Jade of Another World

Lin Wan and Peng Yingchun searched in the dark room for a long time, not letting go of any corner that might hide an exit. Just when they were both tired and desperate, Lin Wan's hand accidentally touched a wall and felt that the bricks there were different from the surrounding ones. She had an idea and quickly called Peng Yingchun to check carefully together.

The two knocked and pushed, putting in a lot of effort, until finally, with a creak, a hidden door slowly opened. In an instant, a ray of light shone in from outside. Although the light was not very bright, it gave them a glimmer of hope.

The two eagerly approached, only to find that the door was no bigger than a dog hole. But they didn't care about that now, as long as it led outside. They cautiously peeked out and saw that the hidden door seemed to lead to the outside. They could faintly hear the chirping of insects and felt a slight night breeze blowing in, which eased their tension a little.

Under the cover of darkness, Lin Wan slowly crawled out through the tiny door, barely the size of a dog hole. Peng Yingchun, still chained, had difficulty moving, so Lin Wan struggled to pull her out as well. The two stood up and looked up to see the high walls of the Crown Prince's residence in the distance. They had thought they could escape easily once they left the secret room, but to their surprise, the Crown Prince's residence was heavily guarded.

Around the perimeter of the wall, there were patrolling guards at regular intervals. The torchlight illuminated the surroundings, and the guards all had serious expressions and vigilant eyes scanning their surroundings. They were ready to detect even the slightest movement.

Seeing this, Lin Wan and Peng Yingchun felt a chill in their hearts. They exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness and despair in each other's eyes. In this situation, if they rashly ran towards the wall, they would definitely be discovered by the patrolling guards. But if they stayed here, they might be found at any time. After thinking it over, they had no other choice. They could only grit their teeth and, taking advantage of a gap in the guards' patrol, carefully crawled back into the secret room through the dog hole. They closed the secret door again and hid in the secret room, continuing to think about what to do next. However, the feeling of hope being ignited and then extinguished made their mood increasingly heavy. They could only force themselves to look for another opportunity to escape this terrible place.

Lin Wan and Peng Yingchun hid in that secret door all day in fear. Their stomachs were growling with hunger, their throats were parched, and they were all quite weak. But they dared not make a sound, hoping for a good opportunity to escape.

Finally, their efforts paid off. As night fell, the two women faintly heard hushed laughter and whispers coming from outside. Peering cautiously through the crack in the door, they saw a guard and a maidservant huddled together in a corner, lost in their passion, completely unaware of the commotion coming from the hidden door beside them. Lin Wan and Peng Yingchun exchanged a glance, both seeing a glimmer of hope in each other's eyes. Lin Wan took a deep breath, slowly pushed open the hidden door, clutching her hairpin tightly in her hand, and moved with almost no sound, stealthily approaching the couple.

As she approached, Lin Wan suddenly struck, pressing a hairpin against the maid's neck and whispering, "Don't make a sound! If you dare utter a peep, blood will splatter on the spot!"

The guard and maid were so frightened that their faces turned pale and their bodies stiffened. Just as the guard was about to reach for the sword at his waist, Lin Wan glared at him coldly and scolded, "Try moving if you dare. Although this hairpin of mine is not as scary as a knife, it is still extremely sharp and poisoned. Taking her life can be as easy as turning your hand."

The guards immediately stopped moving. Seeing this, Lin Wan continued, "I don't want to make things difficult for you. Now, please help me send a message out..."

The maidservant stammered, "Miss, we dare not! If the Crown Prince finds out, we're finished."

Lin Wan snorted coldly and said, "Do you think you'll have a good ending if you don't help me now? Now that you've seen me, even if you hand me over to the Crown Prince, he'll definitely kill you to cover it up, and you'll both lose your lives. But if you help me, I'll give you a large sum of money, and after I escape, no one will know that you were the ones who spread the news. Then you can take the money and go wherever you want, fly far away, and no one will care. I think you'll make a wise choice."

Hearing Lin Wan's words, the guard and maid began to feel uneasy. They looked at each other, hesitant. Seeing their wavering, Lin Wan took a token from her person and handed it to the maid, saying, "Take this. Once I'm safe, someone will come to you with silver to exchange for it. You'd better not try anything funny, or even if the Crown Prince catches me, I'll have plenty of ways to make you pay!"

After saying that, Lin Wan released the hairpin from the maid's neck, turned around and walked quickly back into the secret door. She and Peng Yingchun continued to hide inside and wait for news. She was both anxious and expectant, hoping that she could persuade the two of them to help her send the message out so that they could get out of this dangerous predicament as soon as possible.

The young maid clutched the token given to her by Lin Wan tightly in her hand, pondering to herself who she should pass the message on to. After much thought, she decided that since Lin Wan's surname was Lin, she should definitely tell the Lin family. Perhaps if the Lin family received the news, they could find a way to rescue Lin Wan.

