Legend of the Embroiderer

In the woods outside the palace wall, the moonlight fell on the ground like a veil, as if covering this quiet place with a layer of silver gauze.

The night breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness and making the leaves rustle.

Li Zhao and Su Mengyao squatted cautiously beside the piece of soil that had obviously been turned over, and in the bright moonlight, they concentrated on examining the mysterious and strange symbols.

These symbols are deeply carved into the soil, with lines of varying thicknesses and winding curves, like nimble little snakes.

After some observation and comparison, the two were surprised to find that these symbols were surprisingly similar to the patterns on embroidery supplies they had accidentally discovered in school before.

Despite this, there are still some subtle differences between the two - especially the arrangement, which is quite different.

Su Mengyao pondered secretly in her heart, and various possibilities and clues kept flashing through her mind.

Suddenly, a bold guess came to their minds, which made them seem to see a ray of hope when they were originally in trouble.

"Brother Zhao, I think the arrangement of these symbols may be closely related to the location where they are located."

Su Mengyao lowered her voice and spoke, her beautiful eyes gleaming with intelligence.

When Li Zhao heard this, his eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "Oh? Yao'er, tell me quickly, what exactly do you think?" He looked at the beauty beside him with anticipation.

Su Mengyao frowned slightly, bit her lower lip, and thought seriously for a while before slowly speaking:

"In my opinion, the arrangement of these symbols is likely closely related to the location in which they appear. For example, we are now in the woods outside the palace walls, so the symbols here may be inextricably linked to the topography outside the palace; and the symbols we saw earlier in the academy are very likely to echo the complex architectural layout within the palace."

Li Zhao nodded slightly, and a hint of excitement that was difficult to conceal flashed across his bright eyes:

"Indeed, it seems we can use this as a starting point for further investigation. The symbols outside the palace walls most likely represent a specific location outside the palace. As for the symbols within the academy, they likely represent a specific place within the palace."

After saying that, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao took action without hesitation.

They first carefully classified all the symbols discovered so far according to their different locations, and then concentrated on conducting an in-depth analysis of the arrangement of each symbol and the surrounding environment in which it appeared.

After persistent and arduous efforts, an astonishing scene finally appeared before our eyes - it turned out that there was a mysterious and wonderful secret connection between the arrangement pattern of these symbols and the geographical location where they appeared.

"My beloved, look here!" Li Zhao shouted loudly, and at the same time pointed his finger directly at the map spread out on the table in front of him.

The map clearly marked the locations of all the discovered symbols. He explained solemnly:

"Look, the arrangement of symbols outside the palace walls is clearly much more complex, while the symbols inside the academy appear relatively simple. In my opinion, the reason for this difference is probably because the terrain outside the palace walls is much more complex, while the overall layout inside the academy is naturally more concise."

Su Mengyao nodded gently in agreement, and a hint of excitement that was difficult to conceal flashed across her beautiful eyes.

"Yes, I thought so too. Those mysterious symbols outside the palace walls are very likely to refer to a specific location outside the palace. Similarly, the symbols that appear in the academy may symbolize a specific place inside the palace. Why don't we try to match these symbols with actual locations one by one? Maybe we can find some key clues from them!"

At this moment, a eunuch came running towards me in a hurry, his face looked quite panicked:

"Your Highness, Miss Su, this is terrible! We just made a shocking discovery in another forest outside the palace walls—there are also numerous mysterious symbols there, accompanied by some extremely strange traces!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao exchanged a look of shock. Li Zhao then issued an immediate order, "Without further delay, lead the way and take me down to see what's going on!"

So, everyone rushed to the woods where the new symbol was discovered.

After arriving, under the bright moonlight like water, the eunuchs began to search carefully.

After a meticulous search, they finally found more mysterious symbols and some incredible and strange traces in an extremely hidden corner.

These newly discovered symbols are extremely similar to those seen before, but their arrangement and combination are very different, as if they hide some unknown deeper meaning.

"Your Highness, look here!" A eunuch pointed to the ground not far away and shouted nervously, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

Looking in the direction of his finger, you can see that the land has obvious signs of being turned over. The originally flat soil has now become uneven, as if it had been roughly manipulated by a pair of invisible big hands.

Hearing the eunuch's shout, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao hurried over, then squatted down and carefully observed the traces.

In addition to the turned over soil on the ground, there are also some strange symbols vaguely visible. They are arranged together in a seemingly disordered yet seemingly following some kind of pattern.

Su Mengyao's eyes were fixed on those symbols. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, her eyes lit up and she turned to Li Zhao beside her and said:

"Brother Zhao, look at the arrangement of these symbols. Isn't it very similar to the patterns on the embroidery we found in the academy before? However, if you look closely, it seems a little different."

After saying that, she stretched out her slender fingers and gently touched one of the symbols, as if thinking about something.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhao also focused his attention on those symbols. After studying them for a moment, he nodded and replied:

"That's true, Sister Yao is absolutely right. But what exactly do these differences mean? Could it be that these symbols are some kind of dynamic cipher, as you say?"

Su Mengyao nodded lightly, her eyes flashing with excitement, and she continued to analyze in a low voice:

"Well, I think it's very possible. If that's the case, then if we can decipher the meaning of these symbols, we might be able to figure out what they're trying to do."

After hearing Su Mengyao's speculation, Li Zhao couldn't help but secretly admire her keen insight.

He himself became more and more curious about the origins of these mysterious symbols and the secrets hidden behind them.

So, he stood up, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "No matter what, the most urgent thing is to find a way to decipher the meaning of these symbols as soon as possible. Time is running out and there is no time to waste!"

After returning to the palace, Li Zhao and Su Mengyao rushed to the library. There, a vast collection of ancient books lay, perhaps holding the key to unlocking those mysterious texts. They divided the work, with one searching for books on classics, history, and miscellaneous texts, while the other focused on texts on numerology, yin and yang, and the five elements.

Time passed minute by minute, and they flipped through one thick ancient book after another, but still found nothing.

Hard work pays off. Just when the two were feeling a little discouraged, Su Mengyao suddenly found some familiar symbols in an old dusty commentary on the "Book of Changes".

"My beloved, come and look here!" Su Mengyao's voice trembled with excitement. She excitedly pointed to a page in the book. There were several patterns on the page that were extremely similar to the cipher symbols they had discovered before.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhao hurriedly put down the book he was reading, walked quickly to Su Mengyao, and leaned over to carefully examine the patterns on the book.

He stared at the symbols, frowning slightly. After a moment's thought, he said, "The arrangement of these symbols is indeed quite complex, but I think there seems to be some specific pattern. Why don't we try to use the interpretation method of 'Eight Trigrams' to decipher them?"

Su Mengyao nodded slightly in agreement. A glimmer of hope flashed in her beautiful eyes, and she continued:

"Well, that's a good idea. Perhaps we can try to match these symbols with specific locations. Maybe we can find more useful clues from them."

So, the two of them once again plunged into the intense and exciting research...