Life and death are unseen
She felt that she could not hear any of the sounds that followed.
She blankly ended the sect meeting that day, and then numbly packed her luggage. Looking at Chu Yuanyi and Zhongli Wuyan, who were in the same room as her, laughing and joking around without any ulterior motives, full of longing for life in the palace, and discussing various things related to An Shihe, she suddenly felt sad and guilty for the dark emotions she had at that time.
Even feeling guilty about her decision to enter the palace.
She originally thought that as long as she left, the problem would be solved and all four of them would be free.
Unexpectedly, they started over in a different place, sacrificing what could have been a bright and promising future for the four of them.
The junior sisters probably never imagined what the palace was like.
The next morning, before the roosters crowed, the first rays of dawn shone into the courtyard, casting a clear and elegant image of An Shihe, with a jade flute tucked into his waistband, standing in the courtyard waiting.
Rong Yuexian barely slept all night, while her two junior sisters chatted and laughed as they rushed out the door to find An Shihe.
Listening to the three of them chatting in the courtyard, An Shihe responded calmly with a smile. Looking at her haggard face in the mirror after a night's rest, Rong Yuexian finally made a decision, a decision that would be closely related to the fate of the four of them from then on.
When An Shihe saw Rong Yuexian walk out the door with a sullen face and her hands behind her back, his expression faltered slightly, but his two junior sisters did not notice this change.
Chu Yuanyi continued to chatter on curiously, asking An Shihe about things in the palace.
Hearing the commotion, Zhongli Wuyan greeted her with a beaming smile, "Senior Sister is all ready too, shall we go now? Hmm,"
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Rong Yuexian's expression was off, and since she didn't have any luggage or anything like that in her hands, she wisely stopped talking.
Rong Yuexian tried her best to keep her tone nonchalant and said calmly, "Entering the palace as the emperor's hidden guard is no trivial matter. In fact, my suggestion is that I go alone. After all, once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea. From then on, you will have no connection with any grudges in the martial world, your family, or your sect. This is not an interesting thing."
Chu Yuan and the other two looked at each other, seemingly puzzled as to why Rong Yuexian had brought this up at this moment.
Rong Yuexian sighed inwardly, but did not explain further. She simply said, "If you do not change your mind, that is fine. However, entering the palace is not for fun, and there are many taboos and rules. I want to make a three-point agreement with you here. If you can abide by it, you can enter the palace; if you cannot, you do not need to go. Marrying will only bring trouble to your family and sect."
An Shihe seemed to realize something and finally spoke up, "Senior Sister, please enlighten me."
Rong Yuexian said calmly, "First, the way to enter the palace is to conceal your original name and identity. No one other than yourself needs to know your new identity."
Chu Yuanyi said, seemingly understanding but not quite, "I understand this. The Hidden Guards do not serve the Emperor personally, nor are they driven by anyone. They will only take action when the Emperor or the Crown Prince is in danger of losing their lives. Therefore, the fewer people who know about them, the more effective they will be."
Rong Yuexian said, "The second one also comes from the first one. Therefore, we will not enter the palace together, but will part ways from today. From now on, we will each rely on our own abilities and skills to enter the palace with false identities. Even if we are our own people, we do not need to know each other."
Upon hearing this, An Shihe's expression changed drastically.
Zhongli Wuyan pondered, "So this means we have to go to our own palaces and can't travel together anymore." Her expression turned somewhat lost.
Rong Yuexian saw this, but continued to say the third point: "The third point is actually an extension of the first point: since we have decided to 'hide,' after entering the palace, the four of us will each conceal our identities and will not need to see each other again unless there is something that needs to be done in front of the palace. Otherwise, we will never have any contact with each other again."
She emphasized the last sentence.
To truly make them understand that going to the palace is not for fun, much less for continuing their entanglements.
Some things should be clear from the start.
The last sentence was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. The three of them finally fell silent, and the laughter and chatter ceased. Instead, they looked at each other in bewilderment.
Zhongli Wuyan, who was always quick-witted, looked at this and then at that, and seemed to finally understand something.
An Shihe opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue something, but seemed unable to find the words.
Rong Yuexian gave no one a chance to speak and said, "I will go home now so that I can discuss with my clan how to enter the palace."
She glanced at the three of them again and said, "Junior brothers and sisters, if you think you can't do it, it's not too late to change your mind now. Just tell the elders in the sect."
After saying these words, she suddenly felt much lighter, as if she had returned to the carefree and elegant scholar she once was. Without looking at any of them, she left on her own.
Ah Qiu could imagine that Rong Yuexian made this agreement precisely to dissuade An Shihe and her two junior sisters from entering the palace.
Regardless of whether An Shihe entered the palace for his own sake, his two junior sisters must have entered the palace hoping to spend their lives with him. Therefore, Rong Yuexian clearly told them that if they did not enter the palace, they might still have this hope, but entering the palace would completely sever this thought.
Because this clause was included in the agreement:
"Never to see each other again until death."
Even if they enter the palace, once they enter the palace gates, they will go their separate ways and never see each other again.
A Qiu could sense that Rong Yuexian's decision, though seemingly considerate and magnanimous, actually contained a great deal of helplessness.
She couldn't help but ask, "Actually, when you said that, you were hoping that Lord An, Senior Zhongli, and Aunt Yuanyi wouldn't enter the palace, right?"
