“Am I nervous?”

His tone was flat.

He continued, “As you know, ever since Father Emperor ascended the throne, I’ve been in the palace continuously. Not only have I never stepped out of the palace gates, I’ve rarely even stepped out of Tongren Hall’s doors. How many people could I possibly know outside the palace?”

He could count them on his fingers.

Muruo thought about it. “That’s true. Even if you wanted to correspond with someone, it should be with me. After all, I’m the only friend you can trust.”

After speaking, he continued teasing the pigeon.

Jingxian’s eyes deepened further.

Friend?

These two words were a luxury to him.

After a short while, Muruo found the teasing somewhat boring. He simply scattered all the rice grains in his hand, dusted off his hands, and returned to the brazier. But his gaze inadvertently caught sight of a potted plant beside the bed.

The pot contained a baolan tree!

This type of tree was a medicinal herb. In the past, he had raised a few himself.

It wasn’t strange that Jingxian had a baolan tree in his room.

But—

What was strange was that the soil for planting baolan trees had always been orange-yellow in color, yet the soil in this pot was red as blood, and the small tree grew exceptionally lush.

He reached out and pinched a leaf, gently rubbing it. When Jingxian wasn’t paying attention, he plucked that leaf.

And hid it in his sleeve!

“What’s wrong?” Jingxian asked him.

He smiled and only said, “From the entrance to here, this seems to be the only tree that’s been raised the best.”

“Baolan trees are easy to raise by nature. They can survive in any environment. As you know, I don’t like tending to these flowers and plants, but if there weren’t any plants in the room, it would seem deathly still. So I had Fu Lu bring over a pot of baolan to place here. Ordinarily, it only needs watering—no need to put much thought into it.”

“That’s true.” Muruo didn’t continue this topic. “Oh right, come sit down. Let me check your pulse.”

Jingxian obediently complied and released the pigeon from his arms.

After checking his pulse.

Muruo said, “It’s fine, no major problems. When I left the capital, I had my apprentice deliver medicine to you. Have you been taking it on time?”

Jingxian nodded. “I’ve been taking it constantly. With Fu Lu watching every day, how could I not?”

He smiled.

The two chatted idly about other matters.

For instance, the events that occurred on Muruo’s journey from the capital to the Imperial Prefecture. However, he only spoke of amusing incidents, not mentioning a word about being ambushed along the way.

Seeing that the time was about right, Muruo finally stood to leave.

Before leaving, he took several pots of fine wine that Jingxian had personally brewed.

Returning with a full load.

But after leaving Tongren Hall, his heart felt immensely heavy.

Because—

Earlier, when Jingxian had picked up that pigeon, he had actually hidden away a small bamboo tube tied to the pigeon’s leg, and he had seen this scene clearly and distinctly.

He just hadn’t directly exposed it at the time.

He took out the baolan tree leaf he had secretly plucked and spread it on his palm, sighing deeply.

His chest felt as if something was stirring it into chaos, leaving him restless and uneasy.

Reaching the palace gates, he looked at the two pots of wine in his hands. After hesitating, he actually handed the wine to the guard from earlier.

The guard was stunned.

“Master Muruo, what’s this?”

“A reward for you. Take it.”

“Huh?”

Shocked beyond belief.

Earlier they’d said wanting to get wine from Muruo’s hands was pure fantasy. How could this iron rooster suddenly hand over a pot of wine in the blink of an eye?

Terrifying!

The guard tremblingly accepted it. After Muruo mounted his horse and left, he stared with bulging eyes and asked the guard across from him, “What evil do you think possessed Master Muruo?”

That person also scratched his head, unable to figure it out.

He only said, “Perhaps… Master Muruo has become enlightened?”

“But do you think this wine is safe to drink?”

“Of course it’s safe to drink. I bet this wine was definitely obtained from Prince Xian. Everyone knows Prince Xian brews excellent wine. We should be secretly delighted we get to drink it.”

“That’s true.”

The two men smiled happily and quickly hid the wine away, waiting until they got off duty to have a good drunken spree.

…

Muruo returned to Yuhua Pavilion. Before he even entered, something struck him on the head.

Then—

With a “clang,” the object crashed to the ground.

It turned out to be a cup.

He clutched his head in pain and looked up, but couldn’t see the culprit.

He could only accept his fate!

As soon as he entered, the young apprentice rushed over, pointing upward to the study. “Master, trouble!”

Sweating profusely!

“What is it?”

“Master’s Wife is upstairs in a thunderous rage.”

“Shut up.” Muruo scolded him. “What Master’s Wife? Don’t call her that anymore, or I’ll cut out your tongue.”

The young apprentice quickly covered his mouth, his round eyes full of alarm.

Quite comical!

After Muruo glared at him, he went upstairs.

The young apprentice didn’t dare speak again.

Upstairs, Tang Si was holding that handkerchief, waiting for the perpetrator to walk into her trap.

As soon as Muruo came up, he saw her looking ready to devour someone.

His brow furrowed.

He had a bad premonition.

“Speak. Who gave you this thing?”

Tang Si clutched the handkerchief.

Hmm?

Wasn’t that sent over by Ji Yunshu?

He stepped forward and snatched the handkerchief, glancing at the table. It was all covered with miscellaneous things Tang Si had bought back.

“Where’s the thing inside the handkerchief?”

“What thing?”

“I’m asking about the thing inside the handkerchief. Where did you throw it?”

Tang Si had originally been full of fury, but being questioned like this left her somewhat confused. She showed a pair of innocent, uncomprehending eyes. “What thing? There’s nothing at all inside this handkerchief.”

“Nothing?”

Ji Yunshu couldn’t possibly be playing a joke on him!

He immediately shouted, “Baozi!”

The young apprentice who had been covering his mouth rushed up. “Master, I’m here.”

“Where’s the thing Master Ji sent over?”

“Thing?” The young apprentice pointed to the handkerchief in his hand. “This is it.”

“I’m asking about the thing inside.”

“Inside?” He scratched his head and shook it. “There’s nothing inside this handkerchief.”

“Really?”

“Really. I wouldn’t dare deceive Master.”

Holding the light and fluttering handkerchief, Muruo truly couldn’t understand.

Then Tang Si grabbed his arm and demanded, “Are you saying this handkerchief was sent by A’Ji?”

“What else?” He countered with a question.

Her face suddenly turned ashen, her mouth twitching.

She immediately rolled her eyes dramatically at the young apprentice and snarled through gritted teeth, “Didn’t you say it was delivered by a man?”

“It… it was a man.”

“You…”

Tang Si launched into a thorough scolding.

Muruo suddenly noticed that one cup was missing from his tea set.

So the person who had struck him earlier was none other than that woman who hadn’t taken her medicine.

He picked up a cup and glared at her fiercely, demanding accountability. “Was it you who threw the cup just now?”

Uh!

How awkward.

Tang Si waved her hands. “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me…”

She immediately ran downstairs.

As far away as possible.

…