Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

At one quarter past midnight, the night was as dark as ink, and thick clouds completely obscured the faint moonlight, making the entire capital seem as if it had fallen into the gaping maw of a giant beast.

The Imperial Palace, Xuanwu Gate.

This is a side gate of the palace. On ordinary days, apart from the carriages and horses transporting supplies to the palace and handling filth, few people walk around here.

At night, it was even colder and more desolate, with only two squads of imperial guards patrolling back and forth.

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding creaking sound, a swill cart exuding a nauseating stench slowly drove toward the palace gate.

The cart was being pushed by two hunched-over old eunuchs, their heads bowed and their steps faltering.

"Halt! Routine inspection!" A captain of the Imperial Guard stepped forward, his brow furrowed, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The overwhelming stench made him cover his mouth and nose, waving his hand in disgust.

The old eunuch meekly stopped the carriage and handed over his waist token. Several soldiers behind the captain symbolically poked at several huge wooden barrels with their spears.

The wooden bucket was filled with leftover food and swill collected from all over the palace. When the spear was pulled out, it brought with it a nauseating, sticky substance.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go! What a damn bad luck!" The captain waved his hand impatiently, signaling to let them pass.

The swill cart creaked and groaned as it slowly drove through the deep, dark palace gate.

No one noticed that at the bottom of one of the huge wooden barrels filled with swill, there was a very well-hidden compartment. Inside the compartment, Fan Xian was curled up, holding his breath and enduring the stench emanating from above. His hands gripped the edge of the wooden planks tightly, and his domineering internal energy slowly circulated, suppressing his heartbeat and breathing to the limit.

The garbage cart continued until it entered the palace walls and arrived at a secluded alley for dumping waste, where it paused for a moment.

Fan Xian knew that this was an opportunity created for him by someone arranged by the First Prince.

Without the slightest hesitation, he exerted force with both hands, silently pushing open the partition of the mezzanine, and slipped into the dark alleyway like an eel. His movements were extremely gentle, and he didn't even stir up a speck of dust when he landed.

Fan Xian quickly pressed himself against the shadow of a rockery. The cold night wind blew by, slightly dispersing the slight odor clinging to him.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the massive and imposing royal fortress with the sharpness of a hawk.

The red walls and yellow tiles looked particularly menacing in the night. On the high palace walls, the figures of the Imperial Guards could be vaguely seen patrolling back and forth. In those unseen dark corners, Fan Xian knew that countless Imperial Guards and spies from the Censorate were also hiding.

Fan Xian took a deep breath, circulated his internal energy to his legs, and as if he had lost weight, he lightly leaped onto the eaves of a palace.

Like a ghost, he darted swiftly across the undulating glazed tiles, skillfully avoiding patrolling imperial guards.

Although Guangxin Palace was not as heavily guarded as the Empress Dowager's and Emperor's palaces, it was still not a place that ordinary people could easily approach.

Fan Xian stopped on a tall tower not far from Guangxin Palace, hiding behind a huge roof beast.

He looked down at the brightly lit, extremely luxurious palace below.

The palace was surrounded by rare and exotic flowers and plants, which emitted a faint fragrance even at night. However, to Fan Xian, this fragrance was even more nauseating than the swill from before, because it was filled with the smell of conspiracy and bloodshed.

After observing for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Fan Xian figured out the distribution and patrol patterns of the hidden sentries around Guangxin Palace.

He spotted an opening, shot out like an arrow, traced an extremely subtle arc in the air, and landed steadily on a secluded corridor in the backyard of Guangxin Palace.

He crept silently along the wall towards Li Yunrui's study. According to intelligence from the Overwatch Council, Li Yunrui preferred to spend the night alone in his study dealing with illicit correspondence.

The study door was ajar, and a faint candlelight shone through.

Fan Xian cautiously peeked inside. The study was empty, filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. On the large rosewood desk, various memorials and letters were neatly piled up.

He slipped into the study and gently closed the door behind him. Time was of the essence, and he dared not delay for a moment. He immediately went to the desk and quickly began to peruse the letters on it.

Most of them were trivial greetings and secret reports from local officials, nothing of the kind of thing Fan Xian was looking for.

His gaze swept quickly across the study, finally settling on a huge painting of a tiger descending a mountain behind the desk.

The painting is hung in a rather abrupt location, and there are slight signs of wear on the edge of the scroll, indicating that it has been frequently lifted.

Fan Xian stepped forward and gently lifted the scroll. Sure enough, there was an extremely exquisite bronze hidden compartment embedded in the wall. The compartment did not have a keyhole, but was composed of several rotating metal rings, which were engraved with intricate zodiac and Bagua patterns.

"Luban lock?" Fan Xian raised an eyebrow. This thing was not unfamiliar to him. He had seen many in museums in his previous life. In addition, Uncle Wuzhu had taught him some methods of cracking mechanisms. This level of combination lock was not difficult for him.

He pressed his ear against the bronze compartment and gently turned the metal ring with both hands.

"Click...click..."

The faint clicking of mechanical parts echoed in the quiet study. Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Fan Xian's forehead; his mind was highly focused, and every turn had to be precise.

Just as he was about to unlock the last lock, a very faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the study!

The footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible. If it weren't for Fan Xian's domineering true qi, which made him extremely sensitive to his surroundings, he would have been completely unaware of them.

A master! And a top-tier master of the ninth rank or higher!

Fan Xian's heart clenched, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

That's too late!

Fan Xian decisively abandoned the idea of ​​opening the hidden compartment, quickly restored the Tiger Descending the Mountain painting to its original state, and then, with a flash, clung to the beam at the top of the study like a gecko. He held his breath completely, as if his entire being had merged with the dark beam.

"Squeak—"

The study door was pushed open.

A middle-aged woman dressed as a palace maid, but with a cold face and sharp, piercing eyes, entered. She didn't light more candles, but instead, by the dim candlelight, her gaze swept across the study with lightning speed.

Fan Xian looked down at the woman from the crossbeam, secretly alarmed.

This woman's breathing was extremely deep and her inner strength unfathomable, definitely no less than Yan Xiaoyi's. The Princess's side actually harbored such a terrifying expert!

The middle-aged woman seemed to sense something, her brows furrowing slightly. She slowly walked to the desk and her gaze fell on the painting of a tiger descending the mountain.

Fan Xian's heart leaped into his throat. One of his hands had already stealthily reached for the black dagger inside his boot, his internal energy surging wildly, ready to unleash a fatal blow at any moment.

Just as the middle-aged woman was about to reach out and lift the painting, a clear palace maid's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Auntie, His Highness has returned to the palace and is throwing a tantrum in the main hall. He wants you to come over immediately."

The middle-aged woman paused slightly, then withdrew her hand. She glanced around again, snorted coldly, and strode out of the study.

Only when the woman's footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did Fan Xian dare to exhale a long breath.

He felt his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Guangxin Palace has already alerted the enemy; it cannot be allowed to remain any longer.

Fan Xian flipped down from the beam and climbed out of the window along the same path.

He didn't choose to return the way he came, because the mysterious expert might return at any moment to check. He had to change his route and find a way out from the other side of the palace.

In the darkness of night, Fan Xian wandered through the intricate palace. Having deviated from his original route, he found himself in an utterly unfamiliar place.

The palace architecture here is more ancient and solemn than Guangxin Palace, and the surrounding guards are also more stringent.

Squads of imperial guards, armed with halberds and carrying lanterns, patrolled back and forth outside the palace walls, creating an impenetrable defense.

Fan Xian hid behind a rockery, glanced up at the plaque above the main gate of the palace, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Hanguang Hall!