Translator: DragonRider

  Es gave Zhang Xiaojing's sleeve a pull, signaling him to leave, but Zhang Xiaojing looked at Staff Officer Zhao and asked, "Do you know the whereabouts of Yao Runeng? The man who got me out of the prison."

  Staff Officer Zhao was in charge of internal affairs of the new Jing'an Department, so he was very familiar with matters of this kind. "He was arrested not long ago and is now in custody in the prison of Jinzhao Office. The crime he was convicted of is…… collusion with you."

  Another piece of unfortunate news had just been confirmed. Zhang Xiaojing, who didn't have the time for lamentation, asked another question. "There is a girl named Wen Ran. Do you have any idea where she is?"

  After thinking for quite a while, Staff Officer Zhao shook his head. "No. I've never heard of her."

  Es standing on the side heard a distinct sigh given by Zhang Xiaojing. In a muted voice, he asked, "Should we go to the prison in passing and bust him out? Or should we rescue Curator Xu first?"

  Zhang Xiaojing firmly shook his head. "We don't have the time. They can but wait for the moment."

  Faced with this dire crisis in Chang'an, Zhang Xiaojing had no alternative but to discard matters lower on the list of priorities. He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the bag full of pieces of bamboo with his big hand. On this night, he had been making choices all the time. As regards whether he had made the right ones, he had no time to consider it.

  "I can take care of him for you if you wish. Though I don't have the authority to release him, at least I can spare him infliction of torture." Staff Officer Zhao cleverly made an offer of his own accord. Then he stole a glance at Es' eyes and immediately took his eyes off them.

  Zhang Xiaojing didn't stay any longer. He released Staff Officer Zhao and then walked towards the outside of Jinzhao Office with Es.

  They really didn't have much time, because there was a key figure they must pay an immediate visit to.

  The Xingqing Palace was located at the northeastern corner of Chang'an, near the Chunming Gate. Its original name was Xingqing Fang and used to be the Emperor's residence before he ascended the throne. After the Emperor mounted the throne, he incorporated half of each of Yongjia Fang, Shengye Fang and Daoye Fang into Xingqing Fang, extended the palace considerately and named it "Nan'nei". Xingqing Palace, Taiji Palace and Daming Palace faced each other across a great distance. Since the Emperor spent more than half of the year in this place, it was actually the core of Chang'an.

  Xingqing Palace was very different from common palaces. In the northern part of it was a palace complex, and the southern part an imperial garden. The most magnificent buildings were the two pavilions located in the south-west. One of them had been named the Flower and Calyx Pavilion, and the other one had been named the Industriousness and Pragmatism Pavilion. The Lantern Festival Spring Banquet was going to be held at the latter.

  At this time, there were lanterns ablaze everywhere in the pavilion, the light of which was reflected by bronze mirrors. Guests were toasting each other, creating an uncommonly uproarious atmosphere. Maidservants in festive colorful gowns were walking between dinner tables in continuous streams, serving wine and courses. Dozens of entertainers were dancing the Yellow Lion Dance to drumbeat and music, which had been designated an imperial dance only the Emperor had the privilege to enjoy. If it weren't for this festive occasion, other officials wouldn't have had the chance to behold this performance. Some officials and foreign envoys, who were in high spirits, even rose to their feet and danced together with those entertainers, sending ripples of applause through their colleagues.

  Li Heng, the Crown Prince, holding a wineglass made of a rhinoceros horn, was trying to calm himself down, but his wrist was quivering uncontrollably and the Chinese sake in his wineglass was being spilled out constantly, staining the carpet repeatedly. The expression on his face was extremely discordant with the festive atmosphere in the hall.

  That trusted subordinate of his, who had made some enquiries and found out about what had happened in Jing'an Department, had reported to the Crown Prince a while ago. It had never crossed Li Heng's mind that the situation was far dire than Tanqi had described –Li Bi had been abducted by Termite, and Jing'an Department had been taken over by Prime Minister Li, both of which had resulted from the collusion between Zhang Xiaojing and his enemies.

  Li Heng couldn't help but start blaming Li Bi in his mind. If it weren't for the fact that Li Bi had insisted on the appointment of this convict condemned to death, all this would never have happened. Li Heng flicked a glance at the man sitting on the left-hand seat. He couldn't imagine what consequences he would have to face if news of this matter reached his father's ears.

  Tanqi took up a wine pot and, pretending to refill the wineglass, said to Li Heng in a low voice, "Your Highness, given the current situation, you should at least figure out a way to revoke the order for arrest."

  Li Heng glanced at those sitting in right-hand seats. Li Linfu, the prime minister, was sitting bolt upright in the front of the couple of rows of seats. He resignedly shook his head. "Whether Zhang Xiaojing is really in collusion with the enemy is still unknown. I'm afraid I'd only be giving Prime Minister Li more excuses if I precipitously revoke the order for arrest."

  Back then when He Zhizhang and Li Bi were still at his disposal offering him advice, Li Heng had been pretty confident about dealing with Prime Minister Li, but now with both of them absent, facing the attack launched by Prime Minister Li, the Crown Prince had no alternative but to cower back like a frightened hedgehog.

  Tanqi observed anxiously, "Commandant Zhang had been with me all the time. I'm a-hundred-percent sure that he never colluded with any enemies!"

  Li Heng misunderstood her and thought that the two of them were in a relationship. He gave her a flinty look and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be more concerned about the whereabouts of your master?"

