Chapter 86: Bird in the Palm

When she first met Yun Yuan at Yuanfeng Courtyard, she recognized her as the spy Tao Yao had sent in—her clothing, demeanor, and mannerisms were all modeled after the intelligence she had provided. When Yun Yuan's pink and white crimson gauze skirt billowed in the wind, she nearly burst into tears; it was clearly her beloved sister.

So, when she learned that Feng Yanhao used her to kill Yun Yuan, she felt that she had pushed her sister into the abyss with her own hands.

She didn't believe what Feng Die said: "The Third Young Master saved Yun Yuan."

She wanted to leave, but he refused.

She tried to escape several times, but she couldn't escape his clutches.

She was completely desperate, so she took poison.

Of course, she could have ended her life more quickly. But she inexplicably chose the slow-acting poison Feng Xiaotian had fed her, choosing this painful and prolonged death.

Perhaps it was to atone for her sins to Yun Yuan - if Yun Yuan had not detoxified her, she would have died like this.

Or maybe it was a test - she really wanted to see how Feng Yanhao would react to her pain and death.

Her collapse and stubbornness obviously exceeded Feng Yanhao's expectations.

She had been with him for seven years and had never disobeyed him.

Even the betrayal a few months ago - in front of him, she just silently endured his rage, obedient as if it was just a momentary infatuation and ignorant negligence.

She was naturally gentle and lazy, and wasn't much of a spy. When she followed her senior sister, she obeyed everything. When she joined the Feng family, she simply wanted to take care of her senior sister's orphan, never thinking she could deceive the Feng family's young master—Feng Yanhao, who was already known as the "Black Judge" in the martial arts world.

It all started when he occasionally passed by the outer house.

I still remember that it was dusk that day, the setting sun dyed the deep courtyard orange, and he was riding on the tall black horse, blocking her way.

That glance from above was full of undisguised, naked desire.

At night Feng Wu abducted her to the young master's bed.

Rude, brutal, greedy.

That night she was in excruciating pain and tears streamed down her face.

She thought that after enduring this night, she would be stuffed into Yuanfeng Courtyard like those girls who were torn apart by the young masters, and become the young master's spy.

But she was left behind and became the young master's most handy plaything.

Night after night, until I was exhausted and the bed was soaked.

She didn't understand, and didn't want to know. She could only endure day after day, trying to be docile yet alert, waiting for him to tire of her and wait for her to be tucked away into Yuanfeng Courtyard.

But what she waited for was a "Ran Xi Pavilion" and a new name - "Xi Ran".

She became the young master's only favorite concubine.

Before her, Feng Yanhao only liked the virginity of young girls—he enjoyed the pleasure of tearing apart that innocence. After her, he never looked for another woman.

He even taught her swordsmanship, let her learn the Feng family's secret poison, and allowed her to take care of the maids who were to be sent to Yuanfengyuan.

She had also wondered why.

My senior sister once said that she had a kind of nonchalant and lazy aura about her, which made people feel at ease.

Maybe that's why.

She never dared to think too deeply. After all, there was no need to consider Feng Yanhao's feelings.

But now, when she wanted to die, she had that ridiculous obsession - what would happen if he died of her?

Wuyi leaned on the big pillow and looked at Yunyuan who was carefully mixing the medicine.

She didn't expect that he would bring Yuan'er with him.

And Yuan'er was safe and peaceful, just as always.

He really didn't lie to her again.

Her heart was surging—she wasn't even sure whether this surging joy, besides the fact that Yun Yuan was still alive, was mixed with something else, something she had always longed for but had tightly suppressed.

The aroma of medicine in the room had not yet dissipated, but it had already mixed with the scent of the warm afternoon sun.

As Yun Yuan fed her the medicine, she whispered about this thrilling month. From the undercurrent in the palace to the ambush outside the city, from the life-and-death struggle to the present moment of survival. The topic eventually returned to Luoyang and the Prince of Huainan.

