Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Dark Room
After the luncheon, various madams sat together to chat with Princess Deyang to pass the time.
Adult conversations inevitably involved official matters, so the younger generation retreated. Yu Lingxi joined the noble ladies from different mansions and went to the Peony Garden to chat and enjoy the flowers.
When that mysterious dizziness surged up, Yu Lingxi suspected something. In her heart, there was a sudden thud.
Sensing something amiss, her first instinct was to find Lady Yu. However, after taking only a few steps, her body became so weak that she could hardly support herself against the carved railing of the corridor.
"Hey, what's wrong with Miss Yu?" A surprised exclamation came from beside her as someone helped support her limp body.
"Perhaps she drank too much and got tipsy."
"Let's take her to the side hall for a short rest; it will be a while before the banquet disperses."
The surroundings spun, and blurry faces closed in on her. Someone supported her towards the side hall through the western corner gate.
She couldn't go to the side hall, couldn't leave the crowd. Yu Lingxi opened her lips, trying to ask the person helping her to take her to see Lady Yu. However, all her organs seemed paralyzed, and she couldn't utter a single sound.
Unable to speak, limbs weak and powerless, Yu Lingxi was not foolish; she knew she had probably been ambushed.
She struggled to maintain the last thread of weak consciousness, pondering where the problem might have arisen. At the banquet, she and her mother sat together, eating the same dishes. But her mother showed no discomfort, indicating the issue was not with the food.
The only other possibility was the tea Xue Cen brewed for her. At that time, she found the scent of the tea familiar, hesitated, and sniffed the tea cup for a long time without drinking. Xue Cen thought she found the tea too mild, knowing her preference for spicy flavors. He considerately replaced it with a stronger brew and added some pickled plum with pepper and salt from his own table to her teacup.
Next was the arrival of Princess Deyang, and everyone toasting and wishing longevity.
Due to the looming shadow of royal marriage, Yu Lingxi was extremely cautious. The wine cups were presented by the princess's attendants, and everyone had one. Yu Lingxi also symbolically took a sip during the toast...
Could it be that the problem originated here?
The lively atmosphere of the crowd was now fading away, replaced by a strange and quiet desolation. Yu Lingxi bit her lip; it was useless to think about it now.
The important thing was, why would someone dare to target her in the residence of Princess Deyang? What did they want?
Entering an elegant and quiet bedroom, Yu Lingxi was placed on a soft and fragrant couch. Someone even carefully covered her with a brocade quilt before gently closing the door.
After a while, a very soft sound of the door opening came, and a vaguely familiar figure entered. Then, her strained consciousness snapped like a string breaking. Her vision went black, and she lost all sense.
A pair of embroidered shoes stopped in front of her couch.
Zhao Yuming wore a plain veil, her eyes visible outside the veil, appearing timid and gentle. Only with careful observation could one notice the jealousy and resentment growing in her eyes.
She clenched her sleeve and walked to the guest couch next to Yu Lingxi, lying down.
Taking a deep breath, she pretended to feel dizzy and dizzy, calling out, "Someone."
A palace maid entered, bowing respectfully, "Miss Zhao, what orders do you have?"
"I'm having a relapse of my old illness, feeling dizzy and weak. I'm afraid I might spoil the fun for Princess Deyang, so I won't go bid farewell. Please call someone quietly to help me to the outside of the western corner gate. My brother will take me home to rest and take medicine."
"Alright, Miss Zhao, please wait a moment." Seeing her looking uncomfortable, the palace maid quickly left to find help.
Once the maid was gone, Zhao Yuming quickly slipped off the couch, swiftly lifting Yu Lingxi and placing her on her own couch. She then took off her veil to cover Yu Lingxi's face and removed the hair accessories that identified her status one by one.
Yu Lingxi still wore an extremely soft and lightweight smoke veil, a style that Zhao Yuming had admired for a long time but couldn't afford. She decided to pull off that veil and replace it with her own old purple silk cloak. The clothing and figures of the two were remarkably similar; by covering Yu Lingxi's naturally stunning face and adjusting the hair accessories slightly, strangers would find it challenging to discern any differences.
