The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 153 - 152

Chapter 152

"You said the Qin family disappeared without a trace. However, as far as I remember, my mother had no relatives or connections. Could it be possible that she was related to the Qin family?"

Mu Yingying asked, puzzled. She knew so little about her mother that she couldn’t even begin to guess. Lu Jiu understood her thoughts and suggested, "Perhaps you should try asking Eldest Young Master about this, Miss."

Although Mu Yingying had no memories of her mother, Mu Gongzhen did. He had spent considerable time with their mother, more than any of the other siblings. When Mu Yingying heard this advice, she readily agreed. She would wait until her eldest brother returned from the banquet to ask him.

"Will you be staying here long this time?"

Mu Yingying looked up at the young man, feeling a glimmer of hope. After more than a year of separation, she wished he could stay longer. However, upon hearing his response, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

"I’ll be leaving tomorrow."

Lu Jiu noticed the brief flicker of disappointment in the young girl’s eyes. Even though Mu Yingying maintained a composed demeanor, he could clearly see the change in her emotions. "After I return, I will quickly finish all my remaining tasks. I promise, in three years, I will return to stay by your side again..."

"I will wait," Mu Yingying immediately said with a bright smile, her disappointment vanishing completely. She didn’t know how long she would have to wait for Lu Jiu, but she was confident that he would keep his promise.

He had never broken a promise, neither in the past nor now.

...

..

.

After the banquet at the royal palace concluded, the officials gradually dispersed and returned to their manors, spreading the big news throughout the capital like wildfire. As the carriage arrived at Zhuiping Residence, Mu Gongzhen and Mu Qingxuan braved the cold and snow to enter the main quarters.

Upon entering, they were greeted by the warmth of the interior, a stark contrast to the freezing weather outside. Mu Gongzhen and Mu Qingxuan took off their large cloaks and hung them up before sitting down to sip tea, warming themselves.

Before long, Mu Yingying, dressed in a large cloak, entered the quarters. As soon as she heard the maid report that her elder siblings had returned from the banquet, she hurried to see them.

"The snow is falling heavily tonight. I fear that by tomorrow, the capital will be covered in such a thick blanket of snow that travel will be difficult,"

Mu Yingying said cheerfully. Her demeanor was unusually lively as she brushed the snow off her cloak and removed it, placing it on the chair beside her. When she looked up and noticed the unusual expressions on her siblings’ faces, she immediately sensed that something had happened at the banquet.

"What happened?"

"At the banquet, the Third Prince, acting as an envoy from Yingjie, sought to marry Xuan’er as his primary consort, citing the desire to strengthen ties between the two regions," Mu Gongzhen said in a calm voice, but his face grew icy at the thought.

"What?"

Mu Yingying exclaimed in shock. Her eyes widened even more at what came next.

"But the proposal failed because His Majesty announced an imperial decree stating that he had already proposed and betrothed Xuan’er. After the New Year, the engagement will be formalized, and in two years, she will be married as the Empress," Mu Gongzhen said through gritted teeth. First, it was a foreign prince trying to take his sister, and then his close friend issued an imperial decree to claim her.

Why was everyone trying to take his sister away from him!?

"This..." Mu Yingying was at a loss for words. It wasn’t entirely bad news, but it wasn’t entirely good either.

It might be good that her sister wouldn’t have to marry far away, but becoming the Empress was not always a good thing. Life in the royal palace was no easy feat, especially the constant power struggles in the inner palace.

"Did you know about this decree beforehand, Sister?" Mu Yingying curiously asked her sister, who quickly shook her head. "No, I had no idea."

"Then what do you think about this decree? Are you willing to become the Empress? You know well that the position of Empress is not easy. A peaceful life is out of the question. And if you decide to take on this role, you’ll no longer be able to live a life like this. Every step you take must be calculated one to three steps ahead. If you disagree with the decree, Eldest Brother and I will help you oppose it with all our might. But if you agree, we will fully support you,"

Mu Yingying said seriously. She knew very well about the growing relationship between her sister and the Emperor, but she had chosen to turn a blind eye and not interfere. However, now that the decree had been announced, whatever her sister decided, she would support her completely.

