Chapter 175

In the Chai Fang, Hongyu had her mouth gagged and was tightly bound, curled up beside the damp, cold haystack.

The haystack had not been cleaned for years, very moldy; she gradually came to, but her heart was very anxious.

I have no idea who tied up her and her servant.

I suppose Su Wanrou harbors malicious intent, her methods are brutal, she must have offended many; yet it's my own misfortune to be constantly implicated by following her. If it weren't for Zhao Da, who has already entered the palace, I would really want to take a knife and perish together with Su Wanrou—better than being tortured by death by a thousand cuts.

The door of Chai Fang was violently pushed open from outside, and two guards in sturdy attire, wearing black-iron masks, strode in and hoisted Hongyu up from the grass.

Hongyu struggled desperately, but she was dragged out, all the way to the well's edge.

Earlier, the Third Prince had ordered to silence her, which meant quietly drowning this woman in this well.

Hongyu was pressed helplessly against the icy stone slab beside the well; a chill from the clear, cold well water below kept washing over her, making her shiver involuntarily.

Even if she died, it would be fine, but she still had a concern: if she died, Zhao Da would surely not survive; he would certainly die from poison.

Thinking of this, Hongyu actually broke free from the guard holding her arm and hurried toward the courtyard gate; her effort was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree—she hadn't taken a few steps before the guard behind her lifted her up and shoved her toward the well mouth.

"Stop!" a guard strode into the courtyard, holding an iron command, "The master has ordered: release this woman!"

Those few people were momentarily stunned, then immediately untied the ropes binding Hongyu.

Hongyu slumped to the ground, her face deathly pale; the experience of having just walked through the gates of hell was truly unbearable, and moreover, she was utterly mired in despair—where could there be any hope of rising again?

Soon Hongyu was brought to the side of a palanquin; Su Wanrou, who had been bound together with her earlier, now sat upright upon it, showing no outward sign, but her complexion was as deathly pale as Hongyu's, clearly having just undergone something.

Although her posture was proper and her demeanor calm, the way her fingers were tightly clenched together, trembling slightly, gave her away.

Hongyu opened her mouth, but no sound came out; she looked uncertainly at Su Wanrou seated on the palanquin.

Su Wanrou's face darkened a few degrees; she stared fixedly at Hongyu, her voice gaining a warning tone: "This matter must not be told to anyone, not even the Prince, or else……"

Su Wanrou did not finish her words, but the warning was unmistakably clear—evidently she had Zhao Da in her grasp to control her.

She slowly lowered her head and followed beside Su Wanrou's palanquin back to the small courtyard down the mountain.

The few guards watching the courtyard also felt a twinge of regret; they should have accompanied Miss Wan, and even if the palace folk wouldn't allow these rough guards to bring weapons inside, they could have left their arms behind and followed, or at least escorted them to the temple gate above.

It was precisely because Su Wanrou had snapped at them a few times that they had no choice but to yield to her temperament; now, thinking back, they felt quite regretful.

While they were anxiously worried, Su Wanrou returned in her palanquin; the bearers wore palace officials' adornments, leading them to think she had come back from the Empress Dowager's quarters.

Seeing that Su Wanrou's face showed only fatigue, with nothing else unusual, they all came forward to bow respectfully.

Su Wanrou glanced at them indifferently, said nothing, descended from the palanquin, and led Hongyu into the courtyard.

"Chen Er-ge," a guard whispered to the older guard, "Should we report this to the Prince?"

Chen Er-ge slowly shook his head and whispered, "Forget it, no need to say; after all, it's our fault, and the Prince is swamped lately—there's no need to bother him with our affairs."

Moreover, Miss Su always has palace personnel picking her up and dropping her off; although her absence was a bit longer, nothing was amiss, so we needn't make a fuss—today's matter must be kept to ourselves, not spoken of.

"Yes!"

At this moment, Gu Jiu Ling accompanied Xiao Yin beside Empress Dowager Ning'an; their relationship was rather gloomy.

Gu Jiu Ling drank seven or eight cups of tea, listening to Xiao Yin and Empress Dowager Ning'an exchange riddles back and forth, then spoke incoherently with the Empress Dowager about Buddhist matters for a while, ate a large plate of pastries, and finally waited until the Empress Dowager issued the order to dismiss the guests.

"Forget it, I'm happy to have chatted a bit longer with you two today."

Gu Jiu Ling lowered her brows and eyes, her expression extremely obedient, yet she inwardly muttered; after speaking for nearly three hours, even Tang Seng here could be nagged into wanting to hang himself for some peace.

Just that? Only a moment? I have no idea how long this 'moment' of the Empress Dowager's is supposed to be.

Fortunately, the trying time passed; the Empress Dowager finally relented, she let out a breath of relief, and together with Xiao Yin she slowly rose and left the Empress Dowager's Zen courtyard.

Ahead, a palace attendant carefully held a lamp; Xiao Yin had the attendant hand the palace lamp to him, which he gripped and walked forward slowly.

At this moment, on the winding path of the Zen courtyard, only Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling remained; the attendant who had been guiding them was sent away by Xiao Yin.

Although it was winter, the scenery of Panlong Temple was still fine; the Zen courtyard was surrounded by pines and cypresses, and the bamboo at the corner, though withered yellow, still bore a hint of dark, lush green, looking beautiful in the swaying moonlight.

Tonight's night sky is beautiful; the distant temple, the surrounding tree shadows, and even the beloved beside her are all bathed in clear, hazy moonlight.

Walking through such a beautiful scroll, Gu Jiu Ling's tangled heart finally calmed.

She suddenly realized that whenever she stayed for a period at Panlong Temple to cultivate Buddhist practice, listening to the clear clatter of the iron horses beneath the eaves, there was an indescribable tranquility.

Neither spoke, but Xiao Yin was the first to ask: "What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm..." Gu Jiu Ling paused slightly, "I'm thinking about how the Empress Dowager stirred up such a commotion, and is targeting me everywhere; just now when I saw her, I almost imagined every possible bad outcome."

"For instance, how might she harm me—poison? Assassination? Straight-up killing me?"

"In the end, the food was fine, the tea was fine—just overly talkative; I don't know what all they said, it feels like pure chatting for chatting's sake; doesn't the Prince find this strange? It feels like they're trying to keep us occupied so we can't do other bad things."

Xiao Yin's brows also furrowed slightly; he too found it puzzling, given the Empress Dowager's nature—if she had simply let them go this easily, that would be abnormal.

"I'll send people to investigate! If she intends to delay us, there will surely be moves behind the scenes; since we can't figure it out, let's wait for them to act—since they're holding us back to do something, it will eventually come to light."

Gu Jiu Ling nodded, and didn't think further; pondering these conspiracies was already tiresome.

The two returned to their own quarters, both residing in the Zen courtyard on the mountain; the Empress Dowager's courtyard wasn't far away, and they soon arrived back.

After Xiao Yin had seen Gu Jiu Ling settled to rest, he ordered Ling Feng to go to his side chamber.

"Your Highness!" Ling Feng strode in.

Xiao Yin lowered his gaze to the half-carved sandalwood auspicious ruyi beads in his hand, and asked slowly, "Was there anything unusual just now on our side?"