Thoughts
There are copper bells hanging on the eaves of Zuihua Tower.
Outside the French window with lattice patterns, the grey tiles were bathed in a golden glow, the cut edges of the glazed tiles reflected the light, and even the thin mica sheets were blurred with a shadow like liquid amber.
Jiang Nian looked over the gauze curtain and looked at the light and shadow outline of the copper bell on the translucent sheet behind the bamboo curtain for a while, then turned his head away.
The wind is light these days, and the only time you can hear the bell clearly is during the howling wind during the rainstorm last night.
At this moment, the servants and maids in the building were all busy, and they were the only ones here, with no one else involved.
You glanced at the door behind Jiang Nian, and after feeling more at ease, he replied, "...No need for anything else. When will the magical item you mentioned be completed?"
Jiang Nian was also a little confused about the incident of being eavesdropped on a few days ago. He paused for a moment before saying, "Four more days."
The maid and secret guard haven't brought back Xizhen's letter yet, so I don't know how difficult the recipe written on it is. However, if I can use this rare item to exchange for information about the antidote, I can save time on exploring and searching and speed up the work.
You didn't say anything more, but just remained silent for a while. He had a knot in his heart, and no one could untie that knot, so he could only feel uncomfortable in his heart.
Will my sister need Jiang Nian’s things?
…
It doesn't matter whether you need it or not.
Anyway, he wants it.
He would feel at ease only after he saw his sister use it and the talisman array lost its tracking of her.
But if his sister doesn't need it, he can just look at the bottle of liquid and quench his thirst.
Jiang Nian looked at You's expression for a while, and then spoke again: "If there is no fixed number, then it is nothing more than forcing yourself at this moment."
It would be great if the perfume bottle could be exchanged for two things at once.
But she always felt that You was somewhat stubbornly obsessed with the goddess's impending death.
It was as if he could clearly see that the vast ocean was about to swallow up the only figure on the isolated island, and he was at the edge of the ocean, thousands of miles away from the island.
He got a life-saving boat and driftwood, which made him safer, but he tried to use the boat and the driftwood to cross the fierce waves and bring back the people on the isolated island in the center of the deep sea.
And the perfume bottle in her hand was like adding a few insignificant chips to his boat to save lives.
I don’t know if it accelerated the death of the goddess, or if it made You’s already paranoid emotions seem even more gloomy and uncontrollable.
The uncertainty is too great, and Jiang Nian doesn't want to put himself in the spotlight.
The confused thoughts in his mind were all mixed up, but You on the opposite side was sure of what he was thinking.
"Can it be completed in the next two days?"
He looked at Jiang Nian's surprised expression and explained quietly, "Exchange it for what you wanted just now."
…
Jiang Nian felt a sharp pain in his head.
When I first arrived at Zuihualou, after being judged by Lu and the flat-faced man, the cold air that was led out of the room by the flat-faced man slowly surrounded me like a vine.
Is it an illusion?
She was stunned for a moment, resisting the feeling of emptiness in her heart. She met You's gaze and asked quietly, "Even if you don't know what I want?"
"Whether it endangers the Wumi people or endangers my sister's plan."
"No matter which way I go, I'll eventually perish. I've already..."
His messy hair covered his slightly gloomy brows. He figured out some things, but he didn't know how to make the right choice or what the right choice was in the current situation.
We can only take one step at a time.
Just go with your intuition.
Whether he was torn to pieces or his soul on the body was scattered, he had been pushed to this point by the tide of power from all directions. There were too few things he could do.
Jiang Nian didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and said simply: "The Fifth Prince used something from your Wu Mi people earlier."
"It's a white mist that can make people unconscious. They will fall into an indefinite sleep. Only the antidote can break it."
"——Is there an antidote for this thing in the pavilion?"
Because Jiang Nian did not go with Qin Lan and the others to find Princess Qingping, he had not seen what the princess looked like now that she was unconscious, so he could not paint a more detailed picture for You to judge.
But You seemed to be very familiar with these small unconscious objects. After a while, he even said, "I know. I'll ask someone to find it later and give it to you."
Jiang Nian didn't intend to ask too many questions about this matter. He just wanted to get the antidote.
But after nodding, he recalled the frosty and calm expression of the princess at the Flower Festival, and thought of the connection between her and Xiao Yingzhu, and finally spoke again:
"——How do you take this antidote?"
—
Capital
When Xiao Yingzhu arrived at the palace gate, there were almost no people coming and going as usual. There was only a guard standing in front of the palace gate. When he saw him, he immediately stepped forward and saluted respectfully. After asking about his purpose, he went into the palace to report to the eunuch.
There was still a long series of complicated rules to go through before Emperor Changde would find out, and he felt the guards' stiff faces and bodies, as if they were frightened by him.
Xiao Yingzhu turned his eyes away casually and glanced around.
It is quieter here than the previous place. The people around seem to be avoiding something. Even if they want to pass by here, they will change direction and walk hurriedly around the temple gate with their heads lowered.
While waiting for Emperor Changde's response, Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes and looked at the people passing by below, and came to a conclusion.
Maybe something was happening in this hall, and he just happened to run into it.
......
Xiao Yingzhu was not very familiar with the beauties in the palace, and he would not listen to any gossip at the banquet.
And who would dare to go forward and reason with Emperor Changde at this moment?
It’s a very simple method of elimination, clear at a glance.
