Chapter 84 Entering the Palace

"With these clothes on, who would be able to tell?" Doctor Luo glanced at the half-finished product, estimated its size, and then turned to get something. "Although you are tall enough and have always worn a corset, your waist is still too slender. If someone looks closely, they will inevitably notice something. Now that you have these clothes, your shoulders and back will be 'stronger,' making you look more like a man."

"Okay." Mu Xi wore it for a while and found it wasn't as hot as she had imagined, so she accepted it.

Doctor Luo turned around and held dye and a brush in his hand again: "Sit down. Now I'll draw a scar on your wound. If you hadn't been injured this time, it would have been really difficult to do. Now that you have a scar, it can cover up the skin interface."

Mu Xi understood the intention, so she sat down as instructed, allowing Doctor Luo to make hideous scars below her collarbone and above her heart with a gelatinous substance made of red dye.

The scars drawn by Doctor Luo not only covered most of the left side of her chest, but also extended all the way down to her neck.

Mu Xi then thought of another detail: "Dr. Luo, you said I don't have an Adam's apple either. Even if you draw it on my neck, I still have to wear a high-necked shirt, right?"

"Men can also have inconspicuous Adam's apples; even if you wear a turtleneck, it won't be able to cover it up." Doctor Luo drew meticulously, not missing any detail.

"Oh dear, why didn't you say so earlier? Look at all of the young master's clothes, which one isn't conservative?" Mu Xi complained, feigning concern.

After drawing the scar, Doctor Luo stepped back to observe it from a distance, saying, "That's all because your Lord father was guilty and had to do this. As the saying goes, what is fake cannot become real, and what is real cannot become fake. It can't be hidden at all, so it's best to avoid seeing people."

Mu Xi also looked down at herself and found it to be incredibly realistic. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Doctor Luo's skills are truly amazing! She's not afraid to expose her chest even now!"

"Don't do anything reckless." Doctor Luo added two more strokes to the parts he was not satisfied with.

Mu Xi kept joking, but her heart was pounding: "There's nothing I can do, I have to go see someone."

The divine physician Luo saw through everything: "Don't be afraid. With this outfit, you'll be able to pretend to be weak and powerless on the way to the palace. Just hide behind your noble father and pretend to be young and ignorant."

In no time, the fake scar solidified.

Doctor Luo stepped back to indicate that the task was complete.

With the help of Tao'er and Zhelan, Mu Xi put on a new set of elegant purple and gold patterned robes and prepared to depart.

Doctor Luo packed up his medicine box and put it aside: "Wait a minute, I'll go with you too."

"No need," Mu Xi said, though she was secretly touched.

Doctor Luo glanced at Mu Xi's pale face and said, "It's perfectly normal for you to take a doctor with you when you go out in this condition."

"Then let's call it Bao Fan too." Mu Xi finally decided, since it wasn't appropriate to bring maids like Tao'er and Zhe Lan into the palace anyway.

So Mu Xi, along with Physician Luo and Bao Fan, followed Jin Fangjun Mu Zhen and Mu Xun, and under Gao Quan's "escort," headed towards the palace.

Mu Xi was jostled around in the carriage for most of the hour, and by the time she got off in front of the palace gate, she was completely exhausted.

The royal palace was a highly sensitive place, and entourage members could not easily enter. Doctor Luo and Bao Fan had to stay in the carriage.

Still not entirely at ease, Mu Zhen gave a few more instructions before leading Mu Xi and Mu Xun into the palace, guided by Gao Quan.

The palace of the King of Yu was also a renovation of the former Yanju Palace.

The dark, rammed earth city wall was twelve feet high, and a giant bronze gate rose from the ground. On the ten-foot-high lintel, the bronze door knocker with the Taotie pattern opened its blood-red mouth, and the South China Sea luminous pearls embedded in the beast's eyes emitted a faint light even in the daytime.

Passing through the palace gate, a vast plaza paved with bluestone suddenly unfolds before you, stretching for hundreds of feet and capable of accommodating a thousand chariots. At the end of the plaza, nine tiers of white jade steps rise abruptly from the ground.

Above the jade steps, the Tianjun Hall stands majestically. The hall's foundation is over three zhang high, constructed of black rammed earth. The roof is covered with a double-eaved hip roof, with black tiles like scales, towering roof ornaments, and bronze wind chimes hanging from the eaves. When the wind blows, the metal chimes clang, the sound carrying for miles.

Just as Mu Xi was feeling suffocated by this invisible pressure, a group of people suddenly emerged from the shadows beneath the jade steps diagonally in front of her.

Someone in the procession shouted, "Your Highness, save me! Your Highness, save me!"

"Your Highness, save me! Your Highness, save me..."

Mu Xi looked in the direction of the sound and discovered that it was a group of criminals being escorted by the Imperial Guards, linked together in several rows with iron chains, numbering in the dozens.

One of the petite women was struggling desperately to run over, ignoring the guards' attempts to stop her.

Cao Pan'er?

How did Cao Pan'er end up here? And why was she still in prison clothes, chained up at the very end of the line with a group of criminals?

Mu Xi recognized him at a glance and instinctively went over to him.

Mu Zhen's voice stopped her: "Xi'er, what are you doing? Where is this place? Have you forgotten what I just told you? First, go to Tianjun Palace to pay your respects to the King."

"Father, Cao Pan'er is missing, how could she be here?" Mu Xi was utterly astonished.

Mu Zhen's face was also clouded with worry.

Gao Quan, who had been accompanying them the whole time, chuckled and said, "Hehe, you don't need to be nervous. You'll have to see him soon anyway. The Imperial Guards just brought him here in advance, in preparation for the King's summons."

"Cao Pan'er was captured by your Imperial Guards?" Mu Xi sensed something was very wrong.

Gao Quan glanced sideways at Cao Pan'er, his expression one of tacit agreement.

Cao Pan'er was still desperately shouting and struggling: "Young Master, Young Master... I want to see the Young Master..."

"Let's go." Mu Zhen acted as if nothing had happened, but after thinking for a moment, he still whispered to Mu Xi, "You must not concern yourself with Cao Pan'er's matter later. Just pretend you're deaf and dumb. Your father will know everything, okay?"

"Okay, I understand." Mu Xi could only pretend not to hear and continued walking forward.

Gao Quan, who was standing nearby, had obviously overheard their conversation, and his smug smile grew even wider.

Just as the two armies were approaching, Cao Pan'er, with a sudden burst of strength, broke free from the imperial guards and ran desperately towards Mu Xi, crying out, "Your Highness, Your Highness..."

The Imperial Guards then followed up with a beating.

Mu Xi, who had already been unable to restrain herself, couldn't stand it any longer and rushed over without thinking: "Stop! What kind of behavior is this, beating up a frail woman like this?"

Cao Pan'er rolled on the ground, and when she saw Mu Xi coming over, she desperately crawled over and grabbed Mu Xi's hem: "Young Master, Young Master... This servant has something to say to the Young Master."

Mu Xi bent down to help Cao Pan'er up, also wanting to ask, "How did you end up here with the Imperial Guards?"

Cao Pan'er couldn't stand up for a moment: "This servant wants to say a few words in private."

Mu Xi hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand to stop the imperial guards who were about to step forward: "Don't come any closer. This is the royal palace. Do you intend to kill someone in public?"

The Imperial Guards dared not step forward.

Mu Xi then seemingly intentionally or unintentionally pulled Cao Pan'er a couple of steps to the side, taking the opportunity to say, "Speak quickly if you have something to say?"