Chapter 81 Missing
Doctor Luo nodded: "That's right, it was the pirates. When the Mu family raised their army, the biggest crime was that Prince Yan colluded with the pirates and ceded the southwestern coastal area, but... this is just the Mu family's claim, and the so-called evidence is insufficient. There have always been rumors in private that the Mu family deliberately framed him in order to find a reason to rebel."
"This..." Mu Xi also knew that the Mu family had intricate connections with the former Yan Kingdom.
The Mu family was once a court official of the Yan Kingdom. Even Zhu Mingjun Xi Cong, who is now in the south, is a prince born to the Mu family after marrying into the royal family of the Dayan Kingdom.
After the fall of Yan State, Xi Cong was preserved as a "combination" of the old state and the new dynasty. He was granted a title to stabilize the situation, but he only had the title and no real power. The troops that were actually stationed in the southern border were those of King Yu Muji.
Doctor Luo continued, "If it was a frame-up, then it wasn't 'following the will of the people' back then, but rather 'treason.' The reason why the former dynasty's forces have been unable to be eradicated for so many years is mainly due to this. The theft of the 'former emperor's remains' this time is most likely related to the former dynasty's forces."
"But why would the former dynasty's forces steal corpses?" Mu Xi still didn't understand.
Doctor Luo sighed heavily again: "Alas, that leads to the second rumor. It is rumored that the current king's ascension to the throne was illegitimate. He only ascended the throne after killing the former king and forcing his elder brother to leave."
"oh?"
It's true that even a country can't let go of such a huge issue.
Since Doctor Luo had spoken up, she didn't intend to hide anything: "People are saying in private that the late king had four sons, and the current king is the second son. He is neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir. So how did it become him? There have always been rumors that he poisoned the late king, seized the opportunity, controlled the military, and forcibly took the throne."
"Putting everything else aside, just looking at the Red Carp Guards' actions today, it seems like something that person would do," Mu Xi agreed.
The divine physician Luo seemed to have pondered for a long time: "So I had some guesses during the day. If the former dynasty's forces stole the 'former king's remains,' what use would they have? If it wasn't for venting their anger, then there's only one other reason."
"An autopsy?" Mu Xi immediately thought.
Doctor Luo nodded: "That's right. The Mu family has only been in power for a short twenty years. Judging from the current ruler, he has acted somewhat contrary to propriety and righteousness, and even perversely. If someone can find out the cause of the late king's unnatural death, then the current ruler will have no chance of securing his throne. Moreover, the Mu family deposed the Xi family back then with the 'moonlight and fire' phenomenon, and now someone is spreading rumors about the 'moonlight and fire' phenomenon in the north, attempting to repeat that incident."
"So it's not just the previous dynasty..." Mu Xi immediately understood, "The king might also suspect his brother of 'malicious intentions' and want to expose him?"
Doctor Luo finally made his point clear: "That's right. In addition, not only were the remains of the late king stolen, but the current king's mausoleum has also been damaged. It's hard not to think that someone outside the previous dynasty's power might be behind this. So you must not get involved."
Mu Xi was somewhat frightened and nodded seriously.
No wonder that scumbag father was so serious just now; he was afraid that his half-brother, the king's half-brother, would be implicated.
After Doctor Luo's conversation, Mu Xi no longer dared to covet the "former king's remains".
The next day, before Mu Xi had even woken up, she heard voices of discussion outside.
"Ze Lan..." Mu Xi remembered that Ze Lan was on night watch last night, so she called out.
Hearing the call, Zelan pushed open the door and came in: "Your Highness, you're awake. This servant will go and fetch some water right away."
"What happened? What were you talking about outside?" Mu Xi propped herself up halfway.
Zhelan replied, "It was Granny Chen, who takes care of Cao Pan'er, who came to ask if we had seen Cao Pan'er this morning."
"Cao Pan'er is missing?" Mu Xi sat up abruptly.
Ze Lan came in first to help Mu Xi get down: "Young Master, don't worry. We've already sent people to look for her. Perhaps Chen Mama just hasn't seen her yet. We don't know if Cao Pan'er went to the garden or the outhouse."
"Find it, we must find it." Mu Xi put on her shoes, got out of bed, and sat down at the table.
Going missing at this time is not a good thing.
Zhelan turned around and brought Muxi some hot water to wash up.
Afterwards, Mu Xi washed up, changed her clothes, and had breakfast.
They didn't ask Cao Pan'er if she had been found until after breakfast.
Mu Xun came in with a worried look on his face: "Bai Wei and Bai Ji are taking turns watching over Mu Chong's side, so Cao Pan'er won't be easy to get close to. We've inquired around the West Courtyard, but no one has seen Cao Pan'er. However, the servant on night watch at the West Corner Gate said that when the night soil collection cart came before dawn, he thought he saw a figure slip out, but he didn't pay attention at the time."
"So Cao Pan'er left the Jun residence voluntarily?" Mu Xi felt that something was not right.
Mu Xun was also completely baffled and could only speculate: "It seems that's the case. There wasn't much in the side courtyard, except for the silver left over after the baby's burial last time. Granny Chen said that it was all given to Cao Pan'er, but the silver disappeared after Cao Pan'er went missing."
"Where could she go at this time?" Mu Xi was initially worried that Cao Pan'er would seek revenge and cause trouble for the West Courtyard, which would implicate her. Now, however, she was also worried that things were chaotic outside, and she didn't know where Cao Pan'er would go if she went out at this time.
Mu Xun thought for a moment: "Before she died, Granny Cao had a private residence on the estate outside the city, but she didn't go back often, so it must be abandoned. However, I just sent someone out of the city to check if we could find any trace of Cao Pan'er. But if we find her, what should we do with her in the future?"
"Father must already have a plan for how to arrange things, right?" Mu Xi was inexplicably upset and didn't want to think about it anymore.
Mu Xun pondered and said, "Father's original intention was to send her to the Western Border after she had recovered enough. After all, it is a fiefdom there, and most of her land is there. If Cao Pan'er is well-behaved, we can find her a family there and let her live out the rest of her life."
“The idea is good, but I don’t think Cao Pan’er is a person who can settle down. How can she be satisfied if she doesn’t take revenge?” Although Mu Xi had not had much contact with Cao Pan’er, she could sense Cao Pan’er’s stubbornness from those few interactions.
Mu Xun sighed, "If she can't let go, there's nothing we can do. The problem is that if she fails to get revenge, she might fall into the hands of the Gao family. If she says something she shouldn't in order to save her own life, we'll be in trouble."
"The best course of action now is to find her first." Ever since she received news of Cao Pan'er, Mu Xi had a bad feeling.
And so, Mu Xun continued to send people to search.
After searching for another half month, even though the matter of the theft of the "former king's remains" had almost subsided, there was still no trace of Cao Pan'er.
Mu Xi had been restless these past few days: "It's fine if we haven't found it, but what about the token that Manager Pei lost a couple of days ago? Could it be related to Cao Pan'er?"
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