Chapter 124 I don’t know what Xie Guanlan is showing off

The old concubine woke up from her half-sleep and saw clearly that the person in front of her was Mu Zhiqiu. She hurriedly helped her up and said, "How could you do such a thing, child?"

Mu Zhiqiu said gently, "I have some knowledge of medicine and know the acupuncture points of the human body. Seeing that the Concubine Dowager is exhausted, I want to personally relieve you."

The girl was wearing a dusk purple double-breasted pomegranate-buttoned jacket and skirt. Her cheeks were plump and her lips were red, bright and slender. Her manners and speech were quite like a lady from a noble family.

The old concubine always liked young and beautiful girls, and seeing how dignified she was, she couldn't help but love her even more.

She patted the back of Mu Zhiqiu's hand and said, "Ziheng will be off duty soon. You should stay at Wansong Courtyard tonight and have dinner with him."

Mu Zhiqiu replied shyly, "Yes."

A strange look flashed across Wen Xingluo's eyes as she suddenly walked in, "Sister Mu."

"Ningning," the old concubine held her hand lovingly, "Zhiqiu will be staying in our palace for half a month. You will have a new playmate."

Wen Xingluo sat down between the old concubine and Mu Zhiqiu, pushing them apart.

She asked with concern, "Sister Mu, is there something important that has happened to you in Rongcheng?"

Mu Zhiqiu was pushed aside by her and was angry for a moment, but quickly said calmly, "I heard that there was a flood in the southwest this summer, causing heavy losses to some people. I thought that since I am the daughter of an official family, I should do something for them. So I plan to organize a charity sale in Rongcheng and invite the young ladies of Shu County to participate to raise funds for those people."

"Sister Mu is truly righteous!" Wen Xingluo praised. "Grandma, I also want to attend Sister Mu's charity sale!"

"You seem to be getting more and more fond of joining in the fun. You weren't home for two out of three days!"

The old concubine dowager tapped Wen Xingluo's nose lovingly, but her brows were relaxed.

She liked Wen Xingluo going out to play with girls of the same age.

Young girls want a lively and colorful life.

"Look, as soon as Sister Mu came, Grandmother started to dislike me." Wen Xingluo pretended to be jealous, leaning tenderly into the old woman's arms, and then tilted her head to look at Mu Zhiqiu, "Speaking of which, Sister Mu has already reached the age of marriage. I wonder if Governor Mu has found a marriage for you? I won't reach the age of marriage until next year, but Grandmother has already started arranging things for me, and she can't wait to marry me off. Alas, Grandmother doesn't like me at all..."

She complained deliberately, causing the old concubine and all the maids in the room to laugh.

Although Mu Zhiqiu had a smile on his face, there was no smile in his eyes.

Look, this is what families with daughters are like.

The elders in the family only care about loving their own daughters, so who would care about the foreign woman who married in?

But she, Mu Zhiqiu, has always been the focus of the crowd, and she is absolutely unwilling to be a supporting role to set off others.

Her desires are insatiable. In this world, only the position above everyone else can satisfy her.

The old concubine said kindly, "Ningning, you may not know that your sister Mu and your elder brother are in love with each other, and the two families are interested in forming a friendly relationship."

"Are you in love?"

"That's right." The old concubine was overjoyed. "Have you seen the sachet your eldest brother is wearing? It's not that other girls have given him sachets over the years, but he refused to accept any of them, let alone wear them. He only wears the one given by your sister Mu."

Wen Xingluo looked at Mu Zhiqiu with a smile, "Really? The sachet that elder brother is wearing was given to him by Sister Mu?"

Mu Zhiqiu clenched his hands.

She didn't know what a sachet or a purse was.

When the old concubine mentioned it before, she just laughed it off.

It’s not a bad thing that the old concubine misunderstands the relationship between her and Xie Guanlan.

But Wen Xingluo brought it up again and asked seriously, if she admitted it she would be lying, and the day her lie was exposed, the old concubine would lose all her good impression of her.

But if you deny...

Just as she was hesitating, Xie Guanlan came back from his shift.

