Tonight, the moon was covered by dark clouds, and the horse hoof prints disturbed the vision. The whereabouts of the two people should not be discovered for a while.

Liu Yan carried Mu Zhuohua and flew for a while, then put her on the ground and sat down to regulate his breath.

Seeing Liu Yan's pale face, Mu Zhuohua said, "Your Majesty, your breath is blocked, and it will be very difficult to force yourself to practice."

Liu Yan nodded gently to show that he knew.

A dozen men in purple clothes surrounded a withered skeleton, looking solemnly in the direction of Dingjing. Finally, four horses and three people appeared in the field of vision.

Seeing the horses coming in front of them, more than a dozen purple-clothed men knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The cloak in front of Liu Yan was bulging, and suddenly the cloak opened a gap, revealing a white and tired little face.

"Are we finally here?" Mu Zhuohua breathed a sigh of relief, "It's really terrible..."

The purple-clothed men looked at each other, not knowing what expression to make.

Liu Yan took Mu Zhuohua off his horse and looked at the purple-clothed man in the lead: "He Xin, where did you find the body of Deputy General Yuan?"

Mu Zhuohua had already seen the skeleton on the ground, and while paying attention to their conversation, he walked towards the skeleton.

He Xin replied: "Reporting to the prince, we found this skeleton under the cliff over there."

He Xin pointed to the cliff not far away.

"We have searched the area of ​​20 miles in the past few days, and finally found this body under that cliff. The body has rotted and the clothes have mostly eroded, but there is a waist badge next to it, confirming that it belongs to Deputy General Yuan. This armor is also a military standard, so there should be no problem with his identity."

He Xin said, while stealing a glance at Mu Zhuohua.

He was a little suspicious of the relationship between this little girl and the prince. The prince has not been close to women for many years, and this is the first time he has seen him so close to a girl.

Mu Zhuohua squatted down in front of the corpse, sneezed, rubbed his red nose, and picked up a branch next to him to pick up the corpse and examine it carefully.

Liu Yan noticed He Xin's suspicious look and explained, "She is here to do an autopsy."

Mu Zhuohua carefully looked at the toe bones from the skull, pointed at the bones with a branch and said, "There are a total of thirteen scars on his body, here, here, and here..." Mu Zhuohua gestured between the shoulders and chest and abdomen of the corpse, "These five have signs of healing, which are injuries he suffered during his lifetime."

Liu Yan nodded and said, "Yes, these are the injuries he suffered on the battlefield."

After hearing Mu Zhuohua accurately point out several old injuries, the suspicion in everyone's eyes faded a little.

Mu Zhuohua pointed to the shoulder again, "The remaining eight injuries should have three causes. First of all, this kind of scar, it goes deep into the bone at first, then shrinks inwards, forming scratches. This weapon is very special, like an eagle claw, and the top of the eagle claw is coated with poison. This poison is not very toxic, so you can see that it only forms a light blue-black color. This kind of injury is not fatal, it should only be used for catching." As

Mu Zhuohua spoke, he drew the appearance of the weapon he imagined on the sand next to him, which was the shape of a metal eagle claw.

Mu Zhuohua pointed to another scar and

said, "This kind of scar is also quite obvious. It was caused by a fall. I guess he fell off a cliff while escaping, so these scars were caused. And this kind is very hidden." Mu Zhuohua grabbed the skull and said. A "hissing" sound was heard beside him. Many people gasped, but Mu Zhuohua seemed not to care: "Did you see this needle hole?" Everyone looked intently. If Mu Zhuohua didn't say it, no one would have noticed that there was a tiny hole on the skull that was almost big enough for only a strand of hair to pass through.

"This hole is very small, but it is the most deadly." Mu Zhuohua said seriously, "There are a total of three array eyes on his body, and this one is the most deadly. The human skull is quite hard, and this hole is no bigger than a needle hole, but it can pierce the skull. I have never seen this kind of needle, I have only seen it in books, but I don't know whether it is true or not. I heard that the Tang Sect, the king of hidden weapons in Shu, has the Rain of Pear Blossom Needles. The needles are as small as cow hairs and come out like rainstorms. Each needle is so thin that it cannot be seen, but it can pierce every bone in the human body."

