First Gathering of the Seven Husbands (2)

At this moment, everyone was discussing how exactly they could get into the palace. After all, this was the imperial palace—not a place ordinary people could just wander into. The security here was tighter than anywhere else. Why? The answer was simple: fear of death!

Empress Wendy Cao is afraid of dying, and Song Zhijue is afraid of dying. With a mother and son this paranoid, how could anyone expect to stroll into the palace so easily?

"I have a way," Ethan Chu suddenly spoke up.

"You have a way?" Everyone turned to look at him, a bit surprised.

"Don’t forget who I am—I’m the Emperor. Just recently, Song Zhijue came to Chu and asked me to join forces with him to attack another country. So if I come here to check up on things, isn’t that perfectly normal? Plus, my elder sister is still here! She’s the Crown Princess of Soaring Phoenix!" Ethan Chu said, enunciating each word.

Suddenly, Ethan’s words made everyone realize—of course! How could they forget Ethan Chu’s identity?

"But what about us?" The palace is locked down tight. Ethan can go in with a legitimate excuse, but it’s not so easy for the rest of them. Rumor has it the palace is packed with so many traps that even if you had a head of steel and the lightness skill of a Buddha, you’d still never get far. Anyone who tries to barge in ends up dead in the worst way—no matter how good your martial arts are, you can’t beat thousands of hidden traps and secret weapons.

"I can take one person with me, disguised as General Nee. Butterfly Rogue, aren’t you great at face-changing? This shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?" Ethan turned to Butterfly Rogue, asking.

"No problem, but I want to go," Butterfly Rogue said directly. Since he’s the disguise expert, ‘General Nee’ should obviously be his job. Besides, he’s actually met General Nee before!

"No way!" Adrian Night and Lucian Vane shot him down at the same time.

"Why not?" Butterfly Rogue retorted, clearly annoyed.

"You already saw Ivy (as an endearment), but we haven’t! No way are you going in again." Lucian Vane quickly said, and honestly, he missed Ivy (as an endearment) like crazy!

"Exactly. You guys have already met Ivy (as an endearment), so this time, we’re taking the chance!" Adrian Night said coldly, but it was obvious he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Seeing this, Butterfly Rogue pouted, "Fine, then go yourselves. Don’t come begging me!"

"Don’t beg you? Sure, but don’t come begging us later either," Adrian Night replied with his usual icy cool. Only Butterfly Rogue could really understand the hidden meaning in that.

"Yeah! It’s hard to find a three-legged toad, but finding a two-legged human is easy. Dragon City is huge—we don’t believe we can’t find another disguise artist," Lucian Vane said provocatively.

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t threaten me like that!" Butterfly Rogue huffed, thinking he’d score points with his disguise skills—who knew he’d just end up making clothes for someone else? Too much! Way too much! If he’d known, he wouldn’t have told them at all!

"Huh?" Lucian Vane looked at Adrian, hardly believing he’d given up the chance. He knew Adrian missed Ivy (as an endearment) just as much as he did.

"Out of the five of us, only one gets to go. I want that person to be able to help Ivy (as an endearment). You’re the poison master, so you can sneak in some antidotes or hidden poisons for her—she’ll need those in a place crawling with traps," Adrian said, his voice full of tragic hero vibes. He knew this wasn’t the time for romance; the big picture came first.

"Since you’re the Emperor, why not just take a few more people into the palace?" Caleb Miles asked.

Ethan Chu said, "No way. The defenses in Soaring Phoenix aren’t just talk—they’re seriously nasty. If you go in without someone who knows the place, it’s basically a death maze. Every step is packed with traps that could kill you at any time. To avoid trouble, I can only bring one bodyguard. Every time I come here—or when Song Zhijue visits me—the only escort ever seen is General Nee. No one else. If I suddenly show up with a crowd, it’ll definitely make him suspicious. Song Zhijue is famously paranoid—everyone knows it."

Everyone fell silent at his words. He’d made it clear—only one could go. But who would get that spot, when they all wanted it?

"Big Bro, Second Bro, you two decide. I’ll stay behind," Liam Willow said, looking at them.

"Why?" Adrian Night asked, confused. If they all loved Ivy, shouldn’t the choice be fair?

Liam Willow smiled gently, "You have to imitate General Nee, so you’ll need martial arts. I’m just a scholar—my posture would give me away instantly. I really want to see my wife, but I know how serious this is. So I’ll wait here. I believe she’ll be out soon. Whoever goes, please tell her I said hi and to stay safe."

