Chapter 148: Clues

Jun Yeli seemed less than satisfied with this explanation, his gaze lingering on the woman, particularly on those cherry-like lips that appeared especially alluring today.

"You know words alone prove nothing; you must use concrete actions to prove it."

"What do you mean?" Hua Rong was instantly overcome with a bad premonition, and sure enough, a fierce, overwhelming presence surged up once again.

Just how many times has this been!

After being thoroughly tossed about, Hua Rong felt as though the lip tint at the corners of her mouth had been completely devoured by him. With a look of utter exasperation, she rolled her eyes at him. "Your Majesty, burdened as you are with the affairs of state, you still find the time to tease your concubine. I am truly overwhelmed by the honor."

Hearing this, Jun Yeli nodded with a look of utter satisfaction. He brushed a thumb across his own lips, savoring a lingering sweetness. "The taste is quite pleasant, actually."

Unable to endure any further conversation with him, Hua Rong gently pushed against his chest, straightened her posture, and said with a depressed sigh, "The murder case hanging over my head hasn't even been resolved yet, yet Your Majesty has the leisure to flirt with me here."

She feared that these comfortable days wouldn't last even two more days; once the deadline arrived, there truly would be no chance left.

Hearing these words, Jun Yeli could not help but chuckle. "What? Are you frightened?"

"It's not fear, I just don't want to die with such grievance. To have done nothing at all and yet be forced to forfeit one's life, and even cause Your Majesty to cede territory and pay reparations—it's simply not worth it..."

If her own life were worthless, that would be one thing, but if entire cities had to be ceded, making tens of thousands of commoners become the slaves of others, she would truly fail them.

Filled with a sense of vexation, Hua Rong suddenly looked up at Jun Yeli and blurted out, "Your Majesty, I've heard that the Lotus Cult is an assassination organization. Surely they must have a way to contact them. How about letting me go undercover among the common people to investigate?"

"You?" A trace of disdain flickered across Jun Yeli's expression. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hua Rong, but such a dangerous and meaningless endeavor would be labor spent in vain.

"Forget it. I have my own arrangements. You needn't trouble yourself; just know for certain that I will never let you come to the slightest harm."

With that, Jun Yeli turned and walked away, not forgetting to lick his lips as he reminisced about the pleasant scene just moments before.

Hua Rong stood frozen in place, looking rather helpless as she pouted. "This guy... always so confident, shouldering every burden all by himself. Am I really unable to help him with anything?"

It was clearly her own affair, yet Jun Yeli was willing to risk his very life to see it through, making her heart flutter with unease.

Time flew by, and before long, night had fallen. Jun Yeli sat quietly in the study. Though he held a book in his hands, he had not taken in a single word, as if he were waiting for something.

Meanwhile, inside the main bedchamber, a shadow flickered. A figure in black leaped through the window instantly, almost entirely without a sound.

"Your Majesty, I have found the information you wanted. Where is the item I asked for?"

"Heh, your martial arts skills are truly remarkable—arriving like a phantom and vanishing like a shadow. There is nothing in this world that can be kept from you. Take it."

The dynamic between the two did not resemble that of a superior and a subordinate, but rather that of bound-together partners in interest.

With those words, Jun Yeli handed over a small box that he had prepared beforehand. "The thing you want is inside."

Upon opening it, she found a small medicinal pill, yet to the figure in black, it was like acquiring a priceless treasure. "Wonderful! At last she can be saved!"

"And what of the item I requested?"

The figure in black reined in her thoughts and tossed him a bamboo tube.

"The Lotus Cult has always operated in strict secrecy. Accepting missions is generally done through a fellow in the black market known as Old Ghost. If you wish to infiltrate the Lotus Cult deeply, you must strike at this Old Ghost."

With that, the figure vanished swiftly, still arriving and departing without a trace, leaving only the swaying window and the desolate moonlight outside.

Jun Yeli paid it little mind; instead, he stared intently at the letter in his hand, lost in thought.

He raised his head to gaze upward, but the gentle moonlight could not warm a human heart.

With a long sigh, Jun Yeli knew he was once again about to walk a dangerous tightrope. "It seems that once again, for your sake, I must take a perilous gamble."

After burning the letter, Jun Yeli feigned illness the very next day and did not hold court. Instead, he changed into civilian attire, intending to leave the palace.

Having received word in advance, Hua Rong hurried to block Jun Yeli's path. "Your Majesty, why must you lie? Could it be that you've obtained clues regarding the Lotus Cult? I beg of you to take me along!"

"Stop making a fuss and go straight back." Jun Yeli shot her a sidelong glance, intending to ignore her, but Hua Rong was stubbornly determined to tag along.

Risking one's life in such a manner—no matter how much he favored her ordinarily, he could never allow her to accompany him into such danger.

Stepping back, Jun Yeli issued a direct command: "Guards! Watch over Consort Rong well. She is not permitted to leave the Xuanji Palace by even half a step, nor is anyone else allowed to disturb her. Until I return, no one shall countermand this!"

Having dropped these words, the man strode away loftily without looking back, leaving Hua Rong alone, filled with both anger and vexation. "Why won't he take me? This is clearly my affair!"

Yet no matter what she said, the other party paid her no heed, which only deepened her lingering sense of unease.

Returning to the Xuanji Palace, Hua Rong pondered over the matter from every angle, finding herself utterly restless. "No, I must find a way to leave the palace!"

After a moment of hesitation, her gaze fell upon the small dog-hole in the courtyard wall. It was neither too big nor too small, just large enough to crawl through and avoid the guards patrolling outside.

"You brought this on yourselves! In that case, don't blame me for disregarding your dignity—today I am crawling through this dog hole!"

Gritting her teeth, Hua Rong relied on her petite frame and successfully wriggled out through the dog hole, entirely unnoticed.

Taking a shortcut through the palace grounds, she spotted a sedan chair parked at the palace gate, undergoing inspection.

Crouching low, Hua Rong stealthily slipped into the rear of the carriage, hiding in the storage space to serve as her place of concealment.

"If you won't take me, I'll go anyway!"

After all, this trouble had ultimately been sparked by her own actions. If she didn't resolve it, leaving Jun Yeli to bear the heavy burden and risk his life in her stead, Hua Rong would harbor no small amount of guilt.

As the carriage rumbled forward, the surrounding terrain grew increasingly desolate, and the night gradually deepened around them.

Hua Rong fell asleep at some point, remaining completely unaware until the carriage finally came to a halt and everyone else had departed.

Waking up belatedly, she discovered that the surroundings were completely deserted, and the carriage had been left parked beneath a nearby thatched shed.

"Where is everyone?" Hua Rong stood up, full of vigor, and cast her gaze around—a vast expanse of pitch-black nothingness, utterly devoid of human habitation!