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墨書 Inktalez
The sun gradually rose higher, and Mei Shuang patiently watched the path up the mountain, waiting until her throat felt dry from calling out with no response.
She looked up at the sunlight filtering through the treetops; it was time for lunch. Suddenly, she remembered something and picked up a few small stones from the ground. Moving behind the tree, she shouted towards the lush green wheat fields, "Zheng Yi, are you hiding in there again? I'm going to throw stones, so be careful not to get hit on the head!"
After a few calls, there was nothing but the sound of the wind rustling through the wheat.
Frustrated, Mei Shuang decisively threw the small stones away and sat down on the ground, feeling disheartened as she gazed at the increasingly hot sun. Why wasn't he here yet?
Thinking about it made her worry a bit, but seeing the fresh marks on the ground reassured her that he must have come by every day. Perhaps he had just gone somewhere else to play for a while.
As Mei Shuang sat drowsily under the big tree, she suddenly heard an anxious voice coming from behind it. "Zheng Yi! Zheng Yi! Where are you?"
Mei Shuang jolted awake; that voice sounded so familiar. Wasn't it Zheng Yi's mother?
She froze in place, relieved that she was hidden behind the tree and hadn't been spotted immediately, but there was no way to hide now.
Zheng Yi's mother's voice grew closer. Mei Shuang thought to herself that this was bad; she had only been thinking about finding Zheng Yi and hadn't considered his mother would be looking for him too. If she got discovered now, it would be like walking into a trap.
Suddenly, she heard Zheng Yi's mother scolding him. "You little rascal! You didn't come home all night! Where on earth have you been?"
As she scolded, her voice broke into sobs. "Zheng Yi! It's all my fault; I shouldn't have yelled at you. Where have you gone? Please come out; I'm so worried..."
Not home all night?
Mei Shuang was stunned. She peeked out slightly from behind the tree and saw Zheng Yi's mother—the woman who had once helped her—sitting by the road with her hands covering her face, shoulders shaking as she occasionally looked around with a lost and helpless expression.
A sinking feeling filled Mei Shuang's heart; it seemed to be true. Without thinking about hiding anymore, she stepped out from behind the tree and approached the woman. "Did you say Zheng Yi is missing?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Zheng Yi's mother looked up with tear-filled eyes and recognized Mei Shuang—the suspicious woman from before. Her expression changed slightly as she stood up and wiped her tears away, coldly saying, "What are you doing here? Last time Zheng Yi was tricked into leaving by you, and now you've come back for what?!"
"Sister, I have told you long ago that I mean no harm to you. I am here today solely for Zheng Yi."
"For Zheng Yi?" The woman’s eyes flickered with suspicion, and her tone became stern. "What do you want to do? Are you trying to harm Zheng Yi?"
Mei Shuang forced a smile. "I had no choice that day. I was afraid you would wrongfully harm the innocent, so I asked Zheng Yi to help me escape. After we got out, we agreed to meet under this big tree the next morning. He said he wanted to take me somewhere. But after I returned, I fell ill, and as soon as I recovered, I rushed over here just to keep my promise with him. I don’t want to let him down."
The woman scrutinized Mei Shuang from head to toe and noticed that her complexion was slightly pale, as if she had just recovered from a severe illness. However, this did not alleviate her doubts; in fact, she began to suspect whether Zheng Yi's absence last night had something to do with this woman.
Seeing the change in the woman's expression, Mei Shuang pulled her over to the tree. "Look at the marks on this tree trunk; they must have been carved by Zheng Yi. It shows he comes here every day just to wait for me."
After examining the scratches closely, a shadow of gloom crossed the woman's face. She turned and seized Mei Shuang's arm. "Tell me, what did you do to make our Zheng Yi trust you so much?"
Mei Shuang struggled to breathe under the woman's grip. "Please let go; we need to find the child first."
Upon hearing about the child, the woman glared at Mei Shuang before slowly releasing her grip. "Are you hiding the child? Is this your revenge for how I treated you that day?"
"Your imagination is quite vivid!" Mei Shuang gasped for air. First, she was unjustly harmed by this woman, then scolded without reason and accused of kidnapping her child. She couldn't help but feel angry, thinking that she hadn't settled accounts with this woman yet. When she spoke again, her tone carried a hint of sarcasm. "If I hadn’t come here today, would you still suspect me? We have no grievances against each other. Your actions that day were indeed detestable; if it weren't for your son, I might have already fallen victim to your malice. Who would have thought that a seemingly kind-hearted woman could be so cruel? I'm here today because I value my promise with Zheng Yi. He saved me, and I'm more than happy to play with him. Although he is just a child, I cannot go back on my word... As for what you mentioned, I'm not sure. I arrived early and waited for over two hours without seeing him; instead, I met you..."
Hearing Mei Shuang's earnest words made the woman realize she didn't seem to be lying. Concerned for her son, she set aside her grievances about Mei Shuang's escape and bit her lip as she recounted how Zheng Yi had left yesterday afternoon to play and hadn’t returned all night.
"Have you checked all his friends and places he might have gone?" Mei Shuang asked curiously. "Could someone have taken him away?"
The woman shook her head. "This place is rarely visited, and Zheng Yi would never follow a stranger."
