The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 119 - 118

Chapter 118

Zhuiping Residence

In the herb garden beside Mu Qingxuan’s quarters, a small figure of a young girl was happily digging the soil to plant herbs. As the afternoon sunlight shone on her, it made her cheeks blush, and her big, round eyes, focused on the herbs, carried a faint smile.

Since the issue with Shin Wang had quieted down, things had been quite peaceful for the past few days. Mu Gongzhen had secured his position as the Left Side Chancellor more firmly, and Mu Qingxuan was attending the Imperial Academy to prepare for the upcoming grand competition. This often left Mu Yingying alone at the manor during the day.

Without the troubles related to Shin Wang, Mu Yingying could enjoy a period of peace. She turned her attention to managing businesses to increase resources for her forces. In her spare time, she would relax by planting herbs at her sister’s quarters.

Today was no different. After finishing her trade paperwork in the morning, Mu Yingying spent the afternoon planting herbs at her sister’s quarters. While she was happily digging the soil, a figure appeared behind her.

"Miss, our people who were monitoring the Empress Dowager reported that something happened to her procession on the way back from Tai Lin Temple!"

Her small hand, which was digging the soil, froze instantly. The smile on her face quickly disappeared. Mu Yingying stood up and turned to ask the person seriously.

"What happened?"

"A group of assassins ambushed the Empress Dowager, Miss. Our people managed to secretly capture one of the assassins."

Mu Yingying frowned deeply. She had previously sent people to monitor the Empress Dowager to keep an eye on her movements, and another goal was to prevent any assassination attempts that might occur, based on the events of their previous life!

Since the three siblings had returned, many events had changed. Some incidents from their past life did not happen, while new events occurred that had never happened before. This made their advantage of knowing the future almost ineffective.

However, Mu Yingying did not want to be complacent. Even though she knew the assassination attempt on the Empress Dowager from their past life might not occur, as factors like the rebellious Su family had been eliminated and Mu Luofei, who had accidentally helped the Empress Dowager and was consequently titled Lady Ping An, had disappeared.

So, it was unlikely that the events of their past life would repeat themselves.

However, for safety, Mu Yingying had people monitoring the Empress Dowager, especially since she had started frequently visiting Tai Lin Temple to pray and observe precepts. Mu Yingying had instructed her people to give some hand to the Empress Dowager in case of an unexpected assassination attempt.

This was to prevent her from being cornered and accidentally having someone rescue her, repeating the past, and to capture one of the assassins to interrogate and uncover the dark forces behind the attempt.

These were just precautionary measures Mu Yingying had taken without expecting them to actually happen. However, today, they did occur!

She just hoped there wouldn’t be any more unexpected events...

The more Mu Yingying thought about it, the more she felt uneasy. She raised her head and asked the man in black with a tense expression,

"What is the current situation?"

"The Empress Dowager escaped the assassination thanks to a passing carriage. She boarded the carriage and is now heading to her private palace in the eastern park of the capital, waiting for the royal palace procession to retrieve her," the man in black reported in detail.

"A carriage?"

Mu Yingying repeated, her voice rising. Her eyebrows knitted tightly together. In their past life, during the assassination attempt, it was Mu Luofei and Bai Lijun who had gone to Tai Lin Temple and accidentally helped the Empress Dowager. Mu Luofei had shielded the Empress Dowager from the assassins’ blades, resulting in a minor injury to her shoulder.

This act had deeply moved the Empress Dowager, and she was also very fond of Mu Luofei, leading to Mu Luofei being conferred the title of Lady Ping An and receiving her continuous support...

While the events in this life were slightly different, the similarity remained that a stranger had come to the Empress Dowager’s aid. However, this time there was no self-sacrificial act like shielding someone else from the blade or getting hurt, only an escape using a carriage.

"Do you know who owns that carriage?" Mu Yingying asked calmly, though her small face showed a slightly troubled expression.

"We don’t know yet. We only know it’s a woman because there was no family crest on the carriage. But our people are tracking the carriage to the Empress Dowager’s private palace, and we should know soon, Miss."

A woman?

Mu Yingying lowered her gaze, deep in thought. Her big, round eyes turned icy without knowing. The person who helped the Empress Dowager was a woman, and the carriage had no family crest, implying it was either a commoner’s carriage or a plain one bought from the market.

