Chapter 26: There’s a Way

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“It seems like there is, but it also seems like there isn’t.” Qiong Hua was not sure.

Jun Ning was very certain. “Yes, it’s the shadow of a person’s head.”

“Now that you put it this way, it really does seem like it!”

After Jun Ning’s explanation, Qiong Hua could finally see the shadow of the person Jun Ning was talking about.

However, she was not like Jun Ning, who had undergone strict training to observe her surroundings before she went on a mission as an assassin in her previous life. Her observation skills and perception of the outside world were much sharper than ordinary people.

Therefore, she did not see much. She only saw the shadow of a human head at the spot Jun Ning had pointed to.

However, Jun Ning saw many shadows cast on the ground in front of the rockery. She could not see their full shadows, though. They were not complete shadows. She could only roughly see some hands, feet, arms, legs… and so on.

Here came the problem.

There were shadows in every corner of the rockery. This meant that there were quite a few people hiding behind the rocks. This decorative mountain was also the outer area of the imperial garden, so it occupied a very large space.

From this, it could be inferred that there were a large number of people hiding in wait.

As for how many people were hidden, it was difficult to estimate at the moment.

A hundred people?

Not only that!

Jun Ning estimated that there were at least two hundred people.

Jun Ning could not figure it out. The imperial garden was considered the safest place in the palace, so why were there so many people lying in ambush all of a sudden? Were they trying to catch someone?

Could it be…?

After connecting the dots to what had happened in the cave three days ago, Jun Ning instantly understood everything.

She had just left the cave that day when the emperor stopped her. The emperor had even said those things to her out of the blue. At that time, she could not understand why the emperor had said those things and did not bother thinking about it. Now, she suddenly understood.

The emperor must have heard the conversation between Jun Yu and her in the cave, and that was why he said those things. In addition, in order to escape, she had scattered chili powder in the emperor’s face.

The emperor was still holding a grudge against her, and had taken advantage of her impending meeting with Jun Yu to set up an ambush. He was waiting for her to take the bait!

‘Tsk, old men are always cunning.’

Jun Ning sneered and thought to herself, ‘Do you think I’ll let you catch me just like that? Can’t I meet up with Jun Yu? Heh, you’ve really underestimated me.’

Just as she was thinking about this, two people, one big and one small, suddenly walked past the cave. The younger one was about the same age as her. She was currently being led forward by the older palace maid who wore a cold expression.

The little girl looked very timid. Her legs were short and she could not keep up with the palace maid’s pace, but she did not make a sound and let the palace maid drag her forward. She tried her best to keep up.

Jun Ning had thought that the people hiding in the cave would apprehend anyone who appeared near the cave on the grounds that they would rather catch the wrong person than let her go. To her surprise, they did nothing when the pair walked by.

It seemed that she was the only target they wished to capture.

This made things much easier.

After Qiong Hua realized that there was someone hiding behind the rockery, she had already given up and was unwilling to move forward. She also did not want those vegetable seeds anymore. Even if they were right in front of her, she would not take them.

However, Jun Ning could not say the same. She had already thought of a way to avoid those people and meet Jun Yu.

Before Qiong Hua could open her mouth, she whispered her plan in Qiong Hua’s ear, then got up to follow the pair who had just passed by.

Qiong Hua felt that it was too risky and did not intend to let Jun Ning do it. However, Jun Ning had already caught up with the two of them. How could she stop her now?