"Unlock? I didn't unlock it!" Zhou Lue said, looking puzzled.
Chang Lili exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! Both the entrance and exit doors are locked. How can you get in and out without unlocking them?"
"If it's locked, you can break it open; you don't necessarily have to pick it," Zhou Lue said casually, as if he were talking about something as ordinary as eating or sleeping.
Chang Lili was dumbfounded, and said in disbelief, "Break the lock? You... that gold lock isn't so easy to break..."
Zhou Lue couldn't help but sigh: "It was indeed difficult to smash; it took me quite a bit of effort back then."
"Then...then what about the first lock? That huge door, the lock is embedded in the door, how could this be broken open?" Chang Lili asked suspiciously.
Zhou Lue shook his head, looking as if he couldn't bear to recall the past: "You have no idea how difficult it was to get through that gate! I don't know how long it took me to break the lock, I thought I wouldn't be able to get in."
Chang Lili was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, and finally burst out laughing while clutching her stomach.
“I… now I finally understand… why Meng Yuxiu doesn’t want to see you anymore, and why he won’t tell me how you got through the trap array.” Chang Lili laughed heartily.
"What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at! No matter what method I used, I passed the trap formation with my own strength. What's so funny?" Zhou Lue said somewhat unhappily.
Chang Lili laughed for a while and nodded in agreement: "Yes, you're right. I didn't say you didn't pass based on your own abilities. Meng Yuxiu told me the same thing."
Zhou asked in surprise, "He said that?"
Seeing his incredulous yet expectant expression, Chang Lili felt a strange tenderness in her heart.
“Yes, he said you got through the traps on your own merits,” Chang Lili said with a smile, her tone sincere.
Zhou paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled broadly and said, "This kid has a conscience. I thought he was always unhappy about me joining the Light Machinery Department."
Inside the Imperial Palace, in the Scarlet Smoke Palace, Xiao Shu'er paced back and forth, her breathing growing heavier and heavier, and the expression on her face becoming increasingly ferocious.
"Still no news?" Xiao Shu'er turned to ask Bai Mei, who was standing trembling to the side.
Bai Mei hesitated for a moment, but was scolded by Xiao Shu'er. She quickly said, "Princess, I have urged them repeatedly, but there is still no news. It seems that the people we sent have vanished into thin air."
"Did they take the opportunity to escape because they were afraid of my punishment?" A murderous glint flashed in Xiao Shu'er's eyes. If those people appeared now, even if they brought back useful information, she would not spare them.
"No, they wouldn't dare, Princess. No one can disobey your orders," Bai Mei quickly replied.
Xiao Shu'er snorted coldly: "I thought so too. These good-for-nothings probably failed in their attempt to follow and exposed themselves, so they were killed by Meng Yuxiu. Useless trash!"
"Princess, what should we do now? According to our scouts, Meng Yuxiu took Chang Lili to the outskirts of the city. After that, we only saw Meng Yuxiu return, but we didn't see Chang Lili." Bai Mei told the truth, but she spoke carefully, afraid of upsetting Xiao Shuer even more.
Xiao Shu'er gritted her teeth and said, "Keep sending people to follow her. Does she think she can stay hidden forever? And Meng Yuxiu, I'll make sure he's ruined sooner or later!"
Bai Mei dared not say anything more and quickly took the order to make arrangements.
Meanwhile, in the flickering firelight of the underground palace, a woman was polishing a gleaming silver longsword. The sword shimmered with a cold light, its blade so thin that its side resembled a strand of hair.
Despite the passage of so many years, this seemingly fragile longsword remains brand new and flawless.
"Sect Master," Guo Yan said respectfully as she entered the room.
Aunt Xin sighed and said, "There are no outsiders here, so you don't need to stand on ceremony. What news is there this time?"
Guo Yan had a faint look of worry between her brows. She said, "Grandma Chang was taken away by Meng Yuxiu. It seems she was sent to a heavily guarded restricted area. Our people followed her to the vicinity of the restricted area, but they couldn't find her anywhere."
"A restricted area?" Aunt Xin frowned.
“Yes, not only has my mother-in-law been sent away, but Chang Lili is also nowhere to be found. Our people can’t enter the restricted area, so we can’t make a move,” Guo Yan said, frowning slightly.
Aunt Xin sheathed her longsword and pondered, "It seems there's more to this so-called forbidden zone than meets the eye."
Guo Yan said in a deep voice, "I'm not sure either. Not even a fly could get into that restricted area, so we can't continue our investigation."
"The commotion we caused a few days ago really scared the dog emperor!" Aunt Xin said with great interest, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
Guo Yan chimed in, "Yes, he also ordered Meng Yuxiu to thoroughly investigate the matter. The secret edict that I deliberately showed Granny Chang was his work. He was very afraid of those of us who escaped the net."
Aunt Xin said with satisfaction, "You did a good job. Since your mother-in-law is unwilling to tell us the truth, then I will make her talk. You know, the only ones who will never be a threat to her are us."
“But we can’t continue to do anything now,” Guo Yan said with difficulty. “Besides, if Meng Yuxiu finds out about the mother-in-law’s identity, won’t he obey the emperor’s orders and kill them?”
Aunt Xin frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly relaxed and asked, "I heard that the news of Meng Yuxiu's upcoming marriage caused quite a stir a few days ago. Is the woman he's marrying Chang Lili?"
“That’s right, he did it to save Chang Lili…” At this point, Guo Yan suddenly looked up, her face lighting up with surprise, “Aunt Xin means that he not only won’t kill Chang Lili, but might even defy the imperial decree for her sake?”
Aunt Xin smiled charmingly: "I didn't expect that this general from Yun Kingdom is such a romantic. He went to great lengths to break Chang Lili out of prison before, and now he'll do something else to save her as well."
Guo Yan then realized, "He sent them into the restricted area to protect them."
“It seems we have an unexpected gain this time,” Aunt Xin raised her eyebrows slightly. “In the future, regardless of whether Chang Lili is our princess or not, we must bring her into our camp so that we can restrain Meng Yuxiu.”
Guo Yan hadn't thought of this, and was surprised to hear it: "Aunt Xin is very thoughtful."
Deep in the forest, almost unknown to outsiders, this large, restricted area of the mountain is home to a dense forest, and the seepage from the forest offers a different kind of scenery.
Chang Lili stood under the shade of a tree, a gentle breeze brushing her face. She listened to Zhou Lue's incessant chatter and looked towards this place.
This place truly deserves to be called a paradise, free from chaos and noise, where one can simply focus on studying mechanical arts.
She used to long to enter this mysterious place, but now that she's here, her feelings are quite different. She even misses the bustling military workshop.
All around her were the sounds of hammering metal and the soldiers' chatter, including the clear, crisp voice of a pretty girl who always called her "Sister Lili".
Now that she's here, she'll be a member of the Light Machinery Department. She wonders when she'll see Lu Ming again.
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