Chapter 44

Mu Qinhan was resting with his eyes closed in the carriage. He had been busy with court affairs these past few days, dealing with various forces. Now that he had finally left the palace, he was extremely tired.

He frowned upon hearing the wailing and cursing outside the curtain. "What's all the noise outside?"

The person accompanying them immediately replied from outside the carriage: "It seems that someone is making a commotion in front of the Prince's mansion, and the guards are chasing them away."

Mu Qinhan didn't open his eyes, but raised his hand and gently pressed his brow with his fingertips. "Have the guard in charge today come and give me a report."

The attendant responded, and soon after, the respectful voice of the head guard came from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, a madwoman is causing trouble at the gate of the Prince's mansion, and we are driving her away."

Mu Qinhan didn't seem to care, and simply asked, "Where did this crazy woman come from? What does she want?"

The head guard seemed surprised that the prince would have the patience to ask such detailed questions, and stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

The attendant beside Mu Qinhan immediately shouted, "Speak loudly in front of the prince, don't stammer!"

The guard dared not conceal the truth any longer and immediately replied, "The young lady said... said she was a maid from the Mu family, and that her mistress wanted to see the Prince. Since we had never seen a young lady from the Mu family come looking for the Prince before, we stopped her outside..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Qinhan frowned again, his already furrowed brows, then opened his eyes and abruptly lifted the carriage curtain.

The cold rain and wind outside the car lashed at his face, and his gaze pierced through the rain to land on the figure huddled in the mud.

Upon confirming that the figure was indeed Xin Yun, the weariness in his eyes vanished, replaced by surprise and anger.

The guard outside the carriage also raised his head at this moment. After catching a glimpse of Mu Qinhan's expression, his heart sank, and then he lowered his head again in despair.

Oh no, judging from this, what that girl said earlier is probably true.

Noticing the commotion, Xinyun turned her head to look in the direction of the carriage, and then she saw Mu Qinhan sitting inside.

Overwhelmed with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy, she choked back tears, and with a strength she didn't know she possessed, she struggled to crawl towards the carriage: "Your Highness, Your Highness... Your Highness, save me! My young lady is dying... she's going to die..."

Her words were cut off by violent coughing and sobs. She raised her head and looked pleadingly at Mu Qinhan not far away with only her tearful eyes.

"What did you say?" Mu Qinhan's voice trembled slightly. At this moment, he didn't care about asking any questions. He only ordered the accompanying guards to help her into the carriage: "Hurry up and help her into the carriage. We're going to the Mu residence immediately."

The guards dared not delay, and rushed to Xinyun's side. They quickly helped the trembling Xinyun up and carried her into the warm and dry carriage.

Despite the slippery carriage shaft, Mu Qinhan personally leaned out and reached out to help Xinyun inside.

The car was filled with the refreshing scent of agarwood, a stark contrast to the bleak wind and rain outside, creating a world apart.

Mu Qinhan took off his black fox fur cloak and wrapped it around Xinyun's cold, soaked body.

"Alright, now tell me." Mu Qinhan's voice remained calm, but it carried a slight tremor that even he himself didn't realize: "What exactly happened?"

The attendants outside the carriage then lowered the curtain and drove the carriage quickly toward the Mu residence.

The heavy wheels rolled over the puddles, making a dull, rapid rolling sound, and the carriage sped into the rain-shrouded street, splashing up a misty spray.

The guards who were just about to capture Xinyun were now kneeling in front of the Prince's mansion. Although the carriage had already gone far away, they had clearly seen the scene of Mu Qinhan taking off his cloak and draping it over Xinyun inside the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Xin Yun was wrapped in a fox fur cloak that carried a crisp, cool scent. The warmth returned slightly, but the sorrow in her heart only intensified.

She had just told Mu Qinhan the whole story, and Mu Qinhan was now leaning against the car wall, closing his eyes again.

He seemed lost in thought, his brows furrowed and his thin lips pressed into a cold, hard line.

The crisp, refreshing scent of agarwood mingled with the heavy, oppressive gloom emanating from Xinyun, making it hard to breathe and causing time to drag on endlessly.

Finally, the long whip in the attendant's hand outside the carriage cracked loudly in the air, and the carriage came to an abrupt stop: "Reporting to Your Highness, we have arrived at the Mu residence!"

Mu Qinhan opened her eyes, lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down from the carriage, venturing directly into the rain without an umbrella.

Even before the carriage arrived at the Mu residence, attendants had already gone to knock on the door. The entire Mu family had already learned of the prince's arrival, and Mu Yugang hurriedly led his family to kneel and welcome Mu Qinhan at the door.

"I was unaware of Your Highness's arrival. I have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me, Your Highness." Mu Yugang knelt on the ground, head bowed, pleading for forgiveness. However, Mu Qinhan did not stop walking, did not even glance at him, and went straight to the backyard.

