Chapter 73 Purple Bamboo Painting

it was still light and graceful. His slender figure resembled a bamboo shoot, complemented perfectly by a moonlight-colored brocade robe that suited him elegantly. As he walked slowly, it felt as if a...Young Miss of the Prodigal Eldest Son

As Yun Qianyue watched Mo Li's figure leave, she thought about how the old emperor was now celebrating his fiftieth birthday. Everyone’s eyes would be on the capital city, Tian Sheng City, at this moment. Ye Qian was determined to reclaim the title of the Ten Thousand Curses King from Nanjiang, and since the king of Nanjiang was severely ill in bed, news that the old emperor was also seriously ill within the borders of Nanjiang had been sealed off but would definitely be known by the civil and military officials there. The people might be panicked privately at this time as well, leaving Nanjiang's internal defenses weakened. So Mo Li could take advantage of this opportunity to quietly obtain the king of Nanjiang’s jade seal.

With the Ten Thousand Curses King from Nanjiang and the king of Nanjiang’s jade seal, half of Nanjiang’s territory would be lost. Thus, her negotiation with Ye Qian would carry more weight, preventing her from being at a disadvantage.

Yun Qianyue withdrew her gaze from outside the window and walked back to the bedside. She was about to reapply that thin mask onto the face of this unfamiliar man when she suddenly sensed something amiss. She threw away the mask in her hand, touched his face lightly with one hand, then peeled it off gently with a second try. Another thin layer of mask was uncovered to reveal a familiar face.

This face she truly knew very well or rather too well. She had been hiding behind him for ten years to fool the old emperor and this person despised her shoes and socks. It was indeed Ye Tianqing.

Yun Qianyue squinted as she looked at Ye Tianqing, who still lay unconscious from some kind of hallucinogenic drug. She quietly observed him for a moment before suddenly throwing away the mask in her hand, turning around and sitting down at the table to pour herself a cup of tea that she sipped slowly.

Ye Qian had brought Ye Tianqing here now, and with two layers of masks on his face, she almost didn’t recognize him. This woman truly deserved another look. What exactly did she intend to do

If one said it was understandable that she took away Yun Muhan to threaten her into giving the Ten Thousand Curses King over, then replacing Yun Muhan with Ye Tianqing would definitely warrant deeper consideration. Although Prince Ye Tianqing had been kept under house arrest by the old emperor in his residence for a long time and was considered more heavily guarded than the palace itself, what would happen if the old emperor discovered that the prince had gone missing Or did Ye Qian believe she wouldn’t find out this person was actually Ye Tianqing When the old emperor searched the entire city for Prince Ye’s whereabouts, Ye Tianqing would actually be in Yun王府. How could Yun王府 then deal with the old emperor's wrath

Yun Qianyue placed her hand on her forehead, feeling a slight headache starting. Did this mean that Ye Qian and Ye Tianyi had already joined forces!

"Moonie" A surprised voice came from Ye Tianqing.

Yun Qianyue hid all emotions behind a calm expression as she looked at Ye Tianqing, "You're awake"

"How did I end up here" After waking up, Prince Ye Tianqing was momentarily confused before he glared fiercely at Yun Qianyue and demanded an answer.

"I want to know the same thing!" Yun Qianyue glanced at the two masks she had discarded, one a silk mask and the other a human skin mask that almost fooled her. She pointed towards them and asked, "Do you recognize these things"

“Yun Qianyue, what exactly do you intend to do Where is this place” Ye Tianqing glared at Yun Qianyue with a dark expression as he glanced at the two masks, his gaze turning cold. “Don't tell me that I'm such a little kid who doesn’t even recognize a mask!”

“It’s good to know you do!” Yun Qianyue ignored Ye Tianqing's grim face and said nonchalantly, "This is the Western Maple Garden in Yun王府, my brother Yun Muhan's residence."

