Chapter 1578: The Flute Sound of 1577 Nights
Chapter 1578: The Flute Sound of 1577 Nights
After seeing off Ina, Tan Rou finally had the chance to respond to Samiyi’s message. She called Samiyi to say everything was fine on her end and also mentioned that she wouldn’t be returning to the palace that night.
Samiyi told her to be careful and to call the palace if she encountered any danger, as she would help Tan Rou handle the situation. Tan Rou urged Samiyi to rest early, but Samiyi probably wouldn’t be able to rest soon, as she still had many matters to deal with.
Tan Rou met up with Zhuang Liu at the hotel. The receptionist at the hotel looked somewhat unfamiliar, likely a new hire by the owner.
“Here you are.” Zhuang Liu had prepared dinner. “Let’s eat a bit together; we’ll be leaving soon.”
Tan Rou, however, suggested, “Let’s go out a bit later today, wait till it’s past 8:30 before heading out so we don’t have to keep waiting outside—there are quite a few mosquitoes.”
Zhuang Liu had no objections and asked, “What if we still don’t catch anyone tonight?”
Tan Rou shrugged helplessly and replied, “Then there’s nothing we can do; I’ll just have to face the people from the Dawn Society.”
Zhuang Liu suggested, “Let me come with you.”
“Okay,” Tan Rou agreed. “Take some mosquito repellent pouches, then wait outside for me. If I run into trouble inside, you can back me up from out there.”
Zhuang Liu listened to Tan Rou’s arrangement. “Xiao Mo went back this afternoon. I’ve positioned the remaining people around the royal city; they’ll act immediately if you need them.”
“Good,” Tan Rou responded. “By the way, a major incident happened in the palace today.”
Zhuang Liu questioned, “What incident? Did His Majesty the King pass away?”
Tan Rou chuckled and said, “With me around, His Majesty the King won’t die.”
Zhuang Liu responded, “Indeed, if someone couldn’t survive under your care, I bet you’d wake up in the middle of the night annoyed.” Tan Rou could save those close to death; what couldn’t she do?
“No, not the King, it was the princess,” Tan Rou said. “Samiyi was assassinated on the streets using poison derived from a plant peculiar to our country.”
Zhuang Liu was somewhat shocked, “You mean to say that someone from our country is involved in the inner conflicts of J-country?”
Tan Rou shook her head. “The higher leadership of our country would never do such a thing because there is no need; they are after peace and development, not chaos.”
“Then it must have been done privately.” Zhuang Liu analyzed. “Someone must have realized that J-country’s royalty is about to change and decided to join in the battle for the throne ahead of time.”
“There’s another detail I haven’t mentioned,” Tan Rou added. “The person who persuaded Samiyi to leave the palace alone was actually her own uncle, who promised to give her something and asked her to collect it today. However, the uncle’s neighbor mentioned that he left last night and said he would be away for a while.”
Zhuang Liu tapped on the table and smiled, “It seems that this uncle is also ambitious.”
“This person had severed ties with the royal family many years ago and deeply despises the aristocracy,” Tan Rou said. “I don’t think he desires to become the king at all.”
“That’s strange then,” Zhuang Liu asked perplexedly. “If he doesn’t want to be king, why would he assassinate a candidate for the throne?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out,” Tan Rou responded.
The two continued their conversation as they ate, chatting until the curfew approached.
Just as they were clearing up to leave, they suddenly heard a melodious flute sound.
In the calm of the night, the flute sound seemed bizarre.
“Why is there a flute playing?” Tan Rou opened the small window a bit, and the flute sound grew louder, “Can you tell where the flute sound is coming from?”
Zhuang Liu listened intently for a moment but regretfully said, “It seems like the sound is coming from all directions.”
“The flute initially sounded quite pleasant, but the more I listen, the dizzier I feel,” Tan Rou patted her head.
“I feel the same,” Zhuang Liu said. “We wouldn’t have eaten something wrong, would we? Maybe we ate poisonous mushrooms?”
“Don’t be ridiculous; if we had eaten poisonous mushrooms, we would be dancing with the flute sound right now,” Tan Rou shook her head, trying to drive away the sound of the flute, “Let’s go find the source of this flute sound; it’s a bit eerie.”