Chapter 271: Truth

Pei Shangyan knew Mu Yuanzhi wouldn't see him, so he waited here anyway; she would definitely come out eventually.

If she doesn't come out today, she will definitely come out tomorrow.

Ah Zhi younger sister will surely go out to shop or head to the Ministry of Works, right?

Pei Shangyan waited near the princess's residence, waiting until evening, the right and wrong, Mu Yuanzhi returned from outside together with Gu Rongjin.

"Ah Zhi younger sister!"

Pei Shangyan went up to meet her.

Mu Yuanzhi guessed that Pei Shangyan would definitely come looking for her after his release from prison, and indeed he did.

"What, you're stalking again?" Gu Rongjin crossed his arms, "Why do you Pei folks always like to stake out people's doorsteps?"

Pei Shangyan ignored Gu Rongjin's mockery and said to Mu Yuanzhi, "I want to ask you about my father's affairs; how much do you know?"

Mu Yuanzhi smiled and said, "If I knew, I would have sent people to arrest him."

"You don't know?" Pei Shangyan disregarded the other meaning in Mu Yuanzhi's words; he only wanted to know his father's whereabouts.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head. "I don't know; you're looking for the wrong person."

"If you find your father, tell him to stop struggling; he never had a chance before, and now he has even less. Honestly accept the new emperor's ennoblement and live out the rest of your life in some remote corner." Gu Rongjin sincerely proposed, "Our Majesty is very benevolent; he won't make your father come in alive and go out dead."

Pei Shangyan gave a noncommittal response: "It's just putting on the act of a benevolent ruler."

"Even if so, it's still better than those who aren't even willing to pretend to be a benevolent ruler," Mu Yuanzhi said.

Not wanting to argue with Mu Yuanzhi about this, Pei Shangyan said, "Ah Zhi younger sister, do you really have no information about my father's whereabouts?"

"I've said it before; if I knew, I would have sent people to arrest him."

Pei Shangyan also thought that the new emperor would certainly not want his father to remain out of his sight.

"In that case, I'll be going now, Ah Zhi younger sister; I'll come visit you again next time."

"Don't bother coming." Mu Yuanzhi said rudely.

Pei Shangyan's eyes were full of loss.

He was like this, his family was like this, and she didn't have an ounce of sympathy…

Pei Shangyan silently turned and left.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't find Pei Shangyan pitiful at all; he still had his prince title and could idle about—what's there to pity? There are plenty of people in the world who can't even get a meal!

"Speaking of which, Xiao Yuanzhi, who do you think let him go?" Gu Rongjin asked.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Hard to say, but there must be someone protecting him; otherwise his reign as emperor would be a total failure."

Actually Mu Yuanzhi had someone in mind, but without evidence it wouldn't be right to guess recklessly.

"Rongjin, I want to go to the Imperial Observatory later; I can go by myself," Mu Yuanzhi said to Gu Rongjin.

Gu Rongjin was about to say he'd accompany her, but the latter half of her sentence cut him off.

"Why be so mysterious about going alone?"

He narrowed his eyes at Mu Yuanzhi: "Are you secretly doing something shady behind my back?"

"Gu Rongjin!"

"You're laughing happily, but isn't it normal for me to feel a bit jealous?" Gu Rongjin said in an unhappy tone, "Going off to meet another man alone is really unfriendly to me!"

Mu Yuanzhi thought about it and agreed; if it were her, she'd also mind a bit.

"Let's go together."

He knew it wasn't a big deal.

"No, since you have business with the National Teacher, go ahead; tell me when you want to." Gu Rongjin patted Mu Yuanzhi's head and said generously.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head: "Let's go together; there's nothing to hide from you."

"Then I really will follow you."

"Come on."

Gu Rongjin happily followed Mu Yuanzhi to the Imperial Observatory.

The Imperial Observatory had been completely renewed; all its subordinate officials had been replaced, each personally selected by the National Teacher.

"You two have so much free time to come see me here?"

Upon seeing them arrive, the National Teacher deliberately changed to a new incense.

"You're not secretly burning Tibetan incense again, are you?" Gu Rongjin leaned in to check.

"What do you mean sneaking around? I just didn't tell you."

"That's exactly sneaking around!"

After the National Teacher lit the new incense, the room was filled with a very pleasant aroma that relaxed everyone.

"You've been a bit tense lately; although you might not feel it after just finishing a major undertaking, your bodies need to relax properly," the National Teacher said.

Mu Yuanzhi: "That makes sense; I now feel completely relaxed."

"A bit, but not much." Gu Rongjin said, "I enjoy the life of licking blood off the blade; it's fine."

"What tea shall we drink?"

"You decide."

"All right." The National Teacher went to fetch the tea leaves.

"National Teacher, was it you who let him go that day?" Mu Yuanzhi suddenly asked.

Gu Rongjin was a little startled.

How can Xiao Yuanzhi ask so directly without any preamble?

Actually he had also suspected it, after all, even if someone wanted to help the former emperor, they lacked the ability to release a person in such a short time.

This person is very likely Xiao Yang.

But he was only speculating; he hadn't even considered inferring from the sidelines, at least not yet.

But since little Mu Yuanzhi had come, he had almost guessed what she wanted to ask.

I never expected she would ask so directly.

The National Teacher also froze for a moment, and some tea leaves spilled from his hand.

That action gave him away.

"Miss Mu really is straightforward." The National Teacher continued brewing tea, "That's right, I let him go."

Mu Yuanzhi: "Why?"

"Don't you think His Majesty won't spare him?" Gu Rongjin asked.

Mu Yuanzhi then asked: "Are you that close with him?"

"You two, husband and wife, singing in harmony like that—I can hardly keep up." The National Teacher didn't stop his tea-making hand, nor turn around, "His Majesty won't kill him, but he will surely fight His Majesty to the death."

Mu Yuanzhi: "People in an agitated state are indeed likely to do irrational things, and at that time he had nothing left."

Going mad is also a common human reaction.

She simply didn't understand why the National Teacher would risk letting him go.

"I just wanted to save his life, also count it as an acquaintance." The National Teacher sighed softly, "As for what happens later, it's up to his own fate."

Mu Yuanzhi: "I hope he lives up to your risk."

Although the hope is slim.

Gu Rongjin: "How did you rescue him?"

"There's a secret passage in the palace that leads directly outside, just like the Imperial Observatory." The National Teacher said.

Mu Yuanzhi: "So that's how it is, no wonder they could evade all the palace guards."

"Do you have any more questions?" the National Teacher asked.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Aren't you afraid His Majesty will become suspicious? What we can think of, he might not have missed."

National Teacher: "There's nothing we can do about it; if His Majesty becomes suspicious, let him be suspicious."

He also prepared himself for the worst.

To be a person with no guilt to one's conscience—that has always been his motto.

"Just because you saved him doesn't mean he'll necessarily thank you."