At dinner time, Jiayin wrote down the menu and cooked several delicious dishes.
The third princess even rolled up her sleeves, wanting to stew a bowl of nourishing soup.
Jiayin had no choice but to have Shuiyun wash and chop the ingredients, throw them into the casserole, and the Third Princess added water. After watching the fire for a while and getting her face covered in soot, she considered herself "personally" cooking.
Needless to say, the tonic soup was sent out of the palace and into the Lu family's gate before dark.
The food delivered to the Imperial Study was prepared by Jia Yin.
I wonder if the Emperor, upon learning of this, would sigh and say, "A daughter is like a tree that cannot be kept at home once she grows up."
Because they had something on their minds, after dinner, neither the Third Princess nor Jiayin were in the mood to play and went back to their rooms to rest early.
Just as Jiayin had sent Shuiling and Shuiyun to the outer room and was about to go into the space to take a look, Mu Xu rushed back covered in dust!
Jiayin was overjoyed.
She had been on tenterhooks these past few days. Although she knew he was highly skilled in martial arts and intelligent and alert, traveling hundreds of miles back and forth across the north bank of the Yangtze River, no one could say for sure what dangers they might encounter.
Now that the person has returned, safe and sound, that's better than anything else.
Jiayin made an excuse that she hadn't eaten enough for dinner, and quickly went to the small kitchen to prepare some food and drinks. When she returned to the room, Mu Xu was already asleep on the couch.
Shuiyun followed the tray into the house. She was startled to see Mu Xu, but she quickly retreated and guarded the door tightly.
Perhaps drawn by the aroma of food, Mu Xu quickly woke up. After hastily wiping his hands and face, he threw his chopsticks away.
Jiayin guessed he was starving, so she didn't ask him a question and just kept adding rice and serving him dishes.
Mu Xu ate until his bowl and plate were empty, and then gulped down half a pot of cold tea before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"I'm starving! All the way here, I've been trying to keep myself entertained by making empty promises while riding my horse, and that's how I barely made it to Xindu."
Jiayin felt a pang of heartache, yet couldn't help but worry about Jiangbei, asking, "How are my father and godfather? How's the war going? Are they injured? How are they eating, drinking, and lodging?"
Mu Xu laughed upon hearing this and replied, "The Marquis and the Fourth Master asked me the same questions when they first met me. You truly are a family!"
Jiayin glared at him reproachfully and urged, "Hurry up and say it."
"Alright, alright, you're beholden to someone who feeds you, so let me tell you the whole story." Mu Xu sat back on the soft couch and recounted how he started by sneaking into the grain transport team and continued until he had killed many barbarians with his future father-in-law before reluctantly returning.
Jiayin frowned and remained silent for a long time.
Mu Xu coughed lightly and asked, "You don't believe the people who robbed the grain came from the southwestern border?"
Jiayin sighed, her delicate brows furrowed, and her slender, green fingers tugged at the end of her braid in frustration.
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's that I don't want to believe it. My elder brother is serving as an official near the southwestern border, and Prince Lu... has been on good terms with our family for many years. No one really wants to believe it until the evidence is conclusive."
"Moreover, the Northern Expedition is crucial to the unification of the entire Tianwu Kingdom and the peaceful lives of all its people. Even if Prince Lu has some selfish motives, how can he involve the Northern Expeditionary Army? He is so unreasonable!"
"So you knew he had ulterior motives!" Mu Xu sat up straight, laughing gleefully. "I heard the Emperor arranged for Prince Lu to marry the Third Princess, but Prince Lu was suddenly kicked by a horse and became a eunuch? He's quite ruthless to himself!"
Jiayin was surprised. "You just returned to Xindu, and you already know about this! You know, the Lu family and the Emperor are keeping it a secret from outsiders; nobody knows the truth!"
Mu Xu said smugly, "When I was a bodyguard before, I got to know a few brothers. Although we weren't life-or-death friends, I could still ask them for information."
