Su Yao did not respond immediately.
The three words "Flower-Between Pavilion " and the pill with its old, dark patterns weighed heavily on her mind.
The case involving the elixirs has not yet been fully investigated.
If the Flower-Between Pavilion moves, the water can indeed become murky, but once the water becomes murky, no one can guarantee who will drown first.
Liu Ruyan is currently residing at Prince Yi's Residence.
If this really involves Flower-Between Pavilion, outsiders will only point fingers at Gu Moran and accuse him of marrying the courtesan for intelligence.
Su Yao's fingertips paused on the case file.
This method will work.
But now is definitely not a good time.
She looked at Liu Ruyan.
" Flower-Between Pavilion, don't rush."
Liu Ruyan's hand stopped beside the teacup.
Su Yao added.
It's not that we won't use it, it's that we can't be the first to use it.
"If Shilin and the authorities can still maintain control of the situation, then Flower-Between Pavilion must remain hidden."
"If the day truly comes when there's no way out..." Su Yao slightly tightened her grip, "Then move."
Liu Ruyan looked at her.
A moment later, she moved the teacup in half an inch.
"Okay, whatever you say."
Shen Ling'er, clutching her medicine box, tapped her toes rapidly on the floor tiles.
"And what about me? And what about me?"
Su Yao looked at her.
"You must not go to Shun'an Lane, you must not see Chu Tianxing, and you must not touch Ye Qingyun's corpse."
Shen Ling'er's face fell.
" Sister Su, this is no fun. You've blocked everything I want to do."
"But you can ask Elder Shen to go."
Shen Ling'er's eyes widened instantly, and a light immediately shone in them.
"That works! I'm best at handling old men!"
Lin Qingdai tapped the end of her sword sheath against the table, making a thumping sound.
"Then I'll return to the Grand Commandant's Residence."
Su Yao remained silent, watching her quietly.
Lin Qingdai met Su Yao's gaze and slightly raised her chin.
"That stubborn old man Lin Zhenshan definitely won't step in to bail him out."
"But what if it really comes to the point where the emperor goes mad and sends troops to besiege Prince Yi's Residence's residence..."
Lin Qingdai gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.
"No one knew about the troop movements earlier than him."
"As soon as the news gets out, I'll immediately take Murong Xue and fight my way out."
Shen Ling'er weakly raised her hand beside her.
"Hey... while you're at it, how about I pick up two more truckloads of equipment from your armory? And a couple more skill manuals?"
Lin Qingdai's gaze swept over them with a chilling intensity.
Shen Ling'er immediately covered half her face with her medicine box and shut her mouth.
This time, Su Yao didn't stop her, only leaving behind a firm order.
"You can go."
"Don't you dare draw your sword to scare your father again."
Lin Qingdai turned her face away impatiently, letting out a cold snort.
"Let's see if he cooperates or not."
Su Yao's voice turned cold.
Lin Qingdai.
Lin Qingdai rubbed her fingers on the sword guard twice, then released her grip in frustration.
"Alright, don't draw your sword."
The hall fell silent once more.
Su Yao pushed the flattened case file forward.
"Starting tonight."
"All news from outside should be sent to this room first, and then we can make a decision together."
"No one is allowed to move around without permission."
Murong Xue lay on the table, her green eyes rolling around.
"What if the palace really does detain Gu Moran this time?"
Su Yao's breath hitched for a second.
This is the worst possible outcome.
Outside the hall, the wind whipped rain against the window frames, causing them to creak twice.
Su Yao pinched her palm, forcing herself to steady her voice.
"If they really do detain people, first find out where they're being detained."
Murong Xue suddenly stood up, her hand already touching the hilt of her knife.
Su Yao poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"I'm not asking you to break into prison."
Murong Xue froze, pulling the knife back halfway through its motion, her face filled with disappointment.
Shen Ling'er bit her lip hard, her shoulders shaking like a leaf.
Su Yao continued making arrangements.
"Immediately send a letter to the Hanzhang Hall Noble Consort Chen Palace."
"Then go to Jingzhao Prefecture and Chang'an County to confirm that the case files must not have any additions or subtractions to the testimonies."
"The final step is to decide whether or not to force our way out of the city."
After listening, Murong Xue counted on her fingers.
"So, the prison break is the third step?"
Su Yao raised her hand to rub her throbbing temples.
"It's the final step."
Murong Xue reluctantly accepted.
"Okay, as long as I get a number, that's fine."
Lin Qingdai couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Princess of the Northern Territory, rest assured, no one in the entire capital dares to compete with you for this job."
Xie Wanqing lowered her head, dipped her brush in ink, and added a line of text to the end of the plain paper.
Liu Ruyan picked up the now-stale tea, took a small sip, and stared at the rain outside the window.
Shen Ling'er quickly finished writing a list of poisoned ingredients, then suddenly stopped writing and looked up.
