Seeing Huo Wuyou's pride, Xue Zhiyi chuckled and complimented him, "Marquis Lin'an has great magical powers."
Huo Wuyou also reciprocated the gesture and said, "You are not bad either. A single Lu Yan can actually mobilize the actions of so many people."
He tutted his words. "Not only that, this matter of Xue Tingliu is really beyond my expectation. You are quite well-informed. Even Xue Tingliu and the Rong family didn't know there was a fugitive among them. Such secret information was actually mastered by you. How did you do it?"
How? By living one more life, of course.
Xue Zhiyi would not tell the truth and just remained silent.
Huo Wuyou didn't dwell on it any further. Instead, he asked her, "I never expected that you weren't from the Xue family. How did you know about this?"
Of course, it’s also because I’ve lived one more life.
She changed the subject, "I've already used all the information I know. Next, Marquis Lin'an should tell me a little about what's going on in the palace, right? Otherwise, if I cause any trouble in the palace, wouldn't all the hard work Marquis Lin'an put into protecting me be in vain?"
The distance between the Xue Mansion and the Imperial Palace was not far. Huo Wuyou only gave her a few instructions before they arrived at the palace gate.
"Get ready to enter the palace, Zhiyi." Huo Wuyou suddenly said.
Xue Zhiyi was taken aback by the sudden change of address. Seeing that she didn't respond, Huo Wuyou asked her, "Do you still want to keep the last name Xue?"
"..." Xue Zhiyi was speechless and only asked him: "What are you preparing for?"
Seeing this, Huo Wuyou smiled and said, "You will be searched before entering the palace. If you have anything shameful, it's best to leave it with me in advance."
"Search... body search?" Xue Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat when he thought of something.
Seeing her reaction, Huo Wuyou teased: "No way, is it true?"
As he said that, he reached out to the window and said, "Give it to me quickly."
Holding the hair ribbon in her sleeve, Xue Zhiyi regretted it deeply... She was so idle, why did she bring this thing with her? If Huo Wuyou had worn this thing on her head for who knows how many years, if it was found, it wouldn't be impossible to bring it into the palace...
But she also has to save face!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glare at Huo Wuyou.
Seeing her like this, with her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Huo Wuyou guessed that she had something to hide and hurriedly urged her, "Hurry up."
Xue Zhiyi gritted his teeth. Instead of letting everyone know, it would be better to just embarrass himself in front of him. It was his thing anyway!
With a determined heart, she stuffed the crumpled hairpin into Huo Wuyou's palm. Without looking at him, she got out of the car angrily, feeling her face burning.
On horseback, Huo Wuyou was also stunned.
The hair ribbon, still warm from the body, lay wrinkled in his palm, but he was caught off guard, as if something had quietly pierced his heart, making him feel sore at the moment.
He chuckled, quickly dismounted and chased after him. He almost stepped on empty air when he dismounted, but he didn't care and just followed the direction of Xue Zhiyi.
…
Xue Zhiyi didn't bring much with him. After checking, he followed Chai Yue to Jianzhang Palace.
Huo Wuyou caught up and walked side by side with her.
Xue Zhiyi didn't look at his face at the moment, but he could feel the mockery and joy on his face.
"Zhi Yi." He said softly, "Stretch out your hand."
Xue Zhiyi ignored him, without stopping, and whispered, "In consideration of the Marquis of Lin'an's hard work and assistance, we will write off the ten taels of silver. Please also take back the things that the Marquis of Lin'an pledged to me."
"No." Huo Wuyou objected immediately: "If I give it to you, it's yours. I won't do this. It's too embarrassing to ask for something back that I gave away."
As he said this, he stuffed the thing into Xue Zhiyi's hand, but she pushed it away again.
The rustling sound of the two people made Chai Yue, who was walking in front, look back.
Seeing this, Xue Zhiyi felt guilty for no reason again. She quickly rolled the hairband back into her palm and tucked it into her sleeve concealingly.
The two of them looked at Chai Yue and smiled at the same time.
Xue Zhiyi asked, "What's wrong, Sister Chai Yue?"
Chai Yue blinked: "It's okay, you're new here, just follow me closely."
Xue Zhiyi nodded: "Yes, Sister Chai Yue."
After Chai Yue turned around and continued walking forward, Xue Zhiyi put away his smile and glared at Huo Wuyou fiercely.
But this man seemed to be as thick-skinned as a wall of iron and steel. He even smiled smugly at her and kept a few steps away from her to prevent Xue Zhiyi from returning the things.
When he arrived at Jianzhang Palace, Huo Wuyou went to pay a visit to the empress dowager in person.
Chai Yue had to leave the palace to report today's events to the empress dowager, so she arranged for someone else to take her downstairs and settle her down.
Of the two palace maids who came, the one in the lead, who was dressed as a first-class palace maid, looked quite clever, but there was always a hint of arrogance in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, and she did not look like a girl from an ordinary family.
Following behind her was a girl dressed as a third-class palace maid. She looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, still childish, with a somewhat timid face.
"Zhiyi." Chai Yue said, "This is Lanying and Jingchun. They will take you to your room."
After saying that, Chai Yue followed Huo Wuyou to the main hall where the empress dowager was.
Lan Ying looked in their direction for a moment before looking away, and the warmth in her eyes also faded a little.
She said with a forced smile, "Let's go."
After saying that, Lan Ying turned around and walked ahead.
Dao Jingchun took Xue Zhiyi's things without saying a word.
This was her second time setting foot in Jianzhang Palace, but this time, her identity had changed.
Lan Ying, speaking from the front without turning her head, said, "I heard from Sister Chai Yue that your name is Zhiyi. According to your status, you are a royal attendant, a female official. Like us first-class palace maids, you have your own wing room. You don't have to squeeze in with the second-class, third-class, and miscellaneous palace maids like you do in the lower room."
When she spoke, she deliberately emphasized her nobleness which was different from other palace maids.
However, this Lan Ying was indeed not an ordinary palace maid.
On the way into the palace, Huo Wuyou mentioned to her that Lan Ying's surname was Tu, the same Tu as Tu Yuxian, the Minister of Dali Temple.
Among the officials, many families would send their daughters to the palace. After being selected by the Shanggong Bureau, they would be assigned to various palaces according to their qualifications, either as female officials or palace maids.
With a family background to back her up, even if she was just a palace maid, she would not be reduced to doing hard work and would not suffer any hardship anyway.
If you can gain face in front of a master, or be favored by His Majesty due to your proximity, it will be a great honor for your family.
Even if they have neither, based on the strictness of the Shanggong Bureau in hiring people, everyone assumes that women who can enter the palace must have extraordinary beauty and talent.
When he leaves the palace in the future, he will use this reputation to marry into a wealthy family. If he can get a marriage arranged by the master, it will be an unparalleled honor.
Not only that, Xue Zhiyi also knew that sometimes these officials sent their daughters to the palace for reasons related to party struggles.
For example, Tu Yuxian was a man of Prince Gong, and his daughter worked for the Empress Dowager. Naturally, he hoped to win the Empress Dowager's support for Prince Gong when necessary, or to find out the Empress Dowager's attitude on certain important matters.
However, Huo Wuyou allowed Lanying to stay in Jianzhang Palace because he considered that at some point, Tu Lanying might become a pawn to overthrow Tu Yuxian.
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