I glanced at him sideways and said seriously, "Tell me about this Gongzi Chen you mentioned before?"
Lou Xiyue put down her chopsticks, looked at me, and said, “I only know that Gongzi Chen is good at setting up formations, but once in a battle between two armies, he mistakenly set up the Swimming Dragon Formation, resulting in a complete defeat and a terrible loss. Yubu was captured by the Eastern Lands during that battle.”
I said, "In war, there are wins and losses. Isn't victory and defeat normal?"
He pondered for a moment and said, "Well, Yubu is a large port, with a salt road running through the Qianshan Mountains. To the west of Yubu is the grassland. The people of the East are good at fighting on horseback. So after capturing Yubu, they went west and almost broke through the capital."
I told him, "My master is the young master Chen you mentioned."
He nodded. "I know."
After thinking about it, I decided to tell him the whole story so that I would have someone to discuss things with later. So I said: My master saved Zi Mo before, and then Zi Mo fell in love with him. At that time, he was still An Chen. Later, he was poisoned by wolf poison and lost his memory, which is why he went to Medicine King Valley.
After listening, Lou Xiyue rested her chin on the upright fan handle and asked two questions, "Does An Chen like Zi Mo? How did he get wolfsbane?"
That was truly a spot-on question. I selectively ignored the first one, but the second one was indeed the most crucial turning point in this perplexing, heart-wrenching, and agonizing saga of past lives, national hatred, and love.
I said, "I'd like to know too. But my master was poisoned, and he probably doesn't remember anything."
I suspect that "Zi Mo may have poisoned him."
Lou Xiyue frowned, "How about..."
I asked him, "Do you have a solution?"
He ate some food with his chopsticks. "I'll go find Zi Mo tonight and get some answers. After that, we'll go back to the Central Plains early tomorrow morning to test the medicine on my third uncle."
I had hoped that Lou Xiyue would have a brilliant plan to find the whole story from the smallest clues, and that it would give me a sudden and clear understanding. But the solution he came up with was exactly what I had thought of before, and it was the easiest way to get myself into trouble.
I said, "Do you think she'll tell us just because we ask? What if she really poisoned my master? If we interrogate her so directly, it could really provoke her and cause a huge problem."
Lou Xiyue said calmly, "That's why I said, ask the questions and then run."
Because this operation was clandestine, we planned it with exceptional care. We left Dafeng at the tavern and even gave it a roast chicken to play with. Ji Jiu waited on the eaves. I covered myself completely with two veils, leaving only my eyes visible, to prevent Zi Mo from seeking revenge later and posting pictures of me all over the world.
Lou Xiyue changed into a black outfit. He removed the jade crown that he usually used to tie his hair up and tied it with a black silk ribbon, giving him the look of a thief stealing melons in the dead of night.
The moonlight is completely obscured by the clouds tonight. Sparse palace maids occasionally move about in the palace, carrying palace lanterns and casting long shadows on the bluestone path.
It was nearly midnight, and all was quiet except for the occasional soft rustling of falling leaves against the pavement.
Lou Xiyue and I walked close to the corner of the wall, and he reached out and grabbed me.
I was a little confused, so I lowered my voice and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lou Xiyue tightened his grip, suddenly turned around and pinned me against the wall, completely covering me. He leaned down and breathed into my ear, whispering, "We need to be discreet."
Perhaps someone walked past him, but he pressed me down so hard that I didn't see a single ray of light.
Lou Xiyue parted my fingers and intertwined them with mine.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he said, "A palace servant just walked by; let me take your hand and lead you away."
After walking a few steps, he squeezed the back of my hand and asked with a smile, "Xiao Xiang, why are your palms sweaty?"
I was speechless.
He smiled and said, "Oh, you're nervous."
I said, "I'm not nervous at all."
Lou Xiyue said with a playful tone, "Miss, are you embarrassed because you held my hand?" After saying this, he stopped and tilted his head to look at me.
The night was so dark that I couldn't see Lou Xiyue's expression at all, but I could see that his eyes were very bright.
I looked left and right, then looked up at the sky. "The moon is so round tonight."
Lou Xiyue chuckled softly, lowered her head slightly, and narrowed her long eyes. "Oh—the moonlight is so beautiful. Are you having second thoughts, young lady?"
I pulled my hand away and urged him, "Hurry up and go, hurry up and go."
He said casually, "It would be better if it were daytime right now."
I asked him, "Why?"
Lou Xiyue lowered her head and smiled, "Then I can see you blushing."
Zi Mo's room remained pitch black.
Lou Xiyue and I secretly opened the door and slipped inside when Lou Xiyue suddenly grabbed me and swerved to the side.
I saw a flash of silver light before my eyes, and someone was wielding a knife and slashing at us.
Zi Mo asked in a deep voice, "Who?!"
Lou Xiyue froze, then heard a soft sound, the sound of her robe tearing.
I mustered my courage and said in the dark, "Ahem, Lord Zi Mo, I am Qi Xiang."
Lou Xiyue lit the lamps inside the room, casting a dim, yellowish glow.
Zi Mo glanced at me, her expression indifferent. "What are you doing here?"
I smiled at Zi Mo in an extremely friendly manner, "Well, Master asked me to check your symptoms and ask if you have any discomfort. Did you sleep well?"
Chapter 5