The Treacherous Concubine’s Guide To Whitewashing

Chapter 12, Pt 1 - Out of the Palace

In front of Yuan Luo was a white, porcelain plate that was as big as a round basin. In the center of the porcelain plate were silver ash particles.

Lian Yan Qiu held a folded piece of paper with fire at the tip and brought the paper close to the porcelain plate. As soon as the flames touched the small group of silver ash particles, they suddenly exploded.

"Be careful, Empress," Si Xi exclaimed.

Yuan Luo took a step back, but her eyes were fixated on the disc.

Sure enough. It was exactly as she had guessed.

Lian Yan Qiu, guarding at Yuan Luo's side, stared at the flames in the disc extremely bewildered.

The past few days, he repeatedly inspected the ritual utensils on the altar and had not found a point to doubt. After Yuan Luo had heard about it, she personally went to the altar and walked around the newly decorated altar.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites fawned on her, thinking that her behavior was simply a whim of the imperial concubine.

Yuan Luo looked over it repeatedly, recalling the description in the book.

In order to welcome the end of year sacrifice, the decoration of the Temple of Heaven was renewed. The ground was painted with a silver paint and the surrounding utensils were arranged in an extremely complicated manner.

When Sikong Lin was making sacrifices that day, a sudden thunder rolled and a strange echoing sound rang from a distance. The large group of officials were shocked. They saw that at the Emperor’s location at the center of the altar an astonishingly bright light had burst out.

Immediately, several screams were heard. The imperial bodyguards rushed forward and rescued Sikong Lin from the fire, but other people were not so lucky with some dead and many wounded.

Later, rumors, one after another, erupted in the Capital and the East China Sea king’s power rose sharply. It wasn’t until much later when the East China Sea king’s planned conspiracy was revealed that the thunder that day was found to be a trap. However, the book did not explain in detail how the trap was set.

Judging from the scene description, Yuan Luo speculated that there was an object in the center of the altar which was designed to catch fire. Looking through the objects one by one, she couldn’t find any clues, so she finally turned her inspection to the ground.

The silver powder scattered on the floor near the altar was secretly scraped away and with a little experimentation, sure enough, her guess was confirmed.

Seeing how the silver particles ignited, they must have been mixed with chemicals such as magnesium powder and the like.

Even if the chemical knowledge of this era was not very advanced, the development of alchemy and other processes have produced master craftsmen who understand the properties of many chemicals. The East China Sea king was able to come up with this kind of method, which was an unconventional, but fantastic idea.

People in this era have a high respect for Heavenly thunder. Since the Emperor was struck by thunder while he was worshiping Heaven, it was certain to cause many people to feel anxious.

To say nothing of how afterward, the East China Sea king spread rumors in the Capital criticizing that Sikong Lin was not an acceptable inheritor for the throne and questioning his bloodline.

Now that Yuan Luo knew about his plan, it was of course impossible for him to succeed in the conspiracy.

----

At last, the day of the sacrificial ceremony came.

The weather was extremely cold. Yuan Luo walked out of the palace hall doors with an arctic, fox cloak draped on her shoulders. Immediately she felt a piercing north wind penetrating her clothing.

In the public square before Qianyuan Palace, there was a carriage and personnel ready and waiting.

First was the Emperor’s imperial carriage, followed by the Empress, then Yuan Luo’s carriage came behind. With this kind of large-scale celebration, the ancestral etiquette was set and it was impossible for her to pass before Empress Wei.

Empress Wei had arrived a moment earlier than her, wearing a red palace dress with gold sable, velvet trim. Her small face was flushed with cold. Seeing Yuan Luo’s arrival, she gave a blank look and went with a palace maid into her carriage.

Yuan Luo walked toward her carriage and paused. Among the six imperial bodyguards standing in front of her carriage door, one of them was especially familiar.

She had not seen Gu Yi for several days and, since she had seriously admonished Lian Yan Qiu by forbidding him to do anything underhanded behind the scenes, she had arranged for Tian Pan to select medicinal ingredients for him with the utmost care. Within a few days, Tian Pan had reported the news that Gu Yi was recovered completely from his injuries.

Considering the East China Sea king’s slander, she had consciously kept a distance from Gu Yi.

On account of her previous assertion in court at Qianqing Palace that Gu Yi was an imperial bodyguard, she ordered Lian Yan Qiu to handle him according to that statement. She hadn’t expected Lian Yan Qiu’s "consideration" would include arranging him as a guard in her own people.

As if in a trance, Gu Yi suddenly stepped forward and, facing Yuan Luo in front of the carriage door, he knelt on the ground.

Yuan Luo stared at him blankly before she realized his intention was for her to step on his back to climb into the carriage. The carriage for the trip to the Temple of Heaven was a large equipage drawn by eight horses. It was different from ordinary vehicles and had a high chassis.

Was it really okay to step on the male lead like this?

But in this situation, if she were to replace him it would attract even more attention.

Yuan Luo grit her teeth. Advancing forward, she carefully stepped on Gu Yi’s shoulder.

The muscles under her feet were as solid as the frozen ground and at the same time she faintly felt the strength behind his support.

Not knowing whether it was owing to a guilty conscience or nervousness, the soles of Yuan Luo’s feet suddenly slipped and she lost her balance.

Seeing that Yuan Luo was about to fall toward the carriage, a palace servant next to her inhaled sharply.

Gu Yi at first didn’t want to care about what was happening, but someone’s foot was suddenly in front of his face and he could only raise his hand to grip the foot and send it upward.

With support under her foot, Yuan Luo’s figure was barely stabilized, but she still made it into the carriage with a dignified appearance. Simultaneously, she felt warmth on the sole of her foot. It was only then that she realized that she had managed to kick off her embroidered shoe when she had slipped. Now her unshod foot was in Gu Yi’s hands.

Gu Yi delivered the person into the carriage and immediately removed his hand as if he’d received an electric shocked.

Yuan Luo’s gaze fell to the ground outside the carriage. The embroidered shoe with pearls was lying at Gu Yi's feet.

The boy’s brow twitched. As the closest person, he could only pick up her shoe and hand it over.

Yuan Luo wanted to bend over, but as soon as she moved, she felt an ache in her waist. It seemed as if she’d sprained it.