Chapter 141 Inferiority

Mu Xianzhi shamelessly followed him to Qingyuan.

Ling Qingyan: "Okay, there's no need to send it here."

"How can that be?" Mu Xianzhi reached out and plucked the fallen green leaves from Ling Qingyan's hair. "I'm your adopted husband. It's okay if I can't find you, but now that I've found Sister Qingxi, I naturally want to be with her all the time."

People were passing by the door. Ling Qingyan looked at him in confusion and said through gritted teeth, "Are you sure you don't have anything of your own to do?"

She was relieved that the other party did not go crazy, but did he really want to stay in Yizhou?

"Sister Qingxi, what are you talking about? My world is filled with nothing but Sister Qingxi. What else do I have to do?"

Ling Qingyan got goosebumps all over her body.

The two people next to him curled their lips and snorted coldly.

Where did Mu Xianzi learn so many sweet words that are so cheesy that they make your teeth fall out?

It's so scary.

Seeing that she hadn't given in yet, Mu Xianzhi continued, "Don't worry, I will definitely listen to Sister Qingxi from now on. If Sister Qingxi tells me to go east, I will never go west. You can do anything to me, as long as Sister Qingxi lets me stay."

"Sister Qingxi, if you let me stay, I will kill whoever you tell me to kill, and I promise not to cause any more trouble."

Mu Xian's eyes were deep and he swore devoutly with three fingers.

"Think twice, Miss." Shen Chuo reminded.

His heart seemed to be blocked by a ball of cotton.

Why did Mu Xianzhi find the lady? He wanted her and wanted to snatch her away from him, right?

Chen Chuo had seen Ling Qingyan's back too many times and had glimpsed other people's happiness too many times.

He had gotten enough before, why would anyone destroy his simple happiness?

Ling Qingyan sighed and nodded at Chen Chuo.

It’s not that she trusts Mu Xianzhi that much, but Mu Xianzhi’s words were more or less threatening.

If she asked him to stay, he would not cause trouble.

Based on her understanding of Mu Xianzhi, it was hard not to understand that if she didn't let him stay, he would turn Yizhou upside down.

Although he showed weakness and begged a lot, he was still foolproof because he was sure that he would have some concerns.

Ling Qingyan compromised, and she looked at Mu Xianzhi with her clear eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

The light and shadows were mottled, birds fluttered their wings and flew by, there were bursts of hawking sounds from not far away, and a few children laughed and walked past them. One of the little girls in pink fell down, and the other little boy in blue helped her up, and then continued to chase as if nothing had happened.

The wind blew through the hems of the four people's clothes, and each of them had his own thoughts.

The girl's clear and pleasant voice rang out.

"Don't cause trouble."

"Um."

Mu Xianzhi's mouth curled up, and there was a hint of warmth in his eyes.

"Don't harm others." Ling Qingyan emphasized this sentence particularly strongly.

"knew."

"Follow my instructions strictly and don't touch me." Ling Qingyan turned her head away.

"hiss--"

"Hmm?" Ling Qingyan looked at him with kitten-like eyes.

"Okay."

Mu Xianzhi moved into Qingyuan. His courtyard was next to Shen Chuo's, not very close to her.

Chen Chuo approached Ling Qingyan alone.

"Your Highness, I didn't ask Cui Huailang just now because he was there. That masked man—"

Ling Qingyan knew that Chen Chuo would definitely ask, after all, Cui Huailang didn't know where she came from, but Chen Chuo knew.

"I can't tell you the identity of the man who came after me from the capital. It won't do you any good. I can only warn you that he's not easy to mess with. Try to avoid provoking him as much as possible."

It was not convenient to tell Chen Chuo about Mu Xianzhi's identity. Chen Chuo was a smart child and did not ask any more questions after hearing this.

"But won't he hurt Your Highness here?"

"Even if I kill ten of you, I won't touch Your Highness at all. Why does Master Shen love to sow discord so much?" Mu Xianzhi suddenly came in and choked Shen Chuo's words.

"Mr. Mu knows me and also knows Your Highness's identity, yet you still say such presumptuous words to Your Highness?" Shen Chuo said bluntly.

"It's not like I haven't done anything presumptuous before." Mu Xianzhi glanced at Ling Qingyan and said with a smile, "I'm the type who enjoys doing things that presumptuously overstep my bounds, and Your Highness is willing to indulge me. Is it any of your business?"

Mu Xianzhi stared at Chen Chuo with a calm expression. He showed the composure he had as a teacher before and said lightly, "I just like His Highness. I can admit it openly. But you, Chen Chuo, are so secretive around His Highness that you don't even dare to reveal your feelings."

"You know you're not worthy enough. You don't even have the qualifications to overstep your bounds."