Even though Mu Gongzhen was reluctant to see his sister marry so soon, if it was his sister’s wishes, he, as a brother, was ready to support her decision, as Mu Yingying had correctly pointed out. Moreover, he trusted Chen Feng Yue, his close friend, to take good care of Mu Qingxuan. He believed that Chen Feng Yue would protect her well.

The only concern was his sky-high position. For Mu Qingxuan to be able to stand by the Emperor’s side, it meant she would face many storms and constantly need to strategize and be vigilant. One misstep could be fatal for her...

"I’m not sure about this yet. Can I have some more time to decide?"

Mu Qingxuan said hesitantly. Her mind was filled with many thoughts, but the most important was her desire to be sure of her relationship with Chen Feng Yue. Although their relationship had grown over time, neither had openly expressed their feelings.

If she had to decide, she wanted to be certain of his feelings first, to avoid any misunderstandings.

"Of course, Sister. Don’t feel pressured. Take your time to think and decide," Mu Yingying said reassuringly before changing the subject. "By the way, why did the envoy from Yingjie suddenly think of proposing to you?"

Mu Gongzhen looked at Mu Qingxuan with equal curiosity. Previously, the Third Prince seemed quite infatuated with her, but the excessive obsession he displayed seemed unusual.

Recalling the incident, Mu Qingxuan explained everything without hiding. "I suspect someone was behind this. After I arrived at the banquet, a maid suddenly bumped into me, causing a wine to spill on my dress, leaving me no choice but to change into the spare outfit I had prepared. However, the spare outfit had been tampered with. Someone had sprinkled a fragrant powder on it. At that time, I inspected it and found it harmless, but given the circumstances, I had to wear it to rejoin the banquet."

"Once I returned to the banquet, I noticed the Third Prince from Yingjie frequently glancing at me. When the situation escalated, and when I approached to observe his odd behavior closely, I recognized the symptoms of someone under the influence of a love potion, which I had read about in medical texts. I realized someone must have secretly dosed him with the potion, and when the Third Prince smelled the special fragrance on my outfit, it triggered the love potion in his body to take effect, causing him to become infatuated and desire me, leading to this incident."

Both Mu Gongzhen and Mu Yingying’s expressions turned cold instantly. They couldn’t believe that behind this commotion, there would be such a thing. Someone had orchestrated such a scheme to force Mu Qingxuan to marry abroad.

If she had to marry far away, who knew what the future would hold!?

"Whoever is behind this must have considerable power within the royal court. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to manipulate the palace maids and orchestrate such a complex scheme during the banquet," Mu Gongzhen said coldly, recalling the Empress Dowager’s previous support for his sister to marry abroad.

Who held the highest authority in the royal court? If not the Emperor, it must be the Empress Dowager.

And who had the ultimate authority over the inner palace’s banquet...? It had to be the Empress Dowager!

The Empress Dowager was an old fox who had been in power for a long time. She wouldn’t allow outsiders to plot within her domain unless she was complicit or had given her consent!

Mu Yingying thought of the Empress Dowager as well. This birthday banquet was organized by the inner palace, meaning security was tight, especially concerning food and drink. It was unlikely that any mistakes would occur, they must be more careful, particularly with important guests like foreign envoys present.

Yet, a love potion had been used. The Empress Dowager, who managed all the inner palace affairs, must have known about it...

"Were there any unusual events in the palace recently, Brother?" Mu Yingying asked with a serious expression.

Although her informants were spread throughout the capital, the royal palace was a special place where she couldn’t infiltrate extensively. Mostly, it was Mu Gongzhen’s people who had been infiltrating the royal palace and keeping an eye on the situation.

"According to the reports, nothing unusual was detected. The only people who met with the Empress Dowager recently were Shin Wang and Young Miss Wan as usual,"

Mu Gongzhen replied. Mu Qingxuan, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly thought of something. Could this incident be related to Wan Ningtong? At the Imperial Academy, Wan Ningtong had openly shown hostility towards her. Moreover, Wan Ningtong was the Empress Dowager’s choice for the future empress. If she were married off to a foreign land, Wan Ningtong’s position as the future empress would be secure.

