The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

Chapter 188: A boneheaded teammate

It felt as if he had been confidently lifting a box, but then, someone had thrown a knife into his back out of nowhere. Ning Yuxuan turned his head in shock. The only thing behind him was his household, which he had always been protecting, so where had the betrayal come from?

The new emperor was smiling unfathomably. He patted Ning Yuxuan's shoulder and said, "This emperor will return your heir to you once my reign is completely stable."

There wasn't any difference between what Zhao Li was doing and a normal kidnapping, but he was making it sound so dignified. The emperor personally gave Haohao a new name. He said that Ning Jinyan, the previous name that Ning Yuxuan had given Haohao, was too ordinary, so he was going to change it to Ning Jinchen.

Chen, the emperor's imperial ancestral temple.

(T/N: Jin means brilliant like gems, yan means speech, and chen can have several, different meanings including association with the Year of the Dragon.)

Ning Yuxuan couldn't think of any words to say. Step by step, he walked towards his carriage. His footsteps had never felt so heavy before.

Ji Man had been pacing back and forth outside the palace walls. As soon as she saw Ning Yuxuan's carriage coming out, she hurriedly approached him and asked, "Where's Haohao?"

Ning Yuxuan was sitting on the shaft of the carriage. He pursed his lips and said, "His Majesty brought Haohao into the palace and even bestowed him a name. He'll be fostered by the empress."

Ji Man widened her eyes. "Why?"

After a bitter laugh, Ning Yuxuan got onto her horse from behind. "I don't know who it is, but someone disclosed the truth about Haohao to the new emperor. He even knows that you're still alive."

Ji Man was shocked.

"He didn't say anything else and only took Haohao into the palace. I was powerless." Ning Yuxuan closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. He whispered, "I'm sorry."

Ji Man wasn't stupid. She could figure out the critical points of what had happened. But, they had always done a good job of hiding these secrets, so how were these secrets discovered?

Thinking of how Liu Hanyun had tried to stop her at all costs when Haohao had been taken away, Ji Man frowned. She sneered as she said, "Marquis, when you go back home, it's time for you to clean up your inner court."

Ning Yuxuan furrowed his brow and asked, "What's wrong with my inner court?"

Ji Man didn't answer him. She could only figure out that this was related to Liu Hanyun somehow, but she didn't know the exact details. After finding out that Haohao had been taken into the palace, her mind had already felt completely disheveled.

Ning Yuxuan thought it over and decided to not question her further as the two of them returned to the marquis's estate.

As soon as they passed through the estate's entrance, Ji Man returned to her room, and Ning Yuxuan went to Linghan Courtyard.

After sitting in her room for a long time, Ji Man looked around the room before taking out a box from underneath her bed.

As expected, the painting was gone.

Ji Man went over to the neighboring room, grabbed hold of the servant girl that unusually watched over Haohao, and asked her, "Who has been in my room?"

The servant girl was slightly at a loss. "Several people have come and went, so I haven't paid special attention. I do remember seeing Tanxiang, a servant girl from Qiangwei Courtyard, coming here. She said that she came here to help out by tidying your room.