"Hey, what do you guys say..."
"If my husband comes back safe and sound and finds that we had a meeting in the middle of the night to discuss these things..."
"Won't he think we're trying to seize power and sideline him?"
Upon hearing this, all five people in the hall stopped what they were doing.
Su Yao looked at the empty seat in the main room.
If Gu Moran were here.
He would definitely first give Murong Xue a smug grin, then roll up her outrageous "prison break list" and whack her on the head.
Then he lazily asked everyone if they had prepared waterproof soft boots for him to run away in.
With just a few words, the tension that filled the room with the fear of losing one's head was completely dispelled.
But he wasn't there.
Su Yao reached out and moved the empty teacup that belonged to Gu Moran half an inch closer to her, protecting it.
"Let's talk about it when he comes back alive."
Murong Xue stared intently at the teacup.
"What if he doesn't come back?"
The temperature in the hall instantly dropped to freezing again.
Su Yao met Murong Xue's gaze with her back ramrod straight, not taking a single step back.
"Then let's follow the route we planned for tonight."
"Save lives first."
A fierce glint appeared in her eyes.
"Let's settle the score later."
Su Yao's gaze swept over the five women before finally settling on one.
"All the doors to the courtyards must be locked tonight."
"Anyone who leaks even the slightest word out of this place is a traitor, and don't blame me for turning against them."
Shen Ling'er was the first to raise her hand.
" Green Vine Courtyard is innocent! My people are more secure than my medicine chest."
Lin Qingdai gave a nonchalant reply.
"Who spread the word about your croton powder incident so widely throughout the manor last time?"
Shen Ling'er's eyes widened.
"That's because you have super hearing and came to eavesdrop!"
Lin Qingdai sneered.
"Your broken teapot makes a clattering noise; even a dog could hear it."
Murong Xue interjected with a serious expression.
"Does the Prince's residence keep dogs? Dogs do have excellent hearing; we in the Northern Territory have many methods for training dogs to kill people."
Lin Qingdai slapped her forehead.
"No dog! I was just using an analogy!"
Su Yao cleared her throat, interrupting the argument that was about to veer off course again.
"Alright, it's late, let's disperse..."
Before the words were finished, a series of hurried and chaotic splashing sounds came from under the corridor.
Uncle Fu pushed open the door, his clothes covered in mud and water, and he was still out of breath.
Ladies!
"His Highness is back!"
All six women in the hall turned to look at the doorway.
As soon as Gu Moran stepped across the threshold with her right foot, she sensed that something was wrong in the room.
The table was covered with case files, plain paper, and prescriptions.
Murong Xue's scimitar was pressed down beside her, while Lin Qingdai's sword hung at her waist in the most convenient position.
Shen Ling'er clutched the medicine box tightly, Xie Wanqing held a pen, and Liu Ruyan pressed the envelope.
Su Yao sat upright beside the main seat, her fingers still tightly gripping his teacup.
Gu Moran stopped in her tracks.
He had just crawled out of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate, that hellish place that devours people without spitting out their bones.
My stomach still feels uncomfortable because of the emperor's arrogant and suspicious face.
As a result, he pushed open the door.
Goodness!
Is their own backyard finally unable to contain themselves any longer, having divided into factions and preparing for a bloody battle?
He felt a tightness in his back and turned to look at Uncle Fu.
Uncle Fu kept his head very low, not even daring to lift his eyelids.
Gu Moran untied his cloak and tossed it aside.
Ladies and gentlemen.
"I'm just going to the palace to give a report."
He deliberately dragged out his words to hide the unease in his heart.
"Are you all sitting here in full gear, performing rituals in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
He walked to the table and pointed to the swords, the medicine box, and the pile of papers covered with names.
"What? Planning a three-way trial?"
"Or are they seeing things are going badly and planning to take my head for the reward?"
Shen Ling'er slammed the medicine box onto the table.
"What reward? Husband, don't talk nonsense."
Lin Qingdai crossed her arms and held her chin high.
"No, it's just that someone almost broke into the prison."
Gu Moran looked at her, her mind momentarily blank.
"Prison breakout?"
Who are you planning to kidnap?
Murong Xue slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
"You!"
Gu Moran's eyelids twitched violently.
He turned to look at Su Yao.
Su Yao lowered her head and drank her tea, avoiding his gaze.
He looked at Shen Ling'er.
Shen Ling'er closed the medicine box lid tightly.
"Why are you looking at me? The job I took was just to poison the jailer at the gate."
Gu Moran walked around to the head seat and plopped down.
Looking at the table covered with densely written plans, the veins on his forehead bulged.
Are you guys serious? Are you out of your minds?
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[Thanks to the great verification from Sirenyou, the update reminder from Yezihuang, and the love letters from Shenxing and Xiandehen!]
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