Chapter 90 Nothing to show for it. His ashen face was rather unpleasant. He…
His ashen face looked rather unpleasant. He quickly took two steps and tapped Sang Zhitao's back a few times.
Sang Zhitao paused for a moment, but before anyone could notice, she resumed her previous actions.
The code that Touhui typed on her back was the one they had already agreed upon.
The meaning behind Touhui's knock was roughly to tell her not to trust Lady Yue.
Sang Zhitao glanced at him and nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Tou Hui sighed silently and took a step back.
Unbeknownst to them, Lady Yue in front of them had her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at her long, slender fingernails, lost in thought.
They followed Madam Yue all the way to the living room on the first floor.
"I'll let you leave now, but hand over the stuff." Madam Yue sat casually on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, and raised an eyebrow at the crowd.
"What do I need to give in return if I want to take my family with me?" Sang Zhitao asked, staring intently at the other person.
Lady Yue looked at her with amusement: "Then the price will be high."
"Tell me, what if I have it?" Sang Zhitao continued to press.
Lady Yue thought for a moment before saying, "I've heard that the power of royal blood can purify everything. If you bring me a vial of Princess Stardust's blood, I will allow you to take her away."
“I need to see the person first,” Sang Zhitao said.
Lady Yue waved her hand dismissively: "Alright, tell me the name."
Sang Zhitao did not hesitate. She had already communicated with Touhui using a password while they were walking: "Tou Sui, Ming Xin".
"The Mirror Clan?" Lady Yue's eyes sharpened, her voice turning icy.
Sang Zhitao smiled slightly: "Cousin."
Lady Yue stared intently at her, remaining silent for a moment.
After a long pause, he suddenly smiled and nodded: "Okay, wait."
He then contacted the lab and gave them a brief explanation.
Not long after, a set of photos was sent to me.
Touhui's expression changed, and he was about to step forward, but Touhuang, who noticed his movement, pulled him back.
Seeing his actions out of the corner of her eye, Sang Zhitao knew he was a good person and nodded.
“We’ve seen the person; bring the things here,” said Madam Yue.
Sang Zhitao took a gem the size of a fingernail out of her bag and threw it to her.
Lady Yue was taken aback at first, and only after subconsciously taking the gem into her hand did she frown and say unhappily, "Are you trying to fool me?!"
"I wouldn't dare. I did discover a gemstone mine with purifying abilities, but I don't have the ability to mine it, so I could only collect some and carry them with me," Sang Zhitao said with a smile.
Lady Yue's expression changed drastically. She immediately stood up and looked at her excitedly: "You discovered the purification mine?!"
Sang Zhitao nodded indifferently.
Lady Yue glanced at the gem in her hand with a serious expression, then gave them a cold look and warned, "If I find out you don't have it, you're all dead."
Without waiting for Sang Zhitao and the others to answer, he swallowed the gem in one gulp.
A short while later, a sliver of white light appeared on her body, and her dark skin lightened considerably, revealing the sofa beneath her skin.
Lady Yue looked at her hands with surprise and delight. After a while, she looked at Sang Zhitao and said solemnly, "Let's go since you didn't lie to me."
"Isn't Madam interested in the mine?" Sang Zhitao asked unexpectedly.
Lady Yue gave a cold laugh: "Interested? Of course I'm interested, but... you can tell?"
"Why not?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously. "I'm the kind of person who never lies."
Lady Yue glanced at her in surprise before saying, "Speak, what are your conditions?"
“Release all the Mirror Clan members in the laboratory,” Sang Zhitao replied.
Lady Yue nodded without surprise: "As expected, they came for the Mirror Clan."
As she spoke, she sat back down on the sofa, lazily took a drag of her cigarette, and exhaled smoke rings that floated into the air, obscuring her eyes and brows.
Sang Zhitao didn't urge her to make a decision, nor did she speak. She just stood there and watched.
After a long pause, the other party finally said, "A purification mine can't be exchanged for so many people."
“The purified mine can cleanse the pollution disease. You can use it to research an antidote and completely eliminate the pollution disease. A large amount of wealth will flow to you, the powerful and wealthy will bow down to you, and even the common people will cheer for you. You will have money, power, and popular support. Isn’t that enough?” Sang Zhitao asked.
A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Lady Yue's eyes: "What do you know?"
"No one in this world is unaware of the Duke's thoughts," Sang Zhitao sneered.
Lady Yue tilted her body slightly, looking at her with seductive eyes: "Little girl, you should know that trouble comes from the mouth."
"So, if I don't say anything, he won't do it?" Sang Zhitao asked, and before Madam Yue could answer, she continued, "Do you really believe he will succeed?"
Lady Yue surprisingly didn't reply directly, but instead shook her head: "No."
"He will not succeed. A lowly gem wants to control the entire gem kingdom. How arrogant! Those nobles will tear him to pieces and swallow him whole."
As she spoke, a bitter smile flashed across Lady Yue's face, her expression shrouded in smoke, adding to her gloomy mood.
Sang Zhitao was not surprised by this answer. After all, although she did not write it in the original book, according to the analysis of the base researchers, Princess Stardust's success was definitely aided by other nobles.
