Late at night.
Li Mu laid on the bed in a comfortable position, waiting for the Empress to arrive.
Perhaps it was because she had broken Li Mu's wet dream the last time, but these days, the Empress had never entered his dreams without saying a word. Instead, she would take the initiative to hypnotize Li Mu, and then appear.
However, tonight, Li Mu waited for a long time, but the Empress didn't appear.
He opened his eyes and took out the conch. After inserting his mana, he asked softly, "Your Majesty, are you not coming tonight?"
No sound came from the conch. Li Mu waited for a while before putting it away.
Although he didn't know what the Empress was busy with, it was obvious that she wouldn't be coming tonight.
Li Mu didn't wait any longer and quickly entered the dream.
Changle Palace, Zhou Yi lay on the bed, tossing and turning. As soon as she closed her eyes, the scene would appear in front of her.
After a while, she got up from the bed and sat cross-legged. She forced herself to enter an ethereal state.
…
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Li Mu stood in the courtyard and looked up at the full moon in the sky, deep in thought.
For a few days, the Empress didn't appear in his dreams.
Although she didn't appear often before, her identity wasn't exposed at that time. A few days ago, she entered Li Mu's dreams every day to teach him spells.
Not only that, during the morning court session today, the seat that should have been his was replaced by Lady Mei. She said that it was the empress's arrangement.
Li Mu couldn't help but wonder if he had offended the Empress in some way, or if he had angered her …
After thinking carefully, Li Mu ruled out this possibility.
After returning from the North County, he treated the Empress even better than before. He was worried that she would be lonely, so he took the initiative to chat with her at night, talking about life and dreams. He was worried that she would be tired of eating delicacies, so he personally cooked her favorite dishes and sent his Xiao Bai to the palace to accompany her. The Empress had no reason to be angry with him.
That night, Li Mu thought about it all night, but he still couldn't figure out the reason.
The next morning, he prepared to enter the palace to sound out the Empress.
At the entrance of Changle Palace.
Mr. Mei walked out of the palace and said, "His Majesty is not in the palace. If there's anything, you can tell me."
According to what Li Mu knew, the Empress rarely left the palace. She could no longer return to the Zhou family. Every time she left the palace, she would go to the Li residence. Mr. Mei was obviously lying, and she had no reason to lie to Li Mu. This had to be the Empress's idea.
This meant that the events that had occurred in the past few days were not because Li Mu had thought too much, but rather because the Empress had deliberately done so.
Li Mu didn't show any strange expression on his face. He asked, "It's not a big deal. I just want to ask if Cui Ming has been caught."
Mr. Mei shook his head and said, "Not yet, but Ah Li has gone after him personally. She has many masters around her, and she can track Cui Ming all the way. He can't escape."
"That's good." Li Mu nodded and said, "Then I'll go back first. Goodbye, Sister Mei."
Mr. Mei watched him leave, thought for a moment, and said, "Wait."
Li Mu turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Mr. Mei asked, "Did you make His Majesty angry again?"
Li Mu shook his head. Recently, not only did he not speak ill of her behind her back, but he was even nicer to her. He couldn't figure out why the Empress had suddenly become cold to him.
Mr. Mei said helplessly, "Then you go back first. I'll let you know if there's any news about Cui Ming."
Li Mu nodded and turned to leave again.
Mr. Mei walked into the Changle Palace and looked at the Empress who was dealing with the memorials. His lips moved as if he had something to ask, but he didn't say anything in the end.
Zhou Yi closed a memorial and looked out of the palace. A trace of helplessness appeared in the depths of her eyes.
The inner demon of the Transcendent Realm was no small matter. It took her a lot of effort to suppress it. If she saw Li Mu, she was afraid that all her efforts would be in vain.
Outside the Changle Palace, a maid on duty glanced at the Changle Palace and hurried away.
A moment later, in the Fushou Palace of the West Palace.
The Empress Dowager looked at a maid kneeling in the palace and asked, "Is what you said true? That Li Mu went to the palace to see Her Majesty, but Her Majesty didn't see him?"
The maid nodded and said, "It's true. Commander Mei told Li Mu that Her Majesty wasn't in the palace. But I saw with my own eyes that Her Majesty entered the Changle Palace 15 minutes ago and didn't come out after that. She must have deliberately not seen him."
The Empress Dowager said suspiciously, "Li Mu is her favorite. Why didn't she see him?"
The maid said, "Not only did Her Majesty not see him this time, but during the morning court, he was supposed to take over Commander Shangguan's position. But today, he was replaced by Commander Mei. I guess that Li Mu has fallen out of favor …"
"Fallen out of favor?"
A cold smile gradually appeared on the Empress Dowager's face. She said sarcastically, "He deserves it. Because of him, I lost the only death-exemption token bestowed by the late Emperor. I haven't settled this debt with him yet … What will happen to a dog that has lost its master?"