"Yun Muhan's residence What are you planning" After glancing around the room and out of the window, he sneered coldly, “Or are you and your seventh brother plotting something You want to kill me and help him ascend the throne”

Yun Qianyue gave a cold laugh. "Ye Tianqing, don't overestimate yourself. Your seventh brother Ye Tianyi doesn’t necessarily have to kill you to gain the throne; he can still get it while you're alive."

The expression on Prince Ye Tianqing’s face changed as he suddenly jumped off the bed and walked briskly towards Yun Qianyue, his eyes sharp like swords. "You actually believe him that much." He then mocked her with a sneer: "Right, you’ve always treated your seventh brother well since childhood, even exchanging letters for five years. But why do you now have feelings for Rong Jing"

"Ye Tianqing, I am not fickle. I simply like Rong Jing. And who cares if I am or not" Yun Qianyue laughed and said carelessly: "You should think about your current situation! If the emperor finds out you’re missing from Prince Ye’s residence during your confinement, you’ll probably lose your position as prince!"

Prince Ye Tianqing paled. "I was brought here by you! How could my father blame me"

"Emperor Uncle left just now. Do you know which mask in the set of two human skin ones belonged to who It’s my brother's face. If he comes back and finds you here impersonating him, what do you think will happen" Yun Qianyue sipped her tea thoughtfully. She realized that Ye Qian must have planted a spy at Prince Ye Tianqing’s residence as well to quietly bring him here without his knowing it was her doing. She continued in the same indifferent tone: “Perhaps Emperor knows he's been tricked, but do you think the emperor will believe you Even if he does know, he won’t consider you innocent because he needs an opportunity to demote you and replace you with a prince of his choice."

Prince Ye Tianqing’s complexion turned ashen and he stepped back.

Yun Qianyue didn't speak any further. She slowly savored her tea. She was not in a hurry; neither Ye Qian nor Prince Ye Tianqing were as anxious as she. Ye Qian wanted to claim the Ten Thousand Curses King from Nanjiang and rush back there to show respect to their father who was ill, while Ye Tianqing longed to cancel his confinement and quickly leave the city to protect his position as prince. He knew the situation was extremely unfavorable for him now. If he were truly confined in Prince Ye’s residence and unable to attend the emperor's birthday celebration, envoys from other countries would know that the crown prince had failed. The civil and military officials in court might turn against him too; then his chances of regaining favor would be gone.

"Yun Qianyue, what do you intend to do" Prince Ye Tianqing was indeed a twenty-year-old crown prince who quickly recovered from the shock and stared firmly at Yun Qianyue.

"The most urgent thing now is to prevent the Emperor from finding out that you secretly left the estate and came here. Even if I let you leave now, you wouldn't dare return openly; you could only sneak back quietly. However, your martial arts skills might not be able to avoid the Imperial Guard's surveillance. Once they discover that you left and returned without permission, they will surely report it to the Emperor. Then, in his current fury over Princess Qingwan’s death, imagine what kind of reception you would receive" Cloud Qianyue spun her teacup around, causing ripples within the green tea inside. She said calmly, "Let's make a deal: I’ll ensure your safe return home, and in exchange, you tell me one thing."

"So this is what you’re up to! Do you want to know why there’s purple grass on my body" Night Tianqiong spoke insightfully.

"Yes!" Cloud Qianyue confessed without hesitation. Ye Qian had given her such a good opportunity, and she wouldn’t waste it.

Night Tianqiong squinted his eyes, "You can forget about that!"

"Alright! It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me! Then we’ll invite the Emperor again," Cloud Qianyue said and called out, "Come in. Stop His Majesty and say…"

"Miss Qianyue, when the Emperor heard that someone from Prince Tai's estate reported his disappearance, he went there with a team of people! The Young Master also accompanied him. I’ve come to inform you," Xuan Ge suddenly appeared outside the window and shouted urgently inside.

“Okay! I understand!” Cloud Qianyue nodded after glancing out the window. Rong Jing was indeed Rong Jing; he knew that the person in the room wasn’t Yun Muhuan or a stranger, but Night Tianqiong. She felt at ease instantly.

