Chapter 205

After learning the whereabouts of the governor of Red Earth City, the prince led his ten men to pretend to casually stroll around, intending to make it seem like they had encountered each other by chance.

Soon enough, Mu Heng emerged, his face calm and composed. Beside him was a woman of extraordinary beauty, so striking that even the second prince couldn’t help but look twice. Unfortunately, she was already married, and they had no interest in married women; otherwise, the furen of Red Earth City’s governor would have made an excellent target.

The governor respectfully saw Mu Heng off. After they parted ways, the couple and their five attendants walked away. The beautiful woman glanced around as if she wanted to take in the sights of the large city. Seeing some interesting food, she bought a few items to take with her. It seemed as if this young woman was more on a sightseeing trip than on serious business.

This made the second prince feel that this woman was just like any other—unaware of when to be serious except when trying to please their husbands or eliminate rivals in love. It left him a bit disappointed.

Originally, he had heard from his uncle about the high praise for the governor of Red Earth City and his wife. Yes, his uncle not only admired the Mu family man but also greatly admired the woman beside him. He even mentioned that if there was someone to be wary of, it should be her. At that time, he had high expectations to meet her, but now he felt that perhaps his uncle had misjudged her.

"The governor of Red Earth City and Furen Mu are heading this way," his close aide whispered. The second prince then lowered his head to look at the goods to avoid arousing suspicion.

"Are you two interested in this product? It’s a renowned vegetable from our city, tasting just like chicken. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed if you buy it," the vendor immediately began to pitch her product upon seeing potential customers looking at her goods.

Of course, the prince and his men were not really looking to buy anything. Still, to keep up appearances, he pretended to be genuinely interested.

Behind him were Mu Heng and Yueqian, walking over. The second prince glanced at the two as they passed before having his men purchase a small amount of what the vendor was selling to avoid offending her. Then he continued to follow the couple closely, trying his best to overhear their conversation.

"The governor is very kind. Even when it comes to food, he supports us so we can travel smoothly. It turns out that people of the Bai Region have such good hearts," the beautiful woman said excitedly.

Hearing her words, the second prince puffed out his chest slightly. He knew that the couple came from the Du Region, so when he heard the woman praise the people of the Bai Region, he felt as if he was being praised as well.

"Indeed, that’s true," Mu Heng did not deny it. He simply agreed with his little wife’s act.

"It’s unfortunate that we encountered that ruthless governor of Small Mountain City. How could he think to take advantage of all the people of Red Earth City, demanding medicine without offering any benefits in return? Moreover, he dared to send people to assassinate me. Even after receiving a royal decree, he refused to give up and planned to send 200 soldiers to kill us all."

"Originally, I thought that all people from the Bai Region were scoundrels!" Yueqian said emotionally. Her voice was not loud, as if she was whispering to her husband, but it was still loud enough for the eavesdropper behind them to hear every word.

"You shouldn’t say that. It’s not fair to judge all people from the Bai Region based on one person," Mu Heng pretended to scold his sulking and dissatisfied wife. He also raised his hand to lovingly stroke the beautiful woman’s hair, as if the world only consisted of the two of them.

Their natural demeanor did not make anyone realize that they were witnessing a grand performance.

"My dear, I’m not judging the people of the Bai Region based on one person, as you accuse me. Look at..." she pretended to look around before whispering, which made the noble follower behind them scramble to hide.

Even so, what she was saying seemed very secretive, so the pair of listeners looked at each other as if making a significant decision about whether to follow them to eavesdrop further or withdraw. Ultimately, their curiosity overcame their reasoning, and the two, the master and the servant, decided to continue secretly following the couple.

"Look at Fang Gonggong and those court ladies," Yueqian said this statement. At this, the second prince’s expression changed.

He knew Fang Gonggong very well. The other party always assisted his father and often acted as his spokesperson, despite primarily serving the head eunuch. They were quite close.

Even the second prince had to be respectful in front of this Fang Gonggong.

Moreover, he recalled that it was Fang Gonggong who was tasked with delivering the royal decree to invite the governor and furen of Red Earth City to the palace for an audience. This wasn’t just about the investigation but also about recognizing the governor’s significant contribution in concocting the medicine that cured the people of Red Earth City. Such merits deserved a substantial reward, making this mission quite important.

Thus, when he heard that the ruthless governor of Small Mountain City had attempted to send soldiers to kill the Red Earth City entourage, he immediately knew what the punishment of the other party would be.

Execution was a mild punishment. Given the governor of Red Earth City’s merits, the repercussions would likely extend to the other party’s family as well. This was a true case of bringing suffering upon oneself.

