As soon as he left everyone's sight, Xiao Nanhui started running as fast as he could.
She had never run so hard outside of a battlefield. Although there was only a void in front of her, she felt that the result she had been pursuing for a long time was there.
The clamor of the guests was soon left behind her. The long corridor first went straight forward, then after turning a corner, it suddenly turned into branches leading to three directions.
Xiao Nanhui panted, standing at the fork in the road and looking around. Each corridor twisted and turned endlessly. The sky gradually darkened, and the rockery and landscape that had been clearly outlined during the day began to blur and magnify. The low walls and screens that had seemed to be intertwined in a random pattern suddenly became connected, like an exquisite cage trapping her.
The trees are deep and the grass is long, the walls are layered, and there is no way out.
The traditional garden design of high gates and deep courtyards is displayed to the fullest in the Xuanyuan Palace.
Xiao Nanhui bent down and observed the marks on the ground.
During the blessing ceremony just now, the geomancer burned a lot of paper talismans, and people who were close to him would have some paper ash on their bodies. Although it was tiny, it was not completely untraceable.
She observed for a while, then stood up and walked towards the porch on the far left.
Last time, she also took the left path.
Xiao Nan paused, startled by the sudden thought that popped into his mind.
The last time was at the Jiaosong County Palace.
She forced herself to concentrate, but the more she tried, the harder it became. Bizarre fragments swarmed through her mind like a swarm of bees. The stench and strange fragrance of corpses in the Mandragora Garden, the body lying quietly on the stone platform in Jingbo Tower, and the speculations about resurrection...
Not far away, a few night-returning birds fluttered up from the grass. Xiao Nanhui's hair stood on end and cold sweat broke out on his back.
The temperature around her dropped as the sun set, and the evening breeze blew across the fine hairs on her face with a hint of coolness. She felt that the perception of every pore was magnified at this moment, and just the slightest disturbance could trigger a storm.
Click.
Suddenly there was a noise from the left rear. Xiao Nanhui turned around abruptly and subconsciously tried to draw the dagger from his waist.
But she forgot that according to the rules, one was not allowed to carry weapons when entering the palace, and her dagger was left at the gatehouse.
In the darkness, she looked nervously in the direction of the sound.
"who?"
Xiao Nanhui narrowed his eyes and saw a little maid with two buns on her hair walking out from behind a pillar not far away. She was holding a bunch of freshly picked flowers in her arms and had an oil lamp hanging on her wrist. She was looking at him timidly.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.
"Excuse me, where is this place? I'm a little lost."
The little maid hesitated for a moment before whispering.
"Further ahead is the direction of the ancestral hall. Outsiders are not allowed to enter."
Ancestral hall? Aren't ancestral halls in royal palaces usually located near the main house? Why is it in a place like this?
Xiao Nanhui paused and continued to ask.
"Excuse me, did you see anyone passing by here just now? He was wearing a brown cloak..."
"Young lady, are you talking about Mr. Zong?" The little maid smiled shyly, the flower branch in her hand trembling. "After the blessing, the priest will return to the ancestral hall to burn incense, and it will take a long time for him to come out."
"How long is a long time?" Xiao Nanhui said anxiously, "I have something I want to ask him. Could you please let him know? If it's not convenient, I'll wait for him here."
"I'm just a servant in the backyard, I don't know about this." The little maid lowered her head and fiddled with the wick of the oil lamp in her hand. The light flickered and finally lit up. "But outsiders are not allowed to stay here on weekdays. I'll take the girl to wait somewhere else."
Xiao Nanhui hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
"good."
******************
In the long eaves corridor, two figures were moving one after the other.
Squeak, squeak.
A flickering oil lamp swayed with the two figures, casting a small patch of shimmering light on the ground. Beyond that, the surroundings were a blanket of indissoluble darkness.
Xiao Nanhui silently memorized the route in his heart, not daring to take his eyes off the figure in front of him with double buns.
The sky around her was getting darker and darker. She could not see any scenery outside the eaves, let alone the patterns carved on the pillars. She could only remember the order of the forks in the road.
The Xuanyuan Palace is so stingy that they don’t even turn on the lights after dark?
Xiao Nanhui cursed in his heart, but suddenly the person walking in front of him slowed down.
"We're here."
She took a few more steps forward, a faint scent of flowers wafting through her nose. She sneezed violently, her eyes fixed on the flower branch in the maid's hand.
It was a bunch of small flowers of light white with some tender yellow, which looked like ordinary Forsythia and Winter Jasmine. Logically, the fragrance should be much weaker than Yao Yi's Gardenia and Peony. Why was it so pungent?
Maybe it was because he inhaled too much pollen in Mrs. Bo's side yard just now, so he is feeling a little energetic now.
Xiao Nanhui rubbed his nose and looked at the courtyard at the end of the eaves.
It's square, clean and tidy, and doesn't seem to be anything special.
"here it is......?"
The little maid pushed open the door of the middle room and motioned Xiao Nanhui to go back inside.
"This is where the young master's wet nurse used to live. It's been vacant for a long time now. You'll definitely pass by here when you leave the ancestral hall. The young lady won't miss the person she's waiting for."
Xiao Nan looked back at the dark room and nodded in thanks.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
