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墨書 Inktalez
"Call me brother," the Emperor said coldly, his tone devoid of emotion.
In truth, Night Star knew that when he was born, the Emperor should have been slightly younger than him. If it weren't for face, the Emperor should logically address him as brother.
Such matters could be easily guessed even without knowing one's birth date. If one wanted to replace a royal child with their own, they would need to swap their youngest child with the royal child.
If their child was older than the royal child, there would be a significant difference in appearance and physique. Newborns change rapidly over time.
A one-month-old and a hundred-day-old child are particularly different; the gap is substantial.
If a younger child were used, one could claim that the child was malnourished and underdeveloped, hence smaller.
But if an older child were swapped in, how would that be explained?
Night Star couldn't come up with a reason in his mind. Although this logic was as clear to him as a mirror, he still respectfully addressed the Emperor as "brother."
Li Ye nodded in satisfaction, his expression remaining unremarkable. After a pause, he said, "You may leave now. I will send more people to search."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Night Star replied gratefully, slowly standing up and walking out of the main hall.
At that moment, he didn't know how to feel; he just thought that relying solely on the Emperor's power would not be enough. He needed to think of a way, but where could she have gone? There was not a single clue or method in sight.
As he pondered this, he suddenly realized that he knew nothing about this woman at all.
Inside the palace, it was eerily quiet, leaving only the Chancellor and the Emperor alone together. They sat in silence facing each other when Li Ye finally spoke up, unable to contain himself. "Chancellor, you may leave as well. I wish to be alone for a while."
Jiang Huai looked at the Emperor, gently bowed his head, and turned to exit.
In the great hall, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Li Ye furrowed his brow, his expression grave as his thoughts remained chaotic and turbulent.
Mo Xier struggled to open her eyes, but all she could see was a vast expanse of darkness. She strained her vision to discern anything in the distance, realizing she was trapped in a closed dark room, with her hands and feet bound, completely unaware of the room's layout or exit.
In this endless darkness, she had lost track of how many days and nights she had been confined.
Her mind felt foggy; each day was a cycle of sleeping and waking, only to fall asleep again. Occasionally, someone would come to bring her food—just a little bit of sustenance and water to barely keep her alive.
The faint light that filtered through caused her pupils to sting, revealing a brief glimpse of something white before plunging back into darkness.
The person feeding her was meticulous and cautious. Sometimes it was an older woman who seemed to have served the Old Madam for a long time, resembling Rong Mama but not quite.
Her coarse voice and arrogant demeanor were repulsive.
Mo Xier thought this and couldn't help but frown. Her limbs had begun to feel numb from being tied for so long; the sensation of numbness was far worse than the initial feeling of being drugged by the Old Madam.
She feared that if she wasn't released soon, her hands and feet would become disabled. She could feel her bound wrists turning slightly pale, the skin above as white as paper, while inside her veins it felt like thousands of ants were crawling around, causing unbearable discomfort.
In the darkness, she had no idea how much time had passed when she heard the sound of light rain, followed by the gentle trickling of water, and then the sound of mice gnawing on wood in the cellar.
It didn't sound like they were gnawing on wood; it sounded more like they were grinding their teeth. The sharp, grating noise sent chills down her spine.
She was terrified that those mice would come near her and bite her to death.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard a noise in the darkness—the sound of a door hinge creaking. The heavy iron bars scraped against the ground with a piercing sound, followed by a beam of light breaking through.
Mo Xier instinctively shut her eyes; the prolonged darkness had caused temporary visual fatigue, leaving her momentarily blind as the bright light hurt her eyes.
She wanted to reach out and rub her eyes, but her hands and feet were bound and numb, rendering her immobile.
The servant entered carrying food and approached her. In the thick darkness, her voice was soft and even carried a hint of tenderness—a quality unique to women that exuded simplicity and kindness. "Miss, it's time to eat."
Her gentle voice reached Mo Xier's ears and unexpectedly sparked a glimmer of hope for escape.
"Is there any point in keeping me locked up like this?" she spoke coldly, yet there was no trace of anger in her voice; it was a calmness that followed a great shock.
The air was silent, and the girl in front of her seemed to tremble, faint currents of air mixed with soft gasps.
It made her feel that the person before her was afraid. Afraid of what? Mo Xier found it strange; her heart sank as she pondered and began to calculate in her mind.
The person brought warm food to her lips, the aroma stimulating her stomach to secrete digestive juices, and her taste buds began to awaken.
She noticed that today's meal was unusually delicious. Usually, it consisted of bland dishes, but today there was even a chicken leg. Remembering the greasy little fried chicken, she couldn't help but salivate.
