Chu Xian gave her a cursory glance before walking out, leaving the guard to gesture towards the door. “Miss.”
Watching Chu Xian’s departing figure, she nodded to the guard and walked forward.
By the time Su Xi-er arrived in front of a nondescript horse carriage in front of the house, Chu Xian’s had already disappeared. As she boarded the carriage, she couldn’t help but begin to think.Tan Ge and I were separated, and not long after, Chu Xian arrives and calls me Tan Ge.
If that’s how it is, Shi Mo likely agreed to bring Tan Ge to Chu Xian, only to go back on his word at the last minute. But why did he do it? Isn’t he worried that Chu Xian and I will work together? And doesn’t that mean that A-Jing will find Tan Ge?
Perhaps Shi Mo isn’t scared of Chu Xian changing sides, or maybe he’s even made Chu Xian his puppet. To be able to play such tricks, everything about Shi Mo is shrouded in mystery.
At that thought, Su Xi-er’s brows furrowed.
The carriage travelled faster and faster. From the gaps between the curtains that were fluttering in the wind, Su Xi-er discovered that there were no houses in their surroundings; they seemed to be heading into the wilderness. Taking a closer look forward, Dongling’s imperial palace had emerged before her eyes.
Compared to Nanzhao and Beimin, Dongling’s imperial palace was different. To start, it was largely grey due to being built with mainly stone.
After the carriage entered, Su Xi-er noticed that some of the palace halls used stones, while others used bricks. Their outer appearances were different, with the only commonality being the greyish-black colour and depressing ambience. The trees along the way were also all the same type of tree, and the plants were all one type of plant.
The wind continued to blow at the carriage curtains, allowing Su Xi-er to see that there were very few palace maids on the palace paths. She made eye contact with one of them that was wearing a turquoise dress, but the latter looked away with wide eyes the moment it happened.
Her reaction is too extreme.
Continuing forward, the horse carriage only stopped after half an hour when the guard in front said. “Miss, please alight. His Majesty is waiting for you in front.”
Su Xi-er softly acknowledged his words and stepped down from the carriage to find that she was in a wild meadow with no trees in sight. Dongling is massive. Although the imperial palace isn’t as exquisite as Beimin or Nanzhao’s, its size is second to none. Everything that enters my eyes is part of the vast imperial palace.
Shifting her gaze forward, she saw that there was only one palace hall made of bricks within the meadow. This palace hall was newer, and the bricks used in its construction were red – a stark difference from the greyish-black color that she had seen so far.
Under the instructions of the guard, Su Xi-er walked into the palace hall. There was no one in the courtyard, and all the doors were closed. Still silence crept throughout the place, leaving only the sound of the wind blowing in her ears.
Inspecting her surroundings, Su Xi-er’s eyes finally landed on the door right in the middle. It was at this moment that the deep voice sounded from behind her. “Chao Mu is inside.”
Chu Xian then walked past her, opening the door as Su Xi-er followed closely behind.
Despite not appearing very large from the outside, Su Xi-er found that the inside of the palace was actually quite extensive. She began to walk through a windowless hallway after passing through the main hall, and just as she was about to be left groping around in the darkness, her surroundings were lit up by numerous luminous pearls.
Suddenly, Su Xi-er felt waves of cold air from in front of her. Taking a closer look, she found that there was actually a woman surrounded by the luminous pearls: Chao Mu!
