Chapter 635: Another Secret Passage
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Mingzhu simply ignored Yuwen Cong. She had heard from Fu Mingzheng that for a chatterbox, the most uncomfortable thing was being silenced. If she chased him for answers, he probably wouldn’t want to tell her. He’d only spill the beans once he felt sufficiently cheapened. If she didn’t ask, he’d be unable to contain himself and would want to show off.
Sure enough, seeing Mingzhu refusing to ask, Yuwen Cong couldn’t resist and said with a smile, “Guangming Hall was surrounded by the Imperial Guards. Huayang Wangfei and Imperial Consort Min just encountered a major change and are very cautious. I managed to make them disappear without making any noise. So, it tests both skill and wisdom. So rest assured, I will definitely transport you safely without anyone noticing. Do you believe me?”
He made some sense, and Mingzhu was starting to feel a bit anxious. Although she still pretended to be indifferent and closed her eyes.
Yuwen Cong chuckled and continued, “Your maid, she’s been with you since childhood, hasn’t she? Her name is Su Mei, right? I can see you’re very fond of her, and you’re probably used to her service. Although taking one more person will add a lot of complications, for the sake of everyone getting along well, I’ll reluctantly take her along.”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Is Huayang Wangfei here? We heard someone calling for help just now.”
Mingzhu immediately perked up and stared at the door, but behind Yuwen Cong, someone spoke up, “It’s not here, it seems to be coming from the direction of the main hall. I’m very scared and dare not open the door. Could you leave a few more people here to guard? Can you?”
It was Huayang Wangfei’s voice. Mingzhu immediately remembered the impersonator at Linan Wang’s Mansion pretending to be Jiang Shanshan. She glared at Yuwen Cong, who smiled faintly and nodded, as if it were nothing.
The palace maid at the door seemed frightened by Huayang Wangfei’s selfish and cold request. After a while of mumbling, she vaguely said, “Oh, I see. I’ll inform Liu Gugu first and then send more people to Wangfei.” Without waiting for a response from inside, she hurriedly left.
As Mingzhu heard the footsteps getting farther and farther away, she couldn’t help but sigh. What a fool! Since she heard someone calling for help, didn’t she know she should check what was happening? Really, don’t let her know who’s so foolish, or she’ll definitely give him a piece of her mind!
Yuwen Cong seemed to know what she was thinking and smiled, “Is this person making you cry with their stupidity?”
More than just cry, she felt like she was going to be driven to death by anger. Mingzhu couldn’t speak, so she could only express her resentment with her eyes and expression.
Yuwen Cong stood up. “We should go. That person outside isn’t as foolish as you think. They’ll definitely turn the tables.”
So, where was he taking her? He couldn’t just walk out from the door as if nothing happened, right? Mingzhu expressed her doubts with her eyes, and Yuwen Cong asked politely, “Actually, I want to ask you, do you want to be knocked out and know nothing, then wake up outside the city? Or do you want to stay awake and watch how I handle this?”
Mingzhu rolled her eyes. Obviously, being awake was better than being unconscious. Not to mention, being knocked out would be painful, and even if it wasn’t, she wouldn’t know who dealt with her when she was unconscious. How could she seek revenge in the future? She didn’t want to be taken advantage of!
Yuwen Cong understood Mingzhu’s meaning, “Okay then, keep your eyes wide open. We’re setting off.”
“Fifth Master…” His attendant frowned slightly, seeming to disagree with his approach. Yuwen Cong smiled and said, “No, you don’t understand. Once she saw Yuwen Chu and her father and brothers, she’ll think they’re the most capable and formidable people in the world, looking down on everyone else. In fact, the world is vast, and there are countless capable individuals. I want her to acknowledge that.”
In other words, he wanted Fu Mingzhu to see that he was no worse than Yuwen Chu, but they came from different backgrounds, facing different environments and situations, hence their different fates.
Mingzhu glared at Yuwen Cong’s attendant, indicating he was meddling too much. She was willing to endure the fear and anxiety while awake.
“Apologies,” Yuwen Cong said as he picked up Mingzhu and signaled his followers to bring Su Mei along. They all moved into the inner room, where Yuwen Cong carried Mingzhu towards the bed.
Terrified, Mingzhu struggled desperately. Yuwen Cong looked at her with amusement. “Don’t worry, I’m not interested in married women with children.” He placed her on the bed and then lay down beside her, joking, “I wonder how Ying Wang will react when he sees this scene? I’ve heard he’s madly in love with his wife. He’ll probably go insane with anger, won’t he?”
Mingzhu heard a soft click and suddenly felt herself falling. She let out a muffled scream as she landed heavily on the ground, hitting her head painfully, which brought tears to her eyes. Mentally, she cursed Yuwen Cong and his ancestors up to the eighth generation, with special maledictions reserved for his parents.
“We need to go further down, or your maid will fall on us,” Yuwen Cong said, having prepared for the descent and thus not falling hard. He chuckled as he pushed Mingzhu forward. She slid down quickly, as if on a slide, her tears of pain turning into tears of terror. Instinctively, she felt the end of the slide would be a solid wall, certain she would hit it hard. She cursed Yuwen Cong with every fiber of her being, hoping he would die childless and in agony.
Yuwen Cong caught her just in time, pulling her forward. “Sorry, it’s a narrow path here. I have to drag you through. If you’d rather sleep through this, I can arrange that too.”
Mingzhu felt that the secret passage was filled with dust, choking her and making her want to cough uncontrollably. However, her mouth was gagged, and she couldn’t cough at all. She could only hold her breath, her face turning red and her neck thick.
“This secret passage hasn’t been used for a long time. It was just used to transport Huayang Wangfei and others. There were too few people, not enough to clean the path.” Yuwen Cong kept talking, “You must be wondering how there’s suddenly another secret passage here? Actually, it’s not surprising. Many people can’t remember. Originally, the Guangming Hall was where Xianming Empress Dowager lived. She gave birth to the Emperor Wen and my father, as well as Longsheng Great Eldest Princess, but she never held a high position. Until before my father ascended the throne, she was just a small concubine, not even considered a Consort. So when the Emperor passed the throne to the Emperor Wen, many people couldn’t accept it.”
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