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

Inside Shufangzhai, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Hongli paced back and forth, his brows furrowed, each step seeming to carry a tremendous weight. Xiaoyanzi sat beside him, her eyes filled with worry, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

"The disappearance of Physician Liu is too suspicious. What exactly does the Shadow Pavilion want from him?" Hongli suddenly stopped in his tracks, his tone filled with anger and doubt.

"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Liu has always been loyal. Could it be that the Shadow Pavilion wants to force him to reveal palace secrets, or something about the formation?" Xiao Yanzi speculated, her voice unconsciously rising a few decibels.

“Very likely! Imperial Physician Liu knows many secrets of the palace and has been involved in some of our affairs with the Shadow Pavilion. The Shadow Pavilion will definitely not let him go. No, we must find him as soon as possible!” Hongli waved his hand forcefully and said decisively.

At this moment, Hongzhou hurriedly walked in, his face solemn.

“Brother, something bad has happened! During my investigation, I discovered that some of the guards are behaving suspiciously. Their daily actions are furtive, and I suspect they are connected to the Shadow Pavilion!” Hongzhou said with a serious expression.

"Oh? Is that so!" Hongli's eyes sharpened. "Have you found out which guards were involved?"

“There is no conclusive evidence yet, only preliminary suspicion. I am continuing my in-depth investigation.” Hongzhou shook his head. “However, these guards seem to have had contact with Physician Liu on a regular basis.”

"There must be something fishy going on here!" Little Swallow stood up anxiously. "Your Majesty, should we arrest these guards immediately and interrogate them?"

"No! Arresting people without solid evidence will only alert the enemy." Hongli raised his hand to stop him. "Your Majesty, continue your investigation in secret. Make sure you find out the background of these guards, as well as their relationship with the Shadow Pavilion and Physician Liu."

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will certainly be careful,” Hongzhou said firmly, then turned and left.

After Hongzhou left, Xiaoyanzi looked at Hongli and said, "Your Majesty, there are so many things to deal with right now, it's really a headache. Mr. Wu's research on the classics also needs time. What should we do?"

“We can’t rely on Mr. Wu alone,” Hongli said. “Little Swallow, think about it. In your past experiences, is there anything related to Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, or the Nine Palaces? Maybe it can give us some inspiration.”

Little Swallow tilted her head, trying hard to recall, when suddenly her eyes lit up. "I remember when we were in the tenement, an old Taoist priest told me some strange things, which seemed to be related to some kind of gossip, but I didn't listen carefully at the time."

"The old Taoist priest?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Hongli's eyes. He stepped forward. "Think carefully, what did he say?"

"He said something about Qian representing heaven, Kun representing earth, and Zhen representing thunder and Xun representing wind... I thought it was funny at the time, so I remembered those few," Xiao Yanzi said somewhat embarrassedly.

Hongli pondered for a moment, "These are all basic elements of the Eight Trigrams. Perhaps that old Taoist priest knows something about formations. Little Swallow, do you remember what that old Taoist priest looked like? Where did he live?"

"I only remember that he was an old man with a white beard, wearing a Taoist robe. As for where he lived, I really don't remember." Little Swallow lowered her head in frustration.

“It’s alright, we can send someone to inquire,” Hongli comforted him. “As long as we can find this old Taoist priest, we might be able to get some useful clues.”

Just then, Su Peisheng walked in, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Consort Ling has sent a letter saying that she has something important to tell Her Majesty the Empress."

"Bring it here quickly!" Little Swallow said hurriedly.

Su Peisheng handed the letter to Xiao Yanzi. Xiao Yanzi opened the letter and her expression changed slightly.

"Your Majesty, Consort Ling said she overheard two palace maids talking in the Imperial Garden, and it seemed to be related to the disappearance of Imperial Physician Liu," Xiao Yanzi said.

"Oh? Summon Consort Ling immediately!" Hongli ordered.

A short while later, Consort Ling rushed over, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, today while I was strolling in the Imperial Garden, I overheard two palace maids whispering. One of them said that she saw Imperial Physician Liu meet with a mysterious person the night before he disappeared. The mysterious person was dressed in black and his face was not visible."

"A mysterious person? Dressed in black?" Little Swallow's eyes widened. "Could it be someone from the Shadow Pavilion?"

"Very likely." Hongli nodded slightly. "Consort Ling, do you still remember what those two palace maids looked like?"

"Your Majesty, I only overheard it by chance and didn't pay much attention to their appearance. However, I remember they seemed to be palace maids from the Imperial Household Department," Consort Ling said.

"Su Peisheng, immediately go to the Imperial Household Department to investigate and find out which two palace maids are involved. Bring them to me!" Hongli ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Peisheng accepted the order and left.

"Consort Ling, we owe you a great debt this time. If we can get any information from these two palace maids, we might be able to find out where Physician Liu is," Hongli said.

"Your Majesty flatters me. I merely overheard it by chance. I also hope to share the burdens of Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress," Consort Ling said with a smile.

"Consort Ling, you're always so thoughtful," Xiao Yanzi said, holding Consort Ling's hand.