Mu Zhiqiu glanced at his waist and saw a crudely made sachet.

She was disdainful in her heart.

Her mother was a famous embroiderer in Suzhou. She learned needlework from her mother. Any embroidery she made was a thousand times more exquisite than this sachet.

She didn't show it on her face, she just stood up and saluted and said, "Greetings, Commander Xie."

Xie Guanlan lowered his eyes and adjusted his sleeves, "No need to be polite."

Glancing at Wen Xingluo from the corner of his eye, he calmly fiddled with the sachet, hinting to Wen Xingluo that he had not let her down, and that he was wearing the sachet she gave him all the time.

Wen Xingluo saw this and couldn't help but curl his lips.

Isn’t it just the broken sachet that Xie Yanchen gave me?

There were also a few pieces of dead people's fingernails hidden inside.

I don't know what he is showing off.

She quickly smiled and said, "Brother, you came at the perfect time. Grandmother thought your sachet was given by Sister Mu. She said that you and Sister Mu were in love, and she wanted to help you two get together."

The old concubine was surprised, "Isn't it Zhiqiu who sent it?"

Xie Guanlan said, "Grandmother, you are confused. Miss Mu and I are not related at all. Why would I accept her sachet?"

Mu Zhiqiu's breath was caught.

The old concubine ignored her and asked, "If it's not Zhiqiu, then which girl is it?"

Wen Xingluo explained for Xie Guanlan: "Grandma, actually this sachet was given by my second brother."

Xie Guanlan raised his eyebrows.

The little girl was too shy to admit it in public, so she put the blame on Yanchen.

Afraid that she would blush and cry, and it would be difficult to comfort her, he pursed his thin lips, too lazy to expose her.

"So it was given by the second brother..."

The old princess was extremely disappointed, as if her great-grandson had grown wings and flown away.

After dinner, Wen Xingluo had to rush to accompany Wei Si.

She has always been good at time management and would never leave anyone out in the cold.

Unexpectedly, just as she stepped out of Wansong Courtyard, Mu Zhiqiu called her from behind.

As dusk fell, palace lanterns lit up one after another in the corridors.

Mu Zhiqiu stepped closer to Wen Xingluo. "The grudge between us has long since faded away. I no longer have any intention of targeting you. Do you really have to ruin the good things between me and the Commander in front of the Concubine Dowager?"

Wen Xingluo smiled, "Sister Mu and I have always been on good terms. Have we ever had any grudges?"

Mu Zhiqiu circled around her slowly like a poisonous snake.

After a long pause, she curled her red lips and said, "We're both thousand-year-old foxes. There's only you and me here, so why are you pretending? I think Miss Wen is jealous and doesn't want the commander to marry or take a concubine. I just wonder how people would view Miss Wen's secret thoughts if they were exposed."

Wen Xingluo's expression remained unchanged, "Why do you say that, Sister Mu?"

Mu Zhiqiu chuckled twice. "At first, I followed Wen Yueyin's advice and arranged for you to take the aphrodisiac so that I could frame you for 'loving your stepbrother' and ruin your reputation. But later, I realized there was no need to frame you, because this was simply the truth."

"I really don't understand what Sister Mu is saying."

Mu Zhiqiu leaned close to Wen Xingluo's ear and said, "That night, when I heard that Commander Wen accompanied Miss Wen to release a Kongming lantern, I was so jealous. I was curious about what wish Miss Wen would make, so I sent countless spies to search the outskirts of Yangcheng. After three days and three nights, they finally found a Kongming lantern with the same handwriting as yours. There were only two words written on the lantern..."

Their eyes met.

Wen Xingluo's nails quietly pinched into the flesh of his palm.

Mu Zhiqiu pursed his lips and smiled. "You and him, given your status, naturally pose no threat to me, so I have no intention of targeting you. I just hope you won't ruin my plans again and leave the palace as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don't mind having that Kongming lantern appear at the charity sale in half a month, so that everyone will know about your scandal. Miss Wen, you only have half a month left."

The night is dark.

Wen Xingluo looked at Mu Zhiqiu's leaving back, murderous intent silently surging in his eyes.