Legend of the Embroiderer

The night was like thick ink, dyeing the whole world dark.

Outside the tall and majestic palace walls, the dense woods seemed to hide countless secrets and dangers, and at this moment there was a tense atmosphere that made people's hearts clench.

Li Zhao and Su Mengyao took the lead, leading a group of eunuchs and carefully moving through the woods. They held lanterns in their hands, and the faint light flickered in the darkness, like a candle in the wind.

Everyone walked very lightly, for fear of scaring away any clues that might exist.

The bright moonlight poured down through the gaps in the treetops like water, and fell on the ground, forming patches of mottled light and shadow.

The interweaving of lights and shadows adds a mysterious atmosphere to the already silent forest.

"Your Highness, there seems to be something here." Suddenly, a sharp-eyed eunuch lowered his voice and pointed to a stone on the ground not far away.

Hearing this, Li Zhao's heart tightened and he quickly quickened his pace and walked forward. He bent down and carefully examined the stone in the dim moonlight.

I saw a small piece of embroidered fabric under the stone! The color, texture, and embroidered patterns of this fabric were very similar to the one Su Mengyao had found before.

Li Zhao's heart couldn't help but move, and an indescribable feeling of excitement surged in his heart.

He stood up and gave the order decisively: "Continue searching, there must be more clues here!" Although his voice was not loud, it was full of unquestionable firmness.

Su Mengyao beside her also hurried over, her beautiful eyes sparkling with anticipation in the moonlight.

Looking at the embroidered cloth, she whispered, "It seems that we are getting closer and closer to uncovering the truth..."

Just as they were searching carefully and meticulously, on the other side of the vast woods, several ghostly figures were moving slowly and silently.

The leader of these figures was none other than the mysterious envoy from the neighboring country! The envoy's eyes flashed with an undisguised cunning, like a fox about to catch its prey.

He lowered his voice and whispered to his men behind him, "Look, they've clearly noticed something and discovered some important clues. So, we don't have much time left. Move quickly! We must expedite our current plan!"

After saying this, the men behind him nodded in understanding, indicating that they understood the urgency and seriousness of the task.

Then, like a group of well-trained hunting dogs, these people quickly and tacitly dispersed in different directions, each looking for the best path, preparing to sneak into the heavily guarded palace from all directions without being noticed.

As the saying goes, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. This group of guys who thought they were acting secretly and perfectly were completely unaware that Li Zhao and Su Mengyao, the wise and brave partner, had already keenly noticed their every move.

Li Zhao's face was solemn at this moment. He also spoke to Su Mengyao beside him in a very low voice, "Yao'er, in my opinion, the other party will definitely not give up. I believe they must have a backup plan. I'm afraid there will be more unexpected situations next."

As he spoke, his sharp eyes remained highly alert, constantly scanning the surrounding plants and trees, not missing any corner where danger might exist.

Hearing Li Zhao's analysis, Su Mengyao frowned slightly, but soon a glimmer of determination flashed in her eyes, and she nodded without hesitation and responded:

"Well, if that's the case, then we can't just sit there and wait for death. Why not strike first before they fully launch their actions? Set up a clever trap and wait for them to come to us and fall into our trap!"

Li Zhao and Su Mengyao's eyes met, and they quickly came up with an ingenious plan as if they had telepathy.

After careful consideration, they finally decided to cleverly use the dense and deep woods outside the palace wall as bait to lure out the black hand hiding behind the scenes and controlling everything.

Su Mengyao took light steps and led several well-trained eunuchs back to the palace.

As soon as she entered the palace, she methodically directed the palace maids to continue staying in the school and concentrate on practicing embroidery. On the surface, she looked as calm and peaceful as usual, as if she had not noticed anything unusual at all.

At the same time, Li Zhao personally led the remaining eunuchs and sneaked into the depths of the woods as quietly as ghosts. He carefully arranged numerous ambushes like a dragnet, holding his breath and waiting quietly for the enemy to fall into the trap.

He lowered his voice and solemnly instructed the eunuchs beside him:

"Remember! They'll definitely send someone to investigate. What we need to do now is to remain calm, stay composed, and wait patiently for the perfect opportunity to seize them with lightning speed."

After saying this, a chilling cold light suddenly flashed in his deep and sharp eyes.

The eunuchs all nodded solemnly, indicating they fully understood Li Zhao's intention. Then, they skillfully and swiftly rushed to their designated positions and hid.

The night grew deeper and heavier, like a huge black velvet covering the entire earth.

The night wind roared and howled in the woods like a ferocious beast, blowing the branches so hard that they shook and swayed violently, making creaking sounds, as if creating a more tense and depressing atmosphere for the thrilling life-and-death battle that was about to take place.

In the dead of night, several stealthy dark figures suddenly appeared in the woods outside the palace wall and were slowly approaching the palace... These mysterious figures were none other than the capable men sent by the envoy with ulterior motives.

They moved extremely quickly and flexibly, and appeared to be extremely cautious, strictly following a pre-planned plan, attempting to sneak into the palace from various angles without being noticed.

Unfortunately, they would never have dreamed that all their actions had already been fully understood and controlled by the extremely clever Li Zhao and the intelligent Su Mengyao.

"Your Highness, they are coming." A eunuch said in a low voice, his eyes like a hawk, fixed on the figures gradually approaching in the distance.

Li Zhao's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile. He also responded softly, "Yes, I understand. Pass on my orders and have everyone prepare to take action."

The sunlight just happened to fall on the bluestone floor of the palace, making those figures even clearer.

The envoy's men advanced menacingly toward the palace walls, their pace hurried, as if carrying some unspoken mission. Behind the walls, in the shadows, the eunuchs, already in ambush, held their breath, awaiting Li Zhao's command.

Finally, when the envoy's men were only a few steps away from the palace wall, Li Zhao suddenly waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Attack!" In an instant, the eunuchs who had been hiding in the dark rushed out like arrows and surrounded the other side in the blink of an eye.

These eunuchs were well-trained and agile, catching the envoy's men completely off guard and causing chaos for a while.

Li Zhaoze walked forward quickly with big strides, his eyes as sharp as lightning, staring straight at the messenger standing in the center of the crowd.

The messenger obviously did not expect to encounter such a sudden attack, but he quickly regained his composure, with a faint smile still on his face.

"Sir, now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide anything anymore, right? Now, you can honestly tell us the true purpose of your visit."

Li Zhao spoke coldly. His voice was not loud, but it revealed an unquestionable majesty.

Facing Li Zhao's questioning, the envoy was not at all flustered. Instead, he smiled lightly and replied calmly:

"Your Highness, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. We've come here simply to visit your country's schools and learn about their educational model and operations."

Hearing this, Li Zhao couldn't help but snorted coldly, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes: "Misunderstanding?

Humph, this is ridiculous! First, the embroidery in the palace was inexplicably stolen, then a palace maid fainted for no apparent reason, and then there was a blatant provocation against our country at the court meeting.

Could all of this be a coincidence? It seems to me that you all planned this in advance!"

The envoy was slightly startled, then regained his composure, but there was a hint of hesitation in his tone: "Your Highness, we are merely curious, and have no ill intentions."

Li Zhao shook his head slightly, and had already made some judgment in his mind.

He turned to the chief eunuch and ordered, "Take them back to the palace and keep them under strict guard. I want to see what lies they can come up with."

The eunuch took the order and left, while Li Zhao hurried into the palace. He knew that Su Mengyao must be waiting for his news in the academy.