Suddenly, the road ahead ended.
She looked up and saw a magnificent mansion blocking her path to survival.
"Little monster, where do you think you're going to run this time!"
You can't escape—
"Monsters should be beaten to death! Beat her to death, beat this little monster to death!"
The air was filled with the fierce shouts of killing. Hong'ou's heart pounded. She turned her head and stared blankly at the group of people who wanted her dead. Her vision blurred for a moment, and she murmured, "I'm not a monster, I'm not, I'm not..."
"Monster! Kill this monster!"
"I'm not, I'm not a monster, I'm really not a monster, I'm not..."
The pursuing crowd drew closer, and more and more people surrounded her. Hong Ou let out a suppressed wail, inching along the cold mansion wall. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye, her eyes widened instantly, and she practically crawled on all fours into a dog hole hidden by weeds.
The stick landed on her leg, and someone pulled at her leg, but she kicked and stomped away.
Frustrated and angry at not catching her, the group exclaimed, "She went inside!"
"A monster has infiltrated the He residence!"
A group of people arrived at the entrance of the He residence, chattering amongst themselves that a monster had entered the mansion.
The He residence was the former Grand Tutor's mansion. Now that the Grand Tutor had been dismissed from office, the gatekeeper had not seen such a grand scene in a long time and hurriedly went in to report.
A moment later, the servant came out and said, "There are no monsters in this mansion. Please go back and don't cause trouble at the gate!"
"Wait a minute, we saw that monster go in. It was a monster with a face full of yellow hair, baring its teeth and claws. Several of us were scratched by it!"
"Yes, we chased that monster all the way here. The monster crawled in through the dog hole in your house."
"Let's look again, let's look again!" A group of people were eyeing the thousand taels of silver on Hong Ou's body. Even if they couldn't catch a monster and go to the government office, they could still get some reward money. No one was willing to leave easily, so they surrounded the He Mansion and made a fuss.
"I told you there are no monsters in this mansion, what are you all still doing here? Hurry up and leave," the gatekeeper waved his hand impatiently.
"Let's disperse!"
Someone in the crowd said, "I saw it with my own eyes! That monster really did sneak into your He residence! Quickly, have the guards search for it!"
The gatekeeper couldn't drive the crowd away and was getting anxious when a group of guards rushed out. The crowd immediately became excited and asked, "Have you caught the monster? Have you caught it?"
Unexpectedly, the guards went straight down the steps and began to drive away the people.
Driven away by the guards' long swords, the crowd had no choice but to retreat, but they still shouted defiantly, "A monster really has entered the He Mansion! With so many eyes, how could we be wrong? Why aren't you catching the monster and instead bullying us common people? Is the He Mansion going to protect the monster?"
"Is the He family going to protect a monster?"
These words stirred up the crowd, and the guards with knives nearly failed to stop them. After a long while, the leader of the guards, with a stern face, struck the tallest middle-aged man with the back of his knife and threw him away, saying, "Under the Emperor's nose, how can there be any monsters? Stop talking nonsense! Although Lord He has been dismissed from his post, there are many of his protégés in the court. If you continue to make a scene in front of the He residence, I will report you to the authorities and have you arrested!"
The common people do not fight against the officials. When they heard that they were to be sent to the authorities, the group became frightened and gradually dispersed.
The area in front of the He residence returned to calm, but inside, a frantic search was underway for the "little monster."
If anyone from the imperial palace were here, they would have discovered that the group searching for the "monster" in the He residence were not ordinary servants or guards, but well-trained imperial guards.
After "Red Lotus" crawled through the dog hole, it ran along the bluestone path for a while, turned a corner, and saw another world. There were pavilions, terraces, ponds, and corridors, which were extremely luxurious. From time to time, maids and servants would come and go, carrying fragrant pastries.
She licked her lips, touched her empty stomach, and stealthily moved around the mansion.
However, after a short while, she noticed a lot of unusually light breathing around her. She huddled in the artificial hill, held her breath, and looked out through the cracks. She saw a group of men dressed in uniform. Her intuition told her that if she was caught by these men, she was doomed.
Sure enough, she heard that this group of people were also looking for some kind of "monster".
"Red Lotus" was pale and carefully hid from the group of people. Fortunately, after she started growing hair on her body, not only did her hearing and sense of smell become dull, but as long as she tried to hide, she could also make her footsteps and breathing as quiet as possible.
About half an hour later, "Red Lotus" hid in a secluded courtyard.
She found it strange that this group had searched everywhere, even underwater, but had avoided this place.
But just as this thought crossed her mind, she heard a series of heavy footsteps approaching this remote place. The footsteps were chaotic and disorderly, indicating that there were more than ten people coming.
"Red Lotus" was startled and hurriedly hid in a remote and secluded area.
A moment later, a group of people burst into the quiet side courtyard. The first man to enter was an old man with a white beard and a solemn expression. He glanced at the empty side courtyard and said, "Search if you want, but don't disturb that important person."
"Yes!" A group of Imperial Guards dressed in flying fish robes responded and quickly dispersed to search without delay.
With a sigh, Lord He walked steadily toward He Shifang's residence, his hands behind his back.
Walking through the long corridor and around to the back door, another scene unfolds: clusters of pink camellias in full bloom. But behind the flowerbed, a refined and elegant man with an ethereal air stands out even more than the camellias.
Lord He frowned immediately, his expression slightly reproachful: "Imperial Preceptor, why are you out admiring the flowers alone again? The morning dew is heavy; your legs aren't good, you can't stand the wind..."
Where is Xiaomei?
Perhaps because he hadn't heard any outside sounds for a long time, or perhaps because he was still lost in thought, He Shifang paused for a moment before looking at Lord He. When he saw that it was him, he composed himself and gave a self-deprecating smile, "Where is there any Imperial Preceptor? Didn't the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Tang Dynasty die in the heavenly fire long ago and was taken away by the gods and Buddhas? Lord He has mistaken you for someone else."
Upon hearing this, Lord He's expression shifted slightly, and he sighed, "Why is the Grand Preceptor going to such lengths? Even if you are dissatisfied with His Majesty, we are both subjects, and we should serve our sovereign with our lives. If the sovereign commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die! Besides... His Majesty did not take the Grand Preceptor's life. He placed the Grand Preceptor in my residence for several years, merely to make the Grand Preceptor admit his mistake and soften his stance."
“Heh,” He Shifang chuckled softly, “Lord He is mistaken.”
Lord He looked at it with a puzzled expression.
He Shifang sneered, "You and I were both once subjects, Lord He has missed two words."
"..." Lord He sighed again, "It seems that after so many years of recuperation, the Grand Preceptor... still has not let go of his resentment. But if I may be frank, it is only natural that Your Majesty cannot accept the Grand Preceptor's divination that 'the country will perish, and the sin lies with the current emperor.'"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com