Legend of the Embroiderer

The night is as dark as ink, so deep that it seems to swallow up all light.

In the palace, the originally bright lights gradually became sparse as time passed.

In this silence and darkness, only a faint candlelight was still flickering in the school.

Su Mengyao stood quietly by the window of the school, her posture as straight as a pine tree, like a beautiful scenery in the dark night.

But at this moment, her beautiful eyes revealed an extremely vigilant look, and her sharp gaze was like that of a hawk, constantly scanning every corner around her.

Inside the school, the palace maids were carrying out their daily embroidery practice in an orderly manner according to Su Mengyao's previous careful arrangements.

Although their movements were a little stiff, on the surface, everything seemed normal and calm.

At this moment, a palace maid stopped her needlework, raised her head, and asked Su Mengyao in a slightly trembling voice: "Crown Princess, do you think it's okay for me to do this?" As she spoke, a trace of uneasiness that was hard to conceal flashed in the eyes of the palace maid.

Su Mengyao turned her head upon hearing the voice, her eyes fell on the palace maid. After a brief pause, she nodded slightly, then said softly, "

"Well done, everyone. Keep going. Remember, no matter what happens next, we must remain calm and not lose our composure."

Hearing Su Mengyao's encouragement and instructions, the palace maids all murmured in understanding. Then, they lowered their heads again and devoted themselves to the embroidery work in their hands.

Although the palace maids appeared to be relatively calm and composed, only Su Mengyao herself knew that she was actually extremely nervous inside.

Because she knew very well that this thrilling game had entered the most critical moment, and any slight mistake could lead to total loss.

On the other side, in a dark corner outside the palace wall, Li Zhao and a group of eunuchs led by him were lurking there quietly.

They were all hidden in the thick shadows, and if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't even detect their presence.

At this moment, without exception, the gazes of these people were all fixed on the direction of the palace wall. Everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit, quietly awaiting the other party's next move...

"Your Highness, look over there." A eunuch said in a low voice, pointing his finger at the lush forest outside the palace wall.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhao immediately looked in the direction he pointed, and saw several vague and unclear figures in the woods in the distance, quietly moving towards the palace wall.

These figures moved swiftly and cautiously, and every step they took seemed extremely careful. It was obvious that their actions this time must have been carefully planned and arranged.

Li Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly, staring closely at the figures gradually approaching the palace wall, and then he whispered in a low voice: "Everyone, get ready. When they get closer, we will attack immediately."

After hearing the order, the eunuchs around nodded to show that they understood, and then they each held their weapons tightly and prepared for battle.

At this moment, in the woods, those mysterious figures were still slowly and steadily approaching the palace wall.

The man walking in front was the envoy from a neighboring country. His eyes flashed with a subtle cunning, and he lowered his voice to instruct his men behind him:

"Remember this, everyone. Our target this time is the academy. As soon as we succeed, we must evacuate immediately according to the plan. There must not be even a moment of delay."

After hearing his words, the men behind him nodded in unison, and then quickly dispersed, sneaking in different directions, trying to sneak into the palace by surprise without anyone noticing.

However, these people never imagined that the action plan they thought was perfect had actually been seen through by Li Zhao and Su Mengyao long ago.

Just as the envoy's men were about to approach the palace wall, Li Zhao, who had been closely watching the situation, suddenly shouted, "Attack!"

At this moment, a group of eunuchs dressed in dark clothes and moving swiftly suddenly rushed out from the shadows, like a group of hungry wolves pouncing on their prey, and in the blink of an eye they surrounded the envoy and his men.

These eunuchs were well-trained and worked in perfect harmony, leaving the envoy's men completely unable to react. They were subdued to the ground in an instant and unable to move.

Seeing this, Li Zhao walked forward quickly. He had an upright posture and a majestic aura. His bright eyes were like burning flames as he stared at the messenger.

His voice was deep and powerful, carrying a questioning tone that was not concealed: "Sir, what is the purpose of such behavior?"

Facing Li Zhao's questioning, the envoy smiled slightly, without any panic on his face, as if he had already expected such a situation.

He replied calmly, "Your Highness, please calm down. This is truly a misunderstanding! We are here simply out of curiosity about your country's academy and want to witness its operation firsthand."

Li Zhao snorted coldly, a disdainful smile playing on his lips. "Misunderstanding? If so, then everything that happened recently was just a coincidence? First, the embroidery supplies in the palace were mysteriously stolen, then a palace maid fainted for no apparent reason, and even today, someone openly challenged me in the court. Could all of this be just a coincidence?"

After hearing what Li Zhao said, a trace of panic involuntarily flashed in the envoy's eyes, but he had experienced many storms after all, and he quickly suppressed the fluctuations in his heart and regained his composure.

He quickly explained, "Your Highness, please understand. We are truly just curious and have absolutely no ill intentions!"

Li Zhao shook his head slightly, obviously not convinced by the envoy's words: "What you said is really hard to be convincing.

However, since we are here, we should make the best of it. Since you have already entered the palace, why not follow me into the palace for a chat?"

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the palace, leaving a group of eunuchs escorting the envoys and others to follow closely behind him.

Su Mengyao, who was inside the palace walls, also keenly noticed the unusual movements outside.

Her heart suddenly tightened, and she thought to herself: It seems that Li Zhao's plan has already succeeded halfway. However, she knew in her heart that the current situation was just the beginning, and the real difficult struggle was still to come...

"Miss Su, what exactly happened outside?" A palace maid asked cautiously in a low voice, with a hint of worry in her watery eyes.

Su Mengyao's lips curled up slightly, forming a faint smile. Her voice was gentle but firm: "Don't panic, it's just some idle people who want to come and take a look at our school. Sisters, don't worry about it, just focus on your work."

After hearing this, the palace maids nodded in agreement and then continued with the exquisite embroidery work in their hands.

Just as the group of women were concentrating on their needlework, they heard the tightly closed door of the school being suddenly pushed open with a bang.

Everyone was startled by the sudden noise and looked up, only to see a eunuch striding hurriedly into the room.

This person's face was as pale as paper, and his expression was extremely frightened.

"Miss Su, something terrible has happened!" The eunuch shouted anxiously while panting.

Su Mengyao was also shocked when she heard this. She quickly quickened her pace and rushed forward, asking anxiously, "What's going on? Tell me quickly!"

The eunuch quickly lowered his voice and whispered to Su Mengyao, "Your Highness has just captured a mysterious individual who attempted to sneak outside the palace walls. According to Your Highness, this individual is no ordinary person! Your Highness has sent me here specifically, so please go and have a chat immediately."

When Su Mengyao heard this, she couldn't help but frown slightly, and her beautiful eyes were instantly filled with doubt and confusion.

She knew very well that this incident was no accident, and the truth hidden behind it might be waiting for her to uncover it...