Hearing the sob hidden beneath Shen Yu's forced smile, so stubborn yet aggrieved, Mu Yang turned to look at Yu Wushuang with a sorrowful expression. "Senior Sister, look! Open your eyes and see how badly that woman has bullied Yu'er! Are you really so cold-blooded that you just stand by and watch Yu'er being bullied without doing anything?"

Shen Yu shook her hands frantically, took a few steps back, and hid behind Shen Qingye nervously, saying, "No, no, Sister Yu is very busy, and I wasn't bullied at all. It's just that my arm and face hurt a little. Um, and I twisted my ankle, but don't worry about it too much. It will hurt a lot if you do. Ah no no no... Look at my mouth, I misspoke. It doesn't hurt that much. Sister Yu has many junior brothers to take care of. Young Master Mu, have you forgotten? I'm just an outsider. How could I dare to trouble Sister Yu?"

The girl's words were filled with caution and a perfectly measured distance, her feigned strength causing Mu Yang's heart to ache. "No, Miss Yu'er, you are not to me..."

"Young Master Mu, please be careful with your words." Shen Qingye couldn't help but interrupt, as saying such things in public would greatly damage Shen Yu's reputation.

"I'm sorry, Miss Yu'er." Mu Yang belatedly realized what was happening and turned her gaze back to Yu Wushuang, who was watching coldly from the sidelines. "Senior Sister, couldn't you just..."

"I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first," Yu Wushuang replied without hesitation.

She has the pride of being strong and accepts everyone's provocations and malice, but she would never bully the weak because of emotional disputes.

Mu Yang was surprised that Yu Wushuang would disrespect him in front of Shen Yu, and immediately felt resentful. He talked to Shen Yu on his own, but secretly glanced at Yu Wushuang out of the corner of his eye, waiting for his senior sister to coax him like before.

Unexpectedly, Yu Wushuang ignored this, politely nodded to Shen Qingye, and then left with the other disciples.

The first round of the martial arts tournament was a draw, with the two groups having the same number competing against each other. Considering that Mu Yang's body had not fully recovered, they had slowed down and dawdled until now, when the draw was almost over.

She has more than one junior brother, Mu Yang, and she can't let some trivial matters delay the other disciples of the Sword Forging Manor.

"I... Young Master Mu, why isn't Sister Yu waiting for you? What happened between you two? Is it because of me... that Sister Yu is angry with you? If so, I can go apologize." Shen Yu grabbed Mu Yang's hem while holding the clothes, but then, as if sensing something was wrong, she quietly let go. As the hem slipped from between those fair fingers, Mu Yang's excited heart sank lower and lower.

“It’s alright, Miss Yu’er. Remember, you’ve never done anything wrong in my eyes, and you don’t need to apologize to anyone, not even my most respected senior sister. Others may not care about your innocence and kindness, but I will protect them.” Mu Yang’s eyes shone brightly.

Shen Qingye: "..." Great, I originally planned to eat more scallion pancakes tonight, but after thinking about it, I'll keep it simple and just eat a scallion pancake to cleanse my palate.

...

The Cloud Mist Sword Pavilion has a designated area for parking carriages, and all carriages, regardless of sect or faction, must park in the designated area.

As soon as Shen Jiao and her entourage got out of the car, a chubby young man who had been waiting for a long time ran over, stood three meters away with a smile, and bowed, saying, "This humble official, Li Wang, greets the distinguished lady and young master Liang."

He thought for a moment, nodded to Xi Su and Xi Ning, and waved to the dog. He was quite adept at cutting off the water supply and was very considerate in every aspect.

Unlike the former county magistrate who was thin and cunning, Li Wanglai was plump and chubby. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, like a Maitreya Buddha sitting in the mountains. At first glance, he seemed like the kind of good man who would "let the people eat meat while I drink soup, and let the people drink soup while I drink the wind."

He had never seen a tyrant before. In terms of status and seniority, there were countless people more outstanding than him, while he couldn't even get a chance to be captured.

He was able to accurately identify several people in the sea of ​​people thanks to the guidance of Steward Wang Fu.

That day, he had just received the order to be transferred to Rongcheng as the county magistrate when Chief Steward Wang Fu gave him a task: to take good care of several important people while also finding time to clean up the mess left by the previous magistrate. If he did a good job, he might be able to find a wife for him in the future.

Upon hearing this, he exclaimed, "Such a good thing?!" He immediately felt as if his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke. When did it become his turn to take on such a great opportunity?

He hurriedly asked, "Steward Wang Fu, may I ask why I was chosen from among so many outstanding young talents? Is it a sublimation of humanity or an elevation of morality?"

Although it was a question, he actually knew the real reason: it must be because his boss had seen his hard work over the past ten years!

He asked the question because he wanted to hear praise from others, Li Wanglai thought to himself with delight.

Over the years, he has followed the rule of not leaving get off work until his boss leaves, working overtime until his boss leaves, staying up all night until his boss stays up all night, and working two all-nighters until his boss stays up all night. He believes that only by enduring hardship can one rise above others. He races against time, doing tomorrow's work today, the day after tomorrow's work tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow's work the day after tomorrow. He is diligent, conscientious, loves his work, and is proud of his efforts!

Therefore, he went bald at a young age.

Fortunately, the ancients were right: gold will always shine, and hard work will pay off!

Looking at the energetic Li Wanglai, Wang Fu was extremely satisfied. He couldn't be more pleased with how small Li Wanglai's beady eyes were and how big his garlic nose was.

He patted the young man on the shoulder to show his approval, saying, "Because when everyone else is excellent, you, Li Wang, are the only one with outstanding qualities."

Li Wanglai: "Hmm? Are you referring to my amazing bone structure?"

Wang Fu: "Pretty much."

Li Wanglai asked shyly, "Could the steward be more specific?"

Wang Fu: "You are not good-looking enough." Being too good-looking would easily threaten his position in front of the emperor.

He's already not tall enough. If we assign a good-looking person to serve him, when His Majesty returns to the capital one day, where will he have a place by his side?

It's always good to be prepared.

Li Wanglai's eyes welled up with tears: "..."

He didn't believe it; it couldn't be true unless you said it three more times.

Wang Fu was an honest man, and he repeated it three times to comfort him, saying, "It doesn't matter if you're ugly. Ugly people have their own kind of good fortune. Think about it, there are so many ugly people in the world, yet you've reached the pinnacle of life. What does that say?"

Li Wanglai: "It shows that I have worked hard enough."

Wang Fu: "No, it just means you're number one in ugliness!"

Li Wanglai: "..." Thank you, but please don't comfort him anymore and leave him to suffer alone.

A good working person must learn to tolerate all awkward situations. Li Wanglai immediately changed the subject and asked how to ensure that he would not mistake someone for someone else.

Wang Fu slowly explained, "That's simple. Looking at the crowd, the most handsome and arrogant one is His Majesty, while the slick and frivolous one is Young Master Liang."

Li Wanglai said he had noted it down.

A new official is expected to make a strong first impression, but he's different. He plans to first curry favor with the emperor and make him feel comfortable before he'll have the chance to unleash his so-called "three fires" (i.e., make a big show of things).