Chapter 51: The Old Monk

Shen Hua's single remark left Jin Zhaonan speechless. Once, in the dead of night, he had seen his father staring blankly at a colorful bead, muttering to himself about how it should be used. At the time, he was only around ten years old and merely thought the bead looked pretty, never questioning its origin, always assuming his father had plundered it somewhere during his military campaigns.

"What is it, has something come to mind, Young Master Jin? Perhaps the steward of your household knows something—you might want to ask him."

Shen Hua's...

Ever since the wedding date was announced, Dong Bu was no longer allowed to see Dong Lü. He was even forced to leave the pasture and banished to the ancestral home in Lintao.

"Since everyone is so united in purpose, I believe that no matter how slim the hope, we can certainly accomplish it! I have a slight clue now, and I should be able to sort it out by tonight," Ling Feng said with a smile.

"Thank you everyone, thank you Young Master!" Yue Ai said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"This time, the Second Prince has suffered the loss of the Jiang family faction, and he must be in absolute agony. However, compared to my own suffering, this is still far from enough..." Consort Mu smiled softly. Recalling the warm blood that had once pooled around her feet, she knew that this was merely the beginning.

"Look, you aren't even... Wait, what did you say?" Li Tianqi asked in astonishment. Having only caught the first half of the sentence, he had been excited to the point of euphoria, believing he had succeeded, only to realize that Ling Feng was actually telling him to launch an attack.

Night had not yet fallen, but a fine, relentless drizzle drifted down from the sky, and the gloom had already deepened into total darkness.

By this time, Xiaoyao had completely lost his patience, his eyes bloodshot. It was abundantly clear that he was thoroughly unwilling to discuss this topic any further. Yet, the moment his words fell, a sharp murderous intent surged from within him.

Hearing this, Yuling began to ponder as well. It seemed that Liu Bei was indeed exceedingly difficult to approach—so how on earth should she go about assassinating him?

A squad of patrolling soldiers walked quietly past. They labored tirelessly; for the peace of the city, during the hours when people slept most soundly, they had to be most vigilant.

"Rumble!" Accompanied by the low reverberations of distant thunder, large, heavy raindrops began to pelt down in a flurry.

Then, only a single path remained! Shen Ning clenched her fists and made up her mind. Since she could not stand out on her own merits, she would simply sweep away everyone who blocked her path! When Emperor Changtai was left with the Twelfth Prince as his sole option, the question of who was superior or inferior would cease to matter entirely.

Wang Yukun smiled with tranquil composure and said, "It's nothing, Teacher Li, I just wanted to have a chat with him!" With that, he beckoned to the man with triangular eyes, signaling him to step outside.

During the subsequent mathematics class, Yuan Youwei repeated the exact same routine: while half-listening to Bai Zhide's lecture, she secretly solved other problems underneath the desk.

Yet Du Rui paid no attention to Yue Chong. He turned his head at a very peculiar angle toward the empty space on his left, his gaze fixing upon a certain spot in the void with a strange, eerie glint, as if he had caught sight of something immensely amusing.

Peng Shaobin was no fool; naturally, he understood Li Yu's implication. It went beyond the stock incentive scheme promised by Li Yu, touching more deeply upon the subtext hidden in Li Yu's actions.

Convinced she had grasped the temper of this web of sin, the Empress Dowager pressed on a custom-made, soft and submissive persona she had meticulously crafted based on her intelligence. Deep down, she secretly anticipated that the Emperor would be moved by her appearance at that very moment, thereby paving the way for the smooth execution of the matters that followed.

The rules of the film festival were myriad, as were the regulations. One unwritten law was that conglomerates maintaining favorable ties with Cannes always had access to information far more swiftly than the actual participants.

Xia Nuan never imagined that someone would have an email delivered all the way here. Her employment at this place had been strictly confidential, and she had even signed a non-disclosure agreement drafted by Ye Sichen. How on earth had the sender figured out she was here?