Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two: Darkness Beneath the Lamp

What Liu Ling'er was most grateful for now was that her injury was on her back. If it had been her foot or her leg, she would have been confined to her room, and with a restless nature like hers, just thinking about it was enough to make her shudder.

As she wandered through the imperial garden and admired the riot of brilliant flowers, she immediately felt refreshed, and even the wound on her back seemed to ache less.

After walking for a while, Liu Ling'er suddenly thought of someone else she knew in the palace: the mother of Little Shuangshuang, Ning Susu, who lived in the Cold Palace. She had not gone to see her for a very long time, and she wondered how she was doing now.

At the thought, Liu Ling'er said to Xiao Tao, "Xiao Tao, I need to go see someone. It wouldn't be convenient to take you with me, so why don't you head back first?"

She had assumed Xiao Tao would agree, but Xiao Tao stubbornly shook her head, looking as if she were glue and refused to be peeled off.

Liu Ling'er knew Xiao Tao was worried about her. Since she could not brush aside the girl’s kindness, she said nothing and did nothing, continuing her stroll through the imperial garden.

Only, the purpose of the stroll had changed. She was no longer really admiring the scenery; instead, she was thinking of a way to shake off Xiao Tao, the little shadow following behind her. Still, with only Xiao Tao at her side, there would always be a chance.

She walked on absentmindedly when she suddenly saw several little eunuchs fertilizing the flowers and plants in the garden. In those days, there was no specialized flower fertilizer like in modern times; what they used was generally human waste. An idea flashed through Liu Ling'er's mind.

After a few more steps, she suddenly crouched down and cried out twice. Xiao Tao was startled, thinking something had happened to Liu Ling'er, and hurried over to support her, panic rising in her voice.

"Miss, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

Liu Ling'er groaned, "Xiao Tao, my stomach suddenly hurts. I must have eaten something bad. Do you know where the nearest latrine is?"

Xiao Tao froze. For the moment, she had no idea where the nearest latrine was. Just then, Liu Ling'er kindly reminded her, "How about this: go ask those eunuchs. They must know."

Xiao Tao did not think any further and nodded before walking up to the nearest eunuch. "Sir eunuch, could you tell me where the nearest latrine is? Our young lady needs to relieve herself."

The little eunuch pointed her in a direction. Xiao Tao memorized it, then turned around and was instantly dumbfounded. In the vast imperial garden, Liu Ling'er was nowhere to be seen. She had lost her lady.

Xiao Tao panicked at once. Liu Ling'er was still injured! If anything happened to her, she would not be able to live with herself. Xiao Tao searched the imperial garden in a flurry, and when she still could not find Liu Ling'er, she hurried back to Phoenix Rest Palace, hoping her young lady had returned.

As for Liu Ling'er, she had used a small trick to shake off Xiao Tao, that little shadow of hers, and made straight for the Cold Palace. She was rather hopeless with directions, but she had been there more than once or twice, so although she took a few wrong turns, she still arrived safely.

The door to the Cold Palace was, as always, left slightly ajar. Liu Ling'er knocked first, but there was no sound from within after a long while. Suspicious, she murmured, "Could Susu have gone out again?"

Ning Susu was not like the pampered masters in the palace who simply stretched out their hands for clothes and opened their mouths for food. She had survived in the Cold Palace entirely by her own efforts. After thinking it over, Liu Ling'er simply pushed the door open and went in.

To her surprise, the moment she stepped inside, Ning Susu's room clicked open, and Ning Susu appeared at the doorway, looking at her.

Whether it was an illusion or something else, Liu Ling'er felt that Ning Susu's expression was a little strange, filled with a hurried, uneasy air. How should she put it? She looked like someone caught in the middle of doing something bad.

But from what Liu Ling'er knew of Ning Susu, even if everyone in the entire palace were doing something wrong, the only person who would be doing something good would be this kindhearted woman.

Liu Ling'er smiled brightly and said, "Susu-jie, I knocked just now but nobody answered. I thought you had gone out!"

Ning Susu looked a little embarrassed. "I was in the room all along, just a bit far from the gate. I probably didn't hear you. As soon as I heard footsteps, I came out, didn't I?"

Liu Ling'er did not doubt her and followed Ning Susu into the room, though she failed to notice that Ning Susu's gaze seemed somewhat tense.

The moment she stepped into the room, she immediately sensed that something was wrong. It felt as though someone inside had set his sights on her at once, and the hair on her body stood on end.

There was someone in the room. Liu Ling'er trusted her instincts, and they had never been wrong. What was more, the person in the room was no ordinary man. Yet when she looked around, there seemed to be only Ning Susu and herself. Could it be that the person was hiding?

Ning Susu steadied herself and beckoned to Liu Ling'er. "Ling'er, come sit down quickly. I heard you were badly hurt. Why are you still running around? If A Xian finds out that you came to see me, he probably won't even be willing to look at me."

"Oh, ah." Liu Ling'er answered distractedly. What interested her now were the teacups on the table. By rights, since Ning Susu lived here alone, there should have been at most one cup. Yet there were two on the table, and both were filled with tea.

Ning Susu also thought Liu Ling'er seemed rather distracted, but she did not mind. What puzzled her now was why Liu Ling'er had sat down and closed her eyes. Could she be sleepy?

Liu Ling'er closed her eyes. A moment later, her heart was shaken to the core: the person in the room was actually Chu Sheng. He was hiding here with Ning Susu. No wonder no one had ever been able to catch him. What a brilliant trick, to hide in plain sight.