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Suddenly, Princess Bilian's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Mei Shuang had found an excuse and was actually not coming back? After all, despite their mother-daughter bond, she had never fulfilled her duty of care, and perhaps Mei Shuang was unwilling to face her.
Recalling Mei Shuang's anxious demeanor when she had rushed out earlier, Princess Bilian felt increasingly convinced of this possibility. Panic set in as she muttered, "What should I do? What should I do? Shuang'er must not want to see me, so she left, right?..."
Master Jing sighed in response to Princess Bilian's frantic expression of concern.
She looked at Princess Bilian's suddenly aged face and the dazed look in her eyes, unable to suppress a deep sigh as she tried to offer comfort.
Since Mei Shuang's birth, Princess Bilian had been separated from her daughter. If it weren't for the unfortunate circumstances that had led to Mei Shuang's current plight, they might never have recognized each other in this lifetime. It truly was a cruel fate.
Moreover, Mei Shuang was indeed a legitimate royal descendant, carrying authentic royal blood; yet, she had been born in the wrong time and place. Like her mother, she had been raised in a minister's household and was publicly known as the minister's daughter...
Sighing at the past brought no peace of mind; it only made one feel helpless for Princess Bilian.
Master Jing composed herself and reassured Princess Bilian, "After all these years, even though you have been referred to as Miss Mei Shuang, you have not been able to meet. The emotional connection has inevitably faded somewhat. However, I believe Miss Mei Shuang understands this. Look at what she said; she never blamed you at all. This shows that Miss Mei Shuang has matured. She is still unaware of the letter you entrusted to Abbot Jingkong at Cheng En Temple. If she knew about what happened back then, she would surely understand your difficulties... So please do not doubt anything else; just focus on recovering and wait for Miss Mei Shuang to return safely."
Princess Bilian stared blankly for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and lying down with her eyes closed.
Seeing two lines of tears rolling down Princess Bilian's face, Master Jing felt a pang of unrest in her heart and quietly stepped outside.
It was pitch dark outside, with only a faint moonlight illuminating the scene. Worry etched on Master Jing's brow; while what Princess Bilian expressed was one thing, her own thoughts were another.
If Mei Shuang was unwilling to confront Princess Bilian due to her own struggles, that would be one matter—what mattered most was her safety. Now there was fear that something dangerous might happen. Although Jingkong and Chu Xiruo had already left, who knew if there were other issues lurking here? Moreover, how could Mei Shuang have made friends with some child in such a short time? From her reaction, it seemed like this matter was very important to her.
But Mei Shuang insisted that there was no need for anyone to follow her and that she would return shortly. Who would have thought she would be gone for so long without any news? If the journey were far, surely she would have mentioned it; but it sounded like it was just a slightly longer trip.
Master Jing paced back and forth contemplating Mei Shuang’s words and murmured to herself, "At the foot of the mountain? By the big tree? Not far from that glazed tile temple?"
How strange.
After pondering for a moment, she decided that waiting any longer was not an option. She instructed several people outside—those who had been left behind by Aunt Yu before her departure—with a serious expression on her face, "You must split into several groups immediately to search for Shuang'er! We cannot let her come to any harm!!! Uh, wait a moment; if you find her and everything is fine, there’s no need to reveal your identities."
The people outside received their orders and set off.
Master Jing gazed at the drifting clouds flowing across the crescent moon in the sky as night deepened further. Anxiousness crept into her heart; she wondered if the person sent to inform the palace had arrived yet.
Just as she was about to turn back, she heard urgent hoofbeats coming from a distance. Listening closely, she recognized the distinct sound of bells accompanying the hoofbeats, and her spirits immediately lifted.
Mei Shuang's elaborate attempts at self-rescue had proven useless. Her movements were confined to her room, surrounded by rock walls, and the hall where sunlight occasionally filtered in, except during personal moments of convenience.
What surprised Mei Shuang was that, after having eaten her fill, she expected to be subjected to severe torture by Nangong Nuo the next day regarding her so-called "secret recipe," but that did not happen.
Thus, Mei Shuang spent a day filled with anxiety and unease without any sign of Nangong Nuo.
The same was true the following day; if it weren't for an occasional masked figure delivering food and water to Mei Shuang, she would have thought she was the only person in the vast cave.
What a strange situation!
Sometimes, Mei Shuang hoped to find clues about Nangong Nuo's disappearance from the person who brought her meals. Unfortunately, the individual was masked and never looked at her directly, treating her as if she were invisible.
At first, Mei Shuang felt somewhat relieved; as long as she didn't see Nangong Nuo, she didn't have to think about that so-called "secret recipe," allowing her mind to relax a bit.
