Chapter 25

Mu Yuanzhi picked up the note someone left in the small box— "Hurry up and get well, little Yuanzhi!"

The smiling dog signature was just as silly as him, and Mu Yuanzhi couldn't help laughing.

She put the note away neatly, lay back on the bed to sleep, and slept soundly.

Five days later, Mu Yuanzhi's illness had mostly cleared up, she asked the emperor for permission to go to Pingnan Wangfu to check on his condition.

She was the future crown princess and knew medicine, so visiting Gu Rongjin was perfectly reasonable, and the emperor naturally agreed.

In Jingcheng, the Pingnan Wangfu had only a few servants; the Pingnan Prince usually stayed at his fief, but Gu Rongjin had come to the capital for New Year this time, and the emperor specially allowed him to stay longer in the capital, so after the family banquet he could still remain here.

Not knowing when Xiao Yichen would come, Mu Yuanzhi went to the Pingnan Wangfu at daybreak.

When she came for the first time, in the grand courtyard, the servants were orderly doing their work; upon seeing her they all bowed respectfully, saying, "Princess, the master has been waiting for you inside for a long time."

To keep up the act, as soon as she arrived she went into Gu Rongjin's bedroom, where a person of similar height and build to Gu Rongjin was sitting.

Mu Yuanzhi hadn't expected anyone to be there; she instinctively stepped back, her face full of wariness, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

"Crown princess," the person said, rising to bow, "Don't be afraid; I am the master's shadow."

His meaning was obvious: he was Gu Rongjin's stand-in.

His voice was very similar, but his appearance was not, so he couldn't show his face; he could only hide here to confuse things.

Suddenly being addressed so formally as "crown princess," Mu Yuanzhi felt a bit unaccustomed; she was about to correct him when she saw his expression turn grave, and he said, "Senior Grand Secretary Xiao has come; please go out to deal with him."

Mu Yuanzhi was suspicious—how did he know Xiao Yichen had arrived?

She pressed her doubts and went out, and indeed she saw the servants unable to stop Xiao Yichen from barging in.

This stand-in's hearing was excellent; Gu Rongjin seemed to have the same sharp hearing—he could hear Pei Yunxi's footsteps and tell them apart accurately.

Have they both been trained?

No matter how many questions, now was not the time to ponder; Mu Yuanzhi set aside her thoughts to face Xiao Yichen, walking forward with steady, dignified steps.

Xiao Yichen hadn't expected Mu Yuanzhi to be there too; she approached calmly, composed and dignified yet not lacking authority, and asked him, "Senior Grand Secretary, why have you barged into the Pingnan Wangfu?!"

In this confrontation, her accusation and defense of the Pingnan Wangfu made her look exactly like the mistress of the household.

Xiao Yichen's gaze instantly turned as cold as if it contained ice shards, and he said, "Princess, why are you here?"

The servants who had just tried to stop him had retreated to the side, silently picking up a broom and gripping it in their hands, unsure whether to use it for self-defense or as a weapon to drive him away later.

Mu Yuanzhi curled her lip: "My future husband is ill; is it strange that I came to see him?"

Upon hearing the words "future husband," Xiao Yichen's face turned sinister: "Do you know what Gu Rongjin has done?"

"What else could he have done? Just drinking flower wine; why are you, Senior Grand Secretary, more anxious than I am?"

Mu Yuanzhi nonchalantly defended Gu Rongjin, easily stirring up Xiao Yichen's suppressed anger even more.

"What if Gu Rongjin is the mastermind behind the arson case at the Ministry of Justice?" Xiao Yichen drew a deep breath before barely calming down.

Mu Yuanzhi's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly suppressed her surprise, raising her voice a few degrees: "Senior Grand Secretary, watch your words! Even if you are the Senior Grand Secretary, slandering the crown prince without evidence is no light offense."

The anger in Xiao Yichen's heart gradually gave way to bitterness, as she so unconditionally trusted Gu Rongjin, even daring to loudly rebuke him.

How did it come to this? Why did she change for no reason? Didn't she say she would like him forever?

Is it just because he treats Yunxi a little better? How many men aren't polygamous? Gu Rongjin still runs to the Red Pavilion every day!

The more Xiao Yichen thought about it, the more indignant he felt; today he truly had to barge in, no matter what.

"The evidence will be right here." Xiao Yichen disregarded Mu Yuanzhi's obstruction and insisted on entering.

He shoved Mu Yuanzhi aside with one hand; the servants, seeing Xiao Yichen's fierce advance, dared not stop him and hurried to help Mu Yuanzhi, saying, "Princess, be careful."

But the servant was a step slow, and Mu Yuanzhi collided with the nearby pillar, leaving her dizzy and in pain, letting out a low hiss.

The furious Xiao Yichen didn't notice, striding away quickly.

Mu Yuanzhi touched the back of her head, and her fingers immediately came away bloody.

"Princess, you're bleeding!" the servant exclaimed in alarm.

"It's nothing, just a small wound."

"We can't let Xiao Yichen in!"

"Xiao Yichen, stop!"

The servants, flustered and running in circles, also gave chase.

Xiao Yichen entered the bedroom, narrowed his eyes at the silhouette behind the screen, and smirked, "Isn't the master supposed to be ill? How is he up and about?"

"Really, Senior Grand Secretary, breaking into my Pingnan Wangfu—could it be just to peek at my bath?" the silhouette behind the screen, pushing what looked like a wooden tub, said, "Honestly, the master is so muddled from illness that it's rare he even thinks to take a bath."

Xiao Yichen pressed his lips together, making no further move.

Whether it was the voice or the odd way of speaking, it sounded just like Gu Rongjin.

"Brother Rongjin, why did you get up by yourself? Let me help!" Mu Yuanzhi went along with it, naturally picking up a spare set of clothes from nearby.

"What propriety is this!"

Xiao Yichen's thoughts were in turmoil: on one hand he wondered whether the Gu Rongjin inside was real or fake, on the other he was shocked by Mu Yuanzhi's bold move; his reaching motion was half a beat slow, so he could only grab the edge of her sleeve, watching her dash around to the back of the screen.

"He is my future husband; don't meddle too much!"

The screen reflected a tall figure making a motion to undress, while beside it a petite shadow stepped forward and reached out to help.

"Or perhaps the mistress is better! I say, Senior Grand Secretary, do you have some strange fetish, loving to eavesdrop on couples' intimacy?"

A flame flickered in Xiao Yichen's eyes; he swallowed his anger down hard and swept his sleeves away in a furious exit.

Inside, Mu Yuanzhi finally relaxed her breath, but as she let go, the pain in the back of her head flared up again.

"Crown princess, please forgive my transgression!" the stand-in's shadow bowed deeply.

"It's fine, just a performance; you did well, your imitation is convincing." Mu Yuanzhi didn't mind much; as long as it got them by, it was good.

The person laughed: "That's because the master wrote down all the lines for this countermeasure; he said you, crown princess, would surely cooperate, so I just need to memorize them."

He plans three steps ahead—Gu Rongjin is really formidable!

"Where did he go?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

That person instantly withdrew their smile, Mu Yuanzhi knew she shouldn't ask, also knew there would be no answer, and might even annoy that person, and even drag herself into the vortex.

She intuitively felt that Gu Rongjin was doing something very dangerous; otherwise Xiao Yichen wouldn't dare openly barge into Pingnan Wangfu.