Chapter 54

Mu Yulu stopped in her tracks as advised, and when she looked up, she found that there was indeed a wall standing in front of her.

After she stopped, she looked up again and saw the figure crouching on the wall.

As always, she wore a pink dress, flowing like smoke and swaying in the wind; as always, she wore a bronze mask, beneath which were those beautiful eyes.

"Sanzhou Jinse?" For some reason, seeing him felt like a huge weight had been lifted from Mu Yulu's heart: "You're back?"

Sanzhou Jinse remained casually squatting against the wall, tilting her head to look at her, and suddenly asked, "Are you working as a chef at the World's Number One Restaurant now?"

Mu Yulu looked around, tiptoed to get closer to him, and lowered her voice, saying, "Keep your voice down. Is this something you can talk about everywhere? If my dad finds out, he'll drag me back again."

Sanzhou Jinse mimicked her manner, glancing furtively left and right before repeating in a low voice, "You're a chef at the World's Number One Restaurant now?"

Mu Yulu: "..."

She nodded, then asked Sanzhou Jinse, "Did you just happen to be passing by, or did you come here specifically to find me?"

Sanzhou Jinse replied quite frankly: "I was just passing by, I didn't intend to look for you on purpose."

Mu Yulu nodded again, her tone somewhat speechless: "Alright then, you continue with your work, I'm going back."

After saying that, she turned to leave.

Sanzhou Jinse then jumped down from the wall and followed her out of the alley, politely asking, "I'd like to eat your cooking. I heard your specialty is chicken broth stewed tofu? Can you make it for me today?"

Mu Yulu turned to look at him. "Let me ask you first, how did you know I was a chef at the World's Number One Restaurant?"

Sanzhou Jinse shrugged. “People say that a famous chef who is no less than Chef Yang has come to the No. 1 Restaurant in the world. I knew it was you as soon as I heard that.”

His tone was sincere, and it was clear that he was speaking from the heart, not flattering Mu Yulu: "In this Vermilion Bird Kingdom, there is no one whose skills are no less than Chef Yang's, and I only want you."

Mu Yulu had been keeping a straight face, but when she heard Sanzhou Jinse praise her so much, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

When she spoke again, her tone had softened considerably: "I can't make you chicken soup with tofu tonight. I have to serve dishes at the Third Prince's birthday banquet tomorrow, so I need to rest early tonight."

She said in a light voice, "Come find me again after you've presented the dishes tomorrow, and I'll cook you a delicious meal by yourself."

Sanzhou Jinse paused for a moment upon hearing this: "Are you going to the palace birthday banquet tomorrow too?"

Mu Yulu nodded, "The list has already been submitted, and I'm going to present the dishes."

Sanzhou Jinse fell silent and remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he said, "Tomorrow's birthday banquet will be attended by the royal family of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, as well as envoys from various countries. There will be many people and complex relationships. You should go back early after you finish serving the dishes."

Mu Yulu turned her head and stared at him questioningly, "There will be many dignitaries at tomorrow's birthday banquet, and the security will definitely be very tight. There shouldn't be any accidents, right?"

Sanzhou Jinse stopped speaking and walked quietly beside her. Mu Yulu then noticed that he walked silently, his body taut and straight, like a wary cat walking in the night.

He seemed to be constantly on guard against someone suddenly rushing out from some corner and slashing him.

Mu Yulu remained silent with him for a while, hesitated, and was about to ask him what he had come back for when she heard him say beside her, "We've arrived at the Mu residence."

Mu Yulu exclaimed "Ah!" and looked up at the plaque of the Mu residence in front of her, only to realize that she had unknowingly arrived home.

But she was still puzzled by San Zhou Jinse's sudden instruction. Could it be that his return was also related to the Third Prince's birthday banquet?

Turning around to ask him, she found herself alone; the person beside her had left sometime earlier.

Night had fallen, and the long street was deserted, pitch black without a single ray of light. This Sanzhou Jinse was truly elusive. Mu Yulu sniffed, turned around, walked up the steps, and knocked on the door of the Mu residence.

Ever since Mu Qinhan warned him, Mu Yugang has been treating Mu Yulu like a goddess. He not only stopped asking about her daily schedule, but also made sure to leave the door open for her no matter how late she came back.

Mu Yulu naturally knew that Mu Yugang's indulgence towards her was because of Mu Qinhan. Although she went out every day, this was the first time she had returned so late.

The door creaked open from the inside, and the maid who opened it stepped aside to make way for her.

Mu Yulu nodded to her, rubbing her slightly sore arms as she walked towards the backyard, when she heard the little maid calling her from behind.

She stopped and turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"

The maid clearly had something she wanted to tell her, but hesitated to speak, looking around timidly as if afraid someone would see her.

