But the Empress Dowager was not one to let things go easily. She immediately summoned the guards waiting outside.
It was as if Cheng Xiran and Mu Li were great thieves.
"Empress Dowager, what are you doing?"
The Empress Dowager turned a deaf ear. "How dare you say you're not trying to stage a rebellion!"
Rebellion? When did that come into the picture?
"Ah, I can't stand it. My head hurts."
Cheng Xiran clenched her fists tightly and then kept pounding her head, trying to relieve the pain, but it still hurt badly.
A thin layer of sweat had already appeared on her forehead.
Mu Li was anxious. "Miss, how about I take you and break out?"
Saying so, she reached for the dagger at her waist, but was stopped in time by Cheng Xiran. "Don't act rashly."
Mu Li stopped then.
Cheng Xiran propped up her body that was on the verge of collapsing and stared steadily at the blurred figure of the Empress Dowager. She explained, "Your Majesty, this maid of mine knows some martial arts. She was just protecting me. Moreover, I really don't understand why Your Majesty must keep me here. Don't I even have the right to make my own choice?"
The Empress Dowager was not fazed. She just kept thinking in her mind why Cheng Xiran still hadn't fallen.
She simply stopped trying to reason with Cheng Xiran and called in more people. She didn't believe that she couldn't subdue these two girls.
The answer was no.
Mu Li used to be a killer. Dealing with these eunuchs and guards was a piece of cake for her. Fortunately, she knew how to control her strength and didn't beat them to death, but usually left them unable to get up.
Even Helian Yue was stunned.
Cheng Xiran stumbled and fell to the ground. Seeing this, the Empress Dowager winked at Helian Yue and whispered, "Hurry up and drag her away!"
"Who dares?"
A fierce voice cut through the long - lasting noise.
Everyone stopped, including Helian Yue.
Cheng Xiran propped herself up on the table and slowly stood up. Then she saw a bright figure walking in from the door.
He was finally back. She should have fulfilled the promise she made earlier, right?
Even though there were people all around, all of them knocked down by Mu Li.
But she still gave a silly smile to Helian Duo who had walked up to her. "You're here?"
Helian Duo nodded with a smile, then helped her sit down and first looked at Helian Yue. "What's going on?"
"Uncle Regent..." Helian Yue stammered and didn't dare to look up at him. He just tried to defend himself. "The Empress Dowager saw that she was tired and wanted someone to help her to the side hall to rest. But who would have thought that all of them were knocked down by her maid."
Helian Duo's cold eyes then swept to the calm Empress Dowager. "Empress Dowager, A Li is the personal guard I arranged for Xiran. Moreover, regarding today's incident, I think there might be some misunderstanding. I've been watching outside for a while. It's really quite a commotion."
The Empress Dowager averted her eyes and said calmly, "But she did hurt so many people in my palace. Besides, I was just being kind."
Helian Duo snorted coldly, turned around and picked Cheng Xiran up horizontally. "Whether the Empress Dowager was kind or not, I don't want to pursue it now. Xiran is tired. I'll take her back to rest first."
Although Cheng Xiran could only see his well - defined chin, she could still feel his overbearing from his words.
Even though her head was extremely heavy, Helian Duo's appearance today was deeply engraved in her mind.
"For your sake, I won't argue with her about today's matter!"
The Empress Dowager shouted at Helian Duo's back as he walked away.
Cheng Xiran, who was lying safely in Helian Duo's arms, couldn't help but mutter, "You don't argue with me, but I don't even want to argue with you!"
Helian Duo lowered his eyes and saw Cheng Xiran pouting her pink lips. She was so cute. He said, "You still have the mood to joke at this time. If I had come a bit later, you would have fallen into the tiger's den."
Although his tone was reproachful, Cheng Xiran didn't find it harsh at all.
This should be the spoiling reproach.
Mu Li, who was slowly putting away her sword behind them, dusted off the ashes on her body and interjected, "Your Highness, don't worry. Even if Your Highness didn't come these days, Mu Li would fight to protect the miss."
"By then, both of you would be arrested and thrown into prison for the crime of defying the imperial order." Helian Duo threatened lightly.
Hearing his words and thinking about what had happened before, to be honest, Cheng Xiran was really a bit panicked.
Mu Li, however, remained calm as before. "Your Highness, don't worry. Even if we're arrested, I'll protect the miss and get her out of the palace first."
Cheng Xiran couldn't help laughing. "Okay, A Li. He's just joking with you. Now we're fine, aren't we?"
As they walked out of the Fengxi Palace, there were more and more maids and eunuchs outside. Cheng Xiran struggled to get down, but Helian Duo refused. "You're my woman. What are you afraid of?"
Cheng Xiran had no choice but to bury her head in his chest to prevent others from recognizing her.
Even though everyone in the capital knew about her and Helian Duo's relationship.
After getting into the carriage and leaving the palace, Helian Duo gave Cheng Xiran the antidote he had prepared in advance.
Her weak consciousness gradually recovered, and her head didn't hurt as much.
After a while, Cheng Xiran remembered an important thing and quickly asked, "What exactly happened last night?"
After the carriage had traveled for a while, Helian Duo said slowly, "She staged a play. She found a group of bandits to pretend to kidnap her to gain my care. At first, I didn't see through it and decided to play along. Also, I wanted to see if there were any changes in the capital during the few hours when I was away."
As Helian Duo was speaking, he cast a burning look at Cheng Xiran. He sighed helplessly and continued, "To make everyone believe it, even the people close to me didn't know. Originally, I planned to expose it tonight. But considering your safety, I solved the matter earlier."
Cheng Xiran held back her laughter and pretended to be serious. "It seems I've hindered you, Uncle Regent?"
The next second, her ear was gently pinched by Helian Duo. "Still talking. Now I understand. You can't do it without me."
"Who says so? I was the one who discovered the little secret of the Minister of War!" When she said this, she put her hands on her hips to show her prowess. She, Cheng Xiran, was not useless.
Mu Li was amused and couldn't help admiring Cheng Xiran in her heart. Perhaps she was the only woman in the world who could stir up all of Helian Duo's emotions.