"It's my honor to serve Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness, please don't say such things to humble me..." Mu Fengqie smiled at him for the first time.
Yuan Yuchuan had always known she was beautiful and had seen her haughty smiles more than once. But today, he was completely stunned. He never knew she had such a gentle side.
He wasn't indifferent to her. It was just that she used to be like a hedgehog, showing her thorns to him. Now, she finally seemed to have put away her sharp edges.
Yuan Yuchuan suddenly got interested and proposed, "Are you free now, Fengqie? How about we go for a drink?"
Shen Yiru was about to decline on Mu Fengqie's behalf, but before she could say a word, Mu Fengqie had already nodded.
"Of course I'm free. But I've brought a friend. Your Highness the Crown Prince won't mind, will you?" Mu Fengqie showed that professional fake smile again.
Normally, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were almost inseparable, like conjoined twins. Today, it just so happened that the Third Prince wasn't with the Crown Prince. Wasn't this a perfect opportunity to sow discord between them?
Mu Fengqie had long noticed Yuan Yuchuan's special feelings for her. And he was simple - minded, not as smart as the Third Prince. She guessed he would believe whatever she said.
It would be a great help to the Fifth Prince if she could drive a wedge between the two brothers. Now that she and her husband were on the Fifth Prince's side, since the Fifth Prince was worthy of help, Mu Fengqie had to play her part well.
Shen Yiru looked at Mu Fengqie in bewilderment. Although she was puzzled, she didn't say anything and just obediently followed behind them.
The group came to a relatively quiet teahouse. During this time, Yuan Yuchuan's eyes never left Mu Fengqie. Mu Fengqie felt a wave of disgust and a hint of joy in her heart.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please don't be so kind to Fengqie in the future. Fengqie knows her request was unreasonable. But I'm alone here and have to temporarily stay in the Minister's Mansion. I made that request just to save money to buy a yard quickly and move out of the Minister's Mansion."
As Mu Fengqie spoke, she lowered her head. Two crystal - clear teardrops even fell from her eyes onto her hands. Shen Yiru was amazed. If she didn't know her well, she might have been convinced by her acting.
Yuan Yuchuan looked at Mu Fengqie in confusion and guessed something from her words, but didn't know the details. "Is it because of the delicacies?"
At that time, he had readily agreed on behalf of the Third Prince without a second thought. The Third Prince had talked to him about it twice, but he never took it seriously. It was just a loss of some silver. They brothers weren't short of that money.
Mu Fengqie nodded. "It was Fengqie who was too unreasonable. Fengqie didn't know the Third Prince would be unhappy. I don't want to cause a rift between you two brothers because of me. But since Fengqie belongs to Your Highness the Crown Prince, would Your Highness spare Fengqie's life?"
Hearing this, Yuan Yuchuan's sword - shaped eyebrows knitted tightly into a frown. His heart was filled with raging anger. Did Yuan Yuze secretly want to take her life behind his back?
"Don't worry. I'd like to see who dares to touch my people!" Yuan Yuchuan slapped the table hard and then snorted.
Mu Fengqie's plan had succeeded. She secretly lowered her head and smiled. As expected of Yuan Yuchuan. She had really chosen the right person. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, please don't make things difficult for the Third Prince. The Third Prince is your younger brother from the same mother. I'm sure the Empress Dowager wouldn't like to see you two brothers turn against each other because of me!"
"Moreover, you two are brothers from the same mother. The Third Prince should think for the Crown Prince. Even for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne in the future, I'm sure the Third Prince will definitely think for you. Fengqie can tell that the Third Prince has no selfish motives."
When it came to selfish motives, Mu Fengqie secretly snickered. The Third Prince really had no selfish motives. It was probably obvious to anyone with eyes. But this Crown Prince was so stupid. The more she said this, the more he would suspect.
Sure enough, after hearing these words, Yuan Yuchuan's expression didn't improve. Instead, it became more and more ferocious. Mu Fengqie's words had just reminded him. So what if he was his younger brother from the same mother? Who in the world didn't have selfish motives for that throne?
After a while, Mu Fengqie took Shen Yiru and left the teahouse. The two returned to the Minister's Mansion. Although Shen Yiru was curious about their relationship, she didn't ask too many questions.
Half a month passed in a blink of an eye, and life was still as peaceful as ever. After Mu Fengqie left the palace, she strolled aimlessly on the street.
Now the business of the Beauty Hall was extremely booming. Just this one shop couldn't meet the demand. So she had the idea of opening a branch.
She would stroll on the street every day after leaving the palace to look for a perfect shop with good timing and location. But she didn't expect to be pestered after just a few steps.
When Mu Fengqie lifted her leg, she suddenly felt a lot of weight on it and couldn't even take a step. She looked back suspiciously and found two more people beside her feet.
"Mother? What are you doing?" Mu Fengqie asked in surprise.
She had just sent Mu Xingrou away some time ago. Today, Kong and Mu Rendong had found her here. Could it be that they were also here to plead for Mu Xingrou?
Although Kong had never been kind to her, she had never been too harsh on her and had never let her go hungry. So Mu Fengqie was always polite to her, as if to repay her for raising her.
Kong firmly grabbed Mu Fengqie's trouser leg and refused to let go. "Fengqie, please help mother. Mother and your elder brother have been hungry for many days. There was a thief in the house, and all the silver was stolen. Your elder brother and I haven't had a full meal for several days... Wuwuwu..."
Kong sobbed and told her story. Although Mu Fengqie didn't feel sorry for her, she wouldn't ignore them either. She couldn't let the person who had raised her for more than a decade go hungry.
"Mother, please get up first. Let's talk after you get up. I won't let you and elder brother go hungry." Mu Fengqie said calmly, and there was less alienation in her eyes.
She just wanted to repay Kong for raising her and then draw a clear line from these people. It would be best if she could solve the problem with silver. She wasn't short of money now!
But instead of getting up, Kong intensified her crying and attracted a lot of onlookers. They were soon surrounded.
"Fengqie, I've raised you for more than a decade, and you just left. Now that you're a princess, you can't forget your mother who gave birth to you and raised you! One shouldn't be so heartless. Have I taught you nothing all these years?"