After Shi Muyuan ran away, Yan Mo suddenly remembered something. He turned around and rushed outside. Damn it! He'd forgotten that the Empress Dowager was alone. How could she get back? But when he got outside, there was no sign of her.
As Shi Muyuan was running, she rounded a corner and saw a figure in white. Before she could stop, she bumped right into it.
Shi Muyuan let out a muffled groan and covered her head. Huo Qizhou was also hit hard. Instinctively, he grabbed the person in front of him to keep her from falling.
When Shi Muyuan looked up, she saw Huo Qizhou's cold, arrogant face. The hand that had just held her almost instantly withdrew, making her stagger a couple of steps.
Huo Qizhou looked at her. After a while, he said, "Follow me."
"Okay." Shi Muyuan replied a bit shyly. She seemed to have misunderstood him just now.
They'd spent a long time in the Dali Temple prison. When they came out, the once bright sky was now bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. The two of them, one tall and one short, walked slowly in the fading light.
"I'm sorry," Shi Muyuan finally said.
"Hmm?"
"I said I'm sorry!" Shi Muyuan puffed out her cheeks.
"Hehe."
"What are you laughing at!"
"The noble Empress Dowager is actually apologizing to me."
"I was hasty and misunderstood you. Of course, I should apologize," Shi Muyuan said, turning her head away uncomfortably.
Huo Qizhou didn't reply. Shi Muyuan waited for a long time and couldn't help but look back at him. The man's face was still expressionless, but Shi Muyuan felt that things should be okay. So she decided to assume that he'd accepted her apology.
Yan Mo chased for a short distance and saw the figures of Huo Qizhou and Shi Muyuan. He stopped in his tracks, scratched his head, and stood there. It seemed he'd worried for nothing.
"Lv Su said that Concubine Rui sent her a message to have Yin Muran arrest you," Huo Qizhou said.
"How do they know each other?"
Concubine Rui's family background wasn't very high, but she was still a young lady from an official's family. How could she be connected to Lv Su, who'd always been in the entertainment district?
"The person behind the Wanhu Tower is Zhang Yuan'an. As far as I know, not long ago, Concubine Rui secretly gave this duke a priceless cloisonné lion - playing - ball backgammon chessboard."
"Is she currying favor with the duke?"
Concubine Rui had no relatives left. For her to spend a fortune to secretly give such a precious gift to a powerful person in the Daliang court, Shi Muyuan couldn't help but think that she was currying favor with him.
"What does she want from the duke?"
"Zhang Yuan'an has always had ambitions for the throne. Maybe they've made some kind of deal, like replacing the Empress Dowager," Huo Qizhou said calmly.
Shi Muyuan was a bit incredulous. No wonder she'd been assassinated so many times even in the heavily guarded palace. It turned out there was a mole. When the assassinations in the palace failed, they even lured her outside to kill her.
"Zhang Yuan'an is involved in human trafficking at the Wanhu Tower. Concubine Rui knew about this, so she sent someone to tell Lv Su to arrest you. After Yin Muran failed, the Wanhu Tower sacrificed two useless pieces to us. Their goal was to cut off the clues and protect the Wanhu Tower. After all, it's their base. They were also threatening us not to continue investigating and disrupt their plans," Huo Qizhou told her.
"Outrageous! They simply don't take us seriously."
"He's a veteran of three dynasties. Naturally, he looks down on us kids. After being in a high - ranking and powerful position for so long, he naturally wants to try sitting on the dragon throne."
"What should we do then? The truth is right in front of us. How can we take him down?"
"Empress Dowager, are you joking? He's not so easy to overthrow. The three veteran officials aren't for nothing."
"Are we just going to let him do as he pleases? Not to mention his ambition to rebel, how can we let him off for doing such heinous things!" Shi Muyuan felt angry all over.
"We have to take our time. It takes a lot of effort to uproot a century - old tree," Huo Qizhou smiled.
"So how's this matter going?"
"First, we need to bleed him a bit and make him quiet for a while."
Huo Qizhou escorted her to the street leading to the small courtyard. He told her that Twelve would bring something to her later and then left.
Shi Muyuan didn't even have time to ask what it was. She could only return to the small courtyard with anticipation.
As soon as she climbed in, Shi Muyuan was stunned.
Was this the dilapidated and abandoned courtyard of hers?
Xiao Xiao and Yao Kun were excited when they saw her coming back. They ran towards her.
"Empress Dowager, you're back!"
"What have you done?" Shi Muyuan was a bit stunned looking at the completely new main hall of the courtyard.
"Didn't you tell us to renovate the house, Empress Dowager? I thought we wouldn't be living here, so I just cleaned up the main hall for us to rest in," Xiao Xiao said happily, looking at her. She was practically asking for praise! Although Yao Kun didn't show much emotion, the anticipation in her eyes was no less than Xiao Xiao's.
The main hall of the courtyard was cleaned spotlessly. There were many new armchairs and tables, and beautiful tablecloths and blankets were laid on them. It was very delicate, and there was even a concubine's couch for resting.
"I just think you're amazing," Shi Muyuan gave them a thumbs - up.
Yao Kun looked at her action with a puzzled look in her eyes. She stretched out her hand and imitated her, making a thumbs - up gesture. Her silly look made Shi Muyuan and Xiao Xiao burst out laughing.
"How did you move all these in? I saw that the main gate was still blocked by a big iron bar just now. If you didn't enter through the main gate, how did you get these in?"
Xiao Xiao stood out proudly at this question. "Empress Dowager, we didn't spend a single coin on these things. I thought this was supposed to be our secret. Buying things outside would attract attention and it would be difficult to move them in. So I took Miss Yao Er through the secret passage and called Ze Ze and Twelve to help us move these from the palace."
"What? You moved them from the palace!" Shi Muyuan couldn't help but gasp. This little girl's courage had really been emboldened by her. She just took things from the palace directly.
"Don't worry, Empress Dowager. These are all things that were replaced in the Shoukang Palace in previous years. It would be a pity to just let them pile up in the palace."
At this time, she noticed that Xiao Xiao and Yao Kun's hair was a bit wet. They must have sweated a lot and it was almost dry. There were two slumped figures sitting behind them. They were Ze Ze and Twelve.
Shi Muyuan found it quite funny seeing Twelve.
The person who swore to be loyal to Huo Qizhou was actually forced by Xiao Xiao to move tables for her. Hahaha.
Shi Muyuan silently gave Xiao Xiao a thumbs - up in her heart. She wondered how Xiao Xiao had tamed this loyal "wolf". She'd have to ask Xiao Xiao for tips another day.