Scheming Through The Heavens 021 Looking Back At Home From Afar

  A low-key carriage appeared on the outskirts of Beijing, heading towards the city gate. The outside of the carriage was as ordinary as many other carriages on the street, but only when you sat inside would you discover the endless luxury and indescribable comfort hidden beneath its humble exterior.

  The interior of the carriage was very spacious, and it could accommodate about four people. In this cold winter season, there was not a hint of chill in the carriage. A small, dark copper-colored stove, like a miniature incense burner, continuously emitted wisps of hot air, making the inside of the carriage warm and cozy.

  Unlike the ordinary wood on the outside, from the inside, the entire compartment is made of purple sandalwood, with intricate carvings of lotus patterns. The half berth is covered with a quilted fabric featuring auspicious birds and hibiscus flowers, while even the cushions are made of soft, fragrant green jade satin.

  On the left is a small tea table, on which, in addition to several exquisite small pastries, the most eye-catching is the white jade cup with lotus pattern. One of the cups is open, and inside is Huainan Xiangshan tea, whose fragrance fills the car.

  Apart from the slight swaying of the carriage, it was very quiet inside. On the bed, there was a long rectangular table, and a man sat at it with his head bowed reading a book. He wore a dark blue robe with subtle patterns and his black hair was held back by what looked like an ordinary biyu hairpin.

  The slight swaying of the carriage seemed to have no effect on his interest in reading, until - a knock at the door outside was heard, followed by a clear voice: "Young master, we are approaching the city gate."

  The person who had been reading at his desk finally looked up.

  Look at his face, and one can't help but be stunned. This is a flawless handsome face with a pair of deep, mysterious black eyes under thick eyebrows, a straight nose bridge, full lips that are naturally rosy, plump cheeks, fair skin, and elegant contours that hint at the refined air of a scholar. However, the sharp glint in his profound and calm eyes also lets people know that he is not an ordinary person.

  And he was just a boy between adolescence and manhood, at most seventeen or eighteen years old.

  Calling him a man doesn't quite match his youthful appearance, but calling him a young boy seems to waste the elegant and refined light that emanates from between his eyebrows.

  He simply closed the book on his desk, picked up a cup of tea beside him, and sipped it quietly before giving a soft order: "Head directly into the city." His voice was as enchanting as his appearance.

  From the outside of the carriage, it was ordinary and didn't attract much attention. All the documents were in order, and the carriage easily entered the city.

  As the carriage entered the city, its speed slowed down. Autumn sat beside the driver's seat, looking around at the capital city with a hint of excitement in her eyes, and said to the middle-aged man driving the horse: "Quan Shu, the prosperity of the capital is indeed different."

  A middle-aged man called Uncle Quan glanced at Autumn with a faint look, Autumn shrank his head and secretly stuck out his tongue, Uncle Quan's eyes were still as intimidating as ever.

  Without noticing the autumnal gaze of resentment sitting beside him, he turned his head to look at the carriage and respectfully asked in a low voice again: "Young master, go directly?"

  "Ah, go directly." A response came from inside the carriage.

  Upon hearing the young master's confirmation, Autumn's face slightly changed and he was no longer smiling. Fourth Uncle also stopped speaking and steadily drove the horse carriage through the bustling streets, almost passing through half of the capital city, before arriving at the sparsely populated but heavily guarded inner city, where the residences of the princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials were located.

  Keep going forward until you reach a fork in the road, one is the Imperial City and the other is the suburbs.

  The horse carriage headed directly to the suburbs, at this time, the window that had been tightly closed was gently pushed open, and the people inside glanced faintly in the direction of the imperial city, with an unclear light flashing in their deep eyes.

  The horse carriage finally came to a stop, and Qiu Tian and Quan Shu exchanged a glance, looking at the towering Hua Wang Fu in front of them.

  Autumn jumped down from the horse carriage, tidied up her clothes and hat, then stepped heavily onto the stairs, picked up the copper ring on the tightly closed gate, and knocked it with a moderate force.

  It wasn't until after knocking for about ten times that footsteps could be heard coming from inside.

  The small door next to it creaked open, and the little Shenzi walked out. He first looked suspiciously in the direction of the carriage before turning his head back to look at Qiu Tian, who was knocking on the door, and asked in surprise: "May I ask who you are?" He followed Wang Ye and others to move into Huaiwang Fu Palace fifteen years ago, and Huaiwang Fu had never had any guests coming to the door.

