Mu Tiantian was pleasantly surprised to hear the system notification as she sat in the sedan chair: [Your corruption level has decreased.]

Qi Tong: [It's probably because he felt you didn't intend to harm him by giving him the medicine, and he trusted you to some extent, which is why his "darkening" level decreased.]

Mu Tiantian: [I even took an arrow for him before he 'gave' me a little' trust. It's so hard. But how long is my mission this time? Five years?]

Seven Unifications: [Since you are entering this world for the second time, there is currently no time limit. The focus is on completing the mission, unless the mission fails.]

Mu Tiantian nodded, took off the hairpin and glanced at it, muttering softly, "I wonder what's so special about this hairpin, it seems..."

He looks familiar.

Qi Tong: [This hairpin is yours.]

Mu Tiantian: [Mine? Did I give it to him? That can't be.]

Qi Tong: [He picked it up; it looks like a hairpin, but it actually contains a hidden weapon. He probably gave it to you for self-defense.]

Mu Tiantian became interested and began to study it carefully.

Qi Tong looked at the hairpin with concern. Long Fantian's reaction just now clearly showed that he recognized her as Lin Miao, but with the blackening value present, the favorability could not be detected.

It can only hope that no other unexpected events will occur.

Outside the restaurant.

Long Fantian glanced at the prescription in his hand; they were all medicines that could suppress the toxins in his body, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Spring Rain and Winter Snow stood up and happened to see Long Fantian smile. They were so shocked that their jaws dropped, as if they had seen a monster.

Generally speaking, if a prince smiles, there are only two possible outcomes: either death or injury, which is quite chilling.

But now...

She nudged Dongxue's arm and whispered, "Is that our prince?"

Dongxue glanced at her and said, "Yes."

Aren't you surprised?

"surprise."

Looking at her expressionless and somewhat blank face, Chunyu really didn't know what to say.

Lu Ke couldn't help but step forward and bow to Long Fantian, saying, "This humble subject Lu Ke greets Your Highness. This humble subject has something to ask Your Highness."

He remembered that Sister Sanshui had told him that she did not want the Regent to know that her name was Lin Miao because they had a grudge against each other, so how could they possibly be engaged?

He had to get to the bottom of it.

Long Fantian glanced at him indifferently without saying a word, but the oppressive aura emanating from him made Lu Ke tense up.

However, he still mustered the courage to ask, "This humble subject only wants to ask Your Highness, are you really engaged to Miss San... Mu?"

"You know her?" Long Fantian asked in return.

Lu Ke remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I don't know him."

"Since that's the case, why should I tell you? However..." Long Fantian put away the prescription, "I will send you a wedding invitation when I get married in the future."

After saying that, he turned and left, his meaning clear.

The marriage is real.

Lu Ke was shocked and unwilling to believe it.

Inside the restaurant lobby.

Only after all the guards had left did Xin Liangmu and Jing Huaxiong stand up, their knees aching terribly.

"This Holy Maiden is really a nuisance." Jing Huaxiong snorted coldly. "But I didn't expect her to dare to call the Emperor by his name. It seems she's in big trouble this time."

Xin Liangmu glanced at the medicine bottle in his hand and said calmly, "The Holy Maiden's arrival here must have been the Empress Dowager's idea."

"Empress Dowager? Then the Emperor..." Jing Huaxiong wondered. If the Empress Dowager had given the order, why would the Emperor have come to search for someone in such a grand manner?

“Otherwise, how could the Holy Maiden have escaped the palace after being confined by the Emperor a few days ago? If even she can't be kept under control in the palace, then the palace has become the most dangerous place.”

Jing Huaxiong pondered for a while and found it reasonable. "What the Grand Preceptor says is true. Today's conversation was also at the Empress Dowager's behest, so I suppose..."

Xin Liangmu slightly raised his hand to signal him to shut up, and looked up at Lu Ke who had walked in.

"Manager Lu," Xin Liangmu called out.

Lu Ke's mind was filled with what Long Fantian had just said: his marriage to Sister Sanshui was real.

"Manager Lu, the Imperial Advisor is calling for you," Jing Huaxiong reminded him, noticing his absent-minded expression.

Lu Ke snapped out of his daze and quickly apologized, "This humble subject was rude, and I hope the Grand Preceptor will forgive me."

Xin Liangmu reminded him, "Manager Lu, regarding today's matter..."

Lu Ke reacted and respectfully said, "This humble subject only knows that His Majesty came looking for someone, and left after finding the person. I know nothing else."

Xin Liangmu nodded and walked outside.

Jing Huaxiong followed closely behind, then suddenly remembered that the Miss Mu's appearance seemed to be the same as the one in the portrait at the Imperial Preceptor's residence. He caught up and asked, "Your Excellency, that Miss Mu just now seemed to be..."

"General, it's getting late. Be careful on your journey. Farewell." Xin Liangmu interrupted his question and left on his own.

Seeing his cold attitude, Jing Huaxiong spat at his back, his eyes full of disdain.

He's just someone who plays with insects, what's so great about him? A junior like him is so ignorant of etiquette, no wonder he's not well-liked in Miao territory, he deserves to be hunted down.

...

The second floor of the tavern.

The aroma is pervasive.

Long Fantian sat down in front of a man with half-gray hair. "Chef Shi, have you seen clearly? Isn't she your apprentice who died five years ago?"

"I'm getting old, and my eyesight isn't good; I really couldn't see the girl's face clearly," Shi Changbo said, taking a sip of his wine. "Besides..."

“My disciple is dead.” Shi Changbo looked at Long Fantian with a firm gaze, but his tone seemed to still carry a hint of anger.

As he spoke, he took out an exquisite bracelet, took another sip of wine, and seemed to have opened up a floodgate of words, “This bracelet was my wife’s dowry for our daughter. But the mother and daughter were murdered by villains and died young. We finally met a talented and sensible apprentice, and I treated her like my own daughter. I even gave her the bracelet, but who knew she would also die young.”

It was supposed to be a sad story, but his last words came out with a hint of resentment.

"Sigh..." Shi Changbo sighed, "Your Highness, do you think I'm just too unlucky? No one by my side ever ends well, not even the late Emperor..."

He didn't say anything more.

"Chef Shi, you flatter me. If it weren't for your tireless care by the late Emperor's side day and night, he wouldn't have lasted that long," Long Fantian comforted him. "You don't need to blame yourself so much."

“Your Highness is right.” Shi Changbo, his gloom lifted, poured him wine and smiled. “Your Highness no longer needs to call me the Imperial Chef. I am just a commoner who sells wine.”

Long Fantian glanced at the wine glass and asked in a calm voice, "Doesn't Chef Shi want to avenge his wife and children?"

Shi Changbo paused in pouring the wine, which spilled and flowed onto the edge of the table. Long Fantian stood up.

Shi Changbo snapped out of his daze, hurriedly put down the wine jar, and grabbed a rag to wipe it clean. "This humble subject is truly old; I can't even pour wine properly anymore. Your Highness, please don't take offense."

Long Fantian didn't speak. He walked to the wine cabinet, picked up a jar of wine, and then put down a gold ingot. Before leaving, he said to him, "If you've figured it out, come to the palace. This wine is good. I'll take it."

"By the way, whether she is your disciple or not, I think Lu Ke will come and tell you the answer in a while." After saying that, Long Fantian left the tavern.