"Besides, I've been gone for so long and finally came back. I have to ask you how you are doing in the palace and whether anyone is bullying you."
Jiayin felt a touch of sweetness and joy because of this care and attention.
She quickly changed the subject, asking, "Whether this was an accident or deliberate, no one knows for now. But I'm caught in the middle, and if the Third Princess finds out, it might ruin our relationship."
"So, I'm in a real dilemma lately, not knowing whether I should bring it up."
"If I were to expose this, I wouldn't have any real evidence, and I might even be accused of being delusional."
"But if I don't expose it, what if the Third Princess finds out one day? She'll think I'm hiding it from her and have ulterior motives..."
Frustrated, Jiayin grabbed a carrot-shaped cushion, pulling at the green carrot tops. Her cheeks puffed out in anger, making her look like a chubby rabbit, which was exceptionally cute.
Mu Xu was used to her intelligence, calmness, wit and composure, so this side of her was quite rare.
So he held back his words and smiled as he looked at her several more times.
Jiayin occasionally looked up and saw that his eyes were as bright as a big bad wolf seeing a little white rabbit. How could she not guess what he was thinking? She blushed with embarrassment and anger and started to chase him away.
"Go and rest. We can talk about it later."
"No, no!" Mu Xu quickly stopped laughing and got down to business. "The Marquis and the Fourth Master want you to go to Quanzhou immediately, so you can take care of the old lady and the others nearby, and also avoid the trouble in the capital."
“No way!” Jiayin shook her head firmly immediately. “The situation in Xindu changes every day. I can send messages home promptly even from the palace. Besides, you’ve been in Jiangbei for half a month, and that person…”
Jiayin pointed vaguely towards the Imperial Study and whispered, "That person has already begun to purge the Empress Dowager's faction and has also taken control of the Imperial Concubine and the Second Prince. The Tianwu Kingdom is about to undergo a major upheaval!"
"If it weren't for that person wanting to start a massacre after the Third Princess got married, this palace would probably have been a river of blood long ago."
"However, with Prince Lu injured, it's impossible for the Third Princess to get married anytime soon. That person is probably about to make a move."
“At this time, the slightest mistake could easily wipe out the entire family. With my second uncle and Mr. Wen on the outside and me on the inside, working together, we can more easily weather this great upheaval.”
Mu Xu was also somewhat surprised. Although he had inquired about some information, he hadn't had time to ask for a complete answer.
"I also told the Marquis that you probably wouldn't leave. The Marquis finally said that you should act according to your own ideas, but safety should come first."
Jiayin felt a pang of sadness when she thought of her adoptive father, who doted on her like the apple of his eye.
"No matter how dangerous it is here, it's not as dangerous as the battlefield. After that person has finished messing with the harem and the court, he'll probably be eyeing the unparalleled achievement of unifying the country. At that time, my godfather and my father..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.
Mu Xu couldn't bear to see her so worried, so after thinking for a moment, he opened the window.
Jiayin thought he was going to leave, but unexpectedly he grabbed her arm and jumped out.
Before she could even gasp, Mu Xu scooped her up and jumped onto the roof.
"What are you doing?!" Jiayin carefully held onto the roof tile, her legs trembling with fear.
Although she had learned some kung fu when she was young, she was lazy and playful, and with Shui Ling and Shui Yun by her side, she quickly forgot about it.
Suddenly being able to fly over rooftops and scale walls like this is really not something I can enjoy!
Mu Xu helped her sit up steadily, then lay down beside her, and said with a grin, "When I was little, my mother wasn't in good health, but she was always smiling happily. Whenever she could get out of bed, she would play with me and cook delicious food for me. She said that every day we live should be lived to the fullest."
"Whether you're happy or angry, time still passes, so why not be happy?"
"So, let's put our worries aside and enjoy the moon together. It would be such a waste to sigh and complain about such a beautiful view."
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