Chapter 46: The Little Mute Is Exposed.
Not long after the carriage began moving, Shuang An’s expression grew uneasy. “Why is this road so empty?” She lifted the curtain and asked the accompanying guard, “Did you clear the way ahead? The previous stretch was crowded with people, but here there are hardly any shadows. I said not to clear the way today.”
The guard hesitated before replying, “We did not clear the way. There was heavy rain last night, so perhaps the common people find it difficult to go out.”
This answer did not convince Shuang An. Hearing their conversation, Zhao Rongzhang also grew alert. In the moment Shuang An lifted the curtain, she cast a glance toward Guan Xuan’s direction.
Both of them were seasoned in secret affairs; even the slightest clue could not escape their senses. Under normal circumstances, once sensing something amiss, Zhao Rongzhang would have changed plans and turned back immediately. But today, their mission was to receive the message delivered by Su Tan. Whether the message was true or false, once it involved the reclusive Su Tan, they had to obtain it personally to prevent it from falling into others’ hands.
They were still some distance from Louyue Tower. Zhao Rongzhang broke the tense atmosphere and chatted idly with Shuang An: “I’ve never had the chance to meet Lord Ming. Is he too busy?”
“He rarely comes here.”
The villa where Xiang He and her daughter lived was not the Ming County Official’s real home. He and Su Xianghe were not husband and wife; publicly, they only referred to each other as close friends. This was information Zhao Rongzhang had gathered. Shuang An explained that this was because Su Xianghe needed to use the Ming County Official to conceal her identity and hide her movements.
“Is that all?”
Shuang An looked into the Princess’s eyes, a smile in her gaze. The Princess was still too young; she viewed matters with a touch of naivety.
“Actually, what the Princess truly wants to ask is whether there is genuine affection between the two of them?”
Zhao Rongzhang thought for a moment and nodded. From a young age, she understood that so-called genuine affection between men and women was fleeting, laden with many conditions, and driven more by physical instinct than intellectual restraint. None of this could be called love; it was merely a veil to beautify the act of copulation.
True love came from blood ties. Only the blood flowing through one’s veins was an unbreakable law that could never betray the other.
“If I said they chose each other because of love, would the Princess find it strange?”
“That would be even stranger.”
“Hmm. Not loving is strange, loving is also strange. Then, if this happened between two animals, would the Princess still find it strange?”
Zhao Rongzhang’s expression turned peculiar.
“There aren’t many truly human beings in the world; most are animals surviving by instinct. Everything is for survival. There’s no need to expend so much effort studying human behavior and thoughts—it’s too wasteful.”
“Whoa—” The carriage stopped.
Before them, Louyue Tower stood along the riverbank. Tourists gazed from the upper floors, admiring the sunrise over the river. On the ground floor, visitors continued to come and go. Shuang An quickly spotted their target informant and turned to suggest to the Princess that she go retrieve the message herself while the Princess waited here to coordinate.
Zhao Rongzhang did not agree. She could not rest easy unless she held the message in her own hands.
The interior of Louyue Tower was no different from an ordinary tavern. Upon entering, Zhao Rongzhang went straight to the second floor to find the informant mentioned by Shuang An. Several accompanying guards remained by the carriage, silently watching their retreating figures.
But just as Zhao Rongzhang uttered the code phrase to the informant, the atmosphere in Louyue Tower abruptly changed. Everyone, including the Innkeeper and Waiters who had been smiling and welcoming guests at the entrance moments before, now approached them with cold expressions.
Zhao Rongzhang looked at Shuang An, who also appeared surprised. At that moment, a conspicuous black shadow appeared on the floor, and a voice spoke from above. Zhao Rongzhang tilted her head back to look upward, but before she could clearly see the person’s face, a soft, low question came from beside her: “Father?”
The man stood tall on the top floor, his gaze fixed on Shuang An, who had spoken. Then, he turned to Zhao Rongzhang: “This official is under orders from Taihou to escort the Princess back to the capital. Princess, please.”
Before shock could set in, Shuang An quickly gathered her strength and stepped in front of the Princess. “Go, now!”
Louyue Tower had been infiltrated too deeply by the Ming County Official’s forces. If he betrayed Su Xianghe and switched sides, the consequences would be unimaginable. Shuang An shouted angrily upward, “Have you forgotten? If you dare interfere with Louyue Tower, I can take back everything Mother gave you!”
The Ming County Official ignored her, focusing only on Zhao Rongzhang. “If not for the tacit approval of Taihou and Xianhuang, do you think Consort Ling alone could have built this intelligence network you take such pride in? Princess, you should not have disregarded Taihou’s warnings. Everything you have belongs to them, and they can take it back at any time.”
Zhao Rongzhang stared intently, retreating step by step. Just then, a blurry, swift shadow darted past her vision—it was Guan Xuan.
