Farewell Flower Festival

Shen Cheng waited for about half an incense stick of time, and he could not sit still any longer, so he came over to take a look. Seeing that the door was closed, he walked back and forth twice outside the door, and then put his ear to the door to listen to the noise inside.

At this time, Captain Yu came over.

Qianfeng asked what was the matter, and Captain Yu said that Shang Ye, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's Mansion, had arrived.

Shen Cheng knocked on the door immediately and said loudly: "Your Highness, someone is looking for you."

Mu Tianling asked Qianfeng to take Chaoyan and Shen Cheng away first, and then asked Captain Yu to bring them over.

Shang Ye came to clear up the suspicions of his friends, and he dared to guarantee that his friends were innocent.

Mu Tianling asked him a few questions and then asked Qianfeng to send him away.

After Shang Ye said goodbye, Governor Yuan came over again and casually asked about the progress of the investigation. Mu Tianling suspected that the masked man this time was the same person who attacked Shen Cheng last time.

"I heard that the Second Prince and the Princess stayed in the cave all night," Governor Yuan hadn't finished his words when Mu Tianling asked, "Who told you that?" Governor Yuan said, "Hasn't your Highness heard about it? It's all over the place now. It's said that the Second Prince and the Princess stayed in the cave all night."

Mu Tianling said: "It's just a rumor, Lord Yuan wouldn't take it seriously, right?"

Governor Yuan said, "Rumors should not be taken seriously." He continued, "If it is the same person, could it be that the real target this time is the Second Prince?" He added, "The other party is really brave to attack the prince."

The last sentence seemed to be a deliberate test. Mu Tianling said, "I have to go out for a while, Lord Yuan, please do as you please." After saying that, he left.

After leaving the Jiuxing Division, Mu Tianling asked Qianfeng to investigate the rumors.

In just one day, Chaogao once again became the center of rumors.

Rumors were flying around that she and the Second Prince Mu Tianqi had stayed alone in the cave for a whole night.

Chao Yan thought to herself that she had such shitty luck that her reputation was probably ruined...

When Shen He asked Zhao Yan to come and ask about the rumors, Zhao Yan saw that she could no longer hide it, so she told him everything that happened. Then Shen He asked Shen Cheng to come over and asked if he had brought Zhao Yan over, and Shen Cheng immediately admitted his mistake.

Shen He asked him to kneel in the yard and reflect on his mistakes.

Chaoyan said that she wanted to go and it had nothing to do with her brother.

Shen Cheng said that it was all his fault because he didn't take good care of Chaoyan.

Both the brother and sister took the responsibility on themselves and rushed to be punished.

Shen He didn't punish Shen Cheng for the time being, but asked Shen Cheng if he had seen clearly whether the masked man this time was the same person as last time.

Shen Cheng had not thought of this at first. After being reminded of this, he carefully recalled the masked man's figure and felt that he was somewhat similar, but he could not confirm it. If he could fight this time, he would be more sure whether it was the same person.

Shen He asked Shen Ming to investigate the rumor, but this time the rumor maker was more cunning and did not leave any evidence.

Another day passed, and Chao Yan received another summons from Emperor Mu.

The last time rumors spread about her, she was summoned by Emperor Mu. This time, she was summoned again because of similar rumors. Emperor Mu’s impression of her would definitely be greatly reduced. If her marriage was ruined because of these rumors, she would curse those who spread the rumors to be single forever.

Eunuch An led Chaoyan to the tea room first and asked her to wait, saying that the emperor was still handling official business. Chaoyan quietly asked how the emperor felt, and Eunuch An comforted her with a considerate smile, "Don't worry, princess, the emperor is not angry."

Eunuch An had someone serve Chaoyan a cup of tea and said that the emperor would finish his official business quickly.

Chaoyan was a little nervous, so she ate a piece of cake to calm herself down.

When Eunuch De came over, Chao Yan put the pastry she had just picked up back on the plate and followed Eunuch De to see Emperor Mu.

Chaoyan originally thought that Emperor Mu was going to ask about the rumors. She had already organized her words to clarify them, but unexpectedly, Emperor Mu told her about something that gave him a headache. The disaster relief money distributed every year would be embezzled by the officials below. People were arrested one after another, but they were only treating the symptoms and not the root cause. He asked Chaoyan if she had any good solution.

Chaoyan was a little confused. She didn't expect the question to rise to the level of national affairs, but why was she asked?

Emperor Mu picked up the teacup and scraped it, giving Chao Yan time to think.

After a while, Emperor Mu put down his teacup and asked, "Have you figured it out?"

Chao Yan shook her head very honestly. She had never studied such a problem before. After all, it was a major matter concerning the livelihood of the people. She couldn't just get away with it by saying a few high-sounding words. Pretending to know when she doesn't would bring disaster to the country and the people.

"Even if you say something wrong, I won't punish you." Emperor Mu said.

Chao Yan replied very sincerely: "Your Majesty, my thoughts are very naive. I am afraid that Your Majesty will laugh at me if I tell you."

"Tell me, I won't laugh at you." Emperor Mu said.

Chao Yan could only force the issue and express her naive opinion, "I think that the emperor should not give the disaster relief money to the lower-level officials to distribute, but send someone he trusts to distribute it."

Emperor Mu said: "There are many places where money was tampered with along the way from the capital to the disaster relief sites. Even if the money was distributed, it could be taken back from the people."

Chaoyan pondered for a while, but couldn't think of a good solution for a while.

Emperor Mu gave her two days to think it over and arranged for her to live in the palace.

Chaoyan felt that her luck was really bad. Last time she was learning how to ride a horse, and this time she was thinking of a plan. What if she couldn't think of it?

This time, Eunuch De arranged another residence for Chaoyan, which was not too far from the imperial study, so that she could come to Emperor Mu to report progress at any time.

Liu'er and Dong'er followed Eunuch An back to the palace to pack Chaoyan's luggage. Shen He asked Eunuch An about it, and Eunuch An revealed a few things. Shen He was a little surprised and didn't quite understand Emperor Mu's arrangement.

It was almost dark, and Chao Yan was still racking her brains for a plan. She had crumpled more than a dozen paper balls. She had no idea how local officials enriched themselves, nor did she understand the people's sentiments. What she wrote was all just talk on paper. It looked reasonable, but there were a lot of problems in practice.

The back of her head ached from thinking so much, Chaoyan decided to go outside to get some fresh air. She said she was going out for a walk, and told Liu'er and Dong'er not to follow.

The last rays of sunset disappeared on the water, and the night covered the earth like a piece of dark silk.

When Chao Yan looked up, she found that the sky above her head was already full of stars without her noticing.

She heard the sound of the piano again, it was vast and ancient, and seemed to contain eternal secrets under the starry sky.

Chaoyan came to the wooden bridge again and saw a dim light in front of her. She walked across the wooden bridge and towards the dim light, and found that it was a servant boy in white carrying a glazed palace lantern.

The page boy in white bowed to her, as if he was waiting for her specially.