Chapter 62
Before she could even think about whose faction the Imperial City Guard belonged to, whether they were Mu Qinhan's men or the Third Prince's men, Mu Yulu snatched the blood-stained clothes she had taken off from Xinyun's hands and quickly stuffed them into the quilt.
The door was pushed open the next second, and a figure strode in from outside. The moment he saw Mu Yulu, he seemed to gasp, and then shouted at the people outside the door, "Stand guard at the door, don't come in."
The visitor was Mu Qinhan.
At this moment, Mu Yulu was only wearing a bodice.
Having experienced so many unexpected twists and turns tonight, though fraught with danger, she ultimately escaped unharmed. Her mentality had been tempered, and she was actually quite calm at this moment. However, when she saw Mu Qinhan burst into the room, she still deliberately screamed, jumped onto the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and kicked the blood-stained clothes further inside.
Mu Qinhan narrowed his eyes slightly, then asked her, "Why aren't you in the palace? When did you return?"
Mu Yulu squeezed out two tears: "With the palace in such a state of chaos, I took advantage of the confusion to run out and ran all the way back to the Mu residence. I'm only home now."
Her voice was choked with sobs, and there was even a hint of grievance in her tone.
When Mu Qinhan entered, he exuded a murderous aura, but the moment he saw Mu Yulu, that aura lessened by half. Hearing her say those words, his expression became remarkably gentle.
Mu Yulu naturally knew that her explanation would not fool Mu Qinhan, but Mu Qinhan's expression suddenly changed, and his aura changed from serious to relaxed.
He glanced at Mu Yulu one last time, his expression so complex that it gave Mu Yulu the feeling that he actually knew everything, as if his investigation of the Mu family tonight was just to confirm her safety.
The moment she looked up and met Mu Qinhan's gaze, she even sensed a hint of reassurance in his eyes.
Mu Qinhan didn't ask any more questions. He turned and left without saying a word, and even thoughtfully closed the door for her.
Immediately afterwards, his deep voice came from outside the door: "The Mu family is not a suspect, there is no need to investigate further."
The light from the torches and lanterns gradually faded; the group had arrived in a flurry and was leaving just as quickly.
Before Mu Yugang outside could even react to what had happened, the Mu family had already been cleared of suspicion.
Mu Zhaoshi nervously leaned over and asked, "Prince Mu's men have already come to investigate, but the Third Prince's men haven't arrived yet. After all, this girl is engaged to San Zhou Jinse, how can she possibly clear her name? Should we tie her up and hand her over now?"
Mu Yugang frowned: "This is not a good idea. Since it is Prince Mu's men who have come, it is very likely that they have already taken control of the situation in the palace. Otherwise, it would have been the Third Prince's men who came earlier. If we hand her over now, wouldn't we be going against Prince Mu?"
Mu Zhao patted her wildly beating heart, still feeling uneasy, and said, "Originally, we were just worried that the palace would cause trouble for the Mu family because of her relationship with Sanzhou Jinse, but look at how that girl was just now. She's not just a suspect, she's practically confirmed to be having an affair with the fugitive! If we don't hand her over now, and the Third Prince finds out about us, won't we be doomed?"
Mu Yugang slapped his thigh helplessly: "You think I'm not worried? In this situation, if we don't hand her over, once the Third Prince investigates us, none of us will escape disaster. But look at how hurried Prince Mu was just now. If we hand her over, we'll be dead right now!"
Mu Zhao cried incessantly, "Whether you hide or stick your neck out, you'll get stabbed anyway. She's a hot potato! So what do you suggest we do now?"
Mu Yugang pondered for a moment and said, "No rush, the situation hasn't gotten that bad yet. Didn't I tell you a while ago that the Third Prince has softened his stance and reserved a concubine position for our Mu family's daughter?"
He looked completely confident, not giving Mu Zhaoshi a chance to interrupt: "I've told you before, marrying off a daughter isn't that simple. We can't just do whatever she wants. Tell me, if Wan Yi were already the Third Prince's concubine, would we still be so worried?"
"Besides, what's wrong with marrying the Third Prince? You'd instantly become a mistress! I have no son, so the Mu family is destined to have no hope of officialdom. Do you really want us to be just a merchant family forever?"
"Since girls can't take the imperial examinations, the only way for them to get rid of the label of 'merchant' is to get married. The Third Prince is already the best choice. You still indulge Wan Yi's reckless behavior and keep saying that I don't love her. How else can I love her?"
"You think I don't know? Does she like that Qi family kid? Does she really want to be a businessman for life, with her descendants all being merchants? Let me tell you, don't even think about it. Only my vision is truly far-sighted..."
