Mu Jingrui didn't react much. He just lowered his head to eat, with displeasure written all over his face.
Shangguan Wanning was also angry.
She put down her chopsticks and said, "How dare you turn your back on me? Don't forget that the time I'm talking about is when you and Yin Yuqing were newlyweds."
Mu Jingrui was stunned. Looking at Shangguan Wanning's angry expression, he wanted to slap himself.
Isn't this just his own fault? Why are you bringing up this issue?
"How dare I give you a cold shoulder? I was just thinking about something else, wasn't I?" Mu Jingrui hastily comforted him, "It's all in the past, let's not talk about it, okay?"
"snort!"
Shangguan Wanning became angrier the more she thought about it, so she stood up and walked out.
Mu Jingrui chased after her helplessly, pulling her sleeve and apologizing repeatedly.
"I was wrong, I was wrong, don't be angry..."
"You're wrong?" Shangguan Wanning stopped, turned to look at Mu Jingrui, put her hands on her hips and asked, "Okay, tell me, what's wrong?"
"Look at what you said..." Mu Jingrui took Shangguan Wan Ning into his arms, "As long as you are angry, no matter what the situation is, it must be my fault."
Shangguan Wanning was amused by Mu Jingrui and punched him hard on the chest several times.
"Someone is coming."
Mu Jingrui heard the light footsteps, let go of Shangguan Wanning and protected her behind him.
"Your subordinate greets His Majesty."
When Mu Jingrui saw that it was his personal guard, he relaxed, his smile faded, and he asked, "What's the matter?"
"I have heard about Doctor Lu in the town and have come here to report."
Shangguan Wanning was suddenly filled with joy. "Where is my master? Is he okay now?"
The guard frowned and shook his head.
"In reply to the princess, I have no idea of the whereabouts of Doctor Lu. However, someone in the town saw Doctor Lu and two tall men leaving. Moreover, it was late at night."
"So late at night? How could anyone see it?"
"The one who saw Divine Doctor Lu was a night watchman. He said that one night about half a month ago, he saw Divine Doctor Lu and two burly men riding away on horses, and they looked very hurried. Because Divine Doctor Lu had treated the night watchman before, he identified Divine Doctor Lu as the one who treated him."
"He said that he had greeted Doctor Lu that day, but Doctor Lu rode past him on horseback without responding. I then went to the town to inquire about the two men."
"The owner of a rice shop said that two people were asking for directions to Medicine King Valley half a month ago. According to his description, the two people looked similar to what the night watchman said, so they should be the same group of people."
Shangguan Wanning fell into deep thought after hearing this.
When they went up the mountain, there were no signs that any of the traps had been activated. This meant that when the two men arrived at Yaowang Valley, they either knew the route in advance and avoided the traps, or Lu Xiangzi turned off the traps himself.
Who are they?
What did they say to Lu Xiangzi that would make Lu Xiangzi willing to go with them?
"Ning'er, don't worry too much. Now at least we know that your master is not in danger. He left on his own. Maybe a friend came to him for emergency treatment."
Mu Jingrui's safety did not alleviate Shangguan Wanning's anxiety.
She had followed Lu Xiangzi for so long and was well aware of his eccentric personality.
She had never heard him mention any friends.
"You continue to inquire about the two people who took my master away. No matter what, I feel uneasy after not seeing my master."
The guard took the order and left.
Mu Jingrui stayed with Shangguan Wanning in Yaowang Valley for another two days.
Shangguan Wanning felt that she could no longer wait for Lu Xiangzi, so she had no choice but to set off back to Beijing. Before leaving, she left a letter for Lu Xiangzi.
The two had a smooth journey back to Beijing. As soon as they entered the city, they found that the streets were filled with an atmosphere of joy.
Mu Jingrui sent Shangguan Wanning home, sat in the Prime Minister's Mansion for a while, and chatted with Shangguan Yue. Only then did he know that all the beautiful girls had already entered the palace and were waiting for Xiao Yujue to select them personally.
"Jingrui, it looks like your marriage with Ning'er will have to be postponed again."
Mu Jingrui's hand holding the cup froze, and his heart sank involuntarily. "Did I do something wrong..."
Shangguan Yue looked at Mu Jingrui's nervous expression, smiled and waved his hand.
"No. In fact, your relationship with Ning'er has been full of twists and turns. I hope that you two can get married as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. However, the emperor's selection of concubines is like a big wedding. There has always been an unwritten rule in the court that during this period, no marriage is allowed in the families of all ministers."
Mu Jingrui ignored this matter.
"Well, that's the only way."
According to the palace rules, when Xiao Yujue was selecting concubines, the elders should have been there to provide him with advice, which was also a sign of the royal family's attention to this matter.
However, due to the palace struggles of the past two years, all the women of seniority are gone.
For this purpose, Xiao Yujue specially invited the mother of Ming King Xiao Beiming, Concubine Wu, to escort his mother to Beijing.
Prince Ming made great contributions when Xiao Yujue ascended the throne. In order to show his respect for this uncle of similar age, Xiao Yujue specially arranged a residence for him in the palace.
On the day of the selection of the concubines, the whole palace was filled with joy. Hundreds of girls from all over the country were like flowers blooming in the imperial garden, competing with each other in beauty and blooming, dazzling the eyes.
Xiao Yujue kept secretly glancing at the Queen Mu Jingyan out of the corner of his eye. He could sense her forced smile.
"Wu Pianpian, 18 years old, daughter of the governor of Manjiang."
Just as the eunuch finished reading, a young girl in a pink gauze dress with her long black hair tied up slowly walked forward.
She was different from those shy and timid ladies. Without waiting for Xiao Yujue to speak, she raised her head and looked at Xiao Yujue with a smile as bright as spring sunshine on her face.
Xiao Yujue admitted, his eyes brightening.
"Your Majesty, she is my granddaughter's niece, and her father is just a small governor, not as good as the ladies of the capital. I don't know the rules and offended you. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
After Concubine Wu finished speaking, she looked at Wu Pianpian and scolded in a low voice: “It’s really unruly…”
"My Lady Concubine, it's okay. She is smart and cute." Xiao Yujue rewarded Wu Pianpian with a jade pendant and kept her in his harem.
Xiao Yujue was not a lustful person, nor did he want to make Mu Jingyan too sad and embarrassed. So he only selected twelve out of hundreds of beauties, and all of them were chosen with the purpose of consolidating his political power.
He believed that Mu Jingyan would understand his difficulties.
After the audition, Mu Jingyan returned to his bedroom in a daze. He felt like something was blocking his heart and was so uncomfortable that he couldn't speak.
"Empress, Princess An Ning requests to see you." The nanny came in to report.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
