Xuyu was taken to Luwusi's government office.
He did not go through the front door, but led her in through the secret door, through a narrow passage with high walls on both sides and only a sliver of sky above her head, and entered a house in the corner of the government office.
There is an entrance to a basement in the house. The door is made of cast iron. Behind the door is pitch black, like a road leading to the abyss underground.
He took the torch from a trusted confidant who was waiting there, whom he brought from Ganliang, and illuminated the stone steps leading down from the door, then led her into the door.
Behind him, there was a dull sound of an iron door slowly closing.
Xuyu subconsciously turned her head to look back. The light behind her disappeared.
At this moment, if it weren't for the light from the fire in his hand, she would almost feel like a little girl running away alone in the pitch-black night.
She tried her best to drive away the uncomfortable associations and followed closely the shadow of the man walking in front of her, not daring to fall behind even a step.
He held a torch in his hand and led her further down.
In this dark underground stone chamber where a faint musty smell could be smelled, no other sound could be heard except the monotonous footsteps of her and him.
Finally she followed him into a square stone house.
He held up a torch and leaned against a basin-like lamp that was suspended from the top by iron chains. The kerosene in the bowl ignited, and the flames licked up from the bottom of the bowl along the bowl wall, gathering in one place. With a bang, a huge tongue of fire leaped up, burning and illuminating the stone room. The two of them twisted their figures together, casting a black and bizarre shape on the walls and above their heads.
He dropped the fire stick into the bowl and turned towards her.
"Who was the person hiding under your painting table last night?"
He spoke, the first words he had said since bringing her here.
She was silent.
The oppressive enclosed space she was in made her feel even more stuffy and unable to breathe smoothly.
He seemed to have noticed her condition, looked around, and softened his tone, saying, "It's convenient to talk here, so I brought you here. You can rest assured to say anything that you can't say anywhere else. After you finish talking, I will take you out early." His words seemed to contain some inducement.
Xuyu tried her best to calm her mind.
She had expected him to ask this question.
This was exactly why she had been distracted the entire day.
Last night he had clearly discovered the secret under the painting case, but he did not go on to uncover the cover that was hiding the secret.
No one knows this better than her.
Her cousin Li Yan did not die as she thought.
At the time of the Chang'an Palace Incident, he was away, representing his father, Crown Prince Jingsheng, to welcome the army that was expected to arrive a long time ago. But he didn't wait.
It was his subordinates loyal to the Eastern Palace who brought the news of the coup before those who came to kill him did.
From then on, he began an endless life living in the dark world until today, at this moment.
"If you don't tell me, I won't do anything to you. But I'm afraid that Qiu Niang last night didn't have such good luck as you."
His voice rang in my ears again.
"The place you are in is just Lu Wusi's secret room, which is convenient for inviting people to talk. There is no malicious intention."