Chapter 25

Just as the window was about to be pushed open, a powerful gust of wind burst through the door and windows. No one caught a clear glimpse of what had entered. When calm finally returned, Young Master Sun and his two servants lay collapsed on the ground.

Miss Zhong scrambled up from the couch in a hurry, straightening her clothes.

“Benefactor, thank you! Thank you so much!”

She kept thanking them nonstop, too afraid to lift her head, completely unaware that the person was already walking toward her.

“Miss Zhong!”

The Prince Consort bounced over, startling Miss Zhong half to death.

“Prince Consort?”

Miss Zhong stared in stunned silence for a long moment before blurting out in surprise, “It’s really you, Prince Consort. Did you come to save me?”

Tao Chuyi scratched her head. “Maybe… I guess?”

Tao Chuyi didn’t remember much either—just that a gust of wind had swept in, and suddenly Tao Chuyi was inside the room. Before Tao Chuyi could even charge forward and beat the men down, they had already collapsed.

From the corner of her eye, Tao Chuyi spotted Young Master Sun lying unconscious by the bed, and a blaze of anger ignited in Tao Chuyi’s heart.

Bullying a girl? You bastard!

Tao Chuyi rolled up her sleeves and landed a solid punch right on Young Master Sun’s face.

“That’s for bullying Miss Zhong! I’ll beat you to death!”

Tao Chuyi followed up with four more punches and a couple of kicks. The once-fine young noble was left with a massive black eye.

If Miss Zhong hadn’t stopped Tao Chuyi, insisting they needed to find Miss An first, Tao Chuyi would have beaten the utter scoundrel to a pulp.

The two Dali Temple guards had been searching the garden for ages without finding a trace of Miss An. They had even dug up the loose soil beneath the trees.

According to the plan, once they found Miss An, they were supposed to send up the signal. Now they had nothing to show for it, leaving both men at a loss.

Just then, Tao Chuyi came running out to join them. Fortunately, everyone from the Sun Residence was occupied with the birthday banquet up front, so no one had noticed the activity in the back garden. Still, the birthday ceremony was about to begin, and as the man of the hour, Young Master Sun was expected in the front hall.

“I’ll escort the Prince Consort and Miss Zhong out first,” the bearded guard proposed. “Leave the rest to us.”

But Tao Chuyi shook her head. She was determined to find this Miss An that everyone was looking for—to claim credit from Fairy Sister upon returning.

The two guards exchanged glances, even more troubled now. They couldn’t find Miss An, and the Prince Consort refused to leave. What were they supposed to do?

Miss Zhong agreed with Tao Chuyi—they wouldn’t leave without rescuing Miss An. They needed to find her alive or bring back her body.

And so the four of them split into three groups once more to search. Tao Chuyi paired up with Miss Zhong to check around Young Master Sun’s room.

“Prince Consort, we’ve already searched the nearby peony flower beds and the room itself,” Miss Zhong said, her brows furrowed in worry. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

What if all this risk had been for nothing, and the Sun family got off scot-free? That would be a huge loss.

Tao Chuyi dashed back into Young Master Sun’s room and rummaged around haphazardly—here a bit, there a bit, with no rhyme or reason. Finally, Tao Chuyi stopped in front of a peony flower and stared at it blankly.

The peony was completely dried out, standing quietly in a white jade vase facing the bed.

What kind of twisted hobby did that big bad Sun have? Who kept a wilted flower in a vase?

Miss Zhong came panting up behind and saw Tao Chuyi frozen in place. “Is… is something wrong?” she asked hurriedly.

Peony flower—Tao Chuyi suddenly grinned in delight. Tao Chuyi had found it. Tao Chuyi grabbed the vase, but it wouldn’t budge. Only when Tao Chuyi twisted it three times to the right did a crack suddenly split open behind the bed. Then, an inner panel swung wide, revealing a hidden chamber.

“There’s actually a secret compartment here?”

Miss Zhong gasped in shock, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, afraid of drawing the attention of anyone from the Sun Residence.

