Chapter 188 A Push and a Pull

The following day, Mu Xi and Mu Xun went together to Shen Lun's residence in Moyang City.

The Yong Kingdom Mansion in Moyang City is located on the quiet Hulu Street in the west of the city. It is low-key and elegant, and its interior is a hidden paradise.

Led by the old butler Shen Gui, after many twists and turns, the door to the nanmu study opened silently.

Amidst the rich scent of sandalwood and the aged aroma of books, Marquis Shen Lun of Yongguo sat upright behind his sandalwood desk. His deep purple crane cloak accentuated his somber expression, and his willow-leaf eyes possessed an unsettling penetrating quality upon first glance.

Mu Xi and Mu Xun greeted each other together.

"Sit down." Shen Lun raised his hand, his smile perfectly timed, warm yet carrying an undeniable sense of control.

"Uncle seems to be doing well," Mu Xi asked before sitting down.

At the same time, I secretly reminded myself that when I was with Shen Lun, I had to keep an icy expression on my face and not easily reveal any attitude or expression.

Mu Xun didn't think too much about it; he accompanied the visit and sat down at the lower seat.

This study was located deep within the inner courtyard of the mansion. Shen Lun dismissed the servants, and Mu Xi guessed that Shen Lun must have something important to say.

Unexpectedly, Shen Lun said, "I know what you're thinking. I didn't expect that you, a young woman, could have such a big heart as you've grown up. First there was the 'divine revelation' at Qifeng Terrace, and then you created the pardon in exchange for suppressing the bandits in the southern border. All you want is to regain your rightful status. Being a princess of the Jin Fang Jun Mansion is much better than being an illegitimate daughter of the Yong Guo Marquis Mansion."

Mu Xi was somewhat prepared, so she wasn't surprised to be exposed and tried her best to maintain a humble and receptive expression.

"Sigh..." Shen Lun sighed softly and turned his gaze to Mu Xun's face. "As for you, your father spoke ill of you, saying that you are not only soft-hearted but also blindly obedient to your brother, almost ruining important matters several times. You were like that before because you didn't know your true identity, but now that you know, why do you still blindly listen to her and indulge her in doing these things? Don't you know what your most important task is to do now?"

Mu Xun lowered his eyes and adopted the same submissive attitude as Mu Xi, but his words were very firm: "Regardless of stance, whether it is Qifengtai or the suppression of the bandits in the southern border, it is all for the sake of praying for the people and saving them from suffering. It is what we should do."

"Ahem..." Shen Lun couldn't find fault with it, and then changed the subject to Mu Xi, "Well, although you were able to find Dai Rong's wife and regain military power amidst the chaos and complex background of this trip to the Southern Border, turning the tide, that was only because Dai Rong's wife was just a woman. She couldn't have done anything independently and had to rely on you. If this had happened to a more shrewd general, let's see what your fate would have been?"

Mu Xi didn't expect Shen Lun to start with a serious lecture, belittling both her and Bai Su to the point of being worthless.

But there's nothing we can do now. She used up her only "grace," so nothing we say will make a difference. We can only control our expressions and bow our heads to be taught.

Shen Lun, used to being taught, took their submissive attitude as normal and became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke: "Hmph... Originally, your plan had some cunning involved, asking the King for a 'pardon' in advance, which was a way to do it. But do you know why it still failed in the end?"

Why else could it be? It's obvious.

The opportunity was given to Bai Su.

Mu Xi thought this to herself, but resolutely kept her face expressionless and remained silent.

“Because of a woman’s kindness…” Shen Lun answered his own question, but it was like a knife cutting into Mu Xi’s heart.

Mu Xi took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger, but to no avail.

But Shen Lun continued, "That Zhu Mingjun was originally a colluder with pirates. Now that he has fallen into your hands, you should act decisively to eliminate him completely, to serve as a warning to others and to prevent future troubles. How can you allow him to be escorted back to Moyang, leaving Mu Ji with a witness and giving yourself a handle to use against him? And that so-called female general, you gave the hard-won opportunity to some female general, haha... She is just Dai Rong's wife. Even if she now holds the imperial insignia and commands troops, whose tiger tally does she hold, and whose troops does she command? What use will she be in the future? Mu Ji can easily take back the military power from a woman."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xi could no longer hold back and was about to retort when Mu Xun spoke up in time: "What the Marquis says is quite true, but the situation at the time was beyond our control. We were both young and inevitably lacked foresight, and we were indeed far from the Marquis's level."

Shen Lun's eyes were sharp and discerning; how could he not notice Mu Xi's emotional fluctuations?

That's about all I wanted to say. Then I tried to win you back: "Alright, the deed is done. I've only said all this to teach you a lesson. Even if it were up to you, becoming a princess wouldn't have been a problem. As your uncle, I could have even devised a plan to help you secure your title of Lord Jin Fang. But saying all that now is useless. You should understand that life is unpredictable, and things aren't as simple as you imagine. From now on, listen to your uncle more often."

"Yes." Mu Xi quickly composed herself after being seen through and replied to the previous sentence.

This is a classic case of giving a slap followed by a sweet treat.

But to say that a few words could win her heart is to be incredibly disrespectful.

Shen Lun was well-versed in the art of winning people's hearts with a push and a pull: "Alas... to be honest... that matter of the 'Grand Sacrifice of the Six Directions and the Hunting of Yanshan' took a lot of my time, half of which was for you."

"For me?" Mu Xi was genuinely surprised.

Shen Lun adopted the benevolent air of an elder: "That's right. Anyone with eyes can see what happened with your 'divine revelation' at Qifeng Terrace. But you still managed to come up with the phrase 'female ruler Yang Sheng,' which probably wasn't originally meant 'female princess's birth, was it?"

Mu Xi truly felt ashamed about these four words; what else could she say?

Shen Lun guessed correctly and chuckled, "Hehe, it's not that nothing in this world is that easy, but those four words you unintentionally uttered will likely arouse Mu Ji's suspicion. He's naturally suspicious, and if he thinks about it carefully, even if he doesn't suspect the former princess, he'll suspect you, and even if he doesn't suspect you, he'll suspect the former officials of the previous dynasty. In short... you've caused yourself a lot of trouble without even realizing it. If I hadn't taken remedial action afterward and diverted everyone's attention, you would have been in big trouble when you returned from your trip to the Southern Border."

This makes sense, and Mu Xi must accept this favor. She also wants to ask, "What is the meaning of the 'Extreme Radiance' that my uncle created on Yan Mountain?"

Shen Lun smiled arrogantly: "Hehe, of course it's to echo your 'Female Ruler Yang Rising.' The word 'Female Ruler' is exactly the image of 'yin and yang in disarray' in his heart. And 'Qianji' is the head of ultimate yang, and 'Chongguang' means to use supreme majesty and brilliant yang fire to cleanse away the gloom. As the saying goes, 'Qiandao is restored to brightness, and Yangji is restored to prosperity.' The so-called 'Female Ruler Yang Rising' is nothing but the light of an ant in front of the majestic 'Qianji,' and it will be extinguished in an instant."

Mu Xi didn't quite understand and didn't believe it: "How could the four words 'Female Ruler Yang Sheng' have such great power? The King of Yu believed it?"