In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

Inside the palace.

A row of palace servants walked close to the wall. One of them, who would have been inconspicuous in the crowd, was carrying a secret letter in his arms.

At a corner, the palace maid disappeared from sight.

At this moment, Emperor Qing, in the hall, wore his nightgown loosely, a few strands of hair hanging down his forehead, staring intently at the secret letter that had just been presented to him.

After a long while, Emperor Qing got up, walked to the candlelight in the hall, and burned the secret letter to ashes.

"You even composed poems in the courtyard? How leisurely and refined." Emperor Qing's voice was tinged with amusement, but his eyes, turned away from Eunuch Hou, were as cold as ice.

"Have someone keep a close eye on her," Emperor Qing said to someone in the shadows.

There was no response, only a barely perceptible sound.

[Could it be that it came from there again?] The lazy old man's mind was racing.

His body moved unconsciously to the table, and as a conditioned reflex, he picked up the bow and arrow and shot at the armor.

"call out!"

The arrow that was shot bounced aside, and the armor remained intact.

The shadows of the trees outside the window swayed hazily, and the chirping of insects filled the air.

The dark night is a colossal monster, a swamp that drags people into the abyss, and a mire that devours all wicked thoughts with relish.

Looking out the window, Emperor Qing suddenly remembered that long ago, on the night he talked with Ye Qingmei all night long, the night seemed to be just like this.

is also like this.

Inside Li Chengze's residence.

"Your Highness, the carrier pigeon that flew out from the backyard has returned," Fan Wujiu said, bowing to the man inside the hall.

"Hmm, it seems His Majesty is already aware of this matter." Li Chengze's voice was unreadable, but as always, it carried a sinister tone.

He paused, then sighed and added, "This isn't good."

At this moment, Li Chengze's state of mind was as dark as the night outside.

Fan Wujiu, who was standing below the hall with his sword on his back, tentatively asked Li Chengze, "Your Highness, I have some questions."

The listener tilted his head and looked at him, signaling him to continue.

After careful consideration, Fan Wujiu finally spoke: "Your Highness, the person in the backyard was unaware of this woman's sudden appearance at first... If we want to conceal it, it won't be difficult."

"Just lock them in the room and arrange for them to be smuggled out via a secret passage. Why does Your Highness want to..."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze leaned on the armrests of his chair behind him and finished the sentence he had been waiting to ask: "Why did you allow her to be discovered by the spy? And why did you allow the spy to inform the palace?"

With his thoughts fully understood, Fan Wujiu admired His Highness even more: "Indeed, Your Highness is wise."

He then performed a cupped-hand salute.

The person in the room waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need such formalities, and explained, "Anyone can see that she is unusual, yet she only appeared from my residence. Fan Wujiu, what do you think this means?"

The person whose name was called suddenly felt flustered and stammered, "Maybe...maybe..."

"Alright. Fan Wujiu, this means she'll bring me a lot of trouble. Someone with such an extraordinary background can't be kept hidden, nor can she be secretly recruited for my own use."

As Li Chengze spoke, Tao Jingyang's image suddenly appeared in his mind. He abruptly stood up and walked to the window.

"Does she look like someone who can live a quiet life? She's definitely going to do something big."

And all around me are His Majesty's spies. Not to mention those around me, there is nothing in the entire capital that His Majesty does not know.

Her identity cannot be hidden at all.

He said these words while standing motionless by the window.

After a long while, perhaps because the cold wind had blown enough, Li Chengze finally reached out and closed the window.

"If we can't hide it, then everyone will know."

Look at Kyoto, how chaotic can it get?

Having said that, he lowered his head, turned around, and said to Fan Wujiu, "Do you understand now?"

"I understand," Fan Wujiu replied blankly.

Seeing his expression, Li Chengze left from the window and said to the people below, "Go down."