Xuan Ge immediately withdrew.

Night Tianqiong’s face turned pale, and he immediately started to walk out. Cloud Qianyue didn’t speak; she just watched him. When he walked to the doorway and suddenly stopped, he gritted his teeth at her and said, "How can I trust that this isn't a trick by you and Rong Jing"

"The Emperor sent Night Qingran with five thousand Imperial Guardsmen to arrest my brother from Cloud’s Manor. I defied the imperial decree to protect him. After returning, I found out that my brother had turned into you. Those two masks are evidence; someone changed your appearance to look like my brother." Cloud Qianyue explained slowly.

"Of course, if you don’t believe me now, you can leave or wait here and see whether it’s Prince Tai who is safe when the Emperor searches the entire city for you or if it’s Cloud Manor and I. You can weigh your options." She added, "If you dare to gamble, then I will accompany you."

Night Tianqiong clenched his fist inside his sleeve; he saw that she didn’t care, but he did. Naturally, he wouldn't risk losing his position as Prince by gambling. He gritted his teeth and said, "I don’t know who put the purple grass on me, but I can tell you how many people approached me when the fire broke out at Wanchun Tower."

"Hmm" Cloud Qianyue raised an eyebrow.

“The Emperor, Lady Ming, Qin Yuning, and your father, Lord Yun.” Night Tianqiong said.

Cloud Qianyue’s thoughts turned; she had guessed that the old emperor and Qin Yuning were involved, but not Lady Ming or her father. "Lady Ming…" She suppressed her thoughts and raised an eyebrow calmly, “Is this your answer It's as good as nothing. This condition doesn’t count!”

"Cloud Qianyue, you can't be too unreasonable!" Night Tianqiong was furious.

“Night Tianqiong, only I can save you now; are you sure you want to waste time here negotiating” Cloud Qianyue raised an eyebrow and said, “This answer is vague. Knowing or not knowing makes no difference to me. But if your position as Prince suffers because of the delay, it could be impossible for you to retain it.”

Night Tianqiong’s forehead vein twitched, "Speak about your conditions again!"

"Regarding what happened at Lingtai Temple that day, I want to know the truth," Cloud Qianyue thought; with Princess Qingwan dead and only Night Tianqiong knowing the whole story, he was her only chance.

“What kind of truth” asked Night Tianqiong.

"For example, how I fell victim to a love potion, why I fell into the secret passage beneath Lingtai Temple, and why Princess Qingwan and my brother both ingested the same love potion. That’s all," Cloud Qianyue said calmly.

Night Tianqiong took a deep breath and sneered, "Sister Moon, are you sure you want to know the truth"

“Of course!” nodded Cloud Qianyue.

"I also wish to know what happened that day!" Night Tianqiong looked at Cloud Qianyue and said coldly, "All I can tell you is if you want to know the truth about that day, you need to ask your maid Cailian. Why was she so conveniently able to give me information

"Peony" Yun Qianyue raised her eyebrows.

Night Tianqiong snorted coldly. "Or did you think it was someone else"

"That day, after I returned to my room from Rong Jing's place, I stayed with Peony all the time." Yun Qianyue looked at Night Tianyi. "Going for blessings was a last-minute decision; she has always been by my side. How could she have passed on any information to you"

"I knew that you were in Rong Jing's room that day!" Night Tianqiong's expression darkened. "When I went looking for you, your maidservant blocked me at the door and said that Miss hasn't left her room all along. She was supposed to return to Lingtai Temple tomorrow but hadn't gone down south to pray under the blessing tree yet, so she insisted on making you go today." As he spoke, Night Tianqiong gave a cold laugh. "How could I not know that you went down south"

Recalling how Peony had pleaded with her to go for blessings when she heard about returning home that day, Yun Qianyue watched him silently and said, "Even if Peony made me go under the blessing tree, how did you know I was affected by the love-inducing drug"

"Moon sister, the love-inducing drug isn't exactly a secret medicine either. I climbed up the blessing tree too; it's covered with red flower pollen which is the best for activating the love-inducing drug. How could I not know Even though I might be an incompetent crown prince, you shouldn’t think that I'm such a fool!" Night Tianqiong snorted coldly. "Besides, your face was flushed and I noticed something wasn't right about you. When the hidden weapon mechanism at Lingtai Temple activated that moment, I wanted to save you but Rong Jing hit me away to rescue you in the end. This tells me how much he cares for you."