That day, the young maid took advantage of a shopping trip to quietly arrive at the gate of the Lin family mansion. She stood there, her eyes fixed on the gate, feeling both nervous and expectant, hoping that someone from the Lin family would come out soon so that she could pass on this important news.

But to her surprise, she waited at the door for a very long time, only to see passersby who were not related to her, and she didn't see a single member of the Lin family appear. The little maid became more and more anxious, and her legs were getting sore from standing, but she dared not leave easily, for fear of missing this rare opportunity to deliver a message.

After a long while, just as the young maid was becoming somewhat disheartened, the gate of the Lin Prime Minister's residence finally creaked open, and a maid walked out—it was Lin Ning's maid, Xiao Cui. Xiao Cui was carrying a basket, seemingly on her way to buy some things.

The maid's eyes lit up immediately. She had seen Lin Ning's maid visiting at the Crown Prince's residence before and recognized Xiao Cui as Lin Ning's maid at a glance. She thought to herself, Lin Ning is Lin Wan's sister, so telling Xiao Cui the news must be true.

So the maidservant quickly stepped forward, looked around, and seeing that no one else was paying attention, lowered her voice and said to Xiao Cui, "Sister, I have something important to tell you, so please listen carefully."

Xiao Cui was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the young maid. She looked at her with suspicion and asked, "Who are you? What do you want to tell me?"

The maidservant quickly took out Lin Wan's keepsake and handed it to Xiao Cui, then whispered, "Sister, I am a maidservant from the Crown Prince's residence. Your Miss Lin Wan is currently trapped in a dark room in the Crown Prince's residence and is in great danger. She asked me to deliver a message to you, hoping that the Lin family can find a way to rescue her."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui's eyes widened in surprise and worry. She quickly asked, "What... what's going on? How could Miss Lin Wan be trapped in the Crown Prince's secret room?"

The maid briefly told Xiao Cui what she knew. Xiao Cui was both anxious and angry. She knew this matter couldn't be delayed, so she said to the maid, "Don't worry, I'll go back and tell my mistress right away. She will definitely find a way to save Miss Lin Wan."

After saying that, Xiao Cui didn't bother with buying anything anymore. She picked up her basket and ran towards the Lin family's residence. The maidservant left quickly, secretly praying that the Lin family would act soon to rescue Lin Wan from that dangerous place so that she could elope with her beloved.

Upon hearing the news brought by Xiao Cui, Lin Ning's expression instantly turned serious. Her brows furrowed as she rapidly considered the situation. Recalling the scattered pieces of information her spies had gathered at the Crown Prince's residence, Lin Ning understood that Lin Wan seemed to have regained her senses after all these trials. It was already quite an achievement for her to escape the Crown Prince's imprisonment, yet she was still trapped within the Crown Prince's residence, unable to escape her perilous situation.

Lin Ning knew that no matter what, Lin Wan was still her younger sister. Regardless of any past misunderstandings or unpleasantness between them, she had to find a way to rescue her now. However, the Crown Prince's residence was heavily guarded and the situation was complicated, so she really didn't know where to begin.

After thinking it over, Lin Ning hurriedly said to Xiao Cui, "Xiao Cui, go find Uncle Zhong right now and tell him everything about Lin Wan being trapped in the secret room of the Crown Prince's mansion. Ask him to help you think of a solution."

Xiao Cui responded and hurried off to find Uncle Zhong. Lin Ning, on the other hand, turned and walked into the courtyard. She carefully took out a whistling zither from her bosom. The whistling zither was exquisitely crafted and gleamed softly in the sunlight. This was made for her by Nangong Jin himself. Just last time, when Nangong Jin escorted her back to the manor, he gently handed her this whistling zither and told her that if she encountered any danger or had anything urgent to discuss with him, she should play this whistling zither, and he would come as soon as possible, no matter where he was.

Lin Ning put the small bamboo whistle to her lips and gently blew, the clear and melodious sound immediately echoing in the courtyard. Her eyes held a hint of expectation mixed with a touch of anxiety, hoping that Nangong Jin would hear the sound and come quickly. After all, Nangong Jin was resourceful and skilled; if he could help, perhaps he could come up with a good solution.

As Lin Ning played the whistling harp, she silently prayed that Nangong Jin was nearby and would appear soon. However, how far the sound of the whistling harp could travel, and whether Nangong Jin would hear it in time, were all unknown. But there was no better way at the moment. She whistled and thought of Nangong Jin's gentleness as she waited in the gentle breeze.

Not long after, Nangong Jin and Uncle Zhong arrived at Lin Ning's place almost one after the other. Nangong Jin had rushed over, with beads of sweat still on her forehead and concern in her eyes. As soon as she saw Lin Ning, she hurriedly asked, "Miss Lin Ning, is something urgent? I rushed over as soon as I heard the whistle."

Uncle Zhong, looking serious, hurried into the courtyard. He was genuinely puzzled to see Nangong Jin there, but given the urgency of the situation, he didn't have time to ask any further questions. He simply nodded slightly to Lin Ning to indicate that he had arrived.

