Revenge of the First Daughter - Chapter 205

Chapter 205 Imprisoned Ancient Tree
Yun Xiao brought Eunuch Wei all the way to the Imperial Garden. Even in the cold winter and the twelfth month, the flowers in the Imperial Garden were still beautiful and moving. Branches were competing to bloom, and every precious flower tree was wrapped with thick five-colored ribbons.

The wind blew, and the flowers swayed. It was unknown whether the flowers were more beautiful or the ribbons were more beautiful.

Eunuch Wei did not expect that Yun Xiao would bring him to the Imperial Garden. The Imperial Garden had been searched by the Imperial Guards countless times, but he could not find His Highness the Ninth Prince. How could Yun Xiao bring him here?

However, before he could think about it, he saw that Yun Xiao had already walked forward quickly and hurriedly followed him. “Fourth Young Lady, there is no Ninth Highness in the Imperial Garden. The servants have already looked for him.”

Yun Xiao only calmly nodded and said, “I know, but he’s right here.” However, the place he was in was very secret. If he didn’t know the location, Yun Xiao probably wouldn’t be able to find him here.

She remembered that in her previous life, His Highness the Ninth Prince had brought her into the palace to see the Empress Dowager. Who knew that when he walked to the Imperial Garden, he would ask her to wait first. He would come and go. However, it was only half an hour before Yun Xiao was really anxious. She looked for someone to turn the Imperial Garden upside down and almost didn’t see Zhou Jingxu.

In the end, Zhou Jingxu himself emerged from a bush of flowers. Then he smiled and told her, “Every time I hide here, no one will notice me. Every time Mother criticizes me, I hide here to make her anxious. This is the most secret place and also my favorite place to whisper. If you are unhappy when you enter the palace in the future, you might as well try it. There is a different world inside.”

Yun Xiao did not know what was so special about this number, she had never entered before.

However, she remembered that Zhou Jingxu had run away from her own courtyard. He must have been in a bad mood at that time, so he would probably come here to talk to the tree hole.

However, it had been a long time since Zhou Jingxu disappeared. No matter what, he should come out. In addition, no one could find him. Yun Xiao had no choice but to suspect that something had happened to Zhou Jingxu.

That was why he thought of a way to bring Eunuch Wei to Zhou Jingxu.

Standing under a thousand-year-old tree with luxuriant branches and leaves, Yun Xiao’s mood was somewhat uneasy, somewhat nervous, and some unspeakable expectations …

However, Eunuch Wei’s mouth twitched when he saw such a thousand-year-old tree. Now, he felt that the four girls from Yun Clan were pulling him around in circles. How could a person hide in a tree?

However, the caution on Yun Xiao’s face told Eunuch Wei that she was not joking.

Eunuch Wei fought for a moment before asking, “Fourth Young Lady, are you saying that His Highness the Ninth Prince is on this tree?” This tree was luxuriant and extremely precious. It had survived for a thousand years, symbolizing the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Therefore, the Jin Emperor had never thought of cutting down this tree.

Maybe His Highness the Ninth Prince is really hiding among the leaves.

However, Yun Xiao’s words broke Eunuch Wei’s insistence in his heart, “Eunuch Wei said wrongly. His Highness the Ninth Prince is hiding in this tree.”

“It can’t be?” If it was hidden in the tree, then it would definitely be dug out a big hole. He had been in the palace for many years, but he had never heard of any wood chips flowing out of the Imperial Garden. Moreover, if a tree lost its tree body and only relied on the outermost shell to support itself, how could it survive for a thousand years?

Now, he felt that Yun Xiao was playing with him again.

The corners of Yun Xiao’s mouth curled into a smile once again, but her eyes were filled with determination. “Eunuch Wei only needed to probe whether I was lying or not.”

Eunuch Wei was surprised. Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw that Yun Xiao had already walked forward and hurriedly followed him. After circling around the ancient tree for half a circle, he saw Yun Xiao coming forward and gently knocking on a tree trunk. A crisp voice came from inside.

