The Princess Consort, Leader of the martial arts alliance.
Mu Xiaoxiao was absolutely certain that Feng Ying of the Dark Shadow Pavilion was Nan Shiying, the Regent's Consort. Not only had she seen the Consort, but she had also seen Poison Elder and the guard by the Consort's side.
It was them.
There was no mistake!
If it were just one person, she could have deceived herself with the lie of extreme similarity. But three people – Mu Xiaoxiao could no longer lie to herself. She didn't know if she should go and look, what she should say if she did. What if... what if the Consort didn't want anyone to discover this? Would she let her go?
"Go and call Uncle Lin here," Mu Xiaoxiao grabbed the maid's hand.
"Ah? Oh, oh!"
The maid paused for a second before reacting. She placed the towel on the basin, lowered Mu Xiaoxiao's folded sleeves, and then turned to leave to fetch the family head.
...
Mu Xiaoxiao wanted to leave!
News came from Chengyuan Courtyard that Mu Xiaoxiao wanted to leave Fengyu City.
Lin Yuzhi told her this because she was afraid Mu Xiaoxiao might do something to harm her.
Nan Shiying knew very well why Mu Xiaoxiao wanted to leave.
"Let her recover for a while longer."
"Understood!"
Lin Yuzhi used Mu Xiaoxiao's condition as an excuse and did not immediately let anyone leave.
Five days later, the handover ceremony was officially completed.
Heroes of the martial world gathered together for the grand occasion, bringing a month-long celebration to a close.
"Sister Ying, remember to come to Lingyun Sect to play with me. I'll wait for you, I'll always wait for you!" If Wei Ruyun hadn't held her back, Lü Yiyi would have hugged Nan Shiying and wailed loudly. Even as she got into the carriage, she was still reluctant.
Huang Yuyao clicked her tongue in disdain and turned her face away, her eyes hurting.
"We don't know when we'll meet again after this parting. Sister Ying, this is for you."
Dai Zhiqi gave the token of Yunyi Hall to Nan Shiying. Nan Shiying did not refuse and returned a bottle of pills.
After bidding them farewell one by one, Nan Shiying ignored Lin Yuzhi's pleas and left Fengyu City.
...
Mu Xiaoxiao boarded the carriage, which then headed towards the capital.
The driver was a guard from the Lin family.
After a day's journey, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Mu Xiaoxiao heard a loud noise, and then, a jade-like hand lifted the carriage curtain.
What was coming, would eventually come.
Mu Xiaoxiao's face was somewhat pale, whether from unhealed injuries or her current predicament. Her expression was relatively calm, but her hands hidden in her sleeves were already covered in cold sweat.
"Your Highness Consort!"
She stood up and bowed.
"I thought you would pretend not to know me."
"This humble girl dares not!"
"So calm, are you no longer willing to struggle?"
"There is no escape!"
Seeing her complexion turn even paler, Nan Shiying decided to stop teasing her. She reached out and grabbed Mu Xiaoxiao's wrist. Mu Xiaoxiao trembled all over, her face becoming even whiter.
Nan Shiying took her pulse. The pulse was disordered, her mind unsettled, her fear unconquerable, affecting her heart and lungs... The pulse did not lie. She was much more terrified than she appeared.
Nan Shiying took out a bottle of Gu Ben Pei Yuan pills from her懷 and handed them to her, saying, "Take one pill three times a day for seven days, and you will recover."
"And stop overthinking!"
Mu Xiaoxiao held the bottle that had been thrust into her hand, listening to her instructions. The figure before her slowly overlapped with someone she had longed for day and night. She had thought before that Feng Luan bore some resemblance to the Consort.
Poison Elder and the guard.
The Consort.
A guess simmered and roared in her mind. She looked at the person before her, her lips trembling, and a mist of tears inexplicably appeared in her eyes.
Nan Shiying was slightly stunned. Looking at the medicine bottle in her hand and thinking of her actions just now, her scalp tingled.
She had been careless.
She had forgotten about Feng Luan.
Having too many identities was also a problem; it made it easy to be exposed.
"Xiaoxiao!"
Nan Shiying's mouth felt bitter. Being gazed at like this by a young woman, she suddenly felt a little guilty.
Mu Xiaoxiao grabbed Nan Shiying's sleeve and gazed stubbornly at her face. The Consort might kill her, but Feng Luan wouldn't.
"Feng... Luan?"
Her jade belt trembled, and tears began to fall "pat pat." Nan Shiying's body stiffened, unsure where to put her hands and feet.
She pulled the corners of her mouth up, trying to smile, but couldn't.
"It's you, isn't it?"
Nan Shiying actually felt that her actions shouldn't have led to her identity being exposed. How could her senses be so keen when her mind was in such a state of panic? Feng Luan's face, though bearing some resemblance to her own, who in their right mind would connect themselves with Feng Luan?
Intuition was sometimes so unreasonable. The moment Nan Shiying took her pulse and took out the medicine bottle, Mu Xiaoxiao had already decided she was Feng Luan.
Nan Shiying had thought that when Mu Xiaoxiao discovered she was a woman, she would find it hard to accept and resent her for her misguided affection. But reality seemed to be different.
She was crying.
Crying with tears streaming down her face.
Nan Shiying took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from her face. Facing Mu Xiaoxiao's insistent gaze, wanting an answer, Nan Shiying sighed and slowly nodded.
"It is I!"
Mu Xiaoxiao's fear and panic of the past few days vanished with this single "It is I." She cried and threw herself into Nan Shiying's arms, crying for a long time until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
She carried the girl into her carriage.
"Tsk tsk~"
Poison Elder made a sound like a mouse in his mouth, making one want to punch him.
"Love debt ah~"
He even started singing.
The carriage sped along, heading towards the capital.
When the Lin family guard woke up and found the county princess missing, he hurriedly sent out a signal, but Lin Yuzhi did not send anyone to look for her.
If she's gone, she's gone!
...
"She didn't touch the Lin family?"
Ji Jinmo received the news, rubbing his finger over the letter, his expression dim and unreadable.
The Lin family had been entrenched in Fengyu City for nearly a hundred years. During this period, the inability to unearth anyone always led to certain incidents. When strung together, the resulting situation was a chess game that, even glimpsed only partially, was still terrifying.
So Ying'er, what role were you playing in it?
The Empress of Great Yuan.
The Princess Consort of Linyuan.
Who was orchestrating this? Was it you from centuries ago, or someone beside you!
Ji Jinmo burned the letter to ashes.