Shi Muyuan slightly raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Since you were arranged to protect me personally, you should know that no one can stop me when I want to go out."
The guards remained unmoved, and their words were as cold as ever.
"Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for us. We are just following orders. The Prince is worried about your safety. He gave the order early on. Recently, there have been too many complex people coming and going in Yijin City. Just in case, we have to stay by your side at all times and can't let you go out."
The young girl narrowed her eyes slightly and flicked her wide sleeves. The tassels on her waist danced with her movements.
"Immediately summon Huang'er to me. I'd like to ask what kind of rules these are! Has the entire mansion become the territory of that concubine? Do they not even want to leave me a way out?"
The two guards glanced at each other. They didn't know how this suddenly turned to the woman in the backyard. But they had indeed received gifts from He Hui a long time ago. Now they felt a bit guilty and didn't dare to look Shi Muyuan in the eye.
Actually, Shi Muyuan had just casually found an excuse, but unexpectedly, she dug out a big secret.
She rolled her eyes, and immediately a plan came to mind.
She hooked her lips. "Immediately find Huang'er for me. Otherwise, you two won't be able to stay by my side anymore."
Helplessly, under her threat, the two guards had no choice but to go and fetch Ji Huang back from outside.
On the way, the guards didn't stop speaking ill of her. They would never swallow this anger.
"Your Highness, we were all doing this for the sake of the Queen Mother. Who would have thought that she would slander us right away? We were personally trained by you. How could we take orders from others? Isn't this slapping you in the face?"
Although Ji Huang was always very ambitious, he never lost his judgment for the sake of face.
His personality came in handy at this moment.
He lightly glanced at the guard who came to find him. His gaze seemed to see through everything.
"Since when have you subordinates dared to discuss your master behind his back? It was you who said that the Queen Mother wanted to see me, so I came back. If it was really your mistake that made the Queen Mother unhappy, you should know what the consequences will be."
The guard took in all these warning words. His whole body began to tremble. He suddenly regretted having said so much just now.
"Your Highness, please calm down. I was just so angry that I spoke without thinking. You'd better not be making things up in front of me. Otherwise, when I see the Queen Mother later, I'll make you pay."
So many important things had happened recently that he had even neglected his original plan. He hadn't had a good rest for the past few days. The dark circles under his eyes showed his exhaustion.
"Better be."
As he was speaking, the two of them had already arrived at the mansion gate.
Seeing the person sitting there in an unladylike manner, he strode forward.
"Why is the Queen Mother sitting here? The servants didn't even bring you a stool. They're such thoughtless people."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air around them turned cold. The on - looking servants quickly rushed to bring a soft couch.
But it didn't improve the young girl's mood at all.
"Forget it. I've long been a nuisance to these people. How could they care about my life or death? They might as well just let me die of exhaustion here. I'm sure that would be a good thing for them."
She gave the two guards a meaningful look.
The two guards didn't expect her to suddenly turn on them. They quickly knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, we were just following the Prince's orders and thinking about your safety. You can't just take your anger out on us."
"Oh, in your eyes, I'm just a master who deliberately makes things difficult, right?"
The guards didn't answer this question, which was quite telling.
Ji Huang was very unhappy to see their reaction.
"How dare you! You're openly defying your master here! It seems that I've been too lenient with you recently, and you've forgotten how I got to where I am today."
Seeing that he was really angry, the two guards lowered their heads and reluctantly admitted their mistakes.
"Your Majesty and Your Highness, please forgive us. We didn't mean that."
"Humph, your meaning was written all over your faces. Forget it. I'm just a guest here. How can I scold you?"
She sighed and turned to go back to her courtyard.
Ji Huang had been watching his mother being bullied since he came back. Now he couldn't bear it any longer.
He shouted angrily and drew out his sword.
"You're really out of control. Since you're not loyal, then according to the rules, have your hands and feet cut off and get out of here."
Now the two guards were really scared. They all crawled to Shi Muyuan's feet.
"Your Majesty, we know our mistake. We'll take any punishment you give. Please spare us. We'll never do it again."
The previous words had achieved their effect. Ji Huang was now looking at her, just waiting for an answer.
The young girl knew that as long as she wanted, these two people could lose their heads.
She hooked her lips and pulled out the edge of her skirt.
"You two make it sound like I'm bullying you. Sigh, just now Huang'er also said that as long as these two are loyal, it's okay. I only just discovered today that they've long since stopped being loyal to me. Since they've admitted their mistakes so sincerely, don't take their lives. Send them back to their own master."
Ji Huang couldn't understand the last sentence at all.
"Mother, these two were sent to your side long ago. Logically, their master should be you. If you don't want them, then they'll be masterless."
Hearing this, Shi Muyuan seemed to have heard some earth - shattering secret.
She widened her eyes and covered her mouth.
"What! So their master is actually me! But I can't see it from them at all. And the way they stopped me from going out earlier, it seems more like they were taking orders from someone else."
"What's going on with you two? Why did you stop the Queen Mother from leaving the mansion? I never gave such an order. Speak! What's going on?"
As their faces turned pale when Shi Muyuan was speaking, even if he was the most stupid, he knew that there must be something fishy going on.
There were only a few people who could pull strings under his nose. The only one he could think of now was one person.
However, Ji Huang subconsciously erased that person's name from his mind.
No, He Hui would never be so bold as to cause trouble at this time. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding.
But the truth is often different from what one imagines, just like now.
Unable to withstand his interrogation, the two guards finally confessed.