A maid beside her said, "Empress Dowager, even the Academy can't defeat Li Mu. You must be careful …"
The Empress Dowager twitched her mouth and said, "He has offended so many people in the Luoyang. There are so many people who want him dead. I don't need to do it myself. As long as I spread the news that he has fallen out of favor, someone will do it for me …"
…
After leaving the palace, Li Mu didn't go home. Instead, he went to an inn.
He carried a jar of wine and knocked on a door on the second floor of the inn.
Li Si was holding a book in his hand. He was swaying his head as he read. When he opened the door and saw Li Mu, he asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"
These days, Li Si was preparing for the imperial examination. He had been studying hard in the inn. Li Mu had only seen him a few times.
Li Mu put the jar of wine on the table and said, "I have a question to ask you."
Li Si waved his hand. He stared at the book and said, "Wait. Let me finish this part first."
Li Mu took the book from his hand and said, "You don't have to memorize it. This part won't be tested."
Li Si glanced at him and said, "How do you know it won't be tested? Are you the one who set the questions?"
Although the questions weren't set by Li Mu, the official who set the questions had to set the questions according to the outline set by Li Mu. Li Mu returned the book to Li Si and said, "Believe it or not."
Li Si looked at Li Mu and threw the book away decisively. He said, "Remember to tell me what the questions are a few days in advance."
Li Mu said, "There aren't any questions. I can highlight the key points for you. In the end, you still have to rely on yourself."
"Enough, enough." Li Si sat down and opened the jar of wine. He poured a bowl of wine for him and Li Mu. He said, "Tell me, what's the problem?"
Li Mu said slowly, "I have a friend who has encountered some problems recently."
Li Si glanced at him and asked, "Do I know this friend of yours?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "You don't know the friends I have in Luoyang."
He continued, "This friend of mine has a friend of the opposite sex. A few days ago, this friend of the opposite sex was very good to him. From time to time, he would give him expensive gifts and treat him to meals. The two of them would talk about life and dreams together. But recently, this friend of the opposite sex suddenly became cold to my friend. He didn't even want to see him. Why is that?"
Li Si asked, "Did you offend her?"
"Not me. It's my friend."
"Did your friend offend her?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "No. Not only did he not offend her, he was very good to her. I don't know why she suddenly became like this."
Li Si took a sip of wine and touched his chin. He said, "There are three possibilities. First, you are her target, but only one of them. She is cold to you because she has someone else she is passionate about …"
Li Mu shook his head. The Empress was not the kind of person who would two-time.
Li Si looked at him and continued, "The second possibility is that she is tired of you and doesn't want to waste her passion on you."
Li Mu corrected, "It's my friend."
Li Si said, "Sorry, it's your friend."
Li Mu and the Empress had a superior and subordinate relationship. They were not in a romantic relationship. He looked at Li Si and asked, "What's the third possibility?"
Li Si didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Can you beat Lady Liu now?"
"Does this have anything to do with this question?"
"I'm just asking."
Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "I can't beat him."
This wasn't a question of whether or not he could beat her, but whether or not he could fight back. Even if Li Mu had transcended, he was still no match for Liu Hanyan.
Li Si looked at him with an inexplicable gaze and said, "The third possibility is, congratulations to you, no, congratulations to your friend. That woman likes him. She is sometimes cold and sometimes hot, sometimes aloof. These are all tricks between men and women. Only in this way would your friend feel nervous. If my guess is correct, after a short period of coldness, she will become passionate about your friend again …"
This time, Li Mu didn't agree with Li Si's analysis.
Although he and the Empress weren't like lord and minister, they weren't lovers either.
It was precisely because of this that he couldn't understand the Empress's sudden coldness.
A woman's heart was like a needle at the bottom of the sea. Only a girl as cute and innocent as Xiao Bai, whose thoughts were written all over her face, didn't need him to guess.
In the next few days, a rumor began to circulate among the court officials.
Li Mu, the imperial censor of the palace, had fallen out of favor.
First, he lost his status as a close official who could convey the Empress's decree. Then, when he asked to see the Empress, he was rejected. In the next few days, Li Mu didn't even attend the morning court, and the Empress didn't say anything about it. All of this showed that Li Mu had fallen out of favor.
He had no status or background. The only thing he relied on was the Empress's favor. Without the Empress's favor, any random official in the court could kill him hundreds or thousands of times.
Li Residence.
After the morning court, Zhang Chun hurried over. Li Mu was cooking in the kitchen. He said, "Old Zhang, you came just in time. Go and call Li Si. Let's drink together …"
"Drink my ass!" Zhang Chun quickly walked over and asked, "What happened between you and the Empress?"
Li Mu said, "Nothing …"
Zhang Chun said anxiously, "Nothing? Everyone in the court is saying that you've fallen out of favor. Aren't you worried at all?"
Li Mu said indifferently, "It's up to the Empress to decide whether I've fallen out of favor or not. What's the use of being worried?"
Zhang Chun hurriedly said, "You're not worried, but I am. As someone who's been through it, let me give you a piece of advice. Between a man and a woman, if there's any misunderstanding between a man and a woman, it's better to talk it out. Don't hold it in. The longer you hold it in, the bigger the problem …"
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