After all, a living member of the royal family who has awakened the power of his bloodline is so important that nobles who want to seize power have to give way to him and protect him on the throne.
"They want the medicine the Duke developed; they're waiting for the moment of success." A hint of mockery flashed across Lady Yue's face. "Unfortunately, they don't know that we're not researching medicine."
“It’s a weapon for killing.” Sang Zhitao sat down opposite her. “The Dark Duke wants to launch a coup during the Moonlight Ceremony, so that even if he is overthrown later, he can still stand on a high position.”
This is something she only understood after reading the base researchers' analysis after returning from this time travel. The Dark Duke's coup will not succeed, but he is a madman and will still start a war even if it fails. She only wants to stop this war.
"Little girl, you know a lot," Madam Yue couldn't help but tease.
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "I don't know much. At least I don't understand why you would follow him if you knew it was a dead end?"
“Of course…” Madam Yue raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips, about to say something.
Sang Zhitao suddenly raised her hand and said, "Don't say it's because of love, that's ridiculous."
Lady Yue withdrew her smile, took a puff of her cigarette, and said, "Indeed, but we are all destined to die anyway, wouldn't it be better to die a glorious death?"
“With the purification ore, you won’t have to die, and…” Sang Zhitao thought for a moment before continuing, “After the Moonlight Ritual, Princess Stardust might awaken her power. The royal family’s purification power will change everything, won’t it?”
“The power of bloodline…” Lady Yue sighed. “The royal family possesses the ability to purify, but only those who sit on the throne possess the strongest power. Legend has it that a new purifying power was born a hundred years ago, capable of purifying the pollution disease, but that is just a legend. The previous emperor could not do it, so how could Princess Stardust now do it?”
Sang Zhitao didn't reply to her. After thinking about the details in the original work, she said, "Even if Princess Stardust's power can't purify the pollution disease, the purification ore can help you. Even so, do you still want to help her?"
Lady Yue flicked the cigarette butt between her fingers, looked up at Sang Zhitao, and said seriously, "Little girl, you'd better keep your possession of the purification mine a secret."
Having said that, before Sang Zhitao and the others could say anything more, he stood up and called for someone to escort them to the gate.
The group was pushed outside the door, and they looked at the Duke's mansion behind them, exchanging bewildered glances.
"What should we do?" Tou Hui frowned slightly.
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "I was thinking of trying to use the profits from the purified mine to try and win them over, but it seems that won't work now..."
"It's almost dawn." Tou Lan glanced at the sky. "What do we do now? Go in again?"
Sang Zhitao thought for a moment and then asked, "Tell me, where did the explosion come from?"
Tou Lan frowned, his face showing confusion.
Without hesitation, Sang Zhitao walked towards the alley with the manhole cover: "The person who was following us in the pipe has not appeared. The explosion must have been caused by him. Let's go back and check."
Tou Lan looked worriedly at the house behind her: "Won't we get arrested again?"
“Just don’t go up there.” Sang Zhitao gripped the cash in her pocket tightly. “I don’t believe they’ve installed surveillance cameras in the pipes.”
After thinking for a moment, Tou Lan finally spoke up to dissuade her: "I think it's better not to take the risk."
"The Moonlight Ceremony..." Tou Lan hesitated before speaking.
Sang Zhitao stopped and looked at Tou Lan: "According to what Madam Yue just revealed, the Moonlight Ritual will not succeed. Perhaps we can ignore these things for now and focus on saving people."
Tou Lan opened her mouth as if to persuade him again, but stopped when she saw Tou Hui.
At this moment, Touhui interjected, "No, we must seize the throne first."
“But…” Sang Zhitao’s words were choked in her throat by Tou Hui’s raised hand.
“I know what you mean. Judging from the photos, they are indeed not in good health, but we have nothing to trade to them. The infiltration route ahead doesn’t seem safe either. Killing the Dark Duke might be the best solution.” Touhui sighed and scratched his head.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a riot at noon today? Would that be okay?" Touqing interjected.
"Let's see," Sang Zhitao sighed. "I wonder if our exposure will affect those people."
“Even if the riot is severe, judging from the route we just found, bringing people out won’t be an easy task,” Tou Lan continued.
“So I want to go and see what that person was doing in the pipes first,” Sang Zhitao continued.
Tou Lan shook her head: "I think the most important thing right now is the Moonlight Ceremony. You need to reveal your identity during the Moonlight Ceremony, otherwise no one will acknowledge you."
“Those pursuers saw your face in the Floating Mirror Lake. I’m worried you’ll be recognized later,” Touhui added, trying to comfort him.
"Wouldn't that be a wasted trip?" Sang Zhitao said helplessly.
Touhui shook his head: "It wasn't a wasted trip. At least we know that the Mirror Clan is still alive."
"And... we also learned about Experiment Zero..." Tou Lan pursed her lips and said in a low voice.
Sang Zhitao rubbed her fingertips for a long time before saying, "Let's take another look. We'll talk about it at noon."
Seeing that she had backed down, Tou Lan didn't say anything more and quickly nodded in agreement.
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