Who would have thought they would be given a private tour of the imperial palace by the Noble Consort with the permission of the Empress? Certainly not Anji. It had only been two days since that dinner, and they did not even have time to tour the capital before they were summoned.

Sitting in a carriage three times more spacious than the one they used to travel to Chang’an, Anji and Yihao listened closely to Mingshen, who was dressed like a scholarly man. They had to change their attire to fit the occasion, and Anji wondered if her third brother would be able to pull off the role of young master.

"We are here as the Noble Consort’s guest," Mingshen briefed them on the carriage. "Please remember our purpose and roles. Yihao, you’re the young master and part of the diversion. Apart from being rude to royalty, you can be as rude and demanding as you want towards the servants. Make as much compliants and requests as you want. Go anywhere you want, but don’t destroy anything. Remember, you are the distraction and difficult customer, so that Anji and I can gather information easily."

Grinning, he gave his brother a thumbs-up.

"Don’t worry!" he reassured. "I’m good at causing trouble!"

Shooting the brute a warning glare, Mingshen reiterated the last part of his instructions.

"Do not break anything," he warned. "Not everything can be compensated with money."

Instead of feeling more reassured by his attitude, Anji felt as if she was going to have indigestion from all that worrying. Making trouble was Yihao’s talent. However, they were usually destructive. After his isolated training, he was much stronger than before. It would only take a little push before he entered the Enlightened Core Stage. She could tell by the radiating energy in his aura that he was very close now.

On the other hand, Mingshen disguised himself as a fellow scholar and auditor of the imperial laws. He was a distinguished guest of the Noble Consort, who was here on a favour to identify structural weaknesses in the palace’s defence. His position would give him more access to move around and identify targets who might be spies. However, due to the official position, Mingshen has to meet with the Emperor and officials. His time was limited, even if his authority was greater.

Thankfully, Anji’s role was the easiest. Hong Nian Niang created a back story for Anji as Noble Consort Liu’s distant niece coming to the capital city for a visit. To hide their different objectives, all three of them were given false identities. It would not be good if people were to associate them as siblings.

With only two days before their summons, they barely had time to prepare for the trip. It was a good thing none of them truly needed sleep. Mingshen caught a few winks on the long carriage ride, but Anji was busy tinkering with the last touches of her prototype curse detector device.

"Is that a gift for the Noble Consort?" Yihao whispered, not wanting to disturb Mingshen.

Even if their older brother looked like a handsome gentleman, there were traces of exhaustion under his eyes. Unlike them, Mingshen had been the only person making preparations for their trip and receiving the summons. It was their older brother who forged their identities and had new clothing made on short notice for their audience with the imperial family. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

On the surface, that was their cover story. However, once they entered the palace, they had to remain there for a few days to a week because the Empress wanted to meet them in person. Noble Consort Liu already informed the Empress of their true identities, and she pleaded to consult with experts over the confusing matters and constant attempts on her husband’s life.

"Do you think I should go for a swim in the lotus lake later?" Yihao mused. "I heard there is a very beautiful lotus pond that does not even freeze over in winter."

Anji grimaced. "I don’t think you should do that," she reasoned. "The lakes in the palace are often not cleaned and are sometimes used for dumping waste."

Hearing how dirty it might be, Yihao’s nose crinkled. He might be a professional troublemaker, but swimming in filth might not be the best idea. Not when he was dressed in expensive silk that might tear and stain easily. The palace was a huge place, and Yihao had no idea what kind of trouble he was capable of causing to rake up attention without destroying anything. He might have overestimated himself.

Unsure what Yihao was worrying about, Anji ignored her third brother and continued tweaking the formula on a pendant Mingshen loaned her when she requested an expensive piece of jewellery that might suit the Noble Consort. It was a beautiful blood-red ruby gem wrapped in gold leaf foils, holding it in the shape of wings.

Her detection spell was almost ready. It was the easiest part of the spell. However, Anji wanted this to be a little more special as a gift. The Noble Consort was constantly on the front line of danger. A little insurance would never hurt. Hence, Anji wondered how she could integrate the detection spell with a target annulment ward, just in case someone gets close enough to the Noble Consort with petty curses. On its own, the spells were easy to create. However, merging them is a more complicated formula.

While Anji worked, Yihao plotted, and Mingshen slept, they slowly arrived at the main gates of the imperial palace. The carriage was stopped briefly for checks, but they breezed through clearance and finally entered the gates. As the Noble Consort’s guests, they were directly brought to her main palace and alighted at the outer court.

An eunuch knocked politely at the side of their carriage to inform them they had arrived at the destination. Quickly, Yihao woke his brother up while Anji put away the accessory in haste. The siblings straightened their clothing and got into character befitting their status, with Yihao yawning exaggeratedly and complaining about the long journey.

Behind their troublemaking brother, Mingshen got down first and helped Anji out like a true gentleman. With many eyes on them the moment they left the carriage, they had to be careful how they interacted.

The show had finally begun.