after confirming that no one was outside, she braced herself against the window frame with one hand and nimbly climbed out of the window.

The gate to the Immortal Abode Palace was locked. She went around to the backyard, used her lightness skill to leap onto the rocks and fly up the courtyard wall, then landed silently on the ground.

Next to Xianju Palace is Chang'an Palace. Yan Ciwan deliberately went around to the back of Chang'an Palace and walked along the narrow palace road. She planned to take this opportunity to familiarize herself with the palace layout. If Xiao Wenyi could not find out the truth within three days, she would have to find a way to escape from the palace. Before that, she had to plan an escape route in case of emergency.

Ahead was the Left Silver Terrace Gate, and at that moment, a patrol squad of Imperial Guards was heading towards Yan Ciwan's location.

At this moment, the palace wall was to her right and Chang'an Hall was to her left. Without hesitation, she slipped behind a stone pillar in Chang'an Hall.

She held her breath, pressed her right hand on the hilt of the knife behind her waist, and listened intently.

The footsteps of the Jinwuwei squad approached and then receded into the distance.

Once the footsteps had completely disappeared, she relaxed and slowly walked out from behind the stone pillar.

Just then, a hand reached out from behind and placed on her shoulder.

Ning Ci.

Yan Ciwan was startled and immediately drew her Ning Blade, slashing it behind her with her backhand!

The person behind him quickly dodged and whispered something.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

The voice sounded familiar. Yan Ciwan paused, turned around and looked back, only to see that the person who had come was Si Buping.

She frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you. Shouldn't you be staying in the Immortal Abode Palace right now? Why did you come here?"

Faced with Si Buping's question, Yan Ciwan answered calmly, "I couldn't sleep at night, so I wandered around."

Si Buping realized she was just giving him the runaround, so he didn't argue with her. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "This is the palace. There are Imperial Guards and Inner Guards everywhere. Even if you are highly skilled in martial arts, you can't escape."

Yan Ciwan sheathed her sword: "I told you, I just wanted to clear my head, I didn't plan to run away."

"Go back now while no one is watching."

Yan Ciwan stood still, looking at the other person and asked, "As the Grand Commander of the Inner Guard, you discovered that I disobeyed the imperial decree and left the Immortal Abode Palace without permission. Shouldn't you arrest me and hand me over to the Emperor for punishment?"

Si Buping said in a deep voice, "I'm only letting you off the hook because of your mother. If you don't want to die, go back now and don't waste any more time here."

“The Sage may have already discovered my true identity,” Yan Ciwan said abruptly.

Si Buping was not surprised at all when he heard this.

He said calmly, "Isn't it good that they found out? You are Princess Leyou, the future Crown Princess, and your status is extraordinary. The Emperor will surely favor you, and Fu Zheng will not dare to yell at you anymore."

Yan Ciwan stared into his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "You're not surprised at all. It seems you already knew. Then can you tell me, did the Sage and my mother know each other before?" Si Buping slowly frowned and asked in return, "Why do you ask that?"

Yan Ciwan recounted the dinner and the two pots of flowers and plants, and then said, "Those dishes and flowers just happen to be what my mother likes. I don't think this is a coincidence. The Sage must have known my mother before. What was their relationship?"

Si Buping fell silent.

Yan Ciwan sensed his reluctance to answer the question and grew increasingly suspicious. She frowned and asked, "Why are you hesitating? Is this something difficult to talk about?"

"This matter concerns a sage; the less you know, the better."

"Don't try to fob me off with that. If you won't tell me, I'll find out for myself."

After saying this, Yan Ciwan turned and left. As she walked, she silently counted in her mind. When she counted to three, she heard Si Buping's voice behind her as she wished.

"Stop right there, don't do anything reckless."

Yan Ciwan knew that Si Buping wouldn't let her investigate. Although he was fierce and ruthless, he always remembered the kindness his mother had shown him back then. Even for his mother's sake, he wouldn't abandon her.

She stopped and turned to look at him, asking once again, "What exactly is the relationship between my mother and the Sage?"

"Twenty-five years ago, when the Emperor was still the Fifth Prince, his birth mother, Consort Jiang, was seriously ill. It was your mother who took the initiative to lend a helping hand and helped Consort Jiang with her medical treatment and medicine."

Yan Ciwan thought it over carefully and felt that the matter was probably not as simple as he had described.

She pressed on, "When a concubine in the harem falls ill, it should be the Empress or the Emperor who orders the imperial physicians to treat her. How could they send a mere female official in charge of medicine to treat a concubine? This is against the rules."

"Your mother's actions were indeed against the rules, so afterwards, Consort Xie, who was in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, ordered her to be flogged. She was almost beaten to death. Fortunately, Crown Prince Renxian intervened in time to help her and saved her life. At the time, this matter caused a great uproar, and almost everyone in the palace knew about it. When I heard about this, I was very worried about your mother, fearing that she would be held accountable by Consort Xie in the future. Fortunately, she stayed by the Crown Princess's side as a lady-in-waiting after that, and Consort Xie had no chance to harm her again."

Yan Ciwan frowned: "You still haven't told me why Consort Jiang fell seriously ill, but the imperial physician wasn't allowed to treat her?"

Si Buping was exasperated by her persistent attitude. He said, "This matter is complicated to explain, involving many forces in the harem. You just need to know that this matter has nothing to do with your mother. Your mother just happened to know about Consort Jiang's matter at that time, and out of a moment of pity, she helped Consort Jiang and the Fifth Prince. That's all."

Yan Ciwan was skeptical: "If it's really that simple, why were you so hesitant to explain it clearly just now?"

Si Buping discovered that her personality was very similar to Ning Qingyang's. Both mother and daughter were very stubborn. Once they decided on something, they would not give up until they understood it completely.

He said slowly, "I once saw your mother secretly meeting with the Fifth Prince."

Yan Ciwan was startled, but immediately denied it: "Impossible! You must have seen wrong!"

“Although I only saw it once, I could never have been wrong. During that time, every time I saw your mother, she was always beaming and in a good mood. Even though I was young at the time, I could tell that she had someone in her heart.”

As Si Buping recalled the past, a trace of melancholy flashed across his eyes.

But Yan Ciwan was so shocked that she didn't notice this detail at all.

She quickly pressed for an answer: "When did that happen?"

"That was 25 years ago, after Jiang Jieyu passed away due to illness, but their relationship probably didn't last long."