The Eldest Daughter Returns with Power

Chapter 159 A Subtle Fragrance Drifts

Inside the Crystal Palace, a dazzling luminous pearl is shrouded in an exquisite veil, emitting a soft and enchanting light, like the light of an elf in a dreamlike realm.

At this moment, Gongsun Ruotang was quietly leaning over her desk, intently flipping through an ancient medical book. Her snow-white silk sleeves gently brushed against the yellowed pages, as if she were having a silent dialogue with history and knowledge.

Suddenly, the tranquility was broken by the clear and melodious call of a partridge.

The sound came from outside the window, and it rang three times in a row, seemingly conveying some kind of mysterious signal.

Gongsun Ruotang slightly raised her head and looked towards the window.

Just then, Tang Yuluo's long, slender fingertips gently tapped on the window frame, making a few soft sounds.

Immediately afterwards, a figure, like a ghost, silently drifted into the inner room.

The newcomer was Ying Qi, dressed in a black cloak, moving swiftly and nimbly like a leaf falling in the wind.

However, upon closer inspection, one can see that the bottom of her cloak is still damp with night dew, emanating a slight chill.

"Princess, Lady Yuluo, I have just received news that the head of the Imperial Medical Academy disguised himself and left the palace at 3:45 PM to meet someone secretly at a pharmacy in the south of the city," Ying Qi said in a low voice, respectfully presenting a bronze token to Tang Yuluo.

Tang Yulu extended her delicate hand and carefully accepted the token.

By the dim candlelight, one could see that the token was engraved with a beautiful nine-layered concentric circle pattern.

These concentric circles, nested one another, have smooth and natural lines, giving people a mysterious and profound feeling.

Under the cold moonlight, the concentric circle pattern shimmered with an eerie luster, sending chills down one's spine.

Tang Yulu stared at the token in her hand, and couldn't help but recall the mysterious family that Zhuang Yichen had once told her about.

It is said that this family uses concentric circles as their totem, symbolizing endless power and unfathomable wisdom.

Now, this token with concentric circle patterns has appeared here. Could it be that the head of the Imperial Medical Academy is connected with this mysterious family?

Upon realizing this, Tang Yulu's heart was instantly filled with turmoil, and all sorts of doubts and worries welled up in her mind.

"Did that person leave anything behind?" Gongsun Ruotang stood up abruptly with a look of anxiety. Her movements were so fast that the exquisite hair ornaments she wore on her head collided with each other, making a crisp and melodious sound.

Yingqi quickly pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket and carefully opened it.

Surprisingly, the package contained half a withered twin lotus! Upon closer inspection, the twin lotus was exactly the same as the exquisite embroidery pattern on the swaddling clothes! And among the dried petals, there was also a yellowed prescription.

Tang Yulu merely glanced at the prescription, and her expression instantly became extremely solemn, even changing drastically.

She said in a low voice, "The medicinal properties of the Seven-Leaf Heartbreak Grass and the Tian Shan Snow Lotus are incompatible, which is exactly..."

However, before she could finish speaking, a rapid and loud bell rang out from the direction of Fengming Palace, as if it were warning the entire palace.

Upon hearing the bell toll, Gongsun Ruotang was extremely anxious. She grabbed the fox fur cloak that was placed to the side and prepared to rush out without regard for anything else.

Just then, Tang Yuluo reacted quickly, grabbing Gongsun Ruotang's slender wrist tightly and saying in a deep voice, "Wait! If this game of chess is indeed related to the mysterious altar, then if we act rashly now, not only will we fail to solve the problem, but we may also fall into a trap carefully designed by the enemy and become a handle in their hands."

Having said that, he slowly turned his head and looked toward the East Palace where the Crown Prince resided in the distance.

At this moment, the bright moonlight poured down like water, and the shadows cast through the windowpanes were elongated, appearing thin and long, like spider silk.

Immediately afterward, Gongsun Ruotang composed herself slightly and decisively instructed Ying Qi, "Ying Qi, go to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace immediately and report this matter in detail to your cousin, the Crown Prince. But be extremely careful and do not let the spies of the Imperial Hospital discover your whereabouts. Go now!"

As the gilded incense burner emitted its third wisp of smoke, Si Yunchen stepped into the Glass Palace, bringing with him a chill.

Hidden beneath his black cloak was a scroll of silk, which, when unfolded, revealed a map of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, with a concentric circle mark in vermilion outlined in one place, identical to that on the bronze token.

Three days ago, the Honglu Temple secretly reported that the sacrificial vessels carried by the Western Turkic delegation also bore this pattern. He traced the winding trade routes on the map with his fingertips; these markings, when connected, form the route to the golden tomb in Alagou, deep in the Tianshan Mountains.

Gongsun Ruotang suddenly clutched her chest, and the blood droplets inside the brocade pouch emitted a burning tremor.

The candlelight on the table flickered without wind, casting the shadows of everyone on the wall in a distorted, ghostly fashion.

A soft clatter came from outside the window. The moment Tang Yulu flicked out her silver needle, a figure in blue rolled down from the eaves—it was the palace maid who delivered the snacks during the day. At this moment, she had half a lotus flower tattooed behind her ear!

"It seems someone is more anxious than we are." Si Yunchen sneered, the jade pendant at his waist clinking against the scabbard.

He suddenly grasped Gongsun Ruotang's slightly cool hand and drew concentric circles on her palm: "Tomorrow I will go to the Imperial Archives under the pretext of investigating a case. Would you like to come with me, Ruo'er? Perhaps something is hidden there..."

Before she could finish speaking, Tang Yulu suddenly flicked her sleeve and extinguished the candle.

As the moonlight flowed like water, everyone saw dozens of Kongming lanterns floating outside the Glass Palace. Each lantern was painted with blood-red concentric circles, as if the altar from three thousand years ago had reappeared in the world.

The night breeze carried a faint fragrance of lotus, which intertwined with the atmosphere in the cold palace's dry well.

A soft click came from the shadows, and suddenly the brocade pouch around Gongsun Ruotang's neck emitted a red light.

As the first poisoned crossbow bolt pierced the window, Si Yunchen's sword had already severed three streaks of silver light, while Tang Yuluo's silver needle was embedded in the Baihui acupoint of the assassin on the beam.

"It's time to close the net." Tang Yulu picked up the arrowhead left behind by the assassin; the engraved tiger stripes on it were clearly visible in the bloody light.

Gongsun Ruotang clutched the silk scroll inscribed with "Destroy the altar immediately," finally realizing that this decades-long scheme was only now truly beginning.