Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1171: Chapter 1173 New Year’s Eve Terror (Part 1)

Bai Ruozhu was quite bold, but even so, she couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat when a rustling sound, carried by the wind, drew near, and her heart couldn’t help but race.

Almost immediately, she threw down her extinguished lantern and, with a swift move, hid behind a nearby tree, giving herself some cover.

But following that, some strange sounds came through the wind, like the panting of a woman...

Bai Ruozhu’s face turned green with fear, startled to find it was a pair of secret lovers. Tonight, the palace’s focus was all on the New Year’s Eve Feast. It was indeed a golden opportunity for the palace maids to have a secret romance.

She had intended to walk away, but on a whim, she decided to see who was so bold. Considering the ladies were all attending the palace banquet, could it be a palace maid and a guard? Or perhaps a palace maid and a eunuch getting frisky?

Hiding in the shadows, she carefully moved toward the source of the sounds, and soon, she saw a sight in the Liang Pavilion not far away.

A woman was tightly wrapped around a man, making embarrassing sounds with abandon. Just as the clouds parted and moonlight bathed the scene, Bai Ruozhu was shocked to discover that the ecstatic face belonged to Fu Yiyi!

She was startled, her breathing became erratic, and the man in the midst of the act suddenly turned his head to look in her direction.

Bai Ruozhu’s heart leapt to her throat, and she almost instantly retreated into ”Space,” breathing heavily. She had nearly been discovered—just by a hair!

In a panic, she activated Space’s ”big screen” only to see the man still staring intently at the place where she had been standing. His face was concealed by a Ghost Mask, revealing only a pair of dark eyes that seemed deep enough to snatch a person’s soul.

This man was like a soul reaper from Hell!

She had learned from talking with Hao Mu that Fu Yiyi had been unsettled in Leng Palace, spouting nonsense with the Imperial Doctor and had been made foolish by the Shadow Guard’s medicated concoction. Bai Ruozhu had thought about checking on her but was continuously delayed by the troubles with the imperial concubine. How could someone who had been drugged into idiocy be outside Leng Palace having a secret tryst with a man in a Ghost Mask?

Fu Yiyi wouldn’t recover on her own after taking the drugs; someone must have helped her. Could it be this man who seemed like a soul reaper? But who was this man exactly? How had he managed to infiltrate the tightly guarded Inner Palace, and why had he helped Fu Yiyi?

”My lord, what’s wrong? Don’t stop,” complained Fu Yiyi, unaware of anything amiss, annoyed that the man had turned back to gaze at open space. Her voice was almost dripping with allure.

A flash of mocking light crossed the man’s eyes before he shifted his gaze back, resuming their previous activity.

But Bai Ruozhu dared not leave Space so easily. She felt as if the man had eyes on the back of his head, yet she was also worried about the concubine’s safety, so much so that beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Fortunately, at that moment, a patrol of guards appeared in the distance, and the man lightly patted Fu Yiyi’s back, whispering, ”Seems we need to find another place.”

Fu Yiyi showed a reluctant expression, meekly responding with a sound as soft as a kitten’s. The man then scooped up her body and, using light footwork, vanished from sight in a few moments.

Bai Ruozhu felt even more alarmed, thankful that she hadn’t acted rashly just before. With her level of light footwork, once discovered by that man, escape would have been impossible.

She waited in the Space for a while longer, until the team of guards had passed by and were far away, before she cautiously emerged from the Space and quickly made her way toward Cining Palace.

Suddenly, she was engulfed by a surge of killing intent, and Bai Ruozhu instinctively threw herself to the ground, quickly followed by a somersault. The ground where she had just been was smashed into a pit, if the blow had hit her, it would have caused serious internal injuries.

”It’s you, after all,” said the man, appearing like a specter as he effortlessly struck out at Bai Ruozhu again.

It was the man with the Ghost Mask; his words about ”continuing elsewhere” were clearly just a ruse to catch her off guard! What a keen and treacherous man!

Bai Ruozhu hurriedly dodged, but was still overthrown by the force of the palm strike and sent flying.

With a ”pfft,” she spat out a mouthful of blood, the coppery taste filling her mouth. A sense of crisis like never before enveloped her heart—Bai Ruozhu felt she might really die here.

No, she couldn’t; she had Dengdeng to take care of, a child without a mother is pitiful! She also had her parents and siblings to care for, she couldn’t bear to sadden them. Moreover, the missing Achun was still waiting for her rescue, she always believed he was alive, waiting somewhere for her to appear.

Perhaps it was the potential unleashed in a life-or-death moment, but her speed was much faster than usual as she rolled toward the Artificial Hill not far away. Once behind it, she quickly sought refuge back in the Space.

Yet, recalling the events that had just unfolded, her heart still trembled with fright. Had she not instinctively dodged, the first palm strike could have hit right through her chest, ending her life on the spot, rendering the Space useless for escape.

The man in the Ghost Mask pursued her to the back of the Artificial Hill but failed to find any trace of Bai Ruozhu. His eyes narrowed slightly, ”Indeed, she knows some Secrets.”

Not daring to take another risk, Bai Ruozhu wiped off the blood from the corner of her mouth and decided to soak in the Hot Spring Pool to treat her internal injuries. After steeping for most of the night, her internal wounds had healed somewhat, and only then did she cautiously leave the Space and hastily return to Cining Palace.

At this moment, Cining Palace was in complete disarray. Hao Mu rushed over to support Bai Ruozhu as soon as he saw her, his voice filled with panic, ”My little ancestor, where did you run off to?”

Bai Ruozhu, catching her breath, said, ”Quick, I have something urgent to report to the Empress Dowager. Tonight, I narrowly escaped death.”

Seeing the blood left on her chin, Hao Mu was terrified and immediately sent someone to inform the Empress Dowager.

When Bai Ruozhu saw the Empress Dowager, she recounted the incident of how she stumbled upon Fu Yiyi’s clandestine meeting and was nearly killed by the man in the Ghost Mask. However, she skipped the part about hiding in the Space, only mentioning that she had escaped by hiding behind the Artificial Hill.

”To think such a thing happened! Quick! Send someone to Leng Palace to capture Fu Yiyi!” the Empress Dowager commanded loudly, also sending someone to inform the Emperor.

The attendants hastened to carry out the order, but soon a message was returned—they had found Fu Yiyi’s body in the Leng Palace, dead less than half an hour, apparently poisoned to death.

”This, they’ve even resorted to silencing by murder. Who exactly is this person, and how could he infiltrate the Palace?” the Empress Dowager’s trembling lips displayed her anger, as the Palace was growing increasingly troubled.

Soon enough, the Emperor received the news and personally went to the Leng Palace to investigate, commanding a thorough examination of Fu Yiyi’s corpse, which corroborated Bai Ruozhu’s statement: Fu Yiyi had indeed engaged in sexual activity before her death and was poisoned without her knowledge. Her death was not a gruesome sight; in fact, she bore a sweet smile on her lips as if she had passed away in the midst of a beautiful dream, gone forever.