Rong Yuexian said with a wry smile, "I have said everything. What happens next is up to them and has nothing to do with me."
She just didn't expect that the three of them would still insist on entering the palace in the end.
Moreover, both Zhongli Wuyan and Chu Yuanyi met such an end.
She initially treated her two junior sisters like daughters, never imagining that they would ultimately pay the price with their entire lives.
A Qiu couldn't help but ask, "So, all these years, have the four seniors of Tianji really never seen each other again?"
Rong Yuexian paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know."
A-Qiu suddenly understood.
For example, at the Andao Mausoleum, I encountered the Grand Eunuch Rongyu several times in front of the palace. I would bow and pay my respects, and then pass by him. Does this count as meeting?
On the contrary, when the music bureau of the former Huan Dynasty was at its peak, An Daoling led all the musicians of the Xianshao Academy to play together. He led the group and stood out from the crowd with his superb flute playing. At that time, could Rong Yu, the Grand Palace Eunuch who served the emperor with his head bowed, be considered to have never seen him?
Ah Qiu now understands why, during the "White Silk" dance, Ah Qiu once invited Zhong Li Wuyan to perform as a senior member of the music academy, representing three generations together, but Zhong Li Wuyan ultimately presented her voice instead of appearing in person. It was because of the four of them's "to never see each other again."
Back then, Zhongli Wuyan was just one of ten thousand musicians, and An Daoling might not have had the chance to meet her. Moreover, An Daoling did not manage the dance troupe at that time. But now there are only a few dozen musicians, and the entire music bureau is considered An Daoling's territory. Zhongli Wuyan cannot easily get involved, probably for this reason.
But Rong Yuexian's voice quickly regained its composure, and she said, "No, the four of us once gathered together."
This time, it was A-Qiu's turn to be extremely surprised.
By all accounts, the four constellations of Tianji do not seem like people who break their promises or go back on their word. Since they made a promise, they should not meet again.
Rong Yuexian finally raised her head, revealing half of her face beneath her bamboo hat. Her gaze fell on the street not far away with the plaque that read "Ping Le Lane," and she said calmly, "That was the time when we owed Lady Hua Chi a favor. Someone attempted to assassinate the emperor, and we acted simultaneously."
Just as A Qiu was about to ask another question, Shangguan Yuqi's voice rang in A Qiu's ears: "There is an ambush here."
A Qiu felt a blur before his eyes, and Rong Yuexian had vanished without a trace.
She heard Rong Yuexian say calmly, "I'll go and clear out those bystanders. You two go in and see what happened."
A Qiu thought this was for the best; with Rong Yuexian's skills, she could be a perfect backup. Even in the most dangerous situations, she and Shangguan Yuqi could bravely venture in.
Turning into the third shop in Pingluo Lane, a grand and elegant restaurant comes into view, with the words "Narcissus Restaurant" inscribed on a black lacquered plaque.
A Qiu recalled that Chu Yuanyi had once asked her about this place. At the time, she thought that after decades of war and chaos, it probably no longer existed. But her guess was not far off. The building in front of her was quite new, and it must have been renovated and rebuilt in recent years, but it still had the old signboard hanging on it.
The two servants guarding the gate had already noticed A Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi's shifty eyes. Having seen countless people, they were adept at reading people and certainly wouldn't mistake A Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi for ordinary pretty girls.
A smiling man approached and said, "Ladies, have you made an appointment or...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Shangguan Yuqi interrupted him with a gesture. Shangguan Yuqi had already produced a token from her palm and whispered, "Dragon Tiger Cavalry, investigate the case."
The two men's expressions changed drastically. One of them lowered his voice and asked, "Generals, who are you looking for?"
Shangguan Yuqi had already put the token back into her sleeve and said coldly, "Have you seen a beautiful woman in purple with an unusual appearance come here?"
The two hesitated, exchanged a glance, and Shangguan Yuqi took in their expressions. She shouted, "That's a wanted criminal. Anyone who harbors him will be punished as a member of the criminal gang." She then glanced at the surrounding furnishings and said, "I see that this building of yours has been newly built for about ten years. Why not just tear it down and rebuild it?"
The two men looked distressed. One of them stepped forward and gestured for them to come, saying, "There is such a person. She said she had made an appointment. Please come with me."
Ah Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi were in an elegantly decorated room. The most special feature was a section of copper pipe protruding from the wall, through which they could hear the sounds from Zhongli Wuyan's room.
In addition, there is a bronze mirror that, through a mechanism, reflects the scene inside the room multiple times.
This was Ah Qiu's first time entering such a secret place in a restaurant, and she couldn't help but marvel at it. She said to Shangguan Yuqi with admiration, "I never thought it would be so easy to spy on the confidential conversations in such a place."
Shangguan Yuqi was observing the scene in the mirror when she chuckled and said, "Do you think that all espionage requires climbing rooftops and scaling walls?" She emphasized, "You are an official now. Isn't power more useful than anything else? Why do you have to act like a thief?"
Ah Qiu, who was always broad-minded, laughed and said, "Perhaps it's because we come from different backgrounds that our ways of thinking are different when we encounter problems. I used to only know that you were a free spirit and unrestrained, but I didn't know that you were also like Pei Yu, capable of abusing your official power."
Shangguan Yuqi said calmly, "How could a daughter raised by a century-old aristocratic family not know these things?"
She changed the subject abruptly, asking, "What do you mean by 'different backgrounds'?"
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