This could mean two things. First, the woman was an ordinary commoner who happened to be passing by and helped the Empress Dowager, or second, the woman was someone who couldn’t reveal herself openly and used a plain carriage to conceal her status, not letting anyone know her identity.

It was uncertain whether it was a coincidence or intentional assistance given to the Empress Dowager in this incident.

Mu Yingying thought while biting her lip. Under normal circumstances, she would lean more towards the first possibility. However, given the interconnectedness of this matter with many future events, she had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Her intuition, combined with logic and reasoning, made her consider the second possibility more seriously.

If it were the second possibility as she thought, this matter would not be as straightforward as it seemed. It implied that other variables might come into play, necessitating a new strategy.

The most unsettling thing that struck Mu Yingying’s mind like big waves was the premonition that brought her to think of some possibility.

Which was: the woman who helped the Empress Dowager was a familiar person she had been searching for a long time without success...

Perhaps the benefactor who helped the Empress Dowager in this life was the same as the past life, which was the trio of mother and daughters she had driven away from home!

The fact that the carriage had no family crest could support this idea, as it suggested an attempt to conceal their status. Otherwise, why hadn’t her people been able to locate the trio all this time?

If this was true, then the game had undergone a significant shift...

Mu Yingying sighed deeply, feeling a heavy weight in her chest. Her big, round eyes gazed blankly at the sky, flickering like the surface of water was rippling.

Could this be a destiny she couldn’t change?

Even though she had sent people to monitor the Empress Dowager and secretly assist her to some extent, the same events as in the past had repeated.

If the ones who helped were indeed Mu Luofei and Bai Lijun, it would mean that the Empress Dowager would back them, leading to another confrontation until one side was utterly destroyed.

However, there were still many doubts. In the past life, it might have been a coincidence that Mu Luofei and Bai Lijun were at Tai Lin Temple and happened to help the Empress Dowager. But in this life, the trio had been hiding from her, never revealing themselves.

Judging by the events, it seemed as if they intentionally revealed themselves to help the Empress Dowager specifically.

If that were the case, it indicated that the assassination attempt was connected to the trio of mother and daughters!

"Interrogate the assassin we captured. Extract all the information about this incident and any connections to those who helped the Empress Dowager. Also, instruct our people following the carriage to shadow the woman discreetly. Find out her background and identity," Mu Yingying ordered firmly, her expression turning serious and stern.

No matter if this incident was dictated by fate or orchestrated by someone, she would not lose this game!

Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager, who had taken refuge in the passing carriage to escape back to her private palace in the imperial park to wait for the procession from the royal palace, invited the young girl who owned the carriage to sit and chat with her inside.

"Y...Your Majesty, I didn’t know you were the Empress Dowager. Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way," 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After realizing the status of the other party, she apologized with a startled expression, her demeanor so innocent that the Empress Dowager couldn’t stop smiling.

"It’s alright, young one. Ai Jia should be the one thanking you. If you hadn’t happened to pass by, Ai Jia wouldn’t have escaped the danger," the Empress Dowager reassured, reaching out to hold the girl’s hand, her eyes filled with warmth and gentleness.

"Seeing someone in trouble, I naturally had to help,"

The girl replied, lowering her head slightly as if embarrassed by the praise, her cheeks flushing red like blossoming flowers.

The Empress Dowager, charmed by the girl’s shyness, couldn’t help but gaze at her fondly. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the girl was exceptionally beautiful, with a sweetness that would captivate anyone who looked at her.

Moreover, the girl’s beautiful eyes on her extraordinary face reminded the Empress Dowager of someone from her memories.

Those eyes were so nostalgic...

"What is your name, by the way? Ai Jia still doesn’t know your name," the Empress Dowager asked curiously.

"My surname is Mu, and my name is Luofei. I am Mu Luofei, Your Majesty,"

The girl replied, lowering her eyes slightly in a modest manner typical of well-bred young misses, which would surely win the admiration of any elder.

"Mu Luofei?"

The Empress Dowager repeated, finding the name somewhat familiar as if she had heard before. As she pondered the name, she soon realized something.

"Who is your father?"