Mu Yugang's voice faded into the distance outside the house until the last glimmer of lantern light disappeared outside the window, at which point Mu Yulu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She was well aware that returning to the Mu family mansion so rashly would have brought great danger to the Mu family. If it had been the Third Prince instead of Mu Qinhan who came just now, the entire Mu family would have been in grave danger.
But that's precisely why she entered the manor so decisively. She was betting that Mu Yugang still had a way out. Now that things had come to this, he had to find a way to protect her, otherwise he could only watch helplessly as she dragged her whole family down with her.
Fortunately, it wasn't the Third Prince who came.
Thus, a disaster was averted without a trace.
Mu Yulu lay exhausted on the bed, thinking about it and finding it somewhat ridiculous. That must have been the first time since her rebirth that she had so desperately hoped that the person who came would be Mu Qinhan.
Lying in bed now, she felt extremely tired and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. This night, which was destined to be turbulent, finally passed.
The next day, Mu Yulu got up very early. She took a shower as soon as it was light and instructed Xin Yunmo to secretly go out and find out what happened last night.
Unexpectedly, the two of them returned right after I changed my clothes.
Xin Yun, still panting, said to Mu Yulu without even having a sip of water, "Miss, everything should be alright now. Everything on the street is normal. We inquired and found out that the imperial court captured all the assassins last night, the ban in the capital has been lifted, and the city gates were opened early this morning, so everyone can come and go as they please."
Upon hearing this, Mu Yulu understood. It seemed that last night, in a place unseen by everyone, the contest between Mu Qinhan and the Third Prince had finally come to a conclusion.
She nodded, told them to stay in the mansion and rest, and to keep an eye on Mu Yugang and Mu Zhaoshi's movements, before hurriedly leaving.
When she arrived at the No. 1 Restaurant in the world, Qi Zhi Qiu was waiting for her on the first floor. When she saw her, she stood up, grabbed her hand, and led her upstairs.
Sanzhou Jinse was arranged to stay at the highest point of the World's Number One Building, temporarily occupying the room where Qi Zhizhi usually stayed when he stayed at the restaurant.
As soon as she opened the door, she smelled a strong medicinal odor. The medicine had a very bitter taste. Mu Yulu sniffed and then frowned.
Qi Zhi Qiu took two quick steps forward, lifted the gauze curtain in front of the bed, and whispered to Mu Yu Lu, "His condition is very bad."
“My brother knows a little about medicine. He treated his wounds last night and stopped the bleeding, but he only treated some superficial injuries. The real problem is the cold poison in his body. If the poison is not suppressed as soon as possible, he may not be able to save his life.”
Mu Yulu also walked to the bedside and looked down at Sanzhou Jinse, who was lying on the bed and looked lifeless.
His wounds had been bandaged, but his face was even paler than the night before, his brows were furrowed, and he showed no signs of waking up. He looked like a fragile piece of porcelain.
Before seeing San Zhou Jinse's true face, Qi Zhi Qiu was very hostile towards him. However, after seeing the face under his mask, her attitude changed drastically.
She seemed even more worried about Sanzhou Jinse's injuries than Mu Yulu: "The whole city was under martial law last night, so we couldn't go and ask for a doctor. My brother went back early this morning to think of a solution."
Mu Yulu looked up at her and asked, "Can an ordinary doctor cure the cold poison in his body?"
Qi Zhi Qiu shook her head: "I don't know. My brother just said he would think of a way when he got back. I don't know what his solution is."
Mu Yulu sighed softly and turned her gaze back to Sanzhou Jinse.
Whether it was due to his injuries or the invasion of cold poison in his body, his breathing seemed very difficult, and occasionally he would cough with suppressed breaths.
It was already summer, and the room was rather stuffy. He was covered with a thick quilt, and there were two burning braziers in the corner of the room.
Even so, he still seemed to be shivering from the cold, and his pale lips trembled slightly.
Mu Yulu sat down on the edge of the bed and touched his hand, which was covered by the blanket. As soon as she touched his fingers, she felt a chilling coldness. She paused slightly, then gently took his hand in hers.
After sitting quietly by the bed for a while, Mu Yulu wanted to get up to pour him a glass of hot water, but as soon as she let go of his hand, he grabbed it back.
He was clearly still unconscious, but somehow he had the strength to grab her hand and wouldn't let go, like a drowning person grasping at a straw.
Mu Yulu struggled slightly, but he only gripped her hand tighter. So she stopped struggling and let him hold her hand, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently patting his chest with her other hand to comfort him.
His tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed under her comforting words, and his expression became much more relaxed, no longer as tense and pained as before.
Qi Zhi Qiu stared at the scene before him, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he didn't say a word. He silently turned around and walked out, gently closing the door behind him.
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