On the day Jing Xinche left, all the commoners in the capital came to see him off. Even the emperor showed up.
Jing Xinche looked at Mu Fengqie standing on the city wall, waved at her, then turned around and said to the ten thousand soldiers behind him, "Let's go!"
Mu Fengqie stood on the city wall, watching Jing Xinche's figure fade into the distance. She silently prayed in her heart, hoping that he would return safely. Little did they know that this separation would last for half a year.
After Jing Xinche left, Mu Fengqie clearly felt that something was missing from her life. She gave a helpless smile. It seemed that she had truly grown accustomed to having Jing Xinche by her side.
His sudden departure left her feeling rather out of sorts. Mu Fengqie stroked her belly and thought to herself, "Baby, you must bless your father to come back safely."
"Sister, don't worry. The marquis will surely return safely," A Ru's voice came from outside.
Mu Fengqie looked at the door in surprise. "Why are you guys here?"
"I was worried about you, so I came to check on you. Sister, why don't you come and stay with me in the prince's mansion? I'm so bored all by myself," A Ru said as she placed the baby in her arms into Yuan Yuhan's and hugged Mu Fengqie.
Mu Fengqie looked at A Ru with amusement, then at Yuan Yuhan who was trying to soothe the baby, and laughed. "I'll pass. What would I do there? Watch you two show your affection?"
A Ru pouted and was about to say something when Yuan Yuhan interrupted her. "A Ru, Fengqie is right. If she came, seeing us together all day would only make her miss Jing Xinche more." So, it's better not to force the issue.
He didn't mean anything else; he just didn't want anyone to disrupt his and A Ru's world. Although they now had two children, it didn't stop them from being affectionate.
A Ru thought about it and realized he was right, so she didn't insist.
However, the next day, Mu Fengqie was summoned to the palace by an imperial edict from Yuan Yuchuan. The pretext was that the emperor wanted to take care of the wife and child of the Marquis of Zhongning so that the marquis could focus on suppressing the bandits on Wupian Mountain.
It was called taking care, but anyone with half a brain could tell that the emperor was essentially imprisoning her. When Yuan Yuhan learned of this, he almost smashed his cup.
"Is Yuan Yuchuan trying to use Fengqie to threaten Jing Xinche?" Yuan Yuhan said with a dark expression.
Yuan Yuchuan's actions had enraged everyone. Even though Jing Xinche was no longer in the capital, did Yuan Yuchuan think he could just ignore the people from the Prince Regent's Mansion and the Pharmacist Valley?
Fuming with anger, Yuan Yuhan rushed to the palace to confront Yuan Yuchuan. If Yuan Yuchuan didn't handle this properly, he would surely make him pay.
"Why are you so angry, brother? We're brothers after all. Why let an outsider come between us?" Yuan Yuchuan drawled, not taking the angry Yuan Yuhan seriously at all.
Anyway, one of the two people he feared most in the capital was gone. Wasn't the other one easier to deal with? This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of them both!
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this isn't appropriate. Mu Fengqie is Jing Xinche's woman. What will people think of you if you just bring her into the palace like this?" Yuan Yuhan said with a dark look on his face.
"I invited her into the palace openly. What's there to be afraid of?" Yuan Yuhan looked at Yuan Yuchuan's matter - of - fact expression and really wanted to slap him, but he couldn't.
Yuan Yuhan took a deep breath and kept telling himself that this was the emperor and he couldn't hit him. If he did, he'd be punished, and then there'd be no one to take care of A Ru. He couldn't hit him.
After repeating this to himself several times, Yuan Yuhan managed to suppress his rage. "Aren't you afraid that Jing Xinche will come back and settle the score with you?"
"What's there to be afraid of? I'm taking care of his woman and child. What does he have to complain about?" He'd have to be alive to complain. Yuan Yuchuan sneered sinisterly. This time, Jing Xinche was surely doomed.
Yuan Yuhan clenched his fists and said expressionlessly, "I'd like to see Fengqie. After all, she's my wife's sister. My wife is very worried about her, so I'd like to go and check on her to reassure my wife."
Yuan Yuchuan's face fell. Damn Yuan Yuhan was openly threatening him! Wasn't he just trying to tell him that there was still the Prince Regent's Mansion backing Mu Fengqie?
"In that case, I'll have someone take you there. But men and women should keep their distance. You two should meet in the courtyard. Otherwise, it'll be bad for Mu Fengqie's reputation," Yuan Yuchuan said with an expression that seemed to say he was doing them a favor, which made Yuan Yuhan want to vomit.
Yuan Yuhan followed the eunuch to a palace and then dismissed the eunuch.
He looked around the palace. It was quite elegant and clearly had been carefully decorated. It was very suitable for a woman to live in. He wondered if Yuan Yuchuan's concubines had ever had such treatment.
Moreover, this palace was very close to Yuan Yuchuan's bedroom. If Yuan Yuchuan had any evil intentions, it was entirely possible.
"Fengqie, it's Yuan Yuhan. How are you?" Yuan Yuhan shouted from the courtyard.
Mu Fengqie had been reading a book in the room to pass the time. As soon as she heard Yuan Yuhan's voice, she immediately opened the door and came out with Zhu Fei. Yuan Yuhan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zhu Fei beside her.
If Mu Fengqie had been alone in the palace, they would have been in a very passive position. With Zhu Fei there to protect her, they could rest assured. And if Zhu Fei was in the palace, Lou Ming would surely come too, which made him even more at ease.
"Fengqie, how are you? Has the emperor done anything to you?" Yuan Yuhan asked with concern.
"I'm fine. The emperor just invited me to the palace as a guest for a few days." But they both knew that this was just a pretext. She had become a hostage.
"That's good. But the palace is a complicated place, and there's..." Yuan Yuhan pointed upwards and continued, "You must be careful. If anyone bullies you, don't hold back. Just fight back."
This was what A Ru had told him to pass on to Mu Fengqie before he entered the palace. She had also said that Tianlin Kingdom would back her up if anything happened. In short, she absolutely couldn't let her sister be wronged.
"Don't worry. I know what to do." She now had the ability to protect herself. It was the things outside the palace that worried her, especially the Chen family and the Jiang family. They had just found some clues, and now Jing Xinche was gone.