Chapter 9 Hollow under the Study
Outside Yangxin Hall, consorts and court officials knelt in a crowd.
I was the Crown Princess, so I knelt outside the hall doors and waited.
The Crown Prince attended The Emperor's sickbed.
This was the last chance. It was also the only one.
I pretended to be dizzy and had Xiao Cui support me to a side room to rest. Then I changed clothes with her and took a quiet path back to the Eastern Palace.
The way was clear the whole time. I reached the study. Just as I was about to push the door, Lan Zhi's voice rose behind me.
"Your Ladyship, what are you doing?" She stared at me with no expression.
I had no time for anything else. I stepped forward, gripped her arm, and told her about the note.
Her eyes opened wider and wider. She seemed unable to believe it. "By what you say, the one in Yangxin Hall is a false Crown Prince?"
I nodded. "The real Crown Prince should be inside this study. You can go in with me and see."
Her gaze flickered. She still seemed to hesitate. I said, "Once the false Crown Prince takes the throne, the real Xiao Yan will surely die."
I gambled that her feelings for Xiao Yan ran deep, and that she would not bear the slightest harm to him.
Sure enough, Lan Zhi's gaze steadied. "Fine. I believe you."
"You go find the Crown Prince. I will go to Yangxin Hall and watch for you, so nothing goes wrong."
I watched her turn and leave. Then I pushed the study door open.
The study was very dark. I did not dare light a lamp. I could only feel my way, little by little.
I turned every vase, knocked on every wall, and took out every book. Nothing changed.
Time passed bit by bit. Sweat soaked the clothes on my back.
Had the scout's information been wrong?
I sank into the chair before the desk, a little beaten. I bit my nails in a nervous fit. My legs shook.
The chair shifted and gave a crisp, hollow sound.
I froze. I got up, moved the chair aside, lifted the carpet, and knocked on the floor tiles.
The sound was crisp. It had to be empty underneath.
Sure enough, I felt a gap on the right side of a tile. A little force, and I lifted the whole tile.
So the hidden room was below.
Before I could be glad, a rush of cold air hit my face.
......
How could it be an Ice Cellar?