Consort of a Thousand Faces

Ying replied calmly with a sliver of a smile. “Two hours.”

Seeing his confidence, Hua Zirong nodded, prompting Ying to disappear. As he left, a Yingzi emerged from the shadows.

“Please punish this subordinate for not informing Your Majesty about this matter.”

“You were simply bound by the rules.”

The Yingzi’s eyes glimmered with appreciation. “This subordinate thanks Your Majesty for understanding.”

Hua Zirong waved his hand. “You may withdraw.”

The Yingzi receded into the shadows once again, whereas Hua Zirong continued to check through the memorial booklets dilligently.

~~~

In Liushui Xiaozhu.

Clad in a white changshan, Hua Ziqing was examining the Buddha scripture in his hands with a faint smile.

“Just as I thought.”

He picked up a candle and illuminated the bloodstained yellow cloth, causing a diagram to gradually appear.

Shock flashed in the masked man’s eyes. “Your Highness, this is…?”

“This is the treasure map.” Hua Ziqing stated coldly.

He continued to examine the item in his hand, his eyes lighting up briefly.

“How are the preparations with the copyist going?” Hua Ziqing asked.

The man with the black mask took out a copied version of Xiliu’s imperial secret scrolls from his robe and passed it to Hua Ziqing.

“What does Your Highness think?”

Hua Ziqing scanned through it. “Not bad, they look alike, but there’s still some problem with the size of the lettering. Even the most minute error can make a gargantuan difference.”

The masked man was baffled, but when he took the scrolls back, he found that there was indeed a significant difference in size. Although most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference with the naked eye, those who were familiar with Xiliu’s imperial secret scrolls would see through it with one glance.

“This subordinate will get him to start over from the beginning.”

Hua Ziqing nodded, and the masked man turned to leave.

“I thought you were guarded by Prince Hao’s people, so why are you here?” Hua Ziqing asked with a trace of ridicule.

The man in the cyan changshan smiled. “They may think that I’m still there, but you can see the truth before you.”

“Didn’t you say he’s disappeared? You’re breaking the deal.” Hua Ziqing reminded coldly.

“Yin has already disappeared.”

“That is to say, there won’t be a person called ‘Yin’ from now on.” Hua Ziqing said mockingly.

The man in cyan smiled faintly. “Yes, he has completely vanished.”