The next morning, the rain stopped.
Mu Jingrui met Eunuch Zhang again at the entrance of the post station.
"Master Mu, did you not sleep well last night? Why do you look so bad?"
Eunuch Zhang walked up to Mu Jingrui with a meaningful smile on his face.
"You are a pillar of the court, so you must take good care of your health. Without your support, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will have a very difficult journey."
As Eunuch Zhang spoke, he made a gesture.
The accompanying eunuch respectfully placed something in Eunuch Zhang's palm.
"Master Mu, this is the tonic that the Queen Mother gave me when I left the palace. It was carefully developed by the Imperial Hospital. Keep it with you in case of emergency."
Mu Jingrui took a quick glance and his body stiffened.
The handkerchief wrapped with the tonic...
He grabbed the thing, spread out the handkerchief and examined it carefully.
Isn’t this Mu Jingyan’s personal belongings?
"Master Mu, I have to go first. See you in the capital."
Mu Jingrui's eyes flashed, and the fierce aura made Eunuch Zhang shiver involuntarily.
He turned around quickly, got into his carriage, and drove away.
Mu Jingrui's face turned ashen, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"My Lord, are you all right?"
"Walk."
Mu Jingrui suppressed the anger in his heart, jumped on his horse, and rushed back under the stars.
After he returned to the capital, he did not go home but went straight to the Prince's Mansion.
Sure enough, Mu Jingyan disappeared.
"Since that day when she went out to pay her respects to the Queen Mother, Xiaoyan has never returned."
At this time, Xiao Yujue was so anxious that he couldn't sleep or eat.
He knew clearly that Mu Jingyan was in the hands of the Queen Mother, but he could do nothing about it.
"I sent people to investigate secretly and searched the entire palace but couldn't find Xiaoyan. What bothers me most is that I have no idea why the Queen Mother detained Xiaoyan."
Xiao Yujue went to the palace to find out what the empress dowager was thinking, but she said nothing, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.
He did not have enough evidence that Mu Jingyan was in the hands of the Queen Mother, so even if he wanted to ask the Emperor for help, he had no legitimate reason.
"The Queen Mother's purpose..." Mu Jingrui's voice was a little hoarse. He paused for a long time, took out the letter hidden in his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Yujue.
Xiao Yujue was also shocked after reading it, and looked at Mu Jingrui with complicated eyes.
He patted Mu Jingrui's shoulder gently and asked in a low voice: "What are you going to do?"
"The most important thing right now is to rescue Xiaoyan, the rest..."
Mu Jingrui sighed deeply.
He returned home listlessly, looking at the empty room, feeling a nameless anger in his heart that seemed ready to erupt at any time.
Mu Jingrui endured for a long time, then overturned the table. His eyes were bloodshot as if blood could drip out.
The next day at noon, Mu Jingrui sat in the study, carefully considering Mu Jingyan's whereabouts.
He summoned his trusted men to discuss the matter and planned to sneak into the palace at night to find Mu Jingyan's whereabouts.
"Jing Rui..."
A familiar and crisp voice came from outside, and Mu Jingrui subconsciously showed joy, but then, a feeling of sadness surged in his heart.
He waved his hand, and his men immediately retreated.
"Jingrui, are you really back?"
Shangguan Wanning pushed open the door of the study, saw Mu Jingrui's tall figure, walked quickly forward, and glared at him coquettishly.
"Why didn't you tell me you were back? If my father hadn't told me you attended the morning court today, I wouldn't have known."
Mu Jingrui had a thousand words he wanted to say to Shangguan Wanning, but he swallowed them back when they came to his lips.
"Jingrui, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you talking? Are you feeling unwell?"
Shangguan Wanning reached out to touch Mu Jingrui's forehead, but he dodged her hand.
This action, seemingly unintentional, made her feel an unprecedented alienation.
"Jing Rui, you..."
"I'm fine. I'm a little tired. You can go back first."
Shangguan Wanning was stunned.
This is totally unlike Mu Jingrui's attitude towards her.
When they met again after a short separation, shouldn't he be like her, letting go of all his worries and longings and embracing her?
"Are you really okay?"
"I said it's okay..."
Mu Jingrui's attitude was obviously a little impatient, and Shangguan Wanning could sense it no matter how stupid she was.
The woman's pride and reserve made her eyes well up with tears.
"Just go. Mu Jingrui, don't come to see me again."
Shangguan Wanning said this, turned around and ran out.
Mu Jingrui felt distressed when he saw her aggrieved look.
He subconsciously wanted to get up and chase after him, but after only two steps, the contents of the letter emerged in his mind.
His heart ached fiercely. He clenched his fist and punched the pillar.
Late at night, Mu Jingrui, along with several trusted men, took advantage of the time when the patrol guards were changing shifts to sneak into the Empress Dowager's bedroom.
Tonight, the moonlight is lonely and seems very quiet.
Mu Jingrui searched around but found nothing. When he came to the outside of the Empress Dowager's Buddhist temple, he heard the sounds of beating wooden fish and chanting scriptures for blessings.
"Master Mu, please come in. The Queen Mother has been waiting for you for a long time."
It was Eunuch Zhang’s voice.
Mu Jingrui frowned, hesitated slightly, pushed open the door and walked in.
He raised his eyes and saw that all the people who had been killed in the Ling family were enshrined on the shrine in the Buddhist temple.
At this time, the empress dowager was dressed in plain clothes, without any makeup or red hairpins, and she kept turning Buddhist beads in her hand.
Mu Jingrui took off the black scarf covering his face and looked at the empress dowager with sharp eyes.
"Did you receive the wedding gift that I sent Eunuch Zhang to give you?"
"Thank you for your kindness, Queen Mother. I received it."
"Do you like it?"
"dislike."
"That's right you don't like it. My original intention was not to let you have an easy life." The Queen Mother's voice became gloomy, and she took a few steps forward, closing the distance between her and Mu Jingrui.
"You broke into my bedroom tonight. If I scream now, you will be dead."
At this point, Mu Jingrui knew that there was no room for maneuver between him and the Queen Mother.
He smiled coldly and said, "I will avenge myself before the guards arrive."
The Queen Mother felt a chill in her heart.
She couldn't remember how many years it had been since anyone dared to talk to her like this.
"I believe you have the ability to do this. But... I'm afraid there are too many people buried with you."
"Queen, now that things have come to this, let's be frank. What exactly do you want me to do in order to release my sister?"
"Mu Jingrui, you are very smart." The Queen Mother nodded approvingly, but she couldn't help but feel a little regretful. "If your intelligence was used for my benefit, I would like you very much. What a pity..."
The Queen Mother winked at Eunuch Zhang.
"Before I tell you what to do, I want you to see your sister first. To make sure she's still alive."
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