Chain Whip

Jiang Nian stood there without moving.

It wasn't that he was so frightened that he couldn't lift his legs to run away.

But now, no matter where you hide, you can't escape his chain whip that seems to have consciousness.

I thought to myself that this era was just ancient times, not a magical era.

Jiang Nian lowered her eyes and glanced at the chain whip that controlled her movements.

The iron buckle at the front end of the whip is linked to the ring in the middle. You is very adept at using the chain whip. While buckling her ankle, he can move the slightly broken gap at the end forward into the ring.

But it is easy to buckle up and easy to remove.

As long as the force is gentle and not discovered...

Jiang Nian raised his eyes and looked at Mo Qing who was standing behind one of the curtains from a distance.

They exchanged glances and reached a consensus. She turned slightly to the side, as if giving up on her escape plan, and turned towards You.

The silhouette on the white gauze curtain only outlined half of her face.

The closer it gets to the day when the goddess realizes her plan, the worse You's mood will become.

Now the only thing that works is saying something that is not provocative.

Behind the curtain, You slowly walked forward and stopped one meter away from her.

"Miss, I don't want to do it."

"Come out on your own."

“…”

“…………”

Behind the curtain, only a slight cold breeze blew past, lifting a corner of the curtain's edge that was curled inward.

The white curtain swayed, and the chain whip in his hand lost its tension, as if it had been cut off by seven inches, and drooped limply to the ground.

"?"

Realizing something was wrong, You pulled the rope in his hand back, and the broken chain whip was only pulled back a little.

Looking in the direction where the chain whip was pulled back, the curtain in front that blocked the view hung silently, the unknown wind disappeared, and only the other half of the chain whip was coiled on the ground.

He raised his arm and used the force to lift up the seemingly thin but actually very heavy curtain. The white gauze that blocked his vision was pushed aside by the force, and the picture suddenly became open and bright.

There is no one standing on this clean ground.

Jiang Nian had already escaped.

—

After receiving Mo Qing's help, Jiang Nian hurried to get on the windlass that was moving downwards.

The chase on the fourth level only lasted for a short while at the beginning. After that, everyone was hiding quietly and quickly, playing a silent game.

Jiang Nian had never played this type of game many times before, and was quite insensitive to it. He could only hide for a little over an hour at best.

However, when I came to Zuihualou, I knew that this floor needed the help of the secret guards.

In this way, being able to successfully travel back and forth to the first floor, instead of having to repeat the Qin King's circling the pillar endlessly on the fourth floor with You, can be considered a success.

—

The windlass went down all the way until it stopped in front of the personal maids.

They had just finished dinner and were about to go back to their rooms to rest. However, as if they hadn't received any orders, when they saw Jiang Nian coming down from the windlass, they just glanced at him and continued chatting and laughing with their own things.

His tense nerves relaxed a little, and Jiang Nian didn't dare to stay on this floor. He walked around the lobby of Zuihualou as if he was familiar with it, using various accessories to hide his body.

After the group of helpers who were looking for her passed by the porcelain vase and saw no other figures, Jiang Nian turned and ran towards the stairs.

However, due to the complexity of the roads leading up to Zuihualou, many shortcuts were built for the guests to use for their convenience. When Jiang Nian was looking for the top pavilion, he met many guests in a hurry.

Among them were many familiar customers that Jiang Nian had met several times in the past few days, and of course there were some unfamiliar faces as well.

There are only five floors in the building, and you can see one or two unfamiliar faces every time you go up a floor. Not knowing how guests are treated in Zuihualou, Jiang Nian is always a little nervous when he sees them.

I was afraid that one of them was a member of the Wu Mi clan.

—

The collar of the maid's uniform is quite high, and if you pull it up hard enough, it can reach your chin.

He tried to hide his face as much as possible to prevent the guests from accidentally mentioning it and then exposing it to Lu's men.

Jiang Nian went up the stairs from the fourth to the fifth, worried that she would run into You halfway up the stairs, and also worried that other guests would see her and be curious, so they would look at her a few more times and mention her a few times when they were downstairs.

Through the window next to the wooden ladder, the sky gradually darkened. After the afterglow fell to the ground, I rested for a while in the corner behind the pavilion that led to the eaves above, and observed the movements in the pavilion for a while.

Jiang Nian could already determine it accurately.

The goddess stayed in the room and showed no intention of going out.

When she came out of the tunnel, she reached a consensus with Xizhen's judgment and believed it more.

But when it came time to push open the door in front of the goddess, Jiang Nian hesitated again.

In someone else's territory, whether she knocks on the door or not, as long as she steps into the top pavilion, it will mean that she is going to test the bottom line of the goddess's indulgence towards her.

If successful, they could rest in the pavilion for the entire night. But if they failed... all their progress from the beginning of Zuihualou to this moment would be instantly reset to zero.

If she had to choose between the two, she would be betting everything.

“…”

Jiang Nian slowed down his breathing, raised his hand to his chest, and tried to calm his wildly beating heart.

There is no other choice at the moment.

I can only let go of the guard in my heart that has been resisting this era and trust what Xizhen said.

