Chapter 25

On this day, Mu Yulu's fortune-telling shop welcomed an unexpected customer.

Now her fortune-telling business is thriving, and the fees she charges are naturally getting higher and higher. With a stable customer base, she has decided to only give fortune-telling to three people a day, and those three people must make an appointment in advance. Opportunities are limited, so it's first come, first served.

She finished work early that day and didn't rush back home. Instead, she sat leisurely in a recliner, letting her mind wander, when an uninvited guest pushed open the door and entered.

The moment she heard the door open, Mu Yulu sat up abruptly from the recliner, grabbed the mask from the table, and put it on her face.

After all, when she ran her fortune-telling shop, she presented herself as an old man who had gone blind because he had revealed a secret of heaven. She needed to disguise herself every time she gave a reading.

If Mu Yugang found out that she sneaks out of the manor every day to pretend to be a fortune teller, he would definitely break her legs.

The sudden arrival of that person had already startled Mu Yulu, and after she sat down at the table, she was so frightened that she didn't dare to breathe.

The elegantly dressed noblewoman sitting in front of her was none other than her own mother, Mu Zhaoshi.

As expected, what she feared most came to pass. She had just been thinking that now that she was famous, she needed to be more careful in her actions and make sure that the Mu family could not find any fault with her, when her own mother came knocking on her door.

She swallowed nervously.

I just don't know if her mother came to arrest her or to tell her fortune.

After waiting for a while, seeing that the old man opposite her had no intention of serving her tea, Mu Zhaoshi cleared her throat and asked, "Can you still do divination today?"

Mu Yulu breathed a sigh of relief.

They're not here to arrest her.

They came to have their fortune told.

She quickly lowered her voice and replied, "Yes, yes, what would you like to know, Madam?"

Although Mu Zhaoshi did not make an appointment, and Mu Yulu did not want to do a divination for her at all, she was a member of the Mu family and her own mother.

If we refuse her today, we might still have to deal with her here in the future. So we might as well agree to her today and hear what she really wants.

Mu Zhao slowly began to speak: "I have a daughter who will be of marriageable age in two years, but she still hasn't found a good match."

As she spoke, she took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Mu Yulu: "This is her birth date and time. I would like to ask you to help me calculate my daughter's marriage prospects and see if she can marry a good husband in the future."

Mu Yulu's heart sank slowly when she heard Mu Zhaoshi say that she had a daughter, and after seeing the birth date and time she was handed over, her heart finally sank to the bottom.

What she held in her hand was naturally Mu Wanyi's birth date and time. Although Mu Zhaoshi had given birth to two daughters, the one who deserved her so much concern was the one who had grown up by her side since childhood.

After receiving Mu Wanyi's birth information, Mu Yulu quietly examined it for a moment before saying, "Madam did not make an appointment. If you wish to have a divination performed on short notice, an additional fee will be charged."

Mu Zhao frowned: "If I make an appointment now, when will I be able to have my fortune told?"

Mu Yulu smiled, but Mu Zhaoshi couldn't see her expression through the mask: "If we make an appointment now, we'll have to wait at least six months."

"Six months?" Mu Zhao's eyes widened. After a moment's thought, she hesitated and said, "If we wait until six months later to choose a husband for her, won't it be too late? If we can't arrange a good marriage for her before she comes of age, it will be difficult later."

She looked up at Mu Yulu and said, "Name your price, and we'll calculate it for her now. How much do you want?"

Mu Yulu calmly observed Mu Zhaoshi's reaction; every word the other party said felt like a needle piercing her heart.

It turns out that when a mother cares about her daughter, she can plan for so many things for her years in advance. She also knows that she should choose a good husband for her daughter before she comes of age, because it will be too late to worry about these things after she comes of age.

Mu Yulu suddenly accepted the fact that Mu Zhaoshi was actually a very good mother. She did love her daughter, she just didn't love her.

She took a deep breath and held up one finger to Madam Mu Zhao: "If Madam insists on having the divination done now, then the divination fee plus the fee for not making an appointment will cost a total of one hundred taels."

"What did you say?" Mu Zhaoshi raised her voice, which trembled slightly: "One hundred taels?"

Mu Yulu nodded and shrank back slightly: "If Madam thinks it's too expensive, you can make an appointment first, and we'll calculate the cost when it's your turn."

She deliberately emphasized her words, saying, "It's only a matter of waiting half a year. Your daughter still has two years until she comes of age, so there's no rush to find her a husband."

Madam Mu shook her head: "Sir, you don't know that after the marriage is settled, there are still many things to do. Whether it's performing the six rites or preparing new clothes and dowry, none of them can be done carelessly and all of them take time."

She gritted her teeth and said, "I'll have someone go back and get the silver notes right away. Please wait a moment, sir."

Today, Mu Yulu was quite impressed with her stingy mother. Mu Zhao was known for her frugality in managing the household; she would not let go of even a single copper coin if there was a way to save money.