Yun Qianyue twisted her lips and said, "You'd better make sure what you're saying is true!"

"Believe it or not is up to you!" Night Tianqiong's expression darkened.

"Qin Yuning really isn’t an ordinary person!" Yun Qianyue set down her tea cup, uttering a sentence softly. Suddenly, she gave a light laugh and slowly stood up, walking towards Night Tianqiong. His sullen face flashed with some emotion as she reached out to seize his wrist and said, "I’ll take you back!"

With that said, Yun Qianyue led Night Tianqiong off in a light-footed manner like a wisp of smoke, heading towards the Crown Prince Manor from the Yun王府.

"After ten years of disguise, I didn’t realize my eyesight was so poor; Moon sister’s agility is probably no less than that of Prince Jing." Night Tianqiong tilted his head to look at Yun Qianyue and sneered with coldness in his phoenix-like eyes. "Now I really want to know, back then were you disguising yourself for my seventh brother or for Prince Jing Or perhaps neither, maybe you didn’t want to marry into the royal family from the start"

Yun Qianyue remained silent and pretended not to hear.

"But now His Majesty probably knows that you were disguising yourself, right He won’t likely let you easily escape his control." Night Tianqiong stared at Yun Qianyue’s side face. Seeing she was still unmoved, he continued, "If there comes a day when you discover the person you truly love is not Prince Jing but my seventh brother, what will you do"

"Impossible!" Yun Qianyue spat out three words firmly and decisively.

“What if one day Prince Jing overturns this world How would you choose then Would it be the same as now” Night Tianqiong asked again.

Yun Qianyue stopped in her tracks, coldly warning him. "Night Tianqiong, you talk too much!"

"Moon sister, you can think about this: If Prince Jing were to overturn the world one day, what would you do Would you still love him like now The weight of a single person versus the lightness of all others" Night Tianqiong ignored Yun Qianyue’s warning.

"Don’t forget that you’re the Crown Prince! This江山is your family's. If Emperor Uncle hears those words, you could lose your head right now." Yun Qianyue warned again.

“I’m very clear in my heart about how long I can be this crown prince. That throne won’t be mine.” Night Tianqiong’s tone darkened slightly and he said with a certain solemnity, "I can't outsmart the seventh brother, I know exactly what kind of person I am. All these years even when he was alone in Northern Frontier, I failed to kill him; now that he's returned to the capital, how could I do anything about him"

Yun Qianyue paused again and looked at Night Tianqiong. "If you can't outsmart him, then why are you rushing back to Crown Prince Manor in such haste to protect your position as the crown prince"

"Ever since I was born, I’ve always been the crown prince! How could there be any way of giving it up Even if Father thinks me incompetent and unfit to rule this world, I can't just do nothing and let him depose me." Night Tianqiong said in a dark voice. "If he wants to strip me of my title and easily give it to the seventh brother, it won’t be that easy."

Yun Qianyue turned her head away and stopped talking. She had always thought that Night Tianqiong was foolish; apparently, she wasn't completely wrong.

No longer speaking, Night Tianqiong tilted his head to look at Yun Qianyue. Just one side of her face made him think; after a moment, he turned away and laughed coldly. "The seventh brother and Prince Jing are truly fortunate! If ten years ago you had cried and screamed at me and I hadn’t been so disgusted with you, would you have liked me"

"No!" Yun Qianyue was quite decisive.

Night Tianqiong moved his gaze away from Yun Qianyue's face, lowered his head and said no more.

