diymy Chapter 328 Xu Longxiang was overjoyed! He knew Liu Hongyan hadn't betrayed him!
Chapter 328 Xu Longxiang was overjoyed! He knew Liu Hongyan hadn't betrayed him!
The night was as dark as ink, and the moonlight was mostly obscured by the clouds. The outline of the imperial city was only a blurry, heavy black in the darkness.
Xu Longxiang crouched behind the eaves of a building on the east side of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, his gray robe blending into the night.
His hand rested on the cool glazed tile, his palm tracing the fine lines on the tile, his fingertips slightly clenched.
Below is a patrol of imperial guards.
The torchlight cast orange-red arcs in the night, and the rhythmic, muffled sound of clashing metal armor echoed through the empty palace corridors.
They walked past the palace, their footsteps making a "tap-tap" sound on the bluestone slabs, one after another.
Xu Longxiang held his breath.
His gaze followed the light of the torches, watching them move from the front of the palace to the side, and from the side to the far end of the palace road, eventually becoming a few blurry, swaying spots of light that disappeared into the night.
He slowly exhaled.
The breath was light and slow, carried away by the night wind without leaving a trace.
A very faint sound of clothes rustling in the wind came from behind.
He didn't turn around, but lowered his voice and asked, "How is it?"
The black crow emerged from the shadows beside him, silently spreading like ink in water.
He was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, with a cold and stern face, and his eyes and brows conveyed the alertness and sharpness unique to secret agents.
He knelt on the glazed tiles, his body pressed low, almost blending into the shadow of the eaves.
"I've found out."
His voice was hoarse, like the friction of sand and gravel, yet it was kept so low that only the two of them could hear it.
"In the southwest corner. A side hall, without a plaque, with two locust trees in front of the door. The newly recruited maidservant of Empress Liyang is imprisoned there."
Xu Longxiang's eyes flickered slightly.
He didn't ask how Mo Ya found out; Mo Ya always had his own methods, which was why he had never failed in the Northern Territory for so many years.
All he needs is the result.
He raised his head and looked southwest.
It was pitch black there, with no lights in sight. Only the outlines of the layered palace roofs undulated in the night, like giant beasts lying on the ground.
"Okay," he said softly. "Let's go."
Two figures leaped from the eaves and silently disappeared into the night.
With Mo Ya in front, he seemed to know the layout of the palace by heart.
The path he took was extremely remote and dangerous. Sometimes he walked along the shadows of the walls, sometimes he climbed over the rooftops of palaces, and sometimes he squeezed through narrow gaps between two palaces, barely wide enough for one person to pass sideways.
His steps were extremely fast yet very steady, each step landing precisely on the edge of the bluestone slab where it was least likely to make a sound, or on the thickest point of the eaves tiles.
His figure in the darkness was like a real crow, silent and without a trace.
Xu Longxiang followed behind him, displaying his movement techniques to the fullest extent.
He paid attention to every tile under his feet, every window crack that might let in light, and every corner in front of him where someone might pass by.
His hand rested on the short knife at his waist, the hilt wrapped with non-slip hemp rope, his palm slightly sweaty.
But nothing happened along the way.
No expert descended from the sky, no hidden arrows shot from the shadows, and no alarm bell rang with its piercing hum that could tear the night sky apart.
There was only the night wind, only the moonlight, and the occasional distant sound of a drumbeat, one after another, as muffled as a heartbeat.
Xu Longxiang's heart beat a little faster.
It wasn't nervousness, it was excitement.
He walked through the shadows of the palace as if he were walking through a deserted place.
The imperial guards on night patrol marched in perfect unison, their armor gleaming, yet not one of them turned a head as they passed by the shadows where he was hiding.
The guards standing in front of the palace gate stood ramrod straight with piercing eyes, but when their gaze swept over him, it was as if they were sweeping over nothingness.
The palace maids and eunuchs who occasionally passed by carried lanterns and hurried along, but as they walked past him within three feet, none of them noticed that two figures were flashing past them in the darkness.
This palace is nothing special.
This thought swirled in Xu Longxiang's mind like a fire, burning ever brighter.
That foolish ruler Qin Mu devoted all his energy to women, to extravagant pleasures, and to feigning insanity and deceiving the world.
He had neither the energy nor the inclination to manage the defenses of the palace.
Those so-called imperial guards were nothing but decorations.
Those so-called Dragon Shadow Guards are nothing but legends.
This seemingly impregnable palace is nothing but an empty shell.
He, Xu Longxiang, the prince of the Northern Border, could move freely in and out of this empty shell with just one person.
A cold smile curled at the corners of Xu Longxiang's mouth.
He recalled Qin Mu's ever-smiling, composed face, his languid posture as he sat on the dragon throne, and the unfathomable look in his eyes when he looked at his sister.
You tyrant, you know nothing.
You don't know I've come, you don't know I've walked through your palace again and again, you don't know that your secrets are nothing more than—
"Your Highness."
Mo Ya's voice suddenly rang out, very soft, but it made Xu Longxiang stop in his tracks.
He came to his senses and found himself standing in front of a side hall.
The temple gate was small, with faded red paint, and there was no plaque above the gate.
Two old locust trees stand in front of the door, their branches gnarled and twisted, rustling in the night wind.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled, shimmering shadows on the ground.
right here.
Xu Longxiang's heart suddenly raced.
He removed his hand from the hilt of the knife and slowly clenched it in his sleeve.
His gaze fell on the tightly closed door, on the window sill that emitted a faint light, and on the motionless, slender silhouette on the window paper.
Red smoke. I've arrived.
He took a deep breath, the air carrying the chill of early winter, but it couldn't extinguish the burning fire in his heart.
He tilted his head slightly, parted his lips slightly, and a very soft, delicate bird call escaped from his throat.
