Hu Xiaotian's heart stirred. From their conversation, it was easy to tell that Baobao had not gone to the Palace Gardens Bureau to look for Chinese bayberries at all. Her real purpose had been to find the underground passage. They must have been searching for a long time, unfortunately without a single lead, while he had stumbled upon a map of the passage on Wang Desheng. Heh, as the saying went, you could wear out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find it without the slightest effort. Some things could only be obtained by those destined for them.
Baobao asked, "Sister, why do we never see His Majesty come to Lingyu Hall?"
Her question touched Lin Wan's sore spot. She gave a melancholy sigh and lowered her head, her beautiful eyes gazing sadly at the water. Only after a long silence did she say, "The last time I saw him was at his coronation ceremony. Ever since he ascended the throne and I moved into Lingyu Hall, he hasn't come even once. He hasn't so much as sent a greeting."
Baobao asked, "Has he discovered something?"
Lin Wan shook her head. "Impossible."
Seeing Lin Wan's expression, Baobao seemed unable to bear continuing the subject. There were three thousand beauties in the imperial harem, and Great Kang's palace held far more than that. How could the emperor possibly devote his interest to just one woman? She said softly, "That little eunuch surnamed Hu seems to have some backing."
Lin Wan said, "Don't take such risks again. If anything happened to you, how would I answer to our godfather?"
Baobao said, "I'm certain there's something strange about that wine cellar. Maybe that little eunuch Hu knows where the secret passage is."
Lin Wan said, "Our godfather only told us to act