Seeing that the two had arrived, Lin Ning hurriedly said, "Please come and sit down, both of you. I called you here today because there is a very urgent matter. I just received news that Lin Wan is trapped in a dark room in the Crown Prince's residence, and her situation is extremely critical. We must find a way to rescue her as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Jin frowned immediately. He knew that the Crown Prince's residence was heavily guarded, and the secret room was an even more hidden place. Rescuing people would not be easy. He immediately said, "The Crown Prince's residence is not so easy to enter. We don't know the exact location of the secret room. If we want to rescue people, we need to find out about these things first."

Uncle Zhong chimed in, "Young Master Nangong is right. We can't act rashly. Otherwise, we might not only fail to rescue Miss Lin Wan, but also alert the enemy. I think we should send a few clever spies to the Crown Prince's residence to investigate and see if we can pinpoint the exact location of the secret room, as well as key information such as the guards' shift change times and patrol routes."

Lin Ning listened and thought it made a lot of sense, and quickly said, "Uncle Zhong's idea is good, but the spy must be a reliable person. We must not let the news leak out, otherwise if the Crown Prince finds out, Lin Wan will be in even more danger."

Nangong Jin nodded slightly and continued, "Yes, I'll arrange the spies. I have a few people under me who are good at gathering information, and they'll definitely be able to find out the situation. However, even if we know the location of the secret room and the guards, we'll still need a well-thought-out plan to successfully enter and rescue the person. We need to find a way to distract the guards and create chaos so that we can take the opportunity to sneak into the secret room and rescue the person."

Uncle Zhong stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "If we want to create chaos, we can do something in other parts of the Crown Prince's residence, such as pretending to start a fire or making some other noise to attract the guards' attention. Then we can sneak towards the secret room. However, we have to be careful with the noise. It can't be too small to be effective, nor can it be too big to make the entire Crown Prince's residence go on alert."

Listening to their analysis, Lin Ning gradually formed some ideas. She said, "Then let's follow this approach. Nangong Jin, you should first arrange for spies to gather information. Once we have concrete information, we'll create chaos. We'll discuss how to create chaos and how to sneak into the secret room to rescue her. In short, we must rescue Lin Wan as soon as possible."

Nangong Jin and Uncle Zhong nodded in agreement, and the three of them immediately divided the work and began to make preparations for rescuing Lin Wan. However, every step of the process was full of variables, and it was unknown whether they could successfully rescue Lin Wan from the dangerous secret room of the Crown Prince's residence.

After careful investigation, the spies lived up to expectations and finally found out the exact time of the handover of guards at the Crown Prince's residence. Through clever arrangements, they also found the maid who had previously delivered the message to Lin Ning and confirmed the exact location of the secret room from her.

Upon learning this crucial information, Uncle Zhong dared not delay and immediately began arranging the chaos. He carefully selected several quick-witted, bold, and meticulous subordinates, instructing them to take flammable materials and, under the cover of night, quietly sneak to a secluded corner of the Crown Prince's residence, the furthest point from the secret chamber. Once everything was ready, his men, following Uncle Zhong's instructions, quickly ignited the flammable materials. Instantly, flames soared into the sky, and the fire, aided by the wind, spread rapidly, billowing thick smoke filling the surrounding area.

The guards of the Crown Prince's residence were patrolling and changing shifts as usual when they suddenly saw a large fire in the distance. They panicked and rushed to put out the fire. In an instant, the attention of the entire Crown Prince's residence was drawn to the fire.

Meanwhile, Nangong Jin had already made his arrangements, splitting his forces into two groups. One group was led by his most trusted guards, and they also found a woman whose figure resembled Lin Wan, carefully dressing her up to impersonate her. This group quietly appeared on the streets of western Beijing, with the woman dressed as Lin Wan occasionally peeking out to attract attention.

As expected, the news quickly reached the Crown Prince's ears. Upon hearing that Lin Wan had appeared in the west of the city, the Crown Prince was both surprised and delighted. He was surprised that Lin Wan had suddenly appeared there, but delighted that he could finally find her. He immediately led a large number of search guards and hurriedly headed towards the west of the city, determined to bring Lin Wan back.

Meanwhile, Nangong Jin personally led another team, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the redeployment of the Crown Prince's guards, and quietly made their way towards the secret chamber. They proceeded cautiously, avoiding the scattered guards still running around, and quickly approached the location of the secret chamber using the route previously scouted by their scouts.

Nangong Jin's eyes were filled with determination. He knew that this was a rare opportunity and he had to succeed in rescuing Lin Wan. However, there were still many guards in the Crown Prince's residence. Even though most of them had been lured away, there was no guarantee that no unexpected situation would occur. Therefore, he dared not relax his vigilance and was always ready to deal with any possible emergencies. He led his small team step by step closer to the secret room, hoping to find Lin Wan and bring her safely out of the dangerous Crown Prince's residence.