C121 They Obtained the Key to Unlock the Crystal Lock!

Gu Jun’an looked around, “It should be built to hide things, but later on, someone hid here as a temporary residence.”

Lan Qingqian looked around and said, “How do you know that there are people living here? Who would like to live in such a shabby place?”

Gu Jun’an pointed at some broken tea pots and empty bowls in the corner. It seemed that they had been abandoned for a long time.

“There seems to be a painting on the wall of the old prince’s wife?” Lan Qingqian looked up and saw the mottled color on the wall. It was big and small, and the colors were different.

Gu Jun’an used the temporary handkerchief to clean the dust on the wall. Indeed, there was a painting on the wall. Although the colors were not too rich, it was vivid and lifelike, especially the woman and man in the painting. Their appearance and eyebrows were all drawn in detail.

“What is this painting?” Lan Qingqian grabbed his clothes, “You hold me and look.”

Gu Jun’an held her in his arms. After seeing the end of the painting, he also followed with a sentence.

I entered the door of love, and I knew the bitterness of love. Longing for you, and I will never forget you,

Longing for you, and I will never be able to forget you,

The words: Disperse.

“What is on the wall? Why is this man without hair? Is his hair bald?” Lan Qingqian was curious.

Gu Jun’an said, “This is a story from a hundred years ago. I heard that a hundred years ago, there was a Princess Hundred Fragrance, Zhao Lingjiao, who killed her own husband and escaped from the Yunluo Country.”

“Is it because the Prince Consort doesn’t like him?” Lan Qingqian was curious.

Gu Jun’an smiled helplessly, “The monk in the portrait is a monk. He’s a monk, so he naturally has no hair.”

“But isn’t a monk a monk? He’s not allowed to get married, and he’s holding the princess’ hand.” Lan Qingqian found the two holding hands in the portrait.

“What the portrait says is that San Mi was a small guard in the palace. Princess Hundred Fragrance loved him and followed him everywhere. The Empress was furious and felt that it was improper, so she sent San Mi to become a monk. After Princess Hundred Fragrance grew up, she met San Mi outside. In order to be together with San Mi, Princess Hundred Fragrance hid him here. After knowing that she was going to be married to the Prince Consort, she wanted San Mi to take her away, but San Mi was unwilling. On the day of the marriage, Princess Hundred Fragrance killed the Prince Consort and set the princess’ house on fire. After Princess Hundred Fragrance died, San Mi regretted it and painted it on the wall. He killed himself afterwards.”

Lan Qingqian asked, “Does he like the princess?”

“He should like her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have written this line.”

“Then why did he not run away with the princess and let the princess marry someone else?” Lan Qingqian was still young, so she didn’t understand.

Gu Jun’an pinched her cheek, “Why are you asking so many questions?”

Gu Jun’an looked at the monk on the painting, tears in his eyes. Gu Jun’an felt that he loved her, but his love was a restraint and a suffering. He knew that he couldn’t get her, so he was silent.

“What a pitiful princess.” Lan Qingqian clicked her tongue.

Gu Jun’an continued, “People always say that Princess Hundred Fragrance got mad and killed her husband to burn the princess’ house. Who would have thought that there was a story behind it.”

Lan Qingqian didn’t understand these things and went to the floor to look for those strange things.

She saw a small box behind the broken teapot. “What is this, old husband?”

Gu Jun’an bent down to look. There were some random things in the box, such as Buddha beads, wooden fish, and a red hairpin.

Lan Qingqian touched something in the corner of the box that was covered in dust, but there was something the size of her pinky. It looked like a key. She wiped Gu Jun’an’s clothes, “Is it a small key? What can it open?”

Gu Jun’an got up, “I don’t know.”

Lan Qingqian felt that it was very pleasing to the eye and immediately wanted to put it on her neck. Gu Jun’an saw it and took it, “I don’t know if there is anything dirty on it. Why don’t you put it on your neck?”

“It’s nice. I want it, old husband!”

Gu Jun’an saw her watery eyes and didn’t want to refuse her. He said coldly, “Go back and wash it before giving it to you.”

Lan Qingqian was satisfied.

The two of them went down the mountain and didn’t have the mood to catch fireflies anymore. Gu Jun’an took her down the mountain.

Lan Qingqian sighed, “I forgot that we were going to catch fireflies.”

Gu Jun’an had been busy organizing things in the West Province for the past few days. Lan Qingqian could only wander around the palace.

She happened to meet some old palace maids who hadn’t left the palace yet.

Lan Qingqian saw them sewing something. “Mama, what are you sewing?”

“This is a fragrance bag. It contains mosquito repellent grass.” The old palace maids were especially fond of the cute little children who were almost fifty years old.

“Oh my, such a good-looking young master. This is the first time I’ve seen one. Who would have such good fortune… Our emperor must have done too many evil deeds to have such good fortune. The hundred or so concubines are all princesses.”

“Why are you mentioning that unruly thing? We’re all servants anyway. What’s the difference?” an old palace maid with silver hair said.

Lan Qingqian thought of what happened last night and asked, “Mama, do you know Princess Hundred Fragrance?”

The old palace maids who were sewing immediately stopped when they heard her mention Zhao Lingjiao. “Of course we know. This story has been told to everyone.”

“Do you know Monk Sanmi?” Lan Qingqian asked again.

Another palace maid said nervously, “Why are you asking? This isn’t something you can ask.”

“Yunluo Kingdom has been destroyed. It will be the West Province or the Canglan Province in the future. What’s the difference?” The old palace maid with silver hair wasn’t afraid.

“Everyone says Princess Hundred Fragrances died from madness, but when I was young, I heard from the palace’s hundred-year-old elders that the princess was pitiful. They said that she fell in love with a monk and was forced by the Emperor and Empress to become like this. She wasn’t mad at all. She killed the son-in-law on purpose and shouted that she was sick because of the longing before she died. It was the most torturing thing. She said that she wished she could never fall in love in her next life.”

“Do you know what Mi San’s name was before?” Last night, Lan Qingqian held the small key made of jade and looked at it for the whole night. She felt that it was very familiar. After rolling on the bed for a long time, she suddenly remembered the crystal lock that her father gave her. There seemed to be a big lock on it.

Lan Qingqian felt that it might be the key!

But why was the key in Mi San’s hand?

“It seems to be from the West Province! I heard that it was a captive that was captured at that time or someone who bought him into the palace to be a guard. I vaguely remember that the old mama said that when she was a little guard in the palace, she was called Shang Yangmo. Right, her surname is Shang. I was thinking that I haven’t heard of this strange surname before.” The old palace maid with silver hair recalled carefully.

Lan Qingqian was even more confused. Why was the key in the hands of the West Province people?

She touched the small jade key and felt that she might have remembered wrongly. Maybe it was similar. She would secretly try it when she went back.