The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 30 - 29

Chapter 29

Late that same night, Mu Yingying, restless and unable to sleep, decided to go for a walk outside her room.

During her aimless stroll toward the balcony, she unexpectedly encountered Lu Jiu on her way and inquired out of curiosity, "Aren’t you asleep yet?"

"I’m on night watch duty tonight."

"Oh," Mu Yingying nodded, adding nothing further. Lu Jiu then inquired, "What brings you out at this late hour, Miss?"

"I... can’t seem to fall asleep, so I decided to take a walk," Mu Yingying responded with a smile, gazing dazedly at the moon, feeling an unprecedented sense of peace and emptiness inside.

Lu Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly and suggested, "Would you like something to eat, Miss? Perhaps a full stomach might help you sleep."

"All the maids are likely asleep by now. I wouldn’t want to wake them up unnecessarily," she quickly shook her head, reluctant to cause disturbance over her insomnia by waking the maids up to cook for her in the middle of the night.

"In that case, if you don’t mind, may I prepare something for you to eat?"

Mu Yingying turned to look at him immediately, surprised. She never thought that Lu Jiu would know how to cook. "You can cook?"

Lu Jiu lowered his eyes momentarily before answering, "I can manage a bit..."

"Okay," she replied, puzzled but intrigued, following him to the kitchen at the back of the quarters. Together, the tall and the petite figures walked side by side under the moonlight.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Lu Jiu immediately began preparing a meal, with Mu Yingying watching his every move with interest from a marble table at the corner of the room.

His adept handling of ingredients and cooking suggested he had significant experience in the kitchen.

Soon, a simple late-night meal was ready. Mu Yingying stared at the bowl of longevity noodles before her, and was surprised. She didn’t expect that Lu Jiu would make a dish traditionally eaten on birthdays! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She blinked rapidly, making sure that she had not misjudged the food in front of her. She then looked up at the chopsticks Lu Jiu had given her to use as a weapon for eating.

"Why...it’s not my birthday. Why are you making longevity noodles for me?"

"I can only make this, and longevity noodles are just food..."

Mu Yingying paused, processing the situation before nodding to herself. He had a point: regardless of the occasion, food is food.

Yes! Everything he said was correct. Not at all wrong in the slightest.

This was food as well...

She took the chopsticks Lu Jiu offered and began eating the noodles. The texture was perfectly chewy and tender, and the flavors burst delightfully in her mouth.

Her eyes sparkled with appreciation as she picked up the noodles and continued to eat them with gusto until she finished the entire bowl, not even a single drop of soup left.

Mu Yingying rubbed her round belly, satiated and content. She hadn’t expected such simple longevity noodles to be so delicious.

"Your longevity noodles are truly delectable. Where did you learn such culinary skills?"

Lu Jiu averted his gaze, veiling the momentary dimness in his eyes. "Previously, I believed that eating longevity noodles could indeed extend one’s life, so I often made them for my mother, hoping they would. It was only later that I realized how naive that idea was..."

His tone carried a mix of coldness and scorn. Mu Yingying, catching the fleeting shadow in Lu Jiu’s eyes.

His tone was full of coldness and sneers. Mu Yingying immediately raised her head after hearing that sentence and glanced at Lu Jiu’s dim eyes.

It seemed she might have inadvertently stirred painful memories from his past...

Her delicate hand reached out to gently tug at the sleeve of the young man’s robe, drawing him back from his reverie. He looked down at his sleeve, then his gaze shifted to the small face peering intently at him.

"It’s alright. From now on, you can make longevity noodles for me often, and we’ll see if they really make me live longer,"

Mu Yingying proposed with a smile, her big, round eyes filled with warmth and kindness, melting the frost in Lu Jiu’s heart.

It was a warmth he yearned to grasp and hold onto, a rare comfort amidst the chill of his inner turmoil...

Main House, Mu Family.

Su Ming, holding two letters received from the capital, delivered them to her mistress inside the main house. On her way, she ordered all the maids to leave, ensuring only Elder Mu Furen and herself were present.

"These are letters from the capital, Miss."

