Hidden Cave

The coming-of-age ceremony was held in the East Mansion. In the backyard, Conglan rebuilt the pond of the former Prime Minister's Mansion one-to-one. Around the pond were Taihu stones of various shapes and sizes, covered with lush green moss. The dewdrops were like a casually placed shawl by the lady, adorning the stones.

Standing by the pond, Sima An was furious. "Stop talking to me with that timid face! Do you believe I'll tear your face off right now?"

"Princess, the King said he has his own arrangements." Xi Yuzhen spoke timidly, wearing a lotus leaf green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), the style of which was not new, and some of the embroidered patterns on the hem were sticking out, making it look messy.

Sima An found Xi Yuzhen's outfit amusing and pointed at her face, "Do you think that by wearing her clothes and having this similar face, you can become her?"

"You can't even fool me, how could you possibly fool Fan Lingzhang! Let me tell you, I will never let you impersonate her, she is my sister! You actually dare to try to impersonate my sister? How utterly ridiculous!"

"Do you think that by using my father to pressure me, I won't do anything to you?" Sima An glanced at the pond, a cold glint in his eyes, grabbed Xi Yuzhen's arm, and pretended to push her into the lake.

With a loud splash, the water gradually subsided, and nothing seemed amiss.

At the banquet, Afu hurriedly ran to Fan Lingzhang's side and whispered something to him.

Fan Lingzhang pretended to go to the toilet and left. He hurriedly went to the pond, where willows swayed by the water, their slender branches hanging down to the surface.

Fan Lingzhang only saw Sima An standing under the willow tree, her skirt completely soaked. The young lady wrung it out without a care and waved to Fan Lingzhang when she saw him coming.

Fan Lingzhang strode forward and demanded sharply, "Sima An, what have you done?"

Lowering his voice, he asked, "You pushed her into the lake?"

Sima An looked up and asked him in return, "What do you think? Do you really care about an imposter?"

Fan Lingzhang had a headache. His usual flamboyant smile disappeared, replaced by a deep expression. "I know everything. Guess if your father knows?"

Sima An remained unconcerned, his expression indifferent. "Whatever. Let him kill me if he dares. I really want to see if his only daughter is more important to him or Xi Yuzhen. He can abandon his niece without hesitation, can he abandon me?"

"Didn't you say I'm his only child?"

Fan Lingzhang felt a headache coming on: "Think about it again when you've calmed down."

He struck Sima An on the back of the neck with a palm strike, and the next second Sima An slowly fell to the ground. Fan Lingzhang did not help her up, letting her fall on her own.

Fan Lingzhang's gaze swept past the woman on the ground and then turned to the calm, still pond.

"Afu, go find the Princess Consort and bring Sima An back. I'll go to Aling's place myself."

"yes."

The pond was completely still. Fan Lingzhang was unsure whether Xi Yuzhen had sunk or if there was some secret about the pond known only to the Sima family.

Sui Zhixu and Chaoyang were drinking happily when a maid beside her said that when Fan Lingzhang came looking for her, she was so distracted that she didn't know where her soul was. Sui Zhixu asked again, "Who came looking for me? Fan Lingzhang?"

"Yes, Young Master Fan requests a meeting with his wife; he has important matters to discuss."

Although Xu didn't want to go, she was enjoying her drink. In her hazy state, she remembered that she had deceived Fan Lingzhang. Hesitantly, she finally got up and went to the place Fan Lingzhang had mentioned.

"What's wrong?"

The lady's cheeks flushed slightly from the intoxication, and the corners of her peach blossom eyes deepened in color, like the petals of a peach blossom near the stamen, revealing an eerie quality.

“Sima An pushed Xi Yuzhen into the pond. I suspect there’s a trap left over from the previous dynasty in the pond, and she locked Xi Yuzhen in it. You know Sima An has always respected you, and Xi Yuzhen looks a lot like you from before… In a fit of anger, she did something irrational again.”

The warm breeze ruffled the hair around Sui Zhixu's ears, tickling him a little. Sui Zhixu brushed it away with his hand, his eyes clouded with tears from drinking. He looked at Fan Lingzhang with misty eyes, and Fan Lingzhang couldn't bear it.

His tone grew gentler, tinged with helplessness, "Ah Ling, did you hear me?"

