"Congratulations!"
Lu Zixiu was walking out alone. When he reached the pavilion, he saw Bai Ke leading some people patrolling the courtyard.
Bai Ke spotted Lu Zixiu and walked towards him. "Young Master Lu, why aren't you sleeping so late?"
He looked up at the night sky and asked casually, "Bai Ke, you've been with your prince for quite a few years, haven't you?"
Bai Ke counted in his mind. "Yes, it's been eleven years."
"Then you must know your prince very well."
Bai Ke patted his chest. "Of course. Besides me, who else would dare to claim to know our master well?"
Lu Zixiu thought for a while, then turned to look at Bai Ke. "Do you know if your prince has someone he likes?"
Bai Ke looked serious. "He really does!"
Lu Zixiu looked into Bai Ke's eyes. "Could it be Princess Sa Yue?"
Bai Ke opened his mouth in surprise. "Oh, Young Master Lu, how do you know that too?"
Lu Zixiu didn't say a word. He waved his fan and walked back to his courtyard alone.
Bai Ke scratched his head, completely confused.
...
Early the next morning, Mo Qinghuan had just gotten up and hadn't finished dressing her hair when someone from the front yard came to inform her.
"Princess, the imperial edict has arrived. Please go to the front yard to receive it."
Dan'er helped her put on her outer robe and followed her to the front yard.
"Princess Sa Yue," the eunuch who came to announce the edict called out when he saw her coming. "Kneel down to receive the edict."
Mo Qinghuan knelt on the ground and listened quietly to the content of the edict.
"Mo Qinghuan, the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, is gentle, virtuous, and of a firm character. The regent is calm and self - controlled, and has reached the age of marriage. Now she is betrothed to the regent Mu Yanming as his principal wife. It is hoped that the two will live in harmony and grow old together. The wedding will be arranged by the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Rites ten days later. So it is ordered."
Lan and Mo Yao's faces had already turned pale. They were trembling all over. They had already been unable to deal with that little bitch Mo Qinghuan.
Now this dead girl had managed to marry into the regent's mansion. They were afraid that this girl would settle accounts with them one by one in the future!
What could they do!
"I would like to congratulate Princess Sa Yue first," the eunuch said as he handed the imperial edict to Mo Qinghuan.
Just then, Mu Yanming walked in.
Mo Qinghuan looked up. Mu Yanming was wearing a long robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns today. The cuffs and collar were also embroidered with gold thread, shining brightly in the sun, which was completely different from the dull and oppressive feeling he usually gave people in his black or pure - black clothes.
Mo Yao bit her lips tightly as she watched Mu Yanming walking towards Mo Qinghuan step by step. She was extremely jealous in her heart. "Why! Why does that low - born girl get to marry the regent while I can't even get a single glance from him!"
Mu Yanming reached out his hand to help Mo Qinghuan up. "Come on, go to your courtyard. I'll explain it to you."
Mo Qinghuan nodded. She had thought about it all night last night and couldn't understand why Mu Yanming had proposed to marry her. Finally, she thought of the key in the original owner's memory.
She realized that it might be because of the secret of the general's mansion.
When they got to the courtyard, Dan'er and Shuang'er were left outside the room.
The two of them sat at the table. Mo Qinghuan looked at Mu Yanming's downcast eyes. She rarely looked directly at Mu Yanming's face like this before.
Now, looking at him carefully, she found that Mu Yanming's appearance was so resolute. Especially his deep eyes. When he looked at someone, that person would have nowhere to hide in front of him.
There was a small mole at the corner of his right eye. When his eyelids drooped, his black eyelashes would sweep across, covering the mole with the shadow. If you didn't look closely from such a close distance, you really couldn't notice it.
Mu Yanming coughed lightly and lifted his eyelids.
Looking at Mo Qinghuan, he said, "Haven't you had enough of looking?"
Mo Qinghuan blushed. She averted her eyes, looking flustered and not knowing where to look. "Your Highness said you would tell me the reason today, didn't you?"
"Yes, here I am," he replied.
Finally, Mo Qinghuan's gaze fell on her hands placed on the table. "Then tell me."
"I'm here to tell you that now you've caught the emperor's attention. You'll be safest in the regent's mansion, so I chose this method."
Mo Qinghuan looked at him again, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Your Highness, don't you have any other plans? I thought Your Highness needed me for something. Since we're going to make things clear today, we might as well be honest with each other. After all, we'll be living together from now on."
The bright and unruly woman in front of him overlapped with the small figure in his memory. Mu Yanming reached out his hand to gently support his forehead, covering his eyes.
"Yes, I have other plans," he said, then looked out of the courtyard. "You should still remember the exchange condition that Ling Xianyin proposed in the Ling Mansion that day."
"Yes, I remember," Mo Qinghuan nodded.
Mu Yanming took out a scroll. "Take a look."
Mo Qinghuan pointed at herself. "Me? Take a look?"
"Yes. After you read it, you'll understand," Mu Yanming pushed the scroll in front of Mo Qinghuan.
Mo Qinghuan thought for a while, then pushed the scroll back.
"Your Highness has saved me from danger several times. Qinghuan trusts Your Highness, so Your Highness might as well just tell me directly."
Mu Yanming pondered for a moment, then held Mo Qinghuan's hand. His sincere look completely overturned Mo Qinghuan's impression of Mu Yanming.
"General Mo didn't die heroically on the battlefield! He was killed by someone, so..."
After hearing Mu Yanming's words, Mo Qinghuan suddenly felt a pain in her chest that made it hard for her to breathe.
She tightly grabbed her chest to relieve the pain a little.
"I know you're heart - broken. General Mo was a noble man. He was killed to protect the evidence of the crown prince case back then. I've been investigating this matter for many years. It was only recently that I learned that General Mo locked all the evidence in the secret room of the general's mansion. And the key to the secret room..."
"The key..." Mo Qinghuan suddenly remembered that Lan and her daughter had also been looking for that key. They had even tortured the original owner severely because of the key, causing her to die a miserable death.
She withdrew her hand from Mu Yanming's. "The key... I buried it under a tree in the back yard."
"But I don't remember which tree it was."
Mu Yanming smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter. We can look for it slowly."
"Okay."
Mu Yanming got up and walked out of the courtyard. Mo Qinghuan followed him out.
"By the way, that young couple last night... were killed."
Mo Qinghuan stumbled.
Mu Yanming grabbed her arm.
"What about that old lady?"
Seeing the pain on her face, Mu Yanming felt a little sorry for her.
"Don't worry. She's been arranged in a safe place and there are people taking care of her specially."
She kept rubbing her fingers, still unable to accept the fact that two lives had died because of her.
"This is not your fault. Don't blame yourself," Mu Yanming comforted her. She nodded.
After seeing Mu Yanming off, she went to the Jishitang.
When passing by the inn, she saw a white figure sitting alone in the inn's lobby, drinking wine.