66 Scrolls

◎Du Zhijin, do you know I love you?◎

There's something I've never understood.

After listening to the two men's back-and-forth analysis, Zhao Zhonggan asked a question.

"If the monster's goal is to possess the emperor, why doesn't it simply target the palace servants? No matter how secluded one's residence is, it's impossible to completely escape the service of palace servants. And all it needs to do is put that demon blood into the water after possessing a palace servant, and the emperor will drink it without knowing it, and wouldn't that be enough to succeed?"

According to them, this demon had been plotting for many years and was very meticulous, so it shouldn't have overlooked this detail.

Du Zhijin gave him a deep look and replied, "Yes, so its goal isn't possession, but rather to achieve some purpose by intimidating the emperor. You've followed the Illusion Demon before, so you should know that some demons can read people's memories. But they can only capture the deepest part of the consciousness, so they are often full of loopholes."

"Possession is different. According to Wu Ti's description, possession seems to put a person into a state similar to 'sleepwalking.' During this period, the monster has control over the body. It probably can't read a person's memories and can only continue to do things according to the person's subconscious behavior. It does these things perhaps to push the emperor into a corner and hear something from him."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhonggan's doubts deepened, and he flipped through the paper filled with clues.

Neither of them spoke up to give a hint, because they were about to do something that Zhao Zhonggan couldn't be involved in.

When the emperor is driven to the brink of despair, and cannot even trust the empress, the grand tutor, the chief eunuch, or even his newborn child, where will he flee to?

The dragon vein. The monster's ultimate goal is likely the dragon vein beneath the imperial city.

Even someone as lazy as Du Zhijin, who slacked off during the Master's lectures, understood some of the most basic principles, such as the relationship between the Empress Dowager's relatives and imperial power.

She vaguely realized that she could no longer involve Zhao Zhonggan in the subsequent actions, and it was best not to rely on any forces related to the Marquis's mansion. Otherwise, if anything went wrong, Zhao Zhonggan and even the Marquis's wife would be accused of causing cholera.

well.

She sighed silently.

That's how it is in wealthy families; there are so many rules and so many things to consider. It's so annoying.

Even the monsters became smarter after entering the Ruri Kyoto.

Zhao Zhonggan stared at the painting for a long time, almost drilling a hole in the Xuan paper, but still couldn't come up with a solution. He looked to Ying Jianhua for help, hoping to get a hint.

However, Ying Jianhua spoke about something else entirely: "Madam Hou's illness is of the heart, and medicine cannot cure it."

He was taken aback, then immediately became worried about his mother's illness: "How can it be treated? Will she not get better even without taking fake medicine?"

Ying Jianhua said, "Spend more time with her and don't let Lady Hou worry too much about the affairs of the manor."

A heart ailment requires a heart cure; he didn't know the reasons behind it and couldn't offer a detailed solution. But Zhao Zhonggan was satisfied with just those words. In any case, his presence was just a hindrance, so he might as well go back and stay with his mother.

There were no other people in the room, only two reflections of varying lengths.

Ying Jianhua laid out a new sheet of paper, and Du Zhijin, taking advantage of his inattention, pinched two cat ears onto his shadow with his hands.

Oh dear, it looks even more like a cat now.

Seeing her laughing at the ground, he was puzzled and was about to look down when she interrupted him: "Ahem! Mo, what should we do next?"

The clues are now quite clear: the monsters want to find the dragon vein, but they also don't know its location.

"Only the emperor knows the location of the dragon vein, but he is suspicious by nature and will not trust us for no reason, much less reveal something as important as the dragon vein."

This is the biggest obstacle at present.

Du Zhijin, holding his sword, pondered: "We can't mention Xiao Zhao, it might backfire. We also can't say we're from Dengxian Mountain, the emperor doesn't believe in gods and ghosts these days... Hiss—then how do we gain his trust? Should we just tell him the monster's purpose? Will he have those Imperial Guards throw us out?"

As she pondered this, she flicked Xingyue's sword sheath.

I never thought that she, a disciple of the dignified Master Zhang of the Mountain, would be disliked one day. Sigh, it's still more satisfying to exorcise demons directly.

"How about we sneak in first, and then we'll just have to improvise?" Unable to think of a better method, she simply adopted the most straightforward approach—there's always a way out.

Seeing his hesitant expression, her eyes lit up: "Could it be that you have another idea, Amo? Good Amo, you are so smart!"

Ying Jianhua blushed at her praise, a surge of courage rising within him. He sketched something on the paper, and Du Zhijin leaned over to look, exclaiming in surprise, "This person looks just like you!"

He nodded and said, "This is my father."

“My grandfather was the painter of the late emperor. After the late emperor passed away, my father took over the position of painter. My father stayed in the palace for five years. He was tired of palace life and longed to travel all over the world, so he took the initiative to resign.”

Du Zhijin also learned the rest of the story.

"Your father met your mother, and then you were born. They settled in Wuling Village."

“Yes. I… I lied to you before. It wasn’t just my grandfather who was a court painter; my father was too.” He apologized, and Du Zhijin waved his hand to show his understanding: “We weren’t very close back then, so it’s normal for you to be reserved with me.”

Ying Jianhua looked at her, a thousand words swirling in her throat.

