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nIn the main hall of the Imperial Palace.

nXia Hourui was sitting on the dragon throne, with several trusted ministers standing nearby in the hall.

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n“Recently, the King of Jin has been staying in his mansion obediently. Jing Zhaoyin, how’s the investigation going?”

nXia Hourui had appointed Jing Zhaoyin to investigate the case of Xia Houmo colluding with King Dingxi.

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nJing Zhaoyin who was standing in the hall wished he could become invisible. How could he investigate this case? He couldn’t do anything at all, could he?!

nAt that time, Second Prince led his men to search Jin Mansion and discovered the letter of collusion between the King of Jin and King Dingxi. That was irrefutable evidence. What else could he do?!

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nIn fact, it mainly depended on the Emperor. Jing Zhaoyin just had to do what the Emperor wanted. However, he didn’t know what the Emperor was thinking.

n“Your Majesty, after investigating the case day and night and interrogating plenty of people of the Jin Mansion, I have learned that the cloak was made by a little maid named little Xue.”

nLooking at Jing Zhaoyin, Xia Hourui motioned him to continue speaking.

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n“This maid was bought by the housekeeper of Jin Mansion from a human trafficker a few years ago to serve a lady named Liu Rumeng. This Lady is the daughter of a vice general who was following the King of Jin a few years ago. When he was dying, he entrusted the King of Jin to take care of his daughter. As a result, she has been living in the Jin Mansion since then.”

n“Why was the cloak found in the courtyard of the Rani of Jin?”

n“After interrogating the people of Jin Mansion, I learned that the cloak was given to the Rani of Jin by Liu Rumeng.” Saying this, Jing Zhaoyin suddenly had a bold idea. After the King of Jin was banned, the Emperor didn’t seem to be as angry as he had expected. Did it mean that the Emperor indeed believed the King of Jin’s innocence?!

nThinking this way, Jing Zhaoyin said again: “Your Majesty, I suppose that someone might have bought Liu Rumeng off to frame the King of Jin up.”

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nAfter finishing his words, Jing Zhaoyin kept silent. Anyway, he had said what should be said. As for what the Emperor would think, it was out of his control.

n“Your Majesty, I think Lord Fang was right. When Xia Housheng turned traitor, it was the King of Jin who rushed back to rescue you in time, Your Majesty. I don’t believe that the King of Jin colluded with Xia Housheng. Your Majesty, please help prove the innocence of the King of Jin.” Prime Minister Nangong He, stood up and said.

nSui Zheng, Marquis Zhen, sneered. As a family member of Concubine Qin, he certainly supported Xia Houkun. The Phoenix token had just been handed to Xia Houkun. If Xia Houmo was proved innocent, Xia Houkun would easily lose the Phoenix token.

n“Lord Fang’s remarks are unfounded. How can it be compared to the hard evidence? Your Majesty, as far as I know, Liu Rumeng wants to marry the King of Jin. How could she frame him up?”

nXia Hourui was leaning lazily on the dragon throne. Hearing this, he asked Eunuch Yi to bring him hot tea.

n“Is Liu Rumeng still in the Jin Mansion?”

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nJing Zhaoyin replied: “Your Majesty, after knowing Liu Rumeng’s plots, the Rani of Jin drove her out of Jin Mansion after 50 floggings.”

nXia Hourui put the teacup down and rubbed his fingers. “In my opinion, this woman harbored evil intentions. Since Jin Mansion was so big, it was understandable for the King of Jin to neglect her.”

nHearing this, Sui Zheng felt anxious. The Emperor was to believe that Xia Houmo was innocent!

n“Your Majesty …”

nXia Hourui raised his hand to shut him up.

n“I know it very well in my heart. The Prince of Xiliang has arrived today. It is ridiculous for the King of Jin to be banned as the great hero of Chu. Eunuch Yi!”

nEunuch Yi leaned forward. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

n“Pass on my imperial edict to lift the ban on the King of Jin. As for this case, Lord Fang, continue the investigation.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

nSeeing that Xia Hourui was determined, Sui Zheng knew it was difficult to change his mind and could only kneel down with everyone. “Your Majesty is indeed wise.”

n“Your Majesty, the Prince of Xiliang has arrived and is now waiting outside the palace gate with the Eldest Prince.”

n“Welcome the Prince of Xiliang.”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

nMeanwhile, the palace people arrived at Jin Mansion to deliver the imperial edict.

nWhen the maid came to report, Su Muge was going upstairs to the attic. After hearing the maid’s words, she had to put aside her stuff and went out to receive the imperial edict.

n“Where is His Royal Highness?” Su Muge asked as she walked out.

nYueru leaned over to Su Muge and whispered: “Zuoqiu says His Royal Highness is not in the mansion now and asks you to deal with the palace people, Your Grace.”

nSu Muge wasn’t surprised. How could those imperial guards trap Xia Houmo?

n“Okay.”

nPeople in the front yard had made everything well-prepared.

nYueru helped Su Muge step forward and kneel down.

nIt was a young apprentice of Eunuch Yi who came to deliver the imperial edict. Seeing Su Muge coming over alone, he asked out of curiosity: “Your Grace, I wonder where His Royal Highness is.”

nSu Muge replied without changing her face, “His Royal Highness caught a cold yesterday. I am worried about his health, so I didn’t let him get up. If you insist on asking His Royal Highness to come over, I’ll help him get up in person.”

nWhat Su Muge emphasized on is eunuch asking His Royal Highness to come over, not whether Xia Houmo had to come to receive the imperial edict.

nHearing her words, the eunuch put on an awkward look. If he insisted, he would probably offend the King of Jin.

