Enemy's kindness is deep

A-Qiu didn't know where her memory had gone, but she decided to tell the truth: "Yes."

Chu Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, okay!" Suddenly, he grabbed her and said excitedly, "There is a restaurant called 'Narcissus Pavilion' at the third shop at the entrance of Ping Le Lane in Jianzhang East Market. Its food and wine are very famous, especially its fish and mutton dishes. Have you ever been there?"

A Qiu was pulled along by her, but she was in a dilemma. After a long while, she said, "Aunt, you have been in the palace for many years. Even if that restaurant is still there, it has probably changed hands long ago."

What she didn't mention was that Jianzhang City had also experienced the incursions of rebel forces during political turmoil, resulting in burning, killing, and looting. Therefore, the possibility that the Narcissus Pavilion was no longer there was more likely.

Chu Yuanyi stared blankly and said in a low voice, "When I was young, I loved eating the fish sashimi and mutton from this restaurant the most. I would often sneak away from my parents and my senior sister to Ping Le Lane. When we got tired of strolling around and watching the river lanterns, we would go to this restaurant to eat fish sashimi and roasted meat. My senior sister knew that I loved this dish the most, and sometimes when she went out, she would secretly bring me a portion."

A Qiu suddenly remembered that the Chu family of Luoyang was originally a prominent family, but they migrated south relatively late and failed to enter the power center of the Southern Dynasties. They gradually declined, and their family members also left politics and entered the world of martial arts. Now that he thought about it, An Daoling must have come from the An family of Yingchuan, Zhongli Wuyan must have come from the Zhongli family of Xinyang, and Rong Yuexian must have come from the Rong family of Luoyang.

The clans of these four predecessors were all prominent families that had served in the imperial court for generations before entering the martial arts world. Therefore, compared to ordinary martial arts practitioners, they were more loyal and devoted to the imperial court and the country.

True江湖人 (jianghu people) value only the "righteousness" between themselves, but they will not be loyal to the imperial court. This can be seen from their own Lanling Hall.

Now frail and ruthless, Chu Yuanyi was once the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, loved and disciplined by her parents.

Chu Yuanyi's voice gradually turned low as he said, "However, in the end, I had a falling out with her."

A Qiu quickly tried to figure out who Chu Yuanyi's senior sister was. The only two she knew so far were Zhongli Wuyan and Rong Yuexian. But in terms of temperament, although Rong Yuexian also played around in the world, she had a different kind of carefree and aloofness, calm and self-controlled, not the kind of person who would play around with her junior sister.

Therefore, there is only one "Purple-Clad Immortal" Zhongli Wuyan. She loves to joke, tease people, and often does things unexpectedly, which is quite similar to the style of this senior.

But the Zhongli Wuyan that A Qiu knew was also smooth and adaptable in her dealings with people, similar to Rong Yuexian, but without Rong Yuexian's unintentional air of aloofness. She really couldn't understand how Zhongli Wuyan could have fallen out with the honest and straightforward Chu Yuanyi.

A-Qiu was not a frivolous person, nor did she want to pry into the old grudges of her elders, lest she remind her of the past and be saddened. So she picked up a pair of chopsticks and presented them to Chu Yuanyi, saying gently, "Aunt, please eat while it's hot. If this had been bought from outside the palace, it would have been cold long ago. It must have been specially heated up for you before being sent over. The person who sent this is very kind to you, Aunt."

Looking at the dishes, Chu Yuanyi's single eye was filled with sorrow and tears welled up in it. He said, "I, Chu Yuanyi, have lived a life without shame, yet I end up half-dead and half-crippled, and I still have to rely on my enemy to treat me well! What sins have I committed!"

A Qiu knew that she had chosen the wrong side in the palace intrigue, which was why she ended up like this. According to Rong Yuexian, Emperor Huanmo disliked Empress Shangguan intensely in his last years and even considered using a poison to force her to commit suicide. Judging from Chu Yuanyi's words, she must have been on the emperor's side, and might even have been helping the emperor monitor Empress Shangguan, which is why she had nothing good to say about the empress.

But now, the Sima royal family is dead and the country is destroyed, the world has long since changed hands, while the Shangguan family still has people in the court. Right Chancellor Shangguan You is the head of all officials, and the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family, Yuqi, is the chief of the four Flying Phoenix Guards of the Eastern Palace, renowned throughout the world, and is also the most suitable candidate for Crown Princess in the eyes of the current emperor. If she is willing, barring any unforeseen circumstances, in the near future, the Great Yan world will see another Empress Shangguan, as famous as the previous empress, with the beauty of a sword immortal.

Therefore, who sits on the throne is not permanent, but the power of the family line, which continues through bloodlines, is eternal; everyone else is an outsider. This was a characteristic of the aristocratic politics of the Southern Dynasties for hundreds of years.

Rong Yuexian and An Daoling both saw things more clearly than Chu Yuanyi.

A Qiu couldn't bear to say it aloud, so she put her arms around Chu Yuanyi's shoulders, pressed her face against Chu Yuanyi's wrinkled face, and said softly, "Aunt, you still have me. I am of low status now and cannot take care of you, but if one day I..." She stopped abruptly.

Nothing could make her understand the pain of being powerless and without connections more than the situation before her.

She couldn't even protect Chu Yuanyi.

Although she was the head of the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall, from the moment she left the hall, she herself faced the perilous situation of being hunted down and tested by the Thirteen Shadows. Her master, Wan Qiqing, could not and had no right to agree to take care of a renowned figure in the righteous path.

