"It's okay. You can go."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I hope you'll find the Mysterious Frost Flower soon."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"Then I'll continue. If you find anything, remember to tell me."
Gu Hanxun smiled.
"Sure."
The two then continued their search.
However, after searching until midnight, neither Zhao Shuning nor Gu Hanxun had found anything.
When they came out, Gu Hanxun was holding two bamboo cages in his hands. He handed one of them to Zhao Shuning.
Zhao Shuning looked at him in confusion.
"What is this?"
"Open it and you'll know."
Zhao Shuning carefully opened it. Inside was a cricket.
"What do you give this to me for?"
Gu Hanxun smiled faintly.
He said, "You haven't been in the State of Cangwu for these years, so you may not quite understand the current situation here. People in the capital all like cricket fighting. There are quite a few people in the palace who even raise grasshoppers."
Zhao Shuning frowned.
"But I don't like cricket fighting, nor do I like raising grasshoppers. Where did you get this?"
"The local government sent them. When they saw that both you and I had come here, they didn't dare to offer gifts, so they sent us a pair of crickets, one for you and one for me. They're just a pair."
Hearing this, Zhao Shuning threw the bamboo cage in her hand at Gu Hanxun.
Angrily, she said, "What are you talking nonsense about?"
Then she walked away.
Watching Zhao Shuning's departing figure, Gu Hanxun gave a gentle smile and then quickly followed up.
The voices of the two came from afar.
"Are you angry?"
"Why are you angry?"
"Alright, alright. I'll keep both these crickets then. I won't give you one."
After returning to the palace, Zhao Shuning was still anxious about not having found the Mysterious Frost Flower.
Gu Hanxun comforted her gently.
"Ningning, there's no use being anxious about this. But don't worry. I've already asked painters to make thousands of portraits according to the one you drew. They were all distributed today. You just need to wait quietly for a month and you'll get the news."
"A month? That's so long?"
Gu Hanxun said sadly, "A month? Is that long? But at least it'll take a month."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
Zhao Shuning stretched.
Then she said, "I always feel that things aren't that simple. During this period, I still want to visit all the mysterious places in the State of Cangwu to see if I can find any clues."
"Okay."
"What's the name of the biggest pharmacy in the State of Cangwu?"
"Jisheng Hall."
Jisheng Hall? That's good. During this period, Zhao Shuning thought that she would surely visit all the places in the State of Cangwu.
If only it were five hundred years later!
There, there was the proprietress of the black market, Rong Yan. As long as she said a few words to her, the news of the Mysterious Frost Flower would surely be fed back as quickly as possible.
In the following days, Zhao Shuning really did as she said. She visited all the major pharmacies in the State of Cangwu.
Later, she even went to those tiny illegal workshops.
But the results were all extremely disappointing.
Every time, when Zhao Shuning returned to the palace, she would go to the Chengxun Hall to ask Gu Hanxun about the progress of finding the Mysterious Frost Flower.
Gu Hanxun would always just shake his head.
Maybe it was because there were especially many political affairs in the State of Cangwu recently.
Zhao Shuning always felt that Gu Hanxun didn't look too well.
Later on, when she wanted to ask Gu Hanxun about important matters again, she couldn't even enter the Chengxun Hall.
The chief eunuch in the hall said, "The king has been too overworked recently and has already gone to sleep. The king asked this old servant to convey to the lady that there has really been no result regarding the Mysterious Frost Flower recently. If anyone sees it, they will surely inform you immediately."
Since the words had been said to this extent, if Zhao Shuning still insisted on going in, she would seem rather unreasonable.
Previously, when Gu Hanxun always talked to her, she felt annoyed in her heart.
Now, Gu Hanxun suddenly became so cold. Although Zhao Shuning felt something was amiss, she didn't think much about it. Now that she was fully focused on finding the Mysterious Frost Flower, she had no time to care.
It had been almost a month since she came to the State of Cangwu.
Gu Hanxun hadn't seen her for half a month.
Today, Zhao Shuning came to bid farewell to Gu Hanxun.
"Lady, the king invites you into the hall."
"I won't go. Please tell the king for me that I've almost searched all over the State of Cangwu, but there's really no sign of the Mysterious Frost Flower. I plan to go to the State of Hailing, where the eldest princess was buried, to see if I can find any clues."
After all, her time was running out.
The palace maid hesitated to speak.
Zhao Shuning felt something was wrong.
She said, "Has something happened to Gu Hanxun?"
Yingzi, holding the hilt of his sword, walked out of the Chengxun Hall.
"Lady, you'd better go in and see for yourself."
Zhao Shuning lifted her skirt and quickly entered the Chengxun Hall.
Qi Yue led the way on one side.
"Lady, please follow me."
She led Zhao Shuning all the way. After several turns in the Chengxun Hall, they finally reached a secret chamber underground.
Actually, it couldn't really be called a secret chamber.
Because the big door was right there.
Yingzi stepped forward and gently pushed, and the door opened.
Almost instantly, the cold air inside rushed towards Zhao Shuning's face.
Cold.
It was so cold.
"Is Gu Hanxun in there?"
"His leg ailment has only been better for a few years. Isn't he afraid that his leg ailment will relapse if he stays in this place?"
Zhao Shuning asked two questions in a row.
Yingzi said angrily, "Doesn't the lady know why the king is doing this?"
Zhao Shuning looked completely confused.
Pointing at herself, she said, "What does this have to do with me?"
"Is it Ningning coming?"
A weak voice came from inside. Although it was hoarse, Zhao Shuning could still tell that it was Gu Hanxun's voice.
"Is Gu Hanxun really in there?"
Zhao Shuning didn't wait for Yingzi to answer and quickly walked in.
Before she reached the door, a voice came from inside.
"Yingzi, you and Deputy Envoy Qi step back. Remember what I've told you. I want to be alone with the lady for a while."
"My lord—"
"My master—"
"Step back. Cough cough cough cough—"
A violent coughing sound came.
Yingzi and Qi Yue had no choice but to step back.
Before leaving, Yingzi gave Zhao Shuning a look full of extreme resentment.
Only after the people left did the person inside say, "Ningning, are you still there?"
"I'm here."
The person inside seemed to heave a sigh of relief.
Immediately, there was an undisguised smile in his voice.
"Come in."
The big door in front of Zhao Shuning slowly opened right in front of her.
The interior was extremely luxurious.
But there was a chill everywhere.
"Gu Hanxun?"
"I'm here."
The weak voice came from the huge ice jade cold bed.
Looking in the direction of the voice, Zhao Shuning was so shocked by the sight in front of her that she covered her mouth.