However, what did this have to do with Fang Gonggong and his court ladies?

It’s not that the second prince hadn’t heard such stories before. He wasn’t in the capital at the time, but upon his return, he coincidentally overheard his uncle mentioning the conflict between the two. His uncle had said that Fang Gonggong harbored a bias against the governor and Lady of Red Earth City simply because they were from the Du Region.

Initially, he thought it was just ordinary prejudice. Who would have thought that days and months later, there would still be unresolved issues between them?

Of course, Yueqian’s mention of Fang Gonggong at this time was intentional. After making the young court ladies and Fang Gonggong suffer all day, she believed that the other party would not let it go. Although she wasn’t afraid, as she had a powerful trump card in her herbal cultivation skills, it would be better to have trustworthy and honorable allies.

If she could make it believable that Fang Gonggong was the one causing trouble for her, then when something happened in the future, she could take full action against him.

If Fang Gonggong were to hear Yueqian’s thoughts, he might die of a heart attack from anger. He would think that Yueqian still expected to take further action against him? What did she mean by taking full action? All day, he had experienced the most suffering in his life since serving the Emperor!!

"Fang Gonggong is just biased. He probably didn’t mean anything by it," Mu Heng pretended to take a neutral stance. The husband and wife took turns acting without even needing to rehearse. If screenwriters from Yueqian’s world saw them, they might praise them as masters.

"How can he mean nothing by it?! If he didn’t mean anything, would he steal the soldiers’ food so they couldn’t eat meat in the morning? They had just fought with the soldiers of Small Mountain City. Now, they probably think that the governor of Red Earth City and his furen from the Du Region are the worst. They couldn’t even provide good food to boost their strength. This journey to the capital will surely bring severe criticism from the Wang."

"The Wang is reasonable. He won’t listen to just one side."

"But it’s not certain. The Wang is more likely to believe his soldiers. He spent his own money to buy a lot of meat to ensure a smooth journey. If during the day... we encounter bandits or wild animals, wouldn’t it be impossible to arrive here? Fortunately, the Buddha protected us, making the journey safe. Otherwise..."

"Don’t dwell on it. It’s in the past."

"How can it be in the past?! I think there’s a high chance that Fang Gonggong would help the governor of Small Mountain City more than us. After all, they both come from the Bai Region. Perhaps he might not care who is right or wrong, as long as it gets us out of the Bai Region."

"You shouldn’t speak like that."

"I know you don’t want me to think this way, but it’s the truth. Think about it, the meat we prepared for 100 soldiers, and Fang Gonggong had his court ladies take it all. For what? To throw it away? I don’t think so. They probably wanted to share it with the 200 soldiers. I don’t believe that Fang Gonggong and his three court ladies could eat all that meat."

Yueqian exaggerated quite a bit. Her mix of truth and embellishment significantly increased the perceived wrongdoing of Fang Gonggong and his court ladies. In reality, they only intended to eat the finished portions first; there was still meat that Yueqian was currently using to make dumplings. Of course, she didn’t mention this, so who would know?!

They tried to trouble her first, hoping to make her uncomfortable throughout the journey. So let them face some uncomfortable situations in return! Because when they were in front of the emperor, no matter if he said that the meat was a little or a lot, who would listen! As long as it was about the soldiers’ food being stolen, no one would care about the quantity anymore!

"Since it’s already happened, let’s not worry about it. Next time, I’ll have the soldiers help keep watch. We’ll also increase patrols regarding the Small Mountain City’s soldiers," Mu Heng sighed. He pretended to agree with his little wife but didn’t want to provoke her anger further.

Yueqian tossed her hair slightly in displeasure and stopped in her tracks to continue speaking.

"What’s the use of increasing monitoring? Just this morning, you had the soldiers tie them up first, just in case something suspicious happened. So, they would not release the soldiers of Small Mountain City. Yet, they threatened to report to the Emperor to have us executed."

"As a eunuch, he probably didn’t like being restrained by us."

"So what? As eunuchs, we can’t do this or that. If something goes wrong, it’s our fault. But if we’re careless and let the Small Mountain City soldiers escape while the Red Earth City soldiers haven’t been fed enough, what do you think will happen to us?!"

"Never mind that. Let’s go rest at the inn. You’ve been traveling for days, and I want you to rest."

"Alright, but I wonder if Fang Gonggong will be satisfied with the first-class meal we sent him! We’re out of money now, and who knows if we’ll be lucky enough to find more meat along the way. If we can’t hunt, we won’t have enough money left. It all depends on this meal for Fang Gonggong."The beautiful woman sighed in resignation. Finally, the couple walked into the inn, with a certain important figure following closely behind, eager to learn more.