Chapter 75: Eunuch Zhong, why did you choose me?
“Sneaking in? Why can’t we just walk in openly? You’re an Imperial Concubine, as long as you reveal your identity, entering the Imperial Palace would be as easy as entering an outhouse!” Yao Yao asked, confused.
“If I enter openly, then what? Reveal my True Qi to that Dog Emperor and leave immediately?” Qi Huang retorted.
“Isn’t that allowed? Wasn’t that your plan from the start?” Yao Yao was even more bewildered.
“Yao Yao, tell me honestly, if I reveal my True Qi, will that Dog Emperor willingly let me go?” Qi Huang asked seriously.
“Uh…” Yao Yao was speechless. After a moment of thought, she said, “He definitely won’t let you go willingly. As long as he can borrow your bloodline, the fate of the Lin family can be extended for hundreds or even thousands of years.”
“That’s right. What if he forcibly keeps me there? This Imperial Palace is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even if I resist, I might not be able to escape smoothly, and I’ll also expose my strength.” Qi Huang revealed her concerns.
“If that’s the case, why aren’t you running away immediately? Since you’ve already cultivated True Qi, that Dog Emperor won’t be able to cause trouble for you even if he knows he’s been tricked. Actually, I think your presence in the Imperial Palace was unnecessary. After you cultivated True Qi a couple of days ago, you could have simply left.” Yao Yao complained.
“If I had left then, what would have happened to the Imperial Concubine Guard? Not everyone there is my enemy,” Qi Huang countered.
“You can leave now, right? That Dog Emperor staged a grand play. After the first of next month, he’ll have saved face, and everyone will be safe. In the eyes of the world, you’ll also be an eliminated Imperial Concubine, so he can’t possibly trouble you anymore; otherwise, it would be slapping himself in the face.” Yao Yao persuaded again.
“But all of this is based on the premise that this play can be successfully performed. Once it fails, not only will they all die, but I also won’t be able to appear in the HongHua Sect legitimately. Otherwise, I’ll definitely be resented by that humiliated Dog Emperor, and who can guarantee he won’t secretly cause trouble?” Qi Huang pointed out the key issue.
Yao Yao was speechless. After a moment of silence, she asked, “Then what do you want to do?”
“Find a more reliable way to get away. Since that Dog Emperor has already thought of one for me, why not take advantage of it?” Qi Huang slightly upturned the corner of her mouth.
“What second path?” Yao Yao was confused.
“Act, didn’t you see this grand play? As long as that palace maid can hold on until she’s eliminated on the first of next month, then I can return to the HongHua Sect openly, and everyone will be safe,” Qi Huang explained proudly.
“But what does that play have to do with you? We just need to watch the play, why do you need to go in?” Yao Yao asked somewhat annoyed.
Qi Huang shook her head indifferently and continued, “Have you ever thought if that palace maid can impersonate me? Does she have the acting skills? What if she’s exposed early? Then it’ll be a complete failure, so I must enter the palace to help her perform this play well.”
Yao Yao was speechless again. After a moment, she asked, “Then how do you plan to help her? This Imperial Palace is not an outhouse. Even if you sneak in, you don’t have the right to linger inside.”
“So, this is the problem I need to solve now. I must find a way to stay inside openly, and preferably get close to that Ouyang Tong who is impersonating me,” Qi Huang fell into thought.
“She needs to go to the Shangyi Bureau to impersonate you. If you want to get close to her, you can only impersonate a palace maid or an Imperial Concubine inside,” Yao Yao suggested.
“Indeed, that’s the only way. But who will I impersonate? Palace maids are impossible; they’ve been inside for a long time and are very familiar with each other. As for Imperial Concubines, that seems impossible too. although they just entered the Shangyi Bureau, they’ve already met their companions.” Qi Huang found herself in a difficult situation.
Yao Yao also remained silent, evidently realizing the difficulty of the matter.
“Forget it, let’s find a place to stay and observe the situation first.” Qi Huang, with no ideas, checked into an inn near the palace gate and then picked up the Recording Mirror to observe the situation inside the palace.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, Eunuch Zhong had already brought Ouyang Tong to a secluded courtyard.
“You stay here for now. I’ll go find some useful items for you,” Eunuch Zhong instructed and left alone.
Ouyang Tong, however, was restless in the courtyard, sighing helplessly from time to time. This was undoubtedly a disaster for her. Although she was lonely in the cold palace, she could at least stay alive. Coming out was different; her head could roll off at any moment.
