Farewell Flower Festival

Around 11:00 p.m., a carriage stopped near the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The people in the carriage drew aside the curtain and looked in the direction of the pavilion. There was already someone inside.

Hearing footsteps, Zhou Hua turned around and saw that the person coming was Fei Yu. He looked behind Fei Yu and his eyes fell on the carriage not far away.

Feiyu brought Zhou Hua to the carriage. Zhou Hua greeted him through the window, "Your Highness, how are you?" Mu Tianling asked casually, "I heard that you were exiled. Why are you back?"

"I'm lucky. I'm sorry to disappoint Your Highness." Zhou Hua said with a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Mu Tianling didn't beat around the bush and asked, "Why did you ask me to come here?"

Zhou Hua asked back: "Your Highness, don't you want to know whether my identity is true or false?"

Mu Tianling asked: "If your father is really General Liu, why did you frame me and go against me before?"

Hearing the word "father", Zhou Hua's eyes turned cold, as if he was quite resistant to this title. He suppressed his emotions and said, "Because someone else has the upper hand over me, I have no choice but to obey him."

Mu Tianling asked: "Who do you obey?"

Zhou Hua coldly said a name: "Zhao Zhong."

Mu Tianling was not surprised to hear Zhao Zhong's name, but he was a little surprised that the other party said it so straightforwardly. He asked, "Were the assassins who ambushed in the cave before also instigated by him?"

Zhou Hua said: "If Your Highness wants me to testify in front of the Emperor, I'm afraid I'll disappoint Your Highness. I won't say anything."

Mu Tianling asked: "Then what can you do to help me?"

Zhou Hua replied: "Your Highness wants to overthrow the Marquis, and I don't want to work for him anymore."

Mu Tianling asked: "You want to join forces with me?"

Zhou Hua said: "What do you think, Your Highness?"

Mu Tianling asked: "How do I know this isn't another trap?"

Zhou Hua said: "Then how can Your Highness believe in my sincerity?"

Mu Tianling thought about it and said, "I will give you three days. After three days, if you can hand over something that satisfies me, I will believe in your sincerity."

Zhou Hua agreed.

Mu Tianling gave an order, and Feiyu drove away in the carriage.

Zhou Hua stayed there for a while and then turned to go in another direction. His figure quickly disappeared into the night.

When I returned to the mansion, it was already late at night.

Eunuch Wu led the way for Mu Tianling with a lantern and told him the results of the investigation so far.

Liu Lei did have a son named Liu Hua, who was the same age as Zhou Hua. After Liu Lei took Xu Hai's two children away from the capital, there was no news from his wife and children. From the neighbors, they learned that the mother and son suddenly left one night, and the next day there was no one in the whole house, as if they had suddenly moved, and no one knew where they moved to.

Mu Tianling thought of the handle Zhou Hua had mentioned before. If he was really Liu Hua, then that handle was most likely his mother.

"Your Highness, will you sleep in the study tonight?" Eunuch Wu asked with concern.

Mu Tianling asked Chaoyan if she had gone to bed, and Eunuch Wu replied that she had. Seeing that it was late at night, Mu Tianling did not want to wake Chaoyan up, so he planned to go to the study to sleep, but when he was about to reach the study, he changed his mind and went back to his residence.

In her sleep, Chaoyan felt as if someone was standing beside the bed. She wanted to see clearly who it was, so she broke free from sleepiness and opened her eyes. Mu Tianling was sitting beside the bed. He reached out and gently stroked her face. He said in a soft, apologetic voice, "I'm sorry to wake you up." Chaoyan shook her head, raised her head and buried it in his arms, smelling the faint fragrance on his clothes. She felt at ease.

After Mu Tianling lay down, Chao Yan pulled the quilt over him, and then leaned into his arms, like a clingy kitten. Mu Tianling also hugged her lovingly, and after a while, Chao Yan asked, "Your Highness, are you worried about something?" Mu Tianling did have something on his mind, and when Chao Yan asked, he told her about Zhou Hua. Chao Yan raised her head, and he gently pressed it back into his arms.

"If Zhou Hua is really General Liu's son, Your Highness, do you feel sorry for General Liu by testing him like this?"

Chao Yan spoke out Mu Tianling's thoughts. They both knew that Liu Lei had risked his life to return to the capital in order to save Xu Hai's wife and children. If he had chosen to save his own wife and children, perhaps Liu Hua and his mother would not have disappeared mysteriously one night.

"Yanyan," Mu Tianling whispered softly in her ear, "Do you think I'm too suspicious?" Chao Yan said, "I think I want to grow old with Your Highness." Mu Tianling gently kissed her hair. As long as she was with him, he would not be alone.

……

Three days later, still the same time and place.

Zhou Hua arrived as promised and handed a list to Mu Tianling.

Two days later, the Marquis' Mansion sent an invitation to Prince Ling's Mansion.

Zhao Zhong’s birthday is in two days.

Mu Tianqi and Mu Tianchen also received invitations.

The Prime Minister's Mansion, the Duke's Mansion and the Shangshu Mansion also received invitations.

Ever since Zhao Huan's incident, Zhao Zhong has been keeping a low profile and restraining himself. Now he is sending out invitations to celebrate his own birthday, as if he is testing something.

"Your Highness, are we going?" Chao Yan said, looking at the invitation on the table.

Mu Tianling picked up the teacup and scraped it, then said, "He wants to set up a stage to perform a play, so let's see what play he wants to perform."

Chaoyan looked at Mu Tianling with a smile. She liked seeing the way he planned things with confidence, which was particularly charming and mature.

Eunuch Wu smiled amiably and analyzed, "The Marquis made such a big fuss this time, probably to test the emperor's attitude."

Chao Yan asked, "Did he send an invitation to the emperor as well?"

Mu Tianling couldn't help but laugh, "He has the intention but not the courage."

On the birthday, most of the people who received the invitations were waiting and watching. They heard that Crown Prince Mu Tianyuan had sent someone to deliver a gift, and that Second Prince Mu Tianqi had come in person with the princess to congratulate them. Carriages came to the Marquis's mansion one after another.

Mu Tianchen was not present because he was still recuperating in the Imperial Hospital, and Wen Xue was taking care of him in the palace and could not be present either, so the housekeeper of the palace sent a gift.

After the carriage of Prince Ling's mansion stopped at the door, Zhao Zhong and his wife came to greet them in person, and led Mu Tianling and Chao Yan into the mansion.

The song has already started on the stage.

The housekeeper came over with a playlist, and Zhao Zhong asked Mu Tianling and Chao Yan to choose a play. Mu Tianling asked Chao Yan to choose, and Chao Yan chose the play Resurrection. After leading the two upstairs, Zhao led Chao Yan to the women's quarters.

After Zhao Zhong led Mu Tianling into the house, he exchanged some pleasantries and then went to greet other guests.

In addition to Mu Tianqi, Wen Yunlan and Shang Ye were also in the room.

"Fourth brother, please sit down." Mu Tianqi made a gesture, and Mu Tianling came over and sat down, saying, "I thought Second Brother wouldn't come." Mu Tianqi scratched the teacup and said, "Fourth brother is here too."

In order to liven up the atmosphere, Shang Ye suggested playing drinking games and winked at his brother-in-law Wen Yunlan to ask him to support him. Wen Yunlan asked how to play the game and Shang Ye told him a set of rules.

Neither Mu Tianqi nor Mu Tianling raised any objections.