Drawing close to Murong Zhining, Gao Chenghao closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath with an intoxicated expression. “I admire your courage, Princess. Only you would dare to stand here before me all alone and talk about conditions. Return with me first and I’ll release her.”
Gao Chenghao lifted Murong Zhining onto the horse and sat behind her before riding off towards the northern suburbs where another estate of his was located. Far behind, Chiyun Yuexuan followed them in night-walking outfit.
…
Tuoba Lan was emotional as she hugged Murong Zhining. “Big Sis how can you be so foolish? Even if I die, I don’t want to see you be put at risk because of me.”
Murong Zhining turned to look at Gao Chenghao. “I’m now under your control. Please let Miss Tuoba go.”
Gao Chenghao chuckled. “Naïve! How can I get you to listen if I let her go? Please first take a bath, Princess. We need an examination.”
Murong Zhining glared at Gao Chenghao in rage. “Fourth Pr
Evening, an arrow zoomed into Lian Kun’s estate. Chiyun Yuexuan pulled it out from the tree trunk and unfolded the paper attached to its tip under the lamplight.The rest gathered around him, urgent to know the contents of the note.Chiyun Yuexuan quickly read it aloud, “I will bring Princess Fengyi to Shunyi. Don’t push your luck and try any tricks. Tuoba Lan has been fed a deadly poison. I will you send her antidote regularly. Only after taking it for 10 days in a row will she be completely detoxified. As long as I acquire that precious book, I will release Princess without asking for anything else. Don’t try to think of rescuing her; she’s also poisoned. I’m sure you don’t want to risk her life.” Tuoba Zhi had a maid bring Tuoba Lan out.Tuoba Lan’s face and arms were covered in stripes like that of a snake. She scratched all over. “It’s so uncomfortable. What’s happening to me?”Tuoba Zhi tried to hold back the tears of his heartache. “You’ve been
Three days later, the group arrived at the outskirts of Shunyi County where they settled into a tea manor owned by the Tuoba family.Because Gao Chenghao had delivered the antidote on schedule every day, Tuoba Lan’s condition improved and the snake marks on her body had gradually faded.As soon as she was sober, the girl urgently inquired about Murong Zhining’s situation, “How is Princess? If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of that thief Gao Chenghao. He didn’t bully her, did he?”Chiyun Yuexuan comforted her, “First, take good care of yourself and don’t worry. Gao Chenghao only wants that book in the treasure hoard, he won’t dare to cause trouble for Princess. Not to mention, the poison I gave him won’t allow him to act impudently.”In the tea garden, everyone was splitting up to search for clues. Chiyun Yuexuan discovered something at a huge pond on the east side of the garden.He called everybody over, “This must be the cen
Yuan Dong personally went out and ordered the servants to cut down five pine trees, then had them bound into a raft with rope and rowed it over to the hole. Then, over a dozen servants took great pains to carry the completed raft into the tunnel.Chiyun Yuexuan started to instruct them on the work needing done. First they used two trunks as support to prop up the raft, then attached the ropes to the tip of the trunks before steadily lowering the raft to the opposite cliff so it could act as a temporary bridge. After Yuan Dong dismissed the irrelevant personnel, the six remaining men carefully crossed the bridge to the other side, breaking out into a cold sweat as they imagined the river under the bottomless cliff.Upon reaching the stone door, Chiyun Yuexuan meticulously searched for a key point. On the left frame of the door, he finally found a leaf-shaped groove.Chiyun Yuexuan took out Biwu from his lapel. “Fourth Prince, this is the key to the treasure. First,