About half an hour later, Eunuch Zhong returned to the courtyard carrying a bag.
“Eunuch Zhong, how should I disguise myself as her? I haven’t even met Imperial Concubine Qi,” Ouyang Tong asked nervously.
“To disguise yourself as someone, the first thing is appearance. But to be honest, you don’t look anything like her, so we can only do what’s within our ability,” Eunuch Zhong replied, then walked into the side room on his own.
“Ah? Then why did you choose me?” Ouyang Tong asked in surprise.
“I had no choice. I can’t find anyone who looks like her at such short notice! I can only find someone with similar external features. Tall stature, beautiful face. In these two aspects, you are the closest among the palace maids,” Eunuch Zhong placed the bag he was holding on the dressing table.
“Then… then I’m really lucky!” Ouyang Tong gave a smile that was uglier than crying.
“You should know that she is a clone, so she has a clone mark between her eyebrows, like this.” Eunuch Zhong took out brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone from the bag and drew a lotus-shaped mark unique to female cultivator clones.
“But how do I put it on? If I use ordinary rouge or ink, let alone washing my face, even a little sweat will ruin it,” Ouyang Tong said with difficulty after looking at it for a few glances.
“Don’t worry, I’ve prepared a special ink for you. Use it to draw this mark on your forehead. Once it dries, ordinary water won’t be able to wash it off,” Eunuch Zhong took out a pink ink block the size of a pastry.
Ouyang Tong picked it up curiously to examine it, a hint of worry appearing on her face, clearly considering the safety of this item.
“Besides this clone mark, you’ll also need a veil. Although there might not be anyone who has seen her in this palace, it’s better for safety’s sake to wear it normally. Try not to expose your face as much as possible,” Eunuch Zhong took out a white veil.
“Then what?” Ouyang Tong asked after picking up the veil and looking at it.
“Then what? Nothing else,” Eunuch Zhong spread his hands and said.
“Ah? That’s it? Can I really impersonate her like this?” Ouyang Tong was amused to the point of tears.
“I told you, you and Qi Huang look worlds apart. It’s completely impossible to disguise yourself as her perfectly. Doing too much will only arouse suspicion,” Eunuch Zhong reiterated.
“Okay!” Ouyang Tong immediately deflated.
“Of course, to impersonate someone, your speech and behavior must also be flawless. I will tell you some basic information about her,” Eunuch Zhong then added some basic information about Qi Huang.
As Ouyang Tong listened, she diluted the pink ink block and began drawing the clone mark on her forehead.
“Alright, put on the veil, and now come with me to the Shangyi Bureau to register,” Eunuch Zhong called out after everything was ready.
Ouyang Tong sighed and followed behind, trembling with fear. Once her identity was exposed, she would die. This was like acting with her life, and anyone would be scared.
Just as they were about to leave the courtyard, Eunuch Zhong stopped and turned back, asking curiously, “By the way, in which screening round were you eliminated three years ago?”
“The first one,” Ouyang Tong’s face showed a hint of unnaturalness.
“That’s perfect. I don’t need to make special arrangements. You just need to hold on until the first of next month to regain your freedom,” Eunuch Zhong smiled with satisfaction and then stepped out of the courtyard.
“She didn’t even pass the first screening?” The secretly observing Qi Huang was somewhat surprised. After all, Ouyang Tong’s appearance was already on the same level as Liu Yingyue. To think that she didn’t even pass the first screening, she wondered what aspect was the problem.
Not long after, Eunuch Zhong brought Ouyang Tong to the Shangyi Bureau.
The Shangyi Bureau, subordinate to the Inner Prefecture, was a place in the Imperial Palace specifically responsible for teaching women etiquette. Every batch of Imperial Concubines entering the palace would first stay here and then learn some basic palace rules from the stewards, so they would know what they could and could not do. If they caused trouble before the screening, it would be a big mess.
Ouyang Tong knew she was walking a tightrope, so her legs were trembling. Every step was fearful. For fear of being recognized, she hunched herself into a ball.
Unfortunately, her appearance was too unique. Not only did she wear a veil, but she also had a clone mark on her forehead. Therefore, as soon as she entered the Shangyi Bureau, it caused quite a stir. After all, there was only one clone of a cultivator among this batch of Imperial Concubines, and this was no longer a secret in the Xihui Dynasty.
