Hsieh Hyun-chen raised his eyebrows in surprise and provocation. "What did you say?"
Mu Mingtang had been holding it in for the entire afternoon and could not hold it in any longer. She pulled Hsieh Hyun-chen towards the bed and said, "Hurry up, I have something to say to you."
Hsieh Hyun-chen knew that she did not mean it that way, but as a man, he could not help but overthink it.
Hsieh Hyun-chen was pulled onto the bed and watched as Mu Mingtang pulled down the curtains to cover everything. He did not know how to express his feelings, so he simply lifted the quilt and lay down.
Mu Mingtang prepared the conditions for the secret room to talk. When she turned around, she found that Hsieh Hyun-chen had already laid down. She was surprised and asked, "Why are you sleeping?"
"Didn't you say to talk in bed?"
Mu Mingtang's face showed surprise and confusion, as well as suppressed anger. She gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "I have something important to talk to you about. Hurry up and get up."
"No." Hsieh Hyun-chen lay down very peacefully and even patted the quilt next to him. "You said to talk in bed. Come up first."
Mu Mingtang gritted her teeth. She originally wanted to show that she was not affected by favor and humiliation, but her face inadvertently turned red. "I'm not joking with you."
"I'm not joking either." Hsieh Hyun-chen yawned. He really did feel sleepy. "Hurry up, or I'm going to sleep."
Mu Mingtang glared at this person. In the end, she had no choice but to lift her clothes and sit down at the end of the bed. She said, "Okay, can you talk now?"
"Yes. What do you want to ask? "
The conversation finally turned to the main topic. Mu Mingtang tried to ignore her embarrassment and said in a low voice, "Didn't the imperial physician come by this afternoon? I asked him to stay alone and took the incense ball from the cabinet to ask him. The imperial physician said that the incense was agarwood."
Hsieh Hyun-chen only responded with a faint "hmm". Obviously, he was not surprised at all. In this world, it had always been the Imperial Concubines who used whatever they liked. Then, it would be passed down to the Noble Qing Kingdom. In the end, the common people would also scramble to imitate them. High officials and nobles were used to using incense, so the rich among the commoners also liked to burn incense. Although Mu Mingtang was a merchant, his family was well-off, so he had also smelled a lot of incense when he was young. Among them, she knew about agarwood.
Agarwood was already a very expensive spice. Although the Mu Mingtang family rarely used it, it didn't mean that Mu Mingtang couldn't remember the taste of it. She was very sure that the aromatherapy ball she found in the cupboard at noon did not smell like agarwood.
When they went to look at the corpse in the afternoon, there was no one in the Jade Qilin Hall. The aromatherapy balls had been swapped out, so they naturally couldn't find out anything about the spices inside.
When Mu Mingtang thought of this, she felt a deep sense of relief. She sighed from the bottom of her heart. "Fortunately, we hid the spices separately at noon. Otherwise, right now, we really have no evidence and no way to verify it."
Mu Mingtang spoke for a while, then secretly glanced at Hsieh Hyun-chen from the corner of his eyes. He really did have his eyes closed, as if he was peacefully preparing to sleep. An indescribable feeling welled up in Mu Mingtang's heart. Hsieh Hyun-chen was sickly and quiet most of the time. He looked like he was peacefully enjoying his retirement, but in reality, every time he reached a critical point, his reaction was extremely fast.
If Hsieh Hyun-chen wasn't burdened by his illness, if Hsieh Hyun-chen could normally come into contact with the outside world, even if the late Emperor suddenly died, he wouldn't have fallen into this state.
Originally, he didn't need to hide his strength and bide his time.
Mu Mingtang's thoughts unconsciously drifted away. Hsieh Hyun-chen closed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Why are you looking at me and sighing?"
Mu Mingtang didn't expect him to suddenly speak and was startled. Only then did she realize that she didn't know when she had been staring at Hsieh Hyun-chen. She quickly sat up straight and said, "It's nothing, I'm just worried about the future. Although these imperial physicians live in our house, they are still the Emperor's people. Giving them the spices may not be safe. We can't go out, so what should we do? "
Mu Mingtang had experienced the fickleness of human nature. She knew that people's hearts were fragile, so she shouldn't test them. Mu Mingtang could use gold and silver to bribe Imperial Physician Zhang and let him secretly treat Hsieh Hyun-chen. But identifying the spices was such a big matter, Mu Mingtang didn't dare to try.
