Mu Xu took a breath, his tone still calm, but his eyes were bloodshot, as if they had been stained by lava.
"In just one day, my family was destroyed, and I lost everything. I swear to kill all the barbarians and make them pay for their crimes in blood!"
"I pretended to be a cowardly mute and was captured by the barbarians and made a stable boy in their camp. I endured hunger and thirst every day, and was whipped and kicked, all in order to find a chance to take revenge. But I was so weak that I could not even kill a chicken, let alone take revenge; I would have lost my life."
"Fortunately, the Marquis led his troops from Jiangnan and attacked. I risked my life to find the Marquis and became his inside man. After several brushes with death, I finally cooperated with the Marquis to kill all those thousands of barbarians and avenge my parents, my clan, and all the villagers in the city."
Jiayin noticed the sob in his voice, hesitated for a moment, then gently patted his shoulder and whispered, "It's all over now, everything will be alright."
Mu Xu nodded, trying to straighten his chest, as if he didn't want his shoulders to be crushed by the heavy memories of the past.
“Our family is just one of thousands of broken families. It can be said that Jiangbei is stained with the blood of the people everywhere.”
"I still have a chance to avenge myself, but the hatred of the rest can only be avenged by the Marquis and the Northern Expeditionary Army!"
"Lord Marquis has witnessed too much tragedy, and carries the burden of national and personal hatred on his shoulders. This battle is the culmination of years of planning, and he absolutely cannot give up."
"Tianwu can give up the land north of the Yangtze River, but it cannot allow hundreds of thousands of wronged souls to wail day and night without any solace!"
Mu Xu looked into the distance, where large ships were already crossing the river one after another, heading towards the battlefield destined to be baptized in blood and fire, without looking back.
Jiayin followed his gaze, her heart filled with complex emotions. "I'm sorry, I haven't experienced these things, so I can't truly empathize."
"I just don't want my loved ones to take risks, I don't want them to get hurt and suffer, and I don't want to hear bad news about them one day."
“I understand.” Mu Xu waved his hand and sighed, “It’s normal to distinguish between public and private matters, and to have different levels of closeness and distance in relationships.”
Sometimes, I think, if betraying the whole world could bring my parents back to life, I would definitely do it without hesitation. Unfortunately, I don't have that chance anymore; I can only be a good person!
After saying that, he jumped down from the tree, then reached out and carefully caught Jiayin.
The two tacitly changed the subject.
Mu Xu said, "Since you're out now, why don't we go check out the shop?"
"Great, Guli's gone. There's no one to manage things properly for me anymore. I'll have to take care of it all myself." Jiayin wanted to find a good manager, but unfortunately, she hadn't found a suitable one yet.
Perhaps it is because Gu Li did such an outstanding job that those who came before him naturally paled in comparison.
The two went down the mountain, found the carriage, met up with Shui Ling and Shui Yun, and entered the city.
Our first stop was, of course, Baiyunjian. Unexpectedly, we ran into Jiaren, Lu Zong, Jia Xu, Li Ge'er, Mao Ge'er, Guo Wenhao, and the brothers Zhimin and Xiujie.
They filled the private room, all of them young and handsome, which attracted the attention of the wealthy young ladies in the neighboring rooms, who would occasionally send their maids to linger at the door.
Shui Ling and Shui Yun stood guard at the door, while Jia Yin and Mu Xu went into the private room.
Everyone was delighted to hear Jiayin's voice and greeted him warmly.
"Sister, I thought you went back to Suijintan. Does your sister-in-law know you went to the city?" Jiaren poured his sister a cup of warm tea, worried that his wife would be anxious if she couldn't find her sister-in-law.
Jiayin quickly nodded and replied, "I've already told my sister-in-law, and she knows I won't be going back at noon."
Across the table, Lu Zong pushed a plate of egg tarts in front of Jia Yin and said, "These are freshly baked egg tarts, delivered personally by Manager Peng. Have some to tide you over, little sister."
