Chapter 239: Drawing a Line to Confine Oneself

After a long while, the vibrating iron chains gradually fell silent, and the laughter stopped. The man lifted his head, his face covered by his hair, making his features indistinct.

"How is your mother?"

He asked cautiously, even afraid to hear the answer.

Jiang Yunchu raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on—she'd never heard of her mother having a childhood sweetheart; just who was this person?

"My mother passed away long ago." Jiang Yunchu said frankly.

The man froze, as if unable to move.

"What did you say? Say it again!"

He seemed somewhat unhinged, his face twisted with anguish; even though she stood far away in the dim room, she could still feel his despair.

"My mother died; my maternal grandfather said she bled heavily in childbirth and couldn't be saved." Jiang Yunchu's feelings toward Kang Ying were complex.

Although she was not the original host, she still retained countless threads of attachment—her curiosity and reliance on her mother remained.

"Dead?"

"Hahahahaha……

"Ying'er, how did you die? How could you die? Ying'er? You promised me!"

For a moment, the man burst into loud wailing, like a wronged child……

Jiang Yunchu observed his appearance and listened to his address; in her mother's letter to her, there was no trace of this person—who was he? Why draw a line on the ground and make it a prison?

And he cared so much about his mother—does the emperor's maternal uncle know? Does his stepfather know?

And the Kang Clan?

Hearing that sorrowful wail, her heart filled with a sour, bitter taste—sour, and the corners of her eyes felt a little prickly.

"Time is pressing—do you want to steady your emotions?" Jiang Yunchu had to speak, frowning as she calculated the time; the people from the Four Great Academies should have arrived.

Not seeing a trace of herself—what kind of talk is that?

"Good."

The man simply stirred his inner energy, and in an instant the iron chains binding him flew apart in all directions.

"You… have you drawn a line on the ground and made it a prison?" Jiang Yunchu widened her eyes, watching his movements, then asked in surprise.

The man lifted his head, but his eyes could not focus, unable to see her face.

"Draw a line on the ground and make it a prison?"

"Yes, draw a line on the ground and make it a prison!"

"But the person for whom I would willingly draw a line on the ground and make it a prison is no longer here."

On his dark, grim face lay a hint of sorrow.

"I'll go with you; I'll tell you whatever you want to know." The man spoke in a low voice.

The reason that bound him has vanished—nineteen years have passed, and he's been deceived for nineteen years!

"I can't take you with me; your goal is too great." Jiang Yunchu frowned, and besides, his current state made him unsuitable to bring along.

"I'll find my way to the Regent Prince's Manor on my own; tonight I'll go there." The man narrowed his eyes, giving Jiang Yunchu a deep look—though he seemed unable to see, his gaze felt as if it rested on her face.

"Yun chu, don't do dangerous things; she'll worry." After saying this, the man's body turned into a black shadow, slipping away even before anyone could react.

Jiang Yunchu looked at the empty pool, at the iron chains scattered on the ground, thinking of that shadow like a phantom, and she rubbed her nose.

She really wanted to see her mother again!

"Master!" Bai Zhi saw the Princess Consort unharmed, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"We withdraw." Jiang Yunchu said.

Then, quickly heading toward the second secret room, she said, "Zi Su, withdraw."

Zi Su stared blankly, then her gaze gradually cleared. "Yes."

They tidied up their belongings, closed the door, and the three of them hurried away.

After they left, a person emerged from a corner—indeed, the very man who had been in the pool just moments before.

"The mechanism is here." Zi Su pointed to a spot where a stone lion stood, matching the lion outside as a pair.

Bai Zhi moved the stone lion, and the bookshelf door sprang open. Having just left the confined space, the three of them momentarily felt dizzy.

"Zi Su, restore everything to its original state."

"Bai Zhi, go check whether the people from the Four Great Academies have arrived."

After Jiang Yunchu finished her arrangements, she tidied her attire and stood under a tree by the gate, pondering everything that had just happened in the secret room; the mysteries in her heart were not solved but deepened.

They found the mechanism quickly, having disturbed little of the area, and Zi Su swiftly restored the moved items.

"Master, the Four Great Academies have arrived, and Xi Gonggong has sent people over." Bai Zhi, light-footed all the way, tapped her toes on leaves and leapt down.

"Then let's go meet them."

Jiang Yunchu smiled; if before she had been somewhat uncertain, now she could basically be certain that the person behind the scenes must have placed a spy in the Name List Academy—the many items in that secret room, and the imprisoned man.

That couldn't be accomplished overnight.

Or perhaps……

Was the incident at Celebration Hall really her fault? Or was it Celebration Hall's own doing? Or perhaps…… they wanted to dominate the Name List Academy?

No matter the reason, she seemed to have become a pawn on the opponent's chessboard.

"Greetings, Princess Consort."

For a moment, everyone began to perform salutations.

"No need." Jiang Yunchu raised her hand.

The person who had just been bowing rose to his feet.

Qing Feng Da Ru approached and gently asked, "Yun chu, do you know what's going on?"

The affairs of the Name List Academy were developing too swiftly; news from the palace arrived just as quickly—this imperial edict's speed seemed prepared in advance, and the people of Jingdu were all watching.

Jiang Yunchu raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth hanging with a detached, light smile: 'Great scholar, you jest; Yun chu is merely a Princess Consort, I cannot rashly discuss state affairs—how would I know about the Name List Academy?'

Qing Feng Da Ru's mouth twitched; Liu Yunfeng, who knew the inside story, also twitched his mouth. If the Regent's Consort didn't intervene to disperse the crowd, he would already have been preparing to act.

But the Princess Consort's intervention was overly swift and decisive; she directly took away the wooden plaque bearing the list, and the crowd had to disperse even if they didn't want to.

He still needed to devise a reason, then have the Jingzhao Prefecture act, in order to disperse the crowd.

Wang Xianshi is someone who knows nothing; looking at that group of students, thinking of today's list, he said, 'Mr. He couldn't really have done that, could he? Did you let someone copy today's list?'

'Our academy has over a dozen children; they do well in other academies, but as soon as they reach the Name List Academy Joint Examination, they never make the list.'

'I've suspected this for a while; I even asked that old brat, and that old brat said, 'Is it that our academy's students can't adapt to the local conditions?'

'So it's this old brat, stealing while on duty!'

Wang Xianshi was also furious, practically spitting with anger; the child who should have made the list was, due to a villain's scheming, directly removed from it. Just thinking of that brat made him want to drag him over and throw two punches.

What on earth is all this?!