Chapter 139 He'll never dare to rebel...
Fu Yun paused in taking the outer robe, then asked, "A fight? Who's fighting whom?"
Xiao Jingzi hesitated and said, "It seems like a spy, but it also seems like it isn't."
Fu Jun frowned slightly, not quite understanding: "What do you mean by 'seems to be, yet seems not to be'?"
Xiao Jingzi shook her head and waved her hand, looking slightly anxious: "I don't know how to describe it. Last night, Steward Wen told us that we only needed to stay for one night before returning to the manor, but we haven't received any news about returning."
"When I went out to fetch water with Lord Fang, I asked the residents at the foot of the mountain. They said that since the city gates opened this morning, several conflicts have occurred in the city. Fights and disturbances have been happening one after another. The merchants in the city are running around in fear, afraid of being caught in the crossfire. In short, it's all in chaos."
Fu Yun fell silent. He knew that as a personal attendant, Xiao Jingzi would naturally not pay attention to the current political situation.
Realizing he wouldn't get any inside information from him, he simply changed the subject: "What time is it now?"
Xiao Jingzi steadied herself and replied, "Your Highness, it is three-quarters past 9:40 AM."
Fu Jun was slightly surprised, not expecting that after lying down last night, she slept until about 10 a.m.
He quickly dressed and put on his shoes, washed up briefly with the water basin and mouthwash cup that Xiao Jingzi brought him, and hurried out of the cave and headed towards the entrance of the air-raid shelter.
As he walked, he asked, "Where is Guard Fang?"
Xiao Jingzi quickly followed, staying close behind Fu Yun, afraid of losing her.
He was slightly out of breath: "When I came in, Lord Fang was guarding the entrance to the cave."
Fu Jun nodded, asked no more questions, and quickened his pace.
Two figures sped through the corridor, attracting the attention of the elderly and children who had stayed in the air-raid shelter the previous night.
Fu Yun simply nodded slightly to them and continued walking rapidly.
After wandering around inside the cave for a while, they finally arrived at the entrance where Guard Fang was.
Hearing footsteps, Guard Fang turned around and saw Fu Yun. He asked, "Why are you out?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Fu Yun's face: "Sorry, I overslept. What's the situation in the city now?"
Guard Fang paused slightly, then his gaze sharpened instantly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "The current situation is unclear, and it is impossible to draw any conclusions at this time."
Fu Yun sensed something unusual in Guard Fang's words: "The situation is unclear? Could there be some other unforeseen circumstances?"
Upon hearing this, Guard Fang quickly scanned the surroundings and, seeing that no one was moving around, said in a deep voice, "There's no emergency. According to His Majesty's decree, if there are no unforeseen circumstances today, while the enemy spies are deliberately causing trouble in the city, hoping that their comrades can take this opportunity to sneak into the city, Commander Ye and the Ministry of War have already secretly laid an ambush in the city. As soon as the enemy enters the encirclement, we can wipe them out in one fell swoop."
Fu Yun nodded in agreement: "Inviting the enemy into a trap is a good plan."
As he spoke, he looked calmly at the guard: "Now that you have a solution, why are you still so uneasy?"
Guard Fang's gaze faltered, a hint of unease flashing across his face: "You're quite adept at reading people's expressions."
Fu Yun said frankly, "You don't need to have any concerns. Just tell me what's going on. If we encounter anything that's difficult to resolve, we can discuss it together."
Guard Fang sighed, finally deciding to speak frankly without further hesitation: "To be honest, according to the time, the cholera outbreak in the city should have been quelled by 7:15 AM, but half a day has passed, and there has been no good news from within the city. The people sent to gather information have also yet to return. We don't know what's going on, or what unexpected complications have arisen? Is His Majesty's safety in danger?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately suggested, "Since we don't know what happened, why don't we go into the city together and take a look?"
Without hesitation, Guard Fang sternly refused: "No, His Majesty has already ordered me to guard you here. I absolutely cannot bring you into the city when the situation is still unstable. Otherwise, if His Majesty blames us, no one will be able to bear the consequences."
Seeing that the guard Fang was adamant, Fu Yun did not insist any further.
After all, protecting him was Fang's duty, and there was no reason for her to risk being punished because of his own desires.
Fu Jun voluntarily stepped aside, saying, "Then I'll go back first. Please let me know if there's any news from the city."
Seeing his cooperation, Guard Fang reassured him, "Young Master Su, there's no need to worry. Just wait here. Even if there's more cholera in the city, the Ministry of War will handle it all."
Fu Yun gave a soft "hmm," waved his hand, said no more, and turned back into the cave.
Xiao Jingzi glanced at Guard Fang, then at Fu Yun's expression, and finally said nothing, only letting out a soft sigh.
Just as he was about to leave with Fu Yun, he heard the voice of Guard Fang: "Take good care of Young Master Su, and remember not to neglect him."
Xiao Jingzi paused, responded softly, and followed Fu Yun's footsteps.
He could easily understand the deeper meaning behind the guard's words: he was telling the guard to keep a close eye on the noble prince and prevent him from making any bold moves at this crucial moment.
Fu Yun naturally heard the guard's instructions and understood the meaning behind them, but he didn't take them to heart. In any case, if he really wanted to do something, no one could stop him.
