Every word Mu Fengqie said made Jing Xunchao's heart flutter. Having such a wife, what more could a husband ask for?
"Qie'er, I'm so lucky to have you by my side," Jing Xunchao said as he hugged Mu Fengqie tightly.
"Come on, let go quickly. It'd be so embarrassing if someone saw us," Mu Fengqie said as she pushed Jing Xunchao.
But Jing Xunchao just rubbed his head against Mu Fengqie's neck and didn't let go. This was such a rare moment of just the two of them. He wasn't going to let go.
Since Jing Xunchao refused to let go, Mu Fengqie had no choice but to let him hold her. However, her body was still a bit tense. After all, this was Jing Xunchao's main camp tent. What if there was an urgent matter and someone came in and saw this?
But Mu Fengqie's worry was in vain. As soon as Jing Xunchao entered the tent, he had already told the people outside that they shouldn't come in to disturb him unless the sky was falling.
The military provisions that Mu Fengqie had prepared arrived on the day before she left. Mu Fengqie inspected the provisions on the carts. After confirming that everything was in order, she was finally completely at ease.
"Master, we bought the provisions separately in different towns, so we didn't attract any attention," the leading secret guard said.
"Good job. You've worked hard," Mu Fengqie said as she nodded in satisfaction.
The next day, Mu Fengqie led her people away. Along with her was An Ye, who had been called back by Jing Xunchao. However, An Ye didn't walk with Mu Fengqie and the others. He led the people from the Dark Pavilion and hid in the dark. They wouldn't show up unless there was danger.
Thankfully, Mu Fengqie and the others had a smooth journey back. There were no unexpected incidents. The only thing was that Mu Fengqie's carriage broke down once on the way, but it didn't cause much of an impact.
When Mu Fengqie arrived in the capital city, she saw Lu Yun leading some people in a hurry to go out. She quickly called out to her.
"Yun'er, what's going on? What happened?" Mu Fengqie asked as she looked at Lu Yun.
Lu Yun's eyes lit up when she saw Mu Fengqie. "Sister Qie'er, you're finally back. I was just about to go find you."
Lu Yun quickly told Mu Fengqie what had happened.
"The Empress Dowager's old illness suddenly flared up in the palace. The Emperor sent someone to ask you to enter the palace. I just found an excuse to send the person back. I was just on my way to Wupian Mountain to find you," Lu Yun said as she wiped the sweat off her face from her anxiety.
"Alright, I got it," Mu Fengqie said. She wasn't panicked at all. The Empress Dowager's old illness flaring up? Mu Fengqie sneered sarcastically. She had already cured the Empress Dowager's illness years ago. How could it possibly flare up again? Then there was probably only one purpose for calling her into the palace.
That was that they had already discovered that she wasn't in the capital city, but they didn't have any evidence yet, so they just wanted to test her. Thankfully, she had returned today.
"Don't worry, Yun'er. You can go back. And this is something that Mu Nan asked me to bring for you. Keep it well," Mu Fengqie took out an envelope from her sleeve. It was bulging, and no one knew what was inside.
Lu Yun looked at the envelope in her hand and smiled stupidly. She knew that Mu Nan would remember what she wanted. There must be wild fruits that Mu Nan had brought for her inside.
"Thank you, Sister Qie'er. I'll go back first."
Mu Fengqie led her people back to the mansion unhurriedly. However, she saw a surprising scene in the mansion. An'er was being very affectionate with a man.
"Ahem..." Mu Fengqie interrupted the two of them and looked at them with a gossipy look on her face.
"What? An'er, aren't you going to introduce him to me?" Mu Fengqie asked as she looked at An'er.
An'er blushed, but she didn't avoid Mu Fengqie's question. "Valley Master, this is the person I grew up with since childhood. His name is Mu Zi. He's also... the person I like now." An'er said the last sentence very quietly, but Mu Fengqie still heard it clearly.
"Your taste this time is good. This man is obviously much more reliable than the King of Wen," Mu Fengqie said as she looked at the man beside An'er. "Here, take this. Since we've met, I don't know what to give you. This is just a little token of my appreciation. Keep it well. Consider it as an early wedding gift from me to the two of you."
Mu Fengqie took out a deed for a shop. This was a very profitable shop of hers in the capital city. It was just right to give it to them now.
"Valley Master, I can't accept this. You've helped me so much. How can I take your things?" An'er pushed the thing back and refused to accept it no matter what.
Mu Zi beside An'er also said, "Valley Master, you've helped An'er so much over the years. We don't even know how to repay you. We definitely can't accept this. It would make us feel really bad."
Mu Fengqie looked at them for a while, sighed, and then put the thing away. "Since that's the case, I'll keep this for you first. When you want it, come and get it from me."
"Thank you, Valley Master." An'er and Mu Zi really wanted to thank Mu Fengqie. If it weren't for Mu Fengqie, the two of them might never have gotten together.
Mu Fengqie nodded and then went into the house. After traveling for so many days, she really needed to rest well. Otherwise, how would she have the energy to deal with the Empress Dowager when she entered the palace tomorrow?
In the palace, when the Empress Dowager learned that Mu Fengqie had refused her request, she immediately flew into a rage. "What an arrogant and insolent girl! How dare she refuse to come when I invite her! Does she want me to go and fetch her in person?"
Mu Xingrou, who was sitting beside her, quietly curled her lips. These days, she had followed Eunuch Hai's advice and tried every means to get along well with the Empress Dowager. Finally, there were some good signs recently.
"Empress Dowager, in fact, my younger sister is very easy to talk to. If it weren't for something really urgent that she couldn't get away from, she would usually come at once when called," Mu Xingrou stood up and walked to the Empress Dowager's side. Her fingers deftly massaged the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes in satisfaction and let out a comfortable sigh. "Your hands are really skillful. I can't find anyone else in the palace with better skills than yours." That was also the reason why she had started to look favorably on Mu Xingrou.
"Thank you for your praise, Empress Dowager," Mu Xingrou said happily. "If the Empress Dowager likes it, I'll come and massage you every day from now on."
"You're very considerate," the Empress Dowager said as she patted Mu Xingrou's hand in satisfaction.
"This is what I should do," she lowered her eyelids to hide the look in her eyes and said softly.
"You just said that Mu Fengqie would usually come at once when called. Is that true?" the Empress Dowager asked as if she had just thought of something.
"Of course it's true."