Chapter 181 - 65: Kidnapping (Part 1)

Words : 1753 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

Shortly after Yue Jinghua entered the alchemy room, the palace maid looked back several times as she left Lie Family Mansion, a hint of scheming crossing her eyes. She gathered her energy, and it was as if she tread on clouds beneath her feet, quickly dashing into the alley and began to run at full speed. The house guards from Lie Family Mansion who followed her were taken aback. They lost sight of her after not too long. The palace maid continued to sprint forward until she eventually stopped at the residence of Sha Fei in the Little Shang Palace. The palace wall was about thirty meters high, but the palace maid entered as if it was a place without people, quickly disappearing amongst the towers and pavilions of the Little Shang Palace. By the lake near Liu Palace, Princess Xiu Rong was playing with a vine ball with a palace maid. Sha Fei, who was more than six months pregnant, sat by the artificial mountain next to the lake, her face full of serene smiles. The palace maid recounted to Sha Fei Yue Jinghua’s response and her reaction after receiving the gourd, after which Sha Fei pondered for a moment. "Miss, I do not understand why you would give such a precious gourd to someone you’ve only met once," the palace maid did not refer to Sha Fei as Princess. "That gourd, though precious, can only be used by the descendants of the Feng Family. It’s still too early to say whether Yue Jinghua can truly discover the mysteries within the gourd. Moreover, that person entrusted me to take good care of Yue Jinghua, so I am just returning a favor. He now owes us a huge favor; if Danlu and Divine Court have conflicts in the future, I will have an extra chip in my hand," Sha Fei said with a hint of shrewdness in her seemingly gentle eyes, and the warmth she had shown earlier vanished. The palace maid paused briefly, still unable to hold back her curiosity, "But Miss, I don’t understand why he would repeatedly help a notorious failure. Could there be more to this matter?" "The intentions of a Divine Pet’s owner are not something you can fathom. You have seen Yue Jinghua; do you also think she is a true failure?" Sha Fei brushed away a willow branch that was teasing her ear. "I dare not make hasty judgments, but based on what I’ve seen today, both Lie Rou and Yue Jinghua indeed appear to be ordinary, without a trace of Dark Power cultivation. Even though Yue Jinghua has now drawn the attention of Divine Court, she still seems to fall short when compared to Lie Sisi. Today, I was shadowed as soon as I entered Lie Family Mansion," the palace maid replied after some thought. "Great Wisdom looks like foolishness, and obvious brilliance, who is stronger and who is weaker, we will find out soon enough," Sha Fei said nonchalantly. Meanwhile, the vine ball in the hands of the Eldest Princess accidentally flew out, heading straight towards the lake, and the palace maid next to her let out a cry of alarm, as Princess Xiu Rong nearly followed the ball into the lake. Sha Fei’s sleeve lightly swept through the air, ripples formed on the calm lake surface, and the vine ball floated gently back to shore, along with the Eldest Princess. The palace maid nodded in agreement, and the two of them said no more. In the Peony Courtyard of the Lie Family Mansion, Lie Sisi’s face was colored with anger, while Bi Zhi stood silently by, not daring to make a sound. The two Lie Yiwei responsible for supervising Yue Jinghua and the palace maid had just returned to Lie Sisi one after the other, bearing news. The sudden information that Yue Jinghua would also participate in the selection for the Imperial Alchemist caught Lie Sisi somewhat off guard. Bi Zhi cautiously stepped forward, "Eldest Miss, you really needn’t worry too much, Yue Jinghua has only studied alchemy for a short time, how could she possibly surpass you? Besides, the selection for the Imperial Alchemist requires one to be at least an entry-level alchemist, right?" "What do you know? Even if she’s a failure, she now has the support of the Empress Dowager and Sha Fei behind her, and no one can be sure she won’t pull some tricks in the dark," Lie Sisi seethed, she wasn’t going to believe that Yue Jinghua, who had thwarted her and Fa Xiaoyi twice, would just give up so easily. "Have you found anything about the matter I asked you to investigate?" Lie Sisi inquired. "Miss, you asked me to send someone to keep an eye on Jingxin Courtyard. There has been no movement from Lie Rou, who spends her days chanting scriptures and worshiping Buddha in the courtyard. However, the mute young master there seems a bit off recently," Bi Zhi detailed the affairs of Hongling frequently visiting a small pharmacy and Yue Chen coming and going to the suburbs every day. Lie Sisi decided not to meddle with Lie Rou and Yue Jinghua directly and instead set her sights on the people of Jingxin Courtyard. Hongling was just a maid and posed no significant threat to Lie Rou or Yue