"I heard that. Sima An threw Xi Yuzhen into the water. You mean Xi Yuzhen looks like me?" Sui Zhixu recalled reading a storybook before and added, "What about you? Do you think you look like me?"

“No way!” Fan Lingzhang replied decisively. He wouldn’t mistake her for someone else. Xi Yuzhen, with that face and timid demeanor, didn’t resemble A Ling at all. Only a fool would mistake her for someone else.

"Oh, take me to the pond, I want to see it."

The lady was charming, and Fan Lingzhang couldn't help but laugh. He led Sui Zhixu to the pond.

"The willows are green! Hold me and I'll go take a look."

"yes."

Liu Lü, having received praise from Sui Zhixu for her light-footed skills, leaped up while holding Sui Zhixu in her arms.

Dan Hong and Fan Lingzhang were left staring at each other, Dan Hong clutching the sleeping pills tightly in her sleeve, keeping a close eye on Fan Lingzhang at all times.

Fan Lingzhang: "..."

As he explored the artificial hill, the mechanical arrays from the book of mechanisms came to mind. The previous dynasty valued the timing of the heavens and regarded this artificial hill as a Bagua array. The gate of life was the Gen trigram in the northeast direction, representing the rising mountain.

Sui Zhixu pressed his hand onto the moss; it was fuzzy, damp, and had a strange, itchy feel.

With a loud rumble, the stone in front of them caved in and slowly moved, opening a passage like a door.

The dark, damp cave opened, and the moment it was opened, a musty smell hit her, choking her for a long time. She didn't have a tinderbox, so she quickly asked Liu Lü to take her back to the shore.

"Cough cough cough—"

If I had known this would happen, I would have told her later, at least after her coming-of-age ceremony.

Fan Lingzhang's original intention was to let Sui Zhixu know that the pond might contain traps from the previous dynasty, as the Sima family was well aware of this place. Fearing that she might be plotted against without knowing why, Fan Lingzhang was stopped by Dan Hong just as he was about to go up.

Dan Hong gently patted Sui Zhixu's back.

"My lady, you should take a hangover pill."

"No, I'm not that drunk. Look, I've solved the puzzle. If I were drunk, would my brain be that clear? Cough cough cough—"

"My lady is so capable. Then this servant will take you downstairs to get some water. Let's not stay here, okay? Liu Lü can take care of things here."

Liu Lü nodded, indicating that he was able to.

Dan Hong didn't give Fan Lingzhang a chance to speak, and bypassed him to help Sui Zhixu away.

Fan Lingzhang: "No?"

He watched helplessly as Dan Hong took Sui Zhixu away, while Liu Lü held his sword in front of him, preventing Fan Lingzhang from having any chance to take advantage.

Xu was so easily fooled that he completely forgot about Fan Lingzhang and only followed Dan Hong.

Fan Lingzhang was very unhappy!

He wants to protest!

That's my wife!

Fan Lingzhang muttered to himself, but Liu Lü ignored him and summoned a loyal guard from her household to help her investigate. She glanced at Fan Lingzhang.

What are you still doing here?

Fan Lingzhang understood Liu Lü's look: "..."

Today is A-Ling's coming-of-age ceremony, so he can't be angry. He wears the same flamboyant smile as before, but it doesn't feel natural. He stiffly turns around to ask A-Fu about the situation with the Prince of Xuanping.

A small group of Willow Green faction guarded the pond, while he and a few others entered the cave with torches.

In the cave

Liu Lü followed the path and soon found Xi Yuzhen, who was soaking wet and unconscious. Liu Lü quickly took off her coat and covered Xi Yuzhen with it, then picked her up and shouted, "Check the surroundings."

"Reporting to Lady Willow Green, nothing was found here."

"Not here either."

"Here too."

Hearing the surrounding disapproval, Liu Lü nodded slightly. "Let's go out first."

Today is my wife's coming-of-age ceremony; we mustn't let her ruin the good occasion.

When Liu Lü was not far from the stone door, something strange happened at the entrance. The recessed stone door slammed shut with lightning speed. Liu Lü only had time to throw the person in her arms out before she herself was trapped inside the cave.

"Lady Willow Green!"

Hearing the commotion, Liu Lü shouted, "Don't make a sound!"

The sound of the trickling water penetrated the stone wall and reached everyone's ears.

"Water is flowing in!"