"...In the final analysis," Yun Yuan said in a low voice, gently placing the medicine bowl in her hand on An Ji, "whether the world will be in chaos or stable, will it be a river of blood or a peaceful and tranquil sea, I'm afraid the next few days will determine it." She sighed softly, "I must find that venomous snake as soon as possible... Do you have any clues?"

The faint light coming in from the window was reflected in Wu Yi's eyes. She pursed her lips, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Yun Yuan noticed her hesitation and asked, "Do you know the clue about the poisonous snake?" She suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Wu Yi..."

"He will use me." Wu Yi pursed her pale lips. "I can no longer be sure how much of what I heard and observed is true. Now that he has brought you here... I can't figure out his intentions. Last time was..."

"Why are you blaming yourself so much?" Yun Yuan smiled bitterly. "For us, every move is like walking on the edge of a knife."

Wu Yi sighed softly, remained silent for a while, and finally spoke.

"I don't know the whereabouts of the venomous snake...but for these three days, at 12:30 a.m., I could always hear the woman chanting."

"Recite? Do you have any poems?"

Wu Yi shook her head. "It's a very strange tune, very short, and I can't make out any clues."

Yun Yuan frowned. "Where? In this mansion?"

"It sounds like it's in the southwest corner," Wu Yi recalled. "There's an abandoned courtyard that hasn't been cleaned up yet. There's only an empty attic inside. It doesn't even have a name. Feng Wei just calls it the Ghost Pavilion..."

The door was pushed open with a creaky sound.

The maid came in quietly, carrying an exquisite food tray. On the tray were a few light side dishes and a bowl of thick green stem rice porridge, with steam rising from it.

The maid carefully held the bowl of porridge to Wu Yi, her hands trembling slightly. These past few days, this favorite concubine would raise her hand to overturn the lunch box, and then Master Hao would grab her by the neck and force the soup into her mouth. The two of them would fight each other with brutality, leaving them trembling with fear. Finally, the Master would throw the soup bowl in their faces and call them "useless." Yesterday, a maid had even been cut in the face by a broken bowl and sent to the kitchen.

However, unexpectedly, today the concubine didn't turn away as usual. Her gaze fell on the bowl of warm porridge, and after a moment's hesitation, she finally extended her slender fingers. The maid's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise, and she even forgot to offer the bowl closer.

At this moment, a tall and broad figure appeared silently at the door, blocking most of the light.

Feng Yanhao walked in.

The maids hurriedly retreated. Yun Yuan also stood up silently.

Feng Yanhao walked straight to the couch and sat down, holding Wu Yi's back with one hand and pulling her into his arms, and with the other hand he took the porridge bowl and spoon from the maid.

"Sit down."

Wu Yi's body tensed up for a moment, then slowly relaxed, and she leaned obediently against his strength.

Feng Yanhao scooped up a spoonful of warm meat porridge, blew it carefully, and then handed it to Wuyi's lips.

Yun Yuan was shocked watching from the side.

This strange warmth.

How could the cold and sinister Feng Yanhao feed the baby so meticulously himself?

She suddenly realized that Wu Yi had been in Haofengyuan for seven years... Seven years, how could it be just a thrilling calculation?

"Yuan'er, you've worked hard." Feng Yanhao didn't even raise his head as he gave a faint instruction in Yun Yuan's direction, "Take the pharmacist back to his room to rest and serve him well."

The maid standing by quickly responded and stepped forward to salute Yun Yuan respectfully.

Yun Yuan was about to get up, but saw Wu Yi, who had been swallowing quietly, suddenly moved - she gently grabbed the front of Feng Yanhao's robe.

Feng Yanhao paused.

Wu Yi's breath was weak: "The poison... has been resolved..." There was a barely perceptible pleading in her thin voice, "Can you... let Yuan'er go?"

Feng Yanhao lowered his eyes and looked at the slender white fingers that were grabbing his clothes, with no expression on his face.

The room suddenly became silent.

The soup spoon hit the porcelain bowl with a "bang", which startled the maids so much that they all tensed up and trembled like sieves.