Yun Qianyue didn't look at Night Tianqiong either, but she was thinking about what he had asked her: "If one day Prince Jing overthrows the world, how will you choose Will you still be able to say that a person is light and the entire world is heavy"

As they spoke, they arrived at the Chancellor's residence. Yun Qianyue put away her thoughts and led Night Tianqiong around the Chancellor's residence to reach the Crown Prince’s residence. She squinted as she saw a guard every three steps and an undercover one every five steps in the Crown Prince’s residence. Lowering her voice, she asked: "This is your residence, where do you think I should take you for the Emperor not to suspect anything"

"To the courtyard of the Crown Princess!" Night Tianqiong said.

Yun Qianyue raised an eyebrow and reminded him: "The current Crown Princess is dead! Are you sure that I should take you there The Emperor is searching for someone in the Crown Prince’s residence. If this matter spreads, your support from the Old General Feng's household will be gone!"

Night Tianqiong snorted and said: "You really know about the death of the Crown Princess! Even if she were alive, would the Old General Feng’s Household still support me He wouldn’t meddle in his granddaughter’s marriage affairs with you if he supported me."

Yun Qianyue didn't speak anymore. She estimated the location of the Crown Princess' courtyard and led Night Tianqiong to avoid the undercover guards, heading towards the courtyard of the Crown Princess. Upon reaching Feng Side Princess's courtyard, she saw several people standing at the entrance. The Emperor’s figure in bright yellow stood out as well as Rong Jing’s figure in moon white brocade. Besides Nigh Tianyi, Chancellor Feng and the Duke of Virtue and the Duke of Filial Piety were also there. She stopped her movements and hid behind a rockery while frowning: "We came back too late; we can't enter the Crown Princess’ courtyard!"

Night Tianqiong’s face darkened as he stared at Night Tianyi without saying anything.

"Who is that woman" Yun Qianyue asked, looking at the kneeling lady in front of the Emperor. She was dressed like a Crown Princess but had an unfamiliar appearance.

“She’s a girl from Smoky Willow Tower!” Night Tianqiong said.

"Did you use her to impersonate the dead Crown Princess" Yun Qianyue asked.

"Yes, I have no choice!" Night Tianqiong held onto the rockery as his face paled. "It's too late now. Father and everyone else know that the Crown Princess is already dead. If I hide this matter and don’t report it, my seventh brother will be pleased! I haven’t even had a chance to compete with him yet; father will definitely demote me and make him the Crown Prince."

Yun Qianyue pursed her lips tightly as she hesitated for a moment before whispering: "Where is your wine cellar"

"What do you want to do" Night Tianqiong tilted his head at Yun Qianyue.

"I’ll help you! It’s also my way of repaying you for the trouble I caused you today." Yun Qianyue whispered. In fact, there was another reason she didn’t mention; she couldn’t let the Emperor easily demote Night Tianqiong and make Night Tianyi the Crown Prince so easily at this moment. If Night Tianyi were to become the Crown Prince with his entire Northern Frontier at hand, during the Emperor's 55th birthday celebrations, a new Crown Princess might be appointed. Then how would he not harm her Besides, today’s matter wasn't done by Ye Qian alone; she had quietly switched places between Cloud Manor and the Crown Prince’s residence and avoided their undercover guards while doing so. There must have been someone helping her in secret. It could either be Night Tianyi or the Emperor himself. Otherwise, she couldn’t think of anyone else with such a strong hand.

Night Tianqiong was taken aback as he looked at Yun Qianyue doubtfully. Seeing that she was looking at him calmly, he bit his lip and pointed towards a place not far from them: "There!"

Yun Qianyue didn’t say anything more. She estimated the location, led Night Tianqiong with her feet lightly touching the ground, and headed toward the wine cellar. After arriving at the wine cellar, she knocked out the two guards watching it and pulled Night Tianqiong inside. She said: "Now you drink a barrel of wine and I’ll bury you in the wine cellar."