That was the song of a common nightingale in the northern mountains, three short notes followed by one long one, with the final note rising slightly.
When he was in the North, he used this voice to contact Liu Hongyan countless times.
In the backyard of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, beside the post road outside the city, on the path he took when he saw her off at the Imperial City of Liyang.
Each time, she would appear within a few breaths of hearing that voice.
She responded to him with the same bird call, then emerged from some unexpected corner, moonlight illuminating her face, her eyes crinkling with a smile, and said, "Your Highness, you've arrived."
Inside the hall, Liu Hongyan sat at the table, holding a book that was half-read.
She hadn't turned the pages of the book in a long time; her gaze fell on that line of text, but she couldn't absorb a single word.
The words Qin Mu had just said kept echoing in her mind.
You were forced into it.
Empress Li Yang was also forced into it.
Make him believe that you have your reasons.
Your heart has always belonged to the North.
Her fingers slowly tightened on the pages, her fingertips turning white, creating fine creases in the paper.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, only that the moonlight outside the window had moved an inch further, that the flame of the oil lamp had dimmed a little, and that her heart was sinking little by little.
Then she heard the bird call.
Three short notes followed by one long note, with the final syllable rising slightly.
Liu Hongyan's body trembled violently.
The trembling started in my spine, spread to my shoulders, to my hands, and to my fingertips.
Her grip on the book tightened suddenly, her knuckles turning white, as if she were about to tear the page off.
coming.
He really came.
The thought exploded in her mind like a boulder crashing into a lake, creating towering waves.
She guessed it; she had guessed it from the moment Qin Mu said, "An old acquaintance will come to see you."
But she didn't expect it to happen so quickly, she didn't expect him to actually come, she didn't expect him to actually come looking for her.
In Liu Hongyan's heart, there was no joy, no excitement, only a deep, bone-chilling sorrow.
The sorrow welled up from the deepest part of her heart, like the chill seeping from the ground in the North during winter, seeping into her limbs and bones little by little, making her feel cold all over.
he came.
He really came.
He came to this imperial city, to this deep palace, to this side hall, to find her.
He didn't know it was a trap, he didn't know Qin Mu had already laid a net waiting for him, he didn't know that what he thought was secret contact, what he thought was trust, what he thought was hope, were all carefully orchestrated plays by others.
And she was the most crucial pawn in that play.
Liu Hongyan slowly loosened her fingers on the pages of the book.
The creases left on the paper, one after another, are like her shattered heart at this moment.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The breath she inhaled, carrying with it the cold, stagnant air of the hall, chilled her to the bone.
When she opened her eyes again, the surging sorrow, despair, and bone-chilling coldness in her phoenix eyes were gradually suppressed.
She suppressed them to the deepest part of her heart, to a place where they couldn't be seen, to the point that she herself thought they didn't exist.
She stood up and walked to the window.
Moonlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, illuminating her face and making her pale, slightly swollen face exceptionally clear.
She placed her hand on the window frame, and with a slight push of her fingertips, opened the window.
A night breeze swept in, carrying the chill of early winter, and brushed against her burning cheeks.
She looked down and saw two figures outside the window.
A figure stood in the shadow of a locust tree, dressed in a gray cloth robe, with his straw hat pulled low.
A shadowy figure hidden in the deeper darkness, almost blending into the night.
She looked at the figure standing in the shadow of the locust tree.
You can't see his face, you can't see his expression, you can only see the hard lines of his jaw under the straw hat, and his lips pressed tightly together, forming a line.
Her eyes suddenly felt a little sore.
But she gritted her teeth and didn't let the tears fall.
She simply stood there, the moonlight shining on her, the night breeze ruffling the stray hairs at her temples, looking at that person as if separated by a river she could never cross.
Your Highness, you shouldn't have come.
Outside the door, Xu Longxiang saw the window being pushed open.
He saw Liu Hongyan standing by the window, the moonlight shining on her face, making her pale, slightly swollen face exceptionally clear.
He saw the scabbed wound at the corner of her mouth, and the complex emotions in her eyes that he couldn't understand.
His body jolted suddenly.
The tremor started in his chest and spread to his limbs and bones, causing him to shudder slightly.
A light suddenly shone in his eyes.
The light surged from the depths of his pupils, dispelling all the gloom, all the doubts, and all the unease.
He guessed right.
She did not betray the North.
She was still his red cigarette.
Xu Longxiang was about to rush in immediately, but just as his hand touched the windowsill, a very soft, hoarse voice came from behind him.
"Your Highness."
Mo Ya peeked halfway out of the shadows, his sharp eyes gleaming with a cold light in the darkness.
He glanced at the open window, then at Liu Hongyan standing in front of it, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before returning to Xu Longxiang.
"I'll go first."
His voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear it.
"What if it's a trap—"
"No."
Xu Longxiang interrupted him.
His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
He turned his head and looked at Mo Ya. In his deep brown eyes, there was no hesitation, no wavering, only an almost stubborn trust.
"I believe in Red Smoke."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word seeming to be squeezed out from his chest.
"The closer we get to this point, the more we need to trust her."
Mo Ya looked into his stubborn eyes and fell silent.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
He simply nodded slightly, took a step back, and disappeared back into the deeper shadows.
Xu Longxiang turned around.
He placed his hand on the windowsill, tightened his fingertips slightly, and rolled inside.
It landed without making a sound; the hem of its robe brushed the ground, creating a very light breeze.
He stood inside the hall, beside the dim oil lamp, bathed in the moonlight streaming in from the window, looking at the woman before him.
She stood three steps away from him, wearing a moon-white dress, with disheveled long hair and a pale face.
She has lost weight.
This was Xu Longxiang's first reaction upon seeing her.