Farewell Flower Festival

Chapter 143

During the time when the two were away from Beijing, rumors about the new emperor Mu Tianyuan spread throughout the streets and alleys. Since it concerned the reputation of the royal family, the Jiuxingsi and Tianwuwei were responsible for the outside and inside of the palace respectively, and strictly investigated the people who spread the rumors. For a time, people were in a panic, fearing that they would suffer an unprovoked disaster.

The rumor originated from the previous New Year’s Eve palace banquet.

At that time, Mu Tianyuan left the table halfway and never came back. Later, Han Lie came over, and then Emperor Mu took him and Eunuch De away, and never came back again.

The rumor was that Mu Tianyuan left the table to meet a concubine in the harem, but they were caught having an affair by palace servants. The concubine was so frightened that she committed suicide by drowning.

Mu Tianyuan had just ascended the throne when such a heinous rumor spread. Once the crime of having an affair with the previous emperor's concubine, which was against the moral code of mankind and was unfilial, unfraternal, unkind and unjust, was confirmed, he would have no chance of keeping the throne. Not only would he lose the throne, but he would also be infamous for thousands of years and be cursed by future generations.

As misfortunes never come singly, Queen Liu Sui almost had a miscarriage.

Mu Tianyuan is now extremely anxious and he wishes he could tear the person who spread the rumors into pieces to relieve his hatred.

And at this critical juncture, Mu Tianling took sick leave and stayed at home, refusing to see anyone.

It is unknown what Governor Yuan said to Mu Tianyuan when he went to the palace to meet the emperor. The next day, Mu Tianyuan summoned Mu Tianling to the palace for an audience. However, Mu Tianling had already arrived in Jiangzhou, and it was Eunuch Wu who went to meet him. Mu Tianyuan asked about Mu Tianling's condition, and Eunuch Wu talked about a past event.

When Mu Tianling was young, he was attacked by a killer and injured by the opponent's hidden weapon. He never expected that the hidden weapon was poisoned. Although he was lucky enough to escape with his life, the poison has not been cleared out of his body. Every once in a while, the poison will flare up and he is in great pain. A few days ago, he heard about the rumor that there is a Fire Ganoderma in Jiangzhou. This Fire Ganoderma is a miraculous medicine recorded in ancient books that can cure all poisons, but it must be taken within one hour after picking it to be effective, otherwise it will wither and the medicinal effect will be gone.

In order to prevent outsiders from speculating on the true story, Mu Tianling took sick leave and went to Jiangzhou. If everything goes well, he will be back within half a month.

After listening to what Eunuch Wu said, Mu Tianyuan thought of the previous suppression of Mu Tianling and did not pursue any further matters.

After Mu Tianling and Chaoyan came back, Eunuch Wu told them everything, and then they both went into the palace.

After Eunuch De led the two to the imperial study, Mu Tianyuan asked Mu Tianling whether his trip to Jiangzhou went smoothly. Mu Tianling replied that everything went well. Mu Tianyuan paused and asked about his health. Mu Tianling replied that he was fine.

Chaoyan saw that Mu Tianyuan looked very tired, as if he hadn't had a good sleep for several days.

Mu Tianyuan asked the two if they had heard about the rumors. Mu Tianling nodded. Chaoyan asked about the health of Queen Liu Sui. Mu Tianyuan looked gloomy when he heard that. Suddenly, he remembered that Chaoyan had a good relationship with Liu Sui before, so he asked Chaoyan to visit her on his behalf.

Chaoyan heard some clues and wondered if the two had a conflict so they didn't dare to go there in person. She didn't ask more questions, so she took her leave and followed Eunuch De in the direction of Kunning Palace.

Kunning Palace was the residence of successive empresses. Since the passing of the previous empress, Emperor Mu never had a empress, and this palace had been empty until Liu Sui moved in and it had a new owner.

When Chao Yan lived in the palace before, she had only seen the exterior of this bedroom. It was larger than the Fenghua Palace where Concubine Yin lived. Just by looking at the area, one could feel the power of the master of the six palaces.

