Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 60: Where Is the Relic

   This was not the first time Wei Yingluo had encountered a theft.

Just like the peacock thread that disappeared in the embroidery workshop last time, she strongly suspected that such a perfectly timed incident must have a conspiracy behind it.

This was not something she could share with the others — they were already panicked enough. If they realized they had stepped right into a trap, they would likely become even more helpless with fear.

“Zhenzhu, stop crying. Crying won’t solve anything,” Wei Yingluo said calmly and composedly. “Now I ask and you answer. First question: who was the first person to return to the eastern side chamber just now?”

“It… it was me,” Zhenzhu answered. Afraid she would be suspected, she hurriedly explained, “I sneaked out to watch the fireworks. I was scared Ming Yu would find out, so I came back before the display even finished.”

Wei Yingluo nodded. “At that time, was the relic still there?”

Zhenzhu shook her head. Everyone’s faces fell, feeling the clue had come to a dead end.

Wei Yingluo thought for a moment and asked a different question: “Was it really only you in there? No one else at all?”

Zhenzhu racked her brains for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait, there’s one more person. I vaguely remember seeing someone leaving through the door.”

Ming Yu was overjoyed. “So you saw the thief? What did they look like? Man or woman? Quick, think hard!”

“It was… it was…” Zhenzhu bit her lip and very cautiously spoke a name that no one had expected: “It was Noble Lady Shu.”

The original owner of the Buddhist pagoda relic — Naran Chuxue.

“Ha! The thief crying ‘thief’ — it’s actually her!” Ming Yu gnashed her teeth, turned, and immediately ran outside.

“You think that will work?” Wei Yingluo’s calm voice floated from behind her. “The Buddhist pagoda relic was originally presented to the palace by her. What possible reason would she have to sneak in and steal it back? More importantly, with the corridor lights extinguished for the fireworks display, who would believe the testimony of a single palace maid?”

“But there was a huge firework in the sky at that moment — it lit up everything clearly. I saw it perfectly!” Zhenzhu hurriedly insisted.

“I believe you, but others may not.” Wei Yingluo soothed her, then closed her eyes in deep thought.

The theft had happened in such a short window that the culprit had no time to smuggle the item out of the palace. And since the Buddhist relic was extremely precious, it was most likely still on the thief’s person.

“Body search? Impossible. What justification could there be to search the noble ladies?” Wei Yingluo murmured. “The only way is to make her reveal it herself… but is that even possible?”

It was possible.

“I have a plan to unmask the culprit.” Having already formed an idea, Wei Yingluo opened her eyes and addressed everyone around her. “But I’ll need your help…”

In the main hall, the singing and dancing were nearing their end. Hongli, still recovering from a serious illness, was already struggling to stay awake. He yawned, slumped in his chair, and asked lazily, “Are there any more performances?”

The Empress was about to reply when Ming Yu suddenly stepped close and whispered something in her ear. A flicker of doubt passed over the Empress’s face, but out of trust in Wei Yingluo, she smiled and said, “Your Majesty, in past years the final performance has always been acrobatics. This year, let’s try something different.”

Hongli, too sleepy to even keep his eyes open, simply closed them and muttered, “What kind of different?”

“The palace maids of my palace will present a special tribute to you,” the Empress replied. “Yingluo, you may come forward.”

Hongli’s eyes snapped open.

Perhaps because she normally dressed plainly for court duties, tonight she wore an unusually striking red gown. Red is an intense color that few can carry, yet she wore it perfectly — with her beauty, her smile, and the rippling light in her eyes.

“…The Yuhu turns, fish and dragons dance through the night; moth-eyebrows, snow willows, golden threads; laughter and fragrance drift softly away.” For some reason, these lines drifted into Hongli’s heart like a gentle spring breeze, stirring ripples across a still pond. “Suddenly looking back — that person stands… at the place where the lanterns dim.”

The lamplight fell on Wei Yingluo and on the yellow silk she held in both hands. She gave Hongli a slight smile, then let the silk drop to the floor. The moment the yellow cloth floated down, it suddenly puffed up in one spot. Wei Yingluo bent down and lifted the silk away, revealing a small, exquisitely crafted glazed pagoda.

