Chapter 89

Close the door!

Mu Yuanzhi, seeing those people leave, had the door shut to avoid the noise.

Xiao Nianzi and Xiao Yunzi quickly shut the door, and Xiao Nianzi didn't forget to warn Xueer: "If you act cheap again, I'll smash your mouth!"

Upon hearing that, Xueer was frightened and stepped back several steps, while Xiao Yunzi, when closing the door, pretended not to notice Pei Yunxi's skirt hem and directly pinched it!

"Master, your skirt!" Xueer hurriedly bent over to pull, and Pei Yunxi also rushed to tug; with a hard pull came a ripping sound, and the skirt hem tore open!

Master and servant paid no heed to anything else, fumbling with seven hands and eight feet to pull out the skirt hem; the beautiful hem was already torn to shreds, and a lovely palace outfit instantly became unpresentable.

"What do we do, Master?" How can we go back like this? The skirt hem is ruined beyond hiding.

Pei Yunxi was furious to the extreme, wishing she could cut the servants of Weiyang Palace into a thousand pieces!

Infuriating! She actually liked this outfit.

"Go fetch me a cloak." Pei Yunxi was speechless; she had to teach this dimwit even this.

Pei Shangling, who had been dragged a few steps by Pei Jue, heard the commotion and wanted to go back and look; Xueer seized the chance to tattle: "Fourth Prince, the servants of Weiyang Palace deliberately tore our master's skirt—they're bullying us!"

"Outrageous! I should have locked them all up just now!" Pei Shangling clenched her fists upon hearing this.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard volunteered: "Fourth Prince, allow me to go apprehend them!"

"All right, Old Four, business comes first—let's go." Pei Jue dragged Pei Shangling away without another word.

"What business? My younger sister being bullied isn't business?!" Pei Shangling shouted angrily, but she couldn't match Pei Jue's strength, so she could only be dragged along.

Hearing this, Pei Yunxi felt utterly wronged: "How did my second brother suddenly change? Just now he was still speaking up for me!"

Is Mu Yuanzhi really that nervous about going to the marriage alliance? Anyway, Mu Yuanzhi is as unshakable as a cowhide lantern; she will absolutely not give up marrying Gu Rongjin.

I don't know what Gu Rongjin has that attracts Mu Yuanzhi; what's there to curry favor with a Pingnan Wangfu about to fall? Indeed, they're idiots!

Xiao Nianzi inside the door pressed his ear to the door, eavesdropping; only when there was no movement outside did he open the door and go out to inquire about the Huangli prince sending someone for a marriage alliance today.

Mu Yuanzhi placed the family letter before the burning candle, hesitated, then took it back.

If she wanted to burn it, the Prince of Pingnan would have done so already; what use is keeping it, except to add more evidence against herself?

Mu Yuanzhi sighed, clutching the family letter in a daze.

Gu Rongjin, where exactly are you?

"Master, let me go inquire about how the Prince of Pingnan is doing now," Hongdou said, seeing Mu Yuanzhi worried, unable to hold back her suggestion.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head. She said, "The Prince of Pingnan is definitely being detained by the emperor."

"According to me, senior sister, let's run!" Qilin urged again, "I've heard what you're saying outside; if the emperor suddenly loses his mind and sends you off for a marriage alliance, what would we do?"

"That won't happen; you don't understand him." Although she didn't understand the emperor either, there was one thing: he would absolutely not let her talent for making concealed weapons and poison fall into the hands of his countrymen.

So regarding the marriage alliance, she wasn't worried at all; now she only worries about Gu Rongjin.

What can she do? Must she just wait idly?

When night fell, Xiao Nianzi finally returned, saying, "The crown prince, the second prince, and the fourth prince have all gone to Xuanshi Hall to beg the emperor not to agree to your marriage alliance, Master!"

"What was the result?!" Qilin asked impatiently.

"The emperor didn't agree and had them refuse the Huangli State," Xiao Nianzi said with a smile.

Everyone except Mu Yuanzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

Linglong wanted to speak but held back; Hongdou asked her, "What's wrong, Linglong? Just say what you have to say."

"" Linglong hesitated a moment then said, "Master, I previously ran into a former attendant of the Lan Ting Princess; she told me that the Prince of Pure is a lecher who loves to abduct beautiful women; any woman he fancies is taken into his mansion, where his household is full of wives and concubines."

Hongdou was terrified upon hearing this: "How scary! What do we do if he sets his sights on the master?!"

"If he dares come, I'll poison him to death!" Qilin snorted.

Xiao Nianzi: "What's there to fear? This isn't the Huangli State; can he really run amok here?"

"It's not the theft we fear, but the thief's lingering attention," Linglong said worriedly.

Mu Yuanzhi furrowed her brows; she didn't know why she had attracted this thief's attention, "Just be careful coming and going; there's no need to be overly paranoid."

She now has more important matters to attend to.

The others could only nod; right now the burning urgent matter is the affair of Young Master Jin!

As the wedding day draws nearer, Gu Rongjin still hasn't appeared; the wedding proceedings continue orderly, yet rumors in the capital abound, both outrageous and not.

The imperial family's marriage, which should have been a double joy, has completely changed its flavor, but the emperor doesn't mind at all; he's waiting to close the net, and these days he has frequently summoned the National Teacher to the palace, recalculating the wedding date with a new divination each day.

That day, as the National Teacher emerged from Xuanshi Hall, he saw Mu Yuanzhi, looking as if he had been waiting for her a long time.

"National Teacher, may I have a word with you?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

The National Teacher smiled, nodded, followed behind Mu Yuanzhi, and went to a secluded spot.

"What does the princess wish to ask?"

"National Teacher, do you have any news of Young Master Jin?" Mu Yuanzhi asked straight to the point.

The National Teacher's smile unchanged: "Why would the princess think I would know?"

"Actually, there's a secret passage in the water pool of the Bureau of Astronomy, right?" Mu Yuanzhi hit the nail on the head.

The National Teacher's eyes flickered with surprise, then instantly regained composure: "Your Highness, I don't know what you're talking about."

Mu Yuanzhi continued to herself: "That day I fell into the water; no one saw who saved me. The only possibility is that Gu Rongjin entered and exited through the water pool's secret passage, which is why no one saw him."

"The princess is indeed sharp; you could figure that out." The National Teacher didn't continue to argue, seeming not at all worried about what consequences Mu Yuanzhi knowing this might bring.

He admitted it!

Mu Yuanzhi felt a surge of excitement, she restrained it and added: "The National Teacher is colluding with Gu Rongjin."

"Saying collusion is too harsh," the National Teacher frowned slightly, his smile unchanged, "but I truly don't know where Young Master Jin has gone; if I did, I would have told you, Your Highness."

Mu Yuanzhi wasn't convinced: "How much else do you know?"

"I don't know; I have no idea what Frost Descent is doing, I only know that he is the leader of Frost Descent." The National Teacher said calmly.

"The National Teacher knows nothing, yet he's willing to risk his life building a secret passage in the Bureau of Astronomy for Gu Rongjin to come and go—what benefit did he give you? What's your relationship with him?" Mu Yuanzhi thought the National Teacher was trying to fool her; she didn't believe him at all!