Eunuch Wei was surprised. This voice was indeed somewhat different from that of real wood. Seeing Yun Xiao move aside, he hurriedly walked over and knocked on the spot where Yun Xiao knocked twice. The crisp voice inside became louder and louder, like a jade stone.

Eunuch Wei’s expression changed drastically. He now began to believe that Yun Xiao was not boasting. He said excitedly, “Ninth Highness? Are you inside?”

He shouted several times in a row, but there was no echo from inside, causing Eunuch Wei’s expression to become slightly uneasy.

Not only him, Yun Xiao’s expression was also embarrassed. Could it be that something really happened to Zhou Jingxu?

Without caring about anything else, Yun Xiao hurriedly stepped forward and fumbled around the tree, wanting to find the mechanism.

Seeing that Yun Xiao was like this, Eunuch Wei hurriedly squatted down and searched together, “Fourth Miss, do you know how to open this ancient tree?” There must be a mechanism inside. If there was no mechanism, how could His Highness the Ninth Prince enter?

In addition, since Yun Xiao was able to bring him here, Eunuch Wei felt that Yun Xiao could be trusted. Such a place was too secret. If His Highness the Ninth Prince had not personally said it, how would Yun Xiao, who had just entered the palace, know about it?

Yun Xiao nodded at first, then shook her head. She remembered Zhou Jingxu’s words in her previous life. However, he had once said that for the sake of the safety of this tree hole, he would change the switch to enter the tree hole every once in a while.

Now that she knew about the tree hole in her previous life, there was too much time between them. Yun Xiao did not know if the mechanism could open the tree hole.

Moreover, Zhou Jingxu once said that if he couldn’t open the mechanism for the first time, he wouldn’t be able to open it again. In other words, there could only be one way to open the tree hole.

However, how could the current tree hole be opened? She really didn’t know!

Yun Xiao was somewhat puzzled. Zhou Jingxu was clearly only eight years old. Even when he saw Zhou Jingxu in his previous life, he was still young. How could he have designed such a clever mechanism? With such a powerful ability at such a young age, how powerful would he be when he grew up?

Was that why Zhou Jingyan couldn’t tolerate him?

Before she could think too much, Yun Xiao was only worried about how Zhou Jingxu was doing inside.

She rummaged through the mechanism and finally saw a drop of blood at the bottom of the tree. Her eyes widened. Now, it seemed that Zhou Jingxu had really entered the tree hole.

Seeing Yun Xiao nod and shake her head, Eunuch Wei became anxious, “Fourth Miss, do you know how to open it? Or do you not know?”

Yun Xiao’s hand on the tree was slightly stiff, and she lowered her eyebrows. “His Highness the Ninth Prince once told me the method to open the mechanism. However, His Highness the Ninth Prince is very active. He said that the mechanism would be reset every once in a while in this tree hole. I’m afraid the method he told me will not be used at this time.”

Eunuch Wei was so shocked that he was speechless. However, from Yun Xiao’s words, it was confirmed that the Ninth Highness had indeed told Yun Xiao about this tree hole.

What he was curious about was that this was the second time Yun Xiao had entered the palace. This was also the first time she had entered the palace in Imperial Kitchen. Why was she so familiar with His Highness the Ninth Prince? He was so familiar that His Highness the Ninth Prince was actually willing to tell her such a secret place?

He had watched Zhou Jingxu grow up. Naturally, what Qing Yunxiao said about opening the tree hole mechanism would really be done by Zhou Jingxu. “Then what should we do now?”

Yun Xiao was also at a loss as she shook her head gently.

Eunuch Wei became even more anxious. His eyes suddenly lit up after experiencing the wind and frost. “Why don’t you try the method that His Highness the Ninth Prince told you first? Perhaps it will be opened.”