Feng Yanhao scooped up another spoonful of meat porridge, blew on it, and passed it to Wu Yi. Seeing her lips tightly pursed, he twitched the corners of his mouth very slightly and spoke slowly, "There were some misunderstandings before." He raised his eyes and glanced at Yun Yuan, "She is a spy and has free access."

Wu Yi's fingers that were grabbing his collar loosened slightly, and the lines of her body, which had been tense all the time, also softened a little.

She didn't say anything else, but just opened her mouth slightly and took the spoon that Feng Yanhao handed to her lips and swallowed the warm porridge.

Yun Yuan was still staring in a daze when she suddenly felt her clothes being tugged at. She turned around and saw the anxious and pleading eyes of the maid approaching her. Only then did she react, bowed hurriedly, and left the room.

The night was as dark as ink, dyeing the colorful eaves and brackets black.

Yun Yuan dismissed the maid, leaving only a solitary lamp as small as a bean, illuminating the small world in front of the west window.

She caught every sound of the night—the rustle of the wind through the bamboo forest, the distant beat of the night watchman's clapper, even the faint sound of the distant Luo River flowing. Time slipped away, the moon sank in the west, the distant hustle and bustle of the city faded, and finally, all was silent.

She was waiting for what Wu Yi had mentioned, the woman's chanting.

However, the time passed quickly and nothing happened.

Maybe it was just a coincidence?

She was thinking - suddenly, a dog barked abruptly in the quiet night.

Yunyuan's heart trembled.

In an instant, from near to far, all the dogs in Luoyang City started barking wildly as if they were stung by something!

The barking was as turbulent as the tide, but it suddenly subsided in a few breaths, leaving only a few short, uneasy barks, as if unwillingly chasing after a phantom.

Midnight returned to silence, leaving only the whimpering of the night wind blowing across the roof.

Could the dog's sudden barking be caused by the woman's voice?

But why didn't she hear anything?

She suddenly remembered that Wu Yi had super hearing, which allowed her to hear sounds that ordinary people couldn't. This person was using this to transmit sound, specifically for someone as special as Wu Yi. And that special tune was probably a secret code!

She looked towards the house in the southwest.

Therefore, it was not an ordinary chanting, but a message.

Who could it be?

Yun Yuan extinguished the candle and slid into the night like the night wind.

The Feng spy patrols were well-trained, just as they had been during the Feng family's time. Yun Yuan knew the drill by heart, dodging and landing with perfect timing.

It was indeed a deserted courtyard, and even night patrols rarely passed by.

The attic doors and windows were closed, and it was pitch black inside and silent.

After confirming that there was no one nearby, Yun Yuan took a deep breath and leaped lightly. Grabbing the window sill with both hands, he slipped in through the narrow gap like a cat and landed silently.

The attic was filled with the smell of old dust. In the dim light from the window, one could see many dusty wooden boxes, scrolls, and some strangely shaped utensils piled up inside - this place looked like an abandoned attic from the inside out.

As far as the eye can see, there is nothing around, no other rooms, not even partitions. Looking up, there is the roof of a two-story building. How could there be people in such a place?

Could it be underground? She began to carefully knock on the ground and walls, looking for a hidden compartment or passage.

Just then—

“Click!”

A slight mechanical sound came from outside the door!

Yun Yuan's hair stood on end, and he climbed up the wall like a gecko. When the door opened and the firelight came in, he turned over and hung upside down on the beam of the roof.

Hold your breath.

Torches flickered in the house, and two figures appeared on the wall, sometimes larger and sometimes smaller, pacing around as if doing a routine.

"I don't know why you have to patrol here every night. What else could this Ghost Pavilion have besides ghosts?" The young man's childish voice was filled with resentment.

"Newcomer, keep quiet." Another voice said coldly, "Live longer."

The flames carried the figure away into the pavilion.

The Ghost Pavilion returned to darkness and silence.

Yun Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to jump down - suddenly her feet felt tight, and her ankle was tightly gripped by a pair of wet, cold, claw-like fingers.