Amid the crowd’s gasps of astonishment, Noble Consort Hui’s cold laugh stood out sharply. She stroked her tortoiseshell nail guards and sneered, “And here I thought it was something rare. Just a cheap trick — she hid the pagoda inside her robe beforehand, then quietly revealed it while everyone’s attention was on the yellow cloth!”

Consort Chun, however, narrowed her eyes and frowned. “Wait — where is the relic from the pagoda?”

Only then did everyone notice that the most important thing was missing from the glazed pagoda.

This was the treasure the Empress Dowager had searched for years to recover — more valuable than anything else present. How could it simply disappear?

“Ladies, please do not worry,” Wei Yingluo said calmly, smiling at the assembly. “This servant was concerned about transportation risks, so I deliberately removed the relic from the pagoda and transported it separately.”

Naran Chuxue gave an almost imperceptible sneer, then resumed her usual virtuous and composed demeanor identical to the Empress’s. She asked, “Then where is the relic now?”

Wei Yingluo looked straight at her.

“Isn’t it right there — on your person?”

Naran Chuxue’s expression changed abruptly.

“Nonsense.” She quietly pinched herself to force herself to calm down again. “How could the sarira be on me?”

“What I used wasn’t a sleight of hand—it was the art of fetching objects from a distance. The item is naturally on your body.” Wei Yingluo said while stepping closer to her. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll take the sarira out right now.”

Naran Chuxue was already feeling somewhat panicked inside. Now, seeing her striding quickly toward her, she immediately lost her composure. Her right hand instinctively tightened around the cuff of her left sleeve.

Wei Yingluo had been watching her the whole time and would never miss such a small movement. She immediately reached out, grabbed her sleeve, and ignoring her struggles, in just a few motions pulled out a delicate little pouch.

“How dare you!” Naran Chuxue didn’t know whether it was fear or anger, but her face turned pale.

Wei Yingluo opened the pouch and showed the Buddhist sarira inside to everyone, smiling as she said: “See? It’s right here, isn’t it?”

The crowd found it splendid and applauded generously without holding back. Beside the Empress, both Ming Yu and Zhenzhu secretly let out sighs of relief. Zhenzhu in particular went weak in the legs and nearly collapsed to the ground—fortunately Ming Yu beside her was quick-eyed and swift-handed and caught her.

“We’ve endured until this moment with so much difficulty—don’t mess up now,” Ming Yu said in a low voice.

“Okay, okay.” Zhenzhu wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked toward Wei Yingluo in the distance with some admiration. “This time we really owe it all to Elder Sister Yingluo…”

Ming Yu gazed at Wei Yingluo in the center of the hall with complicated eyes. She watched as Yingluo untied the golden scissors at her waist, snip-snip—cutting through the yellow silk. Then with a wave of her hand she tossed the pieces upward. The shredded satin fluttered like snowflakes or willow catkins into the sky, and when they landed, unbelievably, they arranged themselves into four huge characters:

Long Live the Emperor / Ten Thousand Years Without End

It marked the most perfect conclusion to this celebratory banquet.

Amid the thunderous applause filling the hall, Naran Chuxue slunk back to Noble Consort Hui’s side in disgrace. Just as she was about to offer some explanation, Noble Consort Hui spoke coldly first:

“I gave you a chance. You were supposed to handle affairs for this palace, yet you couldn’t even manage such a trivial matter properly. Get out!”

Naran Chuxue withdrew with her head lowered, thinking to herself: I’ve already offended the Empress, and now I’ve angered Noble Consort Hui as well. There is only one chance left… His Majesty liked the gift I presented and summoned me to serve in his bedchamber tonight. No matter what, I must seize this opportunity!

Thinking of this, her earnest, eager gaze fixed on Hongli.

She didn’t realize that while she was looking at Hongli, another pair of eyes was also watching her.

“Yingluo.” Ming Yu and Zhenzhu came forward. After a moment’s hesitation, Ming Yu spoke somewhat awkwardly: “This time… thank you.”

“No need.” Wei Yingluo withdrew her gaze and gave the two of them a half-smile. “As it happens, there is one thing I need your help with…”

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