Once relaxed, she began to think about Princess Bilian and Master Jing. She wondered if they missed her and whether they suspected anything after not returning for several days. Then thoughts turned to Zheng Yi, that clever child. Every time she recalled his small hands quietly passing her something, warmth filled her heart. That little one would definitely have potential as a spy when he grew up. She also wondered if Nangong Nuo had kept his promise to send them back. And then there was Chu Xiruo; ever since their last meeting, there had been no news from her. Sometimes, when she looked around at the emptiness surrounding her—like a prison—she felt dazed, questioning where exactly she was.
After several days of this relaxation mixed with various wild thoughts, Mei Shuang began to feel bored.
On the fourth day, she wondered if Nangong Nuo had gone mad. What kind of scheme was he concocting?
By the fifth day, she thought perhaps he had succumbed to his madness and passed away.
On the sixth day, Mei Shuang started feeling anxious.
By the seventh day, she wanted to expand her range of movement. However, even taking a single step outside resulted in a ghostly figure in black suddenly appearing to block her path without saying a word—just raising a hand to stop her.
On the eighth day, she stopped the masked man who brought her meals. "Hey, do you know—!" As soon as she opened her mouth, he waved his hand dismissively and walked away.
By the ninth day, Mei Shuang felt on the verge of breaking down. This damn imprisonment had to come to an end; what did it all mean?
After being interrupted again, Mei Shuang sulked back to the stone table in the hall, feeling frustrated. However, after a while, she realized she didn't even know who she was angry with.
Bored out of her mind, Mei Shuang could only look up at the sky.
In fact, during these days of boredom, Mei Shuang had been watching the light on the mountaintop fade from bright to dim, from present to absent.
Damn it, this is so boring!
On the tenth day, when she finally could no longer see that faint glimmer of light, Mei Shuang snapped back to reality. After staring blankly for a moment, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. What was she even watching?
Damn it, so much time has passed, and Nangong Nuo hasn't shown his face? Could it be that he really fell seriously ill and went to meet his maker?
Otherwise, according to his subordinates, his illness should have flared up several times by now. Didn't he want any secret remedies?
After a moment of wild thoughts, Mei Shuang sighed and suddenly felt that her neck was sore from looking up for so long.
She rubbed her stiff neck with one hand and wiped her eyes with the other. Turning around, she focused her gaze for a while before realizing that a candle had been lit on the table not far behind her. It looked distorted from a distance, more like an eerie ghost light than a source of illumination.
She hadn't even noticed when someone came over to light the candle. If there were an ambush from behind, she would be done for, she thought.
In the entire space, there was only this one candle. Its light seemed to be absorbed by the surrounding darkness, illuminating only a very limited area. As she stared at the flickering flame, she felt a bit dizzy.
Mei Shuang considered herself reasonably brave but not overly so; she had never thought about strange things while walking alone at night. However, ever since returning from Qishan, her immunity to darkness had become utterly fragile. Now, looking around, she felt as if the surrounding darkness was like a giant beast lurking nearby, perhaps some mysterious entity was watching her intently. If she wasn't careful, something could emerge that would shatter her worldview.
Standing stiffly for a while until her legs felt numb, Mei Shuang suddenly heard soft footsteps approaching from behind.
Needless to say, the food delivery had arrived.
Bored out of her mind again, Mei Shuang turned around and saw a Masked Man walking over quietly. Perhaps it was due to her imagination, but today’s Masked Man seemed somewhat strange; as he placed the food box down, his gaze seemed to linger on her.
That gaze made Mei Shuang's heart skip a beat; it felt as if he recognized her.
Unlike before, the Masked Man moved deliberately slowly as he served food from the box. Mei Shuang walked over.
She sat down right next to him, picking up the silver chopsticks, but the Masked Man accidentally bumped his elbow against Mei Shuang's hand, causing the chopsticks in her hand to fall.
As Mei Shuang bent down to pick them up, the Masked Man also leaned down to grab them. They nearly bumped heads while squatting, and then Mei Shuang faintly heard an almost inaudible voice saying, "No matter who comes later, do not believe..."
Mei Shuang's body trembled; this was the only sentence she had heard in these past few days. When she straightened up, the Masked Man had already left, leaving only the faint echo of that voice in her ears. She was certain that this voice sounded familiar. But what did it mean?
The Masked Man hurried down the path he had come from. Although he occasionally encountered other men in black along the way, he faced no obstacles. It wasn't until he reached a deserted area below that he let out a soft sigh; she must have understood.
Then, he vanished into the night.
Mei Shuang looked at the food in the box, stirred it with the silver chopsticks a few times, and was lost in thought when she suddenly heard steady footsteps coming from a distance.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter, but that one sentence from the Masked Man made Mei Shuang tense up immediately.
Especially in this quiet cave where one could easily experience auditory hallucinations, the sound of footsteps felt like thunder on flat ground. She instinctively asked, "Who? ...Nangong Nuo?"
After a pause, a leisurely voice came from the darkness, "What? Have you missed me these days?"
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