The reborn sweet girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent prince hugs her and coaxes her!

It was a bleak winter day. Mu Rong stood with his hands behind his back in front of the study in Weiyuan Marquis's mansion.

The plum trees in the courtyard rustled in the cold wind, and the remaining snow on the branches fell down like a silent sigh.

Mu Wu, who followed Zou Rixia northward, has been out of contact for three days.

Mu Yi came hurriedly, holding a homing pigeon lying with its head down in his hands. The pigeon's wings had lost their luster, and its broken feathers were shaking in the cold wind, as if telling an ominous message.

"Master, this is the pigeon that travels back and forth to the northwest road." Mu Yi's voice was low, with a barely perceptible tremor.

Mu Rong was silent for a moment, his eyes fell on the carrier pigeon. A faint trace of dark red blood could be seen between the broken feathers.

He reached out to take the pigeon, and his heart suddenly tightened when his fingertips touched its cold body.

This means that the news from Mu Ai has also been cut off...

Mu Lu, who came with the Lingnan Road private army, had lost contact even earlier.

"The three of them have always been cautious..." Mu Yi's forehead was brimming with veins as he looked at his own master nervously, "Now that they have all lost contact, I am worried that something serious has happened to the three private armies."

Mu Rong sneered, with a cold look in his eyes: "The private army cultivated by the current emperor himself is naturally extraordinary!"

His eyes fell on a plum tree in the corner of the courtyard. The remaining snow particles on the branches shone coldly in the moonlight, like a broken mirror.

"Continue to find out the whereabouts of the three of them. The night banquet is coming soon, and I will find a way to deal with it!"

……

In the imperial study, wisps of green smoke rose from the gilded incense burner, shrouding the emperor's face in a hazy state.

In front of him was a man dressed as a guard, who knelt on the ground and bowed to greet him.

"Stand up." The emperor raised his hand. "Zou Rixia, I ordered you to keep an eye on the military movements near the southern suburbs military camp. How dare you enter the palace without permission!"

Zou Rixia, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have captured the guards of Marquis Weiyuan and need to find a proper place to detain him! The Marquis's forces are everywhere outside the palace. I am afraid that the news will leak out, so I came here to ask Your Majesty if you can detain him in the palace prison."

The emperor heard this and sneered, "I approve this."

He stroked the bronze clepsydra on the table and tapped the bronze toad's head with his fingertips: "Which one is the guard beside Rong Ge'er?"

"Muwu."

The emperor was startled at first, then nodded: "You did a good job!"

"Your Majesty is wise and warned me early that someone would sneak into the army to harm me, otherwise I would have fallen into his trap!" Zou Rixia said hurriedly.

"Pass on my order, send someone to strictly guard it, and no one is allowed to approach without permission! If there is any mistake, you will be beheaded!" The emperor leaned forward slightly, and the gold thread on his dragon robe kept flashing with his movements. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and his voice was low and dangerous, "At the family dinner on New Year's Eve, I have a great use for you..."

"According to the order!"

……

As the night deepened, the mansion was shrouded in silence.

Mu Rong had just finished drinking the medicine and was about to return to the study, but he saw Mu Yi standing outside Xinghui Hall with a hesitant look on his face.

"What's the matter?" Mu Rong came over.

Mu Yi was hesitating when he heard this and quickly replied in a low voice: "Master, the Fourth Imperial Concubine is here, at the back door. She said...she wanted to see you?"

"The Fourth Imperial Concubine?" Mu Rong was slightly stunned.

"That's... Miss Lin Jiaoyue from the Lin family." Mu Yi explained, "She said she has something important to tell you and she must see you!"

Mu Rong thought for a moment, then walked towards the back door: "Let's go and take a look."

Lin Jiaoyue stood in the shadows, dressed in a plain white robe. Even wrapped in a thick cloak, she still looked very thin, completely different from her usual flamboyant red dresses.

Her appearance has returned to normal, except that there is a hint of sadness between her brows.

"Brother Rong..." Seeing him coming, Lin Jiaoyue called softly, her voice sounding like tears and complaint.

Mu Rong's eyes turned cold: "What does the Fourth Imperial Concubine want to do for you so late at night?"

"Brother Rong, I really have something important to tell you... Can we borrow a place to talk?" She looked around, as if she really had something to hide. "It's... It's about Mu Wu."

Mu Rong and Mu Yi looked at each other, and the latter said hurriedly: "Please ask the fourth princess to follow me here."

In the patio of the back room of Weiyuan Marquis' Mansion, the wall lamp was lit, and the dim light sprinkled on Lin Jiaoyue's face.

She raised her head, her eyes showing a little more pity: "Brother Rong, have you not seen Mu Wu for many days?"

"He went to work for me and will only be away for a few days, so what?" Mu Rong narrowed his eyes.

"He went to Jiangnan, right..." Lin Jiaoyue said softly, and sure enough, she saw that Mu Rong's expression had changed.

Mu Rong looked at her warily: "How did you know?"

Lin Jiaoyue lowered her head slightly and bit her lip: "I... I overheard the conversation between Wu Tianqi and Eunuch Wang. Mu Wu was captured by a commander named Zou Rixia and has now been escorted back to the capital."

Mu Rong's heart tightened, and he asked, "Where is he now?"

Lin Jiaoyue did not answer.

Mu Rong understood: "What are the conditions for the Fourth Imperial Concubine?"

Hearing his cold words, Lin Jiaoyue's eyes turned red and she was about to cry: "Brother Rong... Jiaojiao took the risk to come here to tell you this news, not to make a deal with you..."

Mu Rong sneered, "What does the Fourth Imperial Concubine want?"

Lin Jiaoyue smiled sadly: "Brother Rong, do you still hate me like that?"

After saying that, she raised her arms.

Mu Rong's eyes fell on the scars on her wrists. Those scars were new and old, obviously caused by long-term abuse.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "He actually treated you like this."

There seemed to be suppressed anger in his voice.

Lin Jiaoyue smiled sadly: "Wu Tianqi is dissolute and immoral. He is afraid of being disliked by His Majesty, so he dare not take a concubine, but he has taken in dozens of maids in the mansion. Anyone with a little face in the mansion can bully me... Now I live worse than a servant."

A year ago, Lin Jiaoyue was such a bright and outspoken woman, but now she has fallen to this state.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't ask for anything else... My mother has divorced and returned home, my father and brother are only interested in power, and I don't have any other relatives. I just hope that Brother Rong will stop ignoring me..."

She said it humbly.

The woman who had once been so unbridled lowered her head in front of him and burst into tears.

Mu Rong's eyes flashed, and after a moment of silence, he saw that she did not make any other requests.

So, he said in a deep voice: "I am not ignoring you."

Lin Jiaoyue raised her face, with a happy smile beneath her tears: "Really?"

"Yes." Mu Rong nodded. "After this matter is over, I will go talk to the Fourth Prince and ask him not to treat you like this!"

"Brother Rong, thank you..." Lin Jiaoyue got Mu Rong's promise as she wished, so she continued, "Mu Wu was imprisoned in the palace by Zou Rixia. The guards there are very strict, and you need the secret order of your majesty to get close."