Tao Chuyi spun around the room before spotting a candlestick. Tao Chuyi snatched it up and headed straight into the hidden door.

“Prince Consort, wait for me!”

Miss Zhong hurried after, sticking close to Tao Chuyi.

A long staircase descended into the hidden chamber, dim and foreboding. Even with the candlestick, it was hard to make out the full picture. The steps led down into damp darkness, where the faint sound of running water echoed.

Fearless as ever, Tao Chuyi plunged right in, holding the candlestick out ahead. Barely visible below was a water prison, and in the middle of it, a figure shackled with iron chains.

Judging by the slender build, it had to be a woman. The figure hung limp and lifeless, her clothes shredded into rags stained with blood, revealing countless whip marks beneath.

Miss Zhong drew in a sharp breath. She slowly unlatched the cell door, ignoring the waist-deep water below, and waded in.

Struggling through the water, Miss Zhong reached the woman’s side and lifted her head. Sure enough, the face matched Miss An’s portrait exactly.

Seeing this, Tao Chuyi jumped down too, hoping to drag Miss An out of the prison. But Miss An’s wrists, ankles, and neck were all bound by iron chains, tethering her to the cell.

Tao Chuyi spotted a bowl on the bank with some leftover rancid slop inside—the kind even a dog wouldn’t touch. As Tao Chuyi turned to go back, a flower petal drifted by her foot. Tao Chuyi picked it up for a closer look: a peony petal.

“Miss An has no breath left.”

Tao Chuyi hurried over to check her nose as well. No breath indeed. Tao Chuyi stood there dumbfounded in the water, looking like a sad puppy.

No matter what, Tao Chuyi had to get Miss An out of there. With tremendous effort, Tao Chuyi wrenched the chains apart, hoisted Miss An’s body onto her back, and carried her to the bank.

The water prison still gurgled with flowing water. Miss Zhong noticed peony petals drifting into the water exchange pool, only for fresh petals to flow in from the other side. Realization dawned.

“The water here connects to the back garden pond, which feeds into the Flower Moon River. No wonder the petals could carry signals out of the Sun Residence. But we’re still too late.”

~~~

Once the signal went up from the back garden, Dali Temple guards swarmed the Sun Residence. Nangong Yunshang entered personally to make arrests—but she also needed to find someone.

Everyone in the Sun Residence was forced face-down on the ground, guests from the banquet included.

Nangong Yunshang’s beautiful eyes swept over the crowd. “Where’s the Prince Consort? Hand over the Prince Consort.”

Councilor Sun’s face pressed to the dirt. “This official has no idea! The Prince Consort never came here!”

At that moment, guards dragged Young Master Sun out. Councilor Sun craned his neck for a glimpse of his son and saw the bruised and swollen state of his face. He immediately grew agitated, struggling against the guards until they kicked him twice.

“Your Highness the Princess!”

Tao Chuyi came dashing out and made a beeline for Nangong Yunshang, throwing her arms around her in a hug. Tao Chuyi had forgotten her robes were still soaked.

Nangong Yunshang froze for a moment. It was good news that the person she had been searching for was safe and sound, but…

She promptly shoved Tao Chuyi away and shot her a dirty look. “We’ll settle accounts when we get back.”

Not getting any sympathy there, Tao Chuyi whirled around and ran to Temple Minister Tao instead. “Dad!”

“My good big kid!”

Temple Minister Tao swept Tao Chuyi into a hug, choking up like a doting father.

Nangong Yunshang spared not a glance for the father and child. She immediately ordered everyone from the Sun Residence locked up in Dali Temple, where the coroner would examine Miss An’s body.

Young Master Sun suddenly came to, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Nangong Yunshang. Seizing a moment when the guards weren’t watching, he broke free of his restraints and lunged at her.

“Protect Her Highness!”

In the ensuing chaos, some Sun Residence servants who had tried to flee turned back and attacked the Dali Temple guards with reckless abandon. Young Master Sun scrambled through the melee toward Nangong Yunshang, eyes gleaming madly. Even a fool could tell what he intended.