Legend of the Embroiderer

Under the cover of night, there was silence outside the palace walls. Only the moon hanging high in the sky like a silver plate cast its cool light, illuminating the earth as bright as day.

The watery moonlight did not calm Li Zhao's inner anxiety. He walked hurriedly on the winding path filled with moonlight.

As he walked quickly, the flowers, plants and trees on the roadside retreated one after another, as if they also sensed his eagerness.

Soon, Li Zhao arrived at a secluded corner outside the palace wall.

This place is far away from the hustle and bustle and rarely visited by people. Only a long-abandoned pavilion stands alone in it.

The pavilion is surrounded by lush woods on all sides, as if it is in a green ocean.

Li Zhao stepped into the pavilion and his eyes were instantly attracted by a stone tablet in the pavilion.

He saw some strange and unfamiliar symbols engraved on the stone tablet. These symbols were quite similar to those he had discovered before, but the arrangements and combinations were more complex and exquisite.

He couldn't help but murmur to himself, "The arrangement of these symbols seems to be related to the location of the pavilion..."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly flashed with an excitement that was hard to conceal. "Perhaps, they represent a specific place outside the palace walls!"

Thinking of this, Li Zhao hurriedly took out a yellowed commentary on the "Book of Changes" from his arms, carefully turned the pages, and carefully compared the eight trigrams in the book.

He concentrated on studying those mysterious symbols, sometimes frowning and lost in thought; sometimes his face showed joy, as if he had realized something.

Time passed minute by minute, and after a long and arduous effort, he finally discovered a shocking pattern among those seemingly confusing symbols.

It turns out that the arrangement order of these symbols has a mysterious connection with the location of the pavilion and the surrounding topography!

"These symbols represent a very hidden place outside the palace!" Li Zhao said softly in a low voice, unable to hide his excitement.

At this moment, his heart was beating as rapidly as a wild horse, as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

Because he knew very well that this place was very likely the key to the mysterious "final plan".

Li Zhao widened his eyes and stared intently at the ancient and mysterious stone tablet in front of him, which was engraved with dense and bizarre symbols.

He frowned, his brain working rapidly, matching these symbols with the surrounding terrain one by one.

After some hard thinking, a look of joy gradually appeared on his face - he finally succeeded in determining the exact location of the hidden place!

In a flash, Li Zhao stood up without hesitation, took firm and powerful steps, and walked quickly in the direction indicated on the stone tablet.

The bright moonlight fell on the earth like silver gauze, illuminating his way forward.

Along the way, he shuttled through the dense woods that were almost opaque. The dead branches and leaves under his feet made crisp sounds, as if playing a unique melody for his adventure.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Li Zhao finally arrived at a quiet and secluded valley. The valley at this moment was like a sleeping giant, so quiet that it made people feel a little scared.

The watery moonlight poured down, covering the entire valley with a thin layer of silver, making everything around look like a dream.

Li Zhao stopped and looked around vigilantly. Suddenly, his eyes were attracted by a corner on the side of the valley.

There was an inconspicuous cave hidden there, and the entrance was tightly covered by layers of vines and crisscrossing branches. If you didn't pay special attention, it would be difficult to detect its existence.

"Haha, it seems that this should be the place indicated on the stone tablet!" Li Zhao couldn't suppress his inner joy and murmured to himself softly, but at the same time, a strong sense of vigilance also surged in his heart.

After all, no one can predict what secrets and dangers are hidden in this unknown cave.

After taking a deep breath, Li Zhao took cautious steps and slowly walked towards the mysterious cave.

As he approached the cave entrance, a cold and damp breath hit him, making him shudder. However, he did not retreat, but gritted his teeth and continued to move forward.

After entering the cave, he found a narrow and dark passage that stretched deep into the cave, seemingly with no end in sight...

Li Zhao walked cautiously along the long, dark passage into the cave. The passage was utterly dark, the few rays of light barely piercing the thick darkness. The surrounding walls were damp, and water dripped continuously from above, making a crisp, dripping sound.

There was also a strong, pungent smell of mold in the air, which made people feel a little suffocated.

He took out a torch that he had prepared long ago from his bosom and quickly lit it with a flint.

The torches crackled as they burned, and the flickering flames illuminated a small area around them, making the already eerie passage seem even more strange.

With the faint light of the torch, Li Zhao continued to move forward fearfully.

After walking about a hundred steps, the road ahead suddenly came to an end.

What appeared before him was not a dead end, but a huge, heavy stone door. The surface of the stone door was covered with all kinds of strange symbols. These symbols were crooked and densely intertwined, looking mysterious.

What surprised Li Zhao even more was that these symbols were surprisingly similar to those he had discovered before!

"Could it be that... these symbols really hide some mystery?" Li Zhao couldn't help but mutter to himself, a hint of excitement that was hard to conceal flashing in his eyes.

He calmed himself down and began to study the strange symbols on the stone gate with full concentration.

Relying on his years of in-depth study and understanding of the Bagua knowledge in the "Book of Changes", after much thought and meditation, he finally succeeded in finding the key to opening this stone door.

Only a slight mechanical turning sound was heard, and the originally closed stone door began to slowly move to both sides.

The gap in the door gradually became larger, and a stone staircase leading down gradually appeared in front of Li Zhao.

Holding a torch, he carefully stepped onto the stone steps and walked slowly towards the depths.

With every step I took, I could feel a chill under my feet, as if the stone steps led to an unknown abyss.

When Li Zhao finally reached the end of the stone steps, what came into view was a spacious and secret basement.

The basement was filled with all sorts of strange instruments and yellowed scrolls. It was obvious that someone had once conducted some kind of secret activity here...

Li Zhao walked into the basement and found a table in the corner with some scrolls and letters on it.

He quickly flipped through the scrolls and found that the contents of one of the letters shocked him.

The letter reads:

"Your Highness, Miss Su: Your reforms have already affected the interests of too many people. Embroidery supplies are just a cover. Our real goal is to completely destroy your reforms. The 'final plan' is about to be launched, and you can no longer stop it. - Mysterious Man"

Li Zhao was filled with shock. The content of this letter was very similar to the letter he had found in the school before, but it contained some more key information.

He continued to flip through other scrolls and found that they contained some detailed plans for palace reforms and some secrets about envoys from neighboring countries.

"The contents recorded in these scrolls are obviously related to the identity of the envoys from the neighboring country."

Li Zhao whispered, his heart full of doubts, "Could it be that the envoys from the neighboring country are colluding with the opponents in the palace?"

Li Zhao's heart was full of determination. He knew that this struggle had reached the most critical moment.

He must bring these scrolls back to the palace as soon as possible and interpret their contents with Su Mengyao.

Su Mengyao stayed in the school, calming the palace maids and waiting for news from him.

"Yao'er, you must wait for me." Li Zhao prayed silently in his heart, with a hint of determination in his eyes.

At this time, in the woods outside the palace wall, a pair of eyes were watching Li Zhao's actions coldly.

The other party seemed to have noticed his intention, but a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Your Highness, do you think you can stop us?" the other man whispered, a cold glint in his eyes. "The 'Final Plan' has already been launched, and you can no longer stop it."