The door slowly opened a crack, and Xi Xizhi moved one small hand to her mouth, shushed, and slowly shuffled into the room.
Lynn and the guards watched Xi Xizhi's actions in silence until the door to the Imperial Study closed again. Only then did they all breathe a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from their foreheads. Everyone sighed in unison... Serving His Majesty is really not easy; one must always be risking their life.
Inside the imperial study, the royal family's ambergris incense was burning. Upon smelling the scent, Xi Xizhi immediately guessed that An Honghan must be troubled by the memorials.
Without daring to make a sound, Xi Xizhi skillfully walked around the screen and saw An Honghan sitting behind his desk.
An Honghan's sword-like eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes were sharp as swords, as if he was thinking about something. He ignored all the sounds around him.
It was rare to see An Honghan looking so serious, and Xi Xizhi couldn't help but wonder what kind of memorial could possibly stump him. In the past, every memorial that came into his hands was easily solved, and very few could stay in his hands for more than a quarter of an hour.
Xi Xizhi quietly lay behind the screen, waiting patiently. After an incense stick had burned, she still didn't see An Honghan make any changes.
This completely piqued Xi Xizhi's curiosity.
Xi Xizhi tiptoed out from behind the screen, standing on tiptoe as she quietly approached An Honghan.
Perhaps because he was too focused, An Honghan did not notice that there was another person in the room.
His dark eyes never left the blueprints on the desk.
The drawings were made of kraft paper, which looked yellowed and weathered.
Xi Xizhi blinked her bright eyes. So it wasn't a memorial to the throne after all…
Just as she was about to peek at the contents of the blueprints, An Honghan turned his head precisely and stared intently at her.
Now that she had been discovered, Xi Xizhi decided to stop sneaking around and strode over to examine the blueprints from all angles.
Although it was called a blueprint, Xi Xizhi couldn't figure out what the lines marked on the paper were.
Scratching her head in confusion, Xi Xizhi took another step closer to An Honghan.
Seeing that the child was also staring intently, An Honghan reached out and brushed the drawings off the desk.
Everything was so natural and normal that before Xi Xizhi could even observe anything, the contents of the drawing were completely obscured.
"Have you seen enough?" An Honghan raised his eyes and looked directly at Xi Xizhi.
Xi Xizhi's attention was completely focused on the blueprints when a voice suddenly rang in her ears, and she naturally replied, "Not yet."
Upon hearing those three words, Xi Xizhi was completely awakened. She looked weakly at An Honghan and saw the icy coldness in his eyes, which made her heart tremble.
It wasn't that An Honghan was intentionally putting on a cold demeanor; it was simply his nature. From the past to the present, he had rarely been seen smiling. At this moment, Xi Xizhi was feeling guilty, so seeing An Honghan like this inevitably made her a little afraid.
"Is that so?" An Honghan asked calmly.
Xi Xizhi blinked. Although the routes marked on the map were chaotic, they seemed to follow a pattern.
After thinking for a while, Xi Xizhi stared at An Honghan with a puzzled look. Could it be that An Honghan wanted to decipher something from the blueprints?
"What is that?" Looking at the blueprints that An Honghan had deliberately covered up, Xi Xizhi hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
An Honghan's face turned cold, seemingly unwilling to tell him, "Don't worry about it, I can't tell you about this for now."
Hearing this, Xi Xizhi felt uneasy.
It seems it wasn't her imagination; An Honghan had been intentionally hiding things from her all along.
"Are you... trying to decipher something from this?" His gaze gradually shifted to the desk.
An Honghan frowned, rubbed Xi Xizhi's forehead, and after seemingly weighing the importance of the matter, slowly said, "This thing has been in my hands for several years, but I have never been able to find a way to break it."
No wonder An Honghan looked so worried just now...
What could possibly stump An Honghan?
This question arose in Xi Xizhi's mind. In her understanding, An Honghan was an extremely intelligent person, not only with great strategic vision but also with extraordinary methods.
If he can't even crack it, then just how difficult is this blueprint?
Xi Xizhi was becoming more and more curious.
“I’d like to see it too.” Xi Xizhi pointed her index finger at the blueprints that An Honghan was blocking.
An Honghan frowned slightly, seemingly hesitant.
How many people fought tooth and nail for this blueprint?
This picture has quite a history.
Even An Honghan himself had to put in a lot of hard work to get it.
It's a pity that even if you get it, what then?
Without deciphering the secrets within, this diagram is ultimately just a piece of waste paper, utterly useless.
Seeing the intense curiosity in the child's eyes, An Honghan finally broke his own rules and revealed the blueprints to Xi Xizhi once again.
The yellowed Xuan paper looks very old, with many wrinkles.
Xi Xizhi stretched out her delicate pink finger and touched the paper. "Does this picture... hide some secret or story?"
If there wasn't a reason, Xi Xizhi wouldn't believe that An Honghan would be staring blankly at the blueprints.
Xi Xizhi's voice was like the first song of a nightingale, extremely beautiful.
Every time An Honghan heard the child's clear voice, his restless heart would find a haven of peace.
Without further concealment, An Honghan nodded to her, "Yes, this story has been passed down for over a thousand years."
Xi Xizhi blinked her bright eyes. Over a thousand years? Ahhh! What kind of treasure is hidden inside this blueprint!
Xi Xizhi instantly conjured up a grand drama: a treasure map, a royal secret, or unparalleled martial arts!
"Tell me quickly!" Xi Xizhi urged.
“That’s right, it’s a thousand years old… This thing is a treasure map passed down through generations of the An royal family. No one but the emperor of each generation can possess it.”
When he was vying for the throne, An Honghan went to great lengths to obtain this item.
He hadn't originally intended to unravel the secrets within; it was only because of Xi Xizhi's appearance that he rediscovered the picture, hoping to crack its secrets.
An Honghan used to think that the legend about the blueprints was just a fabrication, but after truly seeing Xi Xizhi cultivate into a human from a beast's body, he thought that it was not impossible for the blueprints to hold something that could grant him his wish.
Yes.
Not long ago, An Honghan, who was able to give up and gain everything, had a wish.
Feeling it was too incredible, Xi Xizhi was still digesting it.
Something that can be passed down for thousands of years must be a treasure; no wonder even An Honghan was helpless against it.
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