"Thank you, Brother Lu." Jiayin casually picked one up, ate it in small bites, and asked, "Aren't you all busy today? Why are you all gathered here?"
Jia Xu waved his fan and replied, "The officials will be dispatched in half a month, and then we may all go our separate ways. Today, since there are so many people here, let's get together and have a chat."
"Then I congratulate you brothers on your imminent success and bright future." Jiayin, with an egg tart in her mouth, bowed to everyone, her hair ornaments adorned with jade beads that jingled melodiously.
Her mischievous behavior made everyone laugh.
Jiaren patted his sister and took out a handkerchief to wipe the egg tart crumbs off her body. Unexpectedly, Guo Wenhao also handed over a handkerchief, and they bumped into each other.
Guo Wenhao quickly withdrew his hand, his ears turning slightly red.
Jiayin didn't see it, so she casually asked, "Brother Wenhao, I heard from my brother that there are two rose bushes on your estate that are blooming very well. I was thinking of asking you for one. The wooden walls around my greenhouse are bare, and I'm planning to decorate them."
Guo Wenhao's eyes lit up with surprise, and he quickly replied, "I don't know much about flowers, and I'm just keeping them for fun. If you like them, you can dig them all up."
“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony. In a few days, I’ll have someone build you a grape trellis and give you a few dozen grapevines. In the autumn, you can eat grapes while you study.” Jiayin generously reciprocated, which immediately provoked protests from Zhimin and Xiujie.
Zhimin exclaimed, "Sister, our yard in town is also bare. If you're going to send grape trellises, you can't leave us out!"
Xiu Jie grinned and replied, "Yes, yes, I love eating grapes the most. Just thinking about sitting under the grape trellis, eating grapes, and reading makes me happy."
Jiayin, naturally, wouldn't be stingy and agreed.
Mu Xu sat next to Cat Brother, chatted with him for a few minutes, and slowly ate a piece of Sachima, completely ignoring the attention he received from everyone else.
Instead, he secretly observed everyone's expressions, and even the sachima he was eating no longer tasted sweet; he sensed that the situation was extremely serious...
At this moment, Manager Peng heard the news and brought over some snacks to talk to.
Jiayin briefly inquired about the business, and after finding nothing amiss, she decided to check out the fruit and vegetable shop and the hot pot restaurant.
Before he could even leave the house, a young eunuch had already come looking for him.
It turned out that the Emperor had summoned Jiaren, Jiaxu, and Luzong to the palace.
Jiaren and the others quickly tidied their clothes and rushed into the palace.
Li Ge'er couldn't help but gossip, "I wonder where the Emperor is going to send my elder brother and the others to serve as officials. He summons them every few days, which makes others extremely jealous. I don't know how many sour things they've said behind their backs."
Cat Brother flicked the jade pendant he was playing with, grinning mischievously, "I think that both Big Brother and Brother Jia are just guests, and it's Prince Lu who is the one the Emperor really wants to see."
"What do you mean by that?" Everyone was curious and asked one after another.
Cat Brother said, "Last time, when my eldest brother and the others went to the palace, I was free for a while, so I took a carriage to pick them up. I saw the Third Princess and Brother Lu walking side by side, and the Third Princess's face turned red."
"You mean... Brother Lu is going to be the prince consort!" Xiu Jie exclaimed in surprise, but Zhi Min quickly covered his mouth, "Stop shouting, there are quite a few people in the private rooms on both sides, be careful not to say anything that might cause trouble."
Jiayin also felt that it was inappropriate to gossip about this behind her back, especially since the Third Princess was a woman. If word got out, it would be difficult to hear anything about it.
So she quickly changed the subject, "Where are Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother? Did they go to the Foreign Affairs Department again? I was thinking of discussing with them about preparing a flower viewing banquet in a few days to introduce Fourth Sister-in-law to everyone."
Today's update is here!
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