If Imperial Physician Zhang had any ideas and told the Emperor about this matter, they would lose everything. This might only be a one in ten thousand chance, but Mu Mingtang and Hsieh Hyun-chen couldn't even gamble on this one in ten thousand chance.
"There is always a way." Hsieh Hyun-chen was very calm about this, "It will be New Year's Eve soon. He will definitely let me celebrate the New Year. At least for these two months, I don't have to worry about anything."
Mu Mingtang was shocked by his calm attitude and asked in surprise, "Really?"
"Really." Hsieh Hyun-chen opened his eyes and glanced at her. Then he closed his eyes again and chuckled softly, "You don't have to look like the sky is falling. I'm not in a hurry, so why are you in a hurry?"
"But … …" Mu Mingtang now understood the feeling of the eunuch being more anxious than the emperor. She couldn't help but sit up and moved in the direction of Hsieh Hyun-chen, "You really don't want to know what those spices are? You suddenly had an attack yesterday, and it just so happened that you lit the incense ball yesterday. Moreover, I found the incense ball, and the maid who made the incense fell into the water and died. All of this is too much of a coincidence. "
Although Hsieh Hyun-chen's eyes were closed, the images in his mind never stopped. How could he not want to know? He wanted to know very much what the residue in the incense ball was, what its effects were, and when it started.
Hsieh Hyun-chen remembered that it was also at night on this bed. Mu Mingtang said that perhaps there was a hidden story behind what happened that year. At that time, he didn't want to hear it, and he didn't dare to listen.
He didn't dare to have any hope. In the end, he found out that he was the one who did it. Thus, he simply prepared for the worst from the beginning. No matter how bad it was, it couldn't be worse than killing a family member.
But now, there was a weak spark in the darkness. There was a burnt incense ball in his bedchamber, and the timing was very consistent with his attack. He couldn't help but have a humble hope. Perhaps, it was really an external force that was controlling him?
Hsieh Hyun-chen was tormented by this thought for the entire afternoon, and he was bleeding profusely. He didn't dare to have any hope, but he couldn't help but hope that it was true. If it was really an external force that was controlling or inducing him, then it meant that his illness was controllable, and he might be able to live.
The tomorrow that others were accustomed to was an unattainable extravagant hope for him.
He felt that the life that Mu Mingtang described was very beautiful, but he never dared to put himself in it. But now, Hsieh Hyun-chen had a humble yet daring extravagant hope.
The more anxious Hsieh Hyun-chen was, the more he forced himself to stay calm. He didn't want to give Mu Mingtang false hope, so he didn't dare to show the slightest bit of it. People who had been in despair for too long were actually afraid of hope. Hsieh Hyun-chen especially didn't dare to disappoint Mu Mingtang.
Hsieh Hyun-chen would rather suppress everything in the bottom of his heart. Perhaps only after everything was settled would Hsieh Hyun-chen dare to promise Mu Mingtang's future in a calm and ordinary tone.
After Mu Mingtang expressed her doubts, she found that Hsieh Hyun-chen was as calm as ever. Mu Mingtang couldn't help but criticize Hsieh Hyun-chen. "Why are you still sleeping?"
"What else can I do?" Hsieh Hyun-chen's tone was still calm. "No matter what the truth is, I have to sleep tonight anyway. What's the hurry?"
Mu Mingtang frowned. She always felt that this was fallacious reasoning, but somehow she couldn't refute it. Mu Mingtang stared at Hsieh Hyun-chen for a while, and suddenly felt a sense of inferiority.
Look at him, he didn't move even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. This was called being unmoved by favor or humiliation. This was called having the demeanor of a general. In contrast, she was really too impatient.
However, no matter how much she tried to calm herself down, Mu Mingtang couldn't help but feel anxious. She said, "Today, the coroner said that the maid accidentally fell into the water and died. They must have taken the body away tonight. In the future, we won't be able to find another coroner to examine it. We've lost half of our clues. What should we do? "
"Who said that we can't examine it?" Hsieh Hyun-chen suddenly opened his eyes and said, "There's no need to find another coroner. I'm enough."
