Secret Passage (Part 3)

Xie Lingxi bent over and gripped the bedpost, just as she squeezed her whole body inside, she heard someone lift the gauze curtain and walk in.

The space under the bed was too cramped, and the stone cave had been filled with dust for a long time. She crawled on her stomach, covered her mouth, and tried her best not to cough.

As soon as she moved slightly, Liu Xu gasped for breath, "Third Sister, don't move."

At this moment, the girl, as beautiful as a fragrant flower, leaned against him. As their clothes rubbed against each other, an ambiguous feeling inevitably arose. In the quiet and dim light, the subtle fragrance was refreshing, as if the surroundings were slowly warming up.

Xie Lingxi thought it was too crowded inside, so she carefully moved to the side to protect her hairpins. However, Mo Shen saw this and suddenly shrank back, saying, "Wife! Don't get agitated! Let's talk this out!"

This person is really too worried.

Xie Lingxi lowered her hand, clutching Liu Xu's clothes, and asked in a breathy voice, "What should we do now?"

As she spoke, her breath was as delicate as a fragrant orchid, stirring ripples across the green lake.

Liu Xu's mouth was slightly dry, and he couldn't help but turn his head away. "That man is of extraordinary status, and I'm afraid he has a lot of ambitions. Do you recognize his face, Third Sister?"

After the prince entered the room, he uttered a few ravings, then sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and muttered incantations.

Suddenly, the lamp on the wall lit up, its golden light illuminating the face of the person on the bed. Beside him stood a servile eunuch, short and thin, with a fawning expression.

"Your Highness! You don't know, while you were gone, the Iron Guard was in chaos. General Achilo and His Highness the Crown Prince have always been at odds, and now they've started fighting!"

"That kid's only good for nothing!"

Prince Pingnan, Yan Li, laughed loudly: "His brothers at home are scheming and fighting for power, hoping to win my favor. I gave him the right to roam freely outside, not to have him betray me and my deputy!"

"If he doesn't cherish this opportunity, then let him take it."

These words startled Xie Lingxi. At this time, the Prince of Pingnan should have just arrived in the capital, but these words sounded as if he had already lingered in Chang'an for several days. No wonder even the Xingwu Camp was hastily mobilized, and Xiangshan had become a battleground.

As for Achille, he was a brave and skilled warrior, and although he was from the north, he was highly respected in the army.

She suddenly remembered her past life, when Yan Ji was the emperor's chief minister, and the Prince of Pingnan tried to help him but failed. He was later imprisoned and executed in the street with the label of "traitor."

But this person doesn't seem like a good person who is loyal to the emperor and loves his country.

She took Liu Xu's hand and slowly wrote the character "南" (Nan, meaning south) on it.

Seeing that he understood, he lowered his head and heard the eunuch reply repeatedly, "Yes, yes, this servant will go back and tell His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"stop!"

The eunuch had just taken a trembling step when he was stopped by the Prince of Pingnan. "How is Yan Ji doing?"

"His secret letter said he would personally present a defense map of the palace today, why haven't we seen it yet?"

At this point, the eunuch got excited, laughing loudly and proudly: "Your Highness is a master strategist! Over the past two years, I have observed day and night and finally discovered that this Fifth Prince is not as selfless as he appears on the surface."

"How could he possibly have obtained the defense map? I heard they captured an old man who was the chief engineer in charge of building the palace back then. That man was stubborn and refused to say anything. He took advantage of the Fifth Prince's inattention and disappeared in a flash!"

"Smack—!"

The Prince of Pingnan's forehead veins bulged, and he grabbed a scroll and slammed it to the ground. "Useless!"

"I should have realized this sooner: no matter how smart the son of a good-for-nothing is, what kind of person can he become?"

A moment later, he switched to a slick tone and said, "Alright, where's the new skin I found? Bring it up."

The eunuch had anticipated this, and now he strutted forward with the rope tied in a tight knot, binding a pair of fair wrists.

As soon as the man was dragged up, the Prince of Pingnan grabbed him by the neck and demanded, "You're Mianniang's son?"

