"A man's infatuation can still be explained, but a woman's infatuation cannot be explained..."

Mu Zhuohua repeated the words her mother had said in a daze.

It was not until the moment of her death that she freed herself from that wrong relationship and focused her attention on her only daughter. It was also her words that made Mu Zhuohua choose the path she is on now.

"Juli, my mother said that you must never fall in love with a man." Mu Zhuohua lowered her eyes and looked at the light swaying gently in front of her. The fire in her eyes was dimly lit, and her voice was inaudible, "But... I didn't listen to her..."

Guo Juli fell asleep at some point. She was in a good mood and drank some wine. They agreed to keep watch together, but she fell asleep on the table. She didn't hear Mu Zhuohua's mumbling to herself, and even if she heard it, she didn't understand.

She looked at Guo Juli who was sleeping soundly, smiled helplessly, carried the thin girl back to the room, covered her with a quilt, and then closed the doors and windows and came out.

There is still a quarter of an hour until the new year. The surroundings are quiet, as if a more violent thunderstorm is brewing. The fire in the yard has been extinguished for a long time, and the chill is even worse. She gathered her collar and was about to go back to her room, but suddenly stopped and looked up to the west.

The man on the wall was dressed in dark purple clothes, sitting on a high place with his knees bent. His slender five fingers were holding a emerald green jade flute. The crescent moon fell on his shoulder. He lowered his head to look at her, smiling gently, and his dark pupils reflected a ball of red. I don’t know if it’s fire or her.

While Mu Zhuohua was distracted, he had flown down from the top of the wall and stood in front of her. Mu Zhuohua subconsciously took a half step back, pursed her lips and looked at him secretly.

"Prince, Prince..." She lowered her eyes and dared not look at him, but her heart beat wildly involuntarily. It seemed that her heart, which had been hanging all night, had just fallen to the ground, and was lifted up again.

"Are you waiting for me?" Liu Yan stepped forward and asked in a gentle voice.

Mu Zhuohua pursed her lips and did not admit it. She put on a slightly stern face and pretended to be calm, "Tonight is New Year's Eve, and I was planning to stay up all night until dawn."

Most people in the State of Chen have the habit of burning incense and worshiping the gods at the first moment of the New Year, praying for everything to go well in the new year.

Liu Yan smiled and asked, "In that case, why don't you prepare the incense table and offerings?"

Mu Zhuohua hesitated twice and defended herself, "Uh... as long as the intention is there, the Bodhisattva is merciful and will not hold it against me."

Hearing her say this, Liu Yan remembered her way of wishing the Bodhisattva a happy birthday, and could not help laughing. He gently tapped her head with the jade flute and said with a smile, "You have said everything you want to say. Who is the Bodhisattva?"

Mu Zhuohua was startled by the sudden tap, and her eyes fell on Liu Yan's jade flute, "My Lord..." Why did you bring the jade flute with you?"

Liu Yan explained, "The eldest princess also came to the palace tonight. This is a gift from her, because I broke the jade flute that day in the villa."

Mu Zhuohua was a little surprised: "Did you break the jade flute on purpose?"

Liu Yan smiled, "They wanted to match me with Miss Sun, but I didn't want to. Zhuohua, no one can force me to do something I don't want to do, and no one can stop me from doing something I want to do."

His deep eyes locked her with a smile and tenderness. Mu Zhuohua's breath was choked, and she avoided his gaze helplessly.

"At the family dinner tonight, the imperial aunt brought up the old matter again. I have made it clear to her that I have someone in my heart and will never marry anyone else." Liu Yan's words were firm and decisive, like a thousand-pound stone pressing on Mu Zhuohua's heart, "She asked me who the person in my heart was. I didn't tell her the name, but just said that the person didn't want to, and perhaps she would never want to in this life."

Mu Zhuohua was slightly shocked and raised her head to look into Liu Yan's eyes.

He lowered his head and smiled, her shadow in his eyes and heart: "She doesn't want to, but she can't stop me from liking her. What's more, I know she has me in her heart. She is not happy without me."

