In the faint light of dawn, before the sky had fully brightened, Jiang Yingcheng blearily opened her eyes.
With her beautiful imperial father always sneaking out in the middle of the night lately to handle official business, she had been waking with a start at midnight for quite some time.
This time, however, she had managed, for once, not to storm outside in a huff.
Jiang Yingcheng furtively opened her door a crack, then just as furtively poked her head out and looked around for a while. Only after confirming that no one was talking nearby did she withdraw with relief.
Hooray!
Joy blossomed in Jiang Yingcheng's heart, and she happily hummed a little tune to herself.
Hooray!!
She struggled to drag a chair over to block the door, then skipped over to sit at the round table. Taking out the thick stack of paper she had asked Brother Yuan to write on that day, she deftly cut it into pretty little squares.
Hmm... deep in the mountain hollow, there is... where's the word "is"?
What about the "trap" in "booby trap"?
Jiang Yingcheng searched with great concentration, but even so, she did not get to keep at it for long.
-A sudden commotion broke out beyond the door.
Jiang Yingcheng could not hear it clearly. She only felt that whoever had come was up to no good, shouting something in an overbearing tone. Soon, someone darted out of a room and began trying to placate the visitor in a low voice.
She lowered her head and thought for a moment, carefully put away the slips of paper on the table, moved the chair away from the door, and opened it another crack.
Once she poked her head out, the conversation became much clearer.
"Get a move on," the officer