After a while, Su Peisheng entered with two palace maids. Upon seeing the Emperor and Empress, the two maids were so frightened that they immediately knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

"You two, raise your heads!" Hongli said authoritatively.

The two palace maids raised their heads tremblingly, their eyes filled with fear.

"I heard you know about Physician Liu's disappearance? Tell me the truth, and if there is even a single lie, I will not let you off lightly!" Hongli said loudly.

One of the older palace maids said tremblingly, “Your Majesty, we…we really didn’t mean to hide it. That night, we did see Physician Liu meeting with a man in black. They were talking in a corner of the garden, and they were speaking very softly. We couldn’t hear what they were saying.”

"And then what happened?" Little Swallow pressed.

"Later, the man in black gave Physician Liu a small box. Physician Liu seemed hesitant, but finally accepted it. The next day, Physician Liu disappeared," another palace maid said.

"A small box? What kind of small box?" Hongli asked.

“We were too far away to see clearly. We only saw that it was a small black box, and it looked like it had some kind of pattern engraved on it,” said the older palace maid.

"Are you sure you didn't see the pattern clearly?" Little Swallow asked again.

Both palace maids shook their heads frantically.

“It seems that this small box is likely the key,” Hongli said. “Su Peisheng, have people search the palace carefully to see if you can find a similar small box.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Su Peisheng replied.

"You two, return to the Imperial Household Department for now. Remember, you are not to mention this matter to anyone else, or you will bear the consequences!" Hongli said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the two palace maids replied hastily, then quickly withdrew.

"Your Majesty, what exactly is in this little box? And what does it have to do with Physician Liu's disappearance?" Xiao Yanzi asked curiously.

“I don’t know either. But what’s certain is that this little box is related to the Shadow Pavilion,” Hongli said. “Now we can only hope that Su Peisheng can find this little box, and perhaps it can solve some of the mysteries for us.”

"I hope we can find clues soon and rescue Physician Liu," Xiao Yanzi said.

Meanwhile, in the Shadow Pavilion's secret stronghold, Physician Liu was tied to a chair, his face pale, and his eyes revealed a hint of fear.

"Physician Liu, you'd better tell us what you know, or don't blame us for being impolite!" The leader brandished a dagger in front of Physician Liu.

"I...I really don't know what you want!" Physician Liu said, trembling.

"Hmph! You think you don't know? You think you can hide it from us?" The leader sneered. "You studied formations with Hongli and the others, how could you not know anything?"

"I'm only responsible for treating them; I really don't know much about formations," said Physician Liu.

"Looks like you won't admit it until you see the coffin!" the leader said. "Men, beat him! Beat him until he tells the truth!"

Several men in black immediately surrounded Doctor Liu and began punching and kicking him. Doctor Liu groaned in pain, but he never managed to utter any useful information.

"Stop!" the leader suddenly shouted. "Don't kill him yet, he's still useful."

"Leader, what do we do now?" a man in black asked.

“Keep him locked up until we find clues in the ancient texts, then we’ll see if we need to pry anything out of him,” the leader said.

Inside the palace, Su Peisheng led his guards in a frantic search, hoping to find the mysterious little box. Time ticked by, and everyone anxiously awaited news.

"Your Majesty, we still haven't found that little box," Su Peisheng reported upon his return.

"Keep searching! Expand the search area, even if it means turning the entire palace upside down, we must find it!" Hongli said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Peisheng accepted the order and left.

"Your Majesty, where is this little box?" Little Swallow asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, Little Swallow. We'll definitely find him," Hongli comforted her. "We still have one clue: that old Taoist priest. Send someone to find out his whereabouts as soon as possible."

“Okay, I’ll arrange for someone to go right away,” Xiao Yanzi said.

Just as everyone was busy searching for clues, Lin Yuxuan rushed to Shufangzhai.

"Sister, Your Majesty! I've heard that many things have happened in the palace. Is there anything I can do to help?" Lin Yuxuan said.

“Yu Xuan, you’re very kind,” Xiao Yanzi said. “But things are complicated right now. You’re still young, so don’t get involved in these dangerous things.”

“Sister, I’m 22 years old now, not a child anymore! I also want to share the burdens of the Emperor and you,” Lin Yuxuan said.

Hongli looked at Lin Yuxuan and said, "Yuxuan, I am very grateful for your kindness. Here's what we'll do: you help Hongzhou investigate those suspicious guards, but you must be careful and protect yourself."

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will certainly live up to your trust!" Lin Yuxuan said.

After Lin Yuxuan left, Xiao Yanzi looked at Hongli and said, "Your Majesty, I hope we can find clues as soon as possible, break the formation, and resolve this."

“Yes, Little Swallow. We will definitely get through this,” Hongli said, his eyes filled with determination.

The Shadow Pavilion's conspiracies continue to unfold in the shadows. Doctor Liu's fate remains unknown, the mysterious little box is missing, and the old Taoist priest's whereabouts are also unknown. Can they break through the layers of mystery and uncover the truth?