In the room, only one candle was lit. The candle was as big as a young man's arm and burned and danced on the candlestick. The candle wax dripped down the candlestick, and the flame would occasionally burst into a small spark.

The entire room was dark, except for a small corner from the dressing table to the edge of the table that was bright.

Bai Nuo emerged from the bathroom, her hair still wet and cascading down her back. Her makeup was gone, leaving her with light eyebrows and pink lips, making her appear even cleaner and fairer. She wore a white silk undergarment, which accentuated her slightly fuller figure, and a pair of peach-colored shoes. Still damp from the water, she sat down in front of the mirror on the dressing table.

She had just sat down when Hu Mingmei came out of the bathroom. Bai Nuo looked at him in the mirror and saw him walking towards her with a towel in his gentle eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him anymore.

Every time Bai Nuo looked directly at Hu Mingmei, her face would turn red and her heart would race, yet she was always reluctant to look away.

Hu Mingmei brought over a stool and sat behind Bai Nuo. With one hand holding a towel and the other hand lifting Bai Nuo's long hair, he wrapped Bai Nuo's long hair with the towel while looking at the woman's face in the mirror.

"Why aren't you drying your hair?" Hu Mingmei looked at Bai Nuo's face in the mirror. The woman's face was flushed, and her eyes were full of affection and charm. When he thought of Bai Nuo's lovely appearance when they were together, his throat moved involuntarily.

Bai Nuo let Hu Mingmei dry her hair. Listening to Hu Mingmei's deep voice, she felt that his voice was a little abnormal. So she looked up at the mirror and saw that his throat moved unnaturally and he was looking at her with deep eyes, as if she wanted to fall into his deep eyes.

Seeing Hu Mingmei's state, Bai Nuo quickly begged for mercy, "No more, I'm so tired."

Hu Mingmei chuckled softly, "Alright!" Seeing that she seemed sleepy, he didn't press her and said gently, "Go to sleep after you dry your hair!"

Bai Nuo nodded. She was truly exhausted. She had been sleeping the whole time, but it seemed like she never got enough sleep. Her hair was still wet, so Bai Nuo forced herself to stay awake and made conversation with Hu Mingmei, "What do you think His Majesty wants to do?"

Although His Majesty rewarded her handsomely, praising her for her service, he also greatly complimented Huang Yi'an, saying that he was young and promising and would surely achieve great things in the future. The Emperor was waiting for him to serve the country in the future. What does this mean?

Huang Yi'an can't participate in the imperial examinations. Is the emperor trying to get Huang Yi'an to go into business and compete with Hu Mingmei?

Seriously, given the relationship between Hu Mingmei and Huang Yi'an, even if it's not a life-or-death struggle, they'll be outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, secretly plotting against each other.

Hu Mingmei dried the water droplets from Bai Nuo's hair, got up, took out a stove from the cabinet, added a piece of silver charcoal, put in the flower petal incense that Bai Nuo had made herself, lit it, and then put the lid on. He then took the stove back behind Bai Nuo and dried her hair.

"His Majesty's thoughts are beyond our comprehension, but he certainly won't let me have it too easy," Hu Mingmei said calmly. "Although His Majesty is still in his prime, the princes and princesses have all grown up. His Majesty must always guard against the princes destroying the entire Great Zhou Dynasty for the sake of that position."

Bai Nuo hadn't thought of this before, but when she heard Hu Mingmei say this, her heart skipped a beat, and an idea popped into her mind: "Could it be that His Majesty is afraid that if you side with one of them, that one will become too powerful, so he's finding you a rival to distract you?"

If Huang Yi'an were still in the Hu family, His Majesty might not have done this. But now, Huang Yi'an has changed his maternal uncle's surname and become a member of the Zheng family. The Hu and Zheng families are the two wealthiest families in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although they do not have power, if these two families fall into the hands of a prince, the combination of power and money would be quite terrifying.

Bai Nuo thought that if His Majesty operated in this way in economic matters, then the same method would be used in the court.

Bai Nuo felt her heart tremble. Once upon a time, the emperor was just two Chinese characters in a book to her, but now her family was about to become a political sacrifice.

"Then you..." Bai Nuo looked up at Hu Mingmei, her eyes filled with deep worry.

Hu Mingmei gently dried Bai Nuo's hair, her movements as if she were handling a rare treasure. "I won't get involved!"

"What if they're forced?" Bai Nuo asked. How could they possibly say they didn't want to do something like that? They might not want to, but there were powerful figures behind their backs, so they didn't have a choice. They were pushed into it.

"Then let's choose a wise ruler!" Hu Mingmei said after drying Bai Nuo's hair. He pulled Bai Nuo into his arms, sat in Bai Nuo's seat, placed Bai Nuo on his lap, and placed his hand on Bai Nuo's still-flat stomach. "I won't let anything happen to you or the baby."

If one day they are both destined to become victims, then he will do everything in his power to ensure their survival.

Bai Nuo fell silent, caught in a dilemma. It wasn't as simple as Hu Mingmei saying everything would be fine. If he didn't want to become a victim of power, then not getting involved and giving up everything would be the best course of action. But even if he gave up everything, Huang Wenbai and the others might not let him go.

Taking one step forward is a precipice, taking one step back is an abyss.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Hu Mingmei picked up Bai Nuo and walked towards the bed, saying as they walked, "Besides, His Majesty only had this intention, and it may not necessarily turn out that way in the end. It's good to find me an opponent. I was worried about not having a chance to deal with the Zheng family, and now the Zheng family has walked right into my path."

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