Holding the sword and gritting his teeth, his eyes were red: "I've seen it."

Mu Zhuohua was stunned for a moment, turned his head to look at Liu Yan, but saw that Liu Yan lowered his eyes, his face was as heavy as water, and his breathing was disordered.

Liu Yan's voice was slightly hoarse, and he said slowly: "What else have you discovered?"

Mu Zhuohua hesitated for a moment before saying: "The time when these three kinds of scars were formed is a certain distance. The first to form is this kind of scratch, followed by this kind of needle hole, and it is difficult to judge the injury from falling, which should be formed one after another. Therefore, I infer that Deputy General Yuan rushed to rescue people, and then let his wife and children escape, and led away the pursuers himself. In the process, he formed these scratches on his body. These people should be the same group as those who arrested his wife and children. After that, I don’t know if he may have successfully hidden, but he was injured and couldn’t run far, and these wounds began to heal. But at this time, someone else came. These people’s weapons were not eagle claws, but needles. Deputy General Yuan died under these needles. If the number of people who were hit by this kind of needle was not large, they would not die immediately. He continued to escape and finally fell off the cliff."

Mu Zhuohua relied on the scars on the corpse to infer and restore Deputy General Yuan’s experience before his death.

Zhijian trembled and sneered, Zhimo closed his eyes and said nothing, Mu Zhuohua looked at this and then at that. "That... I'm done..."

Zhijian's eyes were filled with rage and hatred. "Your Highness, I said, I said, the one with the surname Liu, is..."

"Shut up!" Liu Yan stopped Zhijian in a hoarse voice, "Don't talk nonsense without solid evidence!"

Zhijian's eyes were red, pointing at the corpse on the ground and roaring: "Isn't this evidence! Wandering needle! He was killed by the wandering needle! The wandering needle is the killing weapon of the royal secret guards!"

Mu Zhuohua was shocked and felt that he had heard an incredible secret.

Zhijian said word by word: "Only the emperor can command the secret guards!"

Liu Yan closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling, his chest heaving violently, and his mind in chaos.

Royal brother... Royal brother...

Since the defeat three years ago, it has been rumored among the people that the emperor was worried that he would be more powerful than the emperor, so he wanted to get rid of him. He always sneered, how could they understand his friendship with the royal brother?

He lost his mother when he was born. It was Queen Mother Zhou who raised him. It was his elder brother who taught him literature and martial arts, and taught him how to write and shoot arrows. When he was six years old, he fell into the water. In order to save him, his elder brother jumped into the cold water without hesitation. He was in poor health to begin with, and that incident almost cost him his life. He was seriously injured and has been suffering from the disease ever since...

How could it be him?

How could it be him!

Liu Yan opened his eyes and said slowly: "Continue to investigate."

Zhijian said angrily: "Prince!"

- Pop!

An inappropriate voice suddenly sounded next to him, followed by the sound of dripping water.

Everyone turned their heads to look - they saw Mu Zhuohua standing by the horse, taking a wine bag and pouring wine into his hands.

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Mu Zhuohua smiled awkwardly: "I... wash my hands, I won't bother you."

My God, the emperor wants to kill Prince Ding - she just went to Beijing to take the exam, why did he let her hear such a secret!

Being interrupted by this, everyone's emotions were suppressed in an instant.

"Collect the corpse and return to Beijing." Liu Yan gave an indifferent order, and ignored Zhijian's gaze and walked towards Mu Zhuohua.

At this time, something strange happened!

I saw a cold arrow shot out from the side, and it pierced into the soil with a "swoosh". The cold arrow almost passed by Mu Zhuohua's nose. She was immediately scared and froze in place.

Everyone reacted very quickly and surrounded Liu Yan and Mu Zhuohua.

