HRPM – Chapter 498 Something’s Wrong with This Room

The furnishings were lavish in the extreme. From the chairs and stools to the hanging decorations, everything gave the impression of a private bedchamber.

Moreover, the entire room carried an unmistakably sensual, romantic atmosphere.

Jin Luoluo’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t understand why a “treasure” would be kept in a room like this. Weren’t treasures usually displayed in elegant, dignified halls?

Perhaps it was in the inner chamber, she thought, not paying it much mind.

“Luoluo, where’s the treasure?” Xiao Yu asked. “This doesn’t look like a place for displaying treasures. It looks more like a bedroom.”

What Xiao Yu didn’t say aloud was that the room strongly resembled the seductive bedroom of a married woman. How could such a place exist within the imperial retreat?

“How should I know?” Jin Luoluo replied.

Xiao Luo frowned as he slowly surveyed the room. The more he looked, the more puzzled he became.

“Let’s go inside and have a look,” he said calmly.

Just as the four of them were about to enter the inner room, they heard someone coming in from outside.

“Jin Luoluo? Why are all of you here?”

The newcomer was none other than Xiao Che. He, too, seemed surprised to find them there.

Jin Luoluo became even more bewildered, a growing sense of unease settling over her.

“A palace steward told me that Her Majesty wanted me to come here to see a treasure. I happened to run into them, so I invited them to come along.”

Xiao Che froze.

“The chief steward told me the same thing just now. Mother said she had a precious gift for me and instructed me to come here.”

Jin Luoluo found it even stranger. Something about the whole situation felt terribly wrong.

“What could be so mysterious? Let’s take a look.”

The five of them pushed aside the beaded curtain and entered the inner chamber.

The inner room was even more lavishly decorated than the outer one. Soft draperies hung everywhere. At the center stood an opulent bed covered with a gold-and-crimson brocade quilt, with a pair of mandarin-duck pillows placed at the head.

The walls were adorned with paintings of beauties emerging from their baths behind half-drawn screens, while others depicted beautiful women sleeping among falling blossoms. Altogether, the room exuded an atmosphere of romance and temptation.

“Luoluo,” Xiao Luo said, narrowing his eyes as he examined every detail of the room, “you said they summoned both you and Xiao Che here?”

“That’s right. The palace steward brought me the wine the Empress bestowed on me and told me to drink it before coming here to see a treasure. But where’s the treasure? Could this all be some kind of prank? This room feels very strange.”

Jin Luoluo wandered around the room. Suddenly, her eyes landed on an exquisitely bound, gilt-edged illustrated book resting on a table beneath the eastern window.

Could that book be the treasure?