The Duchess turned and left, tears streaming down her face. Before leaving, she shouted sternly, "Yan Wang's obstruction will be punished with ten more strokes of the cane!"
King Yan was terrified and quickly retreated, watching as Liu Yu was taken away by the guards to be flogged.
A moment later, the sound of sticks striking each other came from the courtyard, "Swish... swish... swish..."
King Yan leaned against the wall, covering his ears and weeping silently.
Then, a stern shout came from the courtyard: "Keep fighting! Until Prince Yan leaves the Duke's mansion!"
Shen Yu was extremely anxious and understood that the Duchess was using the pretext of punishing Liu Yu to force Prince Yan to sever their relationship.
She approached Yan Wang and whispered, "Why don't you leave quickly? If you continue to linger here, Young Master Liu will be beaten to death."
With tears in his eyes, Prince Yan quickly withdrew, and the sound of the sticks striking him ceased. It seemed that the Duchess had ordered her men to stop!
Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the tightly closed door opened, and Madam Mu strode in angrily, slapping her across the face.
"It's the middle of the night, why aren't you coming back with me right now!"
She lowered her eyes and remained silent as she followed Madam Mu into the carriage.
This was the first time her mother had ever hit her. She knew why her mother was angry. The rumors circulating on the streets that "Mu Chenyu will not marry anyone but Liu Yu" must have reached the Mu family.
Strangely enough, how could so many people suddenly appear in the secluded courtyard of a temple, a place rarely visited by anyone, to the point that they heard her and Bai Yehua's conversation and it spread throughout the streets and alleys!
------
In the early morning, before the sun had fully shone on the earth, the sound of sweeping leaves could be heard in the yard.
However, amidst the commotion, the Mu family ancestral hall was completely silent: a young girl was lying sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.
Her hair was loose on the ground, and her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were entangled in sorrow in her dream.
The surroundings were completely silent, with only a gentle breeze blowing, stirring her light blue cloak and her fragrant long hair.
"Girl, girl..."
She slowly opened her eyes, feeling a slight chill. As she looked around, Cuiwei helped her up.
Recalling what happened last night, she couldn't help but frown.
Last night, Madam Mu punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall to reflect on her actions, and also gave a strict order... that she was not allowed to have any contact with Liu Yu.
To make matters worse, Madam Mu specifically instructed Mu Nanfeng to ask the Emperor for a long leave of absence, which meant she could no longer use the excuse of treating patients to go out.
Just as she was pondering to herself, she suddenly saw Madam Mu walking towards her.
"Fish, come with your mother."
She nodded in response, "Yes," and Cuiwei helped her wrap the shawl around her neck before leaving the ancestral hall.
Madam Mu took her back to her room to freshen up and dress, and then led her to the main courtyard in an elegant white dress.
Master Mu was drinking tea with his guests, but as they got closer, they realized that... Bai Yehua was sitting opposite Master Mu.
That's strange. Shouldn't Bai Yehua be leading troops into battle? Why is he here?
A sense of foreboding washed over Shen Yu. She steeled herself and stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Master Mu, saying, "Greetings, Father. Greetings, Young Master Bai."
The slow, low voice revealed a hint of helplessness and perfunctoriness.
Bai Yehua's lips curled up slightly, then he lowered his eyes, his solemn face unable to conceal his heavy thoughts.
Because Chen Yu refused to fix it, Liu Yao'er was unable to enter the house, and the Crown Prince even blamed him for his poor performance, which caused the expedition to be delayed.
He reappeared at the Mu family, wanting to make one last attempt. This time was different from before, as Madam Mu offered him advice and strong support.
However... Master Mu's attitude towards him remained lukewarm.
From the moment he entered until now, Master Mu has only been drinking tea and refilling his cups, and has not uttered a single word to him, even when their eyes meet.
Shen Yu treated him with cold indifference and ignored him completely.
Shen Yu followed Madam Mu to her seat, with Bai Yehua sitting to her right.
Yesterday at Putuo Temple, Bai Yehua nearly strangled her, but she didn't mention it to anyone. This was because—Bai Yehua was the Crown Prince's confidant.
The Crown Prince is ruthless; countless innocent lives in the Imperial City Guard have been lost at his hands.
If she were to expose what Bai Yehua had done to her, it would surely cause Master Mu to break ties with Bai Yehua and invite the Crown Prince's wrath.
She could only pretend to be doing nothing, staring at the teacup with her almond-shaped eyes lowered.
Fortunately, Madam Mu spoke first, "Ye Hua must have led his troops out to war last night, right? Is there something wrong at home? Or..."
Bai Yehua lowered his head and choked up, feigning sadness as he recounted the words he had already prepared: "Master's wife need not worry. The reason Yehua did not go to war is because my mother suddenly fell ill and there are many matters to attend to at home. The Emperor has specially granted me permission to postpone my departure for a few days."
"I see. Since Madam Bai has fallen ill, I have some tonics in my room. I'll ask you to take them back to her to help her recover."
As she spoke, Madam Mu stood up, tugged at Master Mu's sleeve, and winked, signaling him to leave. "Master, come with me to choose some of the best tonics for Madam Bai."
Madam Mu intended to matchmake Bai Yehua and Chen Yu, but Master Mu pretended to be confused and shook his head, saying, "Yehua is about to go to war. As his teacher, I should talk to him and impart some experience to him. Let Cuiwei accompany you."
Seeing Madam Mu leave temporarily, Bai Yehua narrowed his long, narrow eyes slightly, a gentle smile appeared on his lips, and he gazed at Madam Mu's departing figure. In his eyes, besides respect, there was also an unfathomable depth.
He turned around and faced Master Mu, saying respectfully, "I heard from my eldest son that Master has recently collected many good books. I'd like to read some books when I have some free time in the military camp during this campaign, so I'd like to borrow a few from Master."
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