Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 129: Night Raid on the Prime Minister Residence

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Night Raid on the Prime Minister Residence

Qi Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly, planning to check what exactly Qi Anran was carrying later.

It was very likely they were coming for her.

The hall quieted for a moment before Li Tianze spoke, "Noble Consort An’s governance is lax, demoted to Consort, sentenced to reflect in the Cold Palace for a year."

Noble Consort An looked stunned, somewhat in disbelief.

Only after hearing clearly did she burst into loud sobbing, begging for mercy, "Your Majesty, your concubine admits her fault!"

Li Tianze had Zhou Fu take her away, his heart had been in turmoil these past few days, and he had no time to listen to her complaints.

Zhou Fu, knowing his resolution was firm, signaled the Palace Attendants with a glance, who then stepped forward together and took Noble Consort An away.

The Empress, although dissatisfied, still saw Noble Consort An’s rank reduced and knew she would spend the next year in the Cold Palace.

With this thought, she felt somewhat more at ease.

Qi Yu had known all along that Li Tianze wouldn’t deal a deadly blow to Noble Consort An. If Noble Consort An were to die, the harem would be completely dominated by the Empress’s faction.

This was not the scenario he wished to see.

Thus, before Noble Consort An’s worth was completely exhausted, she remained a chess piece in Li Tianze’s hand to balance the power of the Empress.

Poor Noble Consort, who still believed she was favored, little did she know, in Li Tianze’s eyes, there was only the emperor’s power.

Qi Yu felt somewhat melancholic, but it was not for Noble Consort An, but for the pitiful women in the harem.

However, despite her reflections, she would not say much.

Li Tianze clearly did not wish to kill Noble Consort An, who would dare oppose him?

Therefore, even though the punishment was neither severe nor painful, no one dared to gossip.

Upon leaving the palace, Qi Yu made a special trip to the Imperial Garden and took the little monk out with her.

Seeing her, Kong Ran immediately abandoned the eunuchs and Palace Maids who had played with him all afternoon and ran to her side, tightly grasping her hand.

Although these eunuchs and Palace Maids treated him well, it was only for the sake of the Prince’s countenance.

Although they granted all his wishes, they only treated him as an ignorant child.

Kong Ran looked at the blooming scene in the Imperial Garden without feeling much joy, silently gloomy as he waited for Qi Yu to arrive.

"Tired from playing?" Qi Yu took the handkerchief handed by the Palace Maid and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Kong Ran nodded and tugged at her sleeve, "Sister, when can we leave?"

He didn’t want to stay in this magnificent palace at all now.

Seeing his listless appearance, Qi Yu knew he was scared, comforted him a few words, and led him out of the palace.

Back at Prince’s Residence, Li Bo saw Kong Ran’s face wrinkled like a bitter melon, thinking he was sick.

Qi Yu laughed, "Li Bo, no need to worry, he is not sick, just scared."

After bringing him to Liao Fan, Kong Ran’s complexion began to look a bit rosier.

Qi Yu spoke briefly of the day’s events in the palace, causing both Liao Fan and Song Ling to be shocked.

Who would have thought there would still be such boldness in the harem to commit poisoning.

But then thinking it was done by Noble Consort An, they found it somewhat reasonable.

Noble Consort An and Li Ming’an are truly mother and son, sharing the same tactics: both ruthless and foolish.

After having dinner, Qi Yu and Li Mingjue went to the study together.

Seeing her preoccupied look, Li Mingjue asked, "What’s the matter?"

Qi Yu frowned, "I always felt that Qi Anran was a bit strange today."

Li Mingjue hadn’t noticed Qi Anran today, only when she mentioned it did he recall there seemed to be such a person in the hall.

Qi Yu voiced her suspicions, "She was unusually quiet today, and she did not speak up to plead for Noble Consort An, which was really strange."

Li Mingjue, hearing this, also felt it made sense, "What do you suspect she wants to do?"

Qi Yu nodded, "Not only that, I also suspect she brought something today aimed at me."

What she didn’t mention was that Qi Anran usually couldn’t keep her composure, but today she remained silent, which was out of character for her.

The only possibility was that she was harboring other secrets.

This secret was enough to make her panic to the point of only looking out for herself, not even daring to speak a word in defense of Noble Consort An.

Moreover, she always felt that Qi Anran’s abnormal behavior was related to the mysterious person who had appeared at the Prince Residence that night.

Or perhaps more remotely, could that mysterious person be the same one she had encountered at Yunhe Temple?

The more Qi Yu thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss, as if someone had invisibly cast a net, just waiting to capture her entirely.

She thought for a moment, then calmly stated, "I want to make a trip to the Prime Minister Residence."

Attacking at night wasn’t the best idea, but it beat sitting duck; it’s better to take initiative.

She might even find some clues.

Upon hearing this, Li Mingjue frowned slightly, shaking his head, "I disagree, going to the Prime Minister Residence rashly is too dangerous."

Qi Yu softly sighed, and disclosed the matter regarding the mysterious individual.

This time, Li Mingjue didn’t stop her, but simply said, "I’ll go with you."

Qi Yu knew he was worried, and she could only agree.

The two of them planned for a while, and when the night was deep and quiet, they changed into black attire and quietly left the Prince Residence.

They only brought Shiqi to assist them in secret.

Following her memory of the Prime Minister Residence, Qi Yu confidently led them to its back door.

She had no martial arts skills and couldn’t leap over the high wall as easily as Li Mingjue; she had to find a shortcut.

Luckily, it was close to the overgrown, secluded courtyard where the original owner lived, and Qi Yu managed to avoid the night watchmen by climbing over the low wall.

The detached courtyard where Qi Anran lived was still some distance away, but to avoid alerting anyone, Qi Yu took a longer route around the rockery.

Two maids stood guard outside the courtyard; as Qi Yu pondered how to enter silently, Li Mingjue suddenly grabbed her hand.

She turned around, looking at him questioningly with her eyes.

Li Mingjue looked up in the direction of the rooftop.

Qi Yu’s eyes widened slightly, surely he wasn’t suggesting she climb up there?

She couldn’t possibly manage that.

She silently shook her head, spreading her hands to indicate her inability.

However, she then saw Li Mingjue let out a soft chuckle, the smile quickly dispersing in the wind, stirring not even a ripple of laughter.

Somehow, Li Mingjue’s hand, holding Qi Yu’s, had already moved to her waist, and with a slight exertion of strength, he embraced her entirely.

The distance between them was very close, their breaths intermingling together.

If the timing weren’t so inappropriate, it would be hard not to entertain tender affections.

But at this moment, Qi Yu’s mind was preoccupied with how to scout the enemy territory, not bothering about how close their bodies were.

A hint of helplessness flashed in Li Mingjue’s eyes as he tightened his arms slightly, and the duo moved to another side of the courtyard, by a wall unguarded by anyone.

Carrying Qi Yu, he leaped onto the rooftop.

Qi Yu hadn’t expected his martial arts to be so extraordinary—he was able to stand steadily on the rooftop while carrying her without making a sound.

Visibly shaken, she took a deep breath, then patted the hand that Li Mingjue held around her waist, signaling that he could let go now.

But Li Mingjue remained still, only raising a finger to her lips then whispering near her ear, "Listen carefully, there’s another man’s voice inside the room."