Chapter 230: Feeling
What does it feel like to be in an illusion?
Zhang Ze had experienced it before.
It felt real, because the people and things in front of him were all real.
But in some aspects, it told him that this was fake, such as people who should not exist in this world.
Zhang Ze looked at the woman sitting next to him, clenched the hand on his lap, and said nothing.
The woman smiled and pointed behind him: “You bringing so many people here is a mistake.”
Zhang Ze looked behind him and saw that the ritual specialists he brought were still moving their hands, their expressions alert, but their eyes were already dull. Obviously, as before, they still couldn’t avoid falling into the illusion.
“Your methods are ingenious,” he said slowly, “We are no match for you.”
The woman stretched out her hand and shook it gently.
The illusion was so real. Zhang Ze looked at the shaking hand in front of him, the nails painted with red polish, fair, bright, soft, yet strong.
“No, the mistake I’m talking about is that you already believed you would encounter trouble before you came,” the woman’s voice said, “You already believed it, so who can stop you?”
Is that so? Zhang Ze thought, yes, when he came here, he did want to meet her…
“How did you guess I was here?” the woman asked with interest.
Zhang Ze glanced at his side. Li Yu was leaning back, his hand supporting his chin, a smile on his face as he looked around the hall. Beside him, Zhou Jingyun looked focused, ignoring everything else.
“The night you took the child away,” Zhang Ze said, looking back at the baby girl in the woman’s arms.
The baby girl was yawning, then bumped her head against the woman’s arms and rubbed…
“I don’t have milk for you,” the woman said, lifting the baby girl up and shaking her, “Sit still and don’t move.”
After speaking, she looked at Zhang Ze again, motioning for him to continue.
Zhang Ze looked at the baby girl struggling like a chick in her arms, and continued, “…That night, three officials left Empress’s mourning hall early, including Zhou Jingyun. And yesterday, Li Yu, who should have been locked up with Young Miss Zhu, was with him again. Once could be a coincidence, but two or three times is definitely intentional.”
In addition, Zhou Jingyun had been frequenting the pleasure boats recently.
He didn’t believe those rumors in the streets, saying that Zhou Jingyun was indulging in debauchery because of the loss of his wife. The current talk about him having feelings for Prince of Chu was even more absurd.
Since it had nothing to do with love, the two of them gathering in one place naturally meant something was going on.
So he came to take a look.
The woman laughed and nodded at him: “You are indeed very sharp. Bai Ying is lucky to have your help.”
She was praising him. Zhang Ze clenched his hand on his lap, but he would never ask that stupid question again…
“However, Zhang Ze, you can’t catch me,” the woman continued, “It’s also impossible to accuse Zhou Jingyun and Prince of Chu. Your methods of fabrication are powerful and can eliminate Empress Yang, but Prince of Chu and Zhou Jingyun are still the Emperor’s facade. At least for now, without solid evidence, you can’t touch them.”
Zhang Ze looked at her and said coldly: “I’m not in a hurry. ‘For now’ will always pass.”
The woman waved her hand, and Zhang Ze only felt a flash of cold light in front of him. A sword was pressed against his throat.
“Have you ever thought that your ‘for now’ might not pass?” she said with a smile.
Zhang Ze subconsciously tensed up. He could feel the cold iron sword piercing his skin, blood oozing out…
No, no, this was fake, it was all his imagination.
The ritual specialists had said that no one could kill in an illusion. The only one who could kill oneself was oneself.
Fake.
He looked at the woman in front of him. Her eyes were bright, and there was a smile on her lips. The smile was relaxed, playful, and cruel.
She was so real.
No, no, it was because of his imagination that she was so real.
What does it feel like to have your throat slit?
Blood gushing out.
Zhang Ze choked for a moment, subconsciously reaching out to cover his neck.
No, don’t think about it, put your hand down quickly.
Otherwise, he would strangle himself to death——
But human consciousness is strange. It’s clearly a thought generated by oneself, but it’s out of one’s control——
The baby’s cry rang in his ears, and at the same time, an external force suddenly tightened around his eyes.
“Inspector! Don’t look!”
“Oh, it’s so troublesome to take care of a child. Alright, alright, let’s go find your wet nurse.”
Shouts, voices, the baby’s cries, intertwined in his ears.
Zhang Ze’s eyes were covered with white cloth, plunged into darkness. The feeling of suffocation intensified. He couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, gasping for breath. His whole body trembled slightly as the surrounding noise rushed in.
