r18novel Chapter 1777 Peony Flower Stone
Chapter 1777 Peony Flower Stone
Lu Zhaoling and Yin Changxing hadn't expected the Fifth Princess to come looking for them.
Yin Changxing hadn't paid much attention to the Fifth Princess yet. After all, he wouldn't care much about anything that wasn't involved in those messy affairs. He also didn't concern himself with the royal family's infighting.
However, Lu Zhaoling had just begun to pay attention to the Fifth Princess, and she knew that Zhou Shiyue had sent Qingmu to investigate the Fifth Princess, so she found it strange that the Fifth Princess had come looking for her now.
The Fifth Princess looked at Lu Zhaoling and said very sincerely, "Could you please come to my place, my aunt? My mother also wants to invite you over and ask you for two protective amulets and amulets."
Although she said it was a request, the Fifth Princess's tone was not forceful at all; it was clear that she would definitely be given a reward.
"Please help, my mother has been feeling palpitations and shortness of breath ever since she returned from the ancestral temple. She is even more restless after returning to her palace. We have already consulted the imperial physician and he prescribed medicine, but she is still not getting better."
The Fifth Princess looked at Lu Zhaoling with great sincerity as she spoke.
She then looked at Yin Changxing, "If Sect Leader Yin wishes to return first, I can send a carriage to escort you out of the palace. Sect Leader Yin, the main issue is that my mother cannot freely meet with other men..."
She bowed apologetically.
Yin Changxing looked at Lu Zhaoling.
Whether or not to go depends on Lu Zhaoling.
Lu Zhaoling naturally didn't want to go. Zhou Shiyue was still investigating the Fifth Princess, and it was getting late. If she stayed in the palace too long, she might have to spend the night there once it got dark and the palace gates closed.
This is something she absolutely does not want.
So Lu Zhaoling said to the Fifth Princess, "Since the imperial physician has already prescribed medicine, let Consort Yu drink it and see. She was frightened at the ancestral temple before, so her emotions may not have calmed down so quickly."
"But maybe after taking the medicine and sleeping it off, I'll feel better tomorrow. If I still feel unwell tomorrow, I'll go to the palace again. My master and I just glanced at the direction of the inner palace and didn't find anything wrong, so you can relax for now."
"Aunt, please come and take a look. Only after you've seen it can we feel at ease..."
The Fifth Princess wanted to continue pleading with Lu Zhaoling, but Zhou Shiyue had already arrived.
"What is this doing?"
As soon as Zhou Shiyue's voice rang out, the Fifth Princess stopped talking.
"I've met the emperor's uncle."
She bowed to Zhou Shiyue very politely.
"The Fifth Princess wants me to visit the inner palace," Lu Zhaoling said.
Zhou Shiyue glanced at the Fifth Princess and said without any mercy, "It's getting late, what are you looking at? Don't you need to leave the palace? There's nothing else to do in the palace, go back."
He said the last sentence directly to the Fifth Princess.
The Fifth Princess moved her lips, then bowed again and withdrew, saying, "Then I'll see how things go tomorrow before bothering you again, Aunt. I'll head back now."
Watching her turn away, Zhou Shiyue grasped Lu Zhaoling's hand. "Don't worry about it."
He then gestured for Yin Changxing to leave the palace together.
Lu Zhaoling was led by him, and seeing that Zhou Shiyue was taking big strides and walking very fast, she could only keep up with him by almost jogging.
Once outside the palace gates and upon seeing the Prince's carriage, Zhou Shiyue slowed his pace.
Lu Zhaoling sighed, "Why are you walking so fast?"
"I was afraid you'd be called back," Zhou Shiyue said quite frankly.
Lu Zhaoling didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"If you can refuse so directly, who can call me back?"
"That's not good."
Zhou Shiyue was unhappy that Lu Zhaoling was spending the night in the palace. If it weren't for what happened this time, he wouldn't have wanted Lu Zhaoling to enter the palace at all.
"Let's go, get in the carriage." Yin Changxing got into the carriage first.
After they caught up and the carriage curtain was lowered, he took out a stone from his sleeve and handed it to them.
"have a look."
Lu Zhaoling paused for a moment, then took it. "Master, where did you pick up these pebbles? They're quite pretty."
“It looks good? Look more closely,” Yin Changxing said.
Zhou Shiyue's gaze also fell on the small stone.
“There are quite a few of these under the peonies in the Imperial Garden,” he said.
“Yes, that’s where I found it. On the flower-lined path from the Imperial Study to the main hall,” Yin Changxing said.
The pebble was dark green and very round and smooth. Lu Zhaoling said it was quite beautiful because its color, once polished, would make it look like a piece of jade.
However, when Yin Changxing asked her to look closely, she had already focused and seen it clearly.
The small stone exuded a chilling aura.
If she holds it in her hand for a while, she can feel a slight tingling sensation in her fingers, but it's very mild, so she might not notice it unless she pays close attention.
“Master, this stone is extremely cold.”
“Yes, these are stones retrieved from the Ghost Abyss. Why are they dark green? It’s because they’re soaked in ghost blood. After being left in the ghost mist for a long time, the stones turned this color,” Yin Changxing said.
"hiss."
Lu Zhaoling thought of what Zhou Shiyue had just said and couldn't help but gasp.
Zhou Shiyue said that there are quite a few in the Imperial Garden.
And since the master revealed the origin of this stone, doesn't that mean—
"When peonies bloom, people who go to admire them will unknowingly be tainted by some ghostly energy, and their bodies will become weaker."
Yin Changxing looked at Zhou Shiyue and said, "The effects of this kind of thing cannot be discovered in the short term. It will take at least eight to ten years. You can enjoy the flowers a few times a year, and after a few years, your body will collapse, and it will collapse silently."
Zhou Shiyue's expression changed slightly.
"Could this be the reason why the former emperor always complains of headaches?"
Because the emperor loved peonies, he would go there to admire them every day when they bloomed each year.
“And Father…” Zhou Shiyue suddenly clenched his fist. “I always thought Father was in good health and would live a long life, but I never expected…”
Yin Changxing didn't speak, but his meaning was clear.
That's probably related to that.
If this stone has been there for many years, the retired emperor must have visited it to admire the peonies before, so it cannot escape the influence of the stone.
“Those peonies have always been taken care of by someone, and these stones have been laid there for many years.”
Zhou Shiyue gritted his teeth, "I will have someone investigate who put it in there."
“We also need to get rid of those things,” Yin Changxing said. “However, it would be best to wait until you catch the person before doing so, so as not to alert them.”
He said this and then fell silent. The rest was naturally left to Zhou Shiyue to handle.
Lu Zhaoling hadn't expected that her master, who had been walking with her the whole time, would be able to find these pebbles, while she hadn't noticed them.
It seems that experience truly matters.
"Master, do you want to go to the Prince's Mansion or return to Huaiyuan?" Lu Zhaoling asked.
"Put me down up there," Yin Changxing said, but he chose the third spot.