"Protect the prince!"

Liu Yan grabbed the frightened Mu Zhuohua and jumped on his horse. Countless cold arrows flew in all directions, but were stopped by the purple-clothed men. Then, dozens of masked men in black surrounded them.

"Zhijian and Zhimo, you protect the prince and leave!" He Xin roared, and then led the purple-clothed men to meet them.

Mu Zhuohua had never seen such a scene in his life, and his nose tip was still aching. At this moment, he could only hug Liu Yan tightly, burying his head in his arms and shivering.

Liu Yan galloped on his horse, and Zhijian and Zhimo followed behind. The four of them quickly left the encirclement. After

the four ran for more than ten miles, they saw another wave of black-clothed men coming. Zhijian and Zhimo had to draw their swords to meet them, and Liu Yan continued to flee with Mu Zhuohua.

It was already dark, and the gates of the nearest city had been closed, so the two could only hide in the forest.

Mu Zhuohua heard the shouting and killing sounds fade away. Just when she wanted to stick her head out to observe the situation outside, she felt a tightness on her waist. Liu Yan hooked her slender waist, took a deep breath and jumped, flying to the nearest tree. Mu Zhuohua felt her body lighten, and subconsciously hugged Liu Yan. Her cloak spread out, and she looked up to see the horses going away, and there was a dense forest on her side.

Liu Yan hugged Mu Zhuohua tightly and went deep into the dense forest.

Mu Zhuohua sat down next to Liu Yan, frowned and looked up at the sky, and sneezed unexpectedly, sniffing with tears in her eyes.

"Your Highness, do you think we can return to Beijing safely?"

Liu Yan finished regulating his breath and looked at Mu Zhuohua's profile.

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"At daybreak, we'll go back to the nearest town and find someone to escort us back."

Mu Zhuohua sighed softly: "I just wanted to pass the imperial examination simply, and I didn't expect to be involved in so many troubles..."

Liu Yan joked: "Maybe you don't respect ghosts and gods, so you have bad luck."

Mu Zhuohua sneezed again and sighed: "The examination is in three days, and I caught a cold."

Liu Yan was speechless. He took off his cloak and put it on Mu Zhuohua, wrapping her tightly.

Mu Zhuohua said in a thick nasal voice: "Thank you, Your Highness... Your Highness, what should I do if I miss the imperial examination because of this?"

Liu Yan: "..."

Mu Zhuohua said: "This is considered a work-related injury, right?"

Liu Yan; "..."

Mu Zhuohua: "Your Highness, you said you are the chief examiner, and I am also your person. I have suffered for your affairs. It is not too much to open a back door for me and arrange a ranking. I don’t want to be in the top three, tenth place will be fine..."

Liu Yan said dryly: "No."

Mu Zhuohua had a sad face: "Look at how the eldest prince treats his own people."

Liu Yan glanced at Mu Zhuohua's wrinkled little face, and saw that her almond eyes were filled with tears, her nose was slightly red, and her face was full of grievances and resentment. Somehow, the depression in his heart seemed to have dissipated a lot, and the corners of his lips curled up unconsciously, but he still said: "No."

Mu Zhuohua glanced at Liu Yan and saw that the gloom between his brows had eased a lot, and he felt relieved.

It must be a bad feeling to be murdered by the brother whom you regard as your brother.

However, Mu Zhuohua also felt that this matter was a little strange.

"Prince, who were those who chased us just now?" Mu Zhuohua asked.

"I don't know." Liu Yan replied.

Mu Zhuohua asked again: "Are they the secret guards?"

Liu Yan shook his head affirmatively: "Impossible, since Emperor Chongguang, the secret guards have had an iron order not to attack the Liu royal family. Even the emperor cannot let them violate this iron order. Besides, if they are secret guards, they must have wandering needles in their hands. There is no survivor under the wandering needles. You and I are already dead now."

Mu Zhuohua thought: "So the secret guards can kill Deputy General Yuan, but they can't kill you."

