Chapter 1085: Chapter 607: Why Is She Here Too? (Double-Length)

Consort Dong’s face turned extremely grave. She exhaled slowly and said in a low voice:

"This is truly... difficult to handle. Originally, I just came to wander around and incidentally delivered myself to the door.

Look at you, heartless one. Check on Miss Donggong’s progress for Her Majesty... who would have thought I’d run into something like this."

As she spoke, her slender fingers pointed into the air, and the candlelight cast a faint shadow on her delicate face, revealing a sense of difficulty.

Chen Yi had been quietly observing her expression change. Seeing her eyes flicker, the string in his heart immediately tensed again as he asked, "What are you thinking?"

Consort Dong was startled by his sudden question, shivering as she met his scrutinizing gaze.

Her heart tightened, yet she quickly pulled out a charming, slightly ingratiating smile, softening her voice: "Don’t be so wary... Battalion Commander Chen, I’ve always been sincere with you."

"A sincere transaction?"

Chen Yi remained unmoved.

He’d relaxed a bit earlier, but now recalling, the origin of this woman could not help but make him vigilant.

She was born into Goryeo’s former royal family but was sent to be raised in a nun’s monastery deep in the mountains from a young age. After coming of age, she was sent across the sea into the deep palace of Great Yu and now serves that An woman...

The charming smile on Consort Dong’s face dimmed slightly, a hint of self-mockery passing through her eyes. She didn’t refute, merely sighed softly.

"She doesn’t like me much either," Consort Dong said without head or tail, a hint of grievance in her voice, "You don’t know how awful she is to me."

"She," naturally referred to the current Grand Empress Dowager of Dayu, from the An Family.

Chen Yi slightly raised an eyebrow but did not respond.

Consort Dong lowered her eyelids and said in a soft and tender voice: "You don’t know how miserable I’ve been since you left. I, a woman from another country, have no roots, and once you were gone, she found fault with me everywhere. Which of those nurses and palace maids doesn’t follow her lead? From daily life to everything, they criticized me at every turn. Cold remarks were the least of it; absence of charcoal brazier in winter, no allowance for cooling in summer, were commonplace. She never acted personally but even pretended to sympathize with me in front of others."

Chen Yi looked silently at her. He knew there might be some part of her words intending to gain sympathy, but he had always been soft-hearted toward women he’d been involved with.

He reached out, gently patting her shoulder. The motion was somewhat stiff but somewhat comforting, and he said: "Forget it, I won’t pry, let’s discuss business."

"Business..." Consort Dong shivered as he lightly patted her shoulder, then relaxed again.

"The matter of the Golden Immortal Temple."

"Business..." She repeated, drawing out the tone as her fingers played with a lock of hair hanging in front of her chest, "I don’t even know what counts as business. Perhaps... what Her Majesty thinks as business is to send me here, and conveniently... bring along Miss Donggong?"

"Me?" Donggong Ruoshu, who had been pretending to be an ostrich hiding in bed, was startled to hear her own name, suddenly raising her head and pointing at herself, looking shocked.

Consort Dong didn’t look at her. Her gaze remained fixed on Chen Yi’s face, her smile deepening: "Yes, see, this concludes nicely, doesn’t it? Who can fathom Her Majesty’s mind? Perhaps she feels that just one isn’t enough, more must be sent to show sincerity?"

Chen Yi ignored her probing under the ambiguous words, merely saying flatly: "Talk business, the Golden Immortal Temple."

"Alright, alright, ignorant of romance," Consort Dong pouted, withdrew that little teasing, leaned back onto the chair, relaxing her posture a bit, "If you aren’t in such a hurry, we could do something else leisurely first, like... exploring the truth of the Golden Immortal Temple? I feel it hides a Dragon Vein."

"Do you know how many experts are there?" Chen Yi looked at her, his tone calm, "I’ve come down from there before."

Consort Dong blinked, showing no fear, but rather a hint of cunning. She pretended to make a gesture of a respectful bow and stuck out her tongue: "...I have Bodhisattva’s protection, you know."

This demeanor revealed a bit of charm contrasting her usual allure, as if she were really an innocent girl boasting about her amulet.

But Chen Yi wouldn’t buy into this.

What he witnessed today at the Golden Immortal Temple, along with the previous dream sea experience and the secrets brought by Consort Dong, made him even more wary of the place. Investigating it rashly? Without sufficient assurance, it would never be a wise move.

At present, it was best to wait until meeting up with Zhou Yitang to discuss it. Earlier, he had sent the Tai Sha Sword out with a message.

"Since it’s a trivial matter, let’s not do it. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Doing less means fewer mistakes."

Consort Dong was not angry upon hearing this, her gaze lingering on Chen Yi, and said: "I think you... are really thirsty."

Chen Yi looked at her face so close, the familiar yet unfamiliar fragrance lingered on his nose, and his heart did have a slight stir.

He nodded slightly and said: "I am indeed thirsty."

Consort Dong’s brows bent into a smile, just about to say more. Her body leaned over half-heartedly, as if unstable, her soft and ample form melting into his embrace,

suddenly,

"Roar——!!!"

A deafening roar abruptly tore through the tranquility of Zi Wu Town.

It was not the cry of an ordinary beast; the sound was filled with boundless majesty, pain, fury, and sorrow. The sound waves were like tangible shock waves, rolling in from the direction of Zhongnan Mountain outside the town, sweeping through the entire town in an instant.

The paper windows of the guest courtyard rustled, the dust on the beams slipped down, the candlelight on the table flickered wildly, nearly going out. In the distance came the faint sound of abruptly stopped dogs barking, the awakened cry of children, and the panicked shouts of people.