Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Mu Xinchen looked at them and it would be a lie to say he wasn't envious. However, he felt that if he stayed any longer, he would be just asking for trouble. So he stood up and said, "I have something to do, I'll be going now." After saying that, he quickly walked out.

Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen only glanced at him and did not try to stop him.

Then, Su Qianrou hugged Mu Jinchen's neck and said, "Your Highness, I suddenly remembered something."

Mu Jinchen placed his hand on her waist and asked, "What is it?"

"On the Lantern Festival, you told me that Minister Bai had a childhood sweetheart, who was his cousin. Because her parents had died, Madam Bai took her into the Bai family and raised her. But Minister Bai didn't like her and never thought of marrying her. You didn't tell me any of this, you only said that he had a childhood sweetheart. What kind of intentions did you have? Hmm."

"Didn't I say that?" Mu Jinchen said, feigning ignorance.

"Are you pretending to be stupid?" Su Qianrou pinched his ears and said angrily.

Mu Jinchen held her hands and said, "Whether you said it or not, you have nothing to do with him, so what difference does it make whether you say it or not?"

“I think you did it on purpose. You knew I was on a blind date with him, but you still called me away. It’s obvious you’re jealous,” she said, then teased, “I never expected the Regent to have fallen for me so early.”

"Now that you know I've liked you so long ago, when are you planning to like me back?"

"That depends on your performance," he said, then stood up and added, "Alright, Your Highness, you can continue working here. I won't disturb you any longer. Goodbye." With that, he walked out without looking back.

Mu Jinchen chuckled, looking at her with doting eyes.

Yanxi Palace

As soon as Su Qianrou entered the room, before she could even sit down, Yingyue followed her in, saying, "Master."

Su Qianrou walked to the couch and sat down, asking, "Is there a result?"

"Yes, I have already tested her, and she does indeed know martial arts."

The Empress Dowager would never send a palace maid skilled in martial arts to protect her, nor could it be arranged by Mu Jinchen, because he wouldn't need to go through the Empress Dowager's hands. In other words, Huixiang was planted by someone else. As for what she was planted there for, it certainly wasn't to protect her, so it could only be for assassination. But if it was to kill her, there would have been plenty of opportunities over such a long period of time, yet she hasn't made a move yet. There's only one possibility: she's here to kill Mu Jinchen.

After figuring all this out, Su Qianrou immediately had an idea.

In the evening, after dinner, Mu Jinchen did not rush to leave, but stayed in Yanxi Palace to accompany Su Qianrou.

At this moment, the two were snuggling together on the tatami mat reading a book.

Su Qianrou leaned casually against Mu Jinchen, holding a storybook in her hand, reading it with great interest.

Mu Jinchen was reading a military treatise.

Silence speaks louder than words. Although neither of them spoke, it was clear that their relationship had taken a significant step forward and they were much closer than before.

After an unknown amount of time, as dusk approached, Su Qianrou still hadn't told him to leave. Mu Jinchen couldn't help but feel puzzled and couldn't help but overthink, so he looked at her.

Su Qianrou was lying on his lap, her eyes glued to the storybook.

"Don't watch it while lying down, it's bad for your eyes."

"If you're tired of sitting, lie down for a while."

"It's getting late, why don't you rest first?"

"What time is it?"

It's already midnight.

"It's so late, no wonder I'm sleepy," she said, sitting up.

"Then I'll head back now," Mu Jinchen said, standing up.

"It's so late, don't go back. Just sleep here tonight," Su Qianrou said as she got up, her tone very casual, as if to say, "You can stay here for dinner tonight."

Mu Jinchen looked at her in surprise.

"Let's go," Su Qianrou said, and walked towards the bed.

Mu Jinchen stood there, stunned, staring blankly at her.

Seeing that he was still standing there, Su Qianrou said, "What, aren't you sleepy yet?"

"No, you..."

Su Qianrou ignored him and went straight to the bed.

Seeing her lying there, Mu Jinchen was at a loss, hesitating whether to go over.

Seeing that he hadn't moved, Su Qianrou turned to him and said, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and come up."

Mu Jinchen then walked over and slowly lay down on the bed. He was so stiff that he didn't dare to move and was very well-behaved. However, his mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

Suddenly, Su Qianrou turned to look at him and said, "By the way, be careful later."

"Be careful of what?" Mu Jinchen couldn't help but let his mind wander.

"Of course, we should be careful of being ambushed. What else is there to be careful of?"

"Ambush? What ambush?"

“That Huixiang is an assassin planted by someone else. She’s probably here to kill you, so be careful and don’t get ambushed. Oh, right, here’s the antidote. Take this first,” he said, handing him a pill. “She probably knows how to use sleeping pills, so I specifically asked Qiulan for the antidote.”

"You made me stay to lure the snake out of its hole."

"Otherwise what?"

Mu Jinchen then realized that he had misunderstood, and felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, she was unaware of his thoughts, otherwise, his reputation would have been ruined. He then took the antidote from her and swallowed it.

Su Qianrou looked at him and asked, "What does Your Highness think I asked you to stay for?"

"It's nothing," Mu Jinchen said guiltily.

"It's really nothing," Su Qianrou said, disbelieving.

"Alright, it's getting late, go to sleep."

Su Qianrou smiled, then turned around, her back to him.

Mu Jinchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then closed his eyes to rest.

Not long after, Huixiang quietly came outside. After making sure no one was around, she took out the sleeping powder she had prepared and blew it into the room through the window. A moment later, she pushed open the door and went straight to the bed.

After seeing them unconscious, he immediately took out a dagger and stabbed at Mu Jinchen. Unexpectedly, Mu Jinchen woke up at this moment. When he met Mu Jinchen's sharp eyes, he was stunned for a moment. However, he quickly reacted and raised his hand to stab him hard. Just as the dagger was about to touch his chest, his hand was grabbed by him.

"Who sent you to assassinate me?"

"The Regent can go and ask Yama, the King of Hell."

"You think you can kill me? You're overestimating yourself," Mu Jinchen said, then pushed her away forcefully.

Huixiang was unwilling to give up and was about to step forward when suddenly a sword was held to her neck.

Shadow Wind warned, "Don't move."

At the same time, Mu Jinchen and Su Qianrou sat up and looked at her.

Huixiang exclaimed in surprise, "You weren't drugged!"

"Tell me, who sent you?" Su Qianrou asked.

At this moment, Huixiang realized that she had fallen into a trap, so she remained silent and refused to say anything.

At this moment, Yingfeng and Chunzhu walked in.

Yingfeng asked anxiously, "Your Highness, are you alright?"

"Take her away."

"Yes".

Then, the group left, leaving Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen alone in the room.

Su Qianrou was already sleepy, so she lay down and went to sleep.

Mu Jinchen remained seated, unsure whether to lie down or leave.

"Go to sleep, you have to attend the morning court tomorrow," Su Qianrou said softly.

Mu Jinchen then lay down again, glanced at her, and then closed his eyes to sleep.