Mu Yugang quickly got up and followed: "Your Highness, may I ask what brings you to the Mu residence?"

Mu Qinhan's attendant glared at him: "The prince is going to see your young lady, why don't you lead the way? What are you making such a racket here for?"

Mu Yugang was immediately dumbfounded. His mind raced for a moment, and he quickly realized that someone had probably gone to the Mu Prince's mansion to complain about him the moment he hit Mu Yulu.

He was naturally furious with the person who had complained, but now was not the time to pursue the matter. He could only respectfully lead Mu Qinhan to the right place.

Finally arriving at the courtyard where Mu Yulu was, Mu Yugang mustered his courage and wanted to see if he could still stop Mu Qinhan.

He really didn't dare let him see Mu Yulu in her current terrible state.

“Your Highness, my daughter caught a cold some time ago and is currently recuperating.” He raised his hand to hold onto the door frame, trying to block Mu Qinhan’s way. “This cold is contagious, Your Highness, please come another day.”

Mu Qinhan knew that Mu Yugang would make up an excuse to stop him, so he didn't care what Mu Yugang said and kicked the door open.

The door slammed against the walls on both sides with a loud crash, causing dust to fall from the beams and startling Mu Yugang, who retreated several steps.

Mu Qinhan strode in, his dark robes casting a chilling shadow behind him, exuding an aura of impending doom.

Mu Yugang had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow along, trembling.

Feng Wentang, who was guarding Mu Yulu inside the room, got up upon hearing the sound. Upon seeing Mu Qinhan, he stepped aside, making room for her in front of the bed.

Mu Qinhan walked to the bedside and saw Mu Yulu, whose forehead was still stained with blood and whose face was deathly pale.

The thin body beneath her was barely moving; she looked as haggard as a crumpled and discarded piece of plain silk.

In a daze, Mu Qinhan even thought she had stopped breathing.

His steps faltered almost imperceptibly, whether from disbelief or from a fear of approaching Mu Yulu in this state. The next second, he slowly raised his gaze, fixing it on Mu Yugang, who stood frozen like a puppet a few steps away.

Mu Yugang was already terrified, his face pale. Ever since he heard that earth-shattering sound of the door being kicked, he felt as if his bones had been removed, and he stood there limp, cold sweat pouring down his face and dripping onto his shirt.

He dared not meet Mu Qinhan's gaze, so he lowered his head in a panic, staring at the floor tiles in front of him with a guilty conscience, not daring to even breathe loudly for a moment.

The Mu family members following behind Mu Yugang also held their breath and dared not make a sound, for fear of making a sound and becoming a live target for Mu Qinhan.

A suffocating silence spread through the room. After an unknown amount of time, Mu Qinhan finally moved.

He did not immediately walk towards Mu Yugang, but instead strolled to the table, extended his well-defined fingers, and casually picked up a teacup from the table.

Then he casually asked, "Who did it?"

Mu Yugang swallowed nervously: "It's my fault for not teaching my daughter properly, which led to her getting used to fooling around outside, so I gave her a lesson."

That's what he said, but deep down he was very resentful.

As a father disciplining his daughter, he has no need for outsiders to interfere.

But who could he do against the fact that this outsider was Mu Qinhan? He had no choice but to accept his fate.

Mu Qinhan nodded.

He twirled the cup in his hand, then asked, "Was the wound on her forehead caused by a cup like this?"

Mu Yugang mustered his courage, raised his head, glanced at Mu Qinhan's actions, and his voice trembled again: "This... I accidentally hit it, I accidentally hit it..."

Mu Qinhan seemed to chuckle, but the sound was colder than his gaze: "A slip-up?"

"I also heard that Master Mu, in a fit of rage, injured a maid. The maid was seriously injured and remains unconscious to this day?"

Mu Yugang said with a forced smile, "I just gave her a simple lesson; it's nothing serious."

Mu Qinhan let out another cold laugh: "I had no idea that abusing vigilante justice had become a trivial matter?"

"What?" Mu Yugang's eyes widened: "Abuse of vigilante justice?"

He repeated Mu Qinhan's words, then cautiously smiled again and said, "It's just disciplining a servant, how can it be considered an abuse of power..."

Mu Qinhan remained silent, but his attendant interrupted Mu Yugang: "Don't you understand what the prince means? Whether to discipline the servants or to abuse private punishment is entirely up to the prince."

Mu Yugang was stunned for a moment, then shut his mouth and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Master Mu." Mu Qinhan's voice was deep and steady, without the slightest hint of emotion, yet it was as if an invisible hand had gripped Mu Yugang's throat: "I have always treated you with utmost respect."

He looked down at the cup in his hand, his tone gentle yet chilling: "You know why."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cup in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp cracking sound.

Sharp shards of porcelain flew everywhere, some landing in front of Mu Yugang, startling him so much that he stumbled and fell to his knees.