When Eunuch De brought Chao Yan in, her attention was attracted by the magnificent bedroom in front of them. The area was as large as three large houses. A little palace maid went over to report, and then Lu Zhu came out to greet them.

After sending Chaoyan off, Eunuch De took his leave.

The palace was very warm. As soon as Chaoyan came in, she felt a wave of warmth rushing towards her. Her whole body became warm and she no longer needed to wear a cloak. Luzhu took the cloak that Chaoyan had taken off and put it away, then led her to the inner room.

Liu Sui was leaning on the bed, wrapped in a cloak. She looked a little haggard, but fortunately her face was still rosy.

Seeing Chaoyan, Liu Sui perked up a bit, and asked Luzhu to bring a stool and put it beside the bed for Chaoyan to sit on. Chaoyan asked her if she was okay, and then reached out and shook her hand, which was warm, so she was relieved. Liu Sui made a gesture, and Luzhu took the others to leave first.

Chao Yan comforted her and said that as long as the child was fine, Liu Sui looked down at her slightly bulging belly, raised her hand and gently stroked the baby in her belly, her eyes unconsciously reddened.

When Chaoyan saw this, her eyes couldn't help but feel a little sore. She advised that the rumors were not credible and were just made up by some people who had nothing to do.

Liu Sui shook her head slowly, not because of the rumors. After a while, she slowly said, "Did you know that the emperor had always wanted to marry Miss Yin?"

Chao Yan was surprised and immediately became furious. She stood up from the stool. After calming down for a while, she sat back down and asked Liu Sui how she knew about it. Liu Sui smiled bitterly and said, "It seems to be true."

In fact, she had heard some gossip after she got married, but she had never asked Mu Tianyuan about it. Such groundless rumors were not true to begin with, and if she held on to them, she would only be asking for trouble.

Until the incident that happened at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve. Mu Tianyuan seemed a little absent-minded and almost knocked over the teacup. He told her that he was going to change clothes and left. He never came back. She had a bad feeling in her heart at that time.

After the palace banquet, Eunuch De came and took her to the imperial study. When she went in, she saw Mu Tianyuan kneeling inside, and the Emperor Mu's face was livid. He asked him whether he would tell the truth or not, but Mu Tianyuan lowered his head and said nothing.

Emperor Mu was so angry that he wanted to hit him with a teacup, but she stopped him. She asked him what happened, but he still kept his head down and said nothing. Emperor Mu was so angry that he stormed out. She asked him again and again what happened, but he just didn't say a word. She was so angry and anxious that she hit him with her fist and fainted from the miscarriage.

When she woke up, she was already lying on the bed. Luzhu's eyes were red from crying. She thought the child was gone. Luzhu hurriedly told her that the child was fine, but she was afraid that she would be upset again so she did not dare to tell her about Mu Tianyuan.

But the truth could not be hidden, and she found out eventually.

She had always thought that he didn't say it at the beginning because he didn't want to implicate Concubine Yin, but now she realized that it was because he wanted to protect the Second Miss Yin.

After listening to Liu Sui, Chao Yan asked if Yin Lin came to tell her something. Liu Sui said, "Those involved are confused, but those who are on the sidelines can see things clearly. She just made me realize my position in the emperor's heart. Not only me, but even the child in my belly is not as important as her."

Chao Yan was also furious, but she couldn't add fuel to the fire. If something bad happened, it would be too much to bear. She tried to persuade him, "You and the child must be the most important to the emperor. I heard that the emperor was planning to choose a husband for Miss Yin a few days ago. Miss Yin had a serious illness when she was young and was saved by Priest Yuchen. After that, she lived with Priest Yuchen in Heng Garden. She valued Priest Yuchen as her master very much. I guess he didn't want Priest Yuchen to live alone in Heng Garden without anyone to take care of her, so she didn't want to get married."

After listening to Chao Yan's words, Liu Sui's depression was relieved. After Chao Yan persuaded her for a while, Liu Sui's mood also improved.

Mu Tianyuan heard that Liu Sui invited Chaoyan to have dinner together, and he thought that the two of them must have gotten along very well. Liu Sui's mood had improved, and he was happy too. He thought that if he went there again tonight, he would not be turned away.