Chapter 36: Huarong

Leaving the main hall, Li Yuanling brought Li Musheng to her room in the Aurora Pavilion.

"Let's be blunt. Miss Li, who exactly are you?"

Li Musheng sat casually on a stool in the room, watching the handsome young man before him with composed patience.

Li Yuanling fell silent for a moment. Sitting opposite him, she picked up the teapot on the table, poured him a cup of water, and asked while resting her chin on her hand

"How much do you know about the Seventh Prince?"

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow. "Which aspect are you referring to, Miss Li?"

"For example, do you know what kind of person the Seventh Prince's biological mother was? Or perhaps, do you know he has an elder sister who is the current Grand Princess? Or even, how much do you know about the Seventh Prince's maternal clan?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng studied her suspiciously for a moment before saying, "Are you perhaps the Grand Princess of Great Li?"

Li Yuanling rolled her eyes and said, "She wouldn't come to see you. Her Highness the Grand Princess is currently busy running around trying to rescue that fake prince from the Heavenly Prison; she even knelt in front of the Tianqian Palace for several nights not too long ago."

Li Musheng's eyes flickered. He asked, "Then who are you?"

"Guess?" A look of anticipation appeared in Li Yuanling's eyes.

Li Musheng rubbed his chin, narrowed his eyes, and said, "I guess... you should be the naturally beautiful and peerlessly talented Princess Huarong."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanling froze momentarily, then nodded with a look of joy. "You guessed correctly!"

As she spoke, she blinked and added with unexpected delight, "And you certainly have a way with words."

Li Musheng wore an expression that said, *I knew it.*

Regarding the matters of the Seventh Prince, he had naturally heard Cang Yinyue mention them on his way to Shangyang City.

The Seventh Prince's mother was Consort Jing, but she had passed away three years ago.

He also had an elder biological sister, the Grand Princess of Great Li, but that Grand Princess did not seem particularly concerned with finding her own brother; instead, she placed extraordinary importance on the fake prince.

Not only had she repeatedly begged Emperor Yuanwu for mercy to release him, but she had also been constantly searching for ways to rescue him.

In addition, the Seventh Prince had an adopted sister, originally the only daughter of the Prince of Zhennan.

However, ever since the Prince and Princess of Zhennan died in battle at "Tianqiu City" ten years ago, she had been taken in as an adopted daughter by Consort Jing and kept by her side. Out of respect for the merits the Prince and Princess of Zhennan had provided to Great Li, Emperor Yuanwu had issued a special decree conferring upon her the title of "Princess Huarong."

Consort Jing doted on this adopted daughter immensely, and the relationship between them was no different from that of a biological mother and daughter.

This was why Li Musheng had guessed her identity. The name of Princess Huarong was Li Yuanling, which was similar to the name of the young woman before him. Furthermore, given her personality, she truly would come to the Aurora Pavilion to meet an adopted brother she had never met before.

However, after observing her for a while, Li Musheng asked curiously, "You seem very certain that I am the true Seventh Prince?"

Li Yuanling nodded earnestly. "The moment I saw you, I knew without a doubt that you were my adopted brother. Not only do you look a little bit like His Majesty, but you look sixty percent like my godmother."

As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue and laughed. "You said earlier that you are handsome, but that's all because you inherited my godmother's beauty."

Hearing this, Li Musheng touched his face, suddenly remembering that Cang Yinyue had also been deeply convinced of his identity as the Seventh Prince.

Presumably, besides her absolute confidence in her own professional abilities, it was likely also due to this face of his.

Thinking of this, Li Musheng actually began to believe in his identity as the Seventh Prince to some extent; after all, genetic factors truly were a universal truth.

"Alright, since you have seen me, you should go back to where you came from. Leave this place of trouble, the Aurora Pavilion, as soon as possible."

At this point, Li Musheng waved his hand and stood up, preparing to leave.

Now that he had confirmed Li Yuanling's identity and resolved the doubts in his heart, there was no need for him to stay any longer.

To be honest, Li Musheng didn't have many thoughts regarding his identity as the Seventh Prince or the series of interpersonal relationships it brought with it.

The thing he was most interested in upon coming to the capital of Great Li was the transcendence of martial arts.

"Are you not excited at all to see your sister? Don't you want to stay and talk to me?"

Li Yuanling suddenly stood up, blocking Li Musheng's path with her hands, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

Li Musheng glanced at her, thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Miss Li, all of this happened too suddenly. You have to give me some time to adapt. Everything must be taken slowly."

With that, he pushed her hands aside and walked straight out the door.

Li Yuanling turned around suspiciously, watching Li Musheng's retreating back, feeling that he was being somewhat perfunctory.

Saying it was too sudden and that he needed time to adapt.

But just now, she hadn't seen even a hint of surprise or joy on Li Musheng's face.

"I won't leave. I'm staying here to protect you on behalf of my godmother," Li Yuanling called out to his back.

Hearing this, Li Musheng waved his hand without looking back, then walked up the corridor and returned to his own room.

Closing the door, Li Musheng glanced toward the young soldier under the bed, seeing that the man's eyes were flickering as if he had something to say.

Li Musheng remained unmoved and shook his head. "I gave you a chance before, but you were useless. It's too late to speak now. You'll have a hard time once night falls."

Having said that, Li Musheng ignored him.

After all, even if the man were willing to speak, he wasn't sure if what he said would be true or false. It was better to leave it to Cang Yinyue to handle rather than wasting time.

Following this, the Aurora Pavilion became quite lively. Not only did the Tianjin Guards arrive, but a large group from the Six Doors also showed up.

The head eunuch of the Palace Direct Hall and the Assistant Commander of the Tianjin Guards personally took charge, taking over all affairs of the Aurora Pavilion.

The entire guard force of the Aurora Pavilion was completely overhauled and became several times more stringent than before; it could truly be said that even a fly could not fly in.

The young people within the Aurora Pavilion underwent an even more thorough inspection. Once it was confirmed that no one had any issues, the Aurora Pavilion finally settled into a temporary calm.

Meanwhile, the Tianjin Guards and the Six Doors were fully engaged in the pursuit of the escaped soldier.

This was not only because he had committed murder and caused chaos by leaving Beiqi Meditative Qi inside the ten young people at the Aurora Pavilion.

Furthermore, Yu Jin, the four Chief Eunuchs including An Quan, as well as Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan, had also been affected by that soldier's Beiqi Meditative Qi.

Although experts like Yu Jin could suppress it with their own true qi, it remained a major hidden danger. They still needed to capture that soldier to resolve the problem completely.

However, none of this had much to do with Li Musheng.

As time passed, the sky finally grew dark.

(End of Chapter)