Someone held his shoulders and shook him: “Inspector, Inspector——”
Someone was surprised: “Hey, what are you doing? Why are you covering the Inspector’s eyes with cloth?”
The wind from a fan blew, a warm fragrance filled the air, and there were chaotic sounds of laughter. The noise was real. Zhang Ze relaxed his shoulders, raised the hand that was gripping his neck, and slowly reached up to grab the white cloth over his eyes.
“Inspector, are you awake?” the man holding the white cloth asked nervously.
Zhang Ze nodded: “I’m fine.”
Only then did the man let go. Zhang Ze pulled down the white cloth, closed his eyes for a moment, and eased the soreness from the tightness.
✿✿✿
“Inspector, this person is one of your own, why did he suddenly attack you?” Li Yu’s voice was still yelling in his ear, “This person is crazy, he doesn’t seem normal. Do you want me to help you deal with him?”
Zhang Ze opened his eyes and saw Li Yu looking at him. Although his words were concerned, the expression on his face was gloating.
“No need to trouble Your Highness,” he said, glancing at Zhou Jingyun again.
Zhou Jingyun was also looking at him, his expression indifferent, and asked: “Does the Inspector not like watching this performance?”
These two must know what happened to him, Zhang Ze thought to himself. He didn’t ask, but looked around. In the hall, a white horse stepped onto the wooden boards, making a louder sound with the music. The surrounding guests were ecstatic, dancing and moving around. The maids coming and going had different expressions.
There was no woman, and no child.
There must be, but it wouldn’t be easy to find them, even though this was a boat.
He had no advantage here.
Zhang Ze slowly stood up: “I don’t like it.” After speaking, he gestured to the people behind him, “Let’s go.”
Li Yu let out an “Aiya”: “Inspector, the boat has already set sail. I can’t change the rules for you and turn the boat back. You know, gambling is forbidden in the capital…”
Zhang Ze ignored his nonsense and said: “I have my own boat, just follow alongside.”
Li Yu laughed: “The Inspector is really cautious.”
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As the last person stepped onto the small boat, the boatman rowed the oars, and the small boat, like a small fish in front of the pleasure boat, slowly moved away.
“Inspector, feel free to come back anytime——” On the pleasure boat, Li Yu waved goodbye.
Standing at the bow of the boat, Zhang Ze ignored him and looked past Li Yu. The pleasure boat was brightly lit, and his vision was blurred.
The woman didn’t reappear.
As he expected, the remnants of Empress Jiang’s faction who knew illusion techniques were indeed hiding on the pleasure boat.
Zhou Jingyun must have known about the existence of these people. After all, Zhou Jingyun himself was part of Empress Jiang’s faction.
Li Yu, was he also colluding with the remnants of Empress Jiang’s faction?
Were they going to support a new emperor, and then let her…come back?
She, could she really come back?
Was she not just conjured up by their illusions?
When the morning light filled the room, Zhang Ze woke up from the folding stool, recalling last night as if it were a dream.
Perhaps, it was indeed just a dream.
He coughed lightly, his throat slightly uncomfortable. Thinking of something, he got up and walked to the bronze mirror. He saw some bruises on his neck, which he had pinched himself.
So the suffocation at that time was indeed caused by him choking himself.
But…
Zhang Ze narrowed his eyes, leaned closer to the bronze mirror, and gently stroked his throat with his hand. He saw a little redness on it, as if the skin had been pierced.
This, was real.
Could it be that at that time, besides the illusion, someone was really sitting next to him in reality, holding a knife to his throat?
As he was lost in thought, a voice asked from outside the door, “Inspector.”
Zhang Ze straightened up, looked away from the mirror, and looked towards the door: “Come in.”
An attendant pushed the door open and whispered: “Inspector, Li Chengyuan went to see Princess Jinyu.”
Zhang Ze frowned.
Li Chengyuan? Grand General Li? What was he doing meeting Princess Jinyu?
……
✿✿✿
Princess Jinyu also raised a question at this time.
“What is he doing seeing me?”
Immediately, anger appeared on her hungover face.
“Is a Li Chengyuan even worth waking me up for? What am I, a princess, in front of these people?”
The maid Ah Ju looked frightened: “Princess, that old man looked fierce. We told him that the Princess hadn’t woken up yet, but he insisted on coming in to wait. He even said that he had barged into the Imperial Palace before, so the Princess’s Residence was nothing…”
Princess Jinyu was furious and kicked the flower plate by the bed.
“That old thing, is he here to stand up for the Zhu family?”
