Chapter 211 Reversal
Shen Qingci quickly calculated in her mind, and then simultaneously pressed down the three small stones under her hand.
After the three small stones were pressed down, a dark passage, only wide enough for one person to pass through, immediately appeared in the middle of the wall.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Qingci slipped into the passage.
The stone door of the passage slowly closed behind her.
Shen Qingci didn't leave immediately. She continued to search inside the door for a while, confirming the location of several stones, and then decisively pressed them down!
A hidden compartment immediately popped up on the wall, containing torches and flint.
Shen Qingci lit a torch, walked a distance along the stone steps, and then quickly pressed a few buttons on the wall.
With a muffled "boom," a new passage suddenly appeared on the other side of the path she had just walked through! And in front of her, a thick stone wall descended, completely blocking her way!
Shen Qingci's eyes were dark and gloomy.
The secret passages beneath the Shen family's residence are intricate and numerous.
Two of them are alternative escape routes, while the others... are riddled with traps!
She brought up this trap-filled path; if the other side caught up with it, that would be... perfect.
Once the path was completely blocked, she leaned against the wall, took out some white powder from the silver bracelet, and poured it all into her mouth.
Since she prepared the poison, she would naturally also prepare the antidote.
After taking the antidote, she followed the route map she knew by heart and walked for about half an hour in the deep secret passage before finally finding the exit.
The exit was inside a well in a courtyard where people lived, located on the well wall, and inside the well... there was even water.
Shen Qingci stepped out from the hidden door in the well wall and pressed down on an inconspicuous stone on the well wall.
Soon, faint sounds could be heard from outside the well.
Before long, someone appeared at the well.
Shen Qingci raised her eyes and looked up. In just one glance, she felt as if all the blood in her body had been frozen instantly!
The person who appeared above the well was none other than the woman who had impersonated Chu Yuening!
At that moment, she stood by the well, smiling as she looked at her.
Shen Qingci's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly came to her senses.
Her parents had mentioned this place to her several times before, saying that the people living in the courtyard at the exit were people that the Shen family had placed there decades ago, just in case.
The people in the courtyard are all carefully trained assassins by the Shen family, so they are definitely... trustworthy!
Shen Qingci suddenly remembered that Zhuque had mentioned before that in addition to the intelligence network, her father had also left her a mysterious secret force!
However, Suzaku did not know where the Dark Division was located, or how to contact them.
Could it be...?
The secret agents are hiding at the exit of this secret passage.
Could it be... that this woman is actually... a contact for the secret service?
Shen Qingci's gaze lingered on the woman for a long time before finally settling on her wrist.
A silver bracelet had appeared on her wrist at some point.
The style of that silver bracelet was exactly the same as the one that Zhuque wore when they recognized each other before!
She was absolutely certain that the woman was not wearing the silver bracelet on her wrist when she was in that secret room!
She narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze back to the woman's face.
She slowly curved her lips into a smile, her voice filled with understanding: "So, this whole performance was... performed for me?"
"Is this... a test for me?"
Upon hearing this, the woman laughed. Her laughter was clear, melodious, and full of approval.
"yes."
Then, she raised her hand and slowly tore off the lifelike human skin mask from her face.
Beneath the mask was a beautiful yet unfamiliar face.
She bowed deeply to Shen Qingci, who was in the well, and performed a standard military salute.
"Your subordinate Qingming greets Young Master."
Shen Qingci lowered her eyes, suddenly laughed, and then slowly raised her head, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness: "Do we... really have to talk like this?"
Qingming then realized what was happening and quickly lowered the rope that had been prepared.
Shen Qingci grabbed the rope and was quickly pulled up.
Qingming then revealed his identity to Shen Qingci: "When the young master brought up the old case of the Shen family before, we knew that the young master... wanted to overturn the case of the Shen family."
"However, the old case of the Shen family involves many things. Although the young master is now the Regent's Consort, we still need to follow the rules."
"General Shen left a will before his death. It said that if the young master wants to overturn the case for the Shen family, he must first test the young master to see if he has the ability."
“If the young master fails the test, then we… cannot show ourselves.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci nodded, her face showing no surprise but rather an air of understanding.
“My father… always thinks a lot.”
Her father knew her personality all too well.
He knew that since she had proposed to overturn the verdict, she must know something and would definitely do it no matter what.
But if she doesn't have the ability, she won't even be able to get through the scheme he carefully set up. Then the so-called overturning of the verdict will be nothing but empty talk, like throwing an egg against a rock.
He couldn't allow someone he had carefully cultivated to take this risk with her.
They didn't want to give her any hope of overturning the verdict, and let her lose her life in vain.
Shen Qingci took a deep breath and smiled, a smile that carried a hint of relief and nostalgia.
She looked at Qingming, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes: "No wonder you treated me coldly, yet still gave me food and found me a doctor."
When Qingming heard her mention what had happened in the stone chamber, his eyes became somewhat complicated.
“That poison,” her voice trembled with lingering fear, “was extremely potent. Young Master was far too reckless. What if… what if I had actually taken that bracelet…”
Shen Qingci glanced at her and smiled, a smile full of confidence and composure.
"Since you suspect the bracelet, and since I dared to show it to you, I certainly wouldn't have been unprepared."
“In fact,” a sly glint flashed in her eyes, “before I called for help, I had already taken some antidote from that bracelet and hidden it under the pillow of that stone bed.”
“That stone bed was prepared by you, so you certainly wouldn’t suspect anything about it.”
"Of course I would never risk my life."
Upon hearing this, Qingming raised his eyebrows slightly, and his usually cold eyes instantly filled with sincere admiration.
“The young master and General Shen do have some similarities in their ways of doing things,” she said slowly.
"Always prepare a backup plan for yourself. And... there's more than one."
Shen Qingci smiled, a smile filled with pride and nostalgia.
“I am my father, I personally taught him, so naturally… there will be some similarities.”
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