Gu Moran pushed the lamp away another half inch.
"Who she should hate is not for me to decide."
Liu Ruyan stopped pointing and looked up at him.
"If I hate the emperor, are you afraid?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the musty smell in the room became even stronger.
Madam Chun clenched the handkerchief in her hand, then quickly loosened it, afraid of revealing her panic.
Gu Moran did not answer immediately.
The face behind the imperial desk in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate appeared first. The emperor stared at him, the air thick with the scent of medicinal pills, and asked him why he was always in the wind.
Next up was the main hall during the stormy night.
Su Yao spread out the case files, Shen Ling'er held the medicine box, Murong Xue planned a prison break, Lin Qingdai held her sword, Xie Wanqing wrote down a list, and Liu Ruyan pushed the Flower-Between Pavilion information network onto the table.
These images are crammed together.
Gu Moran smoothed out the corners of the list, and her palm was pricked by a splinter on the table.
pain.
This also allows him to reassure himself.
"Don't worry if you're scared."
Liu Ruyan didn't speak, she just looked at him.
Gu Moran said, "The important thing is that you have to stay alive first. Only when you're alive do you have the right to say you hate anyone."
A laugh came from behind the screen, but the laugh was interrupted by a cough.
"That sounds like something a prince who's managed to live to this day would say."
Gu Moran up.
"If you only want to praise me, choose another time."
There was a moment of silence behind the screen before he continued speaking.
"The Crown Prince has been secluded at home for three months, and all external affairs of the Eastern Palace have ceased."
"The Second Prince's offering of elixirs led to an accident; a former employee of the elixir shop died next to the old warehouse of the Flower-Between Pavilion."
"The emperor's suspicions have intensified; the one in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate now sees no one as innocent."
" The Prince Yi's Residence married women from six different families: the Su Clan, the Shen Family, the Northern Territory family, the Flower-Between Pavilion, the Grand Commandant's Residence, and the Xie Clan."
The man tapped the table with his knuckles.
"If Your Highness continues to claim that you only wish to be a carefree prince, no one will believe you."
The emperor would certainly not believe it.
After hearing these words, Gu Moran's mind was once again filled with the image of the lights in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate.
The real danger is never the case files or the evidence.
It's the suspicion on the dragon throne.
Even though the Liu Clan didn't plot a rebellion, they were still wiped out.
The Prince Yi's Residence now holds sway over six families. If it gets written into a secret investigation report one day, it might only be a few lines on the paper.
Liu Ruyan closed the list.
The paper pressed against the table with a muffled sound.
"You sent me here so I could take revenge?"
The person behind the screen didn't answer for a long time.
The wick burned out, and the room became a little darker. Madam Chun wanted to pick up the lamp, but stopped halfway through her reach.
The person behind the screen spoke.
No one can choose for you.
Liu Ruyan asked, "Then why are you only opening this door now?"
The person behind the screen answered slowly.
"Because Tao Wujiu is dead."
"Because Second Prince's Residence and the Imperial City Bureau have extended their reach to the old building."
"Since you've already married into Prince Yi's Residence, continuing to hide it wouldn't be protecting you, it would be pushing you and him together into danger."
Liu Ruyan looked down at the roll of names, her throat bobbing.
Gu Moran pulled the old paper a little closer to herself.
That's enough.
The person behind the screen asked, "Does Your Highness not want her to hate you?"
Gu Moran looked at the screen.
I'm not afraid of her hatred.
"I'm afraid you'll suppress your hatred too quickly, and then she'll pay with her life."
After he finished speaking, he pressed his hand on the half of the bronze plaque on the table.
"You dare summon me here, aren't you afraid I'll expose all this to the Emperor? That means you still have something in your possession."
Are any of the former members of the Liu Clan still alive?
There was no answer from behind the screen.
Gu Moran pressed his fingers against the edge of the bronze plaque.
"They're in a rush to take revenge now; every death of a former member of the Liu Clan is a loss."
"I must protect her, and I must also protect everyone else in the palace. I need to know who is alive, who is still useful, and who is no longer safe to touch."
Madam Chun looked at the screen.
The person behind the screen coughed a few times, this time even more violently.
Gu Moran smelled the medicine.
Purple gromwell root, angelica root, angelica sinensis, beeswax.
There's also the musty smell that comes from old wood that's been damp for years.
The person behind the screen said, "I am one of the helmsmen of the old network left behind by Liu Huaijin."
"The old building is only responsible for opening the door to the Liu Clan case."
"The road ahead will be traversed by the Liu Clan and His Highness Prince Yi."
Madam Chun took out a second small box from her sleeve and placed it in front of Liu Ruyan.
This box is smaller than the previous one. The wood surface is polished to a shine, and there are dents on the edges. It's clearly something that's been carried around with you for many years.
Liu Ruyan glanced at Gu Moran.
Gu Moran pushed the box over.
"Open."
Liu Ruyan pulled out the plain hairpin and pressed the tip into the groove.
Click.
The box lid popped open.
There was only one list inside; the paper wasn't new, it had been folded many times, and the creases were whitish.
Madam Chun spread out the list.
"These are my former subordinates, former students, and secret agents scattered throughout the capital."
Some of them are no longer usable.
Some only have descendants left.
"Some are still waiting for the Liu Clan to step in."
Liu Ruyan's hand touched the list, then stopped.
"They knew I was still alive?"
Madam Chun said, "Only a few people know."
Liu Ruyan asked again, "Will they work for me?"
The person behind the screen replied, "Someone will be willing."
Liu Ruyan raised her head.
Gu Moran turned the list to her and looked at it line by line.
Former student.
Southern River Grain Line.
Descendants of the former accountant of the Grand Tutor's mansion.
Shou Dan by the well.
His hand stopped on those four words.
"Is Inobe Moritan also one of your people? Who is he?"
Madam Chun replied, "Your Highness will know when you arrive."
"After the Liu Clan's downfall, he was also targeted and lost half his body, but he later escaped."
We always thought he was dead.
The person behind the screen added a sentence.
"I just found out too; he's still in Old Well Alley of the city."
Gu Moran asked, "You just found out?"
The person behind the screen said, "It was found last night."
Gu Moran felt a heaviness in his stomach.
If there is still a resident of Old Well Alley of the city who guards the cinnabar, that person is now either a witness or a sitting duck.
Liu Ruyan pressed down on the list.
I'll go with you to see him.
Gu Moran looked at her.
Her face was still pale, her hair wasn't fully tied up, and a few strands of hair fell by her temples.
The person who was in his arms last night asking him if he disliked her is now carrying the weight of over two hundred lives of the Liu Clan in her heart, even her breathing is very steady.
Too cautiously.
Gu Moran folded the list and tucked it into her sleeve.
Come with me.
Liu Ruyan was about to speak.
Gu Moran cut her off first.
"Leave everything to me."
Liu Ruyan looked at him.
What if I don't listen?
Gu Moran took her plain hairpin and put it back in her hair.
He moved gently as the hairpin tip pierced her hair bun, so as not to scratch her scalp.
"Then I'll carry you back to the Prince's mansion and have Shen Ling'er give you a calming soup."
The person behind the screen laughed again.
"If Your Highness only wants to protect women, the bolts on the gates of the Prince's mansion are not enough."
Gu Moran stopped adjusting her cuffs.
The person behind the screen continued:
"You need to ensure that no one dares to seize your assets."