"At the Imperial Academy previously, Young Miss Wan openly displayed hostility towards me in front of many people. It’s known that the Empress Dowager has been grooming her as the future empress for many years. Could this incident be related to her?" Mu Qingxuan recounted the previous events. She hadn’t mentioned Wan Ningtong to her siblings before because she paid no intention to her.

After all, the other party was just a noble lady, so she might not be able to cause any real trouble. But today’s events had shown her that she had been too naive. She herself had experienced the viciousness of women’s jealousy in her past life.

But again, she was too careless...

"Young Miss Wan. Wan Ningtong?"

It took Mu Yingying quite some time to search into her memories, then recalled the noblewoman’s reputation. This Young Miss Wan was considered the number one lady in the region, known for her talents and beauty, with manners as graceful and refined as those of a trained princess.

If Wan Ningtong was truly a pawn the Empress Dowager prepared to place beside the Emperor, she was certainly no ordinary woman!

"I’ll have my people gather more information from the palace,"

Mu Gongzhen said firmly. Whoever the enemy was, if they intended harm towards his family, he wouldn’t hesitate to deal with them accordingly. Mu Yingying also decided to keep a closer watch on the Wan family. Even if it was just a suspicion, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"By the way, Eldest Brother, did you find that woman?," Mu Yingying asked, referring to the only clue they had regarding the assassination attempt on Mu Qingxuan during the previous competition.

Although the case had been officially closed, Mu Gongzhen and Mu Yingying had continued their investigation in secret. Before the Zhao family was exiled from the capital, they had thoroughly interrogated those close to Young Miss Zhao. They obtained a crucial clue from the coachman who worked for the Zhao family.

The coachman had testified that he had driven Young Miss Zhao to meet someone at an inn on the outskirts of the city. As Young Miss Zhao exited the inn, a woman followed shortly after. Although the woman was cloaked, a gust of wind had momentarily revealed her face to the coachman.

Mu Gongzhen had the coachman describe the woman’s features in detail, resulting in a composite sketch of this mysterious woman. He then ordered his men to search for this woman. But with only a sketch as a clue, finding one person among the tens of thousands in the capital was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"We haven’t found any leads yet. The capital is densely populated, making it difficult to locate someone," Mu Gongzhen sighed. He felt restless, unable to let go of the matter.

He should let go of someone who had tried to assassinate his sister?

Merely the thought had made his heart unbearably anxious!

"In that case, Eldest Brother, please send me the composite sketch of that woman. I’ll have my people help with the search," Mu Yingying suggested. Mu Gongzhen nodded in agreement.

After talking for a while, Mu Yingying remembered the other important matter she had come to discuss with her brother tonight. "Eldest Brother, what was our mother’s name?"

“Mother...” Mu Gongzhen paused, deep in thought. It wasn’t surprising that his younger sister asked about their mother since she had passed away when Ying’er was very young. Besides, she had never inquired about their mother before, so it was understandable that she didn’t even know her name.

“Mother’s name was Qin Wuyue.”

Mu Yingying froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected her mother to have the surname Qin. Could it be the same Qin family from Daliang...?

“Did Mother have any relatives? And why did she marry into the Mu family?” Mu Yingying asked rapidly. Her eagerness surprised Mu Gongzhen.

“As for Mother’s background, I don’t know much. She didn’t like talking about her family, and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by asking. If Ying’er wants to know more, you should ask Grandmother. She was the one who brought Mother into the Mu family...Is there something going on?”

“There is, but I need to confirm a few things first. I’ll tell you once I’m sure. You both already have enough to deal with,” Mu Yingying said with a slight smile. She didn’t want to burden her siblings with more worries. It was better to solve things one step at a time.

“Alright, but remember to tell us if it’s something important. You’re not alone, you know,” Mu Gongzhen reminded her, his eyes filled with concern.

Mu Yingying nodded and smiled sweetly. She knew she had her brother and sister by her side. It seemed that she needed to find an opportunity to visit Grandmother again to learn more about their mother.

Once she had clear information about her mother, the fog obscuring the truth would begin to lift. This would allow her to better prepare for distant enemies like the Daliang royal court...

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