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

In a secluded mountain villa, a man dressed in black robes sat in his study, listening to his subordinates' reports.

"Master, the imperial court is investigating Ruifeng Bank, and some of our men have been exposed," a man in black said, bowing his head.

"Hmph! A bunch of useless trash!" The man in black slammed his fist on the table in anger. "You can't even handle this small matter! Have the accounts of Ruifeng Money House been settled?"

"Reporting to Master, everything has been taken care of. All those important transaction records have been destroyed, so they won't be able to find anything in the accounts," the man in black hurriedly replied.

"That's good." The man in black frowned slightly. "However, since the imperial court has set its sights on Ruifeng Bank, they certainly won't give up easily. We need to be prepared. How's the 'Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation' coming along?"

"Rest assured, Master, everything is ready for the 'Gathering Spirit Eight Trigrams Formation,' and it will be activated on the night of the full moon," the man in black said.

"Very good." A sinister glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes. "As long as the 'Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation' is activated, this world will be ours! Hongli, let's see how you stop my plan this time!"

Meanwhile, in the palace, Lin Yuxuan received Hongli's order to immediately begin investigating the accounts of Ruifeng Money Shop. He and several advisors meticulously examined every ledger in Ruifeng Money Shop's accounting office.

“Young master, these account books are indeed very messy. Many accounts don’t match up, and there are obvious signs of tampering,” an advisor said with a frown.

Lin Yuxuan nodded and said, "It seems the other party was prepared. However, the more they do this, the more it indicates that there are important secrets hidden in these accounts. Let's look more carefully; perhaps we can find something."

After several days and nights of effort, Lin Yuxuan finally found a strange symbol in the corner of an account book. The symbol looked like a mark, or perhaps some kind of code.

“Look, this symbol is very special. I’ve never seen a symbol like this before; it must have a special meaning,” Lin Yuxuan said, pointing to the symbol on the ledger.

The strategists gathered around, examining the symbol closely. One of them pondered for a moment and said, "Young master, could this symbol be related to the Shadow Pavilion? It's said that the Shadow Pavilion has its own set of codes and symbols."

“Very likely,” Lin Yuxuan said. “We’ll make a rubbing of this symbol and take it back to the palace for the Emperor to see. It might be the key clue for us to find the ‘Shadow’.”

Lin Yuxuan hurriedly returned to the palace with the rubbings of the symbols and reported his discovery to Hongli and Xiaoyanzi.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, these are symbols we found in the ledgers of Ruifeng Bank. We suspect that these symbols may be related to the Shadow Pavilion,” Lin Yuxuan said.

Hongli took the rubbing of the symbol, examined it carefully, and said, "This symbol is indeed very strange. I have never seen it before. Little Swallow, what do you think?"

Little Swallow leaned closer, looked at the symbol, and said, "Your Majesty, I think this symbol looks a bit like the markings we saw on some letters from the Shadow Pavilion before. Maybe this is a way for the Shadow Pavilion to transmit information."

“That makes sense,” Hongli said. “Su Peisheng, go and get those letters from the Shadow Pavilion. Let’s compare them.”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Peisheng quickly brought the letter.

The group compared the symbols with the markings on the letter and found that there were indeed some similarities.

“It seems this symbol is inextricably linked to the Shadow Pavilion,” Hongli said. “Lin Yuxuan, continue investigating the meaning of this symbol and see if you can find any clues about the ‘shadow’.”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lin Yuxuan accepted the order and left.

Just as Lin Yuxuan was diligently investigating the meaning of the symbols, Little Swallow threw a tantrum in Shufangzhai.

"I don't want to stay in this Shufangzhai all day, I want to go out and play!" Little Swallow pouted.

Liu Qing said with a smile, "Princess, there are many rules in the palace. You can't just go out whenever you want. If the Emperor and Empress find out, they will worry."

"But I'm so bored!" Little Swallow said. "I spend every day here learning etiquette, reading and writing, and it's so meaningless."

Liu Hong thought for a moment and said, "Princess, how about we play a game in this Shufangzhai?"

"What game?" Little Swallow asked, intrigued.

"Let's play hide-and-seek!" Liu Hong said.

"Great! Great!" Little Swallow clapped her hands happily. "I love playing hide-and-seek the most!"

