"I believe."
Mu Changxi's attitude was very clear: "Ayu, I believe. I believe that many incredible things may have happened to you, leading to who you are today. But what I believe even more is that as long as the two of us can be together, there is nothing to fear."
In fact, Mu Changxi had said these words many times before.
But when Song Chaoyu heard them again, she still felt an unprecedented warmth in her heart.
That's right, as long as they could be together, what was there to be afraid of?
With this hope, Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi handed over other matters to Xiao Ruizhi and Gao Xinrui, and rushed to the capital together.
--
The closer they got to the capital, the more they could feel that the atmosphere had become unusual.
It should have been more lively the closer they got to the capital, but as they traveled, they found that the fewer pedestrians there were on the official road the further they went into the capital!
At the same time, Gao Xinrui also sent them news.
This time, Mu Hansu's coup was not only colluding with the guards in the capital, but also the people of the Southern Kingdom were helping him from behind the scenes!
And these people from the Southern Kingdom were led by Princess Tiele!
"As expected, it's Tiele."
After seeing this news, Mu Changxi felt no surprise at all.
But neither of them stopped.
They had people they cared about in the capital, so they couldn't stop!
When they reached Huowei Town, outside the capital, their footsteps paused slightly.
This was probably the last place where they could rest a little.
In fact, they hadn't been idle on this journey.
From Qinzhou to the capital, they passed through many prefectural cities and found many people willing to help them.
However, Mu Changxi did not have military power, and the Emperor, not trusting the Crown Prince, had not left him much military power.
Currently, the scattered soldiers that Mu Changxi could gather in the name of the Crown Prince numbered less than ten thousand.
But the accurate news they received, coupled with the troops Princess Tiele helped Mu Hansu gather, meant that Mu Hansu's forces in the capital might exceed fifty thousand, or even more!
Moreover, Mu Hansu controlled the capital's most elite city guards. With these combined forces, the situation in the palace was likely dire.
When Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi arrived at the small town outside the capital, the town, which should have been bustling, was eerily quiet.
Only some hurried merchants were heading in the opposite direction of the capital.
So, the town that was usually full of people was empty on the road by nightfall.
Even the usually crowded inns were sparsely populated today.
Mu Changxi and the others temporarily hid their identities and quietly entered an inn.
They chose a corner to sit, and as they were about to eat something, they overheard the merchant caravan in the inn talking about the events in the capital.
It seemed that the caravan had just retreated from the capital, and everyone looked dejected.
Someone in the caravan spoke first: "Alas... we came at such an inconvenient time. We thought this batch of goods would sell well, but not only did the goods not sell, we almost lost our lives!"
"Isn't that so?"
Someone immediately chimed in: "But who would have thought that such a major event would happen in the capital, and we would encounter it?! That was Prince Ning forcing the palace! We should be grateful to be able to escape the capital with our lives!"
"Hush—"
Upon hearing the word "coup," others in the caravan quickly covered the speaker's mouth: "You can't just say such things outside! We finally got out, don't cause trouble by saying the wrong thing!"
The speaker seemed unconcerned: "Look around, is there anyone else who can hear us? Besides, this matter will spread throughout the entire Great Yue Dynasty sooner or later, so what's there to fear? Who knows who will rule the world afterward, we can only pray for ourselves!"
What this person said was not unreasonable, and everyone in the caravan shook their heads and sighed, seeming to worry about their own future.
Hearing this, Song Chaoyu glanced at Mu Changxi, who was just eating with his head down, his eyes deep.
Tan Xing, however, seemed to sense that both of them wanted to learn more about the matter.
This child was quite bold. He directly approached the people eating at the table, looked at them with a smile, and said, "Uncles and elders, please forgive my presumption, but what's going on in the capital? We just came from Yuezhou, and we noticed that something seemed wrong on the road."
Tan Xing had traveled to many places over the years, and at this moment, even his voice carried the accent of Yuezhou, so the traveling merchants had no suspicion at all.
Seeing that Tan Xing was young, they were very enthusiastic towards him: "Oh, what are you going to the capital for? Haven't you heard? His Royal Highness Prince Ning, who was demoted, has rebelled! The capital is not a good place to be right now, and you might even lose your head. I advise you to return to Yuezhou as soon as possible."
"Alas!"
Tan Xing sighed, then pointed to Tan Yue: "That's my brother, he's very ill. We heard that there are famous doctors in the capital who can cure his illness, which is why we are going to the capital. What is the situation in the capital now? When will things settle down?"
Tan Xing also shrugged: "We don't care who the emperor is, as long as my brother can live, our family can be at ease!"
Ordinary commoners probably thought this way, didn't they? Moreover, the Emperor had done quite a few absurd things over the years, and it was likely that not everyone supported the current Emperor.
Indeed, Tan Xing's words only made the merchants feel emotional: "Isn't that true? For us commoners, every day is the same. However, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while. I heard that the Crown Prince is confronting Prince Ning, and although Prince Ning has the upper hand, when we left the capital, he hadn't yet broken into the inner gates of the imperial palace."
He took a sip of wine and shook his head: "It will probably take a few more days. I advise you to wait outside the capital. We are also planning to leave, and perhaps in a couple of days, even this town will not be peaceful!"
He patted Tan Xing's shoulder: "Young man, your life is important!"
Tan Xing nodded, thanked them, and then returned to Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi also patted Tan Xing's shoulder. Hope ignited in both of their hearts: the Crown Prince could resist to this extent and hold on for so long was beyond their expectations.