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

Chapter 515: Undercurrents and Thick Fog

The night in the Forbidden City was as thick as ink, a waning moon hanging in the sky, casting a white glow on the glazed tiles of the Shufangzhai (Hall of Refined Fragrance). Little Swallow leaned against the window, her fingertips lightly tracing the ancient book she had brought from the Shadow Pavilion. The musty smell emanating from its pages mingled with the night breeze, permeating the air. Her brow was furrowed, her gaze fixed on the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window, as if trying to pierce the darkness and reach the truth hidden in the shadows.

"Still thinking about the Shadow Pavilion?" Yongqi's voice came from behind, tinged with weariness. He was dressed in a moon-white nightgown, with a silk sash casually tied around his waist, and his hair was still damp with night dew.

Xiao Yanzi turned around and gently placed the ancient book on the table: "Look at this map. The Shadow Pavilion has many strongholds in the capital, but their true core..." Her finger traced a blank space on the map, "Here, I feel like something has been deliberately hidden."

Yongqi leaned closer, the candlelight casting a shadow on his brow: "Today, while reviewing old files at the Ministry of War, I discovered that a shipment of military funds destined for the Western Regions mysteriously disappeared three years ago. The officials in charge were later transferred to the frontier." His voice was extremely low. "Perhaps..."

"Knock knock knock."

The window lattice creaked softly, and Er Kang's figure darted into the room like a ghost. His dark blue outfit was damp with dew, and his short sword swayed slightly at his waist. "Lin Yuxuan sent word that a carriage went in and out of the abandoned Chengen Temple on the outskirts of the city last night, and the carriage was carrying..." He paused, then took out half a jade pendant from his pocket, "...this."

The patterns on the jade pendant made Xiao Yanzi's pupils shrink—they were exactly the same as the Shadow Pavilion token recorded in ancient books. She stood up abruptly, her long whip making a crisp sound at her waist: "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Yongqi grabbed her wrist. "Meet at the secret passage in Yangxin Hall at 11:45 AM." He took out a yellow silk ribbon from his sleeve, stamped with the imperial seal in vermilion. "The Emperor wants to hear your report in person."

The three passed through layers of palace walls, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight. As they passed the Imperial Garden, Little Swallow suddenly stopped, her gaze falling on the dappled shadows of the trees on the artificial hill. There, a glimpse of white clothing flashed by.

"What's wrong?" Erkang followed her gaze, but only saw swaying flower branches.

Little Swallow shook her head: "It's just my imagination." But her hand quietly touched the long whip.

Inside the secret passage of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the candlelight was dim. The Emperor, dressed in casual clothes, had the names of the Western Regions countries circled in red on a map spread out before him.

"Tell me your findings," the Emperor said, his voice laced with suppressed anger.

Xiao Yanzi laid the ancient books and maps flat on the table, her fingertips tracing a mountain range: "The headquarters of the Shadow Pavilion should be here." She looked up, her eyes sharp, "The missing military pay case three years ago might have been their hoarding of provisions."

The Emperor slammed his fist on the table: "I knew it! The flaws in those memorials were no accident!" He took out a secret report from the drawer of his imperial desk: "An urgent document from Xinjiang reveals that a suspicious person has infiltrated the personal guards of the General of Yili."

Yongqi frowned: "If the Shadow Pavilion is colluding with the Western Regions forces..."

“It’s not just the Western Regions.” Little Swallow interrupted him, flipping to a page in the ancient book. “This records their dealings with the Japanese ninjas.” Her voice trembled slightly. “Your Majesty, the Shadow Pavilion’s target is probably…”

"Overthrow the Qing Dynasty," the Emperor replied, his voice deep and thunderous. He suddenly coughed violently, and drops of blood seeped onto his handkerchief.

Xiao Yanzi noticed the Emperor's unusual behavior and was about to speak when a guard's exclamation suddenly came from outside the hall.

"Protect the Emperor!" Erkang drew his dagger and shielded the Emperor behind him. Yongqi quickly blew out the candle and pulled Xiaoyanzi into a hidden compartment.

The palace doors burst open with a roar, and dozens of dark figures surged in like owls in the night. The leader, veiled in black, with only his eyes gleaming eerily, asked, "Your Majesty, how have you been?"

Xiao Yanzi gripped her long whip tightly in the darkness, listening to the Emperor's suppressed breathing, when she suddenly noticed a faint light flickering in a corner of a hidden compartment. She reached out and touched it, only to find half a painting—the woman in the painting bore a striking resemblance to Lin Xiaoyan!

"Watch out!" Yongqi shouted in a low voice, and the hidden compartment was forcibly opened. The masked man raised his knife and stabbed, the flash of the blade revealing the butterfly birthmark on his neck.

Xiao Yanzi's long whip coiled around the other person's wrist like a nimble snake, but she froze the moment she saw the birthmark. She had seen this birthmark in Lin Yuxuan's study—it was a mark only Lin Xiaoyan's wet nurse had!

"Who are you?" Little Swallow demanded sharply.

The masked man gave a sinister smile and tossed out a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared, only the scattered corpses of guards remained in the hall; the emperor and the mysterious man had vanished simultaneously.

As dawn broke, a knock sounded on the carved window of Shufangzhai. Lin Yuxuan staggered in, his white robes stained with blood: "Something terrible has happened! The General's Mansion was attacked last night, Father..." He suddenly noticed the half-finished scroll in Xiaoyanzi's hand, his pupils instantly contracting, "This is... a portrait of my sister!"

Xiao Yanzi unfurled the scroll, and the vermilion annotation on the back sent a jolt through her—"In the winter of the year Xinyou, a secret meeting was held with the Japanese envoy at Chengqian Palace." And the year Xinyou was the same year Lin Xiaoyan fell into the lake.

"Young Master Lin, your sister before she died..."

“She once said she saw things she shouldn’t have seen in the palace.” Lin Yuxuan took the scroll with trembling hands. “I thought she had accidentally fallen into the water, but it turns out…”

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the window, and Yongqi and Erkang rushed in with grave expressions: "The news of the Emperor's assassination attempt has been blocked, and the entire palace is now under martial law." Erkang's dagger was still dripping blood. "Rong Momo's body was just found in the Imperial Garden. She had a butterfly-shaped wound on her throat."

Little Swallow suddenly remembered the masked man's birthmark, slammed the scroll onto the table, and exclaimed, "Let's go! To Chengqian Palace!"

Amidst the ruins of Chengqian Palace, Xiao Yanzi rummaged through the incense ash and pulled out half a jade pendant. As she pieced the two halves together, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and fragmented images flashed through her mind—Lin Xiaoyan's panicked face, the ghostly face of the Japanese ninja, and… the Empress's eerie smile.

“This jade pendant was Lin Xiaoyan’s personal possession.” Lin Yuxuan’s voice trembled. “She wore it to the palace the night before she fell into the lake.”

Little Swallow's fingers traced the cherry blossom pattern on the jade pendant, when she suddenly noticed a note hidden in the lining. The moment she unfolded it, her expression changed drastically—

"The Shadow Pavilion will launch an uprising on the Spring Equinox, with Consort Xian acting as their inside accomplice."

The Spring Equinox is three days from now.

Meanwhile, inside the Kunning Palace, the Empress was doing her makeup in front of a bronze mirror. As her fingertips traced the butterfly birthmark on her neck, the reflection in the mirror suddenly transformed into the face of another woman.

"The time has come." She chuckled softly, pouring the poisoned wine into the golden pot. "My dear sister, do you regret not killing me back then, even in the afterlife?"