As soon as Yun Qianyue spoke, Night Tianqiong immediately picked up a barrel of wine and opened the lid to drink it greedily. In no time, he finished a whole barrel. Yun Qianyue kicked over two barrels of wine and poured their contents out before kicking Night Tianqiong down and pushing him towards the two empty barrels she had overturned. Once everything was done, seeing that his eyes were somewhat unfocused as they looked at her, she whispered to him: "When His Majesty comes here in a moment, keep asking him if he's going to depose you. Don't worry, with this question alone, not only will he not demote you, but he might also revoke your confinement."

Night Tianqiong nodded as the barrel of wine seemed to make him feel unwell.

Yun Qianyue no longer looked at him. She floated out of the wine cellar and hid behind a rockery again, glancing at Emperor's now pale face before whispering to Rong Jing: "Wine cellar!"

"Mm." Rong Jing responded quietly without looking in their direction.

“Bring me everyone; I want to see where my good Crown Prince is,” the Emperor was clearly extremely angry as he kicked over the woman dressed up as the Crown Princess. "You really are a good son of mine, even finding someone to impersonate the Crown Princess! This... indeed..."

"Your Majesty, did you smell such strong wine" Rong Jing suddenly cut in.

The Emperor paused for a moment and sniffed before frowning. "Where is this wine coming from

Night Tianyi suddenly glanced at Rong Jing but did not speak.

"It seems to come from that direction." Rong Jing pointed slowly in the direction of the wine cellar with his hand.

"Wenlai, take some people over there and check it out!" The old emperor instructed solemnly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wenlai immediately responded, waved his hand and led two eunuchs towards the direction of the wine cellar.

The old emperor fell silent and stared at the woman on the ground. "I ask you, for how long have you been impersonating the side concubine of the Crown Prince"

"Reporting to His Majesty... More than two months..." The woman’s body trembled ceaselessly, seemingly very frightened.

"Very well then, it's already been more than two months! Truly a good son of mine." The old emperor’s forehead veins throbbed visibly. After saying several times how the Crown Prince was truly his good son, he ordered angrily, "Servants, drag this woman out and kill her!"

Two people immediately came over to grab the kneeling woman. Her body went limp as she fainted from fright.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have someone come to replace his side concubine without reason; we need to thoroughly investigate this matter. Moreover, since this woman was found by the Crown Prince, it’s likely out of fear that she wouldn’t disobey orders and thus pretended to be the Crown Prince's side concubine. After all, she is an innocent person too. Your Majesty should calm down." Rong Jing calmly spoke up, "Once we find the Crown Prince and understand the situation, dealing with this won't be delayed."

"Alright!" The old emperor suppressed his anger.

Rong Jing did not speak further but looked in the direction of the wine cellar, a faint layer of mist hidden deep within his eyes.

Night Tianyi suddenly chuckled. "Young Master Rong has truly kind hearted like Buddha!"

"Seventh Prince praises too much! The people of the Northern Frontier now revere you as a living Bodhisattva, saying that since your arrival in the Northern Frontier, it has become prosperous. Especially those policies for the people’s welfare, the commoners’ admiration and love towards you is extraordinary." Rong Jing said indifferently.

The old emperor’s aged eyes suddenly tightened.

"Young Master Rong can know about the world from the study hall; however, does Young Master Rong know that people in the Northern Frontier call the Emperor a Holy Sovereign Tianyi is my son. In the Northern Frontier, he naturally has to achieve something and not disgrace his father." Night Tianyi raised an eyebrow.

"If everyone were like Seventh Prince, Your Majesty could rest assured!" Rong Jing smiled faintly.

"Hmph! Tianyi hasn’t disappointed me!" The old emperor nodded, cutting off their conversation, and said to Night Tianyi, "Tianyi, you go see why Wenlai is still not back."

"Yes." Night Tianyi responded immediately, stepping towards the wine cellar.

"Forget it! Let’s go together and take a look at what exactly happened!" The old emperor also stepped towards the wine cellar.

Prince of Virtue, Prince of Filial Piety, Minister Feng and others promptly followed after hearing this.