Concubine Shu could no longer sit still in the palace. She had not seen the princess return for a long time, and there was no one in Cang County to talk to. This woman who had been protected by her family for half her life could not bear the fact that she had no news about her son. She was worried and could not sleep all night. She ran to Emperor Changde to complain.
Xiao Yingzhu suppressed the coldness that flashed across her eyes and turned to look at the vermilion door beside her.
The red paint on the door was recently reapplied, and there are still some traces of it not drying up. The cold iron ring embedded in the towering palace adds a bit of solemnity. In a trance, one can still smell the rust deposited by history.
The door inside opened, revealing a corner of the gold foil inside the hall.
Xiao Yingzhu frowned and suddenly looked cold and aggressive. Following the eunuch's instructions, he stepped inside.
—
On the high hall, a gilded throne with carved cloud patterns and dragons shines brightly, and four pairs of crane candlesticks are placed on both sides of the throne.
In front of the imperial desk, a woman knelt in front, crying bitterly.
Xiao Yingzhu paused for a moment to glance at Concubine Shu's back, then turned to look at Emperor Changde who was sitting on the high seat.
Before he could speak, Emperor Changde was fed up with the incessant crying and raised his hand to sweep it downwards, making it clear that he did not want Concubine Shu to continue pestering him.
"Go down first."
The Shu Fei who was kneeling on the ground wanted to act pretentiously again, but she caught a glimpse of Xiao Yingzhu coming from behind and was frightened for a moment. She kept crying, so she had to cover her face hurriedly, stood up sadly, covered her face with her wide sleeves, and walked towards the door behind her.
She looked so pitiful that if I didn't know better, I would have thought that Emperor Changde had let her down.
Xiao Yingzhu did not say a word about this matter, pretending not to see it, and went straight to the point to report the recent achievements in Cang County.
The opened secret letter on the imperial desk curled up and fell into his dark pupils.
Emperor Changde supported his head, listened to his report with his eyes lowered, and picked up the secret memorial that he had read over and over again.
After Xiao Yingzhu finished reporting on recent affairs, he slowly spoke: "My dear minister, you have been very busy recently, but I know that you have handled everything properly and everything is in order."
Emperor Changde paused for a moment, then casually said, "The anniversary of your parents' death is approaching soon. Are you ready?"
"—If there is a conflict with important matters, you can put them aside for now."
Xiao Yingzhu blinked slowly and lowered his brows. "The anniversary of my parents' death is approaching. I have made preparations and will go to pay my respects in two days. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern."
He didn't mention Jiang Nian directly. What was he waiting for?
Emperor Changde held the secret letter, his gaze lingering on it for a moment, and replied in a deep voice, "What preparations will be made next?"
It's still the same as before.
Xiao Yingzhu raised her eyelids slightly and stared at Emperor Changde for a moment. "Now that the plague in Cang County has been resolved, I will return to Pingzhou to deal with the matter of the anti-parasitic medicine."
"Has the candidate been decided?"
......
He didn't want to answer.
Xiao Yingzhu was unsure of Emperor Changde's attention.
If Emperor Changde wants to use Jiang Nian as bait to lure Dong Lan to leave early, so as to cut off all these chaotic things and have peace, then Jiang Nian will be in great danger.
Although Emperor Changde verbally guarantees her safety, but...
At present, Jiang Nian has not made any significant achievements that can be seen by Emperor Changde, so Emperor Changde will not pay too much attention to her.
Once the person is sent out, it will be difficult for him to rescue him.
After a few seconds of silence, Xiao Yingzhu's face once again showed an attitude of waiting for His Majesty's decision:
"It's confirmed, but we still need to see her performance in the near future to determine whether she can secure a place in this layout."
Emperor Changde stroked the secret memorial in his hand and suddenly smiled and said, "My dear minister, you seem to have changed a little."
His stern expression relaxed slightly, revealing a hint of nostalgia, and his tone softened, "When the late Duke handled government affairs, he was just like you, meticulous and occasionally showing a touch of human warmth."
A wisp of hot steam came out of the cup beside him, and white smoke floated up. Emperor Changde's expression became a little unclear, as if he had suddenly concealed the emotions that were about to be revealed.
The relaxed expression on his face finally faded, he propped up his head and raised his hand slightly.
"I will trouble you with the following matters, my dear. Please step aside. I await good news."
"I have made preparations and will do my best to live up to your Majesty's trust."
Xiao Yingzhu bowed and did not linger in the hall for long, but glanced at the eunuch standing behind him.
The eunuch who had just changed his position had been trying to lower his presence. Now, when he felt Xiao Yingzhu's gaze, he shuddered and stood straighter.
“…”
Xiao Yingzhu withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the palace entrance.
—
The last ray of light in the palace was blocked outside by the towering palace door, and the palace immediately returned to silence.
The eunuch's mind was still etched with the image of Xiao Yingzhu leaving. Suddenly, he heard Emperor Changde asking him a question, and he immediately retracted his scattered thoughts and replied, "Your Majesty, Duke Xiao has always been cautious and thoughtful in his actions."
"This time, I believe Duke Xiao will handle it properly and live up to the emperor's trust."
Emperor Changde put the secret memorial aside, and then picked up the documents that were no more than the previous ones and looked through them.
After a while, he said thoughtfully, "Then I will investigate further."
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