Chapter 27 – The Emperor Ought to Reward Me Again

The Empress Dowager stepped forward, concern etched on her face. “Mu girl, you look terribly weak. Are you injured?”

Mu Nanjin bowed slightly. “Your Majesty, I only suffered a minor internal injury. It’s nothing serious.” She deliberately softened her tone, her voice faint and frail, as if she were gravely wounded.

【Quick, reward me already. Give me some precious tonics so I can recover faster.】

Everyone: “…”

The Empress Dowager paused, then gently took Mu Nanjin’s hand. “There’s a thousand-year-old ginseng plant in my palace. I’ll have someone send it to your residence as soon as we return. It will help you recuperate.”

【A thousand-year-old ginseng? Is it one thousand or two? Anything less than five thousand years old is hardly worth looking at.】

Everyone: “…”

The Empress Dowager chuckled softly. “I also have a thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom—it’s excellent for the body. I’ll have that sent to your residence as well.”

【Everything I think of comes true. The Empress Dowager is truly a mind reader. I suppose I’ll reluctantly accept, then.】

Mu Nanjin put on a modest act. “Your Majesty’s gifts are far too precious. I can’t possibly accept them.”

Suppressing her laughter, the Empress Dowager replied kindly, “After all that danger, you risked your life to delay the assassin and give us time to escape. Compared to your sacrifice, these gifts are nothing. You’re still young—if you don’t recover properly, you could suffer long-term harm. Take them without worry and focus on healing.”

“Then I shall thank Your Majesty first,” Mu Nanjin said, casting a sidelong glance at the Emperor.

【Come on, Emperor old man, your mother already gave her reward. You’re the son—can’t you take a hint and add something too?】

Everyone: “…”

The Emperor coughed lightly, about to speak, when he suddenly heard her inner voice again.

【Forget it. I shouldn’t expect anything from the Emperor. He only likes rewarding people with promotions. But that doesn’t work on me. As the saying goes, the higher the rank, the heavier the responsibility. I’m not interested in that—I just want a comfortable post with a steady monthly salary.】

‘…’

It was the first time the Emperor had met someone unwilling to be promoted. Yet precisely because she didn’t want it, he suddenly felt an even stronger urge to promote her.

“Guard Mu, for your meritorious service in saving Us, We hereby decree—”

【If you dare say promotion, I’ll personally finish what the assassin started.】

Everyone’s lips twitched uncontrollably.

Standing off to the side, Gong Xiurong noticed how the Emperor and the others’ expressions shifted rapidly—dark one moment, stifling laughter the next, then looking as though they wanted to be angry but couldn’t. What on earth was going on?

The Emperor cleared his throat again. “I reward you with one hundred bolts of brocade and one thousand taels of gold.”

Fearing the Emperor might change his mind, Mu Nanjin immediately dropped to one knee. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace.”

The words had barely left her lips when both Feng Sinan and Mu Nanjin sensed a disturbance. They raised their heads simultaneously—an instant later, the old assassin who had attacked the Emperor earlier appeared atop a large tree, his face twisted with malice as he lunged downward, his palm glowing with violent internal energy.

Everyone else looked up as well, but before panic could set in, a blur of black flashed overhead—followed by a loud whinny.

The assassin instinctively looked up. The next instant—

BAM!

A massive black shadow crashed into him, kicking him squarely in the back.

Thud!

The old man hit the ground hard, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his internal energy dissipated entirely.

Before anyone could react, the black figure landed on top of him, using him as a cushion and stomping down hard. The old man’s eyes rolled back, and he stopped breathing on the spot.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded. The figure that had kicked the old assassin to death was… a big black horse.

The horse snorted angrily and stomped on the corpse a few more times before turning to face the Emperor’s group.

Kan Chaoyan recognized it immediately and exclaimed in disbelief, “Heitan!”

The horse—Heitan—strode up to Mu Nanjin and nudged her gently with its nose.

Mu Nanjin patted its head reassuringly. “I’m fine.”

Feng Sinan stepped forward to check the assassin’s pulse. After confirming there was no sign of life, he returned to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, he’s dead.”

“Dead? Just like that? Kicked to death… by a horse?” A Martial King of the First Rank looked utterly stunned. “National Preceptor, are you sure?”

Feng Sinan nodded firmly. “Absolutely certain.”

He was also certain that the horse that killed the assassin was no ordinary beast—otherwise, the old man would have sensed it coming.

The Martial King fell silent.

A Ninth-Rank Martial King kicked to death by a horse? Who on earth would believe that?

【My horse also saved Your Majesty. Looks like the Emperor ought to reward us again, hehe.】

The Emperor: “…”