Rong Jing glanced at the rockery, gently brushed his sleeves, turned around and followed behind the old emperor.

Receiving Rong Jing’s signal to leave, Yun Qianmo lightly tapped her toes and floated away from the Crown Prince Manor. Just as she was about to bypass Minister Feng's residence, a thought struck her and she entered Feng Manor instead. Estimating the position, she headed towards Qin Yuning’s courtyard. Upon reaching Qin Yuning’s courtyard, it was quiet inside. She listened intently for a moment under the eaves before silently entering Qin Yuning’s room.

Qin Yuning's room was luxuriously decorated with pearl curtains and green screens, soft beds and light gauze, all in a series of pale whites. Though monochromatic, it did not lack elegance or charm. A mural hung above the bed depicting a purple bamboo forest; besides this, there were no other objects depicted. She stared at the mural for a moment before shifting her gaze, carefully observing each part of the room. Soon, she walked towards that mural.

"Miss, why have you returned" At this moment, Qin Yuning’s maid's voice was heard from outside the courtyard.

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"The Emperor is turning fifty-five this year, and the Dowager Consort asked me to embroider a Hundred Longevity Pictures. I came back for the pattern," Qin Yucning spoke softly as she walked in from outside.

"There's no pattern of the Hundred Longevity Picture in the palace" The maidservant questioned doubtfully.

"The patterns inside the palace are too old-fashioned." Qin Yucning replied gently.

"Miss, let me go and fetch it for you!" The maidservant said hurriedly.

"No need. I'll just get it myself! After getting it, I still have to return to the palace. Dowager Consort is napping at noon. If she wakes up without seeing me again, she will nag," Qin Yucning waved her hand.

The maidservant stopped in her tracks as Qin Yucning walked towards the room.

Yun Qianyue suddenly pursed her lips and reached out to pull off that mural silently. She swept with her sleeve, rolling up the mural. Hearing the door being pushed open from outside, she tiptoed quietly through the window. As soon as she left, Qin Yucning shouted loudly, "Who"

Yun Qianyue realized that Qin Yucning indeed knew martial arts. She stopped in her tracks and circled around to float into the neighboring room. The adjacent room was obviously where the maidservants lived, and no one was there at this moment. She hid under the roof beam.

Qin Yucning rushed in three steps as two, followed by a low shout, "Who Come out!"

"Miss, nobody is here!" That maidservant also entered the room.

"Nobody" There was a subtle change in Qin Yucning's voice. After a moment, she looked at where the mural hung and her expression changed as she rushed to the bedhead, feeling around for the spot where the mural had been hanging before turning back sharply and shouting angrily, "Chuxi, who came into my room"

"Miss, I was guarding the room tightly these days you were away, nobody got in!" The maidservant immediately said.

"Impossible!" Qin Yucning's face turned pale.

"There really isn't anyone who came! I guarded it all along!" Chuxi shook her head.

“Four Shadow Ghosts, come out!” Qin Yucning softly barked.

The moment Qin Yucning spoke, four shadowy figures emerged from the corners of the roof.

"Who came into my room" Qin Yucning asked the Four Shadow Ghosts.

“Miss, no one has entered. We four have been guarding outside this whole time and haven't left!” The four shadow ghosts said together.

“You didn’t leave then how did that picture disappear” Qin Yucning’s expression was full of anger.

The four shadow ghosts glanced at each other but none spoke.

"Useless! Can't even guard a single painting!" Qin Yucning tightened the handkerchief in her sleeve, staring intently at where the mural had been. After a moment, she suddenly rushed out of the room and stood by the door for a while before walking briskly to the adjacent room and kicking open its door.

——

The painting is extremely important! O(∩_∩)O~

Qin Yucning definitely isn't someone who can be trifled with, but our Yueyue isn't either! O(∩_∩)O~returned from the palace. The emperor has decided to depose the crown prince and designate your aunt’s child as the new one. Our kneeling outside of Shengyang Hall was useless; the Emperor wouldn’t ev...