Chapter 259
Chapter 259
A delicate fragrance lingering around his nose woke Ren Fengjue. When he opened his eyes, he recoiled in shock.
He found himself lying on a bridal bed, with an unconscious Zhao Wan beside him.
He hastily sat up to distance himself from her, but a wave of dizziness left him unsteady, and he rolled straight off the bed.
The commotion startled Zhao Wan awake. She bolted upright, crying, “So many ghosts! How frightening!”
But she soon noticed that something was wrong as well.
“Where… are we?”
Zhao Wan looked around in bewilderment. At the sight of Ren Fengjue on the floor, she shrieked again. “Ren Fengjue? What… what are you doing here? What is this place?”
Princess Fenghua’s piercing voice only worsened his headache. Unable to help himself, he snapped, “Stop shouting. Calm down first!”
Zhao Wan rarely saw him so fierce. Though she fell quiet, emotion welled up and she began to sob. “How… how did I get here?”
She looked at the bed she was on, plainly decorated as a bridal bed, and suddenly understood.
Someone wanted her and Ren Fengjue to be together!
Forcing himself to his feet, Ren Fengjue surveyed the surroundings and found that he was in a completely enclosed secret chamber, with no exit in sight.
Apart from the bed, there were red candles all over the floor, and a pot of water with two cups beside the bed.
All the light came from those candles.
The delicate fragrance was clearly coming from them as well.
He lifted the lid of the teapot and examined its contents carefully. It held plain water, colorless and odorless, but that was no guarantee that nothing had been added to it.
Ren Fengjue glanced back at Zhao Wan and said calmly, “Princess Consort Wu arranged all of this.”
Zhao Wan froze. “Mother?”
She immediately understood her mother’s intention. “She wants… us to marry?”
Ren Fengjue frowned and fell silent.
Zhao Wan hastily protested, “I did tell Mother I wanted you to like me, but I never thought of marrying you!”
She wiped away her tears and cried, “Mother, I don’t want to be here! Let me out!”
But no sound answered her from anywhere around them.
Ren Fengjue had no wish to respond either. After a little thought, he decided to extinguish some of the candles first.
Their scent was making his head swim. Something must have been mixed into them.
Zhao Wan watched blankly, plainly not understanding what he was doing.
As more and more candles went out and the room darkened, she panicked again. “Ren Fengjue, what are you doing? I’m afraid of the dark… Stop putting out the candles!”
She tried to climb down and stop him, but her limbs were weak, and she fell beside the bed.
Ignoring her, Ren Fengjue extinguished most of the candles, leaving only two. Only then did he explain, “The candles are poisoned.”
At that, Zhao Wan obediently huddled beside the foot of the bed and dared not move again.
But she remained frightened and confused. Why would the mother who had always doted on her resort to such a dishonorable method…?
Silence filled the room.
Once the candles were out and the fragrance faded, their heads did indeed clear somewhat. But then came a parching thirst.
Zhao Wan glanced at the teapot and could not resist going to pour herself a cup of water. Ren Fengjue stopped her again.
“Don’t touch the water either.”
Zhao Wan looked at him imploringly. “But I’m so thirsty.”
“Bear with it for now,” Ren Fengjue said. “I’ll look for a way out.”
By candlelight, he began carefully examining the layout of the chamber.
Once, while investigating a case involving a body hidden in a secret chamber, he had consulted many related ancient texts.
He was no expert, but they had at least given him some ideas to help solve the case.
Secret chambers had concealed doors controlled by mechanisms. To find the mechanism, he could not overlook a single detail.
Zhao Wan knew that, in these circumstances, she had no choice but to trust Ren Fengjue. She sat beside the bed and watched him quietly.
An unknown amount of time passed in silence.
Ren Fengjue examined every surrounding wall but found not the slightest clue.
Could it be overhead?
He was about to take a short rest to conserve his strength when he turned and discovered that Zhao Wan had secretly poured herself a cup of water and drunk it.
“You…!”
Too late to stop her, Ren Fengjue could only stride over and smash the teapot.
Deeply embarrassed and angry, Zhao Wan was about to make a tearful scene when, the water having passed down her throat, her entire body suddenly grew feverishly hot.
She pulled off her sash, unable to stop herself from trying to shed her outer robe…
Seeing her flushed cheeks, Ren Fengjue had little difficulty guessing that the water contained an aphrodisiac.
To prevent her from acting recklessly, he immediately used the sash to bind her hands behind her back.
Her awareness clouded, Zhao Wan struggled and cried all the harder.
Ren Fengjue was debating whether to knock her unconscious with a blow when he noticed the spilled water flowing toward the bed. It quickly seeped down along its foot.
At last, he saw a glimmer of hope.
He threw everything off the bed and discovered a huge circular stone beneath it. Strange patterns were carved on its surface, but there was no hidden door or visible mechanism.
Ren Fengjue could only pick up a candle and hold it close to examine the carvings carefully.
As he pondered them, he sensed someone approaching at his side. Turning, he found that Zhao Wan had broken free of her bonds and was lunging at him…
The unexpected impact knocked Ren Fengjue flat onto the stone slab. Without thinking, he raised his hand and struck the side of her neck.
Zhao Wan went limp and toppled onto the slab. A sharp crack rang out, like jade breaking…
Ren Fengjue looked down and saw a broken jade pendant fall from her body.
At that very moment, a chilling gust swept through the room, inexplicably extinguishing its only two candles.
Darkness fell at once. Then came the rustle of clothing nearby, clearly from Zhao Wan beside him.
Though he could not see, Ren Fengjue sensed something unfamiliar about the person at his side.
“Your Highness?”
He had barely called out when Zhao Wan gave a cold laugh. “Ten years. At last, I’ve found my chance.”
Though the voice came from Princess Fenghua’s mouth, the speaker was clearly not her.
Ren Fengjue had a feeling that Zhao Wan was now possessed. He immediately asked, “Are you… Lady Du, who disappeared ten years ago?”
From the darkness, an icy voice answered eerily, “I am.”