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In the presence of the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Mingxi lay lazily on the couch. When Aunt Yu reported that Nangong Nuo had arrived, her previously furrowed brows finally relaxed.
After Nangong Nuo entered and completed her greetings, she was granted a seat by Empress Dowager Mingxi.
Everyone inside was dismissed, leaving only Aunt Yu to attend to her.
"Why did you summon me in such a hurry?" Nangong Nuo asked lazily as she took the tea cup from Aunt Yu.
Sister-in-law...
Every time Empress Dowager Mingxi heard this title, it involuntarily made her heart twitch. She lowered her gaze to stir the tea leaves in the cup, concealing the twitch at the corner of her eye, and lightly coughed before saying, "You have returned?"
It was a question she already knew the answer to.
Nangong Nuo nodded, glanced around, then lowered her head to pretend to sip tea, remaining silent.
Seeing Nangong Nuo's deliberately calm demeanor made Empress Dowager Mingxi feel a surge of anger, but she couldn't express it. The place where Chu Xiruo stayed was a closely guarded secret; apart from herself and a few trusted attendants, no one else knew. If it weren't for Mei Shuang this time, she wouldn't have easily revealed Chu Xiruo's whereabouts, nearly letting slip the information.
"Did you see everything?" Empress Dowager Mingxi asked casually.
Nangong Nuo set down her teacup with a half-smile. "Sister-in-law has quite the skills..."
Empress Dowager Mingxi paused for a moment and then got straight to the point. "I called you here to remind you that since Chu Xiruo has already become a nun, let her accompany Azure Lamp and Ancient Buddha in peace and do not disturb her anymore..."
The implication was clear; everyone understood. Since you are going to meet the Sovereign tomorrow, keep this matter from Xiao Luo. This was the true intention of Empress Dowager Mingxi.
Nangong Nuo lowered her gaze and pondered for a moment. "Sister-in-law, do you know that Mei Shuang's survival this time is thanks to Chu Xiruo?"
Indeed, Empress Dowager Mingxi slightly opened her phoenix eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"If it weren't for Chu Xiruo discovering the barely alive Mei Shuang on the shore and using acupuncture to save her, would you have thought that Mei Shuang, with her great fortune, would still be alive today?"
Empress Dowager Mingxi remained silent; she had known about this since the letter from the Pigeon Temple arrived. However, what puzzled her was why Nangong Nuo chose to bring this matter up specifically.
She had already heard some details about the days Mei Shuang spent at the temple.
As for Mei Shuang's various actions, including her strange behavior of not recognizing Chu Xiruo upon waking, she interpreted it as either a temporary amnesia triggered by the trauma of her kidnapping or perhaps a self-preservation instinct in the face of danger. She hoped that it would improve in time; of course, if Mei Shuang's actions were indeed a means of self-defense against imminent peril, that would be even better.
She was not surprised that Chu Xiruo saved Mei Shuang; if Chu Xiruo had harmed Mei Shuang instead, that would have truly caught her off guard.
Harming Mei Shuang would mean harming herself and the entire Chu family. It seemed unlikely that this intelligent woman would take such a risk. Moreover, she was inherently kind-hearted; a healer's compassion meant she could not simply stand by and watch someone die.
As she pondered these thoughts, Empress Dowager Mingxi remained silent, waiting for Nangong Nuo to reveal his intentions.
In matters of the family, sometimes the first person to speak must heed the other's direction.
Sure enough, seeing Empress Dowager Mingxi feigning ignorance, Nangong Nuo sneered coldly. "Sister-in-law, one must always leave some room for maneuvering in both life and work. If you are worried about Chu Xiruo competing with Mei Shuang for the Consort title and have imprisoned her, now that the title has changed hands, why do you still keep her in Buddha Hall? A flower at such a young age should not waste her life in such a remote place. Even Miss Mei Shuang thinks it is a pity. Why must you stubbornly insist on keeping her and Xiao Luotian apart?"
Empress Dowager Mingxi was furious at his words. She slammed her teacup onto the table with force, her phoenix eyes flashing with severity. "Impudent! Do I need your guidance in my affairs?"
Taking a breath to calm herself, she asked, "What did you say Mei Shuang expressed? That it is a pity?"
"If you do not believe me, you can ask Miss Mei Shuang tomorrow."
"Very well. Tell me then why Mei Shuang was targeted by spies from the Eastern Kingdom..." Empress Dowager Mingxi rubbed her temples.
Nangong Nuo recounted the important details of the incident, causing Empress Dowager Mingxi's eyes to widen in shock as she rose from her bed. "Is there really such an extraordinary occurrence?"
