Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 21
For some reason, Emperor Xuanlong himself never set foot in the Nalan Nan clan's ancestral temple.
Zi Jin, dressed in plain clothes, mingled in the crowd, anxiously looking around. Someone next to her tugged at her sleeve.
Yu Luo was dressed in men's clothing and had her beautiful face painted even darker than Zi Jin's. She whispered to Zi Jin, "Master, don't be impatient. Come with me into the temple later, and we'll see what happens."
Zi Jin was jostled and pushed around by the crowd, and her hatred for Jun Lin intensified.
Yu Luo pulled Zi Jin and squeezed into an even more crowded place, where the Nalan Nan family temple was already surrounded by soldiers.
Yu Luo led Zi Jin to the back gate of the temple, a place where the soldiers were less vigilant: "Master, I will go and distract them. You can act according to the situation later, and we will meet up inside." After saying this, Yu Luo picked up a black cloth and covered his face, then leaped away from where Zi Jin was hiding.
Soon after, Zi Jin heard a commotion. She crouched down and quickly darted toward the back door, easily passing through the now unguarded entrance.
Zi Jin carefully avoided the soldiers inside, choosing instead to take secluded paths. As she walked, she cursed Emperor Xuanlong inwardly for building the mere Nalan Nan clan ancestral temple into such a maze. At this moment, Zi Jin had not yet found the main hall of the temple, and the fact that Yu Luo had not yet arrived filled her with worry.
Suddenly a figure darted past, and Zi Jin, in a panic, opened a door next to her and rushed inside.
Hearing hurried footsteps outside the door, Zi Jin, who had been holding her breath, finally dared to raise her eyes and let out a breath.
The first thing that catches the eye is a huge portrait. The woman in the painting is about sixteen years old, wearing a bright yellow robe with phoenix trim, and her embroidered sash flutters in the wind. The woman is not beautiful, but her skin is like jade, and her brows reveal both dignity and sorrow.
Zi Jin gazed silently at the portrait of the woman opposite her, a sense of déjà vu welling up within her. She must have seen this woman somewhere before; otherwise, why would she feel such a profound familiarity upon first seeing the portrait, as if she had just witnessed it yesterday?
A beautiful woman rolls up the beaded curtain, sitting deep within, her brows furrowed. Tears stain her skin; who knows whom she hates in her heart?
"What a fine 'I don't know who you hate'! May I ask how this young master is addressed?" On the exquisitely carved sandalwood bed on the west side of the room, a woman sat gracefully, with a goddess-like face, delicate eyebrows that stretched like distant mountains, thick green hair that resembled spring mist, and lips that were a touch of rosy cherry. With a light laugh, she was already a beauty that could topple kingdoms.
Zi Jincai realized that she had unknowingly revealed all her thoughts.
Zi Jin was stunned for a while before she remembered that she was not wearing a mask, and hurriedly covered herself with her sleeve.
The woman covered her mouth and laughed, instantly exuding charm: "You've already seen it all, why do you still need to cover your face?"
Zi Jin thought about it and agreed. Since she had already seen it, what was there to be afraid of? After today, she would have to return to the palace, and she thought that the two of them would never have the chance to see each other again in this life. Zi Jin simply put down her sleeves generously and said seriously, "I was presumptuous. In my haste, I mistakenly entered Miss's boudoir. I hope Miss will forgive me."
The woman suddenly laughed even harder: "What an interesting young man... Where did you get this?!" The woman's smile suddenly changed, and she pointed to the glass thumb ring that Zi Jin was wearing around her neck.
Zi Jin then realized that the glass thumb ring she had been wearing inside her underwear, which she had intended to take out from the pawnshop, had somehow come out.
Just as Zi Jin was about to answer, she suddenly heard a chaotic sound of footsteps and a piercing whistle.
Zi Jin quickly covered her face with the black cloth that Yu Luo had prepared for her, intending to say goodbye to the woman, but the woman had vanished without a trace.
