Taking advantage of the chaos, I scurried around and casually grabbed a couple of vases lying in the corner and some unbroken crystal cups, bowls, plates, and dishes scattered about. I hid in a corner, spread a relatively intact tablecloth on the ground, put all the items together, made a bundle, hoisted it onto my shoulder, and slipped out like a rabbit.
I had no idea where the exit of the underground palace was. I just followed the crowded flow of people in one direction. I jostled my way through the crowd and occasionally bumped into a couple of beautiful women. They let out squeals, "Be careful!"
I gave them a disdainful look and ignored them. At a time like this, with Adona's downfall, who cared about being careful while running away?
I roughly guessed the reason for this downfall. Presumably, Adona had the audacity to imprison the son of a noblewoman here at some point. It was discovered, and the noblewoman's family was wealthy and powerful. They immediately reported it to the king, and the king sent troops to besiege the place and rescued her son.
Come to think of it, I might even be considered a contributor. I delivered the emerald token to the mother of that son, allowing them to reunite.
But forget it. I wouldn't ask them for a reward. Look at that man with his sinister face. From time to time, he would look at others with a bone-chilling gaze that made one shudder. Who would dare to ask him for money? Besides, he did give me a small bag of gold coins after the event, and I accepted it. We could consider our accounts settled.
"Stop right there! Put down the things in your hands!" Angry shouts suddenly came from the front. Then, squad after squad of guards rushed over and surrounded our group tightly.
I trembled all over in fright at the shouts and then, along with the others, tremblingly placed the things on my shoulder on the ground. Of course, I didn't forget to stuff my bag of gold coins into the pocket inside my clothes at the same time.
"By order of the Countess, no one is allowed to leave here." A man with a booming voice commanded loudly. Immediately, more guards swarmed over, with long bayonets in their hands, pointed at us.
There was a deathly silence at the exit of the underground palace, and a tense atmosphere hung over us.
At a moment when even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard, a steady and forceful sound of footsteps suddenly rang out, slowly approaching us, getting closer and closer.
"By order of the Countess, we will search one by one," a woman's voice suddenly rang out. "Anyone found suspicious will be locked up first."
The guards surrounding us slowly dispersed, and a woman with her hair coiled high on her head appeared among the guards. She walked slowly towards us with several long-haired maids.
"What's your name?" The woman with the coiled hair asked the gauze-clad maiden at the front of the line.
"Aris."
Hearing this familiar voice, my heart skipped a beat. I remembered that she was one of Adona's personal maids.
The maid beside the woman with the coiled hair quickly noted it down in a record book. The woman with the coiled hair then asked, "What do you do here?"
"I... I," she stammered and finally said, "I'm a kitchen helper."
"You're lying," a shrill female voice suddenly rang out. "You're clearly Adona's personal maid."
I glanced in that direction and saw a petite woman in a pink dress. I recognized her. She was one of the famous courtesans in the underground palace and an adversary of Aris. They had had many conflicts.
Aris' face instantly turned pale, and her voice distorted, "No, I'm not, Madam. Don't listen to her..."
The woman with the coiled hair slightly raised her chin and sneered, then said, "Suspicious person. Lock her up first. Take her to the dungeon."
"Yes." Several maids replied in unison. Then they pulled her out of the crowd and handed her to a few burly guards nearby. Aris screamed, shouting at the top of her lungs, "I'm innocent, I'm innocent, Madam. I'm not a spy..."
"Drag her out." The woman with the coiled hair narrowed her eyes.
Aris was quickly dragged out, but her voice was so shrill, so sharp, and so loud that even after she was dragged far away, it seemed as if the screams still echoed in everyone's ears.
I was trembling with fright, thinking about what I should say later. Should I say I was a kitchen helper or the maid of the man in the hot spring? Neither seemed right. I had been a kitchen helper, but that was in the past. Being the maid of the man in the hot spring seemed too sensitive.
The woman with the coiled hair continued the inspection. Except for a few who passed smoothly and slipped out of the underground palace, the others were all dragged away by the guards.
Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people, I involuntarily hid at the very end of the line. Unexpectedly, a few others had the same idea. We all squeezed towards the end of the crowd, jostling and huddling together. Because of the excessive noise, the woman with the coiled hair's gaze shifted over, and she said coldly, "You few over there, come over together."
We shivered and stepped forward, heads bowed low, taking small steps and slowly approaching.
"What's your name?" The woman with the coiled hair focused on me first.
"Li Yuexi."
"Why is your name so strange?" She frowned. "What do you do in the underground palace?"
"Well, this," I stammered. "I was a kitchen helper." I didn't dare to mention that I had also been the maid of the man in the hot spring, for fear of getting into trouble.
The woman with the coiled hair glanced around and asked, "Who else has been a kitchen maid?"
Luwu and two other little maids walked out tremblingly. The corner of the woman with the coiled hair's mouth curled into a cold smile. "Now, you can expose each other or prove for each other that the other was indeed a kitchen helper. Remember, if you lie, your tongues will all be cut off."
As soon as she finished speaking, a little maid burst into tears and threw herself on the ground, "Madam, she, she," she pointed, "she was only a kitchen helper before and then did something else."
Luwu glared at her fiercely and also looked at me rather worriedly.
"Oh? What did she do later?" The woman with the coiled hair asked slowly.
"She was sent to the hot spring room and became Lord Yalunde's personal maid."
Hearing the name "Yalunde", the woman with the coiled hair was slightly moved and actually examined me carefully. Then she drawled, "Take her down first and lock her in the dungeon. We'll deal with it after verification."
"Yes."
My head felt twice as big. I was so frightened that my mouth gaped open. Just like that, I was locked in the dungeon again.