Everyone went quiet again when they heard him.

"Lucian, you should go," Adrian Night suddenly said.

"Huh?" Lucian Vane looked at Adrian, hardly believing he’d given up the chance. He knew Adrian missed Ivy (as an endearment) just as much as he did.

"Out of the five of us, only one gets to go. I want that person to be able to help Ivy. You’re the poison master, so you can bring some antidotes or hidden poisons for her—she’ll need them in a place like that," Adrian said, his voice pained. He knew this wasn’t the time for romance; the bigger picture mattered more.

"Thank you," Lucian said sincerely, looking at Adrian.

"Take care of Ivy (as an endearment) for all of us."

"I will."

Adrian Night nodded, "Right now, Silver Consort’s people are watching all of us. Sure, they’re not much trouble, but we still have to be careful—any little move we make could set off Song Zhijue’s alarms. Just now, you mentioned that Caleb Miles isn’t being watched by Silver Consort’s people since they think he’s still amnesiac. We can use that—let him pass messages for us. The rest of us should keep living in separate inns, act idle and unconcerned, and make the enemy drop their guard." He turned to Caleb Miles, "We’ll count on you for news from Dragon City."

"Don’t worry, I’ll do a great job." Right now, nobody was joking around—they were all dead serious. Their happiness depended on this, so they had to be careful.

"Young Master Night’s plan is solid. I really want to help Ivy (as an endearment), but barging in now might bring her trouble instead of help. I’ll stay with Liam Willow—it’s easier for everyone to discuss things together," Eli Crane said.

"Thank you," Liam Willow said gratefully. He knew Eli had martial arts skills—he was probably staying close to protect him.

"We’re family—no need for thanks."

"Wait a sec," Ethan Chu suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?" Everyone asked, puzzled.

"I’ve got a way for Adrian Night to get into the palace too," Ethan Chu said with a mysterious grin.

"Huh? What way?" Adrian Night asked, curious. Everyone else leaned in too.

"You’ll play General Nee," Ethan said, then turned to Lucian Vane. "Last time you snuck into the Chu palace and fooled the Crown Prince with a beauty trap. This time, want to try being my imperial consort?" Ethan smiled at him.

Lucian Vane froze. Right, he could totally pass as a woman—out of the five, he was the most androgynous. When he played a woman, he nailed it every time. As a woman, he could get close to Ivy (as an endearment) without raising suspicion. Thinking of that, Lucian flashed a wicked grin and, switching to a perfectly elegant female voice, nodded, "Your humble concubine is ready to follow Your Majesty into the palace!" The sudden voice shift was so flawless, the whole group looked like they’d just seen a ghost in drag.

Everyone was so thrown by his sudden voice change, they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Are you even a guy or a girl?" Butterfly Rogue muttered, baffled. That voice switch was way too freakin’ convincing—seriously, Lucian, are you a demon or just a walking gender-bending prank? This is the kind of stuff that’ll haunt my dreams!

"I can’t stay here long—Song Zhijue is way too suspicious. We’ll stay in the palace for three days, then leave. I’ll find a way for you to meet Ivy, but you have to use that time wisely: ask what she needs, figure out how to help, and promise me you won’t get too excited. The place is crawling with spies," Ethan Chu warned. He’d been in the palace before, so he knew how dangerous it was.

"Got it," the two nodded.

"Butterfly Rogue, if Adrian Night and Lucian Vane both disappear at once, it’ll look suspicious. Have Eli Crane and the martial-skilled Charlie Qiao impersonate them for now," Ethan instructed.

"No problem, leave it to me."

"We’re about to enter the palace—any messages you want me to pass to Ivy?" Adrian Night asked the others.

"We’re about to enter the palace—any messages you want me to pass to Ivy (as an endearment)?" Adrian Night asked the others.

"You guys have to tell Ivy (as an endearment) for us—she’s not allowed to flirt with anyone else in the palace! We didn’t see her for a few days and she picked up a Little Seven. If we’re gone a few more days, she’ll probably add a Little Eight and Little Nine, and then what? We’ll be out here bawling like abandoned puppies, totally broke and tragically single!" Butterfly Rogue wailed. The others all nodded with tragic solemnity, "Yeah, no more flower-picking for Ivy (as an endearment)!" Their faces were so dramatic, it looked like a whole harem funeral.

"Alright, three days from now, we’ll meet back here late at night," Adrian Night said, looking at everyone.

"Got it. Be careful in the palace!"

******

PS: Send me some red packets, pretty please~~~ pfft~~~