Huanzhu Time Travel: Yan Luo's Unbreakable Love in the Yong Dynasty

Hongli and his entourage returned to the palace, exhausted but joyful. As soon as they stepped through the palace gates, Xiao Yanzi anxiously greeted them. Seeing that Hongli, Fulun, and Erkang had returned safely, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally calmed down a little.

"Your Majesty, you're finally back! How are you? Are you alright?" Xiao Yanzi looked everyone up and down, her eyes full of worry.

Hongli smiled slightly, "Little Swallow, we're alright. Thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements, and the bravery of Fu Lun and Er Kang, we successfully held off the men in black and obtained the books without incident."

"That's great!" Little Swallow patted her chest. "I was so worried, my heart was in my throat."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we have all returned safely," Fu Lun said, his spirits high despite his injured arm.

"Lord Fu Lun, you're injured! Quickly, summon Physician Liu!" Little Swallow said anxiously when she saw the wound on Fu Lun's arm.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. The most important thing right now is to study that book as soon as possible," Fu Lun said.

"Your Majesty, let's hurry and study the classics," said Xiao Yanzi.

Hongli nodded. "Let's go to the Imperial Study."

The group arrived at the Imperial Study, where Wu Daozi was already waiting. He carefully placed the box containing the books on the table, opened it, and an ancient book appeared before them.

"Your Majesty, these are the ancient books we obtained with great difficulty," Wu Daozi said.

Hongli stepped forward, gently opened the book, and saw that it was full of obscure and difficult-to-understand characters and complex patterns.

“These characters and patterns are so difficult to understand, Mr. Wu, what are your thoughts on them?” Hongli asked.

Wu Daozi frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, the contents of this book are indeed extremely profound, involving ancient formations and mysterious powers. However, after my preliminary research along the way, I have discovered that there is a certain pattern among these patterns and characters, which seems to be closely related to Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams and the Nine Palaces."

"Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Eight Trigrams and Nine Palaces? That's complicated." Little Swallow scratched her head, looking puzzled.

“Yes, this knowledge is obscure and difficult to understand, requiring time and effort to study,” Er Kang said.

"No matter how difficult it is, we must crack it as soon as possible. The Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy is still ongoing, and we must seize the initiative," Hongli said firmly.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost," Wu Daozi said. "However, breaking this formation cannot be accomplished by one person alone; it requires the joint efforts of several people who have a certain understanding of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and the Nine Palaces."

“That’s no problem. I will select several ministers who are experts in this field to assist you,” Hongli said.

"Your Majesty, I also want to help!" Little Swallow suddenly said.

Hongli looked at Xiaoyanzi and smiled helplessly, "Xiaoyanzi, you know nothing about these things, so you'd better not cause any trouble."

"Hmph! Don't underestimate me! Although I don't understand these profound subjects, I can give you some advice, which might be of great help!" Little Swallow said defiantly.

“Your Majesty, we understand your intentions, but breaking this formation does indeed require specialized knowledge and experience,” Wu Daozi said.

"Alright, Little Swallow, you can stay in the palace in peace. I will let you know as soon as there is any progress," Hongli said.

Little Swallow had no choice but to nod. "Alright, then you must do your best to break the formation as soon as possible."

Over the next few days, Wu Daozi and several ministers studied classical texts day and night in the imperial study. They consulted a vast amount of material and conducted countless calculations and verifications, but progress was extremely slow.

"The meaning of these patterns and characters is too obscure. We have been studying them for so long, but we still haven't made any major breakthroughs," a minister said with a frown.

“Yes, this formation is more complicated than we imagined.” Wu Daozi also looked worried.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Xiao Yanzi suddenly arrived at the Imperial Study.

"What are you doing? You look so gloomy," Little Swallow asked.

"Your Majesty, we are studying the classics, but we have encountered great difficulties and progress is not going smoothly," Wu Daozi said.

Little Swallow walked to the table, looked at the obscure words and patterns, and suddenly her eyes lit up. "Look, these patterns seem a little familiar."

"Familiar? Your Majesty, where have you seen me before?" Wu Daozi asked in surprise.

Little Swallow thought for a moment, "I can't quite explain it, but I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. Let me take a closer look."

Little Swallow stared at the books for a long time, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table. "I remember now! These patterns are somewhat similar to the murals I saw in the Shadow Pavilion!"

"What?" Everyone was surprised.

“Your Majesty, do you remember the mural I saw in the Shadow Pavilion that I told you about? The pattern on it seems to have some connection with these,” Xiao Yanzi said.

Hongli pondered for a moment, "Little Swallow, now that you mention it, there does seem to be some similarity. Could there be some secret between these ancient texts and the murals in the Shadow Pavilion?"

“Very likely!” Wu Daozi said excitedly. “If we can find the connection between them, we might find the key to breaking the formation.”

“Then let’s quickly think about what the connection is between the two,” Er Kang said.

The group began to recall the details of the Shadow Pavilion murals described by Xiao Yanzi, comparing and analyzing them with the patterns in the classic texts.

