The Second World in Ancient Times

Chapter 40: Unexpected Discovery, Hidden Secrets

This morning I was sent to sort the palace storerooms. The storeroom was as large as a maze, filled with all kinds of rare treasures, ancient books and documents, and daily necessities. Several palace maids, eunuchs, and I were so busy that we were dizzy. The dust flew in the sunlight, making everyone cough.

"Oh, this job is so tiring." The little palace maid next to her complained.

As I wiped an old box, I said, "Stop complaining. Get to work. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can rest."

While we were working hard, I found an old-looking cabinet in a corner. This cabinet was a little different from the surrounding ones. Its patterns were more delicate and complex, as if it was hiding some secrets.

Curious, I walked over and examined the cabinet carefully. The door was a little tight, and I struggled to open it. Inside were some old silks and faded ornaments, nothing special. But as I took these things out, my fingers accidentally touched the bottom of the cabinet, and something felt strange.

"Huh? Something seems to be wrong here." I muttered to myself.

I squatted down and felt around until I found a slightly raised wooden panel at the bottom of the cabinet. I pressed it, and with a click, a hidden compartment appeared before my eyes. Everyone around me was busy, oblivious to my discovery.

I peered into the secret compartment and found several letters and scrolls. The letters were yellowed, the edges frayed, and they looked quite old. The scrolls were wrapped in silk. I gently opened one of them, revealing a painting of a majestic emperor and several ministers. Their expressions were solemn, as if they were discussing something important.

I picked up a letter and unfolded it. The handwriting was a little blurry, but I could still make out some of the contents. It mentioned words like "inheritance of the throne" and "unspeakable secrets." My heart skipped a beat. This was serious. These words seemed to conceal a major palace secret, possibly related to the succession to the throne or the core of palace power.

I quickly put the letter and scroll back into the secret compartment and pretended nothing had happened as I continued working. Finally, when it was time for a break, I found Wanqing and pulled her to a secluded corner.

"Wanqing, I discovered a big secret in the warehouse today." I said in a low voice.

Wanqing's eyes widened: "What secret? Tell me quickly."

I told her about the letter and scroll in the secret compartment. Wanqing's face turned serious when she heard it. "Si Qing, we can't let anyone else know about this. It's too dangerous. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, we'll be in trouble."

"I know, so I didn't dare say anything. But I think we have to find out the truth behind these secrets." I said seriously.

Wanqing hesitated. "But investigating these things is too risky. We might get caught up in the palace's power struggles, and it would be difficult to escape."

I held her hand. "I'm aware of the danger, but we can't pretend not to see it. These secrets could affect the entire court. If we can find out, we might be able to protect ourselves and those we care about. Furthermore, if this secret is used by someone with ulterior motives, the consequences will be disastrous."

Wanqing thought about it, then nodded: "You're right, then we have to be careful. Let's hide these things first and find a safe time to study them."

We took advantage of the night and secretly returned to the warehouse. The warehouse was eerily quiet, with only the sound of our footsteps echoing in the empty warehouse. I carefully opened the secret compartment of the cabinet, took out the letter and scroll, and wrapped them in a piece of cloth.

"Where do we hide them?" Wanqing asked in a low voice.

I looked around and saw a loose board on the ceiling of the warehouse. I pointed it and said, "Let's hide it there where no one else will notice it."

Wanqing and I brought a ladder, and I climbed up and stuffed the package into the gap in the ceiling. Then we put everything back in its original place, making sure there were no traces left.

A few days later, we found an excuse to avoid the others and went to the warehouse again. I climbed up the ladder, took the package out from the ceiling, and sat in the corner with Wanqing to study the letter.

"This letter mentions the will of a former emperor, which seems to be another arrangement regarding the successor to the throne." I said, pointing to the content on a letter.

Wanqing frowned. "Then why is there such a will? Is there something wrong with the current succession to the throne?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure. These letters don't explain it clearly, but they vaguely mention some clues. We need to keep reading."

We opened a few more letters and found that they mentioned the names of some ministers who seemed to have played an important role in the succession to the throne that year.