Mu Zhuohua's left chest seemed to be grasped by him, sore and swollen, making her sad, but unable to cry.

She didn't want to deceive herself. She knew that she was really moved by the man in front of her. She could numb herself with busy official duties and stop herself from thinking about him when she was awake, but she couldn't stop him from dreaming every night and getting deeper and deeper in her heart. The farther away he was, the closer he was.

Liu Yan was very close, he lifted her chin, so that she could not avoid his deep affection: "Zhuohua, what I said in the carriage that day was serious. If you like me, I will accompany you. If you don't marry, I won't marry. We will live like this for the rest of our lives, okay?"

Mu Zhuohua looked a little dazed, and looked at Liu Yan in confusion: "Just like this..."

Liu Yan's eyes were gentle and firm, his voice was slow and deep, and he kept tempting her: "Yes, you can do what you like, and I will always be by your side."

"Not all companionship must be in the name of husband and wife."

Mu Zhuohua felt a door slowly open in front of her, allowing her to see a different scenery.

Liu Yan stretched out his hand on the other side of the door to tempt her, making her walk towards him involuntarily.

At this moment, the sky full of fireworks suddenly bloomed behind him, bursting out with a deafening sound.

Liu Yan looked up and laughed, "It's a new year."

Mu Zhuohua seemed to be in a dream, with Liu Yan's arms around her waist. He hugged her tightly and used his Qinggong to sit on the roof. Here, without any obstruction, the gorgeous feast in the dark night was clearer and more dazzling.

The roof was tilted, and Mu Zhuohua was afraid of falling, so she pressed her whole body against Liu Yan. Liu Yan held her in his arms and stroked her back with a smile, "I'm here, I won't let you fall."

Perhaps it was the confidence and determination in his tone that soothed her uneasy heart. Mu Zhuohua finally relaxed slowly, raised her head in Liu Yan's arms, and watched the colorful fireworks that rose and fell one after another.

I wonder if the ten-mile fireworks that my father set off for my mother on the top of Yanbo Tower that year were as gorgeous as tonight. At that time, my mother was immersed in the prosperity of the moment, but she never thought about the desolate and cold after the prosperity faded.

Mu Zhuohua shivered unconsciously, and was embraced in a warm and solid embrace. His arms were strong and powerful, and the melancholy Jia Luoxiang wove a fine and dense net. Her rationality flapped its little wings, but it hit the wall everywhere in his palm, and she couldn't find a gap to escape. In the end, she could only give up struggling and resisting, and lay in his arms at ease, quietly appreciating this dazzling feast.

Her eyes were exceptionally clear, reflecting the fireworks, shining and colorful, like colored glaze.

The fireworks in the sky are beautiful, but in Liu Yan's opinion, they are not as beautiful as she is at this moment. Her clothes are mostly sky blue and light green. He has never seen her wearing such bright and strong colors, but after washing off her disguise, she has a charming color that makes all the strong colors dim. The fiery red dress makes her skin look like snow, her cherry lips are plump and delicate, and her eyebrows and eyes add three points of charm and passion. He believes that he is not a superficial person. Even Yelu Zhen, who is known as the most beautiful woman in Beiliang, is nothing more than a red|powdered skeleton in his eyes. Only this person in his arms, even with an ordinary appearance after the disguise, can make him soften and move.

She is a book that you can never get tired of reading. In fact, the more you read, the more surprises you will get.

Mu Zhuohua knew that there was a pair of eyes that had never seen fireworks and had been watching her. She turned her head slightly and bumped into his deep eyes.

"Zhuohua, it's the New Year." His warm palms fell on her hair, slid down her soft long hair, and wrapped around her shoulders. He lowered his head slightly and stared into her eyes. In the hustle and bustle, his deep voice was clearly heard, "I hope... every year at this time in the future, I will be by your side." His soft

lips were imprinted on her brows. She closed her eyes, her curled eyelashes trembled, and even her breathing slowed down.

The sound of fireworks outside was loud, but it did not cover the heartbeat at the moment.

Liu Yan did not feel discouraged or regretful without getting a response from Mu Zhuohua. In other words, not refusing was her best response.

