Chapter 23

“He went to report to the master as soon as he got back,” Xinyun replied. “As for what he’s been busy with these past two days, I have no idea.”

Mu Yulu grunted and leisurely started cracking sunflower seeds.

It's good to be busy, because when you're busy, you won't have time to ask her how she could predict the future.

Although she had prepared a story and had successfully fooled Xinyun with it, Feng Wentang was not as easily deceived as the silly girl Xinyun. If she accidentally revealed her true colors in front of him, she would have to rack her brains to explain.

Just thinking about it is such a hassle.

Therefore, she was hoping that Feng Wentang would be preoccupied with various trivial matters, so that he would have no time to pay attention to her. After she threw the embroidered ball and left the Mu residence a month later, they would probably never have the chance to meet again, which suited her just as well.

In this life, Mu Yulu no longer loves to join in the fun as she did in her previous life. Now, she only wants to protect herself and avoid trouble.

She risked exposing herself to send a message to Feng Wentang, firstly to save his life, and secondly because she wanted to try to change the outcome of the matter and see if her fate could be turned around.

Now that Mu Yulu has reached a conclusion, since Feng Wentang escaped the calamity of her previous life, she also has the opportunity to change her destiny in this second life.

At this moment, she was brimming with confidence, believing that fate was moving in a positive direction. After bravely confronting Mu Yugang, she could get rid of the jinx Mu Qinhan, leave the Mu family mansion smoothly as planned, and no longer have to deal with these people she didn't want to see, truly starting her own life.

Thinking about her plan, Mu Yulu narrowed her eyes slightly.

So far, her plan has only been half completed.

Now that she has successfully escaped Mu Qinhan and the instigator of her past life's tragedy, how to survive in this life after avoiding the Prince's Mansion and leaving the Mu Mansion is a question that needs to be carefully considered.

She wasn't stupid; she knew that her tragic fate in her past life wasn't entirely due to Mu Qinhan.

Her parents knew that the Mu family mansion was a pit of fire, but they still let her jump into it. Even the dirty schemes she devised to marry Mu Qinhan were partly orchestrated by Mu Yugang.

In her past life, she thought that although her parents were not close to her, they would at least consider her life's important matters and would plan with her to help her realize her wishes.

Only now does she realize that they did all these things not for her at all.

The father's schemes were all for his own benefit from beginning to end, while the mother's indulgence was mostly for the sake of her younger sister, Mu Wanyi.

Regardless of the means or status by which she married into the Mu family, she ultimately became Mu Qinhan's person, which is entirely beneficial to the Mu family.

With a daughter who marries into the Mu family, Mu Yugang's business in the entire Vermilion Bird Kingdom will reach new heights. Even if Mu Qinhan doesn't take care of things for him, which of those officials isn't shrewd enough to know how to show him respect?

With an older sister who has married into the Mu family, Mu Wanyi and Mu Xingzi's marriages will naturally receive assistance. The two sisters can marry into noble families in a grand and glorious manner, something they, as daughters of merchants, could never have dreamed of.

So, in her previous life, the only person who suffered so much because of this marriage was Mu Yulu.

Her gaze gradually darkened.

In her past life, she couldn't see through these schemes, nor did she understand the intricacies of human nature, let alone know that even her closest relatives could be so cruel.

In this life, besides getting rid of Mu Qinhan, she also needs to leave the Mu family mansion as soon as possible.

However, this is precisely the problem: how will she live after leaving the Mu family mansion?

Although she has already planned out ways to make money, whatever she intends to do next, what she needs most right now is a pot of capital.

She received a small amount of silver from the Mu family every month, so she couldn't save any money. The worst part was that she didn't have all the necessary items in her courtyard, and some of them even needed Feng Wentang's help, so she had no way to pawn them.

Without raising the initial capital, she couldn't use her skills, no matter how impressive they were.

With a helpless sigh, she cast a mournful gaze out the window: "Xinyun, if I cut down all the trees in the yard and sold them, how much money could I get?"

Xinyun was startled: "Miss, you mustn't! All the trees in this courtyard belong to the Mu family. If you cut them down and sell them, it will definitely cause another uproar. The people of Qingwu Courtyard are watching us closely, afraid that they won't find any fault with us."

Mu Yulu lowered her voice and said, "I know it's not right to do this, but I urgently need some money. If I rely on my monthly living expenses, how long will it take me to save up?"

Xin Yun also lowered her voice: "Miss, if you are short of money, why don't you borrow it from Headhunter Feng?"

Mu Yulu turned her gaze away from the window: "Feng Wentang?"

Xinyun nodded seriously: "Your letter saved Feng Huyuan's life. On his way back, he told me that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. He simply doesn't know how to repay such a great kindness from Miss Meng."

Mu Yulu fell into deep thought.