After a brief exchange of glances, Tuoba Zhi tacitly understood Chiyun Yuexuan’s idea. It was then that Chiyun Yuexuan took out a paper sheet from his chest and began to discuss with Tuoba Zhi. The left side of the paper recorded the music score with 12 zodiac signs translated from Xianbei’s language, and on the right side were the 12 divinatory symbols hidden in Biwu.Gao Chenghao went over and glanced at the paper. “You guys use my dictionary to decipher the Xianbei characters on the score? The left pillars are simple, just step on the in the order of the 12 animals on the score. As for these 12 hexagrams, I have no idea where you even got them from.”Chiyun Yuexuan gave him a provoking glare. “None of your business where we got them from. I wonder if Fourth Prince has the courage to play stepping on these pillars with me? We each take a side, do you dare? After all, you have to take risks if you want to enter.”Murong Zhining tugged on Gao Chenghao’s clothes and
Tuoba Lan gently soothed Murong Zhining, “Big sis, don’t be scared. General Chiyun isn’t a bad person, that Gao Chenghao is.” Only to be responded with Murong Zhining’s hostile gaze.Tuoba Lan reached out, wanting to stroke her face, but Murong Zhining struggled to swat the girl’s hand away with her body. Unable to bear seeing her like this, Tuoba Lan tearfully walked over to Gao Chenghao, squatted down and pleaded, “Fourth Prince, I beg you, please give the antidote. I’m willing to be your hostage and make sure you can escape.”Ignoring Tuoba Zhi’s dissuasion, she picked up the dagger on the ground to cut the rope binding Gao Chenghao, then delivered the dagger right to his hand.By now, Gao Chenghao had calmed down from his craze. Pressing the tip of the dagger to Tuoba Lan’s waist, he retreated toward the door.Chiyun Yuexuan pressed on step by step. “Lan’er you’ve become muddled! You think you can make him hand over the antidote this way?!”T
Chiyun Yuexuan burst out laughing. “Peepee… Hahahaha that’s adorable hahaha…” He carried her off the carriage and placed her into a bush on the roadside, then returned to the road and stood with his back to her.Murong Zhining yelled with discontent, “What can I do with my hands tied?!”Chiyun Yuexuan walked back. Untying the rope, he warned, “If you dare to run, I’ll kill your foster mother’s family.”Murong Zhining said innocently, “So I have a foster mother, that’s great. If you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know.”Chiyun Yuexuan suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. All of the advantages he had to threaten her with had become useless.While Chiyun Yuexuan walked away with his back facing her, Murong Zhining bent down and untied the rope binding her feet. Around Chiyun Yuexuan, she always felt uneasy and her head was full of the thought to escape. Although she didn’t know where she could run off to, escaping him was her most instinctive idea.Ch
A full-stomatched Murong Zhining seemed particularly quiet. She sat inside the carriage, silently combing her long hair. The scattered sunlight pierced through the window and danced upon her, painting the girl so pure that it hastened Chiyun Yuexuan’s heartbeat.Chiyun Yuexuan quietly looked at her. Suddenly she felt so strange in one moment, then familiar in the next. Chiyun Yuexuan once again fell into the endless cycle of questions he set for himself, which drove him to the verge of insanity.All of a sudden, as if recalling something, he rushed into the carriage and pulled Murong Zhining over. The latter exclaimed in shock and instinctively struggled to move back, but Chiyun Yuexuan held her head in the crook of his arm. He pushed aside her long hair. In the back of her ear, a small mole was there, providing him with the most accurate answer.Chiyun Yuexuan’s voice was as gentle as water, “Little Tabby, don’t struggle. I’m not gonna hurt you.”Murong Zhin
Meng Xia hissed in pain and got up. “Peh! I thought you didn’t beat women?”Chiyun Yuexuan snorted, “I don’t see it. Where do you look like a woman?”Meng Xia flew into a rage out of embarrassment. “You dare say I’m not?! Then I’ll just make your little lady into my woman.”Chiyun Yuexuan suddenly remembered that he couldn’t act out of whim just for a moment of satisfaction when Murong Zhining’s life was still in the hands of others’.Thinking of Murong Zhining, his heart ached with every beat. After his sanity had returned, however, he could understand her fear and the reason why she couldn’t help but run away from him.“I have been offending. I’m asking you, Miss Meng, please return my wife to me. I’ll be very thankful.”Meng Xia arrogantly snorted. “If that young miss is your wife, why was she so afraid of you? And even ran away from you?”Chiyun Yuexuan painfully frowned. “She was fed a poison of Wuli and lost her memory. Please do not m