Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 436 The Illusion Opens Because of You

Upon hearing the words, Qi Yu’s mouth twitched.

The sentence seemed oddly familiar.

Originally, Ning Yue had said something similar to her, and as a result, she ended up being taken to Luoyue Country a hundred years ago.

With this in mind, she looked at Yingruo with a wary face and asked in a guarded tone, "Which place?"

Yingruo slightly pursed her lips, and honestly replied, "The Holy Maiden Temple."

In the end, Qi Yu still went with her to the Holy Maiden Temple.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid of dying, but that she was simply too curious.

She wanted to know why Yingruo had sought her out in the middle of the night, as well as what secrets were hidden within the walls of the Holy Maiden Temple.

At that moment, the carriage slowly made its way down the deserted street.

Qi Yu and Yingruo sat on opposite sides, neither initiating conversation.

But because the carriage was so cramped, they could hear each other breathing.

After not too long, Qi Yu felt the atmosphere was somewhat awkward, so she lightly coughed and said to Yingruo, "How did you know I was in the hostel?"

Although it was very likely that her and Li Mingjue’s emergence from the illusion couldn’t have escaped Jiutu’s control, how had Yingruo, who had always stayed inside the Imperial Palace, come to know of this news?

Yingruo abandoned her usual silence and was surprisingly responsive, speaking lightly as she answered, "Your life is in my hands, how could I not know where you are?"

Qi Yu was unexpectedly choked up.

She was always the one who could make others die of anger, but Yingruo’s flat remark left her at a loss for words.

But she wasn’t foolish, although Yingruo’s words were shrouded in mystery, she still guessed the other’s intention.

That evening, Shen Xiheng had mentioned that Jiutu and Yingruo had conspired against her, planning to use her blood as a catalyst to fend off the curse of Xueyue.

And Yingruo’s words almost confirmed it—she did intend to do just that.

"No, when have I ever offended you? Why is everyone scheming against this little life of mine, one after another!" Qi Yu said, rather frustrated, she really couldn’t understand why, when in the capital city, everyone wanted to harm her.

Having traveled a thousand li to Tulan, how could she still not escape this fate?

Did she really look like such an easy target?

Yingruo gave her a glance, her tone as indifferent as ever: "Such is your destiny, Princess. You were meant to shoulder great fortune."

Qi Yu almost couldn’t help but roll her eyes; that was just a roundabout way of saying she had it coming!

Through their exchange, the carriage had already stopped outside the palace gate.

Yingruo was the first to disembark from the carriage, followed closely by Qi Yu. She looked at the familiar palace gate before her and silently lamented to herself.

After all the twists and turns, she still couldn’t escape that door.

In her hand, Yingruo still carried the glass lamp, walking forward at a measured pace.

The guards at the gate, upon seeing her, showed no reaction, just stood woodenly on both sides.

Following behind, Qi Yu looked around for a while, and seeing no sign of people on the road, couldn’t help but grow nervous.

She was nearly unable to tell whether she was currently inside the Imperial Palace or walking within an illusion.

After walking for about half a quarter of an hour, the characters for the Holy Maiden Temple appeared before them.

Yingruo turned to look at her and succinctly said, "We’ve arrived."

Qi Yu nodded in feigned calmness and entered the Holy Maiden Temple with her.

Contrary to her expectations, the interior of the Holy Maiden Temple was not gloomy. Instead, it was brightly lit, the lotus lamps placed everywhere.

She stepped over the lamps underfoot and walked into the main hall, raising her head to look at the white jade statue.

For some reason, when she saw the statue of the Saintess, her first thought was that it was Ning Yue, not Yingruo.

Although the two women looked almost identical, it was impossible to tell who was who based solely on appearance.

Qi Yu examined the statue of the Saintess closely once again but still couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

Could it be a difference in temperament?

She frowned in thought for a while and finally settled on that answer.

To others, the statue of the Saintess seemed shrouded in a merciful aura, as if pitying all beings.

However, Qi Yu saw a chilling killing intent and a bloodthirsty hatred emanating from it.

This was the Ning Yue she had seen in the illusion, not any holy figure, but a sharp, cold blade that would not sheathe until it had drawn blood.

Yingruo’s temperament was like the clear moon, resembling a hermit living high in the heavens, untainted and detached from the mortal world.

It wasn’t until now that she fully distinguished the two women from one another.

Looking at Yingruo, her eyes no longer held a trace of Ning Yue.

"You all went through such lengths to set this trap, just to lead me to my death?" Qi Yu asked emotionlessly.

Yingruo slowly shook her head, "Of course not."

Qi Yu knew that wasn’t the case; the only reason she asked was to see if she could glean any information from Yingruo’s response.

But this person always kept her words tightly sealed. Unless she was willing to reveal something, you couldn’t pry even a single superfluous word from her lips.

Qi Yu curved her lips slightly and continued, "So, the Saintess brought me here in the middle of the night just for me to admire this exquisitely beautiful statue of the Saintess?"

Yingruo shook her head again, "That’s not it. The clever Princess must surely know my intention."

Upon hearing the latter half of the sentence, Qi Yu raised an eyebrow, "But I truly do not."

After speaking, she helplessly shrugged her shoulders.

Yingruo wasn’t annoyed, "Since that is the case, then allow me to shed some light on the matter for the Princess."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yu thought it was about time, after spending half the day playing this guessing game, they were finally getting to the point.

She watched Yingruo leisurely, expecting her to reveal something startling.

Yingruo did not disappoint her, bringing up the illusion as soon as she began speaking, yet the words that followed caused Qi Yu’s expression to shift.

"Does the Princess know that the illusion was activated because of you?"

Qi Yu looked at her incredulously, almost unable to believe what she had heard.

The illusion was activated because of her, how could this be possible?

Yingruo watched her without missing a beat, capturing every shift in her expression, her usually imperturbable eyes flickered with a teasing, almost mocking light.

After a while, Qi Yu collected herself and asked with furrowed brows, "What do you mean by that?"

Yingruo replied, "That’s something you must ask yourself, Princess. You are the only one who knows the underlying reason."

Having said that, she turned around, faced the statue of the Saintess, and slowly knelt on the cushion in front, bringing her hands together in prayer, whispering something under her breath.

Qi Yu fell into deep contemplation.

In the silence, she felt an intense headache, as if a thought flashed by too quickly for her to grasp.

She always felt that she had forgotten something very important.

The full moon...

In a flash, these two words suddenly popped into Qi Yu’s mind.

The original owner of her body was born during a full moon, and the night she opened her eyes in the Imperial Mausoleum, what hung in the sky was also a full moon.

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