Given the current situation, borrowing money from Feng Wentang is undoubtedly the safest option. He has been her father's bodyguard for many years and must have accumulated a considerable amount of money. Moreover, Feng Wentang is a very upright person. Since he owes her a favor, he should keep quiet about borrowing money from her.

However, this would inevitably force her to deal with him. She had already given herself away by delivering the letter, so wouldn't it be even more dangerous to continue dealing with him?

Unexpectedly, just as she was hesitating, Feng Wentang came to her door himself.

When Mu Yulu opened the door and saw Feng Wentang standing straight in front of her, she was startled.

It seems you really shouldn't talk about people behind their backs. She had just been thinking about whether she could squeeze some money out of Feng Wentang when this fat sheep delivered itself to her doorstep.

After inviting Feng Wentang into the house, Mu Yulu stared at him silently, while Xinyun wisely withdrew to watch the door for them.

Mu Yulu watched Xin Yun's departing figure, hesitant to speak. After the door closed, she finally broke the silence: "This girl, it's like we're doing something shady."

After saying that, she smiled awkwardly at Feng Wentang.

Feng Wentang smiled at her, a warm and gentle smile, but with a hint of inquiry.

He first bowed to Mu Yulu: "Miss, I have no way to repay your great kindness. If you need me in the future, please feel free to ask me to do anything."

Mu Yulu waved her hand: "It was just a nightmare I had while I was sick. I dreamt that you would be in danger on your way to transport goods. Because the details of the dream were too realistic, I was worried and sent Xinyun to inform you."

She said very modestly, "I was just lucky, it's nothing much."

Feng Wentang fell silent, but the search in his eyes intensified.

He originally wanted to ask Mu Yulu why she could predict the future, but she said so much in one breath before he could ask, so he didn't want to ask any more questions.

However, Mu Yulu's words might fool Xin Yun, but they weren't enough to keep him in the dark.

If it were just a dream, why would she be in such a hurry? What kind of dream could make her disregard her own health while ill and send Xinyun to deliver a message?

Judging from Xinyun's expression that day, one can tell that this matter was serious. If Xinyun hadn't been so anxious, he wouldn't have made the decision to switch to the waterway immediately.

Xin Yun's attitude is inevitably the same as Mu Yulu's attitude.

Would she get that anxious over a dream?

Feng Wentang was skeptical of this.

Looking down at Mu Yulu's brightly smiling face, and seeing her gazing at him expectantly, he suddenly felt that no matter how many questions he had, he couldn't bring himself to ask them.

Well then, since she doesn't want to say anything, he won't ask anything and will just pretend that nothing happened.

"I see." He said with a smile, "But I still have to thank you, Miss. If you hadn't sent Xinyun to deliver the message, our trip wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Mu Yulu's eyes darted around: "Guardian Feng, there's really no need to be so polite. It's just a small matter, and there's no need to say anything like 'at my beck and call.'"

She bit her lip and tentatively said, "But if you really want to thank me, just do me a small favor."

Feng Wentang nodded in confusion, "What kind of help? Just tell me, Miss."

Seeing that Feng Wentang's attitude was so sincere, and that he really wanted to repay her, and wasn't just saying it, Mu Yulu finally mustered up the courage to ask, "I wonder if Head Guard Feng could lend me a small amount of money?"

Feng Wentang frowned and looked around the room: "Miss, is there anything you need? Did those people embezzle your money again?"

As he spoke, he turned to leave, looking as if he were going to settle scores with someone.

"No, no, I don't need anything." Mu Yulu quickly grabbed him: "I just need a little money right now to do something."

Feng Wentang turned and met her gaze for a moment, knowing that Mu Yulu probably wouldn't tell him the reason, so he said no more. After thinking for a while, he directly asked her, "How much silver does Miss need?"

Mu Yulu silently calculated for a long time before hesitantly extending her right index finger: "One hundred taels, is that alright?"

Feng Wentang smiled: "Is one hundred taels enough?"

Seeing Mu Yulu hesitate like that, he thought she was going to ask for an exorbitant amount, but he didn't expect her to only ask for one hundred taels.

Mu Yulu couldn't help but show a shocked expression when she heard Feng Wentang's question.

What do you mean by "is one hundred taels enough?"

For Mu Yulu, one hundred taels was a huge sum of money. She could never save that much money even if she worked hard her whole life. But Feng Wentang not only took out this amount of money in one go, but also asked her if one hundred taels was enough.

She stared at Feng Wentang in shock: "How much is your monthly salary? Can you lend me more?"

Feng Wentang smiled and said, "The monthly salary isn't much, but the pay is very high after each successful delivery. I have to thank Miss for that. I earned a hundred taels just from delivering the last batch of goods."

His voice was gentle: "How about this, I'll give you five hundred taels? If you want to use it yourself, consider this money as my thank-you fee. If you want to use it for business, then consider it as my investment share. If you lose money, you don't have to pay it back, and if you make a profit, you can give me a share of the profits."