Meanwhile, in the backyard of the East Garden, a completely different and peaceful scene unfolded.
The young guard sat slumped against the door, his back pressed against it, holding a lavish tea tray filled with fragrant tea fruits and pastries. He pleaded weakly and intermittently:
"Miss Ruoxi, please, please open the door!"
"Young lady, please eat a little bit!"
"Young lady, if you don't want to eat, a sip of tea will do!"
"Young lady, if you continue without eating or drinking, I'll be punished along with you! I really can't hold on any longer, I'm about to faint from hunger!"
...
In fact, he had been blocking this entrance since dawn, when he changed shifts with the older guard, pleading without leaving for a moment. His breakfast consisted of nothing more than plain porridge, cornbread, and pickled vegetables, and by now, that meager meal had long since been completely consumed by his body.
The person went from standing at the door full of energy, to leaning against the door with tired legs and a dry mouth, and finally squatting down with their back against the door when their stomach started to rumble.
Now, lunchtime had long passed, and he was so hungry that he was dizzy and his stomach was sticking to his back. He could only slump down weakly.
Ruoxi learned from the lakeside that someone was being secretly imprisoned in the Xiaolong Society, but the two of them refused to tell her the location of the secret cell. After returning, she did just as she had said, and began to shut herself in and go on a hunger strike.
The older guard was his master. Because of his curiosity, he had caused the current situation, so his master punished him by forbidding him from leaving the place even if the girl refused to eat or drink, let alone eat or sleep.
Now, his voice was clearly hoarse from shouting, but he had no choice but to keep shouting and begging.
He really "lost more than he gained" this time; he'd really suffered a huge loss. When he first met him in the mountains, he had admired the brave and aloof man, but now he gritted his teeth and hated him intensely: "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this state. Just wait and see how I deal with you!"
Suddenly, a woman's clear and forceful voice finally came from inside: "Are you deaf? When have I ever taken my words lightly? Stop shouting like a mourner! I'm not dead yet!"
Upon hearing this, the young guard was startled. He suddenly came to his senses, forced himself to stand up, and pounded on the door, calling out, "Miss, you've finally spoken! Oh, my dear lady, please have pity on me! I'm starving! Please open the door and have a bite to eat, so I can go down and report back!"
"Enough with the nonsense. Eat it yourself if you want. But if you don't tell me where the secret cell where that girl is being held is, I absolutely won't take back what I said," the woman said angrily.
"Oh dear, I really didn't know! How could a lowly guard like me know about such a secluded place? Aren't you deliberately making things difficult for me? Can you really bear to watch me starve to death at such a young age? Girl, you're so heartless!"
Clearly, no matter how pitiful he described his situation or how desperately he pleaded, Ruoxi was unwilling to waste any more words on him. She stopped talking and ignored him, muttering to herself, "What kind of mysterious place is that? Why are these two so tight-lipped about it?"
Gently closing the medicine book he had picked up, he was pondering to himself when he suddenly noticed that the back garden in Long En's backyard was indeed a wonderful place with mountains and water, green grass and red flowers, small bridges and flowing water, pavilions with pine trees and cranes, and halls with red lotuses. It was a place to watch the pavilions fall into the water, listen to the whisper of the wind, and smell the fragrance of flowers swaying in the breeze.
At this time of year, the ancient trees in the garden reach for the sky, and the surrounding trees make it less noisy and everything is so quiet.
The azaleas are in full bloom, cluster after cluster; the roses are everywhere, hanging high on the trellis; and in the season of hydrangeas, nothing can surpass their beauty and purity...
I leaned against the window and looked up at the scenery for a while, but perhaps because I had too many things on my mind, I couldn't help but feel a little bored and looked away. The questions I couldn't figure out were still unanswered and kept lingering in my mind.
Recalling everything the Empress Dowager had told her in Peach Blossom Village—about the miraculous power that had erupted from her body that day and her identity—she unconsciously began to stroke the seven-colored gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, murmuring softly, "So, Ruoxi isn't me. Then who am I?"
He then pulled the mysterious Resurrection Pill from his sleeve, placed it on the medical book, and examined it for a long time, staring blankly at himself, asking, "Resurrection Pill, can it really make me remember everything? My obsession... the common people... which is more important..."
She exhaled a deep breath, then slowly stood up and stood by the window, gazing blankly at the still lake. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be an older guard flashing past her. Behind him seemed to be a young woman. The two hurried towards a woodshed in the corner. After the woman went in first, the older guard peered around at the door before following her in.
Ruoxi quickly slipped away from the window, wondering to herself, "Who is that woman? Why are they sneaking into the woodshed like that?"
