Chapter 218

Even though Wei Mudan knew that Yueqian was a major obstacle, she wasn’t afraid. Just because Yueqian came first didn’t mean she would always be Furen Mu. With a bit of manipulation to tarnish her reputation, the position of Furen Mu would no longer be hers. Then, Wei Mudan, as the eldest young miss of the Wei family, could extend her hand. She couldn’t believe that Governor Mu wouldn’t eagerly grasp it!

Wei Mudan’s thinking was correct for an ordinary unscrupulous man, but not for Mu Heng!

Moreover, her plan was flawed from the start because she didn’t know Yueqian well enough. She didn’t realize how infamous Yueqian was in the Du Region. Despite her notorious reputation among those who didn’t truly know her, Mu Heng still didn’t care.

If Wei Mudan knew, she would have realized that any schemes she was about to waste time and money on to disgrace Yueqian would be futile.

“Governor Mu gifted jewelry to my niece-in-law? How surprising. I thought you would give her a book instead,” the Wang remarked with interest.

“Apologies, Your Highness. My wife and I reviewed all our valuable items, and this is the most precious one we had,” Mu Heng replied calmly, showing no fear even after seeing the Wang’s disappointment.

Mu Heng wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the Wang never truly expected him to give a book to the consort in the first place!

Nonetheless, the other party’s words made everyone see how much he valued Governor Mu’s knowledge and abilities. If Mu Heng had given a book as a gift, wouldn’t that be considered a fine gift? After all, it was a gift that the Wang himself had contemplated.

“Is that so? I heard you spent almost all your money developing Red Earth City. And this gift... must come from your wife, who was once the eldest young miss of the Du Region, right?”

The Wang subtly mentioned Yueqian’s past. The corner of Yueqian’s mouth twitched slightly, realizing her assumptions were correct. This Wang intended to improve their image, whether by openly appreciating the books Mu Heng wrote or by mentioning Yueqian’s background.

“Former eldest young miss, you say?” Consort Gui glanced at Yueqian in surprise and respectfully asked the Wang again.

“Ah, yes. Didn’t you know? She is the eldest daughter of the Qin family.” As soon as he said this, the guests at the banquet were greatly shocked.

In fact, some people knew of Yueqian’s background as the eldest young miss of the prominent Qin family from the Du Region. However, since she was from the Du Region, no one wanted to give her more recognition, so they remained silent, letting people think the couple was merely poor.

But today, with the Wang declaring it publicly, everyone realized the truth, and no one dared to dismiss it as a fabrication by the couple from the Du Region. Otherwise, it would be like calling their Wang a fool for believing the words of foreigners!

Consort Gui looked at the bracelet on her wrist again. Although Bai and Du were enemies, as nobles, it wasn’t unusual for them to know prominent nobles from the Du Region.

They simply didn’t know who belonged to which family. Otherwise, they would have known from the beginning that Yueqian was the daughter of the Qin family leader. However, it was fortunate they didn’t know all the details; otherwise, the infamous reputation of Qin Yueqian might have terrified them to death.

“So this bracelet is from the Du Region?” Despite the enmity between the two Regions, they still enjoyed acquiring foreign goods.

The Du Region was renowned for its embroidery and jewelry, making their goods quite expensive. However, the bracelet given by Furen Mu seemed to lack value, didn’t it?

Considering she came from the grand Qin family, even if they had spent all their money on developing Red Earth City, shouldn’t she still possess more valuable jewelry?

An item that seemed like it could be bought with just one gold tael...

Ordinarily, as a Governor, Mu Heng’s gift wouldn’t have seemed inappropriate because everyone understood he wasn’t wealthy. However, when they thought about it, the gift was prepared by his furen, who was once the eldest young miss of the Qin family!

Consort Gui’s eyes changed slightly. She felt as if she was being disrespected! The other party must have been unwilling to give her a proper gift; otherwise, how could such a worthless item end up on her wrist?!

While the consort fumed internally, someone knowledgeable about jewelry spoke up excitedly.

“Consort, this piece of jewelry!” The speaker started but then fell silent. In truth, he wanted to get closer to inspect it, but when he remembered that the other party was a consort, he stopped in his tracks and dared not say anything that might be offensive. Naturally, his behavior provided an opportunity for the Wang.