Elder Mu Furen opened the two letters: one from her son and another from Servant Tao, who had accompanied Mu Patriarch to the capital.

She first read her son’s letter, which detailed a recent incident where their carriage, carrying valuable goods, was ambushed by bandits, causing significant losses for the Mu family.

Elder Mu Furen’s brows furrowed deeply as she read, learning that while evidence had been gathered for the authorities, the robbers were still at large. Yet, her son assured that he had found a financial solution for the household, sparing her any need for worry.

However, the specifics of this resolution were not disclosed in the letter.

Further, the letter mentioned the recent birthday celebration of the Second Mu Furen, explaining that he decided to appoint Bai Lijun as Furen because the house could not be without its true mistress for long. Moreover, the social circles in the capital were quite accepting of Bai Lijun.

Her son had officially promoted Bai Lijun to be the Furen of the Mu family during the birthday party. From then on, she officially became the Furen of the house, and both the second and sixth young misses became the daughters of the Furen.

Additionally, her son regretted he couldn’t return to Qingyun City for the New Year due to commitments at the imperial New Year celebration. This new year, the manor in Qingyun City might not be jubilant, but he and her grandchildren promised to send gifts and well-wishes.

After finishing her son’s letter, Elder Mu Furen read Servant Tao’s message. Though he served at Mu Patriarch’s side, his true loyalty lay with her!

Only Elder Mu Furen, Su Ming, and Servant Tao knew this fact. While in the capital, Servant Tao would report the household’s developments back to her.

This time, too. Despite her son withholding the full truth, she could rely on Servant Tao’s account.

Upon reading Servant Tao’s report, Elder Mu Furen’s expression immediately turned grave. The letter detailed a deal between the Bai family and the Mu family, exchanging a small official position in the capital for three hundred thousand taels of gold.

What nonsense was this?!

Elder Mu Furen set the letter down on the table, holding her temples with a weary expression. Her face was so unusually serious that Su Ming had to quickly step forward and massage her mistress’s temples.

"Please, Miss, try to stay calm. The situation has not reached its worst yet. Do not overthink and harm your health."

Elder Mu Furen sighed deeply. "I thought my son would have more sense than this. Yet, the truth lies stark before us. How could he heedlessly follow Bai Lijun’s advice?"

"To engage in bribery and corruption, especially just after being elevated to a higher noble rank, is not only against the law but also exposes him to constant scrutiny. Even if he believes he has managed everything carefully, a single mistake could ruin his future!"

Su Ming massaged Elder Mu Furen’s temples for a while before preparing some tea to ease her stress, "What’s done is done, I’m afraid it’s too late for you to stop the young master now."

"Sigh! If I hadn’t fallen gravely ill that year, never would Bai Lijun have been able to marry into our household!" Elder Mu Furen placed a teacup on the table and reflected on the past.

That time when she was bedridden for several months, disconnected from household affairs, never anticipating her son would bring home a woman to become the Second Furen while his mother lay ill!

Bai Lijun, with her cunning and selfish motives, always schemed for her own benefit. Despite Elder Mu Furen’s disapproval, she had no strength to act against her son’s decisions.

Eventually, her son married Bai Lijun and she gave birth to a daughter. Even though she wasn’t satisfied with Bai Lijun, the daughter she gave birth was her granddaughter. Therefore, she could not be cruel and chase that woman away from the manor.

She knew of Bai Lijun’s natal family’s reputation – all selfish and deceitful like venomous snakes. It was typical of the Bai family to do bad deeds.

Engaging in such dealings was a dire mistake, binding the two families like an unbreakable knot, which might ensnare the Mu family in any associated calamity.

With her son’s ascension to a greater official rank and entering high society, competition intensified, magnifying the dangers manifold.

Success would be celebrated, but any slip would invite ruthless retribution...

This was exactly what nobles in the capital did!

As long as there was just one weak point, the enemy was ready to use that weakness to crush the family until it collapsed!

“If my son remains thoughtless, following Bai Lijun’s wishes like this. I’m afraid that one day the Mu family will meet a terrible end...”

Elder Mu Furen couldn’t help but complain. How could they be so thoughtless to accept bribes like this. Who knew what mistakes they would make again in the future?