Footsteps approached from outside, making Zhao Yuming panic. She quickly hid on the inner couch, pretending to be Yu Lingxi lying with her face towards the wall.
The palace maid, having seen Zhao Yuming and Yu Lingxi only once, did not notice anything unusual. She vaguely remembered that Miss Zhao wore a veil and lay in the outer room, while Miss Yu, with no veil, possessed a beautiful appearance.
Without much thought, the palace maid assumed that the person in the outer room was Zhao Yuming and helped her out.
Listening to their footsteps moving away, Zhao Yuming dared to open her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
Next, it was up to Zhao Xu.
This plan was proposed by Zhao Xu, and she didn't know how Zhao Xu would sabotage the marriage between Yu Lingxi and Xue Cen, but... it had nothing to do with her.
With her back to the door, Zhao Yuming curled up on the couch, biting her finger, thinking: if the palace maid mistook the person herself, then she had only told a harmless little lie. After all, Yu Lingxi was better than her in every aspect.
Who made even Xue Feng Jiyue's second son, Xue Erlang, only have eyes for her?
As she pondered, she suddenly saw a shadow looming behind her. Someone approached quietly.
Having just done something deceitful, Zhao Yuming turned her head abruptly, only to see a piece of cotton covering her mouth and nose, muffling her scream.
Wide-eyed, Zhao Yuming looked at the two eunuchs in front of her, trying to scream but stopped struggling gradually. Soon, before her consciousness dissipated, she heard one eunuch's muffled voice, "Is this Miss Yu Lingxi? Don't make a mistake."
"No mistake. We followed them for so long, and there were only two young ladies who entered the side hall."
Another high-pitched voice replied, "Miss Zhao wasn't feeling well and was sent out of the mansion. So, the only one left here must be Miss Yu from the Yu family, right?"
"Tsk," the first eunuch clicked his tongue, "Her face looks quite like the portrait. She's a beauty, no wonder the Crown Prince is obsessed with tasting her..."
Miss Yu... the second Miss?
Zhao Yuming desperately wanted to scream out, to tell them that they had mistaken the person. She endured humiliation for so long, not to become a scapegoat for Yu Lingxi! She had someone in her heart and would rather die than be defiled by another man!
But before she could make a sound, she lost consciousness completely.
A single tear rolled down from the corner of her eye, unsure whether it was regret or resentment.
"Stop babbling! While there's no one around, quickly send her to the Crown Prince."
Wrapping the woman in a brocade quilt, they carried her out through the back door.
...
In the corner of the back yard, Ning Yin, dressed in the attire of a eunuch, emerged from the cave in the rockery.
In the shadow of the cave, a little eunuch, stripped of his clothes, leaned against the stone wall, already unconscious. Ning Yin, expressionless, kicked his foot inside and then picked up the fruit tray from the ground, blending into the passing procession of eunuchs.
At the corner gate, two palace maids assisted a veiled woman into Zhao's carriage. As Ning Yin passed by the gate, he happened to catch a glimpse of a piece of skirt being tucked inside the carriage and a delicate little toe.
Lotus silk embroidered shoes, somewhat familiar, not a style that women from the Zhao family could afford.
Zhao Xu, limping on one leg, cautiously looked around and then leaped onto the carriage, quickly departing. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and Ning Yin couldn't discern joy or anger; he continued walking inside.
In the mansion of Princess Deyang, there was only one secluded place where no one could go – the quiet room behind the Buddhist hall.
A living person couldn't slip past the forbidden army leaving the mansion. Knowing Ning Tan's impulsive nature, if he wanted to do something secretive, he would undoubtedly choose that quiet room.
On the shaded stone path in front of the Buddhist hall, two eunuchs were seen sneakily carrying a bundled object resembling a person.
Ning Yin hid behind the door, watching as the woman's hair bun was exposed from the brocade quilt. His eyes turned cold.
He lifted a stone with his toes, held it in his hand, and flicked it with his fingers.
