TSFLIP Chapter 851

Feng Guang had no idea that her condition had caused people to misunderstand her. She ran all the way out of the bamboo grove and through the palace walls. When she finally realized she was lost, she also remembered that she had left behind the box of jewelry Baili Min had rewarded her with in the bamboo grove.

That box of jewelry… there was at least a fifty percent chance it was basically her “divorce compensation.” The thought made her feel even more stifled and wronged.

She thought about finding a palace maid or eunuch to lead the way or at least point her in the right direction so she could find her way back to the Eastern Palace. But she had no idea how far she had wandered into such a remote area. Looking around, she didn’t see a single living person. The sky had already grown dark, and as the night wind rose, she rubbed her arms, feeling a chill run through her.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to try to walk back the way she remembered coming. Just as she turned around, she heard footsteps coming from behind her.

Feng Guang didn’t dare turn her head. She pressed her hands together and silently recited “Amitabha” several times…

“Crown Princess?” An elderly voice sounded out tentatively.

She swallowed and, after steadying herself, slowly turned around. She saw an old man dressed in dark clothes standing in the shadows. She couldn’t clearly see his face and asked cautiously, “You are…?”

“This old servant has forgotten— the Crown Princess no longer remembers this old servant.” The old man stepped out of the darkness and bowed. “This old one is called Yi Su. I am the gatekeeper of the Cold Palace.”

She was surprised. “This is the Cold Palace?”

The old man answered humbly, “It is. Could it be that the Crown Princess has lost her way again?”

“Well…” She felt a bit embarrassed. “Um… did I often lose my way before?”

“I still remember the first time the Crown Princess wandered into the Cold Palace. It was also because you were lost. That was how the Crown Princess came to know this old servant.” The old man smiled faintly, looking rather nostalgic.

Although the old man kept calling himself “this old servant,” Feng Guang saw no servility in him at all. Instead, she could faintly sense an elegant air about him that was unlike ordinary people. She asked, “As the gatekeeper of the Cold Palace, are you guarding it so that outsiders can’t get in, or so that the people inside can’t get out?”

“Both.”

Feng Guang looked around and saw no one else. She asked again, puzzled, “Is it just you guarding the Cold Palace?”

“In this section, it is only this old servant.”

After asking so many questions, she suddenly felt that she’d been asking nonsense, so she said, “Can you tell me how to get back to the Eastern Palace?”

“The paths inside the Cold Palace are difficult to navigate. This old servant will first guide the Crown Princess out of the Cold Palace.”

“That’s fine.”

The old man gave a slight nod. “Crown Princess, please follow this old servant.”

Feng Guang followed beside him, quietly observing the old man. She could only feel a faint scholarly air about him. He was nothing like the obedient, downcast servants in the palace. Rather than a gatekeeper, she would have believed he was a retired high-ranking official.

As they walked in silence, the old man seemed to sense the unease in her heart and asked, “Where did the Crown Princess go earlier? Why was there no palace maid accompanying you?”

“I was summoned by His Majesty, and afterward I was led by a dog called Hu Yao to a place called Cuizhu Pavilion…”

“Oh, so it was Cuizhu Pavilion. No wonder the Crown Princess looked so flustered when she wandered into the Cold Palace.”

“You know about Cuizhu Pavilion?”