The Vampire Empress: Blood Queen & Her Kings

The Secret Tunnel

"Miss, are we really going to do this?"
The uncertainty and fear of getting caught were clearly visible in Li Qi's eyes as she whispered the question for the nth time within the last twenty minutes.
A soft sigh left Ying Yue's lips as she dusted her dress before standing up and facing her two maids.
"How many times do I have to answer that question of yours? Even I'm not scared, but look at you two! You both are acting like I'm taking you guys to assassinate someone. Just relax, alright?"
Both the sisters changed worried glances between each other before Li Wu dared to speak, "Miss, why are you even taking such a huge risk? What if someone decided to visit the Cold palace in our absence? How are we going to explain your absence?"
Ying Yue who was ready to open the trap door, stopped her movements as she turned her entire focus towards the two girls.
"When was the last time someone came to look for me in this abandoned place?" She asked the girls while raising her eyebrows as she waited for them to answer.
The girls hesitated to answer as they realized what their Miss was trying to tell them. It had been years since someone from the Imperial palace came anywhere near the Cold Palace.
It was always Li Qi and Li Wu who went to collect firewood, vegetables, and other essential items every once in a month or two from the Royal kitchen or butler Wen.
No one had free time to waste on paying any attention to the Cold Palace or its residents.
"But Miss, you have such poor luck. What if someone suddenly decided to look for you? The Empress Dowager will skin you alive if she finds out about this!"
Li Wu was almost on the verge of crying as she begged her Miss not to continue with her dangerous idea.
"Alright, alright! Don't worry too much. Trust me this time. I promise I won't drag the two of you into any kind of danger. Now be good girls and follow me, I'm gonna make your evening beautiful today." Ying Yue said with a huge smile as she opened the trap door.
Did their Miss not understood what they were trying to tell her?
The Li sisters could do nothing more than just silently following their Miss.
Ying Yue lit a torch and passed it to Li Wu as she helped the girl to climb down the stairs. Li Qi followed next and Ying Yue was the last one to enter the underground tunnel.
They made sure to close the trap door before setting forward on their journey.
The underground tunnel, that they were using to escape from the Palace, was not only dark but it was also filled with a strong smell of decaying plants and insects.
"Miss, we have been living in the Cold Palace for more than half a decade, but we never found this tunnel. How did you suddenly found out about this?" Li Qi asked as she passed the torch to her Miss.
Ying Yue started leading the way as she answered Li Qi's question.
"Did we ever paid any attention to this part of the palace before today? Moreover, you just saw that we literally needed to dig the soil and those bushes to find that hidden trapdoor. It's clear that whoever created this tunnel, they kept it very well hidden. Unless someone already knows about its location, it's not possible to find the trapdoor."
The girls nodded their heads as they realized that what their Miss told them actually made sense.
Their Miss was not a dumb person to start with, but the girls never realized that she actually possessed a brain that could function so well!
"But Miss, you still haven't told us about how you found out about this place." Li Qi reminded her Miss about their main question.
A soft sigh escaped Ying Yue's lips as she decided to satiate their curiosity.
"Today when we were cleaning the fifth courtyard, I found a hidden compartment in the wall behind the bed. There were some scrolls and parchments in there. One of those parchments has the map of this tunnel."
"Oh! Who would have known that there's a tunnel hidden in the Cold Palace?" Li Wu commented as she hurriedly followed behind her Miss.
"Let's not think too much about the history of this tunnel. We should be happy that we can now freely enter or exit the Imperial Palace without any problems." Li Qi commented as she suddenly appeared to be happier than she was a few moments ago.
Li Wu just slowly nodded her head at her sister's words, but then suddenly another question popped up in her mind.
"Miss, Do you know where this tunnel will open?"
"Of course! What kind of stupid question is that?" Ying Yue scoffed at the dumb question as she even stopped to pass a quick glance at her little maid.
"I.....I was just asking." Li Wu stammered as she felt embarrassed for asking such a stupid question.
"According to the map, there's a Manor located at the outskirts of the East Street. The tunnel will open somewhere near an oak tree in the back garden of the manor. Once we will reach there, then we'll decide about how to escape from that place unnoticed." Ying Yue informed the girls.
"A manor near the East Street? Can it be the famous Star Lake Manor?"
"The Star Lake Manor!"
Both Li Wu and Li Qi cried out in surprise at the same time, almost making Ying Yue lose her grip on the torch.
"Star Lake Manor?" Ying Yue questioned as she stopped to look at both the girls with curious eyes.
"En! From what we have heard from the other servants of the Palace, there's a very mysterious manor located at the outskirts of East Street."
"There are various rumors about that manor, some good and some bad. But the point is that no one knows about the identity of the owner of that mysterious manor. Moreover, no one has entered into that place ever since it was built around a decade ago."
Li Qi told her Master about all the little information that she had regarding the Star Lake Manor.
Their stories succeeded in gripping Ying Yur's attention as she looked forward to find out about that so called 'Star Lake Manor'.
However, she was totally clueless about the surprise that was waiting for her at the other end of the tunnel.