Yun Xi's pupils constricted. The words "Who is it?" were already on the tip of her tongue, but she abruptly changed her tune. She widened her eyes in disbelief and exclaimed,
"Huizhi's child? Did Concubine Qing have a child?!"
"Moreover... a child with the current emperor?!"
"How is this possible?! Concubine Qing was a concubine of the late emperor and is nominally the emperor's mother! How could they... "
The Saint Master smiled contentedly.
This was his real test.
A test to see if Yun Xi had heard his conversation with Zongzheng Fengyi just now.
This kind of instinctive reaction was the true reflection of a person's situation.
"Tsk, if I had the Mind - Reading Gu, there would be no need to go through all these troublesome tests. It would be so much more convenient to just read minds..."
The Saint Master murmured to himself. He didn't answer any of Yun Xi's questions and really turned around and left.
Yun Xi's back was already damp with a thin layer of sweat.
She had come so close to exposing herself.
After all, as someone who didn't know that Concubine Qing had a child, her first reaction should have been the same as Zongzheng Fengyi's just now, questioning the fact that she had a child, rather than anxiously asking who the child was.
Pretending to shout a few more sentences of grief and anger in the direction where the Saint Master had left, Yun Xi then showed a look of exhaustion. She leaned against the iron cage sadly. While carefully examining the stone chamber where she was imprisoned, she quickly thought about what the Saint Master and Zongzheng Fengyi had said just now.
First of all, Concubine Qing and Emperor Zhaohuan had a child, and it was a boy.
According to the Saint Master, the child was born before Concubine Qing entered the palace.
Concubine Qing entered the palace twenty - one years ago, so that unknown young prince should be around twenty - one years old now.
He should have had a deep relationship with Zongzheng Fengyi and was deeply trusted by Emperor Zhaohuan. He didn't know his own origin or any secrets about the Saint Master and others. He might be in the palace, but this couldn't be determined for sure because the Saint Master didn't give a definite answer.
Anyway, this child must have been in frequent contact with Emperor Zhaohuan.
Otherwise, the Saint Master wouldn't have said that "the person he trusted most was the child of him and Huizhi".
As far as Yun Xi knew, only two people met the above conditions.
One was Yi Yuan, and the other was Hun Yuan.
Yun Xi gently bit her lips. She could clearly feel which one was the correct answer among the two.
But she didn't want to think deeper.
After all, no matter which one it was, although he was the flesh and blood of Emperor Zhaohuan, he was also the grandson of the Saint Master. Such a bloodline was a disaster rather than a blessing for them.
Just as she was in a daze, she suddenly heard a few rustling sounds from the rear - side.
It was like the sound of a mouse gnawing.
It wasn't very noticeable, but it was quite clear.
Yun Xi immediately came back to her senses. She bent her knuckles and tapped the ground twice. Pretending to be scared, she said to the two guards,
"Two big brothers, it seems there are mice here. I'm most afraid of mice. Can you come in and check for me?"
The two guards didn't move at all. They didn't even give Yun Xi a single glance.
Yun Xi had long expected such a reaction. There was not a trace of annoyance on her face. Instead, she slowly curled up a smile.
She bent her knuckles again and tapped the ground three times in a row. When she looked up at the two tower - like guards in front of her, they had already slumped to the ground on either side and fallen asleep limply.
Yun Xi quickly got up and eagerly took two steps forward to grab the railing.
Suddenly, a thin and tall figure appeared at the door. The person deftly took out the key from the guard's body, unlocked the iron gate, and walked up to Yun Xi. In a soft and worried voice, the person asked,
"Miss, are you okay?"
It was unexpectedly Ling Yan, who was "killed" by Shen Zhou with a single sword!
"I'm okay. Don't worry about me," Yun Xi replied in a low voice and quickly said,
"The Saint Master gave Shen Zhai the Gu poison. They have been in collusion for fourteen years. The Saint Master intends to use the Shen family to trigger the plague that happened fourteen years ago again, and then start a war to reap the benefits."
"Shen Zhai is extremely ruthless. I'm afraid the entire capital will suffer. Hurry up and tell Senior Brother to take precautions."
Ling Yan's eyes sharpened. She replied, "Yes." But she didn't rush to leave. She asked again,
"Miss, when should I come to pick you up?"
"A bit later,"
Yun Xi looked around warily and said,
"Wait until the Shen family raises an army and the deployments behind the Saint Master and Zongzheng Fengyi are exposed. Then you come to pick me up. Otherwise, as soon as I disappear, they will surely notice that all the previous things were a trap set up by us in cooperation with Shen Zhou."
"But Miss, you are now..."
Ling Yan hesitated a bit. She was worried about Yun Xi's safety.
Yun Xi could see Ling Yan's thoughts at a glance. She comforted her,
"I won't be in danger. The Saint Master and his men are waiting to take out the Mind - Reading Gu from me. They definitely won't harm me. Of course, they won't hurt me either. Otherwise, his subordinates wouldn't have fabricated so many lies to deceive the Ye family into treating me well."
It was indeed the case.
Ling Yan gritted her teeth and replied. She was about to retreat when Yun Xi called out to her again,
"Wait..."
Ling Yan stopped. She saw Yun Xi rummaging in her clothes for a while. Then she took out a red string with a ring whose material couldn't be identified hanging on it.
It was the one that Lian Yi had sent before.
"This ring..."
Just as Ling Yan was about to ask, Yun Xi had already handed the thing to her and said,
"This is the Drunken Gu Ring. The Saint Master and his men need it to transfer the Mind - Reading Gu from me. I'm now in the wolf's den. It's not safe to keep it with me. Take it out first, but don't give it to Senior Brother. The Saint Master and his men may go back to the Chaogan Hall to look for it."
Realizing the importance of the ring, Ling Yan quickly put it away close to her body. Hearing that Yun Xi didn't let her give it to Hun Yuan, she asked doubtfully,
"Then should I keep it with me all the time?"
"No,"
Yun Xi shook her head resolutely,
"A Yuan and Mian Xiao have been staying in the prison to paralyze the Shen family. Only you, a 'dead person', can move around and deliver messages conveniently. It's also dangerous to keep it with you."
"First deliver the message to Senior Brother. Then go to the underground of the Jianjia Palace. See if you can find Aunt Lan Chu and give the ring to her."
"Give it to Lan Chu?"
Ling Yan was a bit surprised, but she didn't question Yun Xi's decision. She just said,
"Coincidentally, she is on the front to keep watch for me."
"It's really a coincidence. Before, when the Saint Master abducted you, Yan Xuan and Yan Gui followed for a while but lost track of you when they reached the imperial city. They were just in a hurry when Aunt Lan Chu showed up. It was she who led the way that I could find you so smoothly."
Yun Xi didn't expect such a thing to happen.
She was also very surprised and said, "The Saint Master actually abducted me to the imperial palace? And it was Aunt Lan Chu who came to my rescue?"
However, as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she immediately realized,
"Yes, it should naturally be the imperial palace."
"Only in the palace would neither the Shen family nor the Yun family dare to come and investigate. It's also the least suspicious place. Moreover, fourteen years ago, they could come and go freely in this palace. They must be very familiar with the imperial city by now."
"Moreover, they are hiding in the palace. When the Shen family finally captures the imperial city and the overall situation is settled, they will jump out to be the oriole. Striking by surprise, who could have expected it? If no one can expect it, no one can stop them. In the end, the winner will surely be their Ying State!"