The end of the hidden passage turned out to be a small underground palace. Two guards stood watch at the entrance, making it impossible to see what lay inside for the moment.
Shen Shixu asked Xiao Jinyi, whose expression had darkened, “Your Highness, what do we do now? Knock these two out and go take a look? Or go back first and bring more people?”
Xiao Jinyi shoved the fire starter in his hand into Shen Shixu’s grasp and instructed him, “Find somewhere to hide, or leave now. I’ll go see what this underground palace is hiding, it even has people guarding it around the clock!”
Xiao Jinyi felt that whoever was behind this was slapping the imperial family across the face, again and again. In a city as vast as the capital, right under the Son of Heaven’s nose, someone had secretly built an entire underground palace without anyone noticing.
If they could build an underground palace here today, could they tunnel straight into the imperial palace tomorrow?
Xiao Jinyi felt a vein throbbing in his head. He could guarantee that if his father the Emperor learned of today’s discovery, the entire capital would be washed in blood.
Shen Shixu knew Xiao Jinyi was formidable, the title of Young War God wasn’t given for nothing. But with no idea what the situation inside was like, if there were too many people or someone launched a sneak attack, wouldn’t Xiao Jinyi be in danger?
Officially, Xiao Jinyi was a prince and he was a subject; personally, Xiao Jinyi was a friend he had only just made. He couldn’t just stand by and watch him go into danger alone.
“Your Highness, let me go with you!” Seeing Xiao Jinyi frowning, clearly about to refuse, Shen Shixu insisted, “I know Your Highness is worried I’ll be in danger, but I’m the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, this case is partly my responsibility. I can’t just back out because it’s dangerous!
Besides, I’m no frail scholar. I may not be able to cut down enemies left and right like you, but I can certainly protect myself.”
Seeing his determination, Xiao Jinyi said nothing more, only reminded him once again, “If you’re coming, then come. But watch yourself carefully. If anything goes wrong, run immediately, don’t worry about me!”
Shen Shixu nodded, extinguished the fire starter and put it away, then loosened up his arms and legs.
Seeing that he was ready, Xiao Jinyi picked up two pebbles from the ground and flicked them out. The stones flew true, striking both guards squarely on the forehead and knocking them unconscious on the spot.
At this display, Shen Shixu couldn’t help giving Xiao Jinyi a thumbs-up, then jogged over to the two unconscious guards and confiscated the swords in their hands.
He kept one and handed the other to Xiao Jinyi.
The two of them dragged the unconscious men off to the side. Worried they might wake up, Shen Shixu picked up a rock from a corner and smashed it against their heads once more.
He struck hard enough to draw blood. Shen Shixu felt not a shred of guilt about injuring the two men.
In his view, anyone who burrowed underground in broad daylight, sword in hand, could hardly be a good person? Besides, he hadn’t killed them, just roughed them up a little.
Watching Shen Shixu bash two men’s heads bloody with a rock, then clutch his sword with an eager, itchy-palmed air as he prepared to open the iron door at the entrance, Xiao Jinyi couldn’t help but laugh.
He walked over, pulled Shen Shixu behind him, pushed open the iron door, drew the sword Shen Shixu had handed him, and took the lead.
Shen Shixu understood that he was doing it to protect him, so he drew his sword out in advance, mimicking his movements, and obediently walked behind him.
The two of them walked forward a short distance before a corner appeared ahead. Xiao Jinyi and Shen Shixu rounded it, and before long they caught the scent of something sweet and fragrant.
Shen Shixu couldn’t help wanting to sneeze, but afraid of alerting whoever was inside, he could only pinch his nose and say to Xiao Jinyi in a muffled voice, “Your Highness, this must be the place where Qiaoying was held during those two years she went missing. This sweet fragrance is women’s rouge and powder and the most fashionable kind lately, too: Nian Nu Jiao.
The scent is this strong, so there should be many women locked up here. I just don’t know whether anyone is guarding them.”
“No matter what the situation inside is like, we have to be careful. In a moment, I’ll go in first and you wait outside. Only come in when I call for you.”
Shen Shixu nodded and quietly tightened his grip on his sword. Xiao Jinyi walked in with his sword raised.
Shen Shixu could hear screams coming from inside, along with a man’s furious roars and the sound of someone being kicked flying, followed by the soft sobbing of women.
“Come in! It’s safe for now!”
Hearing Xiao Jinyi call him in, Shen Shixu rushed inside with his sword in hand, but the moment he saw what the place actually looked like, his sword slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.
Aside from the few men Xiao Jinyi had kicked aside, the room was filled entirely with young women. They wore thin, flimsy clothing and huddled together, watching him and Xiao Jinyi with frightened, uneasy eyes.
The women were all very young, the oldest was barely seventeen, and the youngest was only seven or eight years old.
Looking at them, Shen Shixu couldn’t help clenching his fists. He forced himself to calm down, pulled out a smile, and spoke to them in a gentle, soothing voice, “Don’t be afraid. He and I aren’t bad people, we’ve come to rescue you. I am Shen Shixu, the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and this is Prince Jing, Xiao Jinyi. Can you trust us now?”
The women stared at them without a word. In the end, it was the oldest among them who summoned the courage to speak. “Are you really here to save us? You’re not like those disgusting men, coming here to torment us?”
Shen Shixu nodded solemnly. “Of course. Is there a girl among you called Qiaoying? Her older brother is a soldier under Prince Jing’s command. We found her, and followed the trail she left to get here.”
Shen Shixu knew the girls were wary of them, so he thought mentioning a name they would recognize might put them at ease.
Sure enough, at the mention of Qiaoying’s name, the women visibly relaxed. The younger girls, unable to hold back their feelings, wept for joy and hugged the older sisters beside them, saying, “So Sister Qiaoying really did get out! She really found people to come save us!”
Seeing that hope had been kindled in them, Shen Shixu and Xiao Jinyi felt their hearts grow heavy as well, what would they do once they got out and learned that Qiaoying was already gone?
But now was not the time to think about that. Shen Shixu said to Xiao Jinyi, “Your Highness, please arrange for men to arrest these criminals and lock them up for interrogation. We also need to figure out where to place these young ladies.”
Xiao Jinyi heard his words and lowered his head in thought for a moment. “I’ll have Moyu send them to the Dali Temple prison shortly. Someone there will interrogate them. As for the women.”
Xiao Jinyi looked at the group of girls whose hopes had been rekindled. He wasn’t sure where to place them either, but then he remembered that Xiao Yuanqi had once given him a manor, that place might work.