Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1469: Chapter 1570 Suspected Object_1

Bai Ruozhu was greatly alarmed within her heart, but it was already too late. As she braced herself for the possibility of internal injury, the compass in her hand suddenly lit up. However, her attention was fully on the direction of the prison cell, and she hadn’t noticed at all.

An invisible barrier blocked the explosive force of the qi, causing a tremor within her organs and stirring her blood, but fortunately, she avoided any internal injuries.

Only then did she remember that Ning Yu had mentioned the compass could protect her.

”Duanyan” had been blasted to the point of vanishing without a trace, and Bai Ruozhu hurried to check on the injured guard, quickly feeding him a pill to stabilize his inner injury.

”Thank... thank you,” managed the guard, struggling to speak. The severity of his internal injury was evident, and Bai Ruozhu felt a twinge of fear watching him. If she hadn’t had the compass, she feared her injuries would have been worse than the guard’s since her inner strength was not as potent as his.

Behind her, a tumult of footsteps approached as the guards of the Sky Prison rushed over.

”What happened?”

”What’s going on?”

The guard no longer had the strength to reply, so Bai Ruozhu had to speak up loudly, ”Duanyan has escaped; the cell was booby-trapped by him.”

Ning Yu also arrived in haste. Seeing the guard on the ground spitting blood, his face paled. He felt relieved that he had lent the compass to Bai Ruozhu just in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, with Jiang Yichun, that crazed protector of his wife, likely to fight him to death over it.

”Impossible, I just checked; Duanyan was sitting inside properly,” said a guard who had been on watch, disbelieving.

”There was someone sitting inside, but that wasn’t Duanyan, it was a Wooden Puppet created by his magic technique. It exploded suddenly when I discovered it, with astonishing power,” explained Bai Ruozhu.

The door to the prison cell was already broken. Ning Yu walked straight in and indeed found a charred piece of wood amidst the disarray.

Bai Ruozhu looked at the piece of wood in surprise, wondering how it could have remained largely intact despite the intense explosion; she had expected it to be completely shattered.

”Indeed it’s a Wooden Puppet, and he also used the Explosion Technique on it; otherwise, the gunpowder would have completely splintered the wood,” said Ning Yu as he picked up the piece of wood. He then told the cell guard, ”Quickly go report to the emperor, Duanyan may not have left the Imperial Palace and could be hiding somewhere within the Palace.”

Bai Ruozhu’s heart sank, and she said to Ning Yu, ”Let’s hurry to Cining Palace and check.”

Ning Yu, concerned about Princess Diao Bin, nodded in agreement. Bai Ruozhu took the opportunity to return the compass to him, but he refused to accept it, saying, ”Duanyan might have targeted you; having the compass will give you more protection.”

Bai Ruozhu pushed it firmly back into his chest, ”Come on, my arms are getting sore from holding it. You keep it.”

Ning Yu forced a smile. Bai Ruozhu, who had trained in inner strength, wouldn’t find it problematic to carry an adult, let alone this minor weight. Was she implying he was too weak to protect himself?

Reflecting on this, he felt even more ashamed. He had finally become her senior brother, yet he was so utterly useless.

The two hurried to Cining Palace. Hao Mu noticed Bai Ruozhu’s slightly disheveled hair and asked with great surprise, ”Lady Bai, what happened to you?”

”I’m fine. There was an explosion in Sky Prison, and Duanyan has fled. We’re here to check on Cining Palace,” Bai Ruozhu replied.

Hao Mu was shocked and quickly led them to see the Empress Dowager while adding, ”The Empress Dowager is currently chatting with Princess Yuwei.”

”Has Princess Yuwei been visiting the palace frequently lately?” Bai Ruozhu asked quietly.

Hao Mu’s expression faltered slightly. ”Yes, the Empress Dowager has been in low spirits. Having someone to talk to keeps her from overthinking. The Princess is ill and can’t accompany the Empress Dowager, and Consort Le, heavy with child, doesn’t need to know some of the Empress Dowager’s worries.”