“Look, the Bagua positions on this mural seem to correspond somewhat to the patterns in the classic texts,” a minister said.

“Yes! Moreover, the yin-yang symbol on the mural is very similar to the descriptions of yin-yang balance in classical texts,” Wu Daozi said.

After in-depth discussion and research, the group finally discovered some clues.

"Your Majesty, we seem to have found some clues. According to the Empress's description and our research, these scriptures and the murals in the Shadow Pavilion should originate from the same mysterious system. The connection between them may be the key to breaking the formation," Wu Daozi said excitedly.

"Great! Then you should quickly continue your research along this clue and break the formation as soon as possible," Hongli said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the crowd replied in unison.

Just then, Su Peisheng walked in. "Your Majesty, Prince He requests an audience."

"Hongzhou? What's he doing here?" Hongli frowned.

"Let him in," Hongli said.

Hongzhou entered the imperial study and was slightly taken aback to see everyone there. "Brother, what are you all busy with?"

“We are studying a classic text that relates to whether we can unravel the Shadow Pavilion’s conspiracy,” Hongli said.

"Oh? So important?" Hongzhou walked to the table and looked at the book. "This book looks quite unusual."

"Prince He, what brings you here today?" Hongli asked.

Hongzhou smiled and said, "Brother, I heard that you went to Cloud Mist Mountain and fought with the people from Shadow Pavilion. I was worried about you, so I came to see you."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We are all fine," Hongli said.

“That’s good. Brother, I also want to do my part to eradicate the Shadow Pavilion. Is there anything I can do?” Hongzhou said.

Hongli looked at Hongzhou, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Brother, I am very grateful for your kindness. We are currently researching ways to break the formation. If you could help us collect some information about Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, and the Nine Palaces, it might be of some help to us."

“No problem! Your Majesty, leave it to me!” Hongzhou said, patting his chest.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you, Your Highness,” Hongli said.

“It’s no trouble at all! It’s my honor to be able to do my part for my brother and the court,” Hongzhou said. “Then I’ll go and do it right away.”

After Hongzhou left, the group continued studying the ancient texts. As their research deepened, they discovered some new clues, but there was still a long way to go before they could completely decipher the formation.

“Your Majesty, although we have made some progress, this formation is far too complex, and it will probably take some more time,” Wu Daozi said.

"I know you've worked hard. No matter how long it takes, you must crack it as soon as possible. The Shadow Pavilion won't stand idly by; we must speed things up," Hongli said.

"Yes, Your Majesty! We will do our utmost!" everyone said in unison.

Meanwhile, in the Shadow Pavilion, the leader flew into a rage upon learning that the scriptures had been taken by Hongli and his group.

"A bunch of useless trash! They can't even bring back a few ancient books!" The leader slammed his fist on the table in anger.

“Chief, we didn’t expect them to have reinforcements. We miscalculated this time,” a man in black said, bowing his head.

"Hmph! What's the use of saying all this now? They're definitely studying the ancient texts, trying to break the formation. We can't let them succeed!" the leader said.

"Then what should we do?" the man in black asked.

The leader pondered for a moment, then said, "Send men to closely monitor the palace. If an opportunity arises, seize the books back!"

"Yes, leader!" the man in black replied.

Even in the palace, Xiao Yanzi remained concerned about the progress of her research on the classic texts. She would frequently visit the Imperial Study to offer encouragement to everyone.

"How are you doing? Any new developments?" Little Swallow asked.

"Your Majesty, we have discovered some more clues and are working hard to investigate them," Wu Daozi said.

"That's good. You all must take care of yourselves and not overwork yourselves," Xiao Yanzi said.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We are not tired," Wu Daozi said.

"Your Majesty, you should also take care of yourself and get some rest," Xiao Yanzi said to Hongli, her eyes full of concern.

"I know, Little Swallow. Don't worry, we will definitely break the formation as soon as possible," Hongli said.

However, just as everyone was diligently studying the classics, an unexpected event suddenly occurred in the palace.

One night, a commotion suddenly broke out in Shufangzhai. Xiaoyanzi and Hongli rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.

"What's going on?" Hongli asked, frowning.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, several men in black have just broken into Shufangzhai and tried to steal the books!" Xiao Tao said in a panic.

"What? Where are they?" Little Swallow asked.

"We drove them away, but it seems they took some of the books!" Liu Qing said.

"What!" Hongli and Xiaoyanzi were both taken aback.

"These traitors dare to act so recklessly in the palace!" Hongli said angrily. "Immediately send men to search and find the lost books!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guards immediately obeyed and left.

Little Swallow was extremely anxious. "Your Majesty, what should we do? If they steal the books, all our efforts will have been in vain!"

Hongli comforted her, "Little Swallow, don't worry. We will definitely retrieve the books. The Shadow Pavilion dared to openly break into the palace this time; I will not let them get away with this!"

But can the lost scriptures be recovered? And can they successfully break the formation and completely eradicate the Shadow Pavilion? Everything remains fraught with unknown variables, and the political landscape within the palace grows increasingly unpredictable and treacherous… (End of this chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter.)