Mu Yulu's gaze darkened. She walked over and pulled her into the shadows behind the flowers: "Say what you have to say. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you."

The young maid was quite cautious. She didn't directly tell Mu Yulu the truth, but instead said cryptically, "Miss, please go to Master's study and take a look."

After saying that, she turned and ran, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Mu Yulu moved with lightning speed, heading immediately towards Mu Yugang's study.

Ever since she started receiving her wages at the No. 1 Restaurant, Mu Yulu would occasionally tip the maids and servants around her. This wasn't because she was extravagant, but because she knew how to survive in this grand mansion.

The reason why Aunt Wang was able to live so well in the Mu family was not only because she could understand Mu Yugang's thoughts, but also because she was generous to her servants and willing to spend money on them.

Once real money is spent, the subordinates will naturally know who to serve.

So ever since they discovered that Mu Yulu had some money and was very generous with her servants, the attitude of the maids and servants in the Mu household towards her changed, and they all became extremely attentive to her.

Later, they discovered that although the young lady was often away from the manor, she was very interested in what was happening there. She would always grab the maids around her and ask them questions. After each question, regardless of what the maids answered or whether the information was useful to her, she would reward them with a sum of money.

So gradually, people started to come and tell her gossip about the mansion. And these maids and servants gradually developed a sense of competition, vying to eavesdrop on more valuable gossip, and then relaying it to Mu Yulu when she returned.

Mu Yulu's intelligence network within the mansion was thus established.

Tonight, the little maid only said one vague sentence to her, and she was so nervous that she ran away without even taking the reward money. This made Mu Yulu nervous too.

Mu Yugang is probably plotting something about her with others in his study, and it must be something significant.

Upon arriving at the study, she did not rush in. Instead, she observed her surroundings and noticed that Mu Yugang had carefully dismissed all the servants.

The candlelight flickered inside the room, casting shadows of the two people.

She recognized one of them as Mu Yugang and the other as Mu Zhaoshi, and immediately alarm bells went off in her mind.

Her biological parents got together and plotted something related to her.

What good thing could that be?

She tiptoed to the window, crouched down, and listened intently.

The first sentence that reached her ears was explosive: "Why don't we just drug her and send her to Prince Mu's bed?"

That was the voice of her own mother, Mu Zhaoshi. Upon hearing those words, Mu Yulu's heart sank instantly.

Immediately following was Mu Yugang's voice: "Do you think this will work? You saw how Prince Mu protected her that day, he practically wanted to put her in his mouth. If we really drug her, won't Prince Mu come after us later?"

Mu Zhao snorted coldly: "Then what do you suggest? Jinse from Sanzhou has not shown up since she snatched the embroidered ball. She said she would come back to marry her, but I think it's all a lie. Now her reputation is ruined, and no one in the capital dares to marry her. If this continues, it will not only delay her own life, but also prevent my Wanyi from getting married along with her."

As she spoke, she burst into tears: "If all else fails, send her back to the countryside and marry her off to a local gentry. At least if she's married off, it will leave a way out for the other daughters of the Mu family."

Mu Yugang sighed deeply: "Send her away to marry a local gentry? How could you even think of that! If Prince Mu finds out about this, do you still want your head?"

Mu Zhao cried even more bitterly: "This won't work, that won't work, so what do you suggest we do? Just let her drag this out, ruining the reputation of all the daughters of the Mu family, making everyone end up like her, an old maid who will never get married!"

Mu Yugang sighed again: "Look at you, you're always so anxious. What's the use of being anxious? I'm trying to find a solution!"

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of Mu Zhaoshi sobbing.

Mu Yulu's legs went numb from squatting outside before she heard Mu Yugang continue, "This girl is incredibly wild; trying to persuade her is useless. First of all, your thinking was correct; the only way to make her obedient is to drug her."

Before the words had even finished, Mu Zhaoshi's footsteps could be heard: "I'll go and tell Qiu Chi to go out and buy medicine first thing tomorrow morning."

Mu Yugang clicked his tongue, clearly indicating that he had pulled Mu Zhaoshi back.

"Don't rush, let me finish what I have to say."

"Pilling her and sending her to bed directly won't work. If we do that, Prince Mu will definitely punish us. We need to think of a roundabout way that will make the girl submit while making the prince think he's playing the hero."

"I've already thought it all out. In a few days, you'll host a polo match, and bring that girl along. Remember to send an invitation to the Prince Mu's residence in advance, in the name of the Mu family. I'll find a thug to force Xiao Lu to drink the medicine, and then you'll have Qiu Chi reveal her whereabouts to Prince Mu, so he can play the hero and save the damsel in distress, and incidentally, force her into marriage. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

Mu Zhao's tears turned into laughter: "Master is indeed very thoughtful."