Chapter 3

Xin Yun stared at Mu Yulu with a puzzled look, feeling that the young lady seemed like a different person after she had fainted from hanging herself.

Mu Yulu turned to look at Xinyun, her eyes shimmering with light: "Remember, they are all insignificant people. There's no need to waste your energy on insignificant people."

Xinyun nodded, still somewhat confused.

Mu Yulu led her through the bustling streets. When they came to a restaurant, she looked up and examined it closely. Suddenly, she asked, "Xinyun, is that the number one restaurant in the world?"

Xin Yun responded, then took two steps forward and tugged at Mu Yulu's sleeve: "Miss, this No. 1 Restaurant in the World is not something we can afford. Let's go back quickly."

"Father is a royal merchant. As the eldest daughter, how can I not afford to spend money at a restaurant? I can just put the money on the Mu family's account." Mu Yulu sneered twice and walked into the building.

Xin Yun had no choice but to follow, muttering to herself as she went. "But you are your father's least favored child, with no status in the mansion. How dare you put the debt on the Mu family's head?"

Although Xinyun didn't say anything, her thoughts were written all over her face, and Mu Yulu glanced at her helplessly.

Xin Yun laughed at her for being too crazy, and she laughed at Xin Yun for not seeing through things.

Having been reborn with memories of her previous life, she certainly wasn't going to live it casually. The moment she saw the restaurant, she started plotting her own scheme.

In her previous life, she thought her parents and sisters were unreliable, so she placed her hopes on Mu Qinhan. After dying once, she finally understood that if even her own father was unreliable, other men were even less so.

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips.

Or rather, if even her own father doesn't love her, how can she expect the love of other men?

She gave a self-deprecating laugh and continued walking lightly upstairs.

Fortunately, she retained her memories of her previous life after her rebirth, which gave her a very important information advantage. At this moment, she had already planned out a future business blueprint in her mind.

This includes how to make your first fortune by taking advantage of information asymmetry, how to earn enough money to support yourself using your skills, and how to make that money generate more money so that you can live a life free from worry about food and drink and no longer have to depend on others for a living.

Having lived a second life, she realized that she couldn't rely on anyone else; in the end, she could only rely on herself.

Mu Yulu was scheming in her mind, and she became so engrossed in thinking about her future free and wealthy life that she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Little did they know that laughing out loud was not the problem; the problem was that their boisterous laughter startled those around them.

It didn't matter if she disturbed others, but what was fatal was that she disturbed the person she least wanted to disturb.

As the man was climbing the steps, holding onto the railing, he suddenly heard a terrifyingly arrogant laugh coming from downstairs. Startled, he turned around.

Her ink-black hair fluttered lightly, like the night covering her shoulders; her white robes were whiter than snow, like pear petals lightly covering her; the jade pendants at her waist jingled, their sound clear and melodious, like heavenly music.

Even with such an outfit, it still doesn't do justice to his good looks.

It was this very physical appearance that caused Mu Yulu in her previous life to lose her mind and soul, and in the end, her unrequited love gradually drove her mad.

The person before me was none other than Mu Qinhan.

Xin Yun looked at Mu Yulu with a sudden realization.

So Miss has grown up and become quite capable, even knowing that Prince Mu would be visiting the First Restaurant Under Heaven before the temple fair.

No wonder she insisted on coming here, no wonder she was so confident.

It turns out this "chance encounter" was all planned in advance!

Xin Yun kept giving Mu Yulu meaningful glances: Miss is wise, Miss is mighty! There's a beauty in front of you, Miss, hurry up and go!

Now it was Mu Yulu's turn to have no words to express her suffering. She stared deeply at Mu Qinhan, gently shaking her head, her face full of unbearable bitterness.

Just when Mu Qinhan thought another girl had fallen for him, the girl gasped, lifted her skirt, turned around and ran away at top speed, as if a ghost was chasing her, disappearing without a trace.

Heavens above, earth below!

Mu Qinhan! She met Mu Qinhan!

Mu Yulu lifted her skirt and ran wildly, tumbling and crawling back to the Mu residence. Along the way, she knocked over several people, frightened several horses, knocked down cats and dogs, and trampled countless flowers and plants.

There was no other way; her life was more important, and she couldn't care about anything else at the moment. All she wanted was to get as far away from Mu Qinhan as possible.

Mu Yulu, who was running like a cloud with her toes floating on the ground, sprinted with lightning speed, holding her breath and rushing forward. She accidentally bumped into a pillar, fell headfirst to the ground and rolled in a round circle. Without raising her head, she got up and continued running, panting heavily.

However, she hadn't run two steps before she bumped into a pillar again. Just as she was about to complain about how many pillars there were in the mansion, she saw the pillar fall backward and reach out its hand towards her as it fell.

Mu Yulu looked up in shock and realized that she had not bumped into a pillar, but into the third young lady of the Mu family, her third sister Mu Xingzi.

Mu Xingzi had been physically weak since childhood, and she couldn't withstand Mu Yulu's collision. She was immediately knocked back several steps.