Walking out of the corner, when he heard the sound of slow footsteps at the corner of the stairs outside the attic, Jiang Nian's heart trembled. He raised his hand, pushed open the door of the attic, and entered the house.

—

On the fourth floor, it was discovered that the chain whip had clearly hooked Jiang Nian, but it did not pull him out. Only a black copper iron tail was left behind, like a lizard escaping from danger.

You then realized that someone in Zuihualou was helping Jiang Nian.

Of course, he ruled out the goddess first.

The goddess always responded to the changes and disputes happening around her with an indifferent attitude, as if saying, "You argue as you please, whether it's anger or insults."

As long as her plans are not interfered with, she will maintain an indifferent attitude - just like a vegetarian who chants Buddhist scriptures, accepting everything that comes to her with a pure heart.

There were the power-hungry maids who wanted to win her favor and secure a place in Zuihua Tower; or there were the envoys from the Wu Mi tribe who came all the way from Donglan, trying to find some fault in her so that they could go back and exaggerate their words to the leader and gain some benefits.

To her, it's all the same.

They are nothing more than livestock begging for God's mercy in order to have a better life and more living space.

Who isn't?

Since everyone is like this, whether to pretend or to directly show evil desires is entirely up to personal preference.

For this reason, You would not think that the commotion caused by Jiang Nian's hamster in Zuihua Tower required the goddess to intervene personally.

He stood at the corner of the stairs and closed his eyes slightly.

From above you can see the half-open wooden door of the top pavilion.

Even without getting close, just standing below, he could smell the lingering orchid fragrance that drifted by like a river.

After staying on the ground for a while, You lowered his eyes and looked at what was happening below.

Lu's helpers are as careless as he is. Once they start working, they are like a strong wind that will sweep through the place and turn the world upside down.

At this moment, they searched the tunnel inside and out, but couldn't find Jiang Nian. They thought she must have run to the upper level, so the leader gathered all the brainless flies and began to command them to search inside and outside each level to find the hiding girl.

In the corner of the first floor, the group of people stood there waiting for orders. After receiving a series of words and scolding from the leader, they immediately dispersed and divided into groups, heading in different directions inside the pavilion.

“…”

Without glancing down again, You glanced at the door of the attic, then turned his attention to the abandoned corner next to it that led to the eaves.

He slowly put away the chain whip and walked up the steps one by one.

—

Jiang Nian hid in the cloakroom in a funny way.

The goddess had been out receiving distinguished guests these past two days, and had let her personal maid rest for a day, so some clothes in the cloakroom had not been put away yet.

Now she was groping in the dark, carefully avoiding those clothes that looked very expensive and that she might have to ask Xiao Yingzhu for compensation if she stepped on them. She reached around with her hands, touched a wall, and then touched the clothes rack hanging in the cabinet.

Already reached the corner.

Outside the room, the sound of the bead curtains colliding was crisp and pleasant, and it entered Jiang Nian's ears like a death warrant.

With his eyesight already accustomed to seeing in the dark, Jiang Nian stopped hesitating, pushed aside the clothes, and got in very carefully and quietly. Then, he pulled the clothes back to their original position to cover his body.

The hidden room was not soundproof, and the voice outside rang through the wall, muffled: "Sister, have you seen the little hamster?"

The goddess put down the mirror, and the sound of her hairpin shaking slightly was heard. She seemed to look back at You.

"I've said that the plan doesn't require your involvement."

"..." You was silent for a while, his words were somewhat reluctant, but he did not doubt that the goddess was covering up Jiang Nian's whereabouts. "But my sister is very suspicious in Ru's place. Now I must tie her up and take her to Ru's place."

"Sister, the envoy from Donglan is keeping a close eye on us."

The goddess' voice was calm, neither sad nor happy. She had already discussed this matter with You many times: "It's okay. It's been like this for many years. It's only a day's difference. It's not a big deal."

“…”

You knew that he could never convince the goddess, so he stood outside the door for a while. Seeing that the goddess didn't know where Jiang Nian was going, he was about to go out to continue looking for her.

"I understand. I won't bother my sister anymore."

The goddess had specifically instructed not to approach her pavilion a few days before the planned action.

You knew that the goddess wanted to distance herself from him.

...But sister, they have long been birds of a feather and can no longer be separated from each other. Even if they meet less often now, those people in Donglan will still not change their original views.

He walked towards the door, turning back to look at the goddess one last time.

The goddess, as usual, drew her eyebrows and applied rouge in front of the mirror.

The previous back and forth sketches were made in order to meet the "medicine guide" with the best appearance, but what about now?

Her movements were neither hurried nor impatient, and her eyes looking into the mirror were focused and serious, as if she didn't know what would happen tomorrow and that she would be accompanied by a long night.

…

If you stay here for too long, your sister might scold you.

It’s the last bit of time now, so I won’t cause any trouble to my sister.

You turned around, reached out to lift the bead curtain, looked back to close the door, and suddenly seemed to have sensed something and looked towards the hidden cloakroom.

The door was closed tightly, rejecting any outside speculation.

The wooden door was pulled up by his hand and slowly closed before his eyes.

The cloakroom, dressing table, and the goddess' figure were all blocked outside by the gradually closing door, eventually completely blocking him from all sight.