In truth, the Wang had not known in advance what gift they had brought. However, in his mind, Yueqian was not a fool. She wouldn’t have given a worthless gift; otherwise, she might not keep her head for long.

Thus, he had the court lady open her gift. Upon seeing the simple piece of jewelry, he was initially surprised. However, upon closer inspection, his interest was piqued.

Having once disguised himself as a bandit, he was quite knowledgeable about the value of jewelry.

Typically, jewelry like bracelets had joints that indicated their value, combined with their craftsmanship. He realized that the worth of jewelry lay not in flashy decorations but in meticulous workmanship.

After examining the bracelet on his niece-in-law’s wrist, he felt more at ease and confidently spoke about Furen Mu’s family background. In such a setting, there were bound to be people knowledgeable about jewelry, and it was as he thought. After someone noticed the value of the piece, they exclaimed, drawing attention.

“Why are you speaking about Governor Mu’s gift? What about this piece of jewelry?” He didn’t let the other party leave. The Wang called out directly, urging the speaker to continue with his thoughts.

“Your Highness, I am not entirely sure. Such jewelry needs careful examination. If it is as I suspect, this piece could be incredibly valuable,” the other party responded.

The fact that he dared to speak like this meant that the jewelry was indeed likely to be valuable. Since it was on the wrist of the consort, if he had said it was valuable and then later said it wasn’t, it would have seemed like he was mocking the consort, wouldn’t it? Thus, if he wasn’t sure, he wouldn’t have spoken this way. As soon as everyone heard this, they understood that he was quite confident about its value.

“Is this true? Is Governor Mu’s gift truly a valuable piece of jewelry?”

“But this person is an expert. He has worked in the palace for a long time and is widely recognized for his abilities in the inner court.”

“So, what the Wang said about her being the daughter of the Qin noble family from the Du Region is true?”

“Ha? Are you suggesting the Wang lied?”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I just find it hard to believe.”

“I feel the same way. If she is the daughter of a high-ranking noble from the Du Region, why would she come to the Bai Region?”

“Could it be that they were sent here as spies to undermine the Bai Region?”

“Haha, is this a joke? Didn’t the Crown Prince almost rebel because he ignored the emperor’s orders and said something like this while the emperor was attending to state affairs?”

“That idea is ridiculous. It’s impossible for the two of them to be spies for the Du Region. If that were the case, why would they help during the plague in the Bai Region and even cultivate Ming Fa flowers to save people?”

“To gain acceptance in the Bai Region, perhaps, and then deal with us all at once.”

“That’s a laughable idea. If the Du Region really wanted to take us down, they could have just dealt with the people of the Bai Region when they were infected with the plague. The Du Region has plenty of agricultural land. If a harsh place like Red Earth City can grow crops, I don’t believe they would not provide the Du Region with cultivation methods. After that, they could have just used that knowledge to sell expensive herbs or not helped us at all, let our soldiers weaken, and then invaded with an army of 10,000. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Before they could invade, we would have already died from the plague.”

Many people discussed the matter of the Red Earth City’s Governor, each holding their own opinions. But, of course, none realized that the real reason was Yueqian’s former fiancé’s refusal to let go.

Had he not interfered and tried to make her his wife, the Du Region would have remained peaceful.

Because of his actions, the couple positioned themselves as enemies of the Du Region. In the future, people would learn important history and future generations would criticize them for causing the downfall of the Du Region by opposing the wrong people. The most criticized would be the family of the general, whose Young General would become the next head.

“For this piece of jewelry, since Governor Mu gave it as a gift to me, whether it’s valuable or not, I still appreciate the gesture. However, to avoid any misunderstandings about your reputation, I will ask an expert in jewelry to explain what kind of gift this is. You may not know, but in the Bai Region, jewelry from the Du Region is highly valued.”

Consort Gui said to Mu Heng, as if seeking his permission. Nevertheless, it was clear she wanted to know its value. Given that the Wang had initiated this inquiry, she didn’t feel it was shameful to have the gift inspected and valued in front of the person who gave it.

Mu Heng did not refuse. Firstly, because he had no right to do so, and secondly, because if he did refuse, wouldn’t it be the same as showing his intention to conceal his identity?

Even if the consort didn’t appraise the gift today, they would certainly do so in the future, especially since she was wearing the gift and the Wang had made a point of it. Letting it proceed seemed the best course of action.