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

Little Swallow gazed resolutely into the distance, then turned to Hongli and said, "Fourth Prince, there's an even greater force behind the Shadow Pavilion. This is truly troublesome! But we absolutely cannot back down!"

Hongli frowned slightly, but his expression also revealed a resolute determination: "Of course! Now that we've come this far, no matter how difficult it is, we must uproot this conspiracy from the very beginning!"

"Hmm! I refuse to believe it, they can't possibly hide forever!" Little Swallow clenched her fists, looking defiant.

A few days later, the two met to discuss their next move.

Little Swallow frowned and said, "Fourth Prince, we have some clues now, but they are all scattered. Where should we start?"

After pondering for a moment, Hongli said, "I'm thinking that since the Shadow Pavilion had connections with the border tribes before, we might as well dig deeper into that area. Perhaps we can find a key breakthrough!"

"Oh dear, Fourth Prince is right! We need to find someone familiar with border affairs to ask, but who should we ask?" Little Swallow's eyes lit up, but she was also a little worried.

Hongli stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "General Zhaohui has dealt with the frontier for many years and knows the situation there quite well. Let's go find him!"

The two immediately went to General Zhao Hui's residence. Upon seeing General Zhao Hui, Xiao Yanzi said anxiously, "General, we've come to inquire about the collusion between the Shadow Pavilion and the border tribes. You must help us!"

General Zhao Hui hurriedly bowed and said, "Fourth Prince, Princess Consort, this humble general will tell you everything he knows. The Shadow Pavilion does indeed have secret dealings with some tribes on the frontier. I have heard that they exchange special tokens to transmit important messages."

Hongli hurriedly asked, "Does the general know what this token is?"

General Zhao Hui shook his head: "I really don't know what it is, but I've heard that it's something like a jade pendant with special markings."

Little Swallow exclaimed, "A jade pendant? Oh dear, Fourth Prince, haven't we seen some strange jade pendants before? Could this be the token?"

Hongli nodded: "Very likely! It seems we need to go back and search for those jade pendants again, and study them carefully."

After leaving General Zhaohui's mansion, Xiaoyanzi said, "Fourth Prince, I think we can't just focus on this one clue. There might be some news among the common people. I want to go and inquire further among them."

Hongli was somewhat worried: "The common people are a mixed bag, and I really don't feel at ease letting you go alone. I'll go with you."

"No need, no need, Fourth Prince, you still need to go to the palace to see if there are any new developments. I'll take Xiao Tao and A Zhu with me. They're clever enough to be fine." Xiao Yanzi quickly waved her hand.

Hongli hesitated for a moment, but nodded in agreement: "Alright then, you must be careful. If anything happens, send someone to inform me immediately."

"I know, Fourth Prince, you can rest assured!" Little Swallow patted her chest and assured him.

Little Swallow, accompanied by Little Peach and Azhu, arrived at the bustling streets of the capital, looking around and asking everyone they met for information.

Xiao Tao said with some doubt, "Madam, if we keep asking like this, I don't know if we'll get any useful information."

Little Swallow, however, was very confident: "Hey, Little Peach, don't be discouraged! There are no secrets in this world. As long as we search carefully, we'll definitely find clues!"

As they were talking, Ah Zhu, with her sharp eyes, spotted an antique stall and quickly pulled Xiao Yanzi over: "Fujin, look at all the things on this stall, maybe there are some items related to the Shadow Pavilion."

Little Swallow leaned forward, picked up a small item and looked at it, then asked the stall owner, "Boss, do you have any strange or unusual things here? You know, the kind of things that look mysterious?"

The stall owner smiled and said, "Oh, young lady, I have a rather strange stamp here. I don't recognize any of the characters on it, and I don't know where it came from. If you're interested, you can take a look."

Little Swallow took the seal and examined it carefully. The symbols on the seal seemed to be somewhat similar to those on the murals in the Shadow Pavilion. She was delighted: "Boss, I'll take this seal. Where did you get it?"

The stall owner scratched his head: "I got this from a customer from out of town, but I don't know the specifics."

After paying for the seal, Xiao Yanzi excitedly said to Xiao Tao and A Zhu, "Haha, I feel that this seal is definitely not simple. Let's go back and take a look at it with the Fourth Prince."

On the other side, after entering the palace, Hongli went straight to the Imperial Study to report the situation to Yongzheng.

"Father, your son and I have discovered that there seems to be an even greater force behind the Shadow Pavilion. We are currently investigating it with all our might, but the clues still need to be sorted out further," Hongli said respectfully.

Emperor Yongzheng's expression was solemn: "This matter concerns the stability of the palace and must not be taken lightly. I will have the Imperial Household Department assist you as well. If you need anything, please just let me know."

