Getting out of the palace and seeing the market made Ming Shu feel alive again. She set a new goal in minutes: to eat all over the city.
Mu Huai followed Ming Shu with his hands behind him, looking at her back thoughtfully. I don't know why, but the way she behaves always gives me a familiar feeling...
But he couldn't remember.
Did I meet someone similar in a former world?
Hmm... it should be because of this.
Mu Huai was really shocked by Ming Shu's strength in eating. Don't be fooled by her good eating manners; she looked to be eating slowly and carefully, but she had consumed so much.
"Now will you tell me who did it?" Mu Huai stepped forward to block Ming Shu, who had just spotted another food stand and was about to rush over.
Ming Shu swallowed something. "Who else could it be? It was Cheng Jinyun."
A person who had such great hatred for Cheng Jinxiu and could commit the crime so conveniently, besides the reborn leading role Cheng Jinyun, who else could it be?
"Her?" Mu Huai was a little confused. "I didn't have any contact with her..."
"Uncle, don't think too much." Ming Shu pulled her arm from Mu Huai's grip and patted him on the shoulder. "She just wanted to give Cheng Jinxiu a lesson, it had nothing to do with you."
"... Are women all so vicious?" Mu Huai muttered to himself.
Sure enough, staying away from women was the right choice.
Ming Shu turned to look at Mu Huai.
Mu Huai quickly schooled his expression, pretending he didn't say anything.
What on earth is she looking at? Hasn't she ever seen such a handsome face like mine before?
Ming Shu's clear eyes were accompanied by a full smile. She just quietly stared at Mu Huai, not pressuring him, but her continuous staring just made one feel so unsure and worried.
"I'll buy you some huntun ." Mu Huai gave up. He was very uncomfortable under Ming Shu's gaze, so when he noticed a nearby food stand, he immediately shifted the topic.
"Great, let's go."
" Ah... " A secret sigh of relief. Mu Huai seemed to acquire a new skill.
The huntun stand was crowded with customers. Mu Huai wasn't willing to share a table with others as he was the noble King Huai of the country... so the two waited for half a day before getting a vacant table.
As soon as a bowl of huntun was served, Ming Shu stuffed them into her mouth one after another. But the freshly cooked huntun was too hot, forcing Ming Shu have to open her mouth frequently to cool it. Even so, she never spat them out.
It looked ridiculous.
But also a little cute.
Mu Huai covered his face to hide his obvious mirth.
It seemed she would do anything for food.
Soon Ming Shu finished her huntun . However, Mu Huai's huntun hadn't been touched, so he pushed it in front of her. "Here."
Ming Shu glanced at him, eager but hesitating, which made Mu Huai speechless all over again...
Mu Huai glanced aside and shifted the topic. "If you had the chance to leave this place, would you leave?"
"I can leave any time I want." Ming Shu sounded full of confidence.
"You can't even exit the palace gates." Mu Huai unrelentingly revealed this truth.
"That's because I don't want to fight them." Those people are unimportant, they don't deserve to waste my life bar. Saving up is a traditional virtue.
"..." Her bragging is far beyond me.
Ming Shu finished all the huntun . Then she focused on the pot, looking hungry. Mu Huai hurriedly paid the bill and led her out of the small stand. "It's getting dark, I have to send you back."
"It's still so early..."
"I have to keep you safe, or the master will kill me."
"Wait, that..."
Don't pull me, I can have three more bowls of huntun .
...
Cheng Jinxiu was sent away by the Cheng family the next day. After such a big scandal, who would dare to let her stay in the estate to be gossiped about and discussed by people.
Naturally, the marriage was not going to happen.
Mu Huai packed up and was about to leave, but the emperor forced him to stay with the excuse of the prince's upcoming wedding ceremony. Mu Huai tried to think up an appropriate reason to reject the invitation, but before he could manage it, the prince declared that he would not get married.
His reason was quite bizarre, but no one dared to refute it.
