"The guards at this palace are a bit too much, aren't they?!"
Yun Duoduo looked in the direction of the Western Chu Imperial Palace and let out a loud burp.
I was completely stunned.
[Incredible! No wonder that madman Xi Jing would do something like this!]
Inside and outside the palace of Western Chu, there were many guards patrolling, plus archers sitting on the roof with bows and arrows, observing the surroundings. Yun Duoduo felt her scalp tingling.
If she used poison powder, the palace is so large that it's impossible for her poison powder to reach everyone.
If it were a one-on-one fight, she and Zheng Ningxiang would have no chance of winning against so many people.
"Ningxiang, what should we do?"
With such a dense guard presence, it would be impossible for the two of them to get in.
Unless there's a secret passage leading directly to Xijing's lair.
Zheng Ningxiang was also stunned; she rarely saw a place with such heavy and exaggerated security.
Previously, in order to protect the safety of weak women and young children, the Plum Blossom Pavilion was heavily guarded, but this was mostly done through the mechanisms set up in the building itself.
What should we do?
[The Pavilion Master must enter the Imperial Palace to retrieve the defense map.]
Is there a way to obtain the defense map without entering the palace?
It seems not...
Zheng Ningxiang shook her head, bit her lip, and then thought of a solution.
"Master, I have a plan!"
"Really? That's great!"
Yun Duoduo looked at Zheng Ningxiang with surprise.
Zheng Ningxiang pulled Yun Duoduo along and said, "Come on, Pavilion Master, I'll take you somewhere."
Zheng Ningxiang first observed the surrounding shops, and then she stopped when she saw a red lantern hanging on the eaves of a pawnshop.
Yun Duoduo followed her gaze and looked around. When she saw the pawnshop, she felt that the pawnshop seemed to be shrouded in mystery.
Is this the place?
[Would going to this pawn shop provide a solution?]
Zheng Ningxiang led Yun Duoduo to the pawnshop, lifted the pearl and jade curtain, and looked at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his thirties with thinning hair, small eyes, a big nose, thick lips, and heavy dark circles under his eyes. He looked like someone who stayed up all night all year round.
The shopkeeper spoke with a strong Western Chu accent: "What are you here to pawn? A permanent pawn or a resurrection pawn?"
He looked Yun Duoduo and Zheng Ningxiang up and down, seemingly trying to figure out what he could get out of them.
“We’re not here to pawn anything,” Zheng Ningxiang shook her head.
Then, Zheng Ningxiang said to the shopkeeper, "The flowers of the twelfth lunar month have all faded in the human world, but the plum blossoms in the dark pavilion are just beginning to bloom."
[Wow, what a beautiful poem!]
The original line should be: "In April, when all the flowers in the human world have faded, the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are just beginning to bloom."
The phrase "Hidden Pavilion" appears inside, presumably indicating a connection to the Plum Blossom Hidden Pavilion.
Yun Duoduo silently memorized the code in her heart, hoping it might come in handy later.
However, Yun Duoduo felt a little uneasy. She thought that Zheng Ningxiang had come here just to try her luck, and the shopkeeper probably didn't understand what she meant at all.
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and his previously dull and indifferent face now seemed like that of a completely different person.
He glanced warily at Zheng Ningxiang and Yun Duoduo behind her, then stepped out from behind the counter, closed the pawnshop door, and led the two through the pawnshop's backyard to a brothel for courtesans.
[It turns out, stepping out of the pawnshop's back door really did reveal a hidden gem!]
"Master, this way please."
Yun Duoduo was completely shocked.
[Wow, the Plum Blossom Pavilion still has influence in Western Chu?!]
At this moment, Yun Duoduo no longer doubted that the shopkeeper in front of her had truly understood Zheng Ningxiang's words.
She immediately became excited and followed the shopkeeper inside. After passing a screen and crossing a small bridge, she arrived at the brothel, which was completely different from the pawnshop in terms of decoration and was decorated with bright flowers and green willows.
In the courtyard, many beautiful women were playing the piano, singing, and dancing.
The pawnshop owner winked at the young ladies, who then jumped down from the platform and walked towards them.
So pretty! I want to stick them together!
Yun Duoduo stared at them, her gaze unable to leave. These women were all exceptionally beautiful and slender, but their arms were very firm, clearly indicating that they were martial arts practitioners.
Yun Duoduo then noticed that the shopkeeper and Zheng Ningxiang both had a small plum blossom tattooed behind their ears.
[It seems this is the symbol of the Plum Blossom Pavilion.]
"Greetings, Lord Pavilion Master; greetings, Supervisor."
The group walked to a side room. After the pawnshop owner left, the young ladies from the singing girls' brothel all knelt down in front of Yun Duoduo.
Although she often encounters such situations, Yun Duoduo still feels that being knelt down by so many beautiful young ladies is a bit of a shortened lifespan.
"Get up quickly." Yun Duoduo waved her hand and smiled.
Zheng Ningxiang didn't exchange many pleasantries with them and said directly, "There is an urgent mission. Change your clothes immediately and go to the Western Chu Imperial Palace."
"The goal is to lure away the guards near the palace so that the Pavilion Master can sneak into the palace quietly."
"Yes." The young ladies gave a brief reply without any questions or doubts.
Yun Duoduo looked at these beautiful women who had just been charming and singing softly on the stage, but now they were all dressed in black and had transformed into serious and cold assassins.
Wow, that's awesome!
...
Within Nanyang, Yun Yishu would take out the letters Yun Duoduo had written to him every day to read them.
Although he could recite the contents of the letter by heart, he always felt that seeing Yun Duoduo's messy handwriting would bring him closer to her.
Ever since Yun Duoduo left the palace without permission, Yun Yishu has been constantly worried.
He couldn't stay alone in the palace. Whenever he had free time, the image of Yun Duoduo being murdered would appear in his mind.
Therefore, he had to keep himself busy.
[Oh, when is Duoduo coming back?!]
After reading the letter again, Yun Yishu carefully put it back in the cabinet and locked it.
[Duoduo said not to worry him, just manage the money shop well.]
Although I have no time to manage the money exchange right now, I still need to go and check on it.
[I'll go check out the money exchange now. When things get busy, time flies by. And if time flies by, maybe I'll see Duoduo in a few days.]
Thinking of this, Yun Yishu prepared to leave the palace.
Looking at Yun Yishu's expression, Shi Tou couldn't bear it any longer.
These past few days, Yun Yishu has been losing her appetite and not eating properly, and she has lost a lot of weight.
Whether his master was thin or fat, Shi Tou didn't really care. However, the fact that his master, Yun Yishu, never took a bath, never changed his clothes or shoes, and always smelled bad greatly affected his work mood.
"Master, how about we take a bath and change our clothes?"
Stone asked Yun Yishu cautiously, afraid of upsetting his fragile nerves.
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