"Miss Mei Shuang lives in a boudoir all day long, how can he have any special powers? I'm afraid that the other party looking for Miss Mei Shuang is a deception. There may be other conspiracies, not to mention Miss Mei Shuang has been serious since waking up Amnesia , I can’t remember many things before, and my brother also feels strange..." Nangong Nuo was thinking about Mei Shuang in the inn, and stood up after speaking, "If you have nothing else to do, Sister-in-law, please leave. ." After Nangong Nuo left, Empress Dowager Mingxi recalled Peach's words carefully, and his brows gradually wrinkled... —— Nangong Nuo's concern is not unreasonable, As soon as Nangong Nuo goes out, Mei Shuang’s mind comes alive. Even at that moment, a bold idea came to her mind. Instead of waiting to enter the palace tomorrow to be questioned, with her life or death uncertain, she might as well take this opportunity to escape. Moreover, will Nangong Nuo come back after entering the palace for a while? If not escape now, how long will it take? After Nangong Nuo walked for a while, she pretended to walk around the inn a few times while chatting with the waiter. After throwing a small ingot of silver stolen from Nangong Nuo to the waiter, , and after complimenting the other party’s knowledge a few times, the waiter was flattered and inspired, and immediately enthusiastically told Mei Shuang the geographical location around the inn. Mei ShuangListen carefully, it turns out that this inn is located in the middle of Vermilion Bird Street and the Grand Canal, in a bustling area. Moreover, standing on the upper floor of the inn, listening to the chattering guy pointing to the various lit lanterns outside Pointing at the place. Mei Shuang While listening humbly, he quickly drew an escape route in his mind. After a few sticks of incense, Mei Shuang had memorized the route in her mind. To be cautious, she asked her assistant to bring pen and ink and try to draw a picture. When the clerk saw the key marks in the picture, he was impressed. Mei Shuang put the paper away with a modest smile and thought to himself, as a qualified traveler, this is just the most basic homework. Half an hour later, when Mei Shuang, dressed in men's clothing, came out of a clothing store, she stood confidently on the street and took a photo of a passing man, "Hi, brother..." ." The man passing by looked at the young man in front of him in surprise, not knowing what he was going to do. Mei Shuang smiled and said, "Brother, I want to go to Miaochun Tower. How do I get there?"
The passerby was taken aback for a moment, then frowned as he looked at Mei Shuang, pointing disdainfully ahead before hurriedly leaving.
The wind carried the passerby's contemptuous words, "Delicate and tender, clearly a frivolous young master from a wealthy family!"
Did you hear that?
He called her a young master. Although frivolous, it proved that her transformation was successful.
Mei Shuang felt quite pleased; however, the happiness was temporary. Calculating the time it would take for Nangong Nuo to return, she realized she only had one hour left. She needed to make full use of this hour to leave Purple Dawn City; otherwise, her plan would fail, and the consequences would be severe.
Although she had exited the inn, walking along the bustling Vermilion Bird Street left her feeling lost for a while. Even if she wanted to hire a carriage, there were no obvious stops.
Moreover, it was cold, and since it wasn't a holiday, there were noticeably fewer people on the street, making it feel somewhat desolate. Many shops had also closed down.
After wandering around and looking for a while, she finally spotted a hurried woman passing by and mustered the courage to ask, "Excuse me, Aunt, I want to go outside the city. Where can I hire a carriage...?"
The Aunt sized her up and looked at her curiously. "Young man, you must be from out of town? At this hour, the city gates are closed; there are no carriages going outside."
Her words hit Mei Shuang like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the escape enthusiasm she had felt earlier.
She panicked. "Aunt, I'm from out of town! I just received news that my family is seriously ill outside the city; I need to hurry back!"
The Aunt shook her head and pointed in the opposite direction with sympathy. "There's nothing that can be done. You should hurry to the west side of the city; there are carriages going outside there. They leave at dawn."
Mei Shuang felt crushed. The west side? That must be ten miles away! Just walking there would take too much time—what a nightmare!
Seeing her distress, the Aunt continued sympathetically, "Young man, you may not know this, but recently the entire city has been under martial law. The guards have been questioning everyone strictly; it's very difficult to leave the city..."
Only then did Mei Shuang realize that this was likely due to Kuranami Miyako's abduction of her and the subsequent search for Eastern Kingdom citizens throughout the city.
Seeing Mei Shuang anxiously pacing back and forth, Aunt kindly suggested, "Young man, you look delicate and probably can't handle much hardship. It's quite a distance to walk to the west of the city. If you don't mind, why not wait in front of Miaochun Tower? There are many travelers from outside the city who usually head west in the late night to take carriages out of town in the morning..."
After Aunt walked away, Mei Shuang felt dejected, thinking to herself, "Come on, those patrons lost in their own world wouldn't go to the west of the city at this hour. Even if they did, they wouldn't be alone. Have you ever seen patrons and courtesans welcoming a stranger into their midst to disturb them?"
But there was no other choice now. Even though Nangong Nuo said that Purple Dawn City was generally safe, it was essential to be cautious against theft and robbery in the dead of night. She could only try her luck in front of Miaochun Tower.
Hurrying to Miaochun Tower, she was taken aback by the grandeur of this ancient brothel. The lights were dazzling, bright as day, with melodious music and the sounds of birds chirping.
Previously, when she had walked past here with Nangong Nuo, they had refrained from looking closely due to the inappropriate sounds coming from inside. Although she knew it was extraordinary, she hadn't dared to take a closer look. Now that she examined it carefully, she felt it was spacious and impressive. The three bold characters "Miaochun Tower" above the red gate were striking and clearly crafted by a master hand, elevating the establishment's status and taste to rival that of scholarly families. No wonder it was so popular in the capital.
At this time, Miaochun Tower was bustling with business; sedan chairs and carriages came and went in an endless stream. The Madam's enthusiastic greetings echoed continuously—one moment calling out "Lord X has arrived," and another moment "Young Master XX." Everyone appeared glamorous and distinguished; just listening made one feel that those arriving had lofty statuses.
"Hey, hey! I'm talking about you! What are you staring at over there?"
It wasn't until an impolite voice called out from behind that Mei Shuang turned around to see a man in black clothing and boots approaching with a face full of roughness.
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