Butler Chai was very conscientious. Every night before going to bed, he would go out to do a routine check to see if there were any suspicious people in the vicinity before he could sleep peacefully.
This was a rule he set for himself, because he was receiving far too much each month. He needed to find more things to do to make it seem more legitimate and to convince the princess that he cared about the Qiao family and was someone who could stay for a long time.
As the steward emerged from the west gate with two guards, he saw a man stride toward the main gate, raising his arm as if gathering strength.
Butler Chai's alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Stop!"
Mu Lao Si and his group came out from the side door, and couldn't help but wonder why these people didn't use the proper main entrance but instead came through the dog hole? Oh, they must be servants, it's understandable that they have a lower status.
In the countryside, if you visit someone's home and they open only a small door, it's considered extremely disrespectful, and you'll never have to see them again.
Moreover, Mu Xinghe is their nephew, and in terms of seniority, he is even lower than them, so it is only natural for them to enter through this main gate.
Seeing that the head servant was dressed in brocade, he must have a fairly high status among the servants, so Mu Lao Si stopped and spoke in a tone that was somewhat polite, but also carried a hint of pride.
“We are Mu Xinghe’s eldest and fourth uncles, they are his cousins, and they are his aunts.”
“We set off from Datian Village, thousands of miles away, and traveled for a month to seek refuge with Xinghe. We searched for a day before we found out that his residence was here.”
"Hurry up and let him come out to greet his family. From now on, the whole family will be relying on him. After all, he is a talent that our Mu family has worked hard to cultivate."
Upon hearing this, Butler Chai became cautious. He used the light from the doorway to sized up the people. Each one wore a cunning and greedy expression, clearly intending to take advantage of the situation. Butler Chai couldn't help but think of bloodsucking leeches; once entangled, they were hard to get rid of.
He vaguely overheard the Qiao family discussing that the Mu family was selfish and heartless towards Mu Langguan. His parents had died, and those uncles ignored him and his siblings. When they saw him taking the imperial examination, they mocked him and didn't want him to succeed. They even wanted to seize his land. After he achieved success, they would try to take advantage of him. Mu Langguan had a hard life. He had no family, and the Qiao family was his family.
The Qiao and Mu families both have their ancestral homes in the same remote southern region, thousands of miles away. It was something Butler Chai hadn't expected that they would come knocking on his door.
This also shows that this family is determined to drink Mu Xinghe's blood and eat his flesh.
Now that the official's career is going smoothly, what should he do if these people cause trouble in front of him and affect his mood and luck?
Butler Chai knew what to do: he couldn't let this family find Mu Xinghe, nor could he let them know that this was the Qiao family's residence.
He said, "You've got the wrong person. This place doesn't have the surname Mu, and I don't know who Mu Xinghe is."
"What? We asked around, and Mu Xinghe lives with the Qiao family. They don't have the surname Mu here, but they do have the surname Qiao, right?" Mu Xingsheng, the eldest son of Mu Laoda, asked in surprise.
His mother, Madam Sun, muttered to herself, "This is a house that the Qiao family bought with their money from the Star River. They only found out about it when we mentioned the Qiao family, didn't they?"
Steward Chai felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't understand how this family could come to such a conclusion. The small house where the shepherd lived was all thanks to the princess's help, yet this large mansion was considered an attempt to covet the shepherd's money. It was truly a complete reversal of right and wrong.
Seeing the shamelessness of this family, Butler Chai became even more determined.
“This place doesn’t belong to the Qiao family either,” Butler Chai said seriously.
“The Qiao family is somewhat famous, but they seem to have only been in the capital for a few years. They can’t afford such a large house. You’ve definitely come to the wrong place. I’ll give you a specific place to go.”
The Mu family felt a little disheartened; it seemed they had been too optimistic in their assessment. However, as long as they could settle down in the capital, they were all wealthy.
At most, Mu Xinghe only made a few hundred thousand taels, but that was enough for his whole family to eat, drink, and have fun, living a life of wealth and worry-free. Perhaps it was only at the beginning, so he was a little hesitant. But once he had been in officialdom for a long time, wouldn't he be able to handle things with ease, as familiar as dripping oil into a hole?
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