Chen Chuo's body froze, his heart seemed to stop beating at that moment, the air around him seemed to become thinner, and his fists were clenched tightly.

The secret he had hidden so carefully was revealed so blatantly by Mu Xianzi.

His throat was dry and his eyes were sore. He knew that he was not worthy. He was born in a humble family and was even more despicable and unscrupulous. So he could only proceed step by step and slowly come into the sight of His Highness.

Slowly let His Highness notice me and give me a little warmth.

It was all ruined by Mu Xianzhi.

Shen Chuo had never wanted to kill someone so much.

He couldn't act impulsively. His throat cleared and he thought of a solution quickly.

His mind was in a mess and he couldn't calm down to think. All kinds of possible things were playing out in his mind.

Ling Qingyan opened her red lips slightly, and stood there like a wax figure. Seeing Chen Chuo's ears that were about to bleed, what else did Ling Qingyan not understand?

Her first reaction was shock, then she quickly recalled the moments between her and him. He was calm, frank and measured, and did not show at all that he had any feelings for her.

He was very smart and comfortable to get along with, but it seemed that it was precisely this intelligence that allowed her to remain completely unaware of it.

He is worldly-wise, but also very sensitive and has a low self-esteem.

He never let her know because he didn't want her to know.

Now that Mu Xianzhi has revealed his personality...

Ling Qingyan suppressed the shock in her heart and looked at Mu Xianzhi in a normal tone, "If you like me, then you like me. It's normal for me to be liked by people as kind and beautiful as you."

"What are you making such a fuss about?"

"It's normal for people to admire or fall in love with each other. Some people want to share their feelings with the whole world, while others want to carefully guard their feelings secretly. What's wrong with that?"

"He didn't do anything to hurt me. He even helped me a lot. What's the difference between him and me?"

Ling Qingyan glanced at Mu Xianzhi, then turned to look at Chen Chuo.

Inside, the draft made Ling Qingyan's dress flutter, and the double butterfly hairpins on her head sparkled in the sunlight. She had a faint smile on her face, and her tone was serious and solemn:

"First of all, thank you for your affection, Chen Chuo. Although I never thought you would have such thoughts about me, it is indeed normal when I think about it carefully."

"After all, it seems like you haven't had any special contact with other girls."

"You're young, full of energy, and it's normal for young people to be moved."

"Of course, I'm honored to have Shen Zhuangyuan, a young, energetic, and smart scholar, develop some subtle feelings for me."

"And I'm really likable."

"So, hold your head up." Ling Qingyan smiled brightly, "If you like me, you don't need to feel inferior."

"You are already very good, so you don't need to feel inferior."

Chen Chuo raised his head and met the girl's pure and brilliant eyes.

No disgust, no spit.

She was frank and sincere, without a trace of contempt on her face.

She didn't just leave him there perfunctorily, and from then on, she became a stranger to him.

She told him seriously that she was grateful for his love.

She said he was fine.

Shen Chuo clutched the corner of his clothes.

Is he nice? No, he's not a nice guy either.

It's not like he hasn't done anything to hurt her.

He is not as good as Your Highness thinks.

Mu Xianzhi was furious.

"Your Highness, you are just too kind." Mu Xianzhi's voice was chilling.

"You're exaggerating." Ling Qingyan turned to look at him, "Xiao Mu, what I'm saying is that people should still coexist peacefully with each other."

Ling Qingyan folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to look at him: "Who gave you the illusion that you must be superior to Chen Chuo? At least Chen Chuo's liking for me hasn't affected my life."

"I'm patient and restrained, what about you?"

"Am I not patient and restrained enough?" Mu Xianzhi was so angry that he laughed.

"I'm too lazy to argue with you."

“…”

In the capital, Ling Yu volunteered to go to Yingzhou to suppress the bandits.

Yingzhou is located on the border, with high mountains and far away emperor, and there are often bandit disturbances. There are also several hilltops that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Yingzhou has little money, and the prefect has sent troops to suppress the bandits many times but with no significant results.

However, those bandits were not particularly rampant. They were just small gangs and factions that posed no threat to the imperial court, so the imperial court never paid much attention to them.

No one expected that Ling Yu would suddenly volunteer to lead troops to suppress the bandits.

The emperor was also confused. Yingzhou was poor and not close to Prince Yong's fiefdom. Why would he go to such a remote place for no reason?

He also suggested that he could use half of the military pay from Prince Yong's Mansion to suppress the bandits.

The emperor suspected that Ling Yu was driven crazy by Qingyan's death.

They were looking for painters and suppressing bandits.

Thinking of Qingyan, the emperor felt sad again.

Just as he was about to agree, someone from the Ministry of Justice suddenly reported that Ji Yanxing in prison wanted to see the emperor, and coincidentally, he was also going to suppress bandits.