The eunuch behind felt a sharp pain in his ankle and immediately exclaimed, falling to the ground.
The brocade quilt unraveled, revealing a woman in a begonia dress lying face-up.
Seeing the woman's features for a moment, a hint of killing intent flashed in Ning Yin's eyes.
That was not Yu Lingxi.
"Be careful."
The other eunuch hurriedly rolled the woman back into the quilt, scolding, "His Highness the Crown Prince is very picky about women. If you break her, it will be over!"
The two men lifted the bundled figure again, sneakily entering the quiet room behind the Buddhist hall.
Oops, mistook the person?
Ning Yin leaned against the wall, slowly turning the sharp blade in his fingers.
Where could the real Yu Lingxi be? Could she have evaded them?
Suddenly, the scene from outside the corner gate flashed through his mind, and Ning Yin raised his eyes abruptly. The playful expression gradually settled in his eyes, turning into a sinister and dark ruthlessness.
He turned around, walked quickly towards the corner gate, startling the cat sunbathing under the banana trees.
The cat had precious golden bells hanging from its neck, a beloved pet likely lost by some noblewoman attending the banquet.
Ning Yin stopped, and an interesting plan brewed in his mind. If he didn't reciprocate Ning Tan with a significant gift, how could he justify the elaborate scheme he laid out for Yu Lingxi?
He reached down and grabbed the back of the cat's neck, leaped onto the fence with a few bounds, and placed the shrunken cat in a conspicuous spot on the roof of the quiet room.
The bait was set, now he just had to wait for the show to begin.
Although he really wanted to stay and watch the drama unfold, there were more important things to do right now.
I wonder if Miss Yu will cry waiting for someone to come to her rescue?
Feeling absent-minded, the young man unintentionally quickened his pace, following the direction where Zhao's carriage disappeared.
The carriage bumped and swayed, bringing Yu Lingxi back to some semblance of consciousness in the chaotic half-sleep.
Teeth biting into the tip of her tongue, she tasted the rusty flavor of fresh blood. The intense pain brought a moment of clarity to her mind, but her limbs remained as useless as mud. She couldn't move them, let alone raise a finger.
Stay calm; the more critical the situation, the less she could afford to panic. Biting her lip, she focused her attention on her fingertips. After painstakingly moving one finger, she progressed to the palm, then the wrist...
While slowing her breath, she closed her eyes, carefully memorizing every shout and every smell outside the carriage. Simultaneously, she searched her memory, and a mental image of the city map gradually formed in her mind.
In less than the time it took to brew a pot of tea, the bustle subsided, replaced by a unique tranquility. All she could hear now was the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the blue stone bricks.
When her arms and neck could barely move, Yu Lingxi exerted all her strength to rub her hairpin against the carriage wall.
After rubbing for a while, until her hair was disheveled, a plain silver hairpin fell from her hair. Other hair ornaments were missing, but it didn't matter; one silver hairpin was enough.
Grasping the sharp silver hairpin in her hand, which had drained all her strength, her inner clothes were soaked with sweat.
The carriage stopped, and Yu Lingxi immediately hid the hairpin in her sleeve, pretending to be still unconscious. Two or three people approached the carriage, one of them had a light and heavy footstep, like someone with a limp.
Yu Lingxi's heart sank instantly. If only one person had targeted her, she might have a chance to resist. However, with three people arriving, and having already expended so much energy obtaining the hairpin, her arms still sore and weak, resistance was futile.
No impulsiveness. Her father had said, the more critical the situation, the more she needed to remain calm, finding weaknesses and devising a strategy.
Yu Lingxi held her breath, waiting for an opportunity. The hairpin in her sleeve was almost piercing through her palm.
...
In front of the warehouse, Zhao Xu stood facing two scantily dressed women.
"To prevent her from escaping, lock the warehouse door once I and this woman enter. Here, take this bag of money. Someone will come to catch us in the act at night. When that happens, open the warehouse door to make sure everyone sees what's happening inside. Apart from that, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Zhao Xu threw a money bag to the woman.