No, it wasn't just this one lie.

He didn't dwell on the past any longer and continued, "Later, the prince's son killed my parents in order to seize the family heirloom from my father. But what he didn't know was that what they took wasn't the real treasure."

"The real treasure is a painting, which bears the calligraphy of the former emperor and the current emperor."

As he spoke, he kept saying sorry to himself.

I'm sorry, I still couldn't be honest. I'm sorry, I lied to you again.

The prince's heir took the real treasure, but he couldn't explain why the painting ended up in his hands.

Her gaze remained as clear as moonlight, yet he dared not look at her even once.

His hands clenched inexplicably inside his sleeves, his palms damp with a thin layer of sweat.

With her intelligence, she must have already discovered he was lying, right? What should she do?

Expose him?

I still believe him.

The few breaths seemed to stretch on endlessly at that moment. Ying Jianhua closed her eyes with trembling hands and smiled bitterly.

They'll definitely expose it...

He fell into a warm embrace.

Du Zhijin hugged him.

"The past is the past, don't be afraid, Amo."

He stood frozen in place, feeling her patting his shoulder gently, his eyes burning with tears.

Even now, she is still worried about him.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand and deepened the embrace. She paused for a moment, then silently responded.

He listened to his own heartbeat, and hers. The two heartbeats were gradually replaced by another sound—the love that was growing wildly within him.

Du Zhijin, do you know that I love you?

————

"So you mean we can use this painting to establish a relationship with the emperor?" Du Zhijin asked.

He nodded and pointed to the painting, asking, "What do you see?"

She glanced at it, then looked again: "A beautifully painted cluster of orchids?"

Ying Jianhua: "Yes. The orchid is the gentleman among flowers. The emperor is the ruler among men. The orchid grows in a secluded valley without arrogance, and the emperor, though in the highest position, is not haughty. Though their qualities differ, their virtues shine together. But now, the orchid is shrouded in shadow, doesn't this foreshadow the emperor's peril?"

Du Zhijin widened her eyes in disbelief: "But... the shadows are clearly blurred because of the ink stains from being out for so long... okay." Receiving his look, she changed her tune, "It's exactly what you said. The Emperor is in danger!"

She quickly understood the meaning behind the painting. As descendants of court painters, they suddenly discovered something amiss with the imperial gift and, driven by unwavering loyalty, decided to come to the emperor's rescue!

It sounds far-fetched, but suspicion can be exploited.

"How can we let the emperor know now? Should we beat the drum to appeal for justice?" she asked.

Ying Jianhua shook his head, carefully put the scroll away and tied it to his chest, then pointed out the window: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Let's leave the Marquis's residence first, change our appearance again, and then spread the word."

Du Zhijin suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "What about the Marquis's residence?"

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Have Zhao Zhonggan help cover it up. Just say we went out to gather herbs, and he stayed behind to watch over Lady Hou and Wu Ti. By the way, do you still have any of those fireworks?"

Fireworks that can make contact.

"Yes, I'll give it to Xiao Zhao later." "Okay, I'll pack some things I'll need for the disguise. See you in an incense stick's time."

The two parted ways. The moment Du Zhijin stepped across the threshold, the tip of his nose twitched slightly.

Demonic energy... but the map didn't react.

She turned around following the scent, her gaze falling on Ying Jianhua, who was busy packing his bags.

Originally, one of their main purposes in coming to Liulijing was to ask Master Yu Nie for help in determining whether Ying Jianhua's mind contained a "demon" or something else. Unfortunately, they haven't found the real "Master Yu Nie" yet, and have instead encountered the matter of the dragon vein.

She comforted herself that she just hadn't found it yet, and perhaps the wandering senior would suddenly appear in the next city?

Zhao Zhonggan agreed to keep it a secret for them, and at the same time did not ask them what they were planning to do, which relieved Du Zhijin.

She was worried about how to start the conversation.

“Young Master Mo said my mother’s illness is caused by heart disease, and I should indeed spend more time with her.” He glanced back at the tightly closed courtyard gate, his smile bitter.

She nodded: "If the Lady Hou... suspects she is possessed, then light it."

"I understand." Zhao Zhonggan accepted the firework tube, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Du Zhijin gave him a questioning look.

He smiled, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "May your journey be smooth."

Ying Jianhua's disguise technique became increasingly exquisite, and in no time, the two of them had changed their appearance.

Du Zhijin touched his face, curiously asking, "Is it because your father is an artist?"

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

Du Zhijin's skills in scaling walls and rooftops became increasingly proficient. The two found an inn quite far from the Marquis's residence to stay at, and took advantage of the large number of people having dinner to leak the news about the painting.

Sure enough, that very evening, a thin wisp of smoke drifted through the window crack.

Du Zhijin was the first to notice, and Ying Jianhua reacted quickly, giving her an antidote.

The two men took the antidote but remained unconscious. Moments later, a figure climbed through the window, bound their hands and feet, and took them away.

These people were very cautious; they didn't even spare Ying Jianhua's hairpin. Fortunately, Xingyue and Zuilan were both stored in their sea of ​​consciousness, so ordinary people couldn't detect them.

She closed her eyes and released her divine sense, gradually sensing that something was wrong.

Did they just take them directly into the palace?