The sound of fireworks subsided unconsciously, and the fireworks fell to the world, and then lit up the lights of thousands of households in Dingjing at night. Sitting on the roof and looking at it, there were stars dotted everywhere, all of which were fireworks in the world.

Liu Yan picked up the jade flute and placed it to his lips. His slender white fingers pressed the emerald green jade flute. The sound of the phoenix flute moved, like a complaint and a longing. It was originally a melancholy and sad music, but when he played it, it was like the sound of a fairy under the moon, the sound of a phoenix in the heavenly palace, suddenly soaring to the sky, and then sinking into the mortal world. The heaven and the earth were all him.

Mu Zhuohua was mesmerized by the sound, and didn't know when the flute sound stopped. He whispered in her ear: "Zhuohua, this flute sound is only for you."

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Guo Juli got up early as usual. She drank wine at night and slept very soundly. Even the fireworks and firecrackers at midnight could not wake her up.

Mu Zhuohua was still asleep in the room. It was unknown when she fell asleep. Guo Juli did not wake her up. He warmed the porridge in the pot and waited for her to get up and drink. This wait lasted until the afternoon. Guo Juli saw that her eyes were dark, obviously she didn't sleep well last night. Thinking that he had promised to keep watch with her but broke the promise, he couldn't help feeling guilty.

"Miss, if you are sleepy, go to bed early. In previous years at the Mu family, you didn't care about keeping watch..." Guo Juli muttered in a low voice.

Mu Zhuohua looked at herself in the bronze mirror with lifeless eyes. She looked haggard, as if she had been drained of her essence and blood by a goblin...

Thinking of this, her heartbeat became more chaotic.

She rubbed her face, rubbing it to a little pink, took a breath to cheer up, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she lost her breath again.

"Miss, are you worried?" Guo Juli used her not-so-bright little brain to think about it, and asked nervously, "Is it... because of the money?"

Mu Zhuohua's thoughts were pulled back, and by the way, hit hard.

"No, no..." Mu Zhuohua laughed speechlessly, hesitated for a moment, and her face was a little red.

Her guilty look confirmed Guo Juli's guess.

"Miss, I'm not lecturing you, you should also plan for your future." Guo Juli said earnestly while combing her hair, "We won't get married in this life, but we should have our own house. We can't always rent a house, right? I see that you like this house very much. Although it's not big, it's just right for the two of us. It's close to Zhuque Street, convenient for going to court, and there's a good neighbor to take care of each other. I asked the landlord how much it would cost a while ago, and he said he wanted five thousand taels...Miss was cheated before... The money earned from practicing medicine was almost enough for this amount, but I gave Miss Eight three thousand taels, which is far from enough..." Guo Juli sighed heavily, "Miss, I remember you said before that the prince was inhumane and wanted you to treat him. Can you earn three thousand taels?"

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Mu Zhuohua suddenly held the table and coughed violently, coughing until his face turned red and his eyes were full of tears.

Guo Juli was startled, patted her back and asked repeatedly: "Miss, what's wrong with you!"

Mu Zhuohua was speechless and could only wave her hand to indicate that she was fine. Guo Juli hurriedly poured a glass of water. Mu Zhuohua coughed for a long time before she said with a red face: "There is no problem with the prince. Before... I misunderstood it myself."

Guo Juli showed a look of regret, feeling that the banknotes were flapping their wings and leaving her: "Oh, what a pity."

Mu Zhuohua held her forehead with a smile, but saw Guo Juli showing a suspicious look again: "Miss... how did you know?"

Mu Zhuohua's face changed and she was speechless.

Guo Juli looked at Mu Zhuohua thoughtfully: "Did the young lady touch it?"

"Cough cough cough cough..." Mu Zhuohua coughed again and her face turned red.

Guo Juli supported Mu Zhuohua and patted her back: "Why are you coughing? Didn't you feel the prince's pulse before?"

Mu Zhuohua: "..."

