Zhi Hua’s gaze shifted toward the misty nightfall creeping into view. Suddenly, he said something strange, “Hearing what you just said, I now feel an urge to meet someone.”
The girl in purple, Ming Yu’er, smiled faintly and asked, “I wonder who Master Zhi wishes to meet?”
Zhi Hua said, “I’m talking about the Third Miss Ding from the Ding family of Songjiang Prefecture. I truly want to see for myself—what kind of heavenly beauty, what kind of unparalleled brilliance and wit does she possess to make Zhan Zhao willing to give up even you.”
Ming Yu’er’s face turned slightly red as she replied softly, “Master Zhi flatters too much. Our future young mistress is, of course, someone extraordinary, someone beyond compare, far above what we mere servants can even dream of comparing to.”
Zhi Hua looked at her and gently shook his head. For reasons unknown, he let out a faint sigh.
Then his gaze turned to Huo Ling Long. When he looked at her, the cunning in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by melancholy and wistfulness.
He said, “So I advise you not to waste your efforts chasing after Shao Ji Zu. The yellow silk scroll he tricked you out of is no longer in his possession. Along the way, he’s already sent it ahead with couriers on fast horses. No matter how skilled your light-foot technique is, you won’t be able to catch up.”
──Just moments ago, he was ready to kill Huo Ling Long, and now he was showing concern for her. Why was he saying these things? Was he an enemy or a friend?
Huo Ling Long suddenly sneered, “Why would I even bother chasing him?”
Zhi Hua was taken aback. “Don’t you want to retrieve the yellow silk scroll?”
Huo Ling Long sneered again. “Why would I need it? Even if he’s taken the yellow silk scroll, the secrets on it will still be revealed.”
Her smile now carried a trace of satisfaction. Her lips parted slightly, and without looking at him, she spoke slowly and deliberately, “We, the ministers, pledge our lives and utmost loyalty to assist in this grand undertaking. Minister Xie Qi Ming, Transportation Commissioner of Hu Guang; Duan Xiu, Military Commissioner of Ba Shu—”
As the names flowed lightly from her lips, one after another, Zhi Hua’s smile froze. Beads of cold sweat began to roll down his forehead.
He could not believe his ears. His voice turned hoarse as he stammered, “Could it be—could it be that you’ve already seen the pact?”
Huo Ling Long replied, “Indeed, I’ve already memorized everything on that yellow silk scroll. Why would I need it anymore?!”
Zhi Hua still found it hard to believe and muttered, “Impossible! That pact is filled with intricate details. How could you memorize it all so quickly?”
Huo Ling Long curled her lips in a smug sneer. “What’s so complicated about your pact? One reading was enough.”
Zhi Hua looked at her, then suddenly let out a long sigh. “Sometimes, I truly don’t understand you. Are you really so clever, or just a fool? Perhaps you’re too clever for your own good—clever to the point of being reckless! Don’t forget, Zhan Zhao also has a photographic memory. Why, then, would he risk his life to retrieve that yellow silk scroll from Chong Xiao Tower?”
Huo Ling Long froze, an inexplicable sense of fear rising in her heart.
Zhi Hua continued, “Because that yellow silk scroll is the very evidence of Prince Xiang Yang’s treason! It contains a list of his co-conspirators, stamped with the jade seal he secretly forged. It’s his lifeline and the leverage he holds to keep his allies in submission. As long as the yellow silk scroll isn’t in Chong Xiao Tower, Prince Xiang Yang won’t dare act rashly.
Without that evidence, even if you reach Dong Jing and recite its contents word for word to the Emperor or Prince Zhao, who would believe you? Who would convict Prince Xiang Yang based solely on your testimony?”
Huo Ling Long interrupted him with a hoarse voice, “I have the token he gave me! The Emperor trusts him completely, so of course, he’ll believe what I say!”
──But as she said this, why did the fear in her heart grow so suffocating that she could hardly breathe?
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