”So the Empress Dowager had a lot to say to Princess Yuwei?” Bai Ruozhu frowned slightly, feeling suspicious.

”This servant wouldn’t know. I was always serving from outside,” Hao Mu replied truthfully.

Seeing her reaction, Ning Yu asked softly, ”What’s wrong? Do you think there’s a problem with Princess Yuwei?”

”I’m not sure. My intuition feels off. Why hasn’t she been coming to the Palace so frequently before? It’s too much of a coincidence, isn’t it?” Bai Ruozhu spoke softly. Her eyes darted around before she said to Ning Yu, ”Later, cast a Tracking Technique on her quietly.”

Ning Yu nodded, ”Okay.”

Hao Mu took the two to see the Empress Dowager. As expected, Princess Yuwei was indeed speaking with the Empress Dowager, holding several patterns in her hand. Bai Ruozhu glanced at them and confirmed they were fresh designs, not those common floral patterns but rather a combination of fanciful fish and insects, very unique indeed.

Tang Yuwei greeted them with a smile as soon as she saw them. Bai Ruozhu returned the greeting politely and then explained the situation to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was startled and got up to see Diao Bin. Princess Yuwei quickly lent her support by her side.

Bai Ruozhu’s gaze flickered slightly. Did this mean Yuwei intended to accompany the Empress Dowager there?

”Empress Dowager, it would be enough if I accompany the Princess and talk with her. Please rest here, and try not to get too excited,” Bai Ruozhu secretly sent a meaningful glance to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager understood and settled her Qi before sitting back down in her chair.

”Sister Ruozhu, let me accompany you,” Tang Yuwei offered with an innocent look.

”You should keep the Empress Dowager company to alleviate her worries,” Bai Ruozhu tactfully declined Tang Yuwei’s offer.

Tang Yuwei opened her mouth but ultimately closed it in the end.

Ning Yu followed Bai Ruozhu to the backyard. Bai Ruozhu looked at him, and he nodded, ”Took care of it while she was talking to you.”

Bai Ruozhu hadn’t seen Ning Yu make any movements, and she greatly admired him for that. Soon they arrived at the Princess’s room. Princess Diao Bin was lying quietly on the bed, just like Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her Prince to awaken her with a kiss.

Unfortunately, Sleeping Beauty’s hair had turned white, and wrinkles had formed on her face.

Even Bai Ruozhu had to admit that Princess Diao Bin didn’t look good at this moment; in fact, she looked quite bad. Yet Ning Yu continued to gaze at her intently, his eyes filled with deep affection, which made Bai Ruozhu appreciate him even more.

True love for someone doesn’t change just because their appearance does. If Ning Yu were to disdain Diao Bin for this alone, it wouldn’t be true love.

”Fortunately, she’s unharmed. However, Duanyan may still pose a threat to Diao Bin. I will speak with the Empress Dowager later, and for the next few days, I will stay in Cining Palace,” Ning Yu said softly. As a man from outside, it wouldn’t be convenient for him to stay in the Palace at night, but there was no other choice right now.

A while later, the Empress Dowager also rushed over and said to Bai Ruozhu, ”I’ve asked Yuwei to leave the Palace first. She doesn’t know about Diao Bin’s condition.”

Bai Ruozhu sent Ning Yu a look, and he understood. He had a palace maid bring a bowl of water and took some rice to perform the Magic Technique. Soon they confirmed Tang Yuwei’s location.

The Empress Dowager watched in amazement, not daring to interrupt. After some time, Ning Yu pointed to the grain of rice moving on its own in the water and said, ”She has returned to Xianwang Residence. Seems like there’s no problem.”

Bai Ruozhu hadn’t expected the tracking to be so precise and remarked with some awe, ”This Tracking Technique is so powerful. With this, if we were to chase down a fugitive, wouldn’t they have nowhere to hide?”

”But the Tracking Technique is very draining. I can only keep an eye on her for a maximum of four hours,” Ning Yu replied, shaking his head.