Legend of the Embroiderer

The moonlight fell like silver frost, cold and bright, enveloping the silent woods outside the palace wall, as if casting a mysterious veil over the area.

Li Zhao and Su Mengyao stood side by side, their figures stretched out in the moonlight.

Their eyes were fixed on the man they had subdued, not missing any subtle changes in his expression, trying to find the key clue to solve the mystery.

Finally, when Li Zhao saw the other person's face clearly in the bright moonlight, his brows involuntarily furrowed. Because the person who appeared before him was actually someone they knew!

"How could it be you?" Li Zhao's voice was full of surprise and disbelief, his eyes like burning torches, staring straight at the woman in front of him.

The woman was dressed in the attire of a palace maid, but she looked quite disheveled, with disheveled clothes and messy hair. It was obvious that she had just experienced a hasty and tense escape.

Hearing Li Zhao's question, the woman slowly raised her head. Her eyes initially revealed a hint of panic and uneasiness, but this emotion was soon replaced by a hint of stubbornness.

"Your Highness, I really didn't mean it... I just..." The woman stammered, trying to explain something, but when the words reached her lips, she seemed to be choked suddenly and could hardly continue.

At this moment, Su Mengyao interrupted her without hesitation and asked sternly:

"Why did you sneak outside the palace walls? And as far as we know, the recent theft of embroidery supplies in the palace seems to be closely related to you. Tell me, who are you?"

The woman slowly lowered her head, as if a heavy burden was pressing on her thin shoulders, making her look a little listless.

She bit her lips tightly, frowned, and seemed to be struggling fiercely deep in her heart, wondering whether or not to tell the truth.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the air around seemed to freeze, making people feel extremely depressed.

Finally, after a long and painful ordeal, the woman suddenly raised her head. A resolute look flickered in her eyes, as if she had made up her mind.

"I...I was actually wronged!" The woman took a deep breath and said in a slightly trembling voice,

"Someone asked me to help take a batch of embroidery supplies out of the palace. They told me that these things were prepared for the school curriculum. At the time, I didn't think much of it, thinking it was just a small thing that could be done with just a little effort. But who could have imagined that this matter would lead to such serious consequences!"

Hearing this, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao, who were standing aside, couldn't help but look at each other.

From each other's eyes, they both clearly saw what the other was thinking - this matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface, and there must be a huge unknown conspiracy hidden behind it.

Li Zhao frowned slightly. He stared at the woman in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "If that's the case, do you know who ordered you to do this?"

Facing Li Zhao's question, the woman gently shook her head. At this moment, her eyes revealed a hint of confusion and helplessness, like a lamb lost in the fog.

"I don't know who that man is. He never showed up from beginning to end. He just sent a servant to deliver a message and gave me some silver as a reward.

He told me to take the embroidery supplies out of the palace and hand them over to a stranger I had never met. I really didn’t expect that such a seemingly ordinary errand would bring me so much trouble…”

At this moment, Su Mengyao, who had been listening quietly, suddenly had an idea. She keenly realized that this woman named A Yao was most likely just an innocent pawn used by the mastermind behind the scenes.

So she stepped forward and asked softly, "Don't be afraid, girl. First, tell us what your name is."

"My name is...A-Yao," the woman replied in a low voice. A glimmer of anticipation flashed in her eyes as she spoke, as if she had grasped at a last straw in the darkness. "I believe that the two adults will definitely help me find the truth and clear my name!"

Li Zhao nodded slightly in agreement, then turned around and ordered the guards with a serious expression:

"First, bring A Yao back to the palace safely. Keep her under strict watch and don't let any negligence creep in! I'm going to start investigating this matter right now. I absolutely cannot let the mastermind behind this go unpunished."

After hearing Li Zhao's instructions, the guards responded in unison, took A Yao away quickly and orderly, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

At this time, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao were still standing there quietly, both of them feeling extremely heavy.

They are well aware that the resistance to this reform is far beyond their previous expectations.

Li Zhao frowned tightly and slowly spoke to Su Mengyao beside him, "My beloved, the most urgent task right now is to find those lost embroidery supplies as soon as possible. If we can't find them, the school classes won't be able to continue normally, and the reforms we've been working so hard to promote will probably suffer a severe blow."

His voice was deep and powerful, revealing an unwavering determination.

Su Mengyao nodded gently, her beautiful eyes also flashing with a determined light, and responded:

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I understand this clearly. Since someone dared to so brazenly sabotage our plans, they will surely take further action. Therefore, we must get ahead of them, find the key clues, and resolve this crisis."

After saying that, the two of them no longer hesitated and immediately set off to return to the palace.

As soon as they returned to the palace, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao immediately summoned the chief eunuch and several other trusted officials to the palace to discuss countermeasures.

They all knew that time was as tight as a burning fuse, and every minute and every second that passed could cause the situation to worsen.

We must race against time to find useful clues in the shortest possible time and uncover the conspiracy behind this.

"Your Highness, Miss Su, we have sent people to search the area outside the palace walls, but we have not found any clues." The chief eunuch reported with a hint of helplessness in his tone.

Li Zhao shook his head slightly. "Since they dared to sneak into the palace, they must have a thorough plan. We must start from the inside and find out who ordered A Yao."

Su Mengyao suddenly remembered something and whispered, "Brother Zhao, do you remember the question raised by the envoy from the neighboring country at the court meeting? I don't think this is a coincidence."

Li Zhao was slightly stunned, then nodded: "Are you saying that all this is a carefully planned conspiracy?"

Su Mengyao's eyes flashed with determination: "That's right. They first caused the palace maid to faint, then raised questions at the court meeting, and now they've stolen the embroidery supplies. The purpose of all this is to undermine our reforms."

Li Zhao clenched his fists, a cold glint in his eyes. "Alright, since they're plotting something, we'll stick with them to the bitter end. My beloved, you'll investigate the palace maids' movements to see if anyone else has been exploited. I'll investigate the clues outside the palace walls and uncover the mastermind."

Su Mengyao nodded, her eyes full of determination: "Okay, we can't give them another chance."

As the night deepened, the lights in the palace gradually dimmed, but Li Zhao and Su Mengyao were not sleepy at all. They were each busy trying to find the truth from the complicated clues.

Just as they were trying their best to track down the perpetrator, a pair of eyes were watching everything coldly in the shadows outside the palace wall.

悬念

Who is using A Yao? Where are the embroidery supplies? And what conspiracy do those figures who sneaked into the palace hide?

Can Li Zhao and Su Mengyao find the truth in the fog and protect the achievements of reform?