"No, no, it's terrible, Madam Li, our front door has been kicked down."

A servant boy stumbled and crawled, panting, into Madam Li's room.

Li the rich man was kneeling on the ground peeling melon seeds, while his wife was leisurely lying on the soft couch eating melon seed kernels.

Both men smiled contemptuously upon hearing the servant's words.

"Are you kidding me? My door, made of several meters thick wood, can be kicked down with one kick?" Madam Li didn't believe it at all.

"It's true. Five men came, and our yard has been surrounded." The servant added, trembling, "They look like soldiers."

army?

Madam Li and the wealthy man were startled, but then they thought again, where would the army come from in this small town of Qinghe?

"Get lost, stop talking nonsense."

Madam Li said impatiently.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a panicked shout came from outside.

"Damn it, these unruly bastards."

Madam Li assumed it was a servant causing trouble at home, so she put on her cotton coat and went outside.

Dozens of people stood neatly in the courtyard, all dressed in military uniforms, while the people in the mansion were being held down with knives by them.

Madam Li's legs trembled, and when she turned around, she saw that the wealthy Li had collapsed to the ground in fright.

Good heavens! She had never seen anything like this in her life.

Five imposing men walked out.

Madam Li, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the character "慕" (Mu) on their silver armor.

The army, the Mu family.

Madam Li, who usually swaggered around Qinghe Town, knelt down on the ground without hesitation.

"This humble commoner has come to greet the Great General Who Guards the Nation."

The ancestors of the Mu family were founding heroes, and were granted the title of Marquis and the title of Protector of the Nation by imperial decree, personally conferred by the emperor and announced throughout the country.

Everyone in the world knows the Mu family.

But why would the renowned Mu family come here? It was the General of the State who personally came forward.

Madam Li and the wealthy man knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

The eldest son, Mu Jinchen, immediately noticed the gold-inlaid jade necklace around Madam Li's neck.

That was for Xiao Tuanzi; at the time, he didn't know that Xiao Tuanzi was his sister.

This lowly woman dares to wear his sister's things.

Mu Jinchen ruthlessly ripped the necklace off.

After receiving this valuable item, Madam Li specially made a thick chain to hang it on. Now, with Mu Jinchen pulling on it, a bloody mark immediately appeared on her neck.

But Madam Li didn't dare to utter a sound of pain, keeping her head down, afraid of angering the man in front of her.

"Father, this is for Xiaotuanzi. I gave it to her myself," Mu Jinchen said, holding up the necklace.

"Where is the little dumpling?" Apart from matters concerning his beloved daughter, Mu Tingzheng didn't bother to say a word to the two members of the Li family.

Madam Li's heart tightened. She never expected that the Mu family had come looking for that wretched girl.

Although she didn't know what the Mu family's purpose was, she had a feeling that she was doomed today!

Madam Li stood up tremblingly, her mind racing, and said obsequiously:

"The little dumpling is sleeping in the back room."

“We felt it wasn’t safe for her to live alone as a child, so we specially brought her here.”

"They're serving you the best food and drinks. I'll take you to see her now."

Madam Li grabbed the mangled flesh of the wealthy Li and led the Mu family towards the backyard.

As she walked, she said, "I always treat Xiao Tuanzi like my own daughter."

Give her all the best food.

"Little Dumpling is like my own daughter."

The second son, Mu Jinyi, raised his fan and slapped Madam Li hard across the mouth.

The fan, made of black iron, struck Madam Li, causing her mouth to bleed and even knocking out one of her front teeth.

Madam Li shrank back, not daring to utter a sound, wondering what she had said wrong that had angered the effeminate-looking but ruthless man in front of her.

Mu Jinyi felt a wave of disgust. How dare she call his precious younger sister his own daughter?

Who does she think she is? Does she even deserve to be called one?

If he weren't in such a hurry to see Xiaotuanzi, he definitely wouldn't have just let her lose a front tooth.

Despite the freezing snow, Madam Li was so intimidated by the five men's imposing presence that she broke out in a sweat.

Madam Li was terrified. Three days and three nights had passed, and she still didn't know whether that wretched girl was alive or dead.

Madam Li glanced coldly at the wealthy man beside her, having made up her mind—if the person died, she would pin the blame entirely on the wealthy man.