Mei Shuang was skeptical; it wasn't difficult for someone with ill intentions to abduct such a small child. However, she chose not to say anything further so as not to provoke the woman.
The woman pressed on, "What kind of promise did you make with our Zheng Yi that keeps him thinking about you?"
That question struck a chord with Mei Shuang as she recalled something. "He said he wanted to take me somewhere fun..."
"Fun places?" The woman looked somewhat confused. There were hardly any people around; it was just mountains, trees, and farmland. Where could there be anything fun?
Mei Shuang recalled, "Zheng Yi said that place should be roughly in the southwest corner, and inside there is..."
Suddenly, Mei Shuang remembered something. She slapped her forehead, her expression changing drastically. "I know! Quickly, we must hurry over there; he must be trapped!"
The woman was taken aback and anxiously asked what was going on.
"There's no time to explain; let's go first!"
An urgent Secret Edict was swiftly sent to the capital.
In the Hall of Governance, Xiao Luo was reviewing a petition regarding the Fire Stick. The eunuch attending him had been replaced by Little Li, who was Li Gonggong's apprentice and assistant.
Although Little Li had served alongside his master before, he was still flustered being next to Xiao Luo. Fortunately, this emperor wasn't too picky; he didn't insist that tea had to be exactly eight-tenths hot to drink. Overall, he was a relatively easy person to serve. It was known that his master was a thousand times more meticulous than him; he didn't know how he ended up sidelined.
Little Li carefully placed the freshly brewed tea in front of Xiao Luo and then bowed slightly to step aside, waiting for instructions.
After the urgent Secret Edict was delivered by a palace eunuch, Little Li quickly took it and presented it to Xiao Luo.
Xiao Luo casually opened it and his expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly; it turned out that what Li Gonggong had said before was true, but... this really made things complicated!
"Where's your master?" he asked Little Li with a dark expression.
"Uh?" Little Li was taken aback and blinked. "Your Majesty, didn't you send my master into retirement?"
"Tell him to hurry back; I have matters to discuss with him."
He flipped through the Secret Edict once more. The Secret Edict had come from Qizhou, and aside from confirming that Li Gonggong's words were not false, the key point was that Mei Shuang had miraculously survived but was now missing.
"This woman!! Can't she ever be at peace for a moment?!" Xiao Luo's face darkened after reading the Secret Edict, his anger boiling over.
Li Gonggong, who had been sent elsewhere, returned with tears streaming down his face and a heart full of tumult. As he approached the Hall of Governance, he was startled by the sound of someone banging on the table inside.
The Emperor was furious!
As for the reason, Li Gonggong understood it clearly. The Emperor had allowed him to return largely because his previous warnings were not mere exaggerations; they had likely been confirmed, and the Emperor had come to realize this.
Upon entering, Li Gonggong first bowed deeply in gratitude but was impatiently interrupted by Xiao Luo, who tossed a document at him. After reading it, Li Gonggong stood there in shock.
"This... this... Your Majesty, this is too bizarre!"
That Chu Xiruo was actually the Former Emperor's daughter? Did that mean the Emperor and she were siblings? Moreover, she wanted to kill Miss Mei Shuang? And now Miss Mei Shuang was... missing?
After waiting several days for news, Empress Dowager Mingxi finally received word that Mei Shuang was safe, and a heavy stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
After Aunt Yu recounted the events, she could hardly hide her shock. She slammed her palm on the table and exclaimed with eyes wide, "What?! That Qingqin actually dared to deceive me? Does she not fear that I will kill her?!"
Aunt Yu was speechless; what was done was done. Besides, over these years, if Qingqin hadn't spoken up herself, no one would have known.
Once Empress Dowager Mingxi's initial shock wore off, she quickly regained her composure. After all these years and numerous storms weathered, while such news was shocking, it wasn't catastrophic.
After taking her seat, she let out a slight "hum" through her nose. "Call for the Emperor; I want him to see just how venomous that Celestial Maiden Chu Xiruo truly is."
Aunt Yu felt a sinking sensation in her heart. This was bad; Empress Dowager's words clearly indicated she intended to use this as an excuse to eliminate Qingqin and Chu Xiruo. Although she had returned stating that according to Princess Bilian, both Qingqin and Chu Xiruo had already taken their own lives, Empress Dowager likely did not believe it. It seemed that Qingqin and Chu Xiruo's fates were looking grim.
The emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Xiao Luo, was deeply troubled by this Secret Edict. He rarely complained along the way, frustrated by how this woman would suddenly go missing. How much trouble had to be caused before things could settle down?
Li Gonggong had learned his lesson this time. He lowered his gaze and, although he heard the emperor's words, he chose not to respond, hoping to avoid drawing any ire upon himself.
Until Xiao Luo stopped in his tracks, his face darkened as he asked Li Gonggong, "Are you deaf? I asked you a question."
Li Gonggong hurriedly bowed and cautiously replied, "Um... Your Majesty, didn't you say we shouldn't mention her again?"
Xiao Luo was speechless and turned to leave.
Li Gonggong quickly followed, forcing a smile as he said, "Actually, this matter is easy to handle..."
"Really?"
"As long as Your Majesty doesn't listen to it, won't that solve everything?" Li Gonggong answered.
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