"No, it wasn't me! My lord... my lord, spare me! I don't know anything!"

The voice sounded especially familiar. Xie Lingxi recalled that it was the fake monk!

Sure enough, they saw a bald man with a flushed face and bloodshot eyes, coughing violently and yelling, "Help! I don't know any Mian Niang, please don't kill me—"

Finally, the pressure on his neck eased, and in the blink of an eye, she picked up the jade pendant at his waist and examined it, asking, "Where did this jade pendant come from?"

The Prince of Pingnan gently stroked the patterns on the jade pendant, his eyes filled with longing. "This was a gift I gave to her years ago, but alas, her family was not of high enough status, and she was—"

Mianniang was kicked out of the house by her own brother, the emperor. The emperor even personally selected a princess for her later. She was a gentle and kind girl from an official family.

Their marriage was harmonious, but the good times didn't last long. She died in childbirth, and because of this, he was exceptionally kind to her son.

After thinking for a moment, he grabbed Ran by the neck tightly, his eyes bloodshot: "Tell me! Where did this jade pendant come from?"

Liao Ran shook her head, patted her arm, signaling him to let go. Once the grip loosened, she collapsed to the ground, her face contorted with grief, and said, slowly and deliberately, "This...this is...cough cough...I picked it up on the road...I thought it looked nice, so I...I kept it..."

He did indeed find it today. The lady from the Xie family accidentally left it behind when she left. He found it so beautiful that he decided to wear it on his person for a few days before returning it.

Who knew there was this hidden story behind it!

Xie Lingxi was also surprised. She was stunned for a moment, and then she looked closely at the jade pendant that the Prince of Pingnan was gently stroking. It was indeed the one her father had given her.

The tassels she later added were made of silk, and their color was so unique that it was easy to tell that they were not as common as those on the market.

Liu Xu had also thought of this, and tilted his head to look at her, "Yours?"

Xie Lingxi stared blankly: "Mine."

But this was clearly given to her by her father, so what does it have to do with any Mian Niang?

Could it be...

"Okay, okay! I found it."

Yan Li didn't even look at him, slapping the man to the ground with a sneer, his expression gloomy: "Heaven really likes to play jokes on me. Ah Cai, skin him alive!"

He left the couch, barefoot, and paced nervously through the stone cave. Seeing the faint light on the walls, his violent impulses intensified. With a flick of his wide sleeve, he smashed all the lamps to the ground, muttering unconsciously, "I told you to be bright! I told you to be bright!"

"Bang—!"

The orchid by the bedside also crashed to the ground.

The terracotta pot was shattered into pieces, the roots and soil separated, and the lush leaves were all trampled, revealing a few pure white rhizomes.

A few ceramic shards splashed onto the floor. Xie Lingxi rolled over halfway, narrowly avoiding a few sharp pieces of porcelain flying towards her.

"Why! A foolish man sits firmly in power! I have nothing to lack! I am skilled in battle! I was born to the Empress, and I should be the one sitting in that position! But my brothers have bullied me, and the noble families have humiliated me! I command an army of 100,000, yet in the end, I can't even protect my poor wife and children!"

"Ah Cai!"

The eunuch, who was huddled in a corner, shrank back when Yan Li called him. He staggered and forced a smile, saying, "Your Highness, what are your orders?"

"Let's go, grab our swords, let's go up there and kill them all!"

Xie Lingxi watched as the eunuch struggled to pick up the iron sword that had been thrown aside, and then cautiously eyed the Prince of Pingnan. The two of them staggered out.

They could feel that the person had already gone far away, but they could still hear the prince brandishing his sword and shouting "Kill! Kill!"

Seeing that no one was around, the three of them finally crawled out from under the bed.

Mo Shen held his waist, wincing in pain, and couldn't help but spit out, "Crazy!"

Liu Xu: "Crazy!"

Xie Lingxi quietly added, "Poor executioner."

She looked around and, seeing that her jade pendant was nowhere to be found, couldn't help but curse, "Crazy!"