Upon arriving at the backyard, the five men of the Mu family immediately noticed a mound in the snow, which looked like something was buried underneath.

Mu Jinnian knew Madam Li's character. Startled, he ran over and dug through the snowdrift with his hands.

"Please, please don't let his little dumpling be down there!" Mu Jinnian prayed silently as he shoveled snow.

Seeing this, the other four also quickly ran to dig out the snow.

As the snowdrift was dug away, a frozen little face was revealed.

"Little dumpling!"

Mu Jinnian cried out in pain and pulled the little dumpling out of the snowdrift.

Mu Ting had already taken off his armor and wrapped the little dumpling in his bearskin coat, holding him tightly in his arms.

"Start a fire! Start a fire quickly!" Mu Ting shouted to the crowd while rubbing the little dumpling's cold face.

How long were their little dumpling buried in the snow?!

The men's hearts were bleeding, and they hurriedly ran towards the warm pavilion.

Before leaving, Mu Jinnian said to his subordinates:

“Strip them naked, pour cold water over them, and make them kneel in the snow, but they absolutely must not die.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Li and the wealthy Li were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but the men of the Mu family didn't even glance at them again.

Upon entering the warm room, Mu Ting was carefully placing the little dumpling on the bed.

"Call a few maids over to change the little dumpling's clothes and wrap her in a warm fur coat."

The third brother, Mu Jinxuan, was calling out to the servants.

Immediately afterwards, he took off his fur coat and put it on the charcoal fire to roast.

Two maids were immediately dragged in and taken to the inner room to remove the frozen clothes from the little dumpling's body.

The eldest brother, Mu Jinchen, directed the others to boil water and make ginger soup.

The second son, Mu Jinyi, led a group of people to buy all the doctors and medicinal herbs in the town.

The third brother, Mu Jinxuan, heated all the clothes and bedding with fire.

The fourth brother, Mu Jinnian, brought over dozens of pots of charcoal and placed them beside Xiao Tuanzi's bed.

The town's doctors, panting heavily, were brought in by Mu Jinyi. As soon as they entered the room, they were sweating profusely from the heat.

Knowing that this was a member of the Mu family, even though their shoes were all askew from running, they didn't dare to delay and quickly began to treat the little person on the bed.

"How is my daughter?" Mu Ting asked anxiously.

"Thank God, Miss is still breathing, she's still breathing."

"After spending three days and three nights in the snow, Miss's body is now too weak?"

The five men behind him immediately exuded a terrifying aura, and the doctor trembled in fear, unable to utter a word.

Three days and three nights! Their precious treasure had been buried in the snow for three days and three nights.

The five men looked like they were about to devour someone, and the doctors and maids around them shrank back in fear.

"Continue," Mu Ting said coldly.

"Miss, if you take good care of yourself for a few days, you'll get better." The doctor finished speaking in a trembling voice, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The eldest son, Mu Jinchen, brought over some ginger soup and carefully fed it to the little dumpling on the bed.

The second son, Mu Jinyi, personally supervised the doctors as they prepared the medicine.

Every now and then, the third brother, Mu Jinxuan, would change the little dumpling's blanket to a warm one.

The fourth brother, Mu Jinnian, busied himself changing the charcoal in the stove and then went to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

He instructed the servants to keep the food warm so that the little dumpling could have a hot meal as soon as he woke up.

Mu Tingzheng's gaze never left the little dumpling.

He still remembered a few days ago when a wounded boy stopped his carriage in the street, clutching a phoenix jade pendant tightly in his hand.

He recognized the boy at a glance as his fourth son, Mu Jinnian, and the phoenix jade pendant belonged to his beloved wife.

Four years ago, during a palace coup that plunged the entire capital into chaos, his fourth son and his pregnant wife both disappeared without a trace.

After searching for four years, the child reappeared, and Mu Ting was overjoyed and wept tears of joy. He was so excited when he heard that his youngest daughter was also alive that he fainted.

Upon waking up, Mu Ting was rushing to Qinghe Town on horseback.

Seeing his beloved daughter in this state now, Mu Ting was heartbroken.

He stayed by his daughter's bedside without leaving her side for a moment, and only felt slightly relieved when he saw her complexion gradually return to normal.