Chapter 339: Chapter 309: Warning
Late night. Silence filled the air.
This night was exceptionally quiet, and even exceedingly dark. The heavy night shroud enveloped the entire Jiangdu so densely that not a breath could pass through. There was no moonlight in the sky, not even a hint of starlight could be seen.
And the streets and alleys were so dark after nightfall that you couldn’t see your hand in front of you.
The long street was like a mark drawn with thick ink. The shops and houses lined along the street left only layered outlines and shadows in the night, revealing an eerie sense of ghostly figures upon closer inspection.
Yet in this pitch-black night, there was a small window emitting a faint glimmer of light.
This faint light spilled across the long street through the darkness, like a piece of dim starlight obscured by clouds in the black sky, barely discernible even with close inspection. Yet, as a figure passed by, it revealed the trace of light.
After passing through this dim light, the person stopped at the entrance of a house.
This was a secluded courtyard, not large, with only two rooms inside. The eastern room had long extinguished its lights, merging into the heavy night, while the western room still had its lights on, with the faint light from the little window outlining the contour of the thin figure at the door.
The person reached out and gently knocked on the wooden door.
"Knock knock."
The two soft sounds in the night weren’t too jarring, yet immediately, the surroundings became even quieter. The light from the window flickered, as if two shadows had passed by, and then the light gradually dimmed. Someone was holding a candlestick, walking out of the western room. Footsteps were heard through the courtyard, starting somewhat flustered but growing more composed as they approached, finally stopping inside the door.
A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door?
"Who?"
In the night, a low, strange voice sounded: "Is this the home of Vice Commander Cheng?"
"..."
Inside the door became silent suddenly. Although spring had come, the night wind, which carried a hint of warmth, suddenly turned cold and harsh in that moment. The person inside spoke again, with a low voice seemingly tinged with a faint trace of murderous intent: "Who are you?"
"Please, Vice Commander Cheng, do not be nervous. I have come at this late hour to tell you something important."
"Oh?"
The person inside the door fell silent for a while again, perhaps thinking, or waiting for something. After a moment, the sound of a latch being removed was heard, and then, the wooden door opened.
Behind the door was Cheng Qiao’s honest face.
As soon as he opened the door, he immediately saw the person standing outside. This person was dressed in a cloak, with the hood hanging low, almost covering half of their face. In the moment when the two faced each other, this person clasped fists and saluted Cheng Qiao: "Deputy Commander."
Cheng Qiao immediately frowned: "You are——"
...
The night passed slowly in an indescribable, oppressive atmosphere.
And this night was destined to be a sleepless one for many, like Shang Ruyi, who gazed into the pitch-black night with eyes darker than the night itself. She kept her eyes wide open, watching the faint morning light emerge from the window, listening as sounds slowly began to stir around her in the once utterly silent night.
When the day finally faintly dawned, Wo Xue came with people to serve her as she got up and washed, discovering her eyes were slightly swollen and red.
Wo Xue said softly, "Did the Young Madam not sleep well?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi glanced at her, not telling her that she hadn’t slept the whole night.
Wo Xue, to some extent, could see it, and softly said, "But today, Your Majesty is taking the Young Madam for an outing in the gardens. If the Young Madam is not in good spirits, how will it be alright?"
Shang Ruyi washed her face, feeling a little more refreshed.
Then she said, "It’s still uncertain if we can go."
Yesterday, she said those things in front of Chu Yang, and miraculously, she was still alive afterwards—even Eunuch Yu, who had sent her back, said that this was unprecedented over the years, revealing how special she was to the Emperor. But Shang Ruyi knew in her heart that what kept her alive was not her ’specialness,’ but rather a kind of ’specialness’ that Chu Yang needed, or seen in his eyes.
However, regardless, she had indeed hurt Chu Yang.
Because after that, the kitchen sent over a table full of exquisite dishes, and two palace maids specifically told her that two of the dishes were especially ordered by Chu Yang for the two of them to eat together that night.
But in the end, they only took a few bites, and she was the only one left watching the table of wine and food being taken away.
So, whether today’s Qingming festival outing and stroll in the garden could happen, Shang Ruyi herself did not know, and maybe deep down, she didn’t even hope for it to happen.
For at this moment, Chu Yang could no longer possibly regain consciousness.
After breakfast, and as no one indeed came to call for her, Shang Ruyi had a cup of tea to refresh herself but couldn’t help but yawn. Wo Xue softly said, "Madam, perhaps take advantage of the quiet and sleep a bit more? Luckily, today is peaceful."
Shang Ruyi shook her head.
But she thought about it, and couldn’t help but glance outside: "Yes, today is truly quiet."
