Seeing Mu Hanyan being so kind to the old man, the vendors around believed Han Yuner and the man's words a little more, and their eyes were full of gratitude.
"No need to be so polite, old man." Mu Hanyan quickly helped the old man up and asked curiously, "By the way, Black Stone City is quite prosperous now. Why did you travel thousands of miles to the capital to do business?"
"Young master, you don't know that my ancestral home is in Songbailing, south of Heishi City. I have been traveling with my father since I was young, doing some small business, and later settled down in the capital. However, my relatives and friends are still in Songbailing. I brought these Jinlan fruits back when I returned to my hometown to visit relatives a few days ago. I wanted to sell them as a rare treasure, but I didn't expect to encounter such a thing." The old man said with a wry smile.
"So that's how it is." Mu Hanyan suddenly realized.
"Songboling, have you been to Songboling some time ago?" Zirong suddenly grabbed the old man and asked in surprise.
"Yes, what's wrong?" The old man looked at Zirong strangely.
"My future wife lives in Songboling. Her name is Yu Qingwan," Zirong explained. Before leaving, he entrusted Yu Qingwan to the care of his close friend, Uncle Wang. That family was very reliable and had always been very kind to Zirong. Later, after Zirong took a job at the Mu Mansion, she subsidized the family considerably, allowing them to live much better lives than before.
"Yu Qingwan." The old man thought for a moment, slapped his head and said, "I remember now. I seem to have heard that the girl's brother-in-law works in the Mu Mansion. It turns out to be you, but..." At this point, the old man hesitated to speak, with a strange look on his face.
"By the way, old man, have you seen my wife-to-be? How is she doing now? Is she feeling better?" Zirong asked expectantly, not noticing the old man's strange expression.
"Don't you know?" The old man's expression became even weirder.
"What's wrong?" Zirong looked at the old man in confusion.
Mu Hanyan noticed the old man's strange expression and suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.
She knew about Zirong and Yu Qingwan. They were childhood sweethearts and had planned to get married a long time ago. However, because Yu Wanqing was ill, they had not gotten married yet. Zirong came to the Mu Mansion as a guard mainly to treat Yu Qingwan's illness.
She had asked Zirong about Yu Qingwan's condition several times, and after hearing that her condition had improved a lot, she no longer took it to heart.
Seeing that the old woman seemed to be hesitant to speak, Mu Hanyan couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that her condition has worsened again?
"Old man, has Qingwan's illness recurred again?" Zirong also noticed the old man's abnormality and asked worriedly.
"She's gotten much better. The last time I saw her, she looked normal... But, a few days before I left Songbai Ridge, your wife went to the city to get medicine and never returned. The little girl and the coachman who accompanied her also disappeared. Your father-in-law's family is searching for them everywhere." The old man hesitated for a moment, then finally told the truth. He had apparently assumed that the family Zirong had entrusted was Yu Qingwan's family, and that the close uncle was Yu Qingwan's father.
"What!" Zirong's whole body trembled, her face turned pale, and tears suddenly appeared in her eyes.
Mu Hanyan's face also darkened.
She understood Zirong's feelings for Yu Qingwan better than anyone else. The Yu family had once been a wealthy family, but had fallen on hard times. They were still a renowned gentry clan within Blackrock City, while Zirong's family had fallen on hard times, making them a poor match. Their marriage had survived, in part because it had been arranged long before the Zi family's decline, but more importantly, because of Yu Qingwan's unwavering loyalty. Later, Yu Qingwan became seriously ill, exhausting the family's funds for her medical treatment. Unable to bear the consequences, the family entrusted Yu Qingwan to Zirong and vanished. No one knew where they had gone.
Therefore, Zirong has deep feelings for Yu Qingwan. When she came to the Mu Mansion as a guard, in addition to making money to treat her illness, she might also have the idea of making a name for herself.
When Yu Qingwan got into trouble, one can imagine Zirong's inner anxiety and worry.
"Master, I want to ask for leave and go back to Songboling right away." Zirong said to Mu Hanyan anxiously with red eyes. Knowing that Yu Qingwan was in trouble, he wished he could grow wings and fly back to Songboling immediately.
Mu Hanyan was about to nod in agreement without thinking, but when she saw Zirong's blood-red eyes and the murderous aura that could not be concealed from her body, she suddenly hesitated.
His current appearance was clearly in a state of disarray. Even if he returned, what good would that do? Furthermore, the capital was tens of thousands of miles away from Black Rock City, and the journey was far from peaceful. With his current rage, he would undoubtedly cause countless disasters before even returning to Black Rock City.
"What can you do when you return to Songboling?" Mu Hanyan asked in a deep voice.
Zirong was already feeling uneasy and didn't think much about it, but was stunned by Mu Hanyan's question.
Calculating the time, Yu Qingwan's accident had been going on for quite some time, but because the journey was too long, the news hadn't come through yet. Even if there were any clues, Uncle Wang would surely find them if he could, and if he couldn't find them, he would return and do the same.
"Maybe I can't do anything if I go back, but I can't just wait around in the capital," Zirong said with a wry smile. But judging by her expression, she had calmed down all of a sudden.
Although he seems to be unruly on a daily basis, he is actually the most meticulous and cunning among Mu Hanyan's three guards. The name of the demon sword in later generations is not groundless.
It's just that he was so confused because it involved his fiancée.
"If you trust me, leave this matter to me. Don't go anywhere and stay with me first." Mu Hanyan said. The reason why she let Zirong stay by her side was, of course, because she was afraid that he would get into trouble when he was in a state of confusion.
In her previous life, she was known as one of the three most evil people in Anyun Country, along with Huayue and Jiang Yuzhe. Their methods were brutal and ruthless, making people shudder at the mere mention of them. However, after spending nearly a year together, Mu Hanyan discovered that the three of them were kind-hearted and not cruel or murderous. They must have experienced some kind of change that led to their drastic changes in temperament.
Mu Hanyan could guess that Hua Yue's change was most likely related to Yue Ji's death.
However, because of his rebirth, the trajectory of many things has changed. Although Yue Ji's death brought a heavy blow to Hua Yue, it also made the temple surface. Hua Yue placed all his hatred on the temple, and his character did not change much.
And is the change in appearance in another time and space related to Yu Qingwan?
No matter what, Mu Hanyan didn't want the same tragedy to happen to Zirong again. Although the three evil stars were famous for a time, none of them ended up well in the end.
"Don't worry, sir. I won't lose my mind." Zirong took a deep breath and said to Mu Hanyan.
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