After a long while, Shi An finally came to his senses and got a bit angry.
"Since you knew I would come to you, why did you choose to take my little sister out alone? Do you know how many people out there want to harm her?"
The man smiled slightly. Everything was under his control.
"Don't worry, my lord. I will surely return safely with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and give her back to you in one piece. If she loses even a hair, you can take my life."
His vow was so convincing that Shi An finally relaxed. However, he still didn't want to let the man off easily.
"What if something happens to my little sister while she's with you? Even if I take your life, it won't bring my little sister back."
He pressed on, but the man still looked calm.
"Then I will be a horse and a cow for your Shi family. I won't fear any torture."
Finally, the man's determined look touched Shi An. He drank the cup of tea with an unhappy look on his face and walked out.
"Alright, I'll let you off this time. Don't forget what you said to me today, or I'll take your life."
This conversation between the two men was rather harmonious. So, even though he knew the man had taken his little sister away, Shi An didn't feel unhappy the next morning.
Two figures stood on the eaves against the wind. Qin Feng joked as he looked at the person beside him.
"I've never seen you trust anyone enough to hand your sister over to them. Did you suddenly change your personality? Or does our Imperial Advisor have something that can move you?"
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who will sell my sister for those things?"
"It doesn't look like it, so why did you hand your sister over to him?"
"He said he would protect my little sister with his life."
This short sentence made Qin Feng understand immediately.
This kind of promise was better than all sweet talk. No, he suddenly thought of something, and a look of surprise flashed through his eyes.
"Don't you think there's something strange between these two people? If we let Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and a courtier out alone, if something happens and gets out, it won't be good for your Shi family's reputation."
When he said this, his expression was serious.
However, Shi An stretched and didn't seem to put this matter in his heart at all.
"The Shi family occupies half of the country because we want to be her backup so that she won't be bullied in front of outsiders."
"Right, after a long time, I almost forgot that everyone in your Shi family revolves around this little princess."
"Tch, just know it. Alright, go down and train those little brats. Even though they didn't fight in this battle, they are still a bit lacking in training. They've only walked such a short distance, and I already saw several people resting."
"If you trained them, they probably wouldn't meet any enemies in their lifetimes."
"You're just good at joking. How about we make a bet? It seems like you haven't trained your subordinates for a long time, right?"
"What should we use as a wager?"
...
Cui Qizhou actually knew that the two men had been watching him from the eaves for a long time. He looked at the girl who had been looking down.
"Is Her Majesty the Empress Dowager afraid of death?"
Shi Muyuan rolled her eyes. Did this question even need to be asked?
"Of course I'm afraid. Otherwise, why do you think I didn't want to come out at first? Aren't you afraid?"
"I'm not afraid."
This time, Shi Muyuan was completely shocked.
"Why aren't you afraid of death?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Death is just a blink of an eye. However, it's better to complete what you haven't done in your lifetime before you die. Otherwise, dying with regret is too much of a waste."
Shi Muyuan didn't expect the Imperial Advisor to be so enlightened. She suddenly became curious.
She blinked her eyes, and her little mouth kept talking. She asked the man a question from time to time.
Thankfully, the man didn't show any impatience. Instead, he answered her questions carefully.
After getting along for a few days, something between the two of them had changed without them knowing. However, they didn't notice.
When they were about to reach Jincheng, Cui Qizhou reminded her, "Although the map has never been found, some people still know about the treasures in Jincheng. It's better to disguise ourselves before we go in. Otherwise, if we're recognized, we'll only cause trouble for ourselves."
When Shi Muyuan heard the word "disguise," she immediately thought of modern makeup. Modern makeup was known as a face change. If she used it properly, she would definitely be able to avoid those people easily.
After thinking for a moment, she immediately started to act. Thankfully, she had brought Xiao Xiao with her this time. It was like bringing a treasure chest.
When she was bored in the palace before, she had taught Xiao Xiao. Now, this girl who was about the same age as her had better makeup skills than some modern live streamers.
"Xiao Xiao, I'll leave this matter to you. We have to be very careful. We mustn't be recognized."
"This servant understands. Your Highness, please rest assured."
After she finished speaking, Xiao Xiao started to operate. After a few hours, a few completely different faces appeared in the room. Thankfully, they had found a place where no one was around. Otherwise, someone would have been scared away if they saw them.
Shi Muyuan held the bronze mirror in her hand and didn't spare any praise.
"Xiao Xiao, you did such a good job. You're really better than your teacher. We're all dressed up. There shouldn't be any problems going in now, right?"
The girl tilted her head to look at the man. For some reason, the man's ears turned slightly red, and he didn't dare to look her in the eye.
"It's fine. Hurry up and go in. Don't miss the time."
The few of them walked in swaggeringly. As they had thought, no one noticed them.
Actually, two people wrapped very tightly appeared at the place where they had just stood.
"Do you think Xiao Xiao has some kind of secret technique? Otherwise, how could she change those two people into people we don't recognize?"
"It's hard to say. From the looks of it, we should follow them first. Your Highness, after what happened before, you should be more careful recently. Don't let anyone discover you again."
Concubine Rui had been nagged so much recently that her ears were starting to get calluses. She impatiently dug her ears.
"Alright, alright. It was just discovered by those scheming people. What's the big deal? By the way, I heard that many people have suddenly gathered in Jincheng recently. Does it have anything to do with you?"
Her face darkened slightly, and she seemed to be suspicious of Qiao Meng's loyalty to her.
This kind of her made Qiao Meng lose her appetite.
She didn't think about it. If it weren't for her the other day, she would have been captured by those farmers. The result was obvious.