Next, we began studying the scroll. Besides the emperor and his ministers, there were also some palace designs in the background. I looked closely at these designs and noticed that one of the palaces looked familiar.

"Wanqing, look at this palace. It seems to be a remote palace in the palace. Usually few people go there." I said excitedly.

Wanqing looked at it and said, "Now that you mention it, it seems so. Do you think this palace is related to the secret?"

I nodded. "It's very possible. We can find a chance to visit the palace. Maybe we can find more clues."

While studying the letters and scrolls, we also discovered some strange symbols. Some were painted on the edges of the letters, while others were hidden in the corners of the scrolls. We had never seen these symbols before, and they looked like a unique type of marking.

"What do these symbols mean? Could they be the key to unlocking the secret?" Wanqing asked doubtfully.

I held up a letter and stared at the symbols on it for a long time. "I don't know either, but we can try to see if anyone recognizes these symbols. Maybe some old maids or eunuchs in the palace would know."

We decided to start with an old maid who had been at the palace for a long time. She was very kind and knowledgeable about the palace's history. We approached her and showed her how to draw the symbols.

The old woman took a look and her expression changed slightly: "Where did you see these symbols? This is not a good thing."

I quickly said, "Mammy, we happened to see this while we were sorting the warehouse. Curious, we wanted to ask you. What do these symbols mean?"

The old maid hesitated for a moment, then said, "These symbols are a secret marking from the previous dynasty, said to be related to the struggle for power in the palace. I'm not sure what they mean exactly, but I've only heard about them from the older generation. Don't delve into this further; it's too dangerous."

After coming out from the old nanny, Wanqing was a little depressed: "It seems that the clues are going to be cut off. We can't even figure out these symbols. How can we continue the investigation?"

I patted her shoulder and said, "Don't lose heart. Let's think of other ways. Perhaps we can start with the descendants of those ministers. Maybe they know something about what happened back then."

Wanqing's eyes lit up: "Yes, we can try. But we have to be careful not to let others discover our intentions."

We began to inquire about the descendants of the ministers in the palace. After some effort, we learned that a minister's granddaughter was also working as a maid in the palace. We managed to find her; her name was Ling'er.

I pulled Ling'er to a quiet place and said to her, "Ling'er, we came to you today to ask you something. Your grandfather was very famous in the palace. Have you heard anything special about him?"

Ling'er was a little wary: "Why are you asking about my grandfather? What do you want to do?"

I told her about the letters and scrolls we found. Ling'er listened and pondered for a moment: "My grandfather did have some secrets when he was alive, but he never told us. However, I remember seeing a diary in his study when I was a child. It seemed to mention some court affairs, but I'm not sure if it is related to what you are talking about."

We quickly asked Ling'er to find the diary. A few days later, Ling'er brought it back. The paper was worn and the writing was a little blurry. We carefully opened the diary, which recorded some daily events in the palace and the interactions between some ministers.

"Look here, it mentions a secret meeting related to the succession to the throne." I said, pointing to the contents of the diary.

Wanqing took a closer look and said, "This is somewhat similar to what we saw in the letter. It seems we are on the right track."

We continued to look through the diary, hoping to find more clues about the great secret.

As we were immersed in the study of the diary, I suddenly felt that someone was watching us. I raised my head and looked around, but found nothing unusual.

"Wanqing, I feel like someone is watching us. We have to be careful." I whispered.

Wanqing also became alert: "Maybe our actions have been discovered. Let's hide the things first and stop researching here."

We returned the diary to Ling'er, asked her to hide it, and then pretended to leave as if nothing had happened. But I knew that we had fallen into a dangerous situation and had to be more cautious.

Back at our residence, we began to discuss countermeasures.

"We can't investigate as blatantly as before. We have to be more covert," Wanqing said.

I nodded. "Well, we can use the night time to go to some remote places to look for clues. Also, we have to pay attention to the people around us. Maybe someone has been bribed and is watching us."

"Yes, we also need to prepare some self-defense items just in case." Wanqing added.

We know that the road ahead is full of dangers, but in order to uncover the secret hidden deep in the palace, we must bravely move forward.