Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

imperial study room

After the court session, Mu Xinchen followed Mu Jinchen to this place.

Mu Jinchen walked to the dragon table and sat down, asking, "Have you found where they hid?"

“I asked Fifth Sister-in-law… oh, no, I should call her Princess Ping Le now. According to Princess Ping Le, they were hiding in a secret passage. So I followed the secret passage she came out of and found the Prince Yu’s mansion. There is a secret room in Prince Yu’s study, which is connected to a secret passage. The secret passage leads to various parts of the city and can accommodate hundreds of people. I have to say, Prince Yu is really resourceful. He made so many secret passages and didn’t let any information slip out.”

"That secret passage was probably built when the government was established."

"You mean, it was permitted by your royal uncle?"

Mu Jinchen remained silent.

"I just don't understand. What's so good about Consort Min? There are plenty of concubines who are prettier than her. Why does the Emperor protect her so much and indulge her and her son like this? Could it be that Consort Min has some kind of leverage over her?"

"Given Father's temperament, if she had any leverage over him, he would have tried every means to silence her and would never have kept her alive for so long."

"Why is that? It can't be because of love."

Only his father, the Emperor, could answer this question, so Mu Jinchen didn't dwell on it too much and asked, "Were you able to catch anyone in the secret passage?"

"Yes, more than fifty people were arrested. After learning that Prince Yu had been arrested, they did not seek death. They all told him everything they knew, except for one person who refused to say anything."

"The person who followed Prince Yu."

"Yes, they're very stubborn and refuse to say anything."

"He is indeed loyal," she said, then looked at Yingfeng and asked, "How is the investigation going?"

"It has been investigated. The former head of Baixing Pavilion, who was also the maternal grandfather of Prince Yu, knew that Emperor Mingchong was a womanizer. Coincidentally, his daughter was quite beautiful, so he sent her to Luoshenfang to work as a dancer. Luoshenfang was one of the important strongholds for Baixing Pavilion to gather information. Emperor Mingchong heard that there was a woman there who was as beautiful as a fairy, so he couldn't help but go there. As expected, he fell in love with her at first sight and took her back to the palace on the spot, making her a concubine. At that time, this matter caused quite a stir and everyone knew about it. The prince also knows what happened later. Emperor Mingchong doted on her and even made her sit in the position of Noble Consort."

"With a favored concubine in the past and a prince in the future, it's no wonder that Baixing Pavilion has developed so rapidly. In just ten years, it has become one of the top forces in the martial arts world. In recent years, it has made great strides and its influence has spread all over the country." Thinking of something, Mu Xinchen added, "By the way, Fifth Brother, you would never guess that Minister Su was almost killed by them."

"When did this happen?"

"You should know about the Yangzhou corruption case that shocked the whole country before. At that time, the investigation only reached the Provincial Administration Commission, but everyone knew that someone in the court must be backing him up, but they couldn't find out who was behind it. At that time, everyone thought that the person behind the scenes was Prince Qing, but in fact it was Prince Yu. After the matter was exposed, Prince Yu ordered the people of Baixing Pavilion to kill Minister Su. Fortunately, Minister Su was rescued and escaped a disaster."

After a moment of silence, Mu Jinchen said, "All members of the Hundred Stars Pavilion shall be executed. Furthermore, the Yu Prince's Mansion shall be sealed off, his family members shall be demoted to commoners and exiled to Lingnan. As for the Yu Prince, no, the Pavilion Master of the Hundred Stars Pavilion, he shall be given a cup of poisoned wine."

"Yes".

The Regent's Palace now bears no trace of Su Qianrou's past life; only memories remain. Coupled with Zhang Taohong's presence, which constantly reminds him of the mistakes he has made, Mu Jinchen has moved directly into the palace and resides in Qingxin Pavilion.

Looking at the things she left behind, it was as if she were still by his side, and Mu Jinchen felt a sense of comfort.

At that moment, he was reading in his study when Yingfeng walked in and said, "Your Highness, the eldest princess requests an audience."

"The eldest princess," Mu Jinchen thought, doubting he had misheard.

"Yes, it's right outside the door right now."

"Let her in."

A moment later, the eldest princess walked in, "Royal Uncle."

"Something's up," Mu Jinchen said calmly.

The eldest princess hesitated, unsure how to begin.

"Speak your mind."

"Is it really impossible for you and your aunt to be together?"

Mu Jinchen was taken aback by her question and paused for a moment before not answering.

Although the eldest princess was afraid of him, she still said, "My aunt is a very good person. You shouldn't treat her like this."

"If there's nothing else, you should go back."

The eldest princess was furious at his indifference, but dared not disobey him. She could only leave indignantly. After taking a few steps, she still felt resentful and said, "Uncle, you are not worthy of Aunt's love for you. When you disappeared, Aunt was worried about you every moment, but she had to maintain order, deal with the court officials, and the Empress Dowager. So she could only pretend to be calm. Outsiders all said she was strong, and some even said she was heartless. But what they didn't know was that Aunt was often awakened by nightmares or couldn't sleep all night." As she spoke, she pointed to a box next to her and said, "In that box are the letters she wrote to you. During the time you were missing, whenever she thought of you or had something she wanted to say to you, she would write it down and then put it away. Do you know how many letters are in there? A full thirty-six."

The eldest princess was curious about how many letters were in there, so she asked Su Qianrou, but Su Qianrou didn't know either. However, Chunzhu remembered very clearly that there were thirty-six letters in total. That is to say, during the half month that Mu Jinchen was missing, Su Qianrou wrote an average of two letters a day.

Mu Jinchen looked in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, there was a box on the shelf.

Yingfeng was very observant and immediately went over to give him the box.

Mu Jinchen opened it, and what came into view was a thick stack of letters. He picked one up at random.

Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. I am overjoyed to hear that my husband is safe and sound. Although I knew he would be safe and sound, I still couldn't help but worry. Now that I know he has been found, I can finally rest easy. I think of you whether I am walking or sitting, and I long for your return soon.

Immediately afterwards, Mu Jinchen picked up another letter.

Today marks the tenth day since you went missing. I was awakened by another nightmare. This time, I dreamt that you were fighting with a giant worm and were eventually eaten by it. I woke up in fright and was still shaken. I don't know why I had such a dream. Your martial arts skills are so high, how could you lose to a giant worm? I'm just scaring myself.

Today marks the seventh day since you disappeared, and there's still no news of you. Jinchen, where are you? I miss you so much, so very much. Please come back, I'm so tired.

Jinchen, you've been missing for three days. You'll be alright, right? I haven't told you in person yet that I love you, so much, more than I ever imagined. When you come back, I'll definitely tell you in person. You must come back safely.

Today is my birthday, a day that should be filled with joy, but instead I received the devastating news of your disappearance. I try to tell myself that you will be safe and sound, but why do I still feel so uneasy?

After reading it, Mu Jinchen felt as if his heart was being torn apart. Heartache and guilt filled his heart, and he couldn't help but slap himself hard.

"Your Highness!" Yingfeng exclaimed.

Mu Jinchen had never hated anyone so much, not even the Empress Dowager. But at this moment, he hated himself terribly.