"Thank you, Father Emperor!" Hongli bowed in gratitude.

As he left the Imperial Study, Hongzhou walked towards him. Upon seeing Hongli, his expression became slightly complicated: "Fourth Prince, I heard that you have uncovered quite a few things about the Shadow Pavilion. It must have been quite an achievement."

Hongli replied politely, "Yes, we have to thank everyone for their help. The Shadow Pavilion is too cunning. It will take some effort to thoroughly investigate them."

"Of course. If there's anything I can do to help, Fourth Prince, please don't hesitate to ask. Although I'm not as clever as you, I'd like to do my part," Hongzhou said sincerely.

"Thank you, Hongzhou. I will certainly ask if I need anything," Hongli said.

Before long, Xiao Yanzi returned to her residence with the seal, just as Hongli also returned.

Little Swallow hurriedly went up to him: "Fourth Prince, look, I found this seal among the common people. The symbols on it seem to be related to the murals in the Shadow Pavilion!"

Hongli took the seal, examined it carefully, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "This seal is indeed strange. It might really be a key clue. We need to find someone who understands these symbols to take a look."

"Yes, but who should I ask?" Little Swallow tilted her head and pondered.

At this moment, Xiao Tao said from the side, "Madam, Eunuch Su Peisheng is very knowledgeable and experienced. Perhaps he knows something about this."

"Oh dear, Xiao Tao is right! Let's go find Eunuch Su and ask him." Xiao Yanzi pulled Hongli away.

The two arrived at Su Peisheng's residence and explained their purpose. Su Peisheng picked up the seal and examined it for a long time before slowly saying, "Fourth Prince, Princess Consort, this old servant looks at the symbols on this seal and seems to have seen something similar on an item in an old storeroom in the palace. However, that storeroom has not been used for a long time, and I don't know if those items can still be found now."

Hongli hurriedly said, "Eunuch Su, could you please take us to that storeroom to look for it?"

"Then this old servant will take the Fourth Prince and his wife there. However, the storeroom is in a remote location and is probably covered in dust." Su Peisheng said, leading the way.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, the group searched for a while before finally finding an old box with similar symbols.

Little Swallow exclaimed excitedly, "Fourth Prince, look! The symbols and seals on this box match up! There must be some secret hidden inside!"

Hongli carefully opened the box. Inside were several yellowed sheets of paper covered with words and symbols, but he couldn't understand their meaning for the time being.

“This looks like some kind of record, but the writing is too obscure and difficult to understand. We need to find someone who can decipher it,” Hongli said, frowning.

"No matter what, this is an important discovery! Fourth Prince, we're one step closer to the truth!" Little Swallow clapped her hands excitedly.

Just as they were about to examine the papers carefully, a sudden commotion arose, as if someone was coming this way, and judging from the noise, the newcomer seemed to have ill intentions.

"Oh no, I'm afraid someone doesn't want us to discover these secrets and wants to steal them!" Little Swallow said warily.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Hongli shielded Xiaoyanzi behind him, preparing to deal with the impending danger.

A group of men in black rushed in, each wielding a sharp blade, looking menacing.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the palace treasury!" Hongli shouted.

The leader of the men in black sneered, "Hmph, Fourth Prince, Princess Consort, you know too much. Today we must take this with us, and you won't be leaving here alive!"

"What arrogance! You won't succeed!" Little Swallow was not afraid at all. She picked up a wooden stick from the side and prepared to fight.

A fierce battle ensued. Little Swallow, agile as ever, dodged the attacks of the men in black while also seizing opportunities to counterattack, shouting, "You villains, watch how your grandma deals with you!"

Hongli was equally formidable, fighting the men in black to a standstill, but gradually found himself struggling due to the superior numbers of the opposing side.

Just then, General Zhao Hui arrived with a troop of soldiers: "Fourth Prince, Princess Consort, I am late!"

With the arrival of government troops, the men in black were quickly defeated; some were captured, while others fled.

Little Swallow gasped for breath, "Oh dear, thank goodness the general arrived in time, otherwise it would have been terrible!"

General Zhao Hui said, "Fourth Prince, Princess Consort, we should not stay here any longer. Let's go back first and then study these items properly. It seems that the forces behind them are already getting restless."

"Yes, General is right, let's go!" Hongli nodded and said.

Once everyone was back in a safe place, they began to ponder the contents of the few sheets of paper again. They knew that there was still a long way to go before they could completely uncover the great conspiracy behind the Shadow Pavilion, but they were determined not to give up halfway and to expose all the secrets hidden behind it, so as to restore peace to the palace.

In the shadows, mysterious eyes were watching their every move, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. But how could Xiao Yanzi and Hongli be easily defeated? Their story continued to unfold amidst the turbulent court intrigues.