If they were to actually take action, Xiao Jingzi alone wouldn't be able to keep them in check.
After returning to the cave, Fu Yun was very cooperative. When it was time to eat, she ate the meals prepared by Xiao Jingzi. After eating, she rested or read in the cave, and the day passed quickly.
Throughout the day, the elderly and children living inside the cave, whose families had not yet arrived, became increasingly impatient and kept questioning the guards stationed at the air-raid shelter.
Many people wanted to ask Fu Yun questions, but were persuaded to go back by Xiao Jingzi and the guards.
Fu Yun's biggest concern right now is Zhi Lan's current situation. A day has passed, and Guard Fang has not sent anyone to inform him of the latest developments in the city's situation.
He had a bad feeling that the siege of the spies would cause even more trouble.
Even though Mingzhilan had arranged everything and things would eventually be resolved, he still had this strong premonition, as if it were what people call first intuition.
Fu Jun knew he couldn't just wait any longer; he had to figure out whether Zhilan was safe or not.
As night fell, Fu Yun washed up in front of Xiao Jingzi, then took off her clothes, lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep.
About fifteen minutes later, he began to breathe slowly and evenly, giving the impression that he had fallen asleep.
Xiao Jingzi quietly walked to the bedside, tucked the blanket around Fu Jun, and tentatively called out softly in the darkness, "Your Highness, are you asleep?"
Not hearing Fu Yun's response, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, slowly walked out of the cave, and closed the door behind him.
As soon as Xiao Jingzi's footsteps faded into the distance, Fu Yun opened his eyes in the darkness. He lay quietly for a while, and when he felt that it was about time, he lifted the covers and sat up.
He dressed in the dark, put on his clothes and shoes, groped his way to the cabinet, opened the door, took out a tinderbox and candles and stuffed them into a bundle, then slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder.
Before opening the door, Fu Yun listened carefully to the sounds outside. When she heard no one moving around, she pushed the door open and went out.
He made his way forward in the dark until he turned into a narrow path. The stone wall behind him blocked the view of the entrance, and the light from the other side could not be seen. Only then did he light a tinderbox, light a candle, and proceed step by step into the deeper secret passage.
He walked for a long time, from night to dawn, and finally arrived at a sealed mechanical door. This was one of three hidden entrances. The mechanism was a circular gear with a circle of text on it. It was a densely packed periodic table of elements, but it wasn't the actual periodic table; it was just the Chinese homophones of the elements.
This is why Fu Yun was certain that no one but him could remember the password. People in this era didn't know what the periodic table was, so naturally they couldn't understand the meaning of this homonym.
Even top students from modern Tsinghua and Peking Universities might not be able to make the right choice.
Fu Jun slowly turned the gears, guiding the silver needles to the corresponding characters. The secret passage used the homophone of the first eight characters: "Carp skin holds charcoal, egg nourishes blessed milk".
The mechanical panel creaked and groaned, and then the heavy mechanical door slowly opened to both sides.
Fu Yun immediately noticed another mechanical door revealed behind the mechanical door. The door was covered with a layer of sharp silver needles, gleaming with a chilling light, already poised to strike, sending a chill down one's spine.
Fu Yun knew better than anyone that if she touched the wrong spot, she would be pricked like a beehive by the silver needles.
The silver needles contain a colorless and odorless deadly poison; anyone who tries to destroy them out of cleverness will inevitably meet their demise.
This is why Fu Yun repeatedly told Zhilan to remember the password.
However, this secret passage leads to Zhilan's palace, so it's generally not needed, and he wouldn't let Zhilan enter this secret passage to find him.
He put on gas gloves, carefully placed them on the surface of the silver needles, and pressed several spots before the silver needles retracted one by one, opening the mechanism.
Fu Yun exhaled and stepped into the secret passage.
He walked steadily forward with the candle in his hand. After walking for half an hour, the secret passage in front of him gradually became wider. After walking another five hundred meters, he saw a stone door.
Fu Jun pressed the mechanism, opening the stone door. Another wooden door appeared before him. Just as he was about to push the wooden door open, he vaguely heard voices talking.
He paused in his movements, listened carefully, and the sound became clearer.
"Your Majesty, we had already planned everything, trapping the rebels and their spies within the city, preventing their escape, and then annihilating them in one fell swoop. But these people are truly vicious. Realizing they had fallen into a trap and could not extricate themselves, they even used their family members as shields to threaten us, wanting us to spare them or they would perish together. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet they don't even spare their own family members; they are worse than animals. This humble subject does not know how to properly handle this matter, and begs Your Majesty for a decision."
Fu Yun was startled. Did Ye Lan mean that the leader of the spies had been found? And that his purpose was to rebel, not to seize the city?
Who is the leader of the spy operation, the head of the Wang family, or Su Tan?
"You may leave now, and allow me to think this over carefully."
"Yes." Ye Lan responded and withdrew.
After seeing Ye Lan leave, Fu Yun reached out and knocked on the wooden door: "Knock~ knock~"
Zhilan's expression turned cold, and her gaze shot over sharply: "Who?"
Fu Jun pushed open the wooden door and replied in a low voice, "It's me."
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