"Shh!" Zhao Rong suddenly raised his index finger.
The Sword Spirit reacted swiftly, not being a useless team member at such a crucial moment.
It gazed outward through the center of his brow, and indeed, the waterfall beside the pond was suddenly split in two by a force.
A woman’s silhouette emerged between the diverging waterfalls.
The figure was voluptuous, dressed in flowing white attire, walking with a graceful stride...
Hidden by the tree trunk, Zhao Rong let out a slight sigh of relief.
Hmm, it’s not some mastermind; he recognized this woman.
The Phoenix female officer of the Music Bureau, second in rank only to Chief Musical Officer Mu Jin.
Zhao Rong muttered, "So, she’s acting on orders from the Du Gu Clan to handle the matter of the Dragon Coffin entering the Imperial Mausoleum? But why do it in the dead of night? And what was she doing in there alone just now, inspecting?"
But before he could conjure up new suspicions, there was a new commotion beside the pond.
The voluptuous woman known as Snow Silk scanned the area with cold eyes, then nodded at the string music Linu girls of the awaiting realm.
The string music Linu girls immediately stepped forward, bringing along the two white-clothed women with covered faces and eyes behind them.
Zhao Rong’s gaze instantly fell on the latter.
There were eighteen of these white-clothed women, their faces hidden, varying in height, mostly slender, likely young women.
Among them, the shortest one seemed to be an undeveloped little girl at first glance.
Zhao Rong furrowed his brow.
Gui grumbled, "Hey, Zhao Rong, who are these people?"
He thought for a moment, "With the Imperial Mausoleum about to be sealed, and them being taken in with their eyes covered... they are probably the concubines and beauties from the late Emperor Li’s harem, meant for... live burial."
"Tsk tsk, so they were rivals of the Great Li Empress Dowager in the past?" The Sword Spirit chuckled, "So the Du Gu Clan used the pretense of righteousness to send them all in? Hmm, as for why she doesn’t join them, well, her son is the Emperor, and she’s the current Empress Dowager."
Zhao Rong said nothing, furrowing his brow, feeling that something was amiss.
The Du Gu Clan didn’t strike him as the type to be petty; although an actress, yes, beautiful women are often good actors, especially those who enter the imperial family.
But just for political reputation, the Du Gu Clan shouldn’t seize this opportunity to send all the late Emperor Li’s concubines into the Imperial Mausoleum for burial.
Ultimately, it would be too cruel and would invite criticism, which is precisely what they want to avoid right now.
However, these actions being carried out at daybreak, quietly, can be understood as a means to avoid being discovered by too many.
But a certain beautiful widow probably never expected him to take a midnight stroll and stumble upon the Dragon Energy, finding the location of this Imperial Mausoleum...
Gui glanced ahead a few times, "Hey, Zhao Rong, what do you think?"
Zhao Rong pondered for a moment and softly said:
"The Du Gu Clan would have many methods if they wanted to kill them, not to do so this way... But, maybe the woman was simply jealous? Did she truly love the late Emperor Li?"
He was unsure in his tone.
Gui retracted his gaze, chuckled softly:
"Heh, those little girls, as if the late Emperor Li was as wise as you praise; at least in matters of women, he had no restraint, almost catching up to Master Zhao’s taste, really something."
A young Confucian scholar was immediately struck, unable to suppress the little question marks popping up all over his forehead...
Thus, the person hiding in the tree strongly objected: "What the hell is my taste? How am I dragged into this? No taste at all!"
The Sword Spirit nodded, "I’ve seen many scenes in your heart; when your ladies were little kids, you started already, you scoundrel."
Zhao Rong’s blood pressure spiked, protesting:
"I was a kid too then, right? Is it wrong for kids to befriend kids? How did you twist the innocence of childhood into something sinister? Childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates, understand?"
Gui nodded, "Not quite, I only know you’re worse than a rabbit?"
Zhao Rong couldn’t help but be curious, "Rabbit... what about the rabbit?"
"Even rabbits avoid eating the grass around their burrow," the tone was leisurely.
Amidst the exchange of banter, a different scene unfolded on the field.
In front of the waterfall, Snow Silk stood with her hands folded behind her, silent and composed.
The string music Linu girls escorted the veiled and blindfolded women past her and into the parted waterfall.
Zhao Rong focused his vision, within the waterfall there seemed to be a dark corridor...
After roughly understanding what was transpiring on the field, Zhao Rong did not leave immediately.
Continuing to hide in the tree, he waited a bit longer.
No unfamiliar villains showed up unexpectedly, nor did someone spout a monologue of conspiracy.
"Just the normal process of the Dragon Coffin entering the mausoleum..."
Zhao Rong softly mused, even though there was no thrilling sensation of uncovering a conspiracy, slightly disappointed, he did not leave right away.
The presence of Snow Silk, being a Phoenix female officer, was also a factor different from when he arrived.
He wasn’t sure of her abilities, so whether sneaking away undetected would work was uncertain.
The young Confucian scholar suppressed his breathing even more subtly, as his gaze gradually shifted to the group of people trembling in fear in a certain direction...
About the time of a stick of incense later.
The string music Linu girls who had entered the waterfall corridor returned one after another.
As Zhao Rong expected, only they returned, with none of the veiled and blindfolded white-clothed women they led in.
The leader among the string music Linu girls nodded lightly to Snow Silk.
The latter nodded in response, leading her away from the waterfall.
In a split second, the parted waterfall streams conjoined.
From the outside, there seemed nothing unusual about the waterfall.
An outsider, unaware, would likely never discover the oddity behind the cliff face of the waterfall...
PS: Thanks to the user "A Piece of Five-Spirit Fat" for the 1500 coin reward!