She came here on Shi An's reminder. Others had been taken care of by someone else. Anyway, Shi An didn't let her interfere. Since she was idle, she volunteered to find Lady Qiu to return a favor.
After all, their social statuses were different. Shi Muyuan noticed Lady Qiu's nervousness and uneasiness, which made her feel a bit sad. She recalled that in the past, she used to wander through the streets and alleys and get along well with everyone. But now, due to her high - ranking status, she was constantly under people's watchful eyes. Everyone treated her with courtesy, which was simply a kind of restraint.
Shi Muyuan decided to say goodbye to Lady Qiu earlier and left.
However, during the conversation with Lady Qiu, she suddenly remembered that they had said that Master Zhang was originally a hooligan and only started to act high - handedly after making a fortune.
What on earth had happened that allowed him to make such a large fortune, and where did this continuous source of wealth come from?
As soon as Shi Muyuan returned, she told Shi An about this. There was also Huo Qizhou in white clothes standing beside him.
Well, he had changed back into his white clothes.
"I've already got the information from Zhang Chai," he said.
"Zhang Chai?"
"Just that Master Zhang."
"So what's the story? Have you found anything out?"
"It's hard to say. We originally thought it was just a relatively serious case, but unexpectedly, it's also related to the court."
"What should we do then?"
"We can only solve this case first. We'll have to deal with the person behind it slowly," Huo Qizhou took over the conversation.
Shi An stroked his chin and nodded. Rarely, he didn't refute him.
"It's getting late. Go and rest quickly. We'll set off to return to the palace tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"If we hadn't been waiting for some people, we should have gone back earlier. His Majesty has sent someone to take over this matter. They just talked to us. It's not appropriate for us to stay here any longer."
"Okay." Shi Muyuan nodded in agreement, then turned to Huo Qizhou and whispered, "Don't mind my brother's temper."
Huo Qizhou watched as the woman, who was a head shorter than him, leaned over. She even slightly tiptoed as if afraid he couldn't hear her. Since there was no personal maid to serve her, her long black hair, which should have been styled, was only fixed with a silk ribbon and a pearl hairpin. Some naughty strands had fallen beside her fair cheeks.
The woman's breath was as gentle as the fragrance of an orchid. The warm breath hit his face. Huo Qizhou was stunned for a moment before he replied, "Don't worry, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. I know what General Shi is like."
Maybe Huo Qizhou was in a good mood today. Shi Muyuan subconsciously patted his shoulder and said, "That's good. Resolve any misunderstandings. I don't want to see you two fighting."
Both of them were extremely handsome. She would feel heart - broken if either of them got hurt.
Seeing them getting too close, Shi An pulled Shi Muyuan out and said, "Brother will take you back to your room."
"Okay, okay, I know, brother."
Shi Muyuan's petite figure was completely blocked by Shi An. Only a corner of her goose - yellow skirt was visible.
Wearing this color without the grandeur of the Empress Dowager's complicated clothes, she looked like a charming little girl. However, the pearls on her head were not as beautiful as the white jade flower.
Shi An didn't say a word. When he turned around and couldn't see Huo Qizhou's figure anymore, he began to give a serious lecture.
"That's Huo Qizhou. He's on bad terms with our Shi family in the court. And what you did before, aren't you afraid that he might harm you?"
Shi Muyuan was confused. "What did I do before?"
"Don't you remember?" Shi An was surprised.
Shi Muyuan tilted her head and tried to recall the original owner's memories. Unfortunately, the memories were fragmented, and she couldn't remember them all. She only remembered that she once made Huo Qizhou angry, but she couldn't remember why.
"I'm just trying to get on his good side. Brother, what do you think of Huo Qizhou?"
"Give a fair and objective opinion of him," Shi Muyuan added.
"He's a talented man. If there were no conflicts between us, he might even be a good friend," Shi An said.
Shi Muyuan clapped her hands. "Exactly! So I'm thinking of winning him over. It's beneficial to our Shi family, isn't it?"
"Humph, Wanyuan, you're still too naive. It's not as easy as you think. You don't understand the affairs in the court."
Shi Muyuan puffed out her cheeks slightly. "But it's better than having him constantly glaring at us. It's better to be on good terms than to be enemies."
This left Shi An speechless.
"Moreover, he doesn't seem to be a bad person now. He's saved me many times during these assassination attempts."
"Humph, many times? You're really good at speaking for him. Do you know what the consequences would be if I had come a bit later? You can never judge a book by its cover. You should be more careful. I actually hope you can be as domineering as before. In that way, at least no one would dare to bully you easily."
"But if we make too many enemies, we won't even know who's going to kill me."
"Shoo, shoo, shoo. What are you talking about? The Shi family is still here. Who would dare?" Shi An patted her little head.
Shi Muyuan stuck out her tongue. Before she could reply, they had already arrived at the door of her room. She didn't dare to ask, "What if the Shi family is no longer there?"
Shi An opened the door and told her to rest well. He watched her go in and close the door before turning around and leaving.
...
Time flew by. After Shi Muyuan and her entourage had settled the matters in Qingshui County, they set off to return to the palace.
As the carriage approached the palace gate, Shi Muyuan poked out her little head. Seeing a large crowd waiting at the palace gate, her heart trembled.
Oh no, it seemed that everyone was going to kneel. Could she hide?
Huo Qizhou, who was following the carriage, saw her little head happily poke out and then quickly retract. He glanced at the civil and military officials in front of the palace gate and let out a soft laugh. Was she scared?
Sure enough, when the carriage stopped at the palace gate, there was a deafening sound of welcoming Shi Muyuan back to the palace. Fortunately, Huo Qizhou stepped forward and took care of everything. "Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is not feeling well and needs to rest. We'll discuss other matters later."
Shi An was quite dissatisfied with his self - asserted action, but thinking that it was for Wanyuan's sake, he didn't care too much.
Shi Muyuan's carriage continued to move forward. After a short while, it stopped again. She heard the sound of the servants saluting in unison outside. She lifted the curtain and leaned out.
It was Ji Heng.
The young emperor was holding the hands of the young Ji Huang and Ji Ling. There was also a man behind them who looked about 70 - 80% similar to Shi An. However, compared with Shi An's mighty and domineering appearance, this man was very gentle and elegant. He looked like a noble young master.
"Grandson pays respects to the Empress Dowager," Ji Heng said in a soft voice, leading the two younger ones.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager," the man said right after.
"Why did Your Majesty come here?" Shi Muyuan got off the carriage and walked up to them.
"Grandson couldn't not come to visit when the Empress Dowager returned after experiencing difficulties. I was just a bit late because I went to pick up my second brother and third sister. Please don't be angry, Empress Dowager."
"How could the Empress Dowager be angry? I'm so happy to see you all as soon as I come back." Shi Muyuan couldn't resist pinching Ji Huang's little face, then pulled Ji Ling into her arms and stroked Ji Heng's head.
She didn't leave anyone out.