"That’s enough, it’s late, I’m going to rest now. You can leave."
Her voice was cold. Changsun Zhu’s handsome face was etched with frost, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed, appearing quite troubled. The depths of his dark eyes were unfathomable, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. Seeing Mu Qingyao’s resolute and distant gaze, his lips suddenly curved into a faint smile.
"Be ready. Tomorrow night, I will take you to the palace."
He turned and left as if he hadn’t heard Mu Qingyao’s refusal at all. Mu Qingyao froze. After his tall figure disappeared outside the door, she angrily reached out and grabbed a teacup from a nearby high table, smashing it to the ground with a loud crash.
What kind of person was this! She was infuriated, her chest heaving. Her three subordinates rushed in, asking with concern,
"Master, what happened?"
"He wants to take me as his concubine. It’s ridiculous! What kind of situation is this? We were clearly told we could leave anytime, but now they’re trapping us. It’s detestable."
Qingyao scanned her surroundings angrily. Just then, Changsun Zhu’s deep, magnetic voice drifted from outside: "Ying Feng, keep a close watch on Miss Mu. If she disappears, not a single person in Mingyue Courtyard will be spared."
Then came a flurry of fearful voices: "Yes, Master."
In the hall, Mu Qingyao rolled her eyes and looked at Mo Chou and Mo You. See? This man’s methods were truly ruthless. He spoke so loudly, clearly intending for her to hear. Did he think she would pity the people of the Crown Prince’s mansion? He underestimated her. What did the lives of the people in the Crown Prince’s mansion have to do with her? It was just that they had followed the wrong master.
As Mu Qingyao was silently complaining, Ying Feng entered with a few maids.
They knelt down with a thud, speaking fearfully.
"Miss Mu, please stay. Master has never wanted to keep anyone, only you, Miss Mu."
Mu Qingyao’s pupils were as cold as ice. She slowly walked over, helped Ying Feng up, and said with calm indifference, "Ying Feng, what you should be worried about is losing your lives following such a bloodthirsty and capricious master, not whether I stay or not. I have always disliked being controlled, let alone threatened. Now, I am tired and will go to rest."
With that, she turned and left the main hall with her own people without even looking at Ying Feng and the others’ pale faces, heading to her chambers to rest.
Deep in the night, in the sleeping quarters.
Mu Qingyao couldn’t sleep, thinking about Changsun Zhu’s request for her to attend the palace banquet tomorrow night. If she truly went, the entire nation would know. Not only would she become a target for the women of the Crown Prince’s mansion, but also for all unmarried women in the Qingluo Kingdom.
Therefore, she was determined not to attend any such palace banquet.
But Changsun Zhu had spoken so confidently. Did he have a way to force her to attend? What could it be?
Her heart was in a knot. Finally, she sat up, gazing at the moonlight like water outside the window. Her heart grew colder. The moon was bright, but why did she feel the moonlight was so desolate?
"Miss, what’s wrong?"
Mei Xin and Mo Chou sat up and sat beside their mistress.
"Tomorrow night, Changsun Zhu wants me to attend the Qingluo Kingdom’s palace banquet, saying he will request the Emperor and Empress to make me the Crown Princess. Do you know what a huge stir that will cause? I will be in the eye of the storm. What does he mean by this?"
"Why don’t we escape?" Mo Chou suggested. Mei Xin immediately nodded in agreement.
Mu Qingyao glanced towards the door, sighing faintly. "I’m afraid we can’t. Someone must be guarding the door."
Mei Xin didn't believe it. She quietly got out of bed, tiptoed to the window, and peeked outside. As expected, the moonlight cast long, slender shadows that flickered restlessly in the courtyard.
It was late at night, yet there were still people guarding the courtyard. Wasn’t this surveillance?
"Miss, there are indeed people monitoring our movements. What do we do now?"
Mei Xin said with trepidation, feeling a sense of impending doom. Before, she only thought they were visiting the Crown Prince’s mansion.
But recently, things had become increasingly unusual. First, they were inexplicably attacked, and now Changsun Zhu wanted to make her his Crown Princess. Her presence would likely cause a great upheaval in the Qingluo Kingdom.
"Don’t worry, everyone. I will not accompany him to that palace banquet anyway, and we need to leave the Crown Prince’s mansion as soon as possible to go to Wuqing Valley. Only by becoming stronger can we avoid being bullied."
Qingyao felt the benefits of being highly skilled in martial arts more and more urgently.
"Then you should rest, Miss. Don’t think too much."
"Mm," Qingyao nodded. Even if she didn’t want to sleep, she couldn’t let herself sag or appear frail for the sake of the child in her belly.
The group talked for a while longer before lying down to rest. The night passed without incident.
The next day, Mei Xin was missing. Initially, everyone paid it no mind, but after half a day, they found it strange. Mo Chou immediately reported the situation to her mistress.
Mu Qingyao was watching the gardeners trim the flowers and plants in Mingyue Courtyard when she heard Mo Chou’s report. Her expression instantly turned extremely grim. She looked at Ying Feng and the other maids on the side. "Tell me, where did she go? You should know, right? Our movements in Mingyue Courtyard cannot escape your eyes."
Ying Feng and the other three maids’ eyes flickered, and they dared not look directly at Mu Qingyao.
How sharp was Mu Qingyao? Seeing their behavior, how could she not know what had happened? Her expression instantly turned cold, and she said menacingly,
"Changsun Zhu had someone take her away. What exactly does he want?"
Seeing that Miss Mu was angry, Ying Feng knelt down with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing.
"Miss Mu, please don’t be angry. Sister Mei Xin will be fine. Don’t worry, Master just wants you to accompany him to the palace banquet. After we return from the palace, he will release Sister Mei Xin."
"Threatening me with my maid! Well done, Changsun Zhu. It seems I overestimated you. I thought you always acted honorably, but it turns out you are also someone who stops at nothing to achieve your goals."
A faint glow emanated from Qingyao’s body, exuding a chilling aura that condensed into heavy frost. Her star-like eyes were filled with ferocity, and she glared angrily at Ying Feng.
"Take me to see your master immediately."
"Yes, Miss Mu. Master is waiting for you in the study." Ying Feng dared not say anything more. Master had already anticipated that Miss Mu would come to see him, so he was waiting in the study early.
"Very good, this is too good," Mu Qingyao was so angry she felt like spitting blood. She hadn’t expected Changsun Zhu to play such a sly trick. What did he want? If she didn’t accompany him to the palace banquet, would he kill her maid? If Mei Xin suffered even the slightest harm, she would never forgive him.
"Let’s go," Mu Qingyao gestured for Ying Feng to lead the way. She had no idea where the Crown Prince’s mansion’s study was. Apart from Mingyue Courtyard, she only had a general idea of other places, but she didn’t know the location of the study.