Mu Zhuohua took a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing. The veins on her forehead jumped again and again. She was almost heartbroken by Guo Juli's words. She felt that this topic was very dangerous, so she could only change the subject abruptly: "Let's talk about the house... You don't have to worry about this..." Mu Zhuohua's hands trembled slightly, and she opened the drawer, took out two thin papers from it, and handed them to Guo Juli.

Guo Juli was not well educated, but he still knew the characters. She saw two eye-catching big characters at a glance - house deed! Looking at the other piece of paper below, there were two other beautiful characters - land deed!

Her attention immediately shifted from the prince's lower body to the lady's lower life. She stared at the house deed and land deed with her eyes wide open and her mouth wide open. She couldn't speak for a long time - the house deed and land deed were written in the lady's name!

Mu Zhuohua picked up the water glass and sipped it to cover up the stiff corners of her lips.

"These are the house deeds and land deeds of the courtyard next door. That house originally belonged to my maternal grandfather, but later he was implicated and convicted because of Concubine Yun's difficult labor. The house was taken back by the court and eventually fell into the hands of the prince." Mu Zhuohua paused, his voice a little hoarse, "Last night... he gave me these two house deeds and land deeds, saying that the properties were returned to their original owners."

Guo Juli's hands, heart, and mouth were shaking. He looked at the two pieces of paper in his hands in disbelief. That was not a thin piece of paper, it was a mountain of gold and silver!

This small courtyard with its own entrance and exit is sold for five thousand taels. The courtyard next door is more than four times the size of this courtyard, and it also has a medicinal pool that is said to be worth ten thousand taels! How much is that worth!

Guo Juli's breathing became heavy, her face flushed, her eyes sparkling with gold. She slowly raised her head to look at Mu Zhuohua, hiccuped, and said, "I'm not dreaming..."

Mu Zhuohua couldn't help laughing, "It's true."

Guo Juli trembled as she held the two pieces of paper, as if she was afraid of accidentally dropping them. She placed the papers on the table very solemnly, then turned to look at Mu Zhuohua, "Miss... you always say that you can't accept gifts without merit, but you actually accepted such a heavy gift... Did you do something big without telling me?"

Mu Zhuohua looked away with a guilty conscience, "Not really... The prince said that Queen Mother Zhou harmed my grandfather, and this is to atone for her sins, and it's what I deserve."

Guo Juli frowned and thought seriously, and felt that there was some truth in it, but looking at Mu Zhuohua's expression, she felt something was wrong. She was the one who knew the young lady best, and the young lady's eyes flickered and she forced a smile, which clearly showed that she had something to hide.

Guo Juli knew that she was dull, but since the matter concerned the young lady whom she cared about the most, she still put all her efforts into using her brain to guess Mu Zhuohua's thoughts. "Miss..." Guo Juli said solemnly, "You just said that the prince is not inhumane..."

Mu Zhuohua nodded with empty eyes.

"The prince gave you a mansion worth twenty or thirty thousand taels for no reason, and you accepted it..." Guo Juli said slowly, looking at Mu Zhuohua's expression suspiciously.

Mu Zhuohua held the water cup as a cover, and did not drink a sip for a long time. Her eyes were wandering and hesitant.

Guo Juli became more and more certain of her guess. She exhaled heavily and sighed: "Miss, is the prince going to keep a beautiful woman in a golden house like the old man?"

The water in Mu Zhuohua's mouth suddenly sprayed out, splashing Guo Juli's head and face.

"Ahem...what nonsense are you talking about!" Mu Zhuohua was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and coughed continuously, "How, how is it possible!"

Guo Juli raised his hand to wipe the water off his face, his expression heavy: "The prince is so good to the young lady, no matter how stupid I am, I can see it, but the young lady said that the prince had health problems, and repeatedly said that she didn't want to get married. I never expected that she wanted to be the prince's concubine...

" Mu Zhuohua blushed with anger. He put the water cup on the table and reached out to pinch Guo Juli's cheek: "Stupid girl, who said I want to be his concubine!" Guo Juli's cheek was pinched, and his eyes widened

as he said, "What else does he mean?"

Mu Zhuohua pursed his lips, let go of his hand and sat back in the chair. He supported his chin and frowned for a long time before he found an accurate description: "I think he wants to be my concubine..."