Little Mute moved with extreme speed, his form and movements nearly invisible to ordinary eyes. The youth’s eyes were cold and sharp, locked onto her as he extended an arm. Zhao Rongzhang took a step, ready to leap toward him, when several sharp whistling sounds cut through the air. Crossbow bolts, as if anticipating Little Mute’s trajectory, shot toward him even before he moved.
Little Mute was exposed.
He flipped onto a beam, swiftly kicking out to deflect most of the bolts. But in that brief moment, a multitude of bolts, far greater in number, whistled toward him once more.
This time, Little Mute did not block them. Several bolts pierced his flesh in quick succession. Zhao Rongzhang stared into his eyes, which rarely showed emotion, watching as they closed in on her faster than the bolts themselves. Before the bolts could reach her, Little Mute had already scooped her into his arms.
Even wounded, Little Mute remained like a seasoned hunter, calmly handling everything. Zhao Rongzhang felt the world spin around her. Looking down, she saw him kicking off the heads of their pursuers as he leaped onto a beam.
Once he steadied her, Zhao Rongzhang scanned their surroundings—pitch black, with almost no light. Little Mute shifted slightly, kneeling on one knee to give her a broader view. Looking down, she saw layer upon layer of beams and wooden staircases below. The Ming County Official now appeared to her as nothing more than a round head, so small it seemed she could crush it in her palm.
Before her thoughts could wander further, Little Mute’s cold hand covered her mouth and nose. Zhao Rongzhang suddenly became aware of her own breathing and heartbeat, immediately holding her breath. Yet someone still looked up, their gaze turning toward this direction. The sunlight above was pale, illuminating these faces as ghostly white as specters. Every action of Little Mute could not escape their eyes.
The Ming County Official’s voice rang out once more: “Princess, Taihou has been giving you chances all along. Have you never wondered where your luck comes from? Why, after only a few days of wandering, could you enter Hongfu Prefecture, encounter the trusted aide cultivated for you by Consort Ling, and have the opportunity to accomplish what you call your great undertaking?”
Little Mute glanced sideways, quietly fixing his gaze on the Princess. The Princess clutched the hem of his garment, gripping it so tightly her fingers nearly snapped.
Below, Shuang An’s voice echoed urgently, questioning her father, questioning these subordinates who should have obeyed her commands without question. At the same time, she continuously wove coded messages into her angry words, transmitting them to her Princess, informing her of all escape routes and exits within Louyue Tower. Zhao Rongzhang swiftly deciphered them in her heart, her fingers rapidly sliding across Little Mute’s abdomen, hastily writing for him to know.
Those ghostly faces had already transformed into countless giant spiders—some hurled grappling hooks to climb upward, while others thundered “dong-dong-dong” up the stairs, numerous and swift. Little Mute pressed her hand, securing all her limbs tightly against his chest, then leaped out, kicking off the wall. He knocked several people aside, their screams echoing as they plummeted from the tower, before leaping toward the nearest and most perilous route.
Zhao Rongzhang’s mouth and nose pressed against his chest, a few warm trails of sticky fluid sliding between her fingers—Little Mute’s blood. She held him even tighter.
How had Little Mute been exposed?
These people understood Little Mute’s habits and thought processes so thoroughly, surpassing even his master Ren Ping. Such knowledge could not have been gained through mere short-term observation. This was terrifying, more chilling to contemplate than the exposure of Little Mute’s face. Could it be that someone had been watching her as early as many years ago?
Was it possible that, just as Shuang An had trusted and idolized her mother too much, leading to her power being hollowed out without her realizing it, she too had trusted and idolized Mother Consort excessively, failing to notice that someone had infiltrated the forces left by Mother Consort? Could it truly be as the Ming County Official said—that Mother Consort’s influence was merely a paper-thin facade, unable to stand without the permission of Emperor Father and the Grand Empress Dowager?
Could it really be? Little Mute himself was something Emperor Father had given her…
Holding her, Little Mute struck down these enormous “ghost-faced spiders.” There were too many—they could not finish them all. This short stretch of path was traversed with such difficulty.
They could not rely on Little Mute to endure this entire journey with his flesh and blood alone. Zhao Rongzhang steadied her breath and shouted loudly at the Ming County Official, “What chances?! Is this the chance she gave me? Zhao Jue repeatedly tried to force me into marriage—was she unaware? Did she not understand? She clearly knew everything!
“She is one of those who forced me to this point! She is the chief culprit!”
“The Princess is most disrespectful. Since you are so unwilling to follow this official back, then this official…”
The Princess, however, said, “I never said I was unwilling!”
Guan Xuan turned a pair of pitch-black eyes to look at her.
“I am willing to go back with you, I am willing to return to the capital! As long as I can still be the Princess, don’t force me to marry, don’t kill me, and don’t deprive me of meat, I will agree to anything!”