Yun Xiao’s hand that was stroking the tree suddenly stiffened. Her eyes were tightly locked together, and her expression was nervous. “No, that method can’t be opened now.”

“How can Fourth Young Lady be so sure?”

Yun Xiao pointed at the place where her finger had just brushed past. “Look at this place, there are traces of someone forcefully opening the tree hole. His Highness the Ninth Prince once said that if someone forcefully enters the tree hole, the first time they can’t open the mechanism, the tree hole will naturally be on alert and will no longer be able to open it.”

Eunuch Wei’s expression was hesitant. He didn’t know if she should be happy for His Highness the Ninth Prince to create such a powerful mechanism, or if she should be speechless. This mechanism actually trapped His Highness the Ninth Prince in a tree hole. “Are you saying that someone is trying to forcefully open a tree hole?”

Yun Xiao nodded. No matter what, the mechanism that Zhou Jingxu had personally designed could not leave any traces on the tree body when he entered the mechanism. But now, there was a fresh mark under her finger. According to the slight moisture leaking from it, this mark probably happened not long ago.

Eunuch Wei’s expression became even more embarrassed. “Right now, the tree hole cannot be opened. Could it be that His Highness the ninth prince will be trapped inside forever?”

Yun Xiao was also very helpless. She did not know how wonderful Zhou Jingxu’s expression would be when his mechanism would harm her.

She secretly felt a headache. “Let me think about how to open it.” She remembered that in her previous life, Zhou Jingxu had said that if the mechanism was forcibly closed, there was another way to open the tree hole. However, she happened to see Zhou Jingyan’s figure at that time.

A heart had already flown into Zhou Jingyan’s body, so he didn’t hear what Zhou Jingxu said clearly.

Now that she thought about it, she felt a little annoyed. If she had listened attentively at that time, wouldn’t such a thing have happened?

Eunuch Wei now placed all his hopes on Yun Xiao and hurriedly summoned his little eunuch to report to the Jin Emperor.

This young father-in-law was brought up by him alone, and his character was still reliable!

Yun Xiao looked at the tree hole, her eyes blank, slightly stunned, “What exactly is it?”

As time passed, Eunuch Wei became more and more anxious, and his face was covered in fine beads of sweat. However, Eunuch Wei’s mind moved very quickly and he hurriedly said, “Fourth Miss, why don’t you go to His Highness the ninth prince’s bedroom? Perhaps you can remember what was in His Highness the ninth prince’s room?” If he wanted to say it, since Zhou Jingxu had designed the mechanism himself, then the thing that opened the mechanism must be in Zhou Jingxu’s bedroom.

However, Yun Xiao shook her head. She clearly remembered that because she was absent-minded, Zhou Jingxu was very angry. He asked her, “What did he just say that could open this tree hole?”

At that time, how could she remember that there was something that could open this tree hole? She could only spin nonsense, “It must be in your dormitory.”

Unexpectedly, after she said this, Zhou Jingxu became even angrier. He turned around and left. After taking a few steps, he turned around and looked at the idiot. “I said that thing isn’t in my dormitory. You must remember it as wood in my dormitory!”

Yun Xiao was also very helpless after being taught a lesson. In the end, she could only follow Zhou Jingxu’s words and say, “Then whose dormitory did you say you were in?”

“In Imperial Concubine Hua’s bedroom!”

She remembered that at that time, she was very surprised that the mechanism she had designed, what could open the mechanism, would actually be in Imperial Concubine Hua’s bedroom?

After all, Concubine Hua and the Empress had never dealt with each other, and Zhou Jingxu was the Empress’ biological descendant.

However, when Yun Xiao thought about it now, she had no choice but to admire her. Everyone knew that Zhou Jingxu did not like Concubine Hua, so no one would have expected that he would leave the items that had been activated in Concubine Hua’s palace, right?

Yes, Concubine Hua! Yun Xiao narrowed her eyes slightly, “Let’s go, let’s go to Imperial Concubine Hua’s Yi Lan Palace.”