So, Little Swallow, Willow Green, Willow Red, Bright Moon, Colorful Clouds, Little Dengzi, and Little Zhuozi played hide-and-seek in Shufangzhai. Little Swallow was extremely happy, hiding here and there.

However, while Little Swallow was hiding behind a cabinet, she accidentally discovered a dusty book. The book looked very old, and there were some strange words written on the cover.

"What kind of book is this?" Little Swallow curiously opened the book and found some strange patterns and symbols inside. One of the symbols was exactly the same as the one Lin Yuxuan had found.

"Huh? Why does this symbol look so familiar?" Little Swallow thought for a moment and suddenly remembered Lin Yuxuan's report to the Emperor and Empress in the palace.

"Could this symbol really be so important?" Little Swallow muttered to herself. "I'm going to take this book to Father Emperor and Mother Emperor."

Little Swallow, clutching her book, excitedly ran to Hongli and Little Swallow's residence.

"Father Emperor, Mother Emperor, I want to show this book to Father Emperor and Mother Emperor."

Little Swallow, clutching her book, excitedly ran to Hongli and Little Swallow's residence.

"Father Emperor, Mother Emperor, look what I've found!" Little Swallow exclaimed, holding up her book.

Hongli and Xiaoyanzi were both very surprised to see the book in Xiaoyanzi's hand.

"Little Swallow, where did you find this book?" Little Swallow asked.

“I found it behind the cabinet in Shufangzhai,” Little Swallow said. “Empress Mother, there are many strange patterns and symbols in this book, and this symbol is exactly the same as the one that Brother Lin Yuxuan found!”

Hongli took the book and carefully flipped through it. He discovered that the book contained information about ancient formations and mysterious powers, including the "Gathering Spirit Eight Trigrams Formation".

"This book seems to be very valuable," Hongli said. "Little Swallow, you've really been a great help!"

"Hehe, I don't know if this book is useful or not, but this symbol looks familiar." Little Swallow laughed happily.

“Your Majesty, this book might contain important information about the Shadow Pavilion and the ‘Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation’,” Xiao Yanzi said.

“That’s right,” Hongli said. “Let’s immediately summon Lin Yuxuan and all the strategists to study this together. Perhaps we can find the key to breaking the Shadow Pavilion’s conspiracy.”

Soon, Lin Yuxuan and his advisors arrived at Hongli's study. They sat together, carefully studying the ancient book.

"Your Majesty, although the contents of this book are very obscure and difficult to understand, our analysis has revealed that this symbol is indeed used by the Shadow Pavilion to mark important information. Moreover, the book also mentions some weaknesses of the 'Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation'," Lin Yuxuan said.

"Oh? Tell me quickly, what are the weaknesses of the 'Gathering Spirit Eight Trigrams Formation'?" Hongli asked eagerly.

“According to the book, although the ‘Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation’ is extremely powerful, it requires a special energy source to activate. And this energy source is hidden in a secluded place in Youyue Ridge. As long as we find this energy source and destroy it, the ‘Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation’ will not be able to activate,” Lin Yuxuan said.

“Alright!” Hongli said, “In that case, we will send people to Youyue Ridge to search for this energy source. However, we must be careful and cautious in this matter, and not alert the enemy.”

"Your Majesty, let me go!" Little Swallow said. "I am quite familiar with the terrain of Youyue Ridge, and my martial arts skills are also quite good. I am sure I can complete the mission."

“No, it’s too dangerous,” Hongli said. “The Shadow Pavilion must have laid many traps in Youyue Ridge. It’s too risky for you to go.”

“Your Majesty, I’m not afraid!” Little Swallow said firmly. “I’m willing to take the risk to stop the Shadow Pavilion’s conspiracy. Besides, I have Liu Qing and Liu Hong to help me, so nothing will happen.”

Looking at Xiao Yanzi's determined eyes, Hongli knew he couldn't dissuade her, so he said, "Alright, you can go, but you must be careful. I will send a detachment of Imperial Guards with you to ensure your safety."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Little Swallow said, "I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust and successfully complete the mission!"

And so, Little Swallow, along with Liu Qing, Liu Hong, and a squad of Imperial Guards, embarked on their journey to Youyue Ridge. Would they be able to successfully find the energy source of the "Spirit Gathering Eight Trigrams Formation" and thwart the Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy? And what new schemes awaited them from the Shadow Pavilion? Everything remained to be seen…

This chapter concludes here. Stay tuned for the next chapter.