Chapter 1060: Changning Palace
Determined to find the source of the dragon qi leakage, Qi Xuansu combed through every corner of the royal palace. Dragon qi was not like Taiping coins. It could not simply be carried away by hand.
Normally, altars or formations were needed to channel dragon qi. But in this case, the mastermind had used Yin-Yang People as living vessels. Thus, Qi Xuansu’s investigation focused on the real cause of death of those palace eunuchs.
The seven eunuchs’ bodies were long gone. Any traces left in the palace had likely vanished as well. Still, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to press on.
Qi Xuansu asked, “Princess Chen, you’ve lived in the royal palace for years, so you must have looked into this. Before their sudden deaths, did those eunuchs show any signs of abnormality?”
Chen Jianqiu composed herself before replying earnestly, “When the first few eunuchs died suddenly, I didn’t think much of it. But when it kept happening, I began to pay attention and found that each of them had visited two places in particular.”
As she spoke, she took out a map of the royal palace and spread it open before Qi Xuansu.
At a glance, Qi Xuansu felt a jolt of familiarity. The entire palace, from its central axis to the three great halls, was a scaled-down replica of the Imperial Capital’s royal palace. Even its main gate bore the same name. It was no wonder the Yu Kingdom called itself the Mini Central Plains.
Beyond Wu Gate was the Taiye Lake, which had a bridge leading to Dachao Courtyard and Taisheng Hall, and then the Grand Palace Gate.
Past the Grand Palace Gate was the Governance Hall, flanked by the Virtue Hall to the east and the Martial Hall to the west. Behind it was the largest building, the Sincere Hall, with the Chaste Hall and Bright Hall at its sides. Further back was the Heavenly Purity Hall, flanked by the Ceremonial Office and the Mental Cultivation Hall.
All these halls were along the main central axis; beyond them was the inner court, including the Emperor’s and his consorts’ residences and the royal gardens.
Besides the central axis, there were east and west wings as well.
The east wing was relatively spacious. From south to north were the Ancestral Temple, the 24 Inner Offices, a wide expanse of water, and a manmade islet called Yingzhou. It was different from the Taiping Sect’s Yingzhou Island.