  Qiu Tian smiled slightly: "Junior Qiu Tian, please inform His Highness King Hui that the young master in the carriage is our Gongzi Gu Ling, who has come to pay his respects."

  Xiao Shenz looked at Autumn in surprise and stuttered: "Gu... Gu?" Surname Gu, could it be?

  Autumn nodded: "Yes, Far West is home."

  Xiao Shenzhi excitedly threw out a sentence: "Wait a moment." Then, he rolled and crawled into the mansion, looking around frantically. It was actually the Wang family's maternal relatives who had arrived!

  ……

  Not only the entire imperial palace, but also the court was in a strange atmosphere due to the death of the eldest princess, and Emperor Cheng ordered Zhao Renming, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to conduct a thorough investigation. The mood was eerie and turbulent, and the various palaces within the harem were on high alert, with everyone secretly speculating.

  The cold palace was still calm and peaceful, seemingly unaffected by the tense atmosphere in the imperial palace and court, at least on the surface.

  In the Buddha Hall, Yuan Wuyou continued to play her exclusive melody, but Empress Cui no longer struck her wooden fish sound. She knelt down under the Buddha statue, closed her eyes, clasped her hands together and murmured prayers.

  The music stopped, and the person playing the zither in the inner chamber came out. He bowed to Empress Dowager Cui who was reciting sutras: "I bid you farewell without worries."

  Gu Tai Fei did not open her eyes, while Lan YaYa looked at Yuan WuYou with a mixture of vigilance and apprehension, fearing that this seemingly extremely evil Princess WuYou would provoke her mistress again.

  Yu Wuyou ignored Lan's warning and caution, nodded lightly to her, then walked straight out of the Return to Buddha Hall.

  Yu Wuyou's foot stepped out of the Return to Buddha Hall, and Consort Gu's lips, which had been silently moving in prayer, stopped. She slowly opened her eyes, but there was no calmness in them as there should have been.

  Yu Worry thought that if she truly put her heart and soul into helping Huan'er, the day of his freedom would eventually come. But what if Yu Worry didn't put in the effort to help Huan'er?

  Perhaps she should think carefully about what to do so that Yuan Wuyou won't regret and abandon Huandie in the future.

  Yu Zhu followed Yuan Wu You from behind, looked up and glanced around a few times. This was not the way back to the Tai Hui Hall. Where was the princess going?

  Yu Wu You returned from the Buddha Hall and did not intend to return directly to Tai Hui Dian. Instead, he strolled through the long corridor, which led him to a fork in the road. One path led to Shi Xin Dian, while the other led to Yan Leng Gong, where the eunuchs who served as attendants lived.

  Today, the little eunuch on duty here did not stand guard, but instead secretly leaned against the pillar of the palace and fell asleep with a snore, still holding a hand warmer.

  Yu Worry watched the little eunuch who seemed to know how to enjoy himself, but didn't wake him up. Instead, he carefully stepped over him and headed towards the Lost Heart Palace.

  Yu Zhu watched her walk towards Shi Xin Hall, feeling a wave of tension in her heart. She didn't know what the princess wanted to do and was worried about her.

  The palace guards are all some madwomen, and here there is only one eunuch on duty who is still asleep. If something unexpected happens, there won't even be anyone to save the emperor.

  She couldn't understand why the princess was so interested in this crazy woman in the Lost Heart Palace.

  Yu Zhu closely followed Yuan Wuyou, and as they approached the Lost Heart Palace, every hair on her body stood up in alertness. In her heart, there was only one conviction - she had to protect the princess.

  Yu Worry gazed through the window lattice at a woman with a dull face inside, the doors and windows of Shi Xindian were not made of wood, but used iron and copper that could not be moved by human power.

  Yu Worry stood outside the window, her sharp eyes scanning each one as they passed by.

  Most of the people in the hall slowly reacted, realizing that there was someone standing by the window, staring at them. The emotions of those being stared at began to become uneasy.

  "Pr...princess..." Yu Zhu's voice trembled with fear.

  Yu Worry suddenly smiled and pointed at one of the many anxious women: "You, want to come out?"