Asking her to hand over a hundred taels of silver in one go was indeed putting her in a difficult position; her heart must be bleeding right now.

However, on second thought, Mu Zhaoshi was usually so frugal, perhaps it was to save money for Mu Wanyi. She should save where she should and spend where she should. She might not feel bad about spending this money on Mu Wanyi.

Mu Yulu was unaware that her face was terribly ashen, but Mu Zhaoshi could sense Mu Yulu's seriousness even through her mask.

She asked somewhat nervously, "Is there anything wrong with my daughter's birth chart?"

Mu Yulu snapped out of her daze, shifted her gaze from Mu Wanyi's birth chart, stretched out her right hand and pretended to do some calculations in the air, then said, "There's nothing wrong with it, your daughter's birth chart is very good."

Mu Zhaoshi's tense body visibly relaxed, and she leaned forward slightly: "When will a good family come to propose marriage? To be honest, sir, we have more than one young lady. If one of them is disgraced, it will affect the other young ladies and make it difficult for them to find a good husband. How do you plan to resolve this matter?"

Mu Yulu was somewhat embarrassed. Mu Zhaoshi was practically calling out her by name that her improper behavior had jeopardized her sister's marriage. How was she supposed to respond?

Just then, the servant who had gone to the mansion to collect the silver notes returned. Mu Zhaoshi hurriedly handed the silver notes to Mu Yulu: "Please, sir, show me the way. I have been worried about my daughter's marriage day and night, and I haven't had a good night's sleep for more than half a year."

Mu Yulu put the silver notes into her sleeve, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Madam, don't worry. Your daughter is destined for nobility and will marry into a noble family in the future."

Mu Zhao was taken aback upon hearing this, her expression showing more shock than joy.

These words were not just random talk from Mu Yulu. In her previous life, not long after she married Mu Qinhan, Mu Wanyi became engaged to the most sought-after third prince in the capital.

Although she was only a concubine, she was still much better than Mu Yulu, a mere maid.

Mu Yulu did not know how Mu Yugang had negotiated the marriage, but she guessed that he must have made many exchanges of benefits with the Third Prince.

After all, since she married Mu Qinhan, Mu Yugang's business has become more and more prosperous. In the year or two before the Mu family was executed, it would not be an exaggeration to call Mu Yugang the richest man in the capital.

It's actually quite reasonable for the daughter of the richest man to marry a prince as a concubine.

However, in the eyes of the Mu Zhao clan at present, this news is really a bit far-fetched.

She asked cautiously, "Sir, would you like to do another calculation? How could my daughter have married into such a noble family?"

Mu Yulu deliberately clicked her tongue: "What, judging from your expression, you don't think marrying into the imperial family is a good idea?"

"You can't say such things lightly." Mu Zhao looked around before whispering, "We commoners naturally admire the imperial family's demeanor, but to be honest, I don't want to become a member of the royal family. I only hope that my daughter can marry a kind and understanding man and live a peaceful life."

Her expression was one of kindness as she said this: "How easy is it to be the emperor's daughter-in-law? Besides, we are just a merchant family. If she marries into the royal family, who knows how much she will suffer."

Mu Yulu breathed calmly, but felt her heart clench with every breath.

She paused for a moment and then tentatively said, "Perhaps it wouldn't be becoming the current emperor's daughter-in-law, but rather marrying a prince who was the late emperor?"

Mu Zhao was shocked: "You dare not say such things. My daughter is not so lucky. How could she possibly marry a prince?"

The late emperor had many princes, but only the regent Mu Qinhan remains in the capital.

Just now, Mu Zhaoshi's tone was one of shock and fear, as if the mere thought of Mu Wanyi possibly marrying Mu Qinhan filled her with terror.

This is actually normal. Although Mu Qinhan is young, handsome, and holds real power, making him the dream man of noble ladies and many powerful people eager to marry their daughters to him, parents who truly love their children do not want their daughters to marry into the Mu family.

Prince Mu was a killing machine at a young age, having spent his childhood crawling among piles of dead bodies on the battlefield. How could he possibly know how to cherish people?

Despite his current power, the princes are getting older, and who knows what the situation will be like in two years?

Any family that truly loves their daughter would never push her into such a dangerous situation.

Mu Yulu only understood this simple truth after she was reborn.

While Mu Zhaoshi was still immersed in fear, Mu Yulu's heart had already turned cold in this spring day.

She still remembered what Mu Zhaoshi and Mu Yugang said when they conspired to persuade her to marry Mu Qinhan.

Her mother said that no family in the entire Vermilion Bird Kingdom could compare to Prince Mu, and her father said that she would have a good life after marrying Mu Qinhan, and that her parents would not harm her.

But today, just thinking about the day Mu Wanyi would marry into the Prince's mansion filled Mu Zhaoshi with fear, and her voice changed: "How can it be both the Emperor and a Prince? Doesn't my daughter have any other choice?"