Mu Mingtang suddenly discovered something extraordinary and leaned over expectantly. However, Hsieh Hyun-chen closed his eyes again and refused to say anything. "Go to sleep. If you want to know, I'll tell you tomorrow. If you listen to this before bed, you'll be so scared that you won't be able to sleep. "
"Tomorrow?" Mu Mingtang's eyes widened. "If you don't tell me now, I won't be able to sleep. Hurry up and tell me, what did you find? "
"You're just a child. Why are you listening to this?"
Mu Mingtang really wanted to bite him. He didn't want to say anything when he was halfway through solving the riddle. He was simply deliberately making things difficult for her. Mu Mingtang was so anxious that his heart and lungs were scratching. He simply crawled over and shook him. "Hurry up and tell me. If you don't tell me, I won't let you sleep either!"
How could Hsieh Hyun-chen care about Mu Mingtang's little strength? He didn't move at all. Mu Mingtang saw that he didn't respond and was about to change his position to continue. His knees somehow pressed against Hsieh Hyun-chen's clothes and he suddenly fell towards him.
Hsieh Hyun-chen instinctively opened his eyes. In that instant, his eyes were sharp and there was no trace of sleepiness. Hsieh Hyun-chen opened his eyes and realized that something was wrong. This wasn't a battlefield, and the person who fell towards him wasn't an enemy. However, his body, which had been trained for many years, reacted first. Hsieh Hyun-chen immediately withdrew his strength. However, he was still a step too late. Mu Mingtang's arm was grabbed and he couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Outside, a servant girl who was sleeping was startled awake. She hurriedly ran to the door and knocked. "Princess Consort, what's wrong?"
Hsieh Hyun-chen had a bad temper and was also very dangerous. As long as the person inside didn't say anything, no one dared to enter. The servant girl waited at the door for a long time before she heard Hsieh Hyun-chen's voice. "It's nothing. You may leave."
The Princess Consort cried out in pain, but in the end, it was the Prince who spoke … The servant girls didn't ask any more questions. After saying good night, they all dispersed. When there was no more movement outside, Mu Mingtang's eyes were filled with tears. He complained to Hsieh Hyun-chen, "It hurts, it's all bruised!"
Hsieh Hyun-chen also felt very guilty. He really did react instinctively. Fortunately, he reacted in time. Otherwise, Mu Mingtang's arm wouldn't just be bruised. Hsieh Hyun-chen was very good at this kind of thing. He got out of bed and found some medicine. He sat by the bed and said, "It's my fault. Take off your clothes first. I'll help you rub the bruised area. Otherwise, it will hurt for a few days. "
After Hsieh Hyun-chen finished speaking, he saw Mu Mingtang's eyes slowly widen. In the end, his face turned red. He also realized that something was wrong. This time, the person he hurt wasn't one of his former brothers, but a delicate little girl.
This was a bit difficult. Hsieh Hyun-chen's face also turned red. "I'm not asking you to take off everything. You only need to expose your shoulders and arms …"
Hsieh Hyun-chen couldn't continue speaking. Why did he only expose his shoulders like a ruffian who was trying to kidnap a good girl? Hsieh Hyun-chen was very flustered, but he pretended to be calm and experienced as he looked at Mu Mingtang. His original intention was to convey that he didn't have any other intentions. He just wanted to help her heal the bruised area. But for some reason, the more he looked into Mu Mingtang's eyes, the more flustered Hsieh Hyun-chen became.
In the end, Hsieh Hyun-chen coughed into his fist and said, "How about I cover my eyes? But no matter what, you have to rub the bruised area open. Otherwise, it will hurt even more in the next few days. "
Mu Mingtang sighed. He was even quicker than Hsieh Hyun-chen to accept the situation. "It's okay. You're doing this to treat my injuries. I understand."
Hsieh Hyun-chen raised his eyebrows slightly. What did she understand? He didn't say anything. What did she imagine?
Before Hsieh Hyun-chen could ask his doubts, he heard Mu Mingtang say, "Turn around first."
Fine. Hsieh Hyun-chen didn't say anything else. He obediently turned around. The rustling sound of clothes being undressed came from behind him. Hsieh Hyun-chen only needed to picture the scene behind him in his mind to feel his body heat up so much that it was about to explode.
Hsieh Hyun-chen couldn't help but curse himself in his heart. Just as he was reflecting on himself, he heard Mu Mingtang's weak voice behind him. "I'm done."
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