  Tanqi, who instantly grasped the undertone contained in his words, flushed and immediately slumped to her knees. "It is neither him nor my master but Your Highness and the safety of all residents of Chang'an that I'm doing this for. Commandant Zhang is the only one who can stop ruffians like members of Termite."

  "Humph. Let us assume for a moment that Zhang Xiaojing is innocent. Given what has happened, I think it's safe to say that he has already fled some time ago. What difference does it make whether I revoke the order for arrest or not?"

  "No. Commandant Zhang won't give up! He just needs free passage in the city to hunt those criminals down," asserted Tanqi firmly after raising her head.

  Li Heng gave a wave of his hand. "A convict condemned to death is pursuing the investigation into this case when wanted by the Imperial Court? Even I myself couldn't believe it. How am I supposed to convince anybody else to?" After saying this, he softened his tone a little. "I'll go and talk to Prime Minister Li in a while. Currently, I only hope Jing'an Department can find Changyuan as soon as possible, whatever the cost is. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll give up the title of the Crown Prince."

  He felt himself honorable and selfless, but Tanqi felt a wave of anger sweep over her and could barely forbear from splashing the wine on his face. Those people out there were racking their brains and risking their lives trying to rescue Chang'an from the crisis, but all what the Crown Prince cared about was this kind of matters.

  "Those members of Termite are still at large. Kailu Hodo might destroy the whole Chang'an at any moment!" Tanqi's voice was somewhat loud and drew the attention of guests sitting nearby.

  Li Heng's brow furrowed. "Hush! There will be dire consequences if anybody else hears it! I'll handle this matter. You are to stay out of it." After saying this, he heavily put the wineglass down on to the table, huffing and puffing.

  Being pressurized by a handmaid made the Crown Prince feel that he had lost face. It was on Li Bi's account that he had not had Tanqi dragged out of this place.

  On her knees, Tanqi moved a few steps back, her shoulders trembling. The Crown Prince seemed to have made up his mind to stand by, which threw her into panic. Given her low status, there was nothing she could do to make a difference if the Crown Prince decided to stay out of this.

  'Wait. There is yet another way.

  Seeking an audience the Emperor?'

  Tanqi was startled by this thought of hers. How crazy could that be? But when she raised her head and looked in the direction of the Crown Prince's left side, she saw that the Emperor was sitting on the platform only dozens of paces away. If she was really to run up to the Emperor, this was her best chance. Tanqi knew that approaching the Emperor without consent was a felony, that she might even be killed on the spot by the imperial bodyguards –but at least she would be able to have the Emperor know that Chang'an was faced with an imminent crisis.

  The message delivered via lantern signals –"Do not retreat. Do not retreat. Do not retreat" –came to her mind once again.

  Tanqi was reduced to shortness of breath. She was an orphan, who would have starved to death young if Li family hadn't adopted her. For her, except for her master, there was nothing worth living for in this world, and thus nothing to be afraid of. Tanqi believed that her master would make the same choice when faced with this situation. 'As regards that wastrel…… he must also be fighting in some dark corner, I suppose?' she thought.

  These two men had one thing in common –they had never regarded Tanqi as a woman with beautiful appearance. They believed that she was capable of things of far greater value than that of serving people.

  And now it was the time to prove them right.

  Tanqi kowtawed to Li Heng, took her leave and then leaned against the wall.

  All walls in the palace were covered with gauze embroidered with auspicious clouds with gold thread. When wind blew by, the gauze would ripple with it, as if clouds were floating in the palace. Every maidservant in the palace wore a cappa. And all their cappa were made of the same material. When their service was not needed, they would stand by the wall, looking like fairy maidens.

  With her back against the wall, Tanqi impassively moved forward. She softly pulled the silk braids to hitch up the hemline lest she trip during the sprint she was going to make.

  When the architect had been designing the Industriousness and Pragmatism Pavilion, he had taken into account the occasion when the Emperor and officials had a banquet in this place, so the floor was not flat but slightly inclined. The Emperor's table was at the top of the gentle slope, from where he could see all his guests. On the two sides of this gentle slope were paths for maidservants carrying courses. Guests who needed to use the privies or take their leave would also take one of these two paths.

  Since this was a festive day, the Emperor was wearing Yanyi clothes (informal dress), which was a gesture of his willingness to share his joy with his officials. As a result, there was no screen, only a Xuanshui bed curtain, around his table. Along this path, Tanqi slowly walked upwards. Looking over the upper edge of the shiny bed curtain, she could see that unique Tongtianguan Crown (a hat in the shape of a mountain) the Emperor was wearing, and she could even distinguish the twelve ridges on it.

  There were only an old eunuch and two imperial bodyguards between her current position and the table of the Emperor. It would take her a mere sprint to make it to the front of the Emperor before they could react, but she would only be able to yell one sentence.

  The contents of this sentence was of supreme importance. Tanqi did some careful thinking and then, with subdued nervousness, braced her legs, poised to sprint.

  Right at this moment, a white, delicate hand rested on her shoulder. Tanqi gave a shiver, subconsciously twisted her head around and saw that behind her stood a female Taoist priest, a piece of silk on her elbow, a horsetail whisk in her hand, looking at her with curious eyes.

  The female Taoist priest was well-shaped and had charming eyes, a light yellow hair ornament in the shape of a flower overhanging the middle of her forehead, which made her seem radiant with beauty. Tanqi blurted, "Sister Taizhen?"

  She had just finished the last word when a roll of night-watch drumbeat came from outside suggesting that it was Zi Hour.

  With that, the background music for the Dance of Rainbow-colored and Feathered Costumes started, pushing the joyousness of the banquet to a new high.