"Under no circumstances can anyone find out about the relationship between Mu Zixin and me, otherwise you and I might not be able to leave this place alive."

Li Xiaoli suddenly widened her eyes, looking at Tang Ming in disbelief.

Tang Ming solemnly nodded.

"Oh, you’re so annoying! Since Brother Tang Ming thinks this way, I’m willing to go all out."

Li Xiaoli nodded, then playfully grumbled, reaching out to undo Tang Ming’s belt and began to get busy.

Since they didn’t want anyone to know about the relationship between Mu Zixin and Tang Ming, the best way was to divert attention.

The driver’s mouth twitched while driving, seeing the situation clearly from the rearview mirror; this was too wild.

The residence of the Mu Family on Glazed Island was a grand, ancient palace, formerly an annex of the Ming royal palace, and after regime change became the property of the Mu Family, now their residence. Mu Mansion retained historical fine buildings and pavilions, yet integrated many modern facilities.

The convoy stopped in front of Mu Mansion, and the group disembarked to walk into the palace, with the Mu Family leading the way, while Tang Ming and Li Xiaoli followed with attendants accompanying them.

Li Xiaoli clutched Tang Ming’s hand tightly, muttering as they walked: "I feel like we’ve just completed survival on a deserted island, and now we’re crossing into a palace!"

"Hehe, have you ever seen a palace with cameras and electronic equipment?"

Tang Ming pointed around, smiling as he comforted: "Don’t worry, nothing will happen as long as I’m here."

"Oh, oh, oh, you must protect me well!"

Li Xiaoli nodded repeatedly, nervously holding onto Tang Ming.

Instead of hosting Tang Ming and the others for food and drinks, the Mu Family arranged for Tang Ming and Li Xiaoli to stay in a separate palace, Jade Palace, surrounded by mountains and lakes.

"Wow, this palace is beautiful!"

Li Xiaoli stood at the entrance, exclaimed excitedly: "I never thought I’d have the chance to live inside a palace; is Jade Palace the Palace Master’s or a concubine’s residence?"

"Brother Tang Ming, come quickly and see; the palace is filled with modern equipment—television, refrigerator, air conditioner, even a Simmons bed..."

"The view from the window is beautiful too; rich people really live differently, this is way more luxurious than city villas."

"Look, you can even see fish in the lake here!"

...

Li Xiaoli excitedly looked around, exclaiming repeatedly.

Tang Ming’s expression was a bit grim; although the palace seemed perfect, nestled by mountains and water with picturesque scenery, to his eyes, it was a place of desperation.

The entire palace isolated amidst beauty, yet surrounded by courtyard walls separating the scenery of the palace from the outside.

After careful observation, Tang Ming noticed no less than twenty cameras, monitoring all activities in the palace comprehensively.

"Xiaoli, try using the internet and see if the phone can connect."

Tang Ming stood by the window, giving orders without turning his head.

"Okay, okay, I’ll check now."

Li Xiaoli immediately picked up the landline to make a call, but couldn’t get through.

She tried to go online, only to find they could connect to the local area network on Glazed Island, unable to communicate with the outside world.

"How can this be?"

Li Xiaoli looked at Tang Ming in confusion.

"Phew, phew, phew."

Tang Ming took a deep breath, quickly drawing all the curtains, plunging the palace into darkness.

"What are you doing?"

Li Xiaoli looked at Tang Ming, confused.

Tang Ming didn’t explain, quickly heading to the computer, removing the camera, then opening the computer’s recording and photography software.

Tang Ming spun the camera around while rapidly clicking the mouse to take pictures.

Li Xiaoli watched Tang Ming bewildered, not knowing what he intended.

When Tang Ming pointed the camera at a pot of blooming fortune flowers by the window, a red dot suddenly appeared in the photo. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After scanning around, Tang Ming put down the camera, walked over to the pot and searched.

Li Xiaoli immediately followed, soon seeing Tang Ming actually turned up a wireless pinhole camera from the potted plant.

"This..."

Li Xiaoli stared at Tang Ming in disbelief.

"Shh!"

Tang Ming gestured for silence, then opened the curtains and began searching the room.

Ten minutes later, Tang Ming placed two already defunct cameras and three bugging devices on the table.

"What’s going on here? Are we guests or prisoners, why are there so many of these things?"

Li Xiaoli looked in disbelief at the pile of advanced equipment on the table.

"We’re under soft imprisonment."

Tang Ming frowned deeply and sighed.

"Why? Oh right, what did you use the camera for, how did you find this surveillance?"

Li Xiaoli curiously asked.

"Surveillance uses infrared to transmit images, so when exposed to a camera, it shows up as a red mark in the image."

Tang Ming rubbed his brow, "Nowadays many shady hotels and motels spy on guests’ privacy, so upon checking in, just turn off the lights and use your phone to scan, you can check for cameras."

"Wow, that’s really enlightening!"

Li Xiaoli nodded repeatedly, then continued to ask: "But why are we being monitored and put under soft imprisonment?"

"Why else? Because of Mu Zixin."

Tang Ming sighed, gazing out the window: "If I’m not mistaken, Mu Zixin should be undergoing interrogation now; if she passes smoothly, there’ll be no problem. But if they discover our relationship, then we’ll likely face mortal danger."

"Why? Just because you slept with her, but it was her choice, the first time she even forced herself on you."

Li Xiaoli felt her brain couldn’t keep up.

"Because there’s a big gap between the island and reality. Back then, Mu Zixin probably thought we’d stay on the island forever, which made her so reckless, but now we’ve returned, and things are hard to predict."

Tang Ming sighed, "We’ll wait for the result; if there’s a problem, I’ll have to take you to escape from here, then..."

With the Mu Family’s power on Glazed Island, transportation won’t be usable. To escape, Tang Ming would have to take Li Xiaoli and jump into the sea, which would be even more dangerous than their previous survival adventure on the deserted island.

In the study at Mu Mansion, this so-called study was originally the Imperial Study Room, more luxurious than half the villas in the city.

Mu Tianyang, Mu Madam sat with Mu Zixin in the middle, the family of three on a sofa, while a white-haired elder in a brown V-neck shirt sat across from them, Ma Jie and another middle-aged man sat nearby.

Mu Zixin narrated the island affairs earnestly, clearly detailing how the three lived, what they ate and drank, except for concealing her relationship with Tang Ming and Tang Ming’s cultivation.