Actually, being knocked back several steps wasn't a big deal; what mattered was that behind her was an artificial lake filled with small fish.

Even more importantly, the girl caught Mu Yulu with lightning speed the moment she fell backward.

And so, Mu Yulu, looking all fresh and clean, fell into the lake with her.

The two young ladies fell into the water, and chaos erupted on the shore.

Some ran around looking for help, some screamed loudly to create atmosphere, and some, with a sudden inspiration, immediately went to the master to complain.

The only one who didn't jump down was to save the young lady.

Neither Mu Yulu nor Mu Xingzi could swim, but Mu Yulu had plenty of experience in suicide attempts. She had jumped into the artificial lake in the mansion no less than ten times, so she knew that people who fall into the water should not struggle, as the more they struggle, the easier it is for them to choke on water.

However, Mu Xingzi was unaware of this, and she was especially afraid of death, so she kept pulling Mu Yulu around in the water, making her spread her wings like a roc.

Her splashing startled the fish in the water, causing them to swim wildly and occasionally lash out with their tails at Mu Yulu's face.

Chaos erupted on the shore and on the lake.

At the risk of swallowing the small fish whole, Mu Yulu opened her mouth and kindly advised Mu Xingzi, "The guards will be here to rescue us soon, so don't struggle anymore. The more you struggle, the deeper you'll sink."

Mu Xingzi wouldn't listen to reason, and after choking on a few mouthfuls of water, she struggled even harder in fear.

Mu Yulu was also struggling, trying to free her hand from Mu Xingzi's grasp.

Like a drowning person grasping at a straw, Mu Yulu couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried. She cried out in despair, "If you want to die, die yourself! Don't drag me down with you..."

As she spoke, she choked on a few mouthfuls of water and was forced to sink to the bottom of the lake with Mu Xingzi.

Just then, a pair of warm hands caught her falling body. The warmth of the palms, through the cold lake water and her thin clothes, came from her waist, making Mu Yulu tremble slightly.

The next moment she was pulled out of the lake and swam to the shore with someone.

Mu Yulu leaned weakly against the man's broad chest, raised her arm and put it on his shoulder, clinging to him like an octopus.

The man stiffened, then tightened his grip on Mu Yulu, and bowed his head to her, saying, "Miss, don't be afraid, it's alright now."

Mu Yulu was stunned when she heard her savior's voice. She looked up at him and saw a familiar face.

With his dark hair, thin lips, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes, even the old-fashioned guard uniform couldn't suppress his heroic spirit.

This incredibly handsome young man is named Feng Wentang. He is Mu Yulu's father's personal bodyguard, hired at a high price to protect her safety.

There weren't many people who were good to Mu Yulu in her past life, and this young man was one of them.

In her past life, when she was most infatuated with Mu Qinhan, she would always ask Xinyun to find out Mu Qinhan's whereabouts, and then she would sneak out to try to create various "chance encounters".

After Mu Xingzi complained to him several times, Mu Yugang confined her to her quarters, forbidding her from leaving the mansion again, lest she tarnish the reputation of the Mu family's daughters.

During that time, the servants and guards of the Mu family kept a close watch on her, treating her like a thief. It was difficult for her to even step out of her own courtyard, let alone leave the mansion.

She had tried to bribe them, but Mu Yulu was the poorest person in the Mu family. The personal maids of the master and several concubines were probably richer than her. The little she used to bribe the servants and guards was simply not enough.

Since bribery failed, she resorted to her old tricks, continuing to cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide, and would jump into the artificial lake next to the yard at the drop of a hat.

However, the servants of the Mu family were already used to her methods. Each time, they would calmly watch Mu Yulu perform, and after she symbolically splashed around in the lake a few times, they would jump in to rescue her with numb expressions.

After repeating this process over and over, Mu Yulu realized that such methods were ineffective against them; they had long since developed an immunity to them.

Apart from Feng Wentang, no one paid attention to her self-inflicted injury scheme.

The first time I discovered that Feng Wentang was beautiful and kind-hearted was when she failed countless times in her attempts to sneak out of the mansion.

At that time, Feng Wentang was on duty, and Mu Yulu sat pitifully by the window, watching his tall back, and sighing every few seconds.

As she sighed countless times, the upright figure at the courtyard gate, who had remained steadfast throughout, finally trembled slightly.

Feng Wentang turned her head helplessly: "Miss, are you feeling too stuffy in the manor and want to go out for some fresh air?"

Mu Yulu's eyes lit up, and then she nodded frantically.

Feng Wentang gazed into her bright eyes, hesitated for a moment, and said, "But Master forbids you from leaving the manor."

Mu Yulu bit her lower lip, lowered her eyes, and gripped the windowsill tightly with both hands, instantly becoming listless.

Seeing that the light in her eyes was gradually dimming, Feng Wentang immediately said with pity, "It's okay to go out for half an hour to think, just make sure you come back on time and are not discovered."

The light in Mu Yulu's eyes shone again.

From then on, every day Feng Wentang was on duty was her day of pardon, and on that day she would have half an hour of free time.