Fan Zhen awkwardly withdrew his hand and cleared his throat twice as he looked at the person feigning sleep in the carriage.
"Previously when we were on missions, we either used light - footed skills or rode horses. How could a rough person like me ever sit in a carriage?"
Xiao Xiao was already speechless towards him. "Young Master Fan had better be more careful. Don't end up dragging the Empress Dowager into trouble."
Hearing this, Fan Zhen pursed his lips in boredom.
"Got it, got it. I'll definitely be careful when we enter the palace."
Soon, the carriage drove into the palace. But as soon as they returned, they met an unexpected person.
Hearing the sound of people saluting outside, Fan Zhen froze. For a moment, he didn't know what to do. Finally, Shi Muyuan broke the silence first.
"Sister, you seem to be in a hurry. Where are you going? Do you have something really important to do outside the palace? I remember, sister, you said before that you would stay in the palace to pray to the Buddha."
Concubine Rui looked a bit flustered. Even a fool could tell, but Shi Muyuan didn't expose her.
"The servants under me are so reckless. They caused trouble outside the palace, so I'm going to take a look myself."
"Since it's the servants who caused trouble, just throw some silver to settle it. Why do you have to go there in person, sister?"
Concubine Rui gritted her teeth but still spoke softly.
"The servants had a dispute with the common people. As their mistress, I should go and have a look. Don't worry about me, sister. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, as if afraid that the people in the carriage would keep her, she quickly saluted and left.
Looking at her back, Shi Muyuan curled the corner of her mouth slightly. "Brother Fan must have always wanted a chance to clarify things, right? Why not follow her now?"
Fan Zhen didn't expect her to give him such a chance. At first, he was a bit stunned. "Aren't you afraid that I'll betray you, Empress Dowager? After all, I used to be in love with Concubine Rui."
"But now you've seen this woman's true colors, haven't you? If you still help her, it's your own blindness, and no one can change that."
Although the words sounded a bit harsh, they hit the nail on the head.
Fan Zhen nodded seriously.
"Don't worry, Empress Dowager. I won't do such stupid things again."
After saying that, he quickly left and caught up with Concubine Rui just as she was about to leave the palace.
Concubine Rui looked at the man who suddenly appeared behind her, her eyes full of anger.
"What's wrong with you? I sent someone to the Black Tower to look for you, but you didn't reply. Have you forgotten our previous agreement? Or do you simply not care about me anymore?"
Seeing her nervous look, Fan Zhen suddenly felt it was a bit ridiculous. He had known her for so many years, and maybe this was the only thing that could make her so nervous.
But now none of this mattered. He came today to settle the matter from the past.
"I've been on a mission outside these days. I just got back today and received your message, Concubine. You were in such a hurry to find me. What happened?"
Hearing his explanation, Concubine Rui let out a sigh of relief, thinking that her next words might have a chance.
"I accidentally lost the token you gave me. Even so, your subordinates should still follow my orders, right? You promised me that back then. Don't tell me you're going to change your mind now?"
"Of course I don't mean that. The organization was established for you from the beginning. But now I want you to fulfill a promise. Anyway, you'll have to fulfill it sooner or later. You should agree, right?"
He began to test Concubine Rui. In fact, it was just his last hope. If this hope was dashed, from then on, he would follow Shi Muyuan as he had promised at the beginning and serve her whole - heartedly.
Although he had already prepared himself for disappointment, when he really faced this moment, he still felt his heart ache. After all, she had been the one in his heart for so many years.
Concubine Rui's eyes dodged. She didn't even want to look him in the eye. Instead, she directly changed the subject.
"Why are you bringing this up again? I'll definitely fulfill the promise I made to you before. But you know my current status is not suitable. Don't worry. It won't be long before I'll let you stand beside me openly. Then we can be a pair of free lovebirds."
These four words sounded familiar. He always felt as if he had heard them somewhere before.
That's right. In the Black Tower, he had heard the general say the same thing. Such a promise, the same woman had said it to other men. Now she was saying it to him again. He felt that his life over the years had been quite ridiculous.
"Can't it be right now? You've already got most of what you want, and you can't defeat that Empress Dowager. Why don't you just leave with me? In the future, I can protect you in the jianghu and make you live a more satisfactory life."
"What do you mean by that? In your eyes, am I really not as good as that woman? Or have you also taken a fancy to that woman? I knew all of you are duplicitous. None of you really want to help me."
As she was speaking, she suddenly squatted down and cried. This really surprised Fan Zhen. Since they had been together, he had never seen this woman shed tears. This was also the first time she showed weakness in front of him.
Suddenly, he felt a bit compassionate.
"Don't cry. I didn't mean anything else. I just feel a bit unwilling to keep dragging things on like this. If you really don't want to, then we'll wait for a while."
Hearing this, Concubine Rui secretly curled her lips where he couldn't see. She knew that as long as she showed her most vulnerable side, she could subdue any man. Even the late Emperor had come to her side because of this trick and had favored her for a while.
She let out a soft sigh of relief. As long as this man didn't keep pestering her about the previous promise, the rest of the things would go smoothly, and she could manipulate them as she pleased.
Concubine Rui sobbed, her shoulders shaking, and her face covered with tears, making her look even more pitiful. This also aroused the man's protective instinct.
Just like now, Fan Zhen seemed to be heartbroken and regretted what he had just said.
"I didn't mean anything else. Don't worry. I won't force you to do things you don't want to do anymore. We'll talk about that promise later."
The topic was easily changed, and Concubine Rui suddenly became understanding.