Chapter 498 Crowning Ceremony (3)
Lin Fan just remained silent for a bit before saying, "Nothing, I'm not hiding a single thing."
Mu Bao Bao narrowed her eyes even more when she heard this before saying, "I don't believe you."
Lin Fan just revealed a bitter smile and said, "I'm not hiding anything, really. But then again, it's not like you would believe me if I said that, would you?"
Mu Bao Bao slowly knitted her brows when she heard this.
After all, this was not what she had expected.
She had expected him to either confess or deny it, so that way she could keep grilling him about this. But the way that he said this made her uncomfortable with questioning him even more.
If she did, it would make it seem like she didn't trust him.
If she didn't, she would have an uncomfortable feeling since she felt like he was hiding something.
So she wasn't able to do a thing in the end.
In fact, it was also uncomfortable for Lin Fan.
After all, it wasn't as if there was anything that he could say or do in this situation.
If it wasn't for the sure fire trick to confuse women that his father had taught him long ago, he might have been caught by Mu Bao Bao already.
The only problem was that this was only a stall tactic and it didn't provide him with a way to get out of this.
Not to mention, there were only the two of them in this room, so it wasn't as if there was anywhere for him to run or hide. Eventually, she would make up her mind on what she would do and it was most likely to keep questioning him.
So unless there was something that happened that got him out of this situation, it could be said that he was screwed.
But luckily for him, there was something that did get him out of this situation.
There was a sudden knock on the window that caught them both off guard.
Then there was a voice that said, "Young miss, it's time to head back. If you stay here any longer, the elders will notice."
This was the voice of a young girl that rang out.
When he heard this, Lin Fan couldn't help looking at Mu Bao Bao with an inquisitive look.
Mu Bao Bao didn't say anything to him and turned to say to the person outside the window, "Xiao Mi, I'll be there soon. Just keep watch for a bit longer."
"Alright, young miss." Though the voice still rang out, there was a clear worried tone to this voice.
Mu Bao Bao turned back and said, "I don't have much time, but I wanted to see you before the ceremony."
Lin Fan looked at her and didn't say a thing as he waited for her to speak.
He could see that she seemed like she had something she wanted to say.
After a long silence, Mu Bao Bao said, "Is this really the right thing to do?"
Lin Fan might have had doubts before, but now…he knew that if they had any doubts, it would mean danger for Mu Bao Bao's mother. So he couldn't have any doubts now.
Lin Fan gave a firm nod and said, "This is what will allow us to protect the people that we care about. So we have to go through with this in the end."
Mu Bao Bao looked up at Lin Fan with narrowed eyes.
With the way that she was looking at him, it was like she was questioning if this was the real Lin Fan or not.
After all, what Lin Fan had said before was that it was fine even if she didn't take the position, it would be fine.
But now…he was so insistent that she took it…
Almost like he knew something that she didn't…
Mu Bao Bao was silent for a bit before suddenly asking, "What do you know?"
Lin Fan couldn't help trembling when he heard this, but then he said, "I don't know anything."
Mu Bao Bao didn't look like she believed him at all as she just kept glaring at him.
Lin Fan started to feel the pressure from being glared at like this, but he was saved again by Xiao Mi by the window.
There was another knock that came from the window before Xiao Mi's voice said, "Young miss, we have to go. If we stay here any longer, the elders are going to come searching for you."
Mu Bao Bao knitted her brows before finally giving a sigh and turning to leave.
But before she could leave, Lin Fan suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Just trust me when I say that this is for your good. I promise that you will understand in the future."
Mu Bao Bao couldn't help being taken aback when she heard this.
But then seeing the serious look that was on his face…she couldn't help trembling.
After a short pause, she said, "I believe you."
Lin Fan didn't say anything since he knew that there was no need for him to say anything.
This kind of trust went beyond anything that words could say, so he didn't need to say anything.
With this, Mu Bao Bao went over to the window to jump out again.
But before she could, Lin Fan once again grabbed her wrist and said, "Be careful at the crowning ceremony. Be sure to keep yourself safe and don't trust anyone."
Mu Bao Bao was once again taken aback when she heard this.
The way that he said this almost seemed like he knew something was going to happen.
However, if he did, why didn't he just tell her directly?
In the end, she just trusted him again and gave a simple nod before heading out the window.
In truth, Lin Fan didn't know a single thing about what would happen.
He was just being cautious beyond cure.
But he would rather be cautious and wrong than to have something happen because he let his guard down. Even if he wasted resources by being cautious, it was better than having to regret it later.
As for now, he would organize all the things that he had to see if there was anything that he could use.
He wouldn't want to be caught with his pants down when things actually started.
…
Several hours passed before Eunuch Gong came back for him.
Lin Fan had even thought that he had been forgotten or excluded from the ceremony, but it didn't turn out to be that case.
As they were walking through the halls of the palace, Eunuch Gong said, "Do not stray too far away from me. If you get too far, I won't be able to protect you if anything happens."
Lin Fan couldn't help being surprised when he heard this since he thought that Eunuch Gong wouldn't do anything to protect him in the first place.
However, when he thought about it, he realized why Eunuch Gong had said this.
Eunuch Gong wasn't planning on protecting him, he was planning on stopping Lin Fan just in case he planned on doing anything to ruin the ceremony.
He had already assumed that Lin Fan would do something to ruin the ceremony, so he was planning on keeping a tight leash on him.
Lin Fan didn't say anything in response and just moved at his own pace.
Eunuch Gong slightly knitted his brows when he saw this, but he didn't do anything.
After all, Emperor Mu's orders were still there and he couldn't go against them that easily.
So for now, both of them acted like the other person didn't exist.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the crowning ceremony, but the location that Lin Fan was standing in was the worst possible position.
The rest of this hall was already filled with people in important looking clothes.
Just one glance was enough to tell that these were most likely the ministers and officials of the Mu Empire.
But when Lin Fan looked closely, he could also tell that there were a few cultivators that were mixed in among these ministers and officials.
These were most likely the secret guards that had been mixed into the ceremony just in case anything happened. After all, the powerful cultivators on the side weren't doing a single thing about these armed people in the crowd.
So it was clear that these were the guards that had been placed inside the crowd.
Anyone that was skilled enough would be able to detect them.
Of course, Lin Fan was the exception since he had his Appraisal Eyes.
Before they arrived, most of the guests had also already arrived.
So there were only a few people that came in with them.
When everyone was finally seated, Emperor Mu was the one that came out first.
After they all stood up to bow to him, he waved his hand for them to sit down.
"Today we are gathered here to pass down the reign of our great Mu Empire to a new ruler."
Then he turned and said, "All rise for the new empress."
Everyone immediately stood up and gave a bow, though everyone also peeked at the back entrance while they were bowing.
After Emperor Mu said this, Mu Bao Bao came out with two old men standing beside her.
One of them was Elder Jian and the other was an unknown old man, but the pressure coming from him wasn't any weaker than Elder Jian.
It seemed that Emperor Mu had really taken Lin Fan's advice to heart.