He said he had dreamed of the former emperor, who told him not to get married, or else he would be faced with the danger of losing his life.
The prince was a fool, but he had been the prince for so many years and wasn't abolished, which naturally meant he had other powers to rely on.
Behind the prince was another power, which was the reason the emperor couldn't abolish him easily.
Of course, there were some other hidden secrets, but no one knew the details. In short, the prince was not abolished.
The prince strongly requested not to get married, and the emperor didn't seem to want the eldest miss of the Cheng family to marry the prince, so he agreed and cancelled the marriage agreement between Cheng Jinyun and the prince.
Cheng Jinyun could have never expected such a surprising turn of events. She was totally struck dumb.
Was it because she was not Cheng Jinxiu that the prince didn't want to get married? Even if Cheng Jinxiu had been sent away, could she still not change everything that happened in her previous life?
The prince disappeared after the marriage agreement was cancelled.
Yes, he disappeared.
No one knew where he was, not even the emperor. But the emperor was unexpectedly restless and anxious, sending people everywhere to look for him.
Cheng Jinyun was no longer the prince's future wife. It became difficult for her to even enter the palace now, let alone plot other things.
Before the prince disappeared, the only person he contacted was Ming Shu.
He left a letter to Ming Shu, which could be briefly summarized in one sentence: Protect Shen Ci's body.
Ming Shu always felt that the prince was scheming something big.
The prince's disappearance seemed to have put the entire imperial city on alert, an odd atmosphere overtaking it.
"Little Ci, hurry, pack up your things and leave the royal palace with King Huai." The old master led a few people into Ming Shu's room in the middle of the night, ordering her to leave without telling her anything.
Several people around them immediately began to pack up Ming Shu's things about the room, which confused Ming Shu even more. "What happened?"
The master signaled Ming Shu to come to one side.
He patted Ming Shu's head softly with a caring look and sighed. "Little Ci, you can be an ordinary person now. Leave this place, and no matter what happens, don't come back. The Heavenly Temple has nothing to do with you from now on."
"What happened, Master?" Ming Shu frowned slightly.
The master shook his head. "It doesn't concern you. I have been raising you for so many years and I have treated you as my own child. Promise me you won't come back."
"I..." What is the situation now?
The male protagonist is gone, so the entire world has gone crazy?
"Master, it's time." Mu Huai stood at the end of the corridor, holding a lantern. His long shadow stretched out behind him in the tender light.
The master patted Ming Shu's shoulder again and led her to Mu Huai's side. "King Huai, please take care of Little Ci, she is in your hands now."
"A fair trade." Mu Huai showed his usual cold expression.
The master seemed to have realized something. He took a rectangular box from the guard and removed a rolled-up painting from inside. "The Heavenly Temple has kept this painting for many years. King Huai, remember what you promised, don't let this painting fall into others' hands. "
This was the deal he first proposed to Mu Huai, but at that time Mu Huai didn't agree.
"Since World Peace has been destroyed, this painting is not so important. Don't worry, Master, I'll keep my word."
"Wait, what deal have you made behind my back? I'm sold together with a painting, given as a present?" This is not a fair trade!
Has anyone asked for my opinion?!
"Little Ci, go, see the world outside. You shouldn't be trapped here for a lifetime, take care of yourself, ah... "
Perhaps the master didn't have the heart to see Ming Shu leave. After saying this, he turned around and vanished into the night.
Zhi Qi stood in the distance, looking over with an unclear expression, and then she melted into the darkness as well.
Ming Shu turned to look at Mu Huai and smiled. "Uncle, can you tell me what just happened?"
Why does the master suddenly want me to leave now?
Mu Huai asked her before: If she had the chance to leave, would she go or not? This proved that he knew what happened.
"When we get out of the city, I will tell you."
"No, I don't want to go." I haven't gotten enough Hatred Points.
Ming Shu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly headed outside. Mu Huai thought she agreed to go, so he ordered the others to carry the packages away first, then they would meet at the city gates at dawn.