As the afterglow faded and the sky gradually darkened, Wende Hall looked as usual on the surface, with nothing out of the ordinary.
Zhao Yuan sat in the study and read the book seriously. The candlelight on the table flickered, flickering on and off. Leng Changxi leaned next to him as usual, helping him sharpen his ink, looking at his focused expression lustfully.
.
However, under such a calm surface, an extraordinary storm is brewing. No one would know what kind of turbulent hearts are hidden under their seemingly calm faces.
"Master Yuan." Xiaodouzi's voice came from outside the door. Leng Changxi's body, which had been tense, suddenly trembled, and she slowly lowered her eyebrows. Her clenched fists were slightly moist with sweat.
A trace of unknown emotion flashed in Zhao Yuan's eyes, and he asked in a nonchalant manner: "What's the matter?"
"Sir, the imperial dining room just made a late dinner, which is hibiscus cake. They sent a portion over. Xiaodouzi brought it in for you and Miss Chang Xi to try?" Xiaodouzi's voice sounded respectfully outside the door.
"Bring it in." Zhao Yuan put down the pen in his hand and quickly exchanged a look with Leng Changxi.
"twitter!"
Xiaodouzi responded and slowly pushed the door open. A gust of wind swept into the room. The candlelight on the table jumped quickly, flickering on and off. Finally, with a "plop", the light was completely extinguished. The room was dark, although the sky was still dark.
It's not completely black, but has been inked, so you can only vaguely see a figure.
At this time, Leng Changxi quickly stood up and walked around behind the screen behind Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan sat on the chair and calmly looked at Xiaodouzi's back and said slowly: "It's windy, please control the door carefully, the candle is not bright enough, please light an oil lamp for me."
"Yes, Young Master Yuan." Xiao Douzi carefully placed the plate of hibiscus cake in the upper left corner of the desk, looked up at Zhao Yuan, Zhao Yuan nodded gently, and then Xiao Douzi said knowingly: "Young Master Yuan, you
Wait a moment, Xiaodouzi will find an oil lamp for you."
With that said, Xiaodouzi walked slowly to the back room, rummaged there for a long time, and then took out the oil lamp.
About halfway through the incense stick, the lights came on again in the dark room, and faint figures were reflected on the window lattice through the candlelight. They were still two people, a man sitting upright with a pen, concentrating on reading, and a woman
Holding the hibiscus cake in his hand, he kept stuffing it into his mouth.
On the palace wall, a shadow that had been hiding in the dark breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
After the lamp was lit, Xiaodouzi held the tray, lowered his head, respectfully left the study and walked out the door.
The night is getting darker and darker, and there are fewer and fewer people staying outside. At this time, the eunuchs who are not on night shift usually like to gather in someone's room to gamble, while the palace ladies like to chat in small groups while chopping melon seeds.
Chat gossip.
Therefore, almost no one noticed that the direction Xiaodouzi came out of Zhao Yuan's study was not his own house, but the back garden of Wende Hall!
Xiaodouzi's pace became faster and faster. When he arrived in the back garden, he was almost running, looking back from time to time, frightened and cautious.
Walking to a bush, Xiaodouzi hid the tray in the bush. Then he quickly went to the side door of the back garden. Since the back garden has not yet been repaired, some places are still relatively desolate. This side door is one of them.
In a desolate place.
At this time, the workers had all left the palace, and there was no one in the back garden. Xiaodouzi looked around and breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not dare to hesitate at all.
Arriving at the side door, Xiaodouzi was about to remove the latch when a hand suddenly stretched out from the side and pulled him into the bushes on the side.
Suddenly, Xiaodouzi broke into a cold sweat and turned pale. Just as she was about to scream, the man took a step ahead of her, covered her mouth, and whispered: "Don't scream, it's me. There's someone outside."
Hearing the man's familiar voice, Xiaodouzi asked uncertainly: "Yun Ting?"
It wasn't until he felt that the man nodded that he finally breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to wipe the cold sweat from his face, but his frightened heart that was beating so fast could not be relieved for a long time.
At this moment, a group of neat steps came from outside the door. They were the guards patrolling the night. If Yun Ting hadn't hurriedly pulled him up just now, I'm afraid he would have been caught by those guards now.
When the footsteps went away, Yun Ting listened cautiously for a while, and then took the lead to get out of the bushes. After looking around, he slowly opened the door for Xiaodouzi: "Young Master Yuan asked me to meet you here.
."
"Thank you." Xiaodouzi was so serious that he forgot to glance at Yun Ting.
Yun Ting just nodded slightly and said: "Take care."
Without saying anything, Xiaodouzi turned around and disappeared into the night.
As the third watch was approaching, Xiaodouzi came to a corner next to the Nangong Gate, hid in the shadows, and waited quietly.
Suddenly, the sound of neat footsteps came from far and near, and he was so panicked. Although this place was a corner and the shadow was extremely heavy, how could such a big man hide himself? In desperation, he raised his head and looked at that place.
He immediately flew up to the palace wall that was ten feet high. Because he was afraid of being noticed, he could only hold on to the palace wall with both hands and hang on the palace wall.
The guards were getting closer and closer, and a large amount of sweat rolled down Xiaodouzi's face rapidly, not only because of panic, but also because he couldn't stand hanging on his slender arms.
Finally, when the guards left, Xiaodouzi loosened his hands, fell off the wall, and sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.
At this time, the third watch had just arrived, and a black figure quickly flew over the eaves and walls of Wende Hall under the cover of night, and finally stopped in front of Leng Changxi's door.
The black figure carefully glanced at the dark room, and after making sure that the people inside were asleep, he took out the dagger in his arms and gently opened the latch from the outside. When he heard a "click" sound
At that moment, the man gently pushed open the door, turned over, and quickly came to Leng Changxi's closet. He opened the closet door silently, took something out of his arms, and put it under a pile of clothes.
Then, the visitor quietly left the room and closed the door.
In less than half a stick of incense, the Wende Hall returned to its previous appearance, as if that person had never appeared before.
Just before the figure could walk away from half a stick of incense, an urgent call came from outside the door of Wende Hall: "Open the door, open the door quickly!"
The two guards guarding the door immediately stretched out their spears, crossed them, and shouted angrily: "It's so late, what's going on with you?"
"Open the door quickly, Ouchi guards! Search for the thief!" The leading guard said in a bad tone, with a hint of contempt.