Liu Yan heard this, his eyes dimmed. "That's right."

Mu Zhuohua suddenly felt that this powerful Prince Ding was a little pitiful. No, what qualifications did she have to pity others? At most, she could say that they shared the same suffering.

"Is the hatred of Zhijian and Zhimo so strong because their relatives were also killed?"

"Three years ago, I led three thousand elite soldiers and was besieged by Yelu Jing, the third prince of Beiliang. None of the three thousand elite soldiers survived." Liu Yan's throat tightened and the scene of that year reappeared in front of him. One by one, his confidants fell down in front of him. They were besieged, with no hope of life, waiting for rescue. The survivors cut their wrists and fed their blood into his mouths, "Zhijian and Zhimo's father and brother are among them."

Mu Zhuohua sighed. No wonder the blood in Zhijian's eyes was about to drip out.

"If the mastermind is... that person... what are your plans?" Mu Zhuohua asked softly.

If Prince Ding wants revenge, then she must quickly draw a clear line...

Liu Yan was silent for a long time, unable to answer.

Mu Zhuohua pursed her lips and said, "In fact, even if it is confirmed that Deputy General Yuan was killed by the secret guards, it cannot prove that the mastermind of the defeat is that person."

Liu Yan was slightly surprised.

Mu Zhuohua explained, "The injuries on Deputy General Yuan's body are very suspicious. If that person was responsible for this, then why are the injuries at the beginning different from those later? The people who imprisoned Deputy General Yuan's family and those who killed Deputy General Yuan are likely to be two different groups of people. The people who really forced Deputy General Yuan to betray the prince should be those who took the eagle claw hook."

Liu Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Mu Zhuohua secretly observed Liu Yan's expression and sighed in his heart - the prince was still unwilling to accept the fact that His Majesty was the mastermind, so it would be good to give him some hope.

"I have an immature suggestion. Your Highness, don't jump to conclusions. Find out the origin of the eagle claw hook first, and then find the culprit." Mu Zhuohua said, and added, "Of course, it is also possible that the same group of people are involved, and the secret guards do not necessarily use only one weapon..."

However, Liu Yan ignored the latter sentence.

"No, the eagle claw hook is not lethal enough. If the secret guards were there, it would be impossible to leave the wandering needle unused and let Deputy General Yuan escape."

Mu Zhuohua thought, Your Highness, as long as you are happy...

"Moreover, the wandering needle may not only be used by the secret guards..." Liu Yan suddenly fell silent in the middle of his speech and turned his head to look at the direction he came from.

Footsteps sounded in the darkness.

The footsteps came very quickly.

Liu Yan grabbed Mu Zhuohua and used his lightness skills to escape.

However, the person who came had already heard the movement and quickened his pace to chase him.

Mu Zhuohua held Liu Yan tightly, his heart beating like a drum, and his mind was frantically thinking about how to get out.

- Is it too late to betray Prince Ding now?

No, not everyone is as easy to talk to as Liu Yan. The other party might kill her without letting her speak.

Liu Yan's original martial arts should be quite good, but she was injured too badly that year and could no longer use all her strength. At this moment, her breathing was slightly disordered. Liu Yan looked around and saw that the trees in front were dense.

He gritted his teeth and jumped, hiding in the bushes with Mu Zhuohua. Liu Yan was thin but tall, and Mu Zhuohua was petite. Liu Yan held her whole body in his arms. The two leaned against the tree trunk and dared not breathe.

Mu Zhuohua put her head on Liu Yan's chest, feeling the ups and downs of Liu Yan's chest. The heartbeat was deafening in the dark night when she was being chased. Mu Zhuohua shrank stiffly in Liu Yan's arms, wishing she could be smaller and turn into a bug so that people could not see her.

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The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Mu Zhuohua controlled her breathing to be light and slow, but she couldn't control her heartbeat getting faster and faster.

Suddenly, Mu Zhuohua's whole body froze, and she felt unwell.

She felt something pressing against her thigh, long and hard...