Just then, with a creak, the door was finally opened from the inside.
Outside the door, the young guard could no longer resist. He carefully picked up a tempting piece of hibiscus cake, blinked his lips, closed his eyes, brought it close to his nose, and took a deep sniff. He stared at it with wide eyes, licked his lips, and was about to put it in his mouth to taste this delicacy he had never experienced before.
Unexpectedly, the sound of the door opening caused a tumble and a crash, accompanied by a cry of "Ouch!" He and the tea, fruit, and snacks he was holding rolled inside like a top.
He seemed not yet to understand what had happened, why the delicious food he was about to eat had suddenly fallen to the ground, or how he had fallen, when he heard a stern voice: "Who is that girl in the woodshed in the back? What have you two been doing behind my back?"
"Girl? What girl? Where is there a girl?" Upon hearing this, the young guard stumbled and hurriedly got up, exclaiming in surprise.
"Hmph..." Ruoxi was in a hurry and didn't have time to take out her veil to cover herself. She only covered herself with a light veil and snorted coldly at the young guard before rushing towards the corridor of the back garden.
In an inconspicuous woodshed in the corner of the back garden, Lanxiang, still shaken from witnessing the cold and aloof man being stabbed through the abdomen with a sword, sat inside, trembling violently and weeping bitterly.
With the cold-faced man's best efforts, she escaped through the archway of the West Garden and wandered around like a headless fly. Just when she was about to be cornered by Long Ye's men, she was fortunate enough to encounter an older guard who quietly led her to Long En's courtyard.
Even if Long Ye were bold, he wouldn't dare to search Long En's courtyard casually.
No matter how the older guard questioned her, Lanxiang remained silent, only weeping and trembling. At this point, he was clearly at a loss for what to do with her.
Suddenly, a knocking sound rang out on the door, "knock knock knock."
Upon hearing this, the older guard inside the room quickly stood up, put his finger to his lips to signal Lanxiang to be quiet, and then quickly moved to the back of the door, peeking through the narrow gap at the person outside.
Lanxiang immediately looked up at the door and froze in shock, quickly stopping her crying.
Before the older guard could even get a good look at the newcomer, another, even louder banging came from the door: "Bang, bang, bang..."
"Open the door! What do you want? Why did you bring that woman here and lock her up? Open the door now!" Seeing that the door was not opened, Ruoxi outside the door pounded on the door several times and shouted angrily at the person inside.
With a creak, the old, worn-out door was finally opened from the inside by the older guard.
Ruoxi stepped through the door, glaring at the older guard's face, making him uneasy. Then, she slowly shifted her gaze to the petite and lovely Lanxiang sitting on the dilapidated bed opposite the door. Her clothes looked a little messy, and there were still teardrops on her face. She seemed to have guessed something.
She took a deep breath, raised her head, turned abruptly, and slapped the older guard hard across the face, saying, "Shameless! I never expected you to be this kind of person. You've really disappointed me!"
The older guard stood motionless, staring at the entrance, gritting his teeth without even blinking, and didn't utter a single word in his defense.
"Don't you have anything to explain to me? Who is she? Why did you bring her here? What did you do to her? Tell me, say anything, even lie to me, I'll believe you as long as you say it... Just say something!"
Ruoxi circled around behind him, still in disbelief, and roared at him hoarsely from back to back, her eyes instantly glistening with tears.
"Miss Yi..." Just then, in the quiet woodshed, opposite Ruoxi, Lanxiang, who was sitting on the broken bed, had quietly stopped crying and suddenly called out softly.
Ruoxi was not wearing a veil at this moment. Lanxiang studied the veiled woman who was coming towards her for a long time, and finally recognized the familiar figure from her eyebrows and eyes and the unique temperament she exuded.
Her eyes instantly filled with tears, her gaze darting around. She slowly stood up, then moved closer to Ruoxi, scrutinizing her from head to toe once more. Finally, she took Ruoxi's hand, choking back sobs, and said, "Miss Yi, is it really you?! I've finally found you! You're really alive, really alive!"
"Miss, you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Ruoxi." Ruoxi, who had been stunned, suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly pushed away Lanxiang's hand, saying.
Lanxiang took her hand again and held it in her palm, saying excitedly, "No, no, no, what Ruoxi? This is impossible. There can't be two people who look exactly alike in the world. You are Miss Yi, you are Miss Yi. We, we've been looking for you so hard! By the way, your maid Yan'er, she..."
Just then, the young guard stumbled and ran towards the woodshed, shouting as he ran, "Something terrible has happened!"
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