Before leaving, Nan Rui warned in a deep voice, "Prefect Feng, this prince's trip is only for leisure. Please forget about seeing me today."
Prefect Feng nodded repeatedly, "Your Highness, please rest assured."
Nan Rui glanced at Prefect Feng again, giving him a warning look, before departing with his entourage.
When he arrived at Yun City, the city gate had already been ordered to be opened by Meng Huaining, which puzzled Nan Rui.
Upon entering the city, Nan Rui went straight to the county office.
With such a significant incident happening in Yun City, even though it was just a misunderstanding, as the prince of Da Shun, he needed to carefully understand the situation.
"Come with me to the county office first," Nan Rui instructed his subordinates.
"Yes," the subordinates responded and dispersed around Nan Rui, providing protection.
Nan Rui walked along the streets and arrived at the county office.
At this moment, Mo Chuhan had just returned with a group of officials and was preparing to go out and inform the people that there was no smallpox. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the entrance, he encountered Nan Rui.
Mo Chuhan immediately became vigilant. Ninth Brother had speculated that he was once among the assassins sent by Nan Rui to kill Ninth Brother.
In other words, even if Nan Rui wasn't the one who gave him the puppetry gu, he was still involved.
Therefore, when Mo Chuhan saw Nan Rui, not only did his vigilance rise, but his anger surged.
Nan Rui recognized Mo Chuhan at a glance. He didn't expect to encounter him here by chance. However, he was unaware of Mo Chuhan's current situation, so he didn't act recklessly.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Chuhan still saluted Nan Rui.
After all, before tearing each other's faces apart, when meeting the current prince, it was necessary to maintain a superficial courtesy.
"Why has Prince Rui come here?" Mo Chuhan asked.
Nan Rui furrowed his brow slightly. If the mother gu he held in his hand encountered the child gu, there would definitely be a reaction. However, being in such close contact with Mo Chuhan, there was no reaction at all.
While feeling puzzled, Nan Rui raised his hand towards Mo Chuhan and said, "Mo... no need for formalities."
Nan Rui initially wanted to say "General Mo, no need for formalities," but when he thought about the misfortune that had befallen the Mo family, he didn't know how to address Mo Chuhan.
Mo Chuhan quickly straightened up without saying anything, intending to let Nan Rui take the initiative in the conversation.
At the same time, the group of officials behind him were dumbfounded.
The fact that the Chief Constable Mo had just called the person in front of them Prince Rui left them unsure how to act. They even forgot the basic courtesy of kneeling and bowing.
Nan Rui once again observed Mo Chuhan and saw him dressed in the official uniform of the Chief Constable. Out of curiosity, Nan Rui asked, "Are you working in the yamen now?"
Mo Chuhan didn't dare to tell the truth for fear of implicating Meng Huaining.
"The county magistrate doesn't know my identity. I just wanted to find a job to support my family," Mo Chuhan replied.
Regardless of whether Nan Rui believed him or not, he didn't pursue the matter further.
At present, what concerned him the most was why he couldn't control Mo Chuhan with his mother gu.
When he was talking to Mo Chuhan just now, Nan Rui attempted to manipulate the gu, but to his surprise, Mo Chuhan showed no reaction at all.
He couldn't figure out what went wrong. If it weren't for his intervention, Mo Chuhan's puppetry gu would be impossible to remove.
"Your body?" Nan Rui intended to ask Mo Chuhan something.
At this moment, Mo Chuhan was certain that there was a direct connection between the puppet gu curse he was afflicted with and Nan Rui.
With this in mind, Mo Chuhan no longer wanted to continue beating around the bush with Nan Rui. He thought that even if it meant going all out and risking everything, he didn't regard the dozen or so guards accompanying Nan Rui as a threat.
Considering this, Mo Chuhan sneered, "Thanks to His Royal Highness Ruiwang's gift, it's truly not easy for me to stay alive."
Nan Rui's expression immediately changed upon hearing his words.
"What do you know?"
Mo Chuhan first glanced at the several government officials behind him. He surmised that Nan Rui's purpose in coming here was because of him.
Even though his Mo family had already been exiled, it wasn't appropriate to bring up such matters openly. However, Nan Rui had brazenly asked about it.
If he were also so careless and blurted it out in front of those government officials, their little conspiracy would be exposed in an instant.
"Does Wangye really intend to discuss it here?"
Reminded in this way, Nan Rui realized that there weren't just the guards he brought along, but also those government officials present. He had indeed been careless.
Nan Rui immediately turned around. "Come with me."
Mo Chuhan dismissed the scared government officials and followed closely behind Nan Rui as they left.
The two of them went straight to a nearby restaurant and requested a private room.
Facing Nan Rui, Mo Chuhan showed no courtesy and seated himself directly.
Nan Rui wasn't offended either and sat across from him, lost in thought for a moment before speaking up.
"I came to the northwest this time to find you."
Mo Chuhan wasn't surprised when he heard him say that.
"I wonder what business Ruiwang has with me?"
Nan Rui didn't intend to beat around the bush either and placed a small porcelain bottle he held in his hand on the table.
"This bottle contains the mother gu of a puppet gu."
Mo Chuhan raised an eyebrow, knowingly asking, "What does that have to do with me?"
Nan Rui shook his head helplessly, wearing a bitter smile.
"In fact, you know everything, so why does Wangye have to spell it out so clearly?"
Mo Chuhan sneered and didn't plan to play dumb any longer.
"As a man of the Mo family, I shed blood on the battlefield to protect the Da Shun territory. Now, we've been reduced to being exiled. Can we still pose a threat to anyone?"
Nan Rui hurriedly explained upon hearing this, "You've misunderstood. I didn't come here with any ill intentions toward the Mo family."
"In that case, I'll take my leave now." Mo Chuhan stood up, intending to leave.
Since it wasn't harmful to the Mo family, regardless of Ruiwang's intentions, he didn't want to entertain him.
As for the matter of being cured by his ninth younger sister, he had no intention of explaining it to Nan Rui.
Nan Rui saw that Mo Chuhan really intended to leave and quickly stood up to stop him.
"I'm also being coerced. Please sit down and let me finish speaking."
Mo Chuhan glanced at Nan Rui askew and sat back down reluctantly.
Nan Rui organized his thoughts and began, "Although the mother gu is currently in my hands, the puppet gu on your body was not placed by me."
You should know that my mother, the consort, was not favored, so I have always felt insignificant in the palace since I was young. I am well aware that I lack the talent to be an emperor, so I have deliberately avoided getting involved in court disputes.
Despite that, someone has targeted me."
As he spoke, Nan Rui raised the porcelain bottle in his hand to show Mo Chuhan.
"This is the former owner of this Gu poison. He used my mother as leverage to force me to do his bidding. Anything you have seen or heard related to me is not of my own volition."
Just as Nan Rui finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, and a guard entered to report, "Prince, Lord Mo Jiuye and his wife have arrived."
Nan Rui didn't expect Mo Jiuye to come at this moment.
