Chapter 56 Tripping Rope

Chapter 56 Tripping Rope

The entrance to the Imperial Garden is a hanging flower gate.

Inside the gate, flowers bloomed in abundance, and the faint sounds of string and wind instruments could be heard.

Outside the gate, however, the guards were heavily armed. Two rows of pale-faced, beardless eunuchs with sinister expressions were lined up in a figure-eight formation, forming an insurmountable human wall that blocked the way.

Pei Yunjing had just reached the door with Tang Li when he had to stop.

"Oh dear, this old servant greets the Regent and the Queen."

The leading eunuch, twirling his whisk, approached with small, quick steps.

The man was dressed in a bright red eunuch's robe, his face was covered in wrinkles, and he wore a fake smile, the kind of insincere smile typical of those in the palace.

Those inverted triangular eyes revealed an unsettling shrewdness and malice.

It was none other than the Empress Dowager's trusted chief eunuch, Eunuch Wang.

"Your Highness, please wait."

Eunuch Wang stepped forward, blocking Pei Yunjing's path. Although he was bowing, his attitude was not particularly respectful.

"According to palace rules, men from outside the palace are not allowed to enter the inner garden without permission. Although today is a palace banquet, this imperial garden is, after all, a place where the Empress Dowager and the ladies-in-waiting enjoy the flowers. Your Highness's menacing aura... may offend these noble ladies."

Pei Yunjing lowered his eyes, looking at the old eunuch blocking his way, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.

To his ears, the eunuch's shrill voice sounded like fingernails scraping a porcelain plate, so grating it sent chills down his spine.

"Get out of here."

Pei Yunjing was too lazy to waste words with him and coldly uttered two words.

The smile on Eunuch Wang's face froze for a moment, but he did not back down.

He straightened up and recited the explanation he had prepared beforehand:

"Your Highness, please calm down. It is not that this old servant intended to obstruct you, but that His Majesty has issued an edict. His Majesty is waiting for Your Highness in the Hall of Diligent Governance, saying that there is an urgent report from the northern border and he would like Your Highness to come and discuss it."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted, coiling around Tang Li, who stood behind Pei Yunjing, like a venomous snake:

"As for the Princess Consort... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and the daughters of various noble families have already prepared tea and refreshments in the garden, just waiting for the Princess Consort to come over and catch up."

"His Highness goes to the front court to discuss matters, while His Highness goes to the rear garden to admire the flowers. This is an old rule in our palace, Your Highness, don't you think... that makes sense?"

Luring the tiger away from the mountain.

They sent Pei Yunjing away, leaving Tang Li alone.

Once Tang Li steps into that Imperial Garden and leaves Pei Yunjing's sight, under the tyranny of those wolves and tigers and the Empress Dowager, wouldn't she be at their mercy?

At that time, they can easily pin a charge of "disrespect," "offending the imperial carriage," or "breaking a gift from the emperor" on Tang Li, and they can take her down on the spot, slap her, force her to kneel, or even... kill her silently.

This tactic may be old-fashioned, but it's deadly.

Tang Li looked at Eunuch Wang's calculating old face and sneered inwardly.

Reminiscing?

He probably wanted to see her off in her final days.

If she really followed that old eunuch, she probably wouldn't even reach the Empress Dowager before being dragged to the Department of Cautious Punishment on the way, for some reason like "stepping in with her left foot first."

"What if I don't agree?"

Pei Yunjing's fingers gently rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and with a slight movement of his thumb, he pushed the longsword named "Zhanwang" forward by an inch.

"Clang—"

The extremely subtle metallic scraping sound seemed particularly jarring in this tense atmosphere.

Eunuch Wang's face paled, and he subconsciously took half a step back. However, relying on the fact that this was the palace, the Empress Dowager's territory, he mustered his courage and said:

"Your Highness! This is the Imperial Palace! Do you intend to disobey the imperial decree? Do you intend to force your way into the inner garden with weapons?"

While pressing down on him with his large hat, he actually reached out his withered, eagle-claw-like hand, trying to bypass Pei Yunjing and directly tug at Tang Li's sleeve:

"Your Highness, please! Don't keep the Empress Dowager waiting any longer. You can't afford to be accused of disrespecting etiquette!"

Eunuch Wang's fingers were sharp and long, with unknown dirt hidden under his nails. He reached straight for Tang Li, his eyes so sinister that it seemed he wanted to tear several bloody holes in that slender arm.

court death.

Pei Yunjing's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

On his territory, to harm his people?

This old dog doesn't want its paws anymore.

A red light flashed in Pei Yunjing's eyes, and his five fingers tightened on the sword hilt.

He didn't need to draw his sword; a single burst of internal energy was enough to shatter the heart meridian of this reckless eunuch.

Just as Pei Yunjing was about to make his move—

The little woman beside him, who had been quiet all along and seemed to be stunned by fear, suddenly moved.

She abruptly turned to the side, avoiding the dirty hand that Eunuch Wang reached out.

Then, like an octopus that was in a state of shock and seeking shelter, it grabbed Pei Yunjing's arm tightly as he was about to draw his sword!

Immediately afterwards, she leaned limply against Pei Yunjing, hanging most of her weight on him.

"Ouch……"

A delicate, affected, yet inexplicably self-righteous cry escaped from Tang Li's lips.

Pei Yunjing's action of drawing his sword was abruptly interrupted.

He looked down, somewhat bewildered, at the woman clinging to his arm, who was frantically winking at him.

What's going on here...?