Sitting on a chair and eating the still-warm steamed buns, He Shu was now wearing the clothes Mu Xinlian had brought back.
It was a halter-neck sleeveless dress in an elegant cyan hue.
The dress had two layers. The inner layer was made of silver silkworm silk, soft and delicate to the touch, while the outer layer was polyester fabric.
He Shu had requested silk material, but making clothes from pure silk alone made them too lightweight, causing them to droop on the body and lose their aesthetic appeal.
To solve this problem, Mu Xinlian had the idea of using double-layered materials to balance both appearance and comfort.
However, processing layered materials was clearly more difficult than normal sewing, and it took much longer. This was also the reason Mu Xinlian gave for being out for more than a day.
After finishing her meal, He Shu let out a satisfied burp. She jumped down from the chair and walked over to the window to look at the scenery.
Sunlight poured through the window, bathing her body in a warm glow. He Shu made adorable gurgling sounds of contentment.
The artificial lake during the day wasn’t particularly interesting to look at, but He Shu was mostly just bored.
Her only way to pass the time was through wild daydreaming, and this moment was no exception.
Her thoughts drifted from what Hua Yanyun’s next move might be, to the international situation, then to what she should eat tomorrow, and from there to historical celebrities.
Eventually, He Shu’s thoughts returned to the imperial concubines who had bullied Mu Xinlian this afternoon.
As early as the first day she was locked in the cage a month ago, she had encountered several imperial concubines coming to cause trouble. However, judging from Mu Xinlian’s description of their appearances, the ones today were not the same group she had met before.
The area around Wanyi Tower had been sealed off by Hua Yanyun as a restricted zone, but her harem concubines could come and go freely. Therefore, He Shu was not surprised that these women were wandering around nearby.
Thinking up to this point, He Shu faintly sensed something amiss. She realized an obvious problem—or rather, a loophole. In the month she had been imprisoned, excluding those who delivered meals, only about a dozen people had come to see her.
Perhaps others had come without her knowledge, but He Shu estimated the total number would not exceed twenty.
This was quite thought-provoking. A restricted area that wasn’t entirely off-limits had seen fewer than thirty visitors in an entire month, with even fewer—less than ten—actually entering Wanyi Tower.
After Hua Yanyun publicly declared ownership of her in court and then hid her away, such unusual behavior was bound to attract a lot of attention.
The answer was obvious. It wasn’t that those imperial concubines didn’t want to come, but that someone was preventing them. And the person with the power to control all this was most likely Hua Yanyun herself.
He Shu had already vaguely suspected that people like Liu Shumei had been deliberately sent by Hua Yanyun to test her. Now, she was almost certain that they were all pawns sent by Hua Yanyun to probe her heart.
Extending this line of thinking outward, it became clear just how unusually much importance Hua Yanyun placed on her.
Her attitude toward her didn’t resemble how one would treat a spy from an enemy nation. Instead, it was more like how one would treat a treasured collectible.
A chill gradually rose in her heart. A terrifying speculation resurfaced in He Shu’s mind, only for her to shake her head and dismiss it.
The idea was too absurd. Yet, considering Hua Yanyun’s unpredictable personality and her perfunctory attitude toward interrogating her for information, the absurdity started to seem somewhat reasonable.
It’s impossible. Absolutely impossible.
He Shu’s small face turned deathly pale. This thought sent a chill straight to her bones.
It was often said that people in high positions had their own peculiar hobbies. As the monarch of a nation, Hua Yanyun needed ways to vent her accumulated stress.
As a complete hedonist, perhaps keeping concubines no longer satisfied her. She wanted to play in more extreme ways.
For example, last night—the more He Shu resisted Hua Yanyun while pinned beneath her, the more excited Hua Yanyun became. This was a clear display of her desire for conquest and possession.
Hua Yanyun’s feelings toward her were clearly abnormal, carrying a hint of sickness. She had never visited Bing Yao as frequently as she now visited her.
A yandere developing possessive desires toward someone was a terrifying thing. Just thinking about the possible consequences made one shudder.
A powerful emotion surged in her heart—she must escape from Hua Yanyun, escape from Jade Water Immortal Kingdom, and return to her mother’s side.
Since accepting the undercover mission eighteen years ago, she had not returned to Southwind Immortal Kingdom even once, nor had she seen her mother.
I wonder how my elder sister and younger sister are doing now.
He Shu’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the window frame. The “elder sister” and “younger sister” she mentioned were naturally He Cén and He Ying. Toward these two, He Shu’s feelings were very complicated.
Of course, they are proper princesses of an immortal kingdom. How could they possibly be doing badly?
He Shu spoke in a self-mocking tone.
From a young age, He Cén and He Ying had lived far better lives than her. They could have anything they wanted, while she, from the moment she could remember, had lived alone in a remote little courtyard.
Having been undercover in a foreign country for eighteen years, He Shu endured enormous pressure every single day.
Although she had been intelligent since childhood and more mentally mature than her peers, when she left Southwind Immortal Kingdom she had only been a twelve-year-old child.
On many sleepless nights, she would wonder: If she could return to the day her mother summoned her, would she still accept the mission to infiltrate Jade Water Immortal Kingdom?
I think… I probably still would.
Besides, before I accepted the mission, I already knew clearly that I most likely wouldn’t be able to return alive, didn’t I?
The fate of a captured spy was almost always to die miserably in prison. The fact that she was still alive now was already a great fortune.
He Xiu had promised He Shu that if she were truly captured while undercover, she would spare no cost to rescue her and bring her back to Southwind Immortal Kingdom.
He Shu believed that her most beloved and respected mother would never abandon her.
He Shu was only human. She was also afraid of death. In truth, very few people were truly unafraid of death—unless there was something even more terrifying than death itself.
She had to take the initiative. If she continued to wait passively, she might die at Hua Yanyun’s hands before any rescue arrived.
Having made up her mind, He Shu’s eyes sharpened with determination.
She had thought things through clearly. Once she attempted to escape, Mu Xinlian—who was closest to her—would definitely be the first to be questioned by Hua Yanyun and might even be killed on the spot. Therefore, if she was going to escape, she had to take Mu Xinlian with her.
She called Mu Xinlian over to stand in front of her. With a grave expression, He Shu looked up at the taller girl.
Mu Xinlian saw the serious look on He Shu’s face and felt confused.
“Young Miss, you called me over… is there something you want to tell me?”
He Shu’s small face was filled with solemnity. She extended her left hand, fingers spread open.
“Hold my hand.”
He Shu spoke, her tone sounding like an order.
“Young Miss, what is this for?”
Mu Xinlian didn’t understand He Shu’s intention. Why would she suddenly ask to hold hands for no reason?
“Don’t ask questions. Just hold it.”
Mu Xinlian was stunned for a moment, but she still obediently complied, interlocking her fingers with He Shu’s.
The moment their fingers interlocked, Mu Xinlian heard He Shu’s voice inside her mind. This was He Shu initiating sound transmission.
Although He Shu had lost her cultivation, her divine sense still remained. However, she could no longer project it outward like a Foundation Establishment cultivator could, so she could only establish contact through physical touch.
“Little Mu, I’m about to tell you a secret. No matter how shocked you are after hearing it, do not show any reaction on your face.”
He Shu’s tone had lost its usual gentleness when caring for her. It was now extremely serious, making Mu Xinlian realize the gravity of the situation. Her expression also became solemn.