As her feet gradually became wet, Liu Lü frowned. The water flowed quickly, and in no time, the water had already soaked the soles of her shoes.

The torchlight gradually dimmed, and the cave, which had been sealed off for years, wouldn't last much longer.

Liu Lü gripped the torch tightly, her eyes scanning every part of the stone wall, trying to find a way to escape.

On the other end, Dan Hong coaxed Sui Zhixu into taking the hangover medicine. After a while, Sui Zhixu's vision began to clear, and he lifted his eyes from Dan Hong's shoulder, saying, "I'm a little dizzy."

"It would be strange if my wife didn't feel dizzy. After drinking several jars of wine, anyone else would have been dead by now."

Sui Zhixu placed her hand on her temple and gently pressed it, "Why hasn't Liu Lü returned yet?"

She opened the window, and the sun overhead shifted, the intense sunlight forcing Sui Zhixu to squint. She remembered that it had been an hour or two since the last time it was directly overhead.

As Xu Jiandan looked around, she couldn't find Liu Lü's figure, and her heart sank.

"Come with me to the lake."

Could it be that something went wrong at the organization? Liu Lü is always quick and doesn't like to drag things out; she would have returned long ago for similar matters.

Sui Zhixu got up and went out of the room. Ning Yan and the others were sitting together drinking tea and chatting. When they saw Sui Zhixu come out, they smiled and said, "You're awake. It's been almost an hour and a half. If you hadn't woken up, you would have slept until evening."

"You guys chat, I'll go out for a bit."

An hour and a half later, Sui Zhixu grew increasingly uneasy and hurriedly uttered a sentence.

After bowing, Dan Hong jogged to catch up with Sui Zhixu, which puzzled the others.

Ning Yan clenched her hands: "Ah Xu looks flustered, could something have happened?"

“Now that the guests have all left and the princess has returned to the palace, what could possibly happen?” Cui Wan asked, sitting in her wheelchair, puzzled.

Ning Yan shook her head. Based on her years of experience investigating cases, she felt that something must have happened.

Pei Qinglian was, after all, a palace lady-in-waiting, so when Chaoyang returned to the palace, he took her with him.

Now Ning Yan is staying with Cui Wan, who has difficulty walking.

"Your legs are weak, so stay here. I'll go take a look."

Ning Yan was worried, so she told Cui Wan to go after her.

Because of Sui Zhixu's light and quick steps, Ning Yan couldn't tell which road Sui Zhixu was taking when she went out. She walked and asked for directions along the way, and on the way, she ran into Madam Xu, who had been rescued at the Cheng family banquet last time.

Now she is no longer a weak and vulnerable woman who can be bullied by everyone. After she returned home, she had almost completely dealt with the women in the backyard of the Marquis of Anyuan's mansion.

Not long ago, Cheng Langjun denied his marriage agreement with Liu Niangzi, saying that a verbal agreement was not valid. He then turned around and asked Xu Niangzi for her hand in marriage. They were supposed to get married in the autumn.

Today she is representing the Anyuan Marquis's family at the coming-of-age ceremony for the young master.

"May Madam Xu be well."

"Is Lady Ning looking for Lady Sui? I just saw her heading towards the lake." Xu Mingyi said gently, patiently leading Ning Yan the way.

"Thank you, Madam Xu."

"I should be thanking you. Last time, it was thanks to the ladies who came to my rescue."

If Ning Yan hadn't met her today, she would have almost forgotten about this incident. Cui Wan had always been like this since she was a child, always speaking out against injustice and unable to bear seeing the weak being bullied. Ning Yan followed her and saved many people one after another.

Ning Yan waved her hand, "It's nothing serious. I have something important to do right now. Let's talk another day."

Xu Mingyi nodded in agreement, and Ning Yan, seeing this, lifted her skirt and ran off quickly.

As the figure receded into the distance, Xu Mingyi's maidservant said, "My lady, my husband is still waiting for you."

Xu Mingyi's eyes dimmed. "Let's go, take me to see him."

When Ning Yan arrived, just as she had expected, the lakeside was in a mess, and one glance was enough to tell that something terrible had happened.

The woman, whose face was obscured, was half-hanging on the lake shore, and Dan Hong, the maid of Sui Zhixu, was trying her best to pull her out.

He then swam into the lake and explored the artificial hill.