Jinghua, but that mute Yue Chen could be put to good use. "So you’re saying that mute child leaves early and returns late, taking care of a small garden’s plants and trees alone?" Lie Sisi felt something was amiss; she had noticed Yue Chen’s talents in cultivating plants and trees before Yue Jinghua began to show abnormal signs, and hadn’t paid much attention, "That little wretch deserves his misfortune, who asked him to be Yue Jinghua’s cheap little brother. Send some men to pretend to be robbers. Then inform Lie Rou and Yue Jinghua, I don’t believe they can remain calm and attend the selection for the Imperial Alchemist with peace of mind." Lie Sisi smiled grimly, and Bi Zhi responded. She immediately set out to arrange for her people to go. Tonight, there was no moon, and the wind carried a slight edge. Outside the Spirit Wood Garden, several ghostly figures, swift as moles, skimmed over the low garden wall. After receiving orders from Lie Sisi, Bi Zhi brought several Lie Yiwei, donning disguises, to the Spirit Wood Garden. Bi Zhi’s skills were honed by Lie Changshun. She had been following Lie Sisi since she was young, exhibiting notable talent. Already at the Small Success of Jade Dark stage, she had always held herself in high regard among all the servants. Before setting out, she privately thought Yue Chen was merely a Dark Human, so she selected a few Lie Yiwei at the Jade Profound Great Success Stage. They split into two groups, one guarding the outside, the other stealthily approaching the Spirit Wood Garden without anyone’s notice. "You two, search inside the house, and capture that brat. I’ve already sent people to keep watch; that little devil has not returned to Jingxin Courtyard tonight," Bi Zhi muttered to herself with surprise, looking around. Normally, Hongling guarded the Spirit Wood Garden very strictly. The people Bi Zhi sent to spy could only linger around the perimeter of the garden, and this was the first time she saw the interior of the courtyard. Calling it the Spirit Wood Garden was a bit of a misnomer; it was more like a medium-sized farmstead. The estates near the suburbs outside Polo City were mostly abandoned wastelands left by the suburban farmers from earlier years. This Spirit Wood Garden had only been refurbished recently, with a low wall about the height of a person built around the perimeter for reinforcement. The soil in the garden had been finely tilled, divided into a medicine garden and flowerbeds. This time of the year, all things should have been withering, nearing the winter. Yet within this garden, the sensation of late autumn and approaching winter was utterly absent. In the flowerbeds flourished medicinal azaleas that remained as brightly colored as fire in the night, and bunches of Polygonum multiflorum shone with an ink-like luster in the medicine garden, as well as some herbs that even Bi Zhi couldn’t name. The quality of the medicinal herbs planted in the Spirit Wood Garden was even better than those collected by Yongchun Hall. Bi Zhi was secretly alarmed, thinking that she must persuade the young miss and the second master to be wary of those from Jingxin Courtyard when she returned tonight. The two Lie Yiwei returned shortly after entering. "There’s no one inside, no lights were left on, and in the house, we only found a few lotus seeds," they reported. In the hands of the two Lie Yiwei were those lotus seeds. The greenish-yellow seeds, not yet shelled, still carried the moisture of having just been picked, and each seed’s tip had a dot of red as if marked with a brush dipped in cinnabar. "It’s nearly winter, where did these fresh lotus seeds come from? Let’s go check the other end of the garden," Bi Zhi commanded, leading the two Lie Yiwei across to the other side of the Spirit Wood Garden. At the other end of the garden, a lantern for guiding the way could be seen faintly illuminating a newly dug lotus pond. At the edge of the pond were piled moist mud and a set of small footprints that remained by the side of the pond. "Go into the water and check," Bi Zhi, along with the two Lie Yiwei, searched around the edge of the pond without finding anyone. Inside the pond, there were only dozens of well-grown lotus flowers, and several lotus pods, the size of bowls, bobbing in the wind. The pond, reflective like a mirror, began to ripple with waves. The two Lie Yiwei entered the pond, wading through the water—deep in one step, shallow in the next. "Tsch," the Lie Yiwei who was ahead, unprepared, stumbled. His body tilted, and he quickly sank into the pond, from the shoulder down, Without expecting the unassuming pond to suddenly deepen. "Be careful," the Lie Yiwei behind him muttered. Suddenly recalling that his companion was not good at swimming, he frantically moved his arms and legs, attempting to pull his comrade back to the surface. In their haste, neither of them noticed the lotus seeds in their hands had silently fallen into the water.

Chapter 181 - 65: Kidnapping (Part 1)

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