"What on earth did those two little girls do to anger the people in the palace?"
"How should I know? Their identities seem quite extraordinary."
"Besides the emperor, the empress dowager, and a few imperial concubines and princes, who else is there in the palace? They don't seem like the kind of people who would bear grudges against girls from outside the palace. And they only gave them a little lesson."
"There are so many things going on in the palace. What can we guess?"
When Shi Muyuan heard the news related to herself, she couldn't help but strain her ears to listen more clearly. But Ziying's hairpin accidentally fell out and made a sound.
The people inside were very alert and immediately shouted, "Who's there? Who's outside!"
Shi Muyuan quickly picked up the thing and slipped aside to hide. Just then, she saw a man about to come upstairs.
Looking around, there seemed to be no place to hide. The footsteps inside the room were getting closer.
When Yin Muran opened the door, he saw a young servant standing respectfully at the door.
His gloomy eyes swept over the servant. "What are you doing here?"
"Returning to my lord, I've come to deliver the food and wine you ordered." The servant held out the tray in his hand in front of Yin Muran. Guests in the backyard generally didn't like servants to enter the room, so they had to carry the food and wine in by themselves.
Yin Muran took the tray, glanced at it, nodded, and tossed a piece of silver to the servant. "Okay, you can go."
"Alright, thank you, my lord, for the reward." The servant left happily with a bow.
In the next room, Shi Muyuan held her breath carefully, afraid of being discovered. She let out a sigh of relief only when she heard there was no more movement outside.
She turned around and looked at the man behind her, pursing her lips and smiling at him.
It had really been a narrow escape! She had almost been discovered by both sides. It was Huo Qizhou who had suddenly "descended from the sky" and pulled her into this room to avoid detection.
Huo Qizhou had been looking for something in the room. When he opened the door, he saw Shi Muyuan huddled in a corner. Seeing the approaching servant, he simply grabbed her and pulled her into the room.
"You're here!"
"How did you get here?"
"We got some clues in the room and found out that Yin Muran was in this Wanhua Tower. I came out to look for you to tell you. Who would have thought that as soon as I came out, I saw Yin Muran. I saw him walking this way, so I followed him."
"You're really brave, wandering around here. Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
"I couldn't care less. The man was right in front of me. How could I let him go?"
"Where is he?"
"He's just next door."
No wonder she had been hiding so timidly just now.
"There's another person in the room. I overheard them saying that it was someone from the palace targeting me and Kun'er. And they seemed to mention someone, a duke." Shi Muyuan said, and then also told him her and Yan Mo's speculations.
Huo Qizhou's expression turned solemn. "Are you sure you heard correctly?"
"Sure. Yin Muran was quite excited just now. His voice was really loud."
Huo Qizhou fell into deep thought. Shi Muyuan didn't disturb him and buried her little head against the door, keeping an eye on the movement outside.
"By the way, should we arrest this Yin Muran?"
Huo Qizhou was puzzled as to why she asked this. "Of course we should arrest him."
"How? Should the three of us arrest him now?"
"I had already arranged people before I came. If he's here, he definitely won't be able to escape."
"But won't that cause quite a stir? This is their territory."
"Of course we have our ways."
Noticing his impatience, Shi Muyuan touched her nose and simply shut up.
The two of them waited for a while before coming out of the room. Huo Qizhou had almost finished searching this backyard, and they knew where the person was. So they quickly returned to the room where Yan Mo was.
In the room, the two had just finished their negotiation. The atmosphere was solemn. Shi Muyuan, being carefree, came in and immediately showed off to Yan Mo how great she was.
Yan Mo glanced at Ziying, who was still in the room. Ziying immediately left the room sensibly.
"Empress Dowager, it's getting late. I'll escort you back to the palace first."
"But this matter isn't over yet. The person hasn't been arrested."
"The person will definitely be arrested. It's going to be too chaotic later. I'm afraid it might hurt you. You go back first and wait for our good news."
Shi Muyuan also knew that her weak skills would only hold them back here. They would also have to take care of her, so she didn't hesitate much and agreed.
"I'll definitely tell you the result after the matter is over."
"That's good." She hadn't been busy all night just for fun.
On the way back to the palace, it was still Huo Qizhou who escorted her. Held in the man's strong arms, when Shi Muyuan looked up, she saw his sharp jawline and cold, emotionless eyes.
Huo Qizhou landed with her beside the small window behind the Shoukang Palace. The man turned around and was about to leave when Shi Muyuan grabbed the corner of his sleeve. He just turned his head and looked at her.
"Master National Teacher, be careful on your way. Good night."
The woman gave him a sweet smile. Her voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps because of the wind on the way back.
Her sudden show of kindness made Huo Qizhou a bit uncomfortable, but he still bowed before leaving.
She found that she would have many things to ask of Huo Qizhou in the future, so she had to build a good relationship with him earlier to make things easier.
At the Wanhua Tower, Yan Mo was in charge of arresting the person. Huo Qizhou first went back to his mansion and then took the thing he had just found and headed to another place.
...
Shi An returned home after a hard day in the military camp. The steward at the door handed him a letter sealed with beeswax.
He went back to his study and opened it. The elegant and neat handwriting that came into view was clearly from Yao Yao.
In the letter, she sincerely apologized to him, saying that she was very sorry for impulsively stepping on his foot last time. She sincerely said a lot of words of admiration, and then asked if he knew something. Why did her younger sister get injured? She wanted to make an appointment with him to talk. She also said that the Yao family would definitely investigate this matter.
Shi An shook his head and smiled. Sure enough, she was still an innocent little girl. No matter how smart she was, she still had a bit of childishness.
General Shi thought for a while and then picked up his pen to write a reply. He asked the servant to deliver it the next day.
...
Yan Mo fell into deep thought, thinking about the terms of the deal that Ziying had just proposed.
"The Yan family is well - known for their fairness. But if I were to tell Lord Yan that the Yan family is also involved in this case?"
"Of course, I'll enforce the law impartially and show no mercy!" Yan Mo looked at her disdainfully.
"Even if it's your father?"
Yan Mo's expression changed. He immediately stood up from his lazy sitting position and pressed towards Ziying with a sense of oppression. "What did you say?"
Ziying wasn't the least bit flustered. She curled her lips and continued, "I'm saying that if your father is involved, what will you do?"
His father?
Humph, the man who had disappeared after giving birth to him. Now that he had come back and was in cahoots with the bandits, of course he would put justice before family.
But before he could say his sarcastic words, Huo Qizhou came back with his men.
Forget it. It wouldn't hurt to deceive these people.
When Ziying left, she gave him a confident smile. She had no idea what evil plans this rascal had in store.