Although her palace was within the inner palace’s range, where not many people would be moving about, and the movements of the courtiers outside would not affect here, it had always been quiet and conducive to rest, today was somehow different.
Too quiet....
And not just quiet, even the atmosphere enveloping the palace seemed excessively quiet.
She couldn’t help but walk to the door. The scenery outside was as usual, and because of Chu Yang’s instructions yesterday, the palace attendants had set up these places overnight. Exquisite and intricate glass lanterns hung under the eaves, and when the wind blew, the tassels on the lanterns gently quivered; under the porch, various flowers were placed, both real and artificial silk flowers, but they all looked vividly lifelike, simply breathtaking.
If it were her younger self, seeing such scenery would probably make her so overjoyed she’d be at a loss.
But now, seeing such a scene—she was still at a loss, but it was an uneasy one.
Just then, a little palace maid came over carrying a food box and softly said, "Madam."
Shang Ruyi took a look at the item in the maid’s hands and couldn’t help but frown, "Didn’t I just have breakfast? Why is something being sent again?"
The little palace maid whispered, "This wasn’t sent from the kitchen."
"Not? Then what is—"
"It’s from Vice Commander Cheng for you, Madam."
"Vice Commander Cheng? Cheng Qiao?"
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment.
This Cheng Qiao, the last time she saw him, although he was loyal to Yu Wenye, they weren’t familiar with each other. After exchanging a few words, they went their separate ways, and she hadn’t taken his words about coming to him if needed to heart.
But why would he suddenly send something today?
The little palace maid seemed a bit uneasy too.
In fact, although Shang Ruyi lived in the inner palace, her status was special and not considered a consort, so it wasn’t taboo for an outside man to send her something, yet she was still apprehensive. After placing the box down, she curtsied and turned to leave.
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and walked over to open the box.
Inside were several kinds of pastries.
The Cold Food Festival prohibits fire, allowing only cold foods, so exchanging pastries wasn’t anything unusual.
But Shang Ruyi still found it odd. She picked up a piece of almond pastry and took a bite; it was fragrant and delicious, with nothing peculiar about it. She examined the balls next to it and found nothing amiss either.
Could it be that he really just sent some pastries?
At this moment, Wo Xue softly said, "Madam, shall I bring you a plate to set them out?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Though Wo Xue was one of Chu Yang’s people, she didn’t hide anything in front of her. In fact, her every move in Jiangdu Palace couldn’t possibly be hidden from Chu Yang, so she reckoned Chu Yang would soon know about the pastries Cheng Qiao sent over.
Soon, Wo Xue brought a plate over and used chopsticks to take out the pastries from the food box one by one to arrange them nicely.
But just after removing the last piece of pastry, Shang Ruyi suddenly gasped!
She then realized there seemed to be a hidden layer underneath those pastries!
At that moment, she hesitated whether to open it in front of Wo Xue, but seeing from the corner of her eye that Wo Xue had also noticed it, she decided not to hide it. She reached out and pulled, and sure enough, there was another layer beneath the food box.
Inside, there was a piece of silk cloth.
Shang Ruyi was taken aback—a silk cloth? What did it mean?
Although passing silk cloths between men and women was an expression of affection, she would never believe that Cheng Qiao had such intentions. A person like him who was so grateful for others’ favors and sought to repay them could not possibly have such improper thoughts.
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi reached out to take the silk cloth.
The cloth was as soft as water, unfolding as soon as it reached her hand. Shang Ruyi immediately saw a knife etched at one corner of the silk cloth!
A knife!?
Her back suddenly shivered, and she quickly spread out the cloth to examine the knife closely, immediately gasping in shock.
Because the shape of this knife was exactly identical to the one depicted in the warning letter she received in Luoyang City during Yu Wenye’s attack on the Xingluo Granary!
She was almost certain that the drawing from that letter and the design on this handkerchief were definitely crafted by the same person!
This person had reappeared!
The previous warning indicated that someone planned to strike from behind when Yu Wenye attacked the Xingluo Granary. She rushed to intervene, and indeed, as the letter foreshadowed, Military Supervisor Kou Junliang surrounded them with his troops after Yu Wenye took the Xingluo Granary. If not for her prior arrangement for Jiang Kesong to act, they might have suffered a great loss at that time.
And this time—
Shang Ruyi looked down at this knife, suddenly feeling a chill to the bone.
Wo Xue, watching Shang Ruyi’s face turn abruptly pale, glanced at the pattern on the handkerchief and couldn’t help but softly ask, "Young Madam, is there anything wrong with this handkerchief?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi suddenly took a deep breath and turned to look at her, "Where is Your Majesty?"
"What?"
"Where is Your Majesty? Quickly take me to him!"