Another side, not far after Mu Anxiao left the courtyard, Xi'er and Song Xi suddenly walked towards her. Looking at them, Mu Anxiao had a sudden premonition. Then, carrying this inexplicable feeling, she stopped.
"The master is looking for you," Xi'er said, stopping in front of Mu Anxiao with Song Xi.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "He's looking for me..." she said, looking down and thinking, then asked, "Where is he now?"
"Follow me," Xi'er said, giving Song Xi a look.
Immediately, Song Xi spread his hand and conjured a long chain. "Give me your hands," he said softly.
Mu Anxiao looked bewildered. "What are you doing?" she asked, deliberately putting her hands behind her back.
Xi'er, seeing this, became impatient. "You should know better than anyone what good deeds you've done. If you don't cooperate," she said, frowning slightly, "then Feng Qishi and the others won't be able to live."
Won't be able to live?
Indeed, the calm before the storm. She had just been inexplicably threatened by Xiao Yi in the kitchen, and now she encountered them. She instantly realized that things had indeed taken an unexpected turn. Thus, she guessed that Xiao Yi was the problem.
But with things as they were, she couldn't go back. Helplessly, she decided to first find out the situation here.
"Let's go," she said, extending her hands.
The next second, Song Xi wrapped the chain around Mu Anxiao's wrist. "Excuse me," he said, holding one end of the chain, turning to look at Xi'er. "Wife, let's go."
Xi'er nodded and led the way.
Thus, Mu Anxiao was inexplicably taken away.
A quarter of an hour later.
After following them on a long detour, Mu Anxiao arrived outside the study. But unlike usual, the area outside the study was filled with soldiers in armor. Seeing them, Mu Anxiao's heart suddenly tensed. "What's going on?" she muttered, looking at the back of Song Xi's head.
"You can go in," Song Xi said, tightening his grip on the chain. The chain snapped open and disappeared.
Immediately, Mu Anxiao withdrew her questions, glanced at Song Xi, walked past him and Xi'er, crossed the threshold, and entered the study adorned with red silk and brocade. She wondered, "What does Ouyang Ye want?" she mumbled, turning to look at Ouyang Ye, who was dressed in red not far away, and exclaimed, "Are you alright?" She was startled.
The next second, as Ouyang Ye took a step forward, the door slammed shut. Mu Anxiao was startled again. Before she could react, Ouyang Ye suddenly appeared before her. "Today is the day of our engagement," he said, waving his hand gently. Mu Anxiao was once again dressed in the wedding attire for the engagement.
However, Mu Anxiao never expected things to become so strange. Looking down at her attire, she recalled Xiao Yi's unusual behavior in the kitchen and realized, "She's indeed with you," she said, suddenly looking up at Ouyang Ye and asking in disbelief, "When did Xiao Yi start working with you?"
"She's always been my subordinate."
"She's not..."
"She's also Juan'er's subordinate, but she usually only listens to me. But speaking of which," Ouyang Ye said with a smirk, "her cooking skills are quite good, aren't they?"
"Ouyang Ye, this is all your scheme again."
"Yes, but," Ouyang Ye said, spreading his hands to conjure a hairpin, "Feng Qishi's appearance was unexpected." After saying that, he raised his hand to insert the hairpin into Mu Anxiao's hair.
"As cunning and treacherous as ever," Mu Anxiao said, grabbing Ouyang Ye's wrist. "I don't want your hairpin."
"Whether you want it or not, you will have it," Ouyang Ye said calmly. "Don't think I don't know about your and Feng Qishi's scheme."
"Xiao Yi told you."
"But speaking of which, your recent behavior has been quite good. You haven't been together all the time. Based on this alone," Ouyang Ye made Mu Anxiao release his hand in his own way, and continued, "I will keep him until our wedding. Also, you said you don't like formality, so I'll satisfy your request. The engagement is settled like this." After saying that, he still inserted the hairpin into Mu Anxiao's hair.
Mu Anxiao still couldn't accept the reality of Xiao Yi's betrayal. Staring at Ouyang Ye's face, she paid no mind to his actions and said coldly, "You know everything."
"Of course, and I'll give Feng Qishi two choices out of respect for you."
"Choices?"
"Yes," Ouyang Ye said, steadying Mu Anxiao's arm. "First, marry Zhao Mei'er. Second, a path to death."
"You..."
"Do you want me to let him go?" Ouyang Ye suddenly asked.
Mu Anxiao narrowed her eyes. "What trick are you planning now?"
"My Demon Realm cannot be without an heir. You understand what I mean, right?"
"I'm still in my immortal form. It's not appropriate for me to be empress. If you ask me, why don't you just marry Mo Juan? That way, you'll have an empress..."
"Mu Anxiao," Ouyang Ye roared.
Mu Anxiao said impatiently, "What? I can't even speak the truth? Anyway, I see she's quite important to you. If that's the case, just do as I say." Saying this, she took a step back.
Ouyang Ye stepped forward and said, "I'm talking about offspring. As long as you have my child, I'll agree to let Feng Qishi go. But," he said, scanning Mu Anxiao's face, "if you don't cooperate, I'll kill Feng Qishi. I mean what I say."
"A child?" Since embarking on the path of cultivation, Mu Anxiao had never thought about children. She had even forgotten that she was a woman. Now, hearing Ouyang Ye mention it so suddenly, she found it novel, but more than that, she resisted. "You're thinking too highly of yourself."
"You..."
"I'm in my immortal form, so I can't have children," Mu Anxiao said softly, not wanting to anger Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye smiled.
Mu Anxiao looked confused. "What are you smiling about?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Ouyang Ye said, conjuring a pill. "Here."
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao frowned. "If I take this, I'll have a child?" she asked, putting her hands behind her back.
"Take it, and I'll tell you what it is later," Ouyang Ye said indifferently.
Mu Anxiao glared at Ouyang Ye. "..."
Ouyang Ye said helplessly, "I won't harm you," he paused, and continued, "As long as you listen to me, I'll also release those immortals."
"Really?" Mu Anxiao's eyes lit up.
Ouyang Ye was displeased. "It seems your task is indeed more important than mine."
"This is all your scheme after all. It seems," Mu Anxiao accepted everything, "you knew from the beginning that I wasn't here with sincere intentions."
"Yes, I knew from the day you arrived here. But I couldn't figure out what you were trying to do until Feng Qishi arrived," Ouyang Ye said. "Then I understood your true purpose."
"And then you had Xiao Yi monitor us?" Mu Anxiao was still concerned about how much Xiao Yi knew.
Ouyang Ye lowered his eyes and smiled. "I know your feelings for Feng Qishi. If he wasn't your partner, you wouldn't have let him stay. Am I right?" Ouyang Ye had completely seen through Mu Anxiao's thoughts.
Mu Anxiao hadn't expected Ouyang Ye to be so cunning. Listening to his words, she was both surprised and angry. Lowering her gaze slightly, she suddenly didn't know what to say for a moment.