The emperor immediately sent someone to bring him into the palace.

Ji Yanxing was a criminal. If anyone else had disrespected the Crown Prince, they would have been dragged out and beheaded, but Ji Yanxing...

One reason is that Ji Yanxing is involved in too many things. He is a rare military talent and recently became the head of the Ji family.

Secondly, he could also understand Ji Yanxing's feelings at the time. Not to mention him, if the prince was not his own son, he would have wanted to kill the prince.

His daughter...

However, when Ji Yan walked into the Ministry of Justice, he still had a look of wanting to die, and there was no life in his eyes. But now, he seemed to have turned back into that high-spirited young man. Even though he had become much thinner and was wearing a white prison uniform, the sharpness in his eyes and eyebrows could not be concealed.

The emperor felt annoyed.

How long has it been since his daughter left, and he's already adjusted? !

"Ji Yanxing, what do you want to do?" The emperor's tone became a little colder.

Ling Yu next to him also glanced at him sideways, and a bad feeling arose in his heart.

Ji Yanxing knelt down, with a respectful and humble attitude:

"Your Majesty, I know I have committed a grave and unforgivable sin. I have repented daily during my time in prison. However, my heart is truly with Your Majesty and Da Ling. I boldly ask Your Majesty to allow me to atone for my sins and share your worries."

"I, a sinner, am willing to pay all the military pay from the Ji family to go to Yingzhou to suppress the bandits and atone for my sins."

Ji Yanxing spoke in an impassioned voice and knocked his head heavily on the floor, showing great remorse.

Some small countries near Ling State have been restless recently, and Ji Yanxing cannot afford to abandon the current situation.

But why do both of them want to go to Yingzhou?

Is there something about Yingzhou that he doesn’t know?

Or was it that Qingyan had mentioned Yingzhou before, so those who liked Qingyan all rushed to Yingzhou?

The emperor tapped the table with his fingers, his deep eyes falling on the two princes.

"Your Majesty, I can also pay all the military pay." Ling Yu gritted his teeth.

Why is Ji Yanxing joining in the fun?

Or does he already know something?

If he hadn't spent a lot of money on repairing the palace because of the flood, he wouldn't have mentioned half of the military pay at the beginning.

The emperor waved his hand and said, "Let General Ji atone for his sins."

Ji Yanxing can't be kept locked up forever, he has to find a reason.

He looked at Ling Yu and said, "Brother, please give the young people more opportunities."

"Brother, I—"

"It's settled." The emperor was pleased to see his usually arrogant brother being humiliated.

"Father," Ling Zhuo'an's voice suddenly rang out, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go with General Ji."

Ji Yanxing and Ling Yu remained expressionless, their fists slightly clenched.

Ever since Ling Qingyan left, the prince has become much less talkative, as if he doesn't care about anything, and his mood has become more and more changeable.

The emperor's eyelids twitched: "Why, Prince?"

"They both want to go to Yingzhou. I wonder if there is some treasure in Yingzhou that you two capable ministers are so coveting."

Ling Zhuo'an spoke without restraint, his tone lazy: "All treasures belong to the royal family. I am worried about my uncle and General Ji. I am afraid that General Ji will come across something good and not report it. So I want to go too."

Ling Zhuoan and Ji Yanxing looked at each other, and it was as if the calm sea suddenly turned into a storm, with tit-for-tat confrontation.

"Your Highness is worrying too much. I only want to redeem myself for my crimes. How could I know if there are any treasures in Yingzhou? The treasures that I have in mind have long been snatched away by Your Highness. The remaining vulgar things are not worth my attention."

The emperor looked at the two people who were speaking with hidden meanings.

However, the emperor considered Ling Zhuoan's words seriously.

He was also a little suspicious. Both the Ji family and Ling Yu coveted Yingzhou so much. Was there some mineral vein in Yingzhou or something he didn't know about?

"Since the prince wants to go, then go and gain some experience with General Ji. General Ji, remember that you are doing good deeds to atone for your sins and protect the prince's safety." The emperor's voice was filled with warning.

"I obey your command." Ji Yanxing bowed.

The look in Ling Yu's eyes when he looked at Ji Yanxing seemed to be able to stab him.

I finally found an excuse, but this brat snatched it away?!

Okay, very good. Pei Wuyou is in Wei State, Mu Xianzhi is recuperating in Dongshan due to illness, and Ji Yanxing, one of the two most competitive people, seems to know something. Ling Zhuoan may not have known it originally, but if he competes with Ji Yanxing like this today, he will definitely become suspicious.

Ji Yanxing would definitely not be able to hold Ling Zhuoan back, so he might as well go all out and not care about any other trivial matters. He would take the initiative to inform his niece.