However, for the sake of survival and dignity, she held back and finally spoke after a while: "Go tell Old Madam that there's no need to keep me locked up all day. If you dislike me so much, just kill me. What's the point of this? Sooner or later, Night Star will come looking for me."
Her tone was flat but carried a hint of confidence, a firm belief that she held deep within.
"Princess..." Little Bean Sprout's voice trembled as she finally couldn't hold back and hesitated, unsure of what to say.
"Who are you?" Mo Xier closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, listening to the voice that sounded quite young.
There seemed to be an unshaken childishness in the voice; it was tender and reminded her of someone she had heard or seen before.
The girl's age should be similar to that of Xinrong beside her. Thinking about Xinrong, she felt guilty; the girl must be extremely worried about her disappearance.
She felt sorry for her. If she died here, she wouldn't be able to fulfill her wish. She still wanted to find a good family for that girl to marry after she wed Night Star.
With a sigh in her heart, she coldly asked, "Are you a maidservant by Old Madam's side?"
"Yes," the girl replied softly and continued feeding her bite by bite. She didn't resist; after all, one must bow their head under the eaves. At this moment, not eating would only harm herself. She needed to keep her strength up for when she could escape.
As she ate, she asked, "Why is today's meal so lavish? It hasn't been like this before."
She carefully observed every move of the person in front of her. The girl seemed taken aback and hesitated before timidly saying, "I have some acquaintance with Miss Xinrong."
“Xinrong?” Mo Xier exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening unexpectedly.
As if adapting to the dim light, the face of the person in front of her became clearer. With delicate features and bright eyes that still held traces of youth, she appeared to be around the same age as Xinrong, evoking a sense of pity.
The girl looked tense, her gaze flickering as she stared at her.
“Little Bean Sprout?” Mo Xier asked suspiciously, surprised. She had seen this maid a few times; she was a new addition beside Old Madam.
That cruel and older Rong Mama had been taken away by the old woman, replaced by a younger maid. It was unclear what Old Madam was thinking.
Little Bean Sprout nodded, seemingly forcing herself to remain calm. In her usual respectful tone, she said, “Miss, please finish quickly; I have other things to attend to.”
In the blink of an eye, her demeanor shifted dramatically, resembling the changing masks in Peking opera.
She said nothing more and silently finished the last bit of food, still not uttering a word. Closing her eyes, she calmed herself and began to gather the energy within her.
She remembered reading about powerful practitioners in modern cultivation novels who could break ropes with their internal energy.
She firmly believed she was a skilled martial artist with remarkable internal strength; she just didn’t know where it was hidden.
For the past few days, she had been searching in the darkness for a way to unleash this ability, but so far there had been no results or even any discoveries.
Her usually optimistic outlook suddenly felt overshadowed by darkness.
Just before leaving, Little Bean Sprout said something strange: “If Your Highness cares for me and appreciates my care for you these days, you should stay here properly.”
Mo Xier furrowed her brow, not understanding at all.
In the next moment, with a heavy clang, the large iron door slammed shut, and the air was filled with the harsh sound of iron bars scraping against the ground.
A sharp stone rolled down from the steps and landed right in front of her. Suddenly realizing something, she made an effort to move closer and gradually reached for the stone.
In the darkness, she groped around, her mind sketching the shape of the stones based on their texture, and she discovered a sharp edge that cut into the pad of her finger, causing her pain.
She inhaled sharply, frowning as she repeatedly pondered the words spoken by the maid earlier, coming to a realization.
Once again, it was a long and endless wait. In the dark, Mo Xier did not directly cut through the rope; instead, she wore it down halfway. Just as it was about to snap, she paused, holding her breath and conserving her energy, anticipating the next arrival of food while quietly gathering her strength.
Indeed, soon enough, every second spent in darkness felt numbing. When the door hinge creaked again, a loud sound echoed through the air.
She heard heavy footsteps—those were not the light steps of a young girl but rather the sounds of a corpulent woman.
The girl walked on her toes, light-footed, while the plump woman did just the opposite; her heels and toes hit the ground simultaneously with a solid thud, completely disregarding any sense of grace. The sound was distinctly different.
Originally, Mo Xier did not understand these nuances, but she was a Physician.
In modern times, she studied human anatomy. As the saying goes, "a butcher knows his meat," and she had an in-depth understanding of the human body. Yet now, she found herself unusually sensitive to external factors.
All of this was due to this body after her transmigration.
This body’s martial arts skills were unknown to her. The more she explored its secrets, the more she realized her hearing had become exceptionally acute—she could even hear breathing from ten meters away and could discern coughs with remarkable clarity.
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