Chapter 310: Night Exploration of the Dark Shadow, Secret Letter
The night at Prince Rong's mansion was shrouded in a thin layer of autumn mist. The shadows of the crabapple trees in the east courtyard swayed like a group of silent sentinels, guarding the silence that filled the courtyard.
Little Swallow, draped in a dark cloak, stood on the porch, gazing towards the west courtyard. The hood of her cloak had slipped to her shoulders, revealing her startlingly bright eyes, which seemed to conceal two cold stars. Her fingertips unconsciously twisted the cloak's strings, and the silver bells at the ends occasionally chimed, remarkably clear in the night.
"Do you really want to go?" Yongqi gently held her hand from behind. He had just changed out of his court robes, and there was still a faint scent of ink on his body.
"Yeah." Xiaoyanzi turned to look at him, her eyes flashing with eagerness. "Liu Hong said that the black shadow went towards the E Mansion. I'm going to see what they are up to."
Ziwei came out with a bowl of hot soup, the celadon bowl steaming in her white hands. "It's windy tonight, drink the soup first to warm yourself up. I asked Xiao Chongzi to prepare some sleeping pills, just in case..."
"Don't worry!" Xiaoyanzi took the bowl of soup and drank it all, wiped her mouth and smiled, "With my lightness skills, even if I can't win, I can still run away!" As she spoke, she patted the soft sword at her waist, and the ruby inlaid on the scabbard sparkled in the moonlight.
Yongqi shook his head helplessly and took out a small copper whistle from his pocket: "This is the signal whistle used by the imperial guards. If there is any trouble, blow it three times and I will send someone to meet you outside the E Mansion."
"I know!" Little Swallow took the copper whistle and put it into her sleeve. She tiptoed over the wall like a night swallow. Her black cloak drew a neat arc in the air and disappeared into the night in an instant.
Xiao Dengzi and Xiao Zhuozi stood at the gate, lanterns in hand, their glow flickering across their faces. Little Wenzi rubbed his reddened hands, muttering to himself, "Wow, princess, with all your skills, it's a shame if you don't become a hero..."
"Shh!" Little Bug quickly covered his mouth and pointed in the direction of the west courtyard, "Be quiet, don't let them hear you over there."
Ziwei looked in the direction where Xiaoyanzi disappeared and sighed softly: "I hope she can come back safely."
Yongqi put his arm around her shoulders and said in a steady voice, "Believe her. Let's not sit idle either. Let's go see if Aunt Zhang's confession has been sorted out. Maybe we can find some clues from it."
The night was as dark as ink, and the little swallow darted swiftly, taking advantage of the shadows cast by the eaves. She held her breath, the only sounds in her ears being the light sound of her footsteps and the rustling of leaves in the wind. The walls of the E Mansion were not high, and she landed silently inside like a falling leaf, hiding behind a dense cluster of lilac flowers.
The mansion was silent, with only the light still on in the study on the east side. Two blurry figures were reflected on the window paper. One of them was pacing with his hands behind his back, and his figure looked very much like E Min.
Xiaoyanzi held her breath and quietly walked around to the back window of the study, where there was a barely noticeable gap. She squinted her eyes and looked inside. She saw E Min talking to a middle-aged man in casual clothes, with several sheets of paper spread out on the table.
"...Prince Rong has already become suspicious. If we don't take action now, it will be too late." E Min's voice was low, but with a hint of ruthlessness, "That loser Chen Zhihua can't even handle such a small matter!"
The middle-aged man sneered and picked up the paper on the table and shook it. "This is the correspondence between Lord Chen and the rebels. As long as this is delivered to the emperor, not only Prince Rong, but even the Chen family will be wiped out!"
Xiaoyanzi's heart skipped a beat, her fingertips clenched until they turned white. She was about to listen more carefully when she saw the middle-aged man suddenly stand up and look towards the rear window.
"who?"
Little Swallow thought to herself that something was wrong. She tiptoed and leaped onto the roof. The tiles made a slight sound under her feet. She didn't dare to stop, and she ran all the way in the moonlight, and soon she was out of the E Mansion.
By the time she returned to Prince Rong's mansion, daybreak had already begun. Xiaoyanzi landed on the crabapple tree in the east courtyard and happened to see Yongqi standing beneath it, waiting for her, his brow furrowed.
"How is it?" Yongqi saw her coming down and hurriedly went to meet her, reaching out to brush away the fallen leaves in her hair.
Xiaoyanzi pulled out a small ball of paper from her sleeve, her face flushed with excitement. "Look at this! I found it on the windowsill outside Emin's study. It seems they didn't have time to put it away."
Yongqi unfolded the paper, revealing only a few words, but his face turned grim. Ziwei leaned in to take a look and gasped, "They're actually trying to fabricate evidence and accuse Lord Chen of collaborating with the enemy?"
"More than that." Yongqi pointed to the date on the paper. "The emperor will go to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices the day after tomorrow. They want to attack him on the way and put the blame on Elder Chen. Then they can trace the blame back to us."
Xiaoyanzi clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. "These bastards! I'm going to tell the Emperor right now!"
"Wait." Yong Qi held her back, his eyes sharp. "We don't have solid evidence. Reporting it rashly will only alert the enemy. Why not... take advantage of their strategy?"
Ziwei looked at them and suddenly an idea struck her: "You mean, let them think their plan has succeeded, and then we intercept them halfway?"
"That's right." Yongqi nodded, a cold smile on his face. "I'll mobilize the troops right away, and then have someone deliver this letter to Elder Chen so he can be prepared."
Xiaoyanzi looked at his confident expression, and her heart was relieved. She reached out and plucked a dewy crabapple blossom, tucked it into Ziwei's hair, and said with a smile, "Now, it's our turn to fight back!"
The morning light penetrated the mist, gilding the glazed tiles of Prince Rong's mansion. Beneath the crabapple tree in the east courtyard, the three men exchanged smiles, their eyes gleaming with determination. A silent contest was about to unfold in the streets of the capital.
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