Qi Yu brought over the food, and the two had just finished eating when Yuan Xiu arrived.

Someone from the palace has come, saying that they want "His Highness Prince An" to come to the palace to discuss important matters.

Lu Xiaoyun guessed that it must be because of the dragon robe that was found in Zhu Heng's second prince's residence, so she went back to her room and changed her clothes.

Seeing Zhu Yu lying on the bed wrapped in a blanket, his dark, grape-like eyes staring at her, she couldn't help but step forward and kiss him a few more times on the lips.

As they kissed, her hands started to wander, secretly slipping inside his shirt.

Zhu Yu blushed and felt his heart pound as he was kissed. He then felt a hot hand cover his breasts and gently stroke the nipples.

Zhu Yu was startled and grabbed her, looking at her with a wronged expression: "What, what are you doing?"

"Well, you're not a mother yet, so you can't do anything."

Zhu Yu's lips twitched. Was this woman really so beastly when she said such shameless things? He quickly pushed her out, saying, "Go, go!"

Lu Xiaoyun had no choice but to stand up, straighten her clothes, and go out.

Zhu Yu glared fiercely at the tightly closed door and fell into deep thought.

In the period immediately following their body swap, he was utterly abused. At first, he couldn't even fill his stomach, then he was beaten black and blue, and later he was almost poisoned to death by the fat woman and her grandson.

Before we knew it, three or four months had already passed.

At that moment, he really thought he was going to die.

Whenever he was in danger, Lu Xiaoyun was always the first to come to his rescue.

At first, he had some doubts. He felt that he was not only bad to her, but extremely awful. To be honest, if they hadn't swapped bodies, he would have killed ten Lu Xiaoyuns.

But she didn't seem to care about her past. She had Physician Jiang treat his injuries, ostensibly to have a meal with him, but in reality, it was to prevent her mother from abusing him anymore.

He saved himself from the brink of death time and time again.

Even when she had her period, she personally put the menstrual belt in for him and had Li Feng make him brown sugar ginger tea.

He had assumed that Lu Xiaoyun had truly fallen in love with him.

But then he realized something was wrong.

When she was poisoned, Lu Xiaoyun also vomited blood. Later, she overheard Ayan's conversation with her.

So it wasn't that Lu Xiaoyun truly loved him and couldn't bear to see him die, but rather that their lives were bound together by that so-called system.

He originally thought that Lu Xiaoyun would never tell anyone, at least not until they switched back.

But yesterday, under those circumstances, she actually said it.

How could he not love such a wonderful person as Lu Xiaoyun?

...

When Lu Xiaoyun entered the palace, her face was rosy, a faint smile was on her lips, and she was agile and walked with a breezy air. Even the palace servants found it strange.

Zhu Dan was also summoned to the palace.

Unlike her, Zhu Dan looked dejected, with sunken eyes and a faint bluish tinge around her eyes, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept all night.

When Zhu Dan saw her, he paused, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Inside the Imperial Study, a group of ministers were already waiting.

The old emperor was pale and coughed softly from time to time, one hand supporting his waist and abdomen, which had been injured by Consort Ye.

Zhu Dan asked Physician Zhou why the Emperor's injury had not healed despite so much time having passed.

Even Physician Zhou was helpless, saying that he had prescribed medicine for the emperor, but the emperor refused to take it, only being obsessed with elixirs.

Zhu Dan tried to persuade him several times, but the old emperor remained adamant and extremely protective of the Taoist priest, leaving Zhu Dan with no other option.

When the old emperor saw the two of them, he pointed to the dragon robe that Zhu Dan had ordered to be brought in, which had been cut into pieces by the old emperor with scissors.

He angrily said, "Zhu Heng's audacity is outrageous! Issue my decree to kill everyone in the Second Prince's residence, leave no one alive! Not even a dog should be spared!"

The ministers dared not utter a sound. During this period, many of Zhu Heng's cronies had been identified from among the civil and military officials. Anyone found to have any connection with Zhu Heng was guilty of the heinous crime of having their family property confiscated and their clan exterminated.

Not to mention Zhu Heng, the mastermind.

He endured countless tortures in the prison; not a single inch of his skin was unharmed.

The jailers in the imperial prison were also deeply affected by that palace coup, and he experienced all kinds of tortures inside.

These punishments were not enough to kill someone immediately, so Zhu Heng was in a state of being unable to live or die in the imperial prison.

The next person to be executed along with his entire family was Ren Yushan.

Ren Yushan's wife never imagined that her husband, with whom she shared a bed every day, had been secretly loyal to Zhu Heng all along.

Ren Yushan had more than one daughter, Ren Yong'an; he also had a legitimate son and two illegitimate daughters, all of whom were also arrested.

Because Ren Yong'an had already entered the First Prince's residence and was pregnant with twins, she was temporarily confined to the backyard of the First Prince's residence, and her fate would be determined after she gave birth to her children.

The two illegitimate daughters were not well treated in the Ren family before, but this time, their father was involved in the rebellion, and they suffered greatly as a result. Every night, they became the objects of the jailers' lust.

This also applies to Zhu Heng's concubines.

These people are all death row inmates, so naturally no one will speak up for them.

Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Dan also knew that Zhu Heng's crime of treason was unforgivable. It didn't matter if he died, but it would also cause innocent people to lose their lives.

The old emperor was furious when he saw the dragon robe. After saying this, he coughed several times, his face turning a deep purplish-red, as if he couldn't breathe.

Inside the imperial study, the ministers were in a panic, some rushing to call for the imperial physician, others shouting, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health!" The imperial study was in complete chaos.

Lu Xiaoyun knew that the old emperor had never liked Zhu Yu, so she did not step forward.

Zhu Dan stepped forward and gently patted the old emperor's back to help him catch his breath. The old emperor then recovered and saw that the fourth prince was just standing there indifferently, not even bothering with formalities. His eyes were filled with a gloomy look.

...

Lu Yuyan packed his bags early in the morning and set off, entrusting the herbs to the guards of the Prince An's mansion for escort.

He led more than ten men on horseback towards Mucheng, and by late afternoon, they had already traveled more than three hundred li.

Both the horse and the rider were exhausted. At a riverbank, Lu Yuyan reined in his horse and said, "Let's rest for a quarter of an hour, have something to eat, and then continue on our way."

"Yes!" The group dismounted.

Lu Yuyan also dismounted and glanced at the crowd. In that glance, he spotted a different figure that had blended into the group.

Lu Yuyan took the water bag off the horse and walked towards the figure.

The man was wearing a soldier's uniform, which was obviously ill-fitting; even his helmet was too big, and he had to adjust it every now and then.

Hiding behind the tall horse, head bowed, trying to minimize its presence, it kept muttering to itself, "You can't see me, you can't see me..."

Lu Yuyan steadied his horse and sighed helplessly, "Why did you come along?"

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, the man had no choice but to stick his head out and grin at Lu Yuyan: "I want to go to Mu City with you."