Remembering how Yan Li touched her jade pendant, Xie Lingxi felt a chill run down her spine, thinking that she wouldn't want it even if it were placed in front of her. "It seems the exit is nearby. Let's get out of here quickly."

She had just taken a step when she tripped over something. Looking down, she saw Liao Ran holding her shoes, pleading, "Thank you for saving me, Miss!"

Xie Lingxi said coldly, "The Buddha said that cause and effect are self-evident. You can decide for yourself."

Liao Ran: "You can't say that! Girl, I know how to get out! How about we make a deal? You help me untie the ropes, and I'll show you the way."

Xie Lingxi and Liu Xu exchanged a glance. "Deal."

Before she could even understand and rejoice, she added, "But you have a long criminal record, so you need to take this pill before I'll believe you."

"This medicine is called 'Broken Hand Blue,' and the antidote must be taken once every hour. If it is not taken, the hands will rot and the person will die."

As he spoke, he pulled out a brown pill the size of a fingernail.

Liao Ran glared at her, but had no choice but to swallow his anger. He darted around, staring at the purse on her waist, and swallowed the medicine.

He said curtly, "Please."

Liu Xu gave him a meaningful look and then untied the ropes binding his feet.

Not daring to delay, the group retraced their steps and saw Liao Ran standing there, asking, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

They're both heartless!

Liao Ran glared angrily at Liu Xu, "Hands! And this rope on your hands!"

Once the cave was clear, it wasn't as terrifying as it seemed. Liu Xu smiled slyly, picked up the extended rope from the ground, and sure enough, pulled on it and tumbled forward.

"Thanks for reminding me. Let's hurry up, it'll be dawn soon."

Now, he dared not utter a sound. With tears welling up in his eyes, he led the three of them to the stone wall from the beginning, probed the folding fan, and found nothing unusual above.

Xie Lingxi: "What? Is there a mechanism operating here?"

He nodded knowingly, then turned the rightmost fan. Instantly, a mechanism turned, and the cave felt dizzy as an iron door descended from the sky, blocking the way they had come from.

Looking again, Liao Ran swiftly darted past Liu Xu, who was walking at the very back, as agile as a monkey in the mountains, and leaped away just as the door was closing—

"I'm going first, haha!"

He forgot that Liu Xu was still pulling on the other end of the rope, and he didn't expect that Liu Xu was prepared. As soon as he was halfway through the door, Liu Xu suddenly pulled him, and with a loud "boom," all was silent. The mechanism and gears stopped instantly.

The only sound in the vast stone cave was the unmistakable screams of agony: "Aaaaaahhhhh!"

"Ouch!"

In the blink of an eye, Xie Lingxi stepped forward first, turning the fan back to its original position. The blocked door wouldn't hurt anyone, but the person who was confused and bewildered was left in tears.

"Am I...am I split in two?! Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva, have mercy! I am guilty! I atone for my sins! Save me, someone save me!"

Xie Lingxi took out a small comb from her purse, slowly tidied her hair, and reservedly removed the butterfly hairpin and tucked it into her sleeve.

This action startled the two of them, making their hearts pound.

Seeing this through her tear-filled eyes, Liaoran stretched out her arms and legs to break free from her restraints, crying out, "No! My medicine!"

Xie Lingxi deftly dodged, causing the person who lunged at her to fall to the ground, and laughed, "What's the rush? The antidote is right here."

"But what about you... what were you trying to do just now?"

Xie Lingxi paced slowly, her expression arrogant: "In my opinion, this is not an exit, but a death trap. Given your personality, you should have swept away all those treasures when you saw them and brought them back to the surface. Why did you leave them unattended? You must have known that you would have to return, so you pretended to deceive us and trapped us here."

The Prince of Pingnan and his servants emerged from their living quarters, and their voices could still be heard long afterward, indicating that they were still within a small space.

Xie Lingxi thought for a moment, then folded the fan. She touched something, and the stone wall instantly caved in, revealing a new cave.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the round fan engraved with the character "绵" (mian).

The only round fan.

But for Yan Li, reunion was a luxury.