Zi Jin was shocked to realize that this was the ancestral temple of the Nalan Nan tribe. How could there be a living woman living here? Had she encountered a ghost?
But there was no time for Zi Jin to think further. Hearing that it was quiet outside, Zi Jin hurriedly opened the door and ran outside.
Zi Jin headed toward the source of the commotion when suddenly a dark figure descended from the sky, startling her so much that she turned and ran.
The man said, "Master! It's me."
Zi Jin stopped walking and turned around to see Yu Luo looking at her with an angry expression.
"How can you be so unresponsive, Master? We agreed that you would wait for me at the rockery by the back door. Why did you come here instead? What did you promise me in the first place?"
Zi Jin quickly lowered her head, looking repentant.
Knowing they were in a dangerous situation and couldn't delay, Yu Luo grabbed Zi Jin and leaped towards safety.
Zi Jin immediately looked at Yu Luo with a questioning gaze: Where is Jun Lin?
Yu Luo dragged Zi Jin to safety and said, "Master, we must return to the palace quickly! The Crown Prince has been kidnapped!"
Zi Jin was initially startled, then a cunning smile appeared on her face. She had followed Jun Lin out to seek revenge, and now that he had been kidnapped, it was truly pitiful. Although she wasn't the one who had taken revenge herself, Jun Lin was certainly not in a good state now that he was in someone else's hands.
Zi Jinxin was reluctantly dragged along by Yu Luo, and they managed to escape the Nalan Nan clan's ancestral temple by dodging the many soldiers.
After Zi Jin and Yu Luo left, a woman silently flew down from a tree and landed where the two had been talking. The woman snapped her fingers.
Four men in black appeared beside the woman at the same time.
The woman turned around gracefully, revealing another woman sitting to the side. She was a graceful goddess with delicate eyebrows that resembled distant mountain peaks, thick green hair that looked like spring smoke, and lips that were a touch of rosy cherries. With a light laugh, she was already a beauty that could topple kingdoms.
This was clearly the woman Zi Jin had just encountered.
The woman smiled slightly and said to the four men, "The plan has changed. Let's release the Crown Prince of Yue."
Before Zi Jin and Yu Luo could change out of their plain clothes, news came from the palace: the kidnapping of the Crown Prince was a false alarm. After offering incense at the Nalan Nan tribe's ancestral temple, His Highness the Crown Prince wandered around and fell asleep while captivated by the scenery, only to later learn that it was all a misunderstanding.
Upon hearing this, Zi Jin was so angry she nearly fainted. How many days had she pleaded with Yu Luo to leave the palace on the same day as Jun Lin? How much effort had she poured into planning such a perfect scheme to carry out her revenge?
After hearing this, Yu Luo said, "I had no intention of deceiving you, Master. I saw His Highness the Crown Prince being kidnapped with my own eyes before I went to find you."
Zi Jin knew that the matter was far more serious than the rumors from the palace made it out to be. She had clearly heard the commotion and shouts, so why was Crown Prince Jun Lin able to return to the palace unharmed?
The incident of Crown Prince Jun Lin's abduction quickly faded away in the deep palace as Emperor Xuanlong had no intention of investigating it.
From that day on, Emperor Xuanlong's brows were often furrowed with confusion and bewilderment.
There were many speculations about this. According to the soldiers who accompanied them last time, they found the Crown Prince sleeping soundly on an exquisitely carved sandalwood bed in a room with a huge portrait of a woman.
Frustrated, Zi Jin busied herself with plotting her next revenge.
Zi Jin's revenge plan, which she had been brewing again, was repeatedly delayed due to the lack of an opportunity, while Jun Lin had the upper hand in every aspect. Amid Jun Lin's cruelty and Jun Chi's increasingly fluent speech, Zi Jin passed through the first year of the Moon Kingdom and ushered in its first spring.
A goddess reincarnated to save the common people, she was born to answer questions of love and tribulations, young and innocent, unaware of sorrow. (Part 1)