Although she resided in Jinlingtai within the palace as Gu Yi's disciple, this was already the limit. It was impossible to place a highly skilled but physically disabled and ugly old woman in under any other pretext, as that would only attract attention and would not benefit Chu Yuanyi.

This is probably why An Daoling and Rong Yuexian haven't interfered with Chu Yuanyi's affairs all these years. Ultimately, they are still servants, and hundreds of eyes are watching their every move. If Chu Yuanyi were of normal appearance and mind, she could easily fool everyone by pointing to any random spot. But the way she is now makes her extremely conspicuous.

Even the most powerful concubine, Consort Chen, could only allow her to remain hidden in this abandoned palace through tacit approval.

A-Qiu changed her mind and asked, "Auntie, would you like to leave the palace?"

Chu Yuanyi murmured, "That's right, I still have you, I still have you." She stroked A Qiu's back with great affection and said reproachfully, "You silly child. Since you're here, where else can I go if I leave the palace? I just need to stay here with you. Every blade of grass and every tree here belongs to you. Your aunt will look after the house for you!"

Although A Qiu did not understand what she meant, she rested her head on her knees and thought to herself, "One day when I have fulfilled Master Wanqi's orders, I will definitely take Aunt Yuanyi out of the palace."

She dared not think about when that would be or what the process would be like.

Before entering the palace, her master's requirement for her was to get as close as possible to the person at the center of power, and then seize the opportunity to replace them. Other matters would naturally be handled by others in the Lanling Hall.

She has completed half of it so far.

Chu Yuanyi suddenly said, "Look at me, I'm really getting senile. You must have something to say to me. Tell me what it is!" As she spoke, she pushed A Qiu up, her single eye shining brightly, like a little girl who had found something fun, her eyes full of hope.

Ah Qiu did have something to discuss with her, but she also felt guilty because she always seemed to have something to do when she contacted her. Furthermore, witnessing Su Jinlan's situation made her realize how difficult Chu Yuanyi's life had been all these years. She wiped her eyes and smiled, "Does it have to be something before I can come to see Auntie? Can't I just come to visit Auntie?"

Chu Yuanyi looked at her seriously for a moment before saying, "Don't hide it from me. I know your status in the palace is not what it used to be. You can't just do whatever you want anymore. Your aunt has survived until now so that you can have someone to help you when you need someone." She turned to look at the dark shadows of the trees in the quiet and desolate palace garden and said, "Why are we being so polite between us?"

A Qiu thought that she was indeed different now, and her status had risen rather than fallen, but when had she ever been able to do whatever she wanted in the palace? However, she knew that Chu Yuanyi was unreliable and not everything he said could be taken seriously, so she didn't care anymore.

However, Chu Yuan's words revealed his true feelings for her, which shocked her.

She originally thought that she had only met Chu Yuanyi when she was young, and that he had taken a liking to her and taught her the ultimate skill, Wind and Thunder Slash. She believed that their relationship was only that, so Chu Yuanyi treated her differently from others, and she also felt a special closeness to Chu Yuanyi.

But according to Chu Yuanyi's expressed feelings, even biological parents would not have gone to such lengths for their children. She said that she had only been clinging to life for herself, and this kind of affection was far beyond the kindness of a casual acquaintance who taught her.

When A Qiu looked at Chu Yuanyi, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and countless vague guesses surfaced in her mind.

Chu Yuanyi, unaware of her thoughts, urged, "Speak quickly! It will be inconvenient if we wait until dawn for someone to arrive."

A-Qiu could only say, "To be honest, Aunt, I came here to ask you about an old matter. In September of the fifth year of the Xiyuan era, the last emperor of the Huan Dynasty bestowed upon Empress Shangguan a bottle of Qianji Powder, but the Empress did not take it. Do you know where it went afterward?"

Chu Yuan listened intently, a very unnatural expression appearing on her face. She first frowned and said, "The last emperor of the Huan Dynasty? Why do you call him that?" But she immediately thought of something else and said awkwardly, "The medicine wasn't anything serious; I just casually put it on the shelf."

A Qiu felt that Chu Yuanyi's expression was strange, but she didn't have time to think about it. She simply said, "Then please take me there, Aunt."

As Chu Yuanyi led the way, he said awkwardly, "A Qiu, why are you always busy with these old, trivial matters lately? First you were looking for Han Dynasty bricks, and now you're looking for Qianji powder. These things happened so many years ago. Does anyone still want these things?"

When A Qiu heard her ask, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly and replied, "That's right. Someone has been stirring up trouble with Empress Shangguan's things. I don't know how many people she offended during her lifetime, and even now people won't let her go."

Chu Yuan became angry as soon as he heard the name "Shangguan". He snorted heavily and said, "She's never been a good person, and she's never done anything good. It's understandable that people dislike her." He added, "Just don't let it affect your affairs."

A Qiu was both amused and exasperated. Seeing that Chu Yuanyi was still worried about getting in her way, she felt incredibly grateful. She wondered what kind of deep-seated grudge Empress Shangguan had against her. Logically speaking, the Empress was the daughter of the most powerful family in Jiangzuo and the head of the harem, while Chu Yuanyi, no matter how outspoken, was just a palace attendant. Their social statuses were vastly different, and even if they didn't get along, they shouldn't be so sworn enemies.

But when she thought that it was Su Jinlan, who was by the Empress's side, who poisoned Chu Yuanyi, causing him to end up in this state, and that Su Jinlan insisted that it was to protect her master, she felt that the truth of the matter was definitely not simple.

After hesitating for a long time, just as A Qiu was about to ask Chu Yuanyi what had caused his feud with Empress Shangguan, Chu Yuanyi raised his head and pointed with his finger, saying, "Look, we've arrived."