"Lu Zixiu, why are you here?"
Seeing that Mo Qinghuan didn't mention Shuang'er, Lu Zixiu subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
He pulled Mo Qinghuan into an alley nearby, as if trying to avoid someone.
"It's so late. What are you doing here? The capital hasn't been very peaceful recently. I'll take you back to the Prince Regent's Mansion," he said as he grabbed Mo Qinghuan's wrist and was about to head towards the Prince Regent's Mansion.
As he turned around, he saw Mu Yanming standing at the entrance of the alley, looking at the two of them.
Mo Qinghuan was worried about his injury. Almost instantly, she shook off Lu Zixiu's hand and ran towards Mu Yanming.
She grabbed Mu Yanming's wrist, with unconcealable concern in her eyes. "Bai Ke said you were stabbed. Have you found out who sent the assassin?"
Mu Yanming kept a straight face and said nothing. He held Mo Qinghuan's hand and turned around to walk towards the Prince Regent's Mansion.
Before leaving, he suddenly stopped, looked back at Lu Zixiu deeply, and then started walking away.
Back at the Prince Regent's Mansion, he sat in front of the table. Watching Mo Qinghuan fetch the medicine box and put it on the table, preparing to clean his wound, he suddenly reached out his hand and pushed the medicine box aside. "This king knows that you don't need this medicine box at all."
Mo Qinghuan froze. She looked up at him, forcing a smile. "What are you talking about, Your Highness? Not need the medicine box?"
He suddenly held her hand. "This king's injury is not serious. You should pack up and rest first."
He stood up and walked out. Mo Qinghuan stared blankly at his back for a while. When she came to her senses, she started thinking about what Mu Yanming had said.
— What did he mean? Did he know her secret?
She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to recall when she might have shown a flaw. Jing Hua stood outside the door and shouted loudly, "Your Highness the Princess, the lady in the side hall is awake. Please come over and take a look."
She was just feeling sleepy. She stood up, shook her head, picked up the medicine box, opened the door, and followed Jing Hua to the side hall.
Seeing that she was absent - minded, Jing Hua remembered what Bai Ke had told him. He walked in front with his head down, saying nothing.
The night at the end of winter was cold. A cold wind blew, making her shiver. When they arrived at the side hall, Jing Hua pushed open the door and stepped aside to let Mo Qinghuan in.
A Tahuan heard the noise at the door. She looked up with surprise in her eyes. But when she saw it was Mo Qinghuan, the light in her eyes dimmed instantly. Then she remembered something and gave Mo Qinghuan a faint smile. The wound at the corner of her eye hadn't healed yet, and the smile made it twitch. "It's really inappropriate to disturb Your Highness the Princess so late."
Mo Qinghuan put the medicine box on the table and sized up A Tahuan.
As the saying goes, a sudden change in attitude must mean there's something to ask for.
So, she took out the pulse pillow unhurriedly and began to feel A Tahuan's pulse.
Just as the pulse pillow was placed under her hand, A Tahuan suddenly grabbed Mo Qinghuan's hand. Mo Qinghuan frowned and looked at her. There was a hint of pleading in her eyes, and her voice was full of expectation. "Where's the Prince? I want to see him. I have something important to tell him."
It was so quiet around that you could hear a pin drop.
Mo Qinghuan looked back at Jing Hua. Jing Hua lowered his head and nodded. "Your Highness the Princess, the Prince is not in the mansion."
A Tahuan obviously didn't believe it. She sneered and shook off Mo Qinghuan's hand. "Impossible. It must be you. You must not want me to see him."
Seeing that A Tahuan had recovered almost completely and just needed to rest well, Mo Qinghuan didn't need to put in more effort. She picked up the medicine box and was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, A Tahuan suddenly took out a hidden weapon from under the pillow and shot it at Mo Qinghuan. Fortunately, Jing Hua reacted quickly. When she reached her hand under the pillow, he was already prepared, so he was able to quickly push Mo Qinghuan aside.
He was so angry that he pointed at A Tahuan and shouted, "You venomous woman! I'll tell the Prince about this."
Then he escorted Mo Qinghuan out. Before leaving, he angrily locked the door.
"Where's the Prince?" Mo Qinghuan, who had been walking in front, suddenly turned back and asked Jing Hua.
Jing Hua scratched his head and gave an embarrassed smile. "Your Highness the Princess, it's not that I don't want to tell you. Bai Ke said this is a secret. Your Highness the Princess, please don't ask. Don't make it difficult for me."
Mo Qinghuan knew that Jing Hua was easy to deceive. She smiled and stopped in her tracks.
"Jing Hua, you know the Prince is injured, right?" Jing Hua nodded without understanding.
"Do you know I'm a doctor?"
Jing Hua nodded again.
"Well, that's right. Without me by the Prince's side, what if his wound accidentally splits open?"
Jing Hua scratched his head. It seemed that he thought what Mo Qinghuan said made sense. He was just about to tell Mo Qinghuan where Mu Yanming was, but then he remembered what Bai Ke had said. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked at Mo Qinghuan with an embarrassed face. "Your Highness the Princess, please don't ask. What the Prince is doing is really a secret and can't be told to you. Just think, if it could be said, the Prince definitely wouldn't hide it from you, right?"
She patted Jing Hua on the shoulder and walked towards the Yangyang Hall.
At this moment, Mu Yanming was standing with his hands behind his back in the Imperial Study. He snapped his fingers, and two black - clothed secret guards jumped out from the shadows and knelt respectfully beside Mu Yanming.
"Was there anything abnormal in the Imperial Study on the day the imperial jade seal was lost?"
The secret guards knelt straight in front of Mu Yanming. "Your Highness, there was nothing abnormal in the Imperial Study that day. Your subordinates have been guarding in the shadows and never left."
Mu Yanming walked to the imperial desk and gently tapped on it.
"Go and ask the eunuch in charge of the seal who came to the Imperial Study that day. Then you go back to the shadows and continue guarding."
The secret guards disappeared in a flash.
Bai Ke summoned the eunuch in charge of the seal. The eunuch knelt on the ground trembling, holding the record of that day in his hand.
Bai Ke took it, flipped through it, and handed it to the Prince Regent.
"Hey? Your Highness, isn't the Prince Rui under house arrest?"
Mu Yanming took it and looked. His eyebrows furrowed tightly.
"So, the only one who entered the palace without summons that day was the Prince Rui himself!"
The eunuch in charge of the seal looked up, with his eyes lowered. "Your Highness, that's right. This servant remembers clearly. That day, when His Highness the Prince Rui came, he said that the Emperor had asked him to come to the Imperial Study to get something. But this servant never left the imperial jade seal for a moment. This servant really doesn't know how the Prince Rui managed to take the imperial jade seal away."
"Bai Ke, lead some people to guard the Prince Rui's Mansion. Keep an eye on anyone who goes to the Prince Rui's Mansion during this period and report at any time."
He started walking out. He saw Concubine Li standing under a pavilion not far away, looking in this direction from time to time.
He walked over. Concubine Li waved her attendants away, sat in front of the stone table, and deliberately lowered her voice. "The snake has come out of its hole. Your Highness, be more careful."
After saying that, she stood up and left the pavilion.
Mu Yanming glanced at Concubine Li's back and left the palace.
Concubine Yi walked out from the shadows. She looked at the direction where Concubine Li had left and then at the direction where Mu Yanming had left.
"Go and get things ready. This palace is going out of the palace."