"My father’s name is Mu Cui Ming, the Left Side Deputy Chancellor, Your Majesty." Mu Luofei tilted her head slightly, her swan-liked eyes wide with confusion at the Empress Dowager’s reaction.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately understood the girl’s background. She had heard a lot about the Mu family. The Mu family had seven daughters, and a year ago, the second young miss of the Mu family was renowned for her exceptional talents, earning widespread recognition in the capital.

The only drawback she had was that her mother had once been a concubine. Even though she was now the Furen, everyone knew that her origin was a concubine’s daughter.

In the beginning, when Shin Wang sought to establish relations with the Mu family, he considered betrothing himself to the second young miss because she was the daughter of the current Mu Furen and Mu Cui Ming’s most beloved daughter. However, the Empress Dowager had not agreed due to the young miss’s lineage, wanting to wait and see.

Later, news spread that the Furen of the Mu family and her two daughters had gone to a temple in the countryside to recuperate and have a meditation retreat for the family’s good fortune. After that, the three of them seemed to fade from the memory of the capital’s residents.

Until today, when the Empress Dowager met Mu Luofei, the renowned second young miss of the Mu family of the capital!

If she remembered correctly, this second young miss would be reaching the age to pin her hair in a few months, considering a full-grown woman. Her captivating beauty and graceful demeanor, combined with her distinguished family background, would certainly make her a sought-after flower by men everywhere...

"So, you are the second young miss of the Mu family,"

The Empress Dowager nodded in acknowledgement, then asked, "Ai Jia heard you, your mother, and your sister went to the countryside to recuperate. How is your health now?"

At the Empress Dowager’s words, Mu Luofei’s once cheerful smile turned into a faint one, and her eyes dimmed noticeably, like someone who had suffered injustice but had to endure it.

"Now...much better, Your Majesty."

The change in the girl’s demeanor did not escape the Empress Dowager’s notice. Given the girl’s assistance today and the Empress Dowager’s growing fondness for her, she asked with concern,

"What happened? What truly happened? You have been a great benefactor to me, and Ai Jia promises to restore justice for you."

"N...no, nothing, Your Majesty."

Mu Luofei shook her head quickly, her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes lowered to hide her troubled expression.

Despite her denial, the girl’s resigned demeanor made the Empress Dowager frown deeply. It seemed this matter was far from ordinary. Perhaps the reason the three were sent to the countryside had deeper implications...

The Empress Dowager reached out and gently held the girl’s back hand, speaking softly to comfort her, "Do not be afraid. If you have any grievances, you can always tell Ai Jia. What truly happened to the three of you?"

"...Your Majesty,"

Mu Luofei, moved by the Empress Dowager’s warmth, teared up, looking pitiful. Even the usually resolute Empress Dowager couldn’t help but feel pity. Mu Luofei raised her hand to wipe her tears and began to recount her story between sobs.

"Sob...Originally, my younger sister, mother, and I were in good health. But suddenly, the eldest young master suggested we go to a temple in the countryside to recuperate. We couldn’t refuse and were eventually sent to the temple."

"On the way, we were unlucky enough to be ambushed by bandits who stole our valuables, leaving us to struggle and make our way to the temple. When we finally arrived, I don’t know what we did wrong, but the nuns and people at the temple shunned and bullied us, making life extremely difficult for us three. If it weren’t for the fire accident at the temple, we wouldn’t have had the chance to return to the capital,"

Mu Luofei recounted with tears, showing the distress of someone who had faced relentless mistreatment. Hearing this, the Empress Dowager could surmise the underlying cause: the ongoing cold war between the children of the principal wife and those of the concubines.

It seemed likely that the three were sent to the countryside temple by the Mu family’s eldest young master, who was now the current Left Side Chancellor. Furthermore, if the Empress Dowager’s suspicions were correct, Mu Gongzhen might have ordered the temple’s inhabitants to mistreat the three, possibly even intending to kill them in the fire accident. Fortunately, the three managed to survive.

If that were the case, the Mu family was far from the harmonious household it appeared to be...

"Does the Mu family know that you have returned to the capital?" the Empress Dowager asked, curious.

"They don’t know, Your Majesty. Without orders from the eldest young master or my father, we have no right to return to the capital," Mu Luofei replied softly, lowering her beautiful face as if feeling guilty.

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly at this. Despite everything, the girl before her had saved her life. It seemed she now had to repay the favor by helping the girl.

"Don’t worry. Ai Jia will take care of this matter for you."

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