The emperor took Mu Yefeng and Mu Shengze and set off for the capital ahead of time. Mu Yanming stayed behind to handle the remaining matters.
Mo Qinghuan suddenly called out to him. "I have something to tell you."
He turned around, walked up to her, and lovingly ruffled her hair with his eyes full of doting.
"Go ahead."
In Mo Qinghuan's mind flashed the eyes of the assassin from yesterday. She seemed to have seen those eyes somewhere, but try as she might, she couldn't recall where she had seen that person.
"Yesterday, an assassin escaped. If we can find him, we might be able to figure out who the mastermind is."
Mu Yanming took her small hand in his palm and led her forward.
"Is that really what you want to say?"
He looked into Mo Qinghuan's eyes and frowned at her hesitation.
"Where can we find him?" he asked deliberately.
Bai Ke stepped forward. "Your Highness, everything is ready. We can return to the capital."
She looked at Bai Ke, using her eyes to signal Bai Ke to tell Mu Yanming about seeing the assassin earlier.
Bai Ke saw her look but ignored it. Then he turned around and went to call the coachman.
She took a deep breath in frustration and said no more.
Mu Yanming didn't ask either.
It wasn't until the two of them got into the carriage. As soon as she sat down, Mu Yanming leaned over.
"What is it that you can't tell this king directly? You even had to make eye contact with Bai Ke." She raised her hand to press against his chest and forced an awkward smile.
Mu Yanming raised his eyebrows slightly, sat up straight, closed his eyes, and resumed his cold and unapproachable demeanor.
She sat beside him and secretly peeked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Alright, alright, don't be angry. I'll tell you, okay?"
She gently tugged at his sleeve, and only then did he lift his eyelids to look at her.
"The assassin who escaped seems to be someone we both know."
Mu Yanming hooked her chin with one finger and leaned forward.
"Are you saying that the seriously injured assassin who escaped is someone we know?" He deliberately emphasized the word "we".
Mo Qinghuan nodded. "Yes. His eyes look very familiar."
Mu Yanming laughed. He let go of her hand and gently tapped the tip of her nose.
"You don't think the escaped assassin is Lu Zixiu, do you?" Suddenly, his expression changed as he looked at her.
She lowered her head and said nothing. Mu Yanming knew he had guessed right.
But he really couldn't understand how she could think the assassin was Lu Zixiu.
"Huan'er, do you know how high Lu Zixiu's martial arts skills are?"
Hearing this, she shook her head.
She really didn't know how high Lu Zixiu's martial arts skills were. It was true that she often saw him injured.
"This king just wants to tell you that the assassin yesterday couldn't have been Zixiu. He has left the capital and won't be back for a while."
She looked up at Mu Yanming. "How can you be so sure it wasn't him?"
He was amused by the serious look on this little girl in front of him. "Let me put it this way. If it had been Zixiu who came yesterday, the emperor would already be dead!"
"Alright, stop overthinking. This king will investigate the matter of the assassin."
After returning to the capital, as expected, Mu Yefeng went straight to the prison. It was even said that the emperor personally escorted him to the prison gate.
As soon as this incident happened, all kinds of rumors immediately spread like wildfire throughout the capital of the Li State.
In just one day, the whole country was talking about Mu Yefeng's imprisonment.
He also became the first prince in history to be personally watched by the emperor as he entered the prison.
At this moment, Yang Suxin was kneeling in front of the pavilion in the Yanyang Palace.
"Sister Princess, I'm begging you. Please plead with the prince for me and let me see His Highness." Her eyes were filled with tears, and her aggrieved look was really pitiful.
Mo Qinghuan stepped forward, helped the girl up, held her hand, and sat down at the stone table. She comforted her softly, "Don't worry. The emperor dotes on Prince Cheng so much. He won't let him suffer any grievances."
Yang Suxin's tears immediately fell. "What do you mean? I heard that no matter how high your status or how favored you are, once you enter the prison, you'll either die or be seriously injured. His Highness's body hasn't fully recovered yet. How can he endure that?"
Mo Qinghuan patted her on the back. "Alright, alright. Stop crying."
She was most afraid of people crying. Mu Yanming walked out of the room, wearing a long crescent - white robe with a black jade pendant hanging from his waist.
"Take this king's jade token and go to the prison. No one will dare to stop you."
After saying that, he indifferently threw the jade token in front of Yang Suxin.
"But don't bother the princess again. Do you hear me?"
She quickly wiped away her tears. "Yes. This subject will leave now."
Mo Qinghuan watched her rush off and shook her head with a smile.
"I thought she was just being impulsive, but it seems she's really serious. By the way, I have something for you."
She got up and walked into the room. She took out a small box from the secret compartment of the dressing table.
Mu Yanming stood behind her. Seeing her being so cautious, he thought it was a gift she had prepared for him.
But when he opened the box with eager eyes, his eyebrows knitted together.
"When did you manage to find a pair of keys?" He took out the keys, placed the box on the dressing table, and carefully examined the items in his hand.
Afraid that Mu Yanming would get angry if she told him that Lu Zixiu had sent the keys, Mo Qinghuan told a lie.
"Didn't we only find half of it before? I guessed that the other part must still be in the general's mansion, so I ordered them to search more carefully. Sure enough, with perseverance, we found it."
At this moment, Mu Yanming's mind was focused on the keys, and he didn't think about whether what Mo Qinghuan said was true or false.
"Let's go to the general's mansion."
He pulled her hand and walked outside.
"Bai Ke, prepare the carriage. We're going to the general's mansion."
Bai Ke rarely saw Mu Yanming in such a hurry. He quickly told the coachman to drive the carriage to the prince's mansion gate.
After getting into the carriage, Mo Qinghuan saw Mu Yanming constantly rubbing the two jade rings in his hand.
He looked very nervous. She held his hand, hoping to give him some comfort.
The carriage soon stopped in front of the general's mansion. He got out of the carriage and quickly walked towards General Mo's study.
Mo Qinghuan followed behind.
When they reached the study door, the door was locked. The lock had rusted after years of exposure to the elements.
"Where's the key for the door?" He turned around and looked at Mo Qinghuan.
She stepped forward and shook the rusty lock.
"This lock is so rusty. Even if we had the key, it probably wouldn't work. Let's just go in directly."
She looked at Bai Ke, and Bai Ke nodded. He drew his sword and hacked the lock open with one stroke.
Everything in the room was just as it used to be. A landscape painting was hanging right opposite the door. In the painting, the mountains and rivers stretched far away. At the foot of the mountain was a bamboo house. In front of the house, there was a small stream with a boat. In the boat stood a black - clothed man with his hands behind his back. On both sides were bookshelves.
As soon as she stepped in, she felt a dull pain in her chest. The feeling of being unable to control her emotions suddenly overwhelmed her. She tightly covered her chest and leaned against the door frame to barely stand steady.
Immediately, countless images flashed before her eyes, and strange voices echoed in her ears.
"Daddy, you're finally back. Huan'er missed you so much." A little girl in a pink dress with smiling crescent - shaped eyes threw herself into the arms of a majestic general in military uniform.
He lifted the little girl in front of him high up and tossed her into the air, then caught her firmly. There was no trace of fear in the girl's eyes, which showed how much she trusted him.