The information he had collected in the Supreme Court of Judicature about the Shi family didn't mention her either. But judging from her somewhat similar eyebrows and eyes to the three Shi An brothers, she should be a member of the Shi family for sure.
"I, ouch, I was only brought into the Shi Mansion not long ago. I've been raised by the Empress Dowager. I got the grace today to come out of the palace to play with Second Miss Yao," Shi Muyuan said quickly, making up an identity on the spot.
No wonder Huo Qizhou also knew her. Remembering what she said before about being afraid of Huo Qizhou taking her back, this might be the reason.
But when did the Shi family secretly send someone into the palace, and it was a collateral miss. She looked only sixteen or seventeen years old. Could it be because of Emperor Ji Heng?
But the young emperor was only nine years old!
Yan Mo couldn't figure it out. Even if the Shi family had the intention, they couldn't send such a grown - up girl into the palace, could they?
He was about to take another look when the girl directly met his eyes. Her features were clear, and her dark eyes made her look simple and a bit silly.
Yan Mo smiled and looked away. "Let's go. Find a good seat."
It was no use thinking too much. It was more tiring than just asking Huo Qizhou later. That guy shouldn't be stingy enough not to tell him such information.
Shi Muyuan finally let out a sigh of relief. She took Yao Kun's little hand and followed him in. They became acquainted after a fight. Walking with him, Shi Muyuan felt more at ease.
Huo Qizhou saw Yan Mo get off the carriage and walk with Shi Muyuan. He watched for a while, took a deep breath, then sat in the carriage with his eyes closed to rest. He didn't rush out. He waited until Sun Ru brought in a set of black clothes. After changing, he got off the carriage.
By this time, most of the people outside the tent had gone in. Only a few who had just arrived were rushing in.
"Master, isn't that the Empress Dowager?" Sun Ru was startled when he saw her just now. When did the Empress Dowager come out of the palace! Although she didn't look very much like it, he recognized her at a glance. After all, the National Teacher had asked him to monitor every move in the Shoukang Palace quite often.
He originally thought that the master was going to use Second Miss Yao as a bait to draw out those villains. At least Second Miss Yao's martial arts skills could match Lord Yan for a few rounds. So although he thought it was not good to involve the Yao family rashly, it was for the case, so he stopped Lord Yan. Who would have thought that the real bait was the Empress Dowager!
If he had known earlier, he would have let it go even if he was punished.
Earlier, the Shi brothers had caused a stir in the whole Changjing City for the sake of the Empress Dowager, and even the late emperor was helpless. Now, although the Shi family was at the forefront of the storm, they were also very prominent. If Sun Yu came back and knew about it, he would surely scold him for being short - sighted and not advising the master. After all, if something really happened to the Empress Dowager, it would be a big deal.
Now this case was being kept secret to avoid alerting the enemy.
"Master, isn't this too risky? If something happens to the Empress Dowager, it will be hard to explain in the palace. And you are here with Lord Yan. It's inevitable that someone will be suspicious," Sun Ru said carefully. Although he wasn't as smart as Sun Yu, he had been with the master for so many years, so he still had a sense of propriety.
"I'm just increasing the chance of success, and the fish has already taken the bait," Huo Qizhou said. He had been observing the surroundings all the way. Just now, he had noticed the strange actions of those two people at the door, and he had a guess in his mind.
"She still has Yao Kun and Yan Mo with her. There won't be too much danger. I'm just afraid that she is protected too well, and those people won't have a chance to act," he thought. Then how could they find the lair of these people?
"Really, master!" Sun Ru wanted to persuade him further, but was silenced by a look from the black - clad Huo Qizhou. He suddenly wanted to take off the master's black clothes and put on white ones. At least he wouldn't look so fierce.
Sun Ru was on the verge of tears, but he had to stay outside to deal with any emergencies. He couldn't even watch the show.
Shi Muyuan thought there would be a lot of people, but she didn't expect that the crowd had actually pushed her and Yao Kun to the front of the stage. She squinted her eyes excitedly. However, Yan Mo frowned. He and Shi Muyuan were separated by the crowd. No matter how he moved, he couldn't get close to her. He didn't like this feeling at all.
This theater troupe was not as comfortable as sitting in a teahouse listening to ditties. There were actually so many people coming to watch. No wonder no one noticed immediately when someone went missing.
Yan Mo had a straight face, scaring the people around him back a bit. But he was still surrounded by the crowd. Fortunately, he could still see Shi Muyuan and Yao Kun, so he was relieved.
Huo Qizhou didn't go in. He just searched around but found nothing. There was only one tent here. These people should have other places to hide and keep those missing girls.
After searching in vain, he leaped onto the top of the tent.
Because some acrobatic stunts required people to be hung in the air, the tent of this circus was extremely sturdy. At this time, Huo Qizhou stood on it easily. He used a dagger to make a small hole to observe the situation inside.
Everything inside was in his sight. The girls thought it was very elegant to wear light - colored clothes in the snow, so Shi Muyuan's lake - green dress stood out among the light - colored clothes of the young ladies.
And there was also Yao Kun, who was much taller than the other girls and also wearing green.
Huo Qizhou found them immediately. He raised his eyebrows. Yan Mo had been deliberately separated by those people. Yao Kun was still beside Shi Muyuan. It seemed that these thieves had big appetites. They even wanted to kidnap two at once.
It was a bit dark under the stage in the tent. Only the stage was lit. The performance had been going on for a while. At this time, they were changing performers for the next show. Soon, several people who looked very different from the people of the Great Liang Dynasty walked out from behind the curtain. They should be from the Western Regions.
Shi Muyuan was very happy watching. Weren't these the high - difficulty acrobatics she had seen on TV before! She didn't expect that she could watch a live show in ancient times! How could she not be excited?
Yan Mo was not interested in these. He only thought that although they were amazing, they were not elegant at all. It should be more beautiful if they were like the eldest daughter of the Wang family, performing some talents such as playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Yao Kun stared blankly at the stage, showing no interest. She and her sister could also do these actions. Most martial - arts - trained women could. She could even walk on walls without these ropes. She could also perform for the beautiful sister to make her happy.
Yao Kun thought about asking her sister to cooperate with her to perform for the beautiful sister. She was afraid that if Yao Yao knew, she would slap her flat, but her sister couldn't beat her.
Huo Qizhou on the top of the tent looked around but found nothing unusual. The bearded man who had been at the door just now was standing behind the curtain, scolding a girl who was sobbing softly. He even wanted to hit her with the wooden stick in his hand, but was stopped by a man in a theatrical costume beside him.
"Brother Yin, you can't do this. This girl will be on stage soon. If you hurt her now, who will perform for you and make money later!" he advised.