As they talked, more princes and ministers joined in, and the debate in the hall quickly turned into a quarrel, with each side having its own reasons.

Zhong Muyu felt her head buzzing. Their argument was pointless; it only added pressure on Lu Ziyuan, waiting for Lu Ziying to make the final decision and pin a crime on Lu Ziyuan.

It was a very annoying scheme, and she had no way to break it.

Lu Ziyuan was the same, so he just stood there quietly, letting the two groups argue their case.

At this moment, Lu Ziying spoke up: "Quiet!"

As the argument subsided, Lu Ziying asked, "Prince Ling, is there anything else you want to say?"

“The dangers that my brother and Father Emperor experienced in the forest are all true. My brother did his best. It was my fault that I failed to protect Father Emperor. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, my brother will not utter a single complaint.”

Zhong Muyu clenched her fists. This was the situation she feared most, but things had already come to this point. Lu Ziying had taken advantage of Lu Ziyuan's grief and guilt towards the Emperor!

Lu Ziying nodded: "I believe in your determination to protect the Emperor, but things have come to this point, and saying anything cannot make up for your mistakes. So I will punish you with half a year's salary and transfer Yi County and Feng County around Lingqing to my sixth brother, Prince Ning."

These words caused an uproar. It seemed a bit too harsh to just take away Lu Ziyuan's fiefdom like this.

Lu Ziyuan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed.

Even if he refuted it, it would be futile. Those two counties were rich and prosperous places, and Prince Ning had coveted them for a long time. Moreover, Prince Ning was close to the Crown Prince. Didn't he understand the intricacies of this situation?

After finally ending this highly charged conference, Zhong Muyu couldn't help but say upon returning home, "He's really impatient. He hasn't even properly sat on the throne yet, and he's already starting to target you."

"It was only a matter of time; I knew he wouldn't let me off easily."

Lu Ziyuan remained surprisingly calm. Zhong Muyu asked, "And you?"

Lu Ziyuan is not the kind of person who would treat someone like a fish to be slaughtered.

He reached out his hand, and Zhong Muyu gently took it, being led to his side.

What do you want me to do?

"Me? You need to ask me about something like this? Of course I don't want him to hurt you, not even a little bit!"

Lu Ziyuan said, "I won't let him hurt me either. I just want to know what you want. You're all I have now. I'll do whatever you want."

Zhong Muyu understood what this meant. To be honest, Lu Ziyuan had prestige and military power, so it wasn't impossible for him to usurp the throne. However, a coup would mean bloodshed and fratricide, and no one wanted to see that happen.

But if one were to live a peaceful and uneventful life, it would mean losing many things, and in the end, one might only be able to live a life of quiet seclusion, becoming a prince or princess in name only.

Zhong Muyu chose the latter.

Power was never what she wanted, and that was fine. She also knew that Lu Ziyuan was not the kind of person with strong ambitions.

...

After the funeral arrangements were nearly completed, Lu Ziying ascended the throne amidst great public attention.

The coronation ceremony was somewhat simple, but all the necessary rules were followed. When the palace banquet was held, Yin Ruixin, just like last time, went to a secluded palace to meet Lu Ziying and handed him the wooden box.

"This is?"

It had a peculiar coolness to the touch and felt quite heavy in the hand. Lu Ziying looked at the object in her hand with curiosity.

Yin Rui thought to herself, "This is a weapon called a musket that I obtained from the guards of the Prince's mansion. It is said that this thing can kill people invisibly if it touches a trap, so it is best to be careful when touching it."

Lu Ziying had also heard of those legendary hidden weapons in the martial arts world, and he immediately became cautious, no longer playing with them as casually as before.

However, he still couldn't quite believe it: "Is this thing really that powerful?"

Yin Ruixin nodded seriously: "Judging from the appearance of those guards, they must be very powerful. In any case, Your Majesty, you still have to be careful."

Lu Ziying put the item back into the wooden box: "I'll have the craftsmen study this another day. If it's really some kind of powerful weapon, then Lu Ziyuan's possession of such a thing would be treasonous."

"Yes, I've also heard that there are things in the Prince's mansion that can monitor people. It seems that there are many secrets in the Prince's mansion."

"No rush, the time will come soon. Go back and wait, this period won't last much longer."

As she spoke, Lu Ziying raised her hand and lifted Yin Ruixin's chin.

Yin Ruixin suppressed her excitement: "I will, I will remain chaste and wait for you."

Lu Ziying released his grip. If he could really get rid of Lu Ziyuan, it wouldn't be bad to take Yin Ruixin as a concubine, although right now he really wanted to take Zhong Muyu as a concubine.

He wouldn't let such useful women die.

...

A few days later, Lu Ziyuan handed over his fiefdom to the new emperor. To avoid future troubles, he also relinquished many of his posts and emerged from the palace with a calm and composed demeanor.

Without those annoying things, he was happy to have some peace and quiet, and at the same time, he could avoid Lu Ziying's suspicions.

...

As the year draws to a close, Zhong Muyu prepared many gifts. He not only distributed year-end bonuses to the staff of various shops, but also personally led people to visit Uncle Zheng and his wife.

Of course, her real intention was to visit Chi Xuanzhu.

As the only teacher in Qingshui Village, Chi Xuanzhu's home in the village already had many gifts. After Zhong Muyu put the things down, Chi Xuanzhu brought over tea with an apologetic look: "This place hasn't been cleaned for a long time, it's very messy, please don't mind."

"It's alright. You usually spend the New Year in the village, right?"

"No, they go to the mountain god temple to worship on such days, so I always spend the New Year on the mountain. It's just that they send a lot of gifts every year, and I always have to deal with them and prepare return gifts."

Zhong Muyu nodded; the social interactions here are quite tiring.

At this moment, Chi Xuanzhu suddenly thought of something: "By the way, I didn't bring you here with my dream magic just to say these things. You will come up the mountain with me later."

Zhong Muyu asked, "Is there something important?"

Chi Xuanzhu countered, "Do you still remember the Shadow Witch?"

"Ha! That woman who caused me so much trouble, I can't forget her even if I wanted to."

Chi Xuanzhu explained, "After what happened last time, Master Wen disposed of her. However, the people of the Spirit Clan still long to see you. Master Wen was afraid that they might do something, so he planned to meet you through dream magic and also hear about your current situation."

Zhong Muyu was somewhat reluctant to meet those people: "Meeting them? Won't there be any unexpected incidents?"

"With Master Wen here, even if there is an accident, it will be his accident. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

After all, Master Wen was one of Zhong Muyu's saviors, and it would be impolite to avoid seeing him during the New Year. In the end, Zhong Muyu decided to meet with them.

The two arrived at the mountain, passed through the barrier, and the seasons changed instantly, a sight that always felt magical no matter how many times you saw it.