"I... I find it amazing too." Mu Tiantian looked at him with sincere eyes, as if it really had nothing to do with her.
“Miss Mu, lying is a crime of deceiving the emperor,” Long Xinghuang threatened.
"I wouldn't dare lie, it really was an accident," Mu Tiantian denied.
"I will ask you one more time: how exactly did you end up at the hunting grounds that day to shield the Regent from an arrow?"
Mu Tiantian answered instinctively, "I swear it really was an accident..."
She hadn't expected Long Xinghuang to change the subject so quickly, and stood there stunned, her mind racing.
"I...I don't remember...cough cough..." Mu Tiantian quickly covered her chest, feigning illness. "This humble woman has been staying up late these past two days carving wooden figures, and my body is a little weak. The imperial physician advised me to..."
Before she could finish speaking, Long Xinghuang directly exposed her, "Didn't you finish carving this portrait yesterday? The imperial physician said that you are in very good health. You have been treated to good food and drink these past two days, so your injury must have almost healed. Your voice is much louder than before."
"Of course, if Miss Mu doesn't want to talk about it, I won't force you. Miss Mu, you can stay in the side hall for now, and tell me whenever you remember." After saying that, Long Xinghuang took the portrait and strode away, instructing the guards to keep an eye on her.
She was forbidden from leaving the side hall, and no one was allowed to visit her.
This is putting her under house arrest.
Mu Tiantian: [Seventh Commander, explain how I ended up in the hunting grounds. I can't explain it anymore.]
Qi Tong: [Well... why don't you just pretend you don't know anything? You're practically the future Regent's Consort now, so Long Xinghuang wouldn't dare do anything to you.]
Mu Tiantian: [Given Long Xinghuang's temper, who knows if he'll punish me.]
Qi Tong quickly changed the subject: "[I've gathered a lot of useful information these past two days. Actually, the Empress Dowager had someone tell Xi Ya that Xin Liangmu is still seriously injured. This way, Xi Ya will definitely want to leave the palace to visit Xin Liangmu, and the Empress Dowager will deliberately let her leave.]"
Qi Tong: [Then she had He Siyue complain to Long Xinghuang, in order to sow discord between Long Xinghuang and Xi Ya, and at the same time make Long Xinghuang suspicious of Xin Liangmu. In this way, Long Xinghuang would have no one he could trust, and the only person he could trust would be the Empress Dowager.]
Moreover, according to records, whether it was ten years ago or during the great war between Miao Jiang and the Central Plains, it was the Empress Dowager who wanted to use Long Xinghuang to secretly assassinate Long Fantian.
The last assassination attempt at the hunting grounds was carried out by order of the Empress Dowager, who commanded Xin Liangmu to send someone to carry it out.
But she didn't expect that someone would try to assassinate Xin Liangmu. Xin Liangmu took advantage of Ulana's assassination attempt to deliberately push Long Xinghuang away, creating the illusion that someone was trying to assassinate the emperor but was saved by him.
The Empress Dowager was worried that Long Xinghuang would trust and give Xin Liangmu more power because of this, so she used Xi Ya and Jing Huaxiong to make him suspicious of Xin Liangmu, and at the same time make him dislike Xi Ya. It can be seen that she killed two birds with one stone.
Mu Tiantian: [I didn't expect the Empress Dowager to be so scheming. Where's the evidence?]
Seven: [Direct evidence is still being collected. I only gathered this information after she met with Jing Huaxiong in the last two days.]
Mu Tiantian nodded, so it wasn't entirely a complete loss.
After nightfall.
She wrote down all the information she had learned in the palace over the past few days on a piece of paper and handed it to the eunuch beside her who had a mole on the back of his hand.
Long Fantian had placed many people around her, one of whom was a palace maid who was responsible for telling her the characteristics of the messenger, because the person who came to pick up the letter every day was different.
However, the person who came today was quite tall. He stood to the side with his head down, looking tall and strong.
Mu Tiantian couldn't help but take a few more glances. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his figure was quite good. He was completely different from the person who came to pick up the letter a few days ago.
The eunuch's behavior after receiving the letter was also quite strange.
He actually opened it and read it directly.
Mu Tiantian couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Can you open your master's letter directly?"
The eunuch remained silent.
Mu Tiantian pouted; it seemed the other person didn't want to talk to her.
She moved the empty fruit platter in front of him and said, "You should go first, otherwise the people outside will get suspicious."
This time, the eunuch spoke, his voice deep and resonant, "I thought you were enjoying life in the palace and had forgotten about important matters."
Mu Tiantian was surprised to hear the voice, "Your Majesty..."
Before the word "Master" could be uttered, it was covered by Long Fantian's large hand.
He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Do you want to expose me?"
Mu Tiantian stared into his deep black eyes, stunned for a long while, and subconsciously opened her mouth, intending to say that she didn't want to.
But with his mouth covered, she could only make muffled sounds.
Long Fantian felt her lips rubbing against his palm, causing a tingling sensation and making his mouth feel dry for some reason.
Just then, several muffled sounds came from outside the door, like the sound of people falling to the ground.
Long Fantian became alert, glanced back, and saw a figure outside the door. He immediately blew out the candle, pulled her onto the bed, and covered them both with the blanket after drawing the bed curtains.
She was beneath him, her mouth covered, preventing her from making a sound.
The plot was developing too fast. Mu Tiantian, after processing it, called out to Qi Tong: "[Qi Tong, what's the situation outside?]"
Seven Commanders: [There are assassins, sent by Long Xinghuang.]
Mu Tiantian was puzzled: "He wants to kill me? That doesn't make sense. Even if he really wanted to kill me, why would he send an assassin in the middle of the night?"
Just as she was wondering, a palace maid screamed from outside, "An assassin!"
She recognized the palace maid's voice; it belonged to Long Fantian.
At this moment, the heartbeats echoed throughout the cramped and stuffy space.
The two could feel each other's breath and even body temperature.
Originally, Long Fantian should have taken advantage of the chaos outside the palace to escape, but he was reluctant to leave.
Mu Tiantian felt uncomfortable being pressed down by him and shifted slightly.
Long Fantian noticed the abnormality in his body, frowned, and warned in a low voice, "Don't move."
Suddenly, several guards rushed in with torches. Long Fantian released his large hand from her lips and instead wrapped it around her waist. At the same time, he lowered his body and buried his head in her slender waist. The blanket bulged out, clearly indicating that someone was hiding inside.
"Miss Mu?" Zhao Ping's high-pitched voice rang out from outside the bed curtains.
At this moment, Mu Tiantian felt the warm, damp breath on her waist, and her cheeks flushed. But in order not to be discovered, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and peek out from under the covers. She pulled the curtains open a crack and sat up slightly.
She shifted her waist slightly backward and accidentally touched Long Fantian's lips.
In the sweltering summer heat, Mu Tiantian's clothes were very light and thin. She could clearly feel the softness against her waist, her body went tingling, and heat rose from under the covers, causing her to break out in a light sweat.
Zhao Ping could see Mu Tiantian's expression through the firelight. Her cheeks were flushed and she was sweating, as if she were sick.
"Miss Mu, are you feeling unwell?" Zhao Ping asked with concern.
"N-nothing...it's nothing. What's going on outside?" Mu Tiantian pretended to be woken up and asked in a worried tone, "I heard someone shouting 'assassin!' Has an assassin broken into the palace?"
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