Money was vital, but was the future not more precious?

If exposed to bribery, the path of nobility could end definitively!

"If Qin Wuyue were still alive, things might be much better..."

She reminisced about her late daughter-in-law who had passed away three years ago. She was a wise woman who always had a plan to address issues tactfully and impeccably.

She would not taint her hands with corruption or put the family at risk of being attacked, unlike Bai Lijun’s reckless schemes!

“Furen was wise indeed. Had she not passed away prematurely, our Mu family would likely have no worries,” Su Ming agreed heartily.

Reflecting on Qin Wuyue, the former Furen who married into their family as the legitimate wife of her son, Elder Mu Furen couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt toward her.

Since she couldn’t prevent Bai Lijun from becoming the Furen, she resolved to take care of her three grandchildren, born to her former daughter-in-law, herself. Given Bai Lijun’s malevolence, she feared that one day she might harm her grandchildren!

Besides feeling guilty, a hidden fear within Elder Mu Furen surfaced, a fear that had been lurking in her heart for years. Whenever she thought of her former daughter-in-law, that fear would engulf her mind uncontrollably.

Decades ago, she encountered the Qin family by chance and helped them without expecting anything in return. However, the Qin family decided to reciprocate her kindness by offering their only daughter in marriage to the Mu family, pleading Elder Mu Furen to accept her as a daughter-in-law and change her surname from Qin to Mu!

She vividly remembered the first time she met Qin Wuyue, a mere sixteen-year-old maiden of extraordinary beauty and grace, possessing a sharp and unusual intellect that distinguished her from ordinary people, like a rare jade gem.

Though the Qin family claimed to be mere scholars, every member exuded an aura of nobility that was hard to conceal.

They seemed to be fleeing from some dreadful danger, but Elder Mu Furen, who felt a strong affinity for Qin Wuyue from their first meeting, didn’t think much of it. Without hesitation, she agreed to the Qin family’s request, marrying their daughter into the Mu household and changing her surname from Qin Wuyue to Mu Wuyue.

After Qin Wuyue had married into the family, the remaining Qin relatives mysteriously vanished without a trace, but the former Furen didn’t seem overly perturbed, as if she had anticipated this outcome. Elder Mu Furen, not wanting to pry, didn’t question her further.

Over the decades, Qin Wuyue fulfilled her role as a wife and principal daughter-in-law admirably, bearing children, caring for her husband, and dutifully serving her mother-in-law. Her intelligence steered the once modest Mu family to rise in ranks to become notable local officials in Qingyun City.

When her husband brought other women into their home, she accepted them with grace, without a hint of jealousy or resentment, embodying a magnanimity seldom seen.

But tragedy struck!

Three years prior, the Furen suddenly died of a heart attack. The consensus among doctors was that it was a sudden, sorrowful natural death.

This was a significant loss for the Mu family. However, Elder Mu Furen knew the truth was otherwise!

That night, she had gone to speak privately with her daughter-in-law only to discover a dark-clad man forcing poison down Qin Wuyue’s throat. Within moments, Qin Wuyue convulsed and died.

Elder Mu Furen was utterly unprepared for such an incident. Before she could react, the dark-clad man threatened her,

“This is none of your business, but Qin family’s issues. If you want many lives within the Mu family to be safe, keep your mouth shut and do as I say...”

At that time, she could only submit to this man in black, cooperating in staging a show to others that Qin Wuyue died of a heart attack, in exchange for dozens of lives in her Mu family.

This was a deep-seated guilt in Elder Mu Furen’s heart for all these years!

The secret of the past that she must conceal!

To protect her family and herself, Elder Mu Furen could not disclose the true events of that night!

She did not know the Qin family’s real identity and did not know why they had to be hunted down that even Qin Wuyue, who married out, was targeted.

If that man could extinguish Mu family’s lives so effortlessly, his power must be immense, leaving her powerless in comparison.

Thankfully, the assassin ceased his bloodshed there, sparing her three grandchildren, so they could grow up safely.

Yet, the guilt and dread persist, haunting Elder Mu Furen with the terrifying thought that one day, that person might return...

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