Chapter 291 Daiyu in Danger

The two older palace maids were tall and strong. When they stood together, they were like a wall, and no one could get close to them.

Daiyu considered it for a moment, unsure whether the other party was friend or foe, and dared not ask.

She gestured for Xueyan to quickly seek help from the Empress, while she and Zijuan hid behind a nearby artificial hill.

If the three of them walk together, it will make too much noise and might attract the attention of the two palace maids.

Just as the two had hidden themselves, they saw the two palace maids suddenly chasing after the young man in the brocade robe toward them.

When the boy reached the vicinity of the artificial hill, he suddenly crawled into a crevice between the rocks. A palace maid tried to pull him out, but failed.

"Who's over there!" another palace maid suddenly shouted.

Daiyu glanced at it and saw that it was Zijuan's skirt hem peeking out.

Zijuan noticed it too, and before Daiyu could remind her, Zijuan went out from behind the rockery.

"Greetings, aunts. Do you know how to get to Consort Xiande's palace? My princess was invited by Consort Xiande to deliver a message to Her Majesty the Empress. But after I delivered the message, I can't find the way to Consort Xiande's palace. Could you please give me some directions?"

Zijuan looked anxious, seemingly searching for the maid who had gone astray and lost her master.

In a moment of desperation, Zijuan was able to come up with such a seemingly flawless excuse. Luckily, she was the clever Zijuan; if Xueyan were here, she certainly wouldn't have been able to come up with it.

"Princess? Which princess?" One of them stared wide-eyed.

Zijuan remained calm. "The only daughter of Governor-General Lin of Liangjiang—Princess Jiangzhu—is the Empress's junior sister. She was invited here today by the Empress. The Virtuous Consort is the Princess's cousin, and she said she hasn't seen the Princess in a long time and invites the Princess to visit her as well..."

Lin Daiyu's status and title were enough to intimidate people even in the palace.

The two palace maids exchanged a glance after hearing Zijuan's words, and one of them pointed in a direction and said,

"Go that way, and head east after you pass through the moon gate."

"East?" Zijuan looked around and deliberately pointed south. "Is that east over there?"

"That's south!" the palace maid with the big, copper bell-shaped eyes said impatiently.

Zijuan smiled shyly, took out two purses from her sleeve, and handed them over.

"My two aunts, could you please show me the way? It's getting dark, and I don't know how to tell directions. I'm afraid that even if you give me directions, I won't be able to find my way, and I might offend you, which would be bad."

She wanted to distract the two men so that Daiyu could escape, but those two men weren't fools either.

The palace maid with the big, copper bell-shaped eyes took the purse, weighed it in her hand, and was quite satisfied to hear the sound of the silver coins clinking together inside.

She slipped one of the purses to another palace maid.

"You lead the way for her, I'll stay here. Go quickly and come back soon."

Another palace maid hummed in agreement and looked at Zijuan.

"Let's go, hurry up, don't waste my time."

Fearing that it would arouse their suspicion, Zijuan had no choice but to follow her out.

She was extremely anxious, wondering if the girl had hidden herself properly. What if the girl encountered danger if she left like this?

Ah, if only Lan Su were here.

"Zijuan, where is the young lady?"

As Zijuan followed the palace maid out of the moon gate, she saw Lan Su walking towards her.

"Susu, quick, come with me to save the girl!" Zijuan grabbed Lansu as soon as she saw her savior.

Seeing that things were not going well, the palace maid who was leading Zijuan turned around and was about to go back to report.

Lan Su wasn't about to let her escape. She kicked up some pebbles on the ground, hitting the palace maid in her acupoint. The maid collapsed to the side of the road, unable to move.

"I was only away from the young lady for a quarter of an hour, and this happened. How did you two take care of her? Where is Xueyan? Isn't she with the young lady?"

"Xueyan... Xueyan went to ask Her Majesty the Empress for help." Only now did Zijuan feel a little scared.

"You two actually left the girl alone! When we get back, I'm going to tell Mr. Yuan!" Lan Su huffed and puffed as she followed Zijuan back to where they had been hiding.

Upon entering, they saw the palace maid with the copper bell eyes searching for something. She was standing in the very spot where Daiyu and Zijuan had been hiding.

Zijuan's heart tightened.

"Miss, Miss, Lan Su is here." She called out, gesturing for Lan Su to hurry up and look for her.

Upon hearing Zijuan's words, Lan Su immediately sensed that something was amiss.

Could it be that Daiyu has disappeared?

"So it really was you who caused this trouble. You saw what just happened. Come with me to see the Dowager Consort!" The maid with the copper bell eyes came up and tried to grab Zijuan.

Lan Su wouldn't allow her to be so presumptuous. Before she even got close to Zijuan, Lan Su grabbed her vest and lifted her up.

The palace maid with the copper bell eyes was as big as two Lan Su, but Lan Su easily picked her up and threw her onto a rock, making her fall flat on her back.

"Where is our girl? Tell me, did you hide her? If even a single hair of hers is missing, I'll slice off every piece of fat from your body!" Lan Su said, and with a gust of wind, she struck out with her palm. The palace maid with copper bell eyes went black before her eyes and felt something fall from her head. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was her own hair. She felt a chill on her head and realized that her hair had been shaved off close to her scalp.

This woman could cut off her hair from a distance without even touching her head. What kind of supernatural power does she have?

A deep fear surged within the palace maid with the copper bell-shaped eyes, and her legs went weak, causing her to kneel down.

"Great Immortal, spare me! I really didn't see any girl. I was just looking for someone here."

Lan Su was anxious. If she hadn't brought that sword out today to show off, she wouldn't have missed accompanying Daiyu to the palace because she was guarding the sword. If anything happened to Daiyu, it would be her responsibility.

Unfortunately, the palace maid knew nothing about Daiyu's affairs, but she did find out that the young man in the brocade robe they had been chasing was the youngest son of the retired emperor. However, because his identity was unknown, he was an awkward figure in the palace.

The prince's mother was only confirmed to be pregnant after she returned to the palace from visiting her parents' home.

Because of this, she was framed by her enemies, who claimed that the child in her womb was of unknown and unclear origin, and that its birth would confuse the royal bloodline.

Although it was eventually proven to be unfounded, it still had a significant impact and left a thorn in the side of the retired emperor.

Lan Su searched the area around the artificial hill thoroughly. By the time the Empress arrived with her entourage, Lan Su was practically ready to demolish the artificial hill and level the garden.

But they still couldn't find Daiyu.

At this moment, Daiyu was completely unaware that the outside world had been turned upside down because of her. She was still leisurely eating snacks and drinking juice, watching Yuan Hongqu examine the injuries of the boy on the ground.

Just as Zijuan was talking to the two palace maids, Daiyu felt someone approaching her. Instinctively, she swung her palm, and although it wasn't as powerful as Lansu's, it still knocked the person down. Seeing that the sound of the person hitting the ground would surely disturb the palace maids outside, Daiyu grabbed the person's sleeve and silently prayed...

"Return to the space!"

The two appeared in the space in an instant.

However, apart from Daiyu and Yuan Hongqu, anyone else who entered the space was unconscious, and their minds were blank after they left.