Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

This is where dreams begin, and where dreams come true.

Li Yunrui took those things in mind but didn't make a fuss.

The attendant led Li Yunrui to an extremely secluded courtyard. The courtyard was filled with several tall ginkgo trees. The early autumn wind blew, and the golden leaves rustled, but it could not cover up the suffocating sense of oppression in the courtyard.

"His Highness is inside, Princess, please come in." The servant pushed open the heavy wooden door of the study, bowed, and withdrew.

Li Yunrui took a deep breath, reached out and took off the hood from her head, revealing a face that was lightly made up but still incredibly beautiful.

She straightened her clothes and stepped inside.

There was no incense burning in the room; instead, it was filled with a strong smell of ink and an indescribable sense of unease.

The light was dim, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the window, forming several beams of light in the air, with countless tiny dust particles dancing up and down within them.

Li Yunrui's gaze pierced through the swirling dust and landed on the large desk in the center of the study.

Unlike his usual casual attire and barefoot appearance, Li Chengze was dressed in an extremely formal black python robe, his hair meticulously combed. He was leaning slightly forward, holding a wolf-hair brush dipped in cinnabar, intently drawing something on a large parchment scroll spread out on his desk.

His expression was one of focus and coldness that Li Yunrui had never seen before. His eyes, which always carried a hint of laziness and mockery, were now as sharp as a hawk's, staring intently at the parchment scroll in front of him, as if it were not a piece of paper, but a world at his mercy.

Li Yunrui moved with light steps, like an elegant cat, and silently walked to Li Chengze's side.

When her gaze followed Li Chengze's pen tip and landed on the huge parchment scroll, her beautiful pupils contracted sharply for a moment, revealing an undisguised look of horror in her eyes.

That...that was actually an extremely detailed map of Kyoto's defenses!

This is definitely not the kind of ordinary map found in the Ministry of War or the Nine Gates Admiral's Office.

This map not only details the number of guards at the twelve gates of Kyoto, the time of troop rotation, and the names of the generals, but also clearly depicts the terrain and secret passages of the Imperial Palace, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, and the residences of various princes and nobles!

What horrified Li Yunrui even more was that the picture was covered with countless red cinnabar marks.

Li Chengze is currently using a pen to connect the red marks one by one.

Those red marks represent key outposts, sentries, granaries, armories, and even commanding heights that control major transportation routes within Kyoto!

The lines that Li Chengze was drawing at this moment were like a huge and deadly spider web, silently enveloping the entire capital and the Forbidden City, which symbolized supreme imperial power!

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?!"

A storm raged in Li Yunrui's heart.

Li Chengze is plotting a rebellion!

rebel!

Just as Li Yunrui was staring blankly at the map, Li Chengze finally drew a scarlet circle heavily at the last position on the parchment scroll, which was the Shenwu Gate of the Imperial Palace.

As the last stroke fell, it was as if the air in the entire study trembled.

Li Chengze slowly put down his brush and casually placed the wolf-hair brush, stained with cinnabar, on the inkstone.

He straightened up, turned his head slightly, and looked at Li Yunrui, who was standing beside him with a deep and calm gaze, his face as pale as paper.

A warm, gentle smile, like a spring breeze, slowly appeared on his face.

"Auntie is here."

He picked up a piece of white silk from the side and slowly wiped away a bit of cinnabar that had accidentally gotten on his fingertips, but his gaze never left Li Yunrui's eyes.

"So, Aunt, did you sleep well last night? What's your choice regarding my suggestion last night?"

Li Chengze's tone remained calm, but within that calmness lay a sense of oppression.

He was like a patient hunter, quietly watching his prey who had already stepped into the trap, waiting for her final surrender.

Li Yunrui stared intently at Li Chengze's handsome yet cold face, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the trembling in her heart.

Her beautiful eyes, which had been wide with shock, gradually regained their usual shimmering light, even taking on a hint of resolute allure.

She slightly raised her chin and gently bit her luscious red lips with her pearly teeth.

"Don't you know what I'm choosing, Chengze?"

Li Yunrui's voice was slightly hoarse, yet still sweetly cloying. She looked directly into Li Chengze's eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I want to know... what relics that bitch Ye Qingmei left behind!"

Hearing Li Yunrui's answer, Li Chengze showed no surprise, because he knew that Ye Qingmei was Li Yunrui's lifelong nightmare. As long as it involved Ye Qingmei, Li Yunrui would not care about the consequences or gains and losses.

"Now that Aunt has made her choice, as her nephew, I naturally cannot let her down."

Li Chengze chuckled lightly, casually tossing the white silk he had used to wipe his fingers onto the astonishing defense map, covering the location of the palace. He then turned and walked straight to a row of huge rosewood bookshelves at the innermost part of the room.

Li Yunrui's gaze followed his back closely, her heart pounding like a drum, and even her breathing became cautious.

Li Chengze walked to the bookshelf, but instead of touching the neatly arranged ancient books and rare editions, he stretched out his slender fingers and gently pressed on a very inconspicuous wooden carving on the edge of the bookshelf. Then, following a certain pattern, he rotated it three times to the left and two times to the right.

"Click—"

A very faint, yet remarkably clear, click sounded as a mechanism clicked in the quiet study.

Immediately afterwards, a panel in the middle of the bookshelf slowly recessed inwards, then slid to the side, revealing a hidden compartment inside the wall.

There were no gold or silver treasures in the hidden compartment, nor any peerless weapons, only a wooden board covered with black velvet, and on that board, something was quietly placed.

It was a black box.

When Li Yunrui saw the black box for the first time, his pupils contracted sharply again.

"This...this is..."

Li Yunrui's voice began to tremble.

She didn't know why, but the moment she saw the black box, an uncontrollable fear and awe welled up from the depths of her soul.

It was as if the woman named Ye Qingmei had not died, and her soul was attached to this black box, looking at him mockingly with those eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't.

As if possessed, Li Yunrui's legs moved forward uncontrollably. She walked step by step toward the hidden compartment, toward the black box that seemed to possess a fatal attraction.

She walked to the hidden compartment, her trembling hands reaching out to touch the box, but stopped just inches away, as if afraid of some terrible curse on it.

"This...is this what that woman left behind?" Li Yunrui turned her head and asked Li Chengze in a dry voice. Her eyes were filled with awe, jealousy, greed, and endless curiosity.

"Of course."

Just as Li Yunrui was staring intently at the black box, Li Chengze suddenly took a step forward and silently moved closer to Li Yunrui's back.