Farewell Flower Festival

The next day, after Mu Tianling came back from the Nine Criminal Division, he told Chaoyan that he would take her to a place in the evening. Chaoyan thought he was planning a surprise for her in the evening because he sounded a little mysterious. She had already imagined a romantic scene in her mind. The two of them took a boat for a night cruise on the lake. When the boat reached the center of the lake, fireworks bloomed all over the sky...

Before going out, Chaoyan dressed up specially. When Mu Tianling saw her, he couldn't bear to look away and didn't want to go out.

In the carriage, Mu Tianling's eyes never left Chao Yan. She was even more certain that he was going to give her a romantic surprise. When the carriage stopped outside the Zhenxiu Tower, she imagined a romantic candlelight dinner.

After entering the building, Mu Tianling took Chaoyan upstairs, and then to the door of a private room. He knocked on the door first. Chaoyan realized that there was someone else inside, and felt that she might have guessed wrong. It was not a romantic surprise, but she was brought here to meet someone else. Although she was a little disappointed, she was also curious about who was inside.

After the door opened, Chaoyan first saw Captain Yu opening the door, and then saw Shen Ming behind him. She felt a little strange, as she thought she would see a strange face.

After coming in, Mu Tianling asked Chaoyan to sit down first, and after she sat down, he introduced the identities of the two men to her. Chaoyan was surprised to learn that they were Mu Tianling's cousins. If Mu Tianling had not foreseen to let her sit down first, she would have stood there stupidly for a long time.

After coming to her senses, Chao Yan still found it a little unbelievable. She stared at the two people's faces and compared their similarities, making them both feel a little embarrassed.

"Don't look at it, it's real."

Chaoyan's attention was attracted by Mu Tianling's voice and she asked him what was going on. Mu Tianling said to eat first and tell her slowly when he returned.

After all the dishes were served, the questions in Chaoyan's head were almost squeezed out. Mu Tianling picked up some dishes for her and talked about the overturning of the verdict, which attracted her attention to this issue.

Now that Zhao Zhong is dead, the most crucial witness is gone.

But there is actually another key witness:

King Ning.

Mu Tianling said that Prince Ning disappeared after being captured that year, and it was very likely that he was secretly dealt with by Zhao Zhong. If Prince Ning's remains could be found, it would prove that Xu Hai did not let Prince Ning escape.

Shen Ming and Captain Yu thought this idea was feasible, and then Chao Yan suddenly said something that surprised the three of them.

"What if Prince Ning is still alive?"

Chao Yan didn't mean to contradict herself, the thought just popped up in her head and she blurted it out. After she finished speaking, she saw the three people looking at her with surprised eyes. She felt like she had said something wrong and quietly buried her head in eating.

"It's possible," Mu Tianling said as he picked up some food for Chao Yan. "When Prince Ning disappeared, my father sent the Tianwu Guards to look for him. They wanted to find him alive or dead. With their ability, they wouldn't let go of any suspicious place. But in the end, they found nothing. It's as if Prince Ning disappeared out of thin air. If someone really helped Prince Ning cover up his whereabouts and escaped, could that person be Zhao Zhong? Is he actually the traitor?"

Mu Tianling's final speculation surprised Shen Ming and Captain Yu again. They had never thought about it this way, but after hearing what Mu Tianling said, it was not impossible.

Captain Yu clenched his fists angrily and pounded the table. Mu Tianling said that this was just his speculation and asked him to calm down first.

"As long as we find the whereabouts of Prince Ning, everything will be clear." Shen Mingdao.

Chao Yan nodded in agreement and asked the three of them to eat first. If they didn't eat now, the food would get cold and they should not go hungry.

……

On the way back in the carriage, Mu Tianling explained the whole story to Chao Yan in detail. When Chao Yan learned that Miss Yu and Captain Yu were actually siblings, she was surprised again.

After Mu Tianling finished speaking, the carriage was almost at the gate of the palace. When the carriage stopped, Mu Tianling got off first. When he stretched out his hand to help Chaoyan down, no one came out. He lifted the curtain and looked at her. His expression suddenly tensed. He immediately got on the carriage and carried Chaoyan down, and told Qianfeng to call a doctor.

Mu Tianling hurried back to his residence carrying Chaoyan. Chaoyan had her eyes closed and looked like she was asleep, but he couldn't wake her up no matter what he did.

When Eunuch Wu heard that Chao Yan had fainted, he rushed over immediately. Before the doctor came, he took Chao Yan's pulse and told Mu Tianling not to wait for the doctor, but to go into the palace and find the priest Yu Chen in Heng Garden now.

Mu Tianling felt that Eunuch Wu might know something, but there was no time to ask more questions, so he immediately ordered people to prepare the carriage.

Soon, a carriage set out from the palace again.

Feiyu drove the carriage hurriedly towards the palace.

In the carriage, Mu Tianling held Chao Yan's hand tightly and called her nickname in a low and hoarse voice. Chao Yan seemed to have become his life-saving straw as long as he kept calling her name, she would wake up.

When the carriage arrived at the palace gate, the gate was about to close.

Two guards stopped the carriage, and Mu Tianling's cold voice came from inside.

"Get out of the way, my king!"

The two guards apologized, and one of them said, "Your Highness, calm down. Let me go and inform the emperor first."

"Step aside!"

Mu Tianling's cold voice contained great anger that was on the verge of exploding. A faint "Your Highness" made the hostility in his eyes fade away instantly. He lowered his head to look at the person in his arms and excitedly called out "Yanyan". Her fingers moved slightly, as if responding to him.

"What happened?"

It happened to be Han Lie's night duty tonight. He glanced at the carriage behind Fei Yu and asked, "Your Highness, is there any urgent matter that brings you to the palace so late?"

"This prince is going to Heng Garden."

Han Lie heard Mu Tianling's cold voice and didn't make things difficult for him. He asked the two guards to let him go and he would inform the emperor. The two guards didn't want to offend anyone, so since Han Lie took the initiative to take the responsibility, they did him a favor and let him go.

Feiyu drove away in a hurry in his carriage.

Han Lie asked the two guards a few questions and then went towards the imperial study.

Emperor Mu was still reviewing memorials in the imperial study when Eunuch De brought Han Lie in.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has just entered the palace."

"I didn't summon him, why did he come to the palace?"

Han Lie said that Mu Tianling went to Hengyuan for urgent business. Emperor Mu asked him to go over and see what was going on. Han Lie took the order and left.

When Han Lie arrived at Heng Garden, he did not enter through the gate. Instead, he used his lightness skills to fly to the wall and check the situation inside. He saw a dim light moving along the lakeside and heading towards the Wenxing Tower in front.

A serving boy in white was carrying a glazed palace lantern to light the way behind. Mu Tianling was walking hurriedly in front holding Chao Yan, and Fei Yu was following closely behind.

When they arrived outside the Wenxing Tower, another servant boy in white was already waiting there. He asked Feiyu to wait outside and led Mu Tianling to the second floor. They stopped outside the middle door on the right hand side. After reporting respectfully, he gently pushed the door open, and Mu Tianling hurried in holding Chaoyan.

Yu Chen asked Mu Tianling to keep Chao Yan and he went to wait downstairs.

"Your Highness, if you are here, I will be distracted. Please stay downstairs and don't let anyone come up to disturb you."

When he reached the door, Mu Tianling looked back worriedly. The servant boy in white made a gesture to invite him in. Mu Tianling walked out. The servant boy in white closed the door gently and led Mu Tianling downstairs.