nHe was nothing but a eunuch. It was so easy for the King of Jin to kill him like step on an ant.

n“Since His Royal Highness is unwell, it is the same to hand over the imperial edict to you, Your Grace.”

nHaving finished speaking, he opened the imperial edict and made the announcement.

nThe general meaning of the imperial edict was that the Xiliang Kingdom and the East Qi were coming to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor’s mother; Xia Houmo, as the prince of Chu, should certainly participate in the celebration. Nothing about the collusion of Xia Houmo and Xia Housheng had been mentioned in the imperial edict. That was to say, the ban on the entire Jin Mansion was lifted.

n“Thank you, Your Majesty. Long may you reign.”

nSu Muge accepted the imperial edict and asked the housekeeper to see off the palace people.

n“Put the imperial edict away.”

nSu Muge threw the imperial edict to Yueru casually.

nXia Houmo had told her yesterday that the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom would arrive in the capital today.

nIf the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom was here, the representatives of East Qi should be arriving soon.

n“It turns out that my nephew’s wife is here.”

nAs Su Muge was to go back to the attic, she saw King Nanyang in a loose robe walking towards her.

nEven Xia Houmo didn’t expect King Nanyang to be so perseverant. Although the Emperor asked him to go back to his Nanyang Mansion, King Nanyang still came to Jin Mansion every day for the past few days. He came early in the morning and left late at night.

nSu Muge didn’t care about him but just asked people to serve him well.

nSu Muge stopped and King Nanyang approached her in an instant.

n“I’ve promised you a gift, but I forgot to bring it last time. Last night, I stayed up late just thinking about sending it to you today.” King Nanyang took out an extremely ugly bag and shook it in front of Su Muge.

n“Uncle, you are over-courteous.” Su Muge said lightly and perfunctorily.

nKing Nanyang seemed to be completely ignorant, opened the bag, and took something out.

nWhen Su Muge saw the blood-red bead in his palm, she was slightly stunned.

nThe bead was about three centimeters in diameter and was blood-red all over. There was no trace of impurities in it. Being held in King Nanyang’s hand, it was exuding a strange and quirky light.

n“What is this…”

n“Haha, you haven’t seen it, have you? I got this blood bead for you from the sea. This blood bead can keep beasts and ghosts away from you. If you enter into the mountain forest with it, even the black bears dare not approach you.”

nSu Muge frowned. “ Is this beast-avoiding bead?”

nKing Nanyang looked puzzled. “What is beast-avoiding bead? Well, this name is pretty good. Let’s call it Beast-avoiding Bead. Take it. This is my gift for you.”

nSu Muge had once read about the beast-avoiding bead in a book. This kind of bead produced by a kind of shellfish in the deep sea was extremely rare.

nWhen the beast-avoiding bead was first discovered, people didn’t know that it can keep beasts away. This function was accidentally known by people afterward. Later, the world highly admired the beast-avoiding bead, which gradually became priceless.

nThe Beast-avoiding Bead given to Su Muge by King Nanyang as a gift was extremely precious. It would be even dazzling to give the Emperor’s mother as her birthday gift.

n“Uncle, this gift is too valuable.”

nKing Nanyang glanced at the bead on his hand and put it into Su Muge’s hand casually.

n“It’s just a bead. Only when people like it can it become valuable. Since I’ve given it to you, you should take it obediently.”

nSu Muge looked at the bead in her hand and thanked King Nanyang very sincerely.

nKing Nanyang waved his hand and yawned causally. “Well, I didn’t sleep well last night, and I have to find somewhere to take a good rest. You can just leave me alone.” After finishing his words, King Nanyang turned around and left.

n“Yueru.”

n“Yes, Your Grace.”

n“Serve him well. Don’t slight His Royal Highness.”

n“Yes.”

nSu Muge was in a good mood as she suddenly got a precious treasure. She immediately returned to her Bamboo Courtyard to put the Beast-avoiding Bead away.

n“Your Grace, Old lady Li and the Eldest Madam Li ask to see you.”

nAs soon as Su Muge had just put the bead away, Old Lady Li and Wang Ziyu were here.

nShe should have gone to Duke Qing Mansion to see Wang Ziyu for a subsequent visit. However, she had been banned until now. If she wanted to keep her promise, it would be in defiance of the imperial edict and Jin Mansion would be in danger.

nDuke Qing Mansion certainly didn’t want to get involved in this matter, so Old Lady Li and Wang Ziyu visited Jin Mansion alone this time.

n“Take them to Silver Courtyard.”

n“Yes.”

nSu Muge changed to a more homely dress before going to Silver Courtyard. It was a small yard far away from the main yard and the front yard. It was as remote was the attic, but one was in the east while the other in the west.

nOld lady Li and the Eldest Madam Li were already waiting in the Silver Courtyard.

nSeeing Su Muge walk in, the two of them got up and saluted to her.

n“Pay our respects to you, Your Grace.”

nSu Muge glanced at the two women.

nWang Ziyu was supported by two maids; otherwise, she would not be able to stand up. She lowered her head, so Su Muge couldn’t see her countenance.

nSu Muge went to a chair and sat down. “Don’t be over-courteous. Please sit down.”

n“Thank you, Your Grace.”

n“Eh-hem, eh-hem …”

nAs soon as Wang Ziyu sat down, she couldn’t stop coughing. Only then did Su Muge see her clearly.

nHer face was sallow and her eyes were swollen. Even if she was wearing thick clothes, her emaciated body could still be seen.

n“Yueru, go to get the Eldest Madam Li a cup of hot water.”

n“Yes.”

nSu Muge took out a red pill and let Wang Ziyu take it.

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