Zhao Xu threw Yu Lingxi onto the only wooden pallet in the warehouse. He stared coldly at the delicate face of the girl lying on the pallet, faintly illuminated in the darkness. Admittedly, she had an exceptionally beautiful face. But so what?
In his heart, his foster sister was the bright moon in the sky, the light that pulled him out of the Yanwang Palace when he was about to die. Yu Lingxi couldn't compare to even a strand of hair from Zhao Yuming.
But his identity destined him to never possess Yuming.
In that case, why not let this woman be a substitute for Yuming before she dies? She allowed her servant to drag him off the horse, turning him into a lifelong cripple. She oppressed Yuming at every turn, even trying to snatch away the things Yuming cherished the most...
Zhao Xu's face twisted in a distorted manner. He lit the incense burner on the table, took a deep breath of the sweet and nauseating fragrance, and reached out towards Yu Lingxi's face.
He wanted to destroy everything.
Hatred blinded Zhao Xu to the gradually tensing figure of the girl and the glint of cold light emerging from her sleeve.
Before his fingers touched Yu Lingxi's face, he saw a shadow passing by the door. Alert, Zhao Xu withdrew his hand, stood up, listened for a moment, and then, gripping the sword at his waist, walked towards the warehouse door.
A young man dressed as a palace servant sat on a stone table in the courtyard, lifting one leg onto the table edge, playing with a glinting short blade in his hand.
Zhao Xu immediately recognized this young man. During the spring hunt, this person single-handedly pulled him off his horse, causing him to fall into a ditch and become a useless cripple.
Burning with hatred, his eyes ablaze, Zhao Xu spoke with a sinister tone, "It's you. What are you here for?"
The young man grinned, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "To take something."
Although he was smiling, a sudden chill ran down Zhao Xu's spine.
"What are you here to take?"
"Your life."
A chilling wind rose abruptly, causing ripples in the lotus pond in the courtyard, gradually returning to calm. A deep red color emerged from the bottom of the pond, slowly dispersing in the water before disappearing completely.
Ning Yin opened the warehouse door, wiped his fingers clean, and walked towards the pallet.
Seeing Yu Lingxi lying on the pallet with flushed cheeks, deeply asleep and unresponsive, Ning Yin's eyes suddenly darkened. He regretted giving Zhao Xu too easy a death earlier.
He should have pulled out Zhao Xu's tongue, then slowly crushed his bones while keeping him alive.
A sweet fragrance burned on the table, indicating something improper. Ning Yin walked to the side of Yu Lingxis pallet. Just as he reached out to extinguish the incense, a glint of cold light fiercely stabbed towards him. Ning Yin instinctively raised his hand to block, grabbing the silver hairpin that came at him with full force.
Oh, it's quite ruthless. If it weren't for his quick reaction or if it had been Zhao Xu, that strike might have pierced through his neck.
That forceful blow had exhausted all of Yu Lingxi's strength. She was breathing heavily, and her watery eyes showed a moment of confusion when they met Ning Yin's face.
She stared blankly, silent, her hand gripping the hairpin still trembling slightly, staring at Ning Yin without blinking.
The wild little madwoman, with a gaze that seemed to rule the world, lowered his eyelashes and asked, "Miss, with such an expression, are you disappointed?"
Then, he raised an inexplicable sneer, nodded to himself, and said, "Instead of the Qingxiao or some little prince, it's me, this wicked and despicable villain. Indeed, disappointment is warranted..."
The silver hairpin slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a clatter.
"Wei Qi..."
The girl's voice trembled slightly, her eyes flashing with a slightly hazy and shattered light, showing no trace of disgust or disappointment.
The breathless girl's body, boneless and soft, released tension. Then, she unexpectedly threw herself into Ning Yin's arms, silencing him completely, full of sarcasm.
At the same time, unexpectedly, there was a clang.
The only door of the warehouse was closed from the outside, and a lock was put on it.
The cramped space instantly plunged into darkness, with only two sets of alternating breaths audible.
The girl in revealing clothes tucked the warehouse key into her bosom, yawned, and walked away.
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