At dinner time, Mo Qinghuan secretly blindfolded Mu Yanming, then coaxed him to the kitchen to the tune of everyone's singing.
"Happy birthday, Mu Yanming."
He reached out to remove the blindfold. When he saw the longevity bun, the corner of his mouth twitched irregularly a few times.
Mo Qinghuan gave an awkward smile. "It's a bit ugly, but it's not my fault. It's all Bai Ke's fault."
With that, she pointed at Bai Ke. "It's all because he only informed me three days ago. I didn't have enough time, so..."
Just as she was flusteredly explaining, she was suddenly pulled into Mu Yanming's arms.
He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Thank you, Qinghuan. I'm already very satisfied."
"Are you really satisfied with this? Your expectations are so low?"
"Yes. As long as you're here, I'll be content."
His voice was so soft that Mo Qinghuan didn't catch what he said.
"It'll get better."
She secretly made a gesture.
Dan'er and Shuang'er quietly left the dining hall.
After about a cup of tea's time, Mo Qinghuan faintly heard the call of a "cuckoo".
"Come out with me."
She grabbed Mu Yanming's hand and pulled him out. Mu Yanming just let her do so.
As soon as the two of them stepped into the yard, they heard a "boom".
Gorgeous fireworks exploded in the dark night sky. Mu Yanming looked up at the sky.
Colorful fireworks shot up into the sky, blooming in splendor.
Mo Qinghuan secretly observed Mu Yanming and found that he stood there, stunned.
For a moment, he seemed to be out of this world.
...
"Action."
When the first firework exploded, dozens of black - clothed men quietly surrounded the outer wall of the Regent's Mansion.
One of the men with a ghost mask whispered instructions to those beside him.
"Although Mu Yanming has a heart ailment, his strength is still not to be underestimated. If we succeed, that's fine. If not, don't engage in a protracted battle."
"Yes, boss."
The ghost - masked man led the way. He waved gently to the people behind him.
He leaped in first, and then the others followed him.
— Inside the Regent's Mansion.
By now, Mu Yanming and Mo Qinghuan had returned to the dining hall.
Mo Qinghuan was pulling Mu Yanming to drink.
She seemed to have drunk a bit too much, with her cheeks flushed red.
"You've had too much. I'll take you back to rest."
With that, he bent down and was about to pick her up.
She giggled, reached out to pinch Mu Yanming's face, and pushed up the corners of his mouth.
"You look so good when you smile. You must smile more often in the future."
"Okay." He picked her up and walked towards the room.
When they reached the door of Yanyang Hall, he suddenly sensed a different atmosphere.
The air around him seemed to be filled with a murderous aura. He instinctively tightened his hold on the person in his arms.
"Qinghuan, wake up. Don't sleep. We have guests."
Mo Qinghuan was drowsy and couldn't hear what Mu Yanming was saying. She just clung to his neck and slept soundly.
Seeing that he couldn't wake her up, Mu Yanming had to turn back to instruct Bai Ke. But when he turned around, he found that neither Bai Ke nor Lu Zixiu was there. They were probably still drinking merrily in the kitchen.
He knew that these people were either sent by that person to test him or by his good cousin to assassinate him.
In any case, their purpose was the same: to gauge his strength.
Actually, he was really annoyed and disgusted. He hated such suspicion, so he made up the excuse of a heart ailment.
But it seemed that all his efforts were in vain.
They still feared him and even wanted to get rid of him.
But now, he wasn't alone anymore. He had the tranquility he wanted to protect.
He would never allow anyone to destroy this.
He took Mo Qinghuan back to the room, then took his sword from the wall, walked outside, and gently closed the door.
The black - clothed men looked at each other in surprise.
"What's he up to?"
"I heard he really cares about his princess."
The ghost - masked man thought for a while. "In that case, you guys keep him occupied later. I'll go and kidnap his princess. Let's see if he doesn't show his true strength."
"Boss, this is too risky. What if he doesn't really have a heart ailment and you kidnap his princess? We're doomed!"
The ghost - masked man slapped the black - clothed man on the head. "Have you forgotten what the prince said? If we can't find out Mu Yanming's strength today, we don't need to go back!"
The little black - clothed follower sighed. "It's said that the prince's personality has changed so much and so weirdly since he was crowned. I heard him shouting at the princess again last night."
He was slapped on the head again. "Okay, shut up. He's coming out."
Hearing this, he tightly gripped the sword in his hand. Sure enough, he saw Mu Yanming standing in front of the door.
Dozens of people dropped from the wall, surrounding Mu Yanming in the middle.
"The regent really dotes on his princess."
Mu Yanming coldly drew his sword and threw the scabbard on the ground. "Since you know that, let's end this quickly."
With that, he rushed forward with his sword.
The ghost - masked man was startled by Mu Yanming's momentum and subconsciously took two steps back.
He stepped behind the black - clothed men and gently pushed them. "Go! What are you standing there for!"
Dozens of black - clothed men swarmed forward.
But not a single one of them could even touch the corner of Mu Yanming's clothes.
Seeing the black - clothed men falling one after another, the ghost - masked man glanced at the main hall of Yanyang Hall.
Taking advantage of the black - clothed men's siege of Mu Yanming, he quietly slipped in.
But before he could open the door, he was noticed by Mu Yanming.
He tapped the sword that had fallen on the ground with his toe. The sword flipped and flew straight towards the ghost - masked man.
Just as the ghost - masked man raised his hand halfway, he suddenly felt something pierce his body.
He looked down and saw a section of the sword had penetrated his body.
At the same time, Mo Qinghuan opened the door.
The ghost - masked man spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to one side.
She was splashed with blood all over. She reached up and tightly covered her mouth.
Suddenly, she remembered that on the night she was sent to the Zhang Minister's Mansion, she seemed to have met a man wearing the same mask.
She squatted down and removed the mask from the man's face.
Mu Yanming walked towards her, his whole body exuding a murderous aura.
She didn't dare to look at his current appearance. She just asked very softly, "Mu Yanming, were these people here to kill you?"
He replied with a very soft "yes".
Suddenly, her nose felt sour. She stood up and tightly hugged him.
He subconsciously took half a step back because he knew she hated the smell of blood.
But at this moment, all Mo Qinghuan felt was heartache.
She knew that his past had been very hard. If he wasn't strong, he would be killed by others.
"Go back to the room first."
He removed her hands, threw away the sword, and walked towards the hot spring pool.
Mo Qinghuan watched his back and then looked at the corpses all over the yard.
A hint of cruelty flashed in her eyes. "Why do you have to do this!"
The face of Mu Shengze flashed before her eyes. "All I want is a peaceful life. That's all."
— But if you won't even give me this, then I'm sorry!
"Mu Shengze, I won't attack unless attacked. But if someone attacks me, hum, I'll kill anyone who stands in my way!"