"Huh?" Guo Juli tilted his head, his little head full of doubts, "He is a prince, and he wants to be your concubine?"

Mu Zhuohua found it incredible at this time, but Liu Yan clearly meant this.

"He likes me and I like him, but if I marry him and become a princess, I have to obey the royal rules and be a respectable lady. I can't be an official in the court and work with men." Mu Zhuohua said slowly, "So he said that he could not marry me, and he could even remain single for his whole life for my sake. He just wanted to be with me like this and didn't ask for the status of husband and wife in the world. You say, if this isn't a mistress, what is it?"

Guo Juli was very puzzled: "But there is no status of husband and wife in this way, how aggrieved the lady is. Don't women in the world all seek a status?"

Those concubines that Mu Rong provoked, who wasn't seeking a status and marrying into the Mu family as a concubine?

Mu Zhuohua sneered and tapped Guo Juli's forehead with his index finger: "You don't understand the ins and outs of this. Status is just an excuse used by men to restrain women, and the biggest beneficiaries of status are actually men. The so-called status is nothing more than a shackle for women. Whether they are wives or concubines, once they wear the shackles of this status, they must demand themselves according to the constraints of the status. As a wife, she must be virtuous and capable, have many children, and must not commit the seven offenses of divorce. As a concubine, she must be gentle and charming, and obey everything. As husbands, it is their right to treat their wives and concubines in any way. If they have money, they can give them some money to support them. If they don't have money, they can let their wives work like slaves to support them. What's the point of a status that only makes demands on women?"

Guo Juli didn't understand what she heard. These words were like thunder, splitting the clouds in her mind, revealing a corner of the clear sky, and making her suddenly realize. At the moment, she couldn't think it through completely, but she felt that what Mu Zhuohua said made a lot of sense.

If those Taoists heard this unorthodox explanation, she, Mu Zhuohua, would not only be criticized by thousands of men, but also by thousands of women. So she always kept these thoughts in her heart and only told them to her most trusted relatives.

Guo Juli seemed to have realized something and said, "So this status has real benefits for men. It was the prince who gave up his husband's status and rights and wronged himself to accommodate the young lady."

"You are right." Mu Zhuohua supported her chin and gently tapped her cheek with her index finger. She agreed with Guo Juli's statement. "He said that he likes me, respects me, and loves me. He doesn't want me to study hard for ten years and be buried in the backyard." Guo Juli

opened his mouth and sighed, "The prince likes the young lady more than just..."

The master has liked so many women, but he just gave them money and status. Most women in the world love these, but not all of them. For example, the fourth concubine, she asked for the master's pity and love, but the master only gave her fine clothes and delicious food. The fourth concubine smiled and conquered the city. How many princes and sons held mountains of gold and silver to ask her to smile, but did she really care about these? What she couldn't forget was the young man who stood in the middle of the night for her in the cold dew.

It turns out that really liking someone is not about giving her the best of everything, but everything she wants.

The young lady doesn't want the status and position that women in the world care about. She wants freedom, respect, and even more pursuits that she can't understand, but the prince understands.

Guo Juli's heart slowly surged with joy - it's really great that there is someone in this world who understands, respects, and cherishes the young lady.

"Miss, have you agreed to the prince?" Guo Juli asked with a smile.

Mu Zhuohua lowered her eyes, played with her long hair, and said slowly: "Of course I didn't agree."

Guo Juli was stunned and said anxiously: "Why? It's such a good thing to have a prince as a concubine and the young lady won't suffer any loss!"

Mu Zhuohua's eyes moved, and she glanced at the little girl who was more anxious and angry than her with a smile: "Have you forgotten my mother's lesson? The sweet words of a man when he is in love are not to be trusted. I have to take a closer look and can't let him succeed easily."

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Guo Juli calmed down, frowned and thought for a moment, and said thoughtfully: "Miss, but I think... if you can look at me a few more times, the prince may have succeeded.

Mu Zhuohua was stunned, his face slowly turned red, and he muttered: "It seems true when you put it that way... He is clearly deliberately seducing me..."