In the past 18 years of his life, Liu Buwang had never dealt with women except for his junior sister. Even though she was a junior sister, she was gentle and polite. He had never seen such a fierce and weird girl. The senior brothers said that he was pure and honest, which was true. He was very arrogant, but he was always helpless against Mu Hongjin.

He had no choice but to wait until he had finished his work down the mountain before taking her to Qiyun Mountain. He would let Taoist Yunji decide how to deal with her.

Suddenly, there was a beautiful girl beside him, and Liu Buwang felt very uncomfortable. But soon, this discomfort was washed away by anger. Mu Hongjin was not like what she said, "I don't eat much, and I won't cost you much money. You won't be a trouble if you take me with you."

Mu Hongjin didn't eat much, but she spent a lot of money. She was too picky. She had to eat in the best restaurants, dress beautifully, and stay in inns that were not unfair. Fortunately, she had money and was very rich, so she could afford it. Not only that, she generously shared with him: "Young man, the roast duck in Wu Fanglou is really delicious, try some!"

Liu Buwang frowned and looked at her: "Didn't you say that you were abducted by a kidnapper? How come you have so much money on you? When the kidnapper abducted you, he wouldn't be so kind as not to search you!"

Mu Hongjin was stunned, and said apologetically: "You found me. Well, actually I was not abducted here by kidnappers. I was..." She moved closer to Liu Buwang and whispered in his ear: "I ran away from my marriage."

Liu Buwang looked at her in surprise.

"Really! I'm not lying to you. My father wants to marry me to an old man who is older than him. Look at me, so young and beautiful, how could I fall into the mouth of a tiger? I heard that he is a pervert. He married three wives before, and they were all tortured to death by him. I have no choice," she pretended to cry and covered her face with her sleeves, "I just don't want to die that miserably."

Liu Buwang was skeptical: "Nonsense. Since you have so much money on you, you must be from a good family. Why would your father marry you to such a person?"

"That man has a higher family background than ours!" Mu Hongjin said aggrievedly, "Don't you know that a higher-ranking official can crush a person? He took a fancy to me and wanted me to be his wife, and my father had no choice. But I didn't want to, and I escaped overnight. If I was caught by them, I would be dead. So, young hero, you must not leave me alone."

Liu Buwang said unhappily: "I'm not your husband." It sounded as if he had given up. They were just strangers who met by chance. If she was really found by her family and they wanted to take Mu Hongjin away, what reason did he have to stop them?

"That won't do," Mu Hongjin grabbed his hand, "You saved me, so you should be responsible for me to the end. If you abandon me halfway, I will be dead sooner or later. It's better to die now. Come," she snatched the long sword from Liu Buwang's waist, put it on the table, looked at Liu Buwang, and said in a domineering manner: "It's better to die under your sword than to die from that kind of torture. Young man, kill me!"

People were coming and going around, and some saw them like this, pointing and talking. Liu Buwang blushed immediately and said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"If you don't promise to keep protecting me, I will stay like this."

The boy suddenly felt overwhelmed. How could there be such an unreasonable woman in the world? Unfortunately, she had said all the words and he was powerless to refute her.

After a moment, he gave up and said through gritted teeth: "I promise you."

Forget it. The training at the foot of the mountain will only take more than a month. After a month, I will take her back to Qiyun Mountain. Taoist Yunji has his own ways. By then, no matter how arrogant this woman is, we will never see each other again.

Mu Hongjin's face brightened up immediately after hearing this. She suddenly moved closer to him, looked at his face and said, "Actually, there is another way. As long as I get married now, that old man won't be able to do anything to me. I think you are handsome and have superb swordsmanship, which is even better than that man. Why don't you marry me and we will all be happy?"

The girl smiled softly, her eyes as moist as a mountain spring, reflecting his figure clearly. The young man in white was startled, jumped up as if bitten by a snake, and scolded: "Who wants to be happy with you!"

"Oh," Mu Hongjin spread his hands regretfully, "That's such a pity."

That's such a pity.

There was a sudden "clang" sound at his hand, and he came to his senses. He didn't know when, his fingertips accidentally touched the strings on the table, shattering his memories into pieces.

He was stunned for a moment, and the girl's clear and cunning voice seemed to emerge in his mind, calling him "young hero" all the time, which made him impatient, confused and upset.

After a moment, Liu Buwang lowered his head and smiled faintly.

All that is past cannot be brought back. It is nothing more than adding to the sadness.

…

He Yan was also worried because of the encounter with Mu Hongjin in the palace during the day. That night, he did not sleep very well. He tossed and turned until the middle of the night before falling asleep. Fortunately, he did not wake Xiao Jue.

Because I slept late at night, I woke up late the next day. When I woke up, I didn't see Xiao Jue. Hong Qiao smiled and said, "The master went out early in the morning and told me not to wake up the lady."

He Yan said "Oh" and asked Hong Qiao: "Did he tell me where he was going?"

Hong Qiao shook her head.

He Yan got up, washed, and had his meal. Then he walked into the yard and saw Liu Buwang making tea while Lin Shuanghe was sitting beside him, praising her.

"Master." He Yan walked over and called out.

"Ah He," Liu Buwang said with a smile, "Would you like some tea?"

"No." He Yan waved her hands repeatedly. Liu Buwang's tea-making skills looked impressive, but the tea she made was always very bitter, almost like medicine. Although she was not afraid of hardship, she was not the kind of person who would ask for it. She immediately said, "I'll go out for a walk. You guys continue, continue."

He Yan smiled awkwardly and walked away.

Arriving in Jiyang, if she hadn't had something to do, her days would have been boring. If it were in the past, on such a nice morning with good weather, she would have practiced kung fu to strengthen her body, but unfortunately, she was wearing women's clothes now, so it was inconvenient to do so, and she was afraid of being exposed, so she thought about it and gave up.

Just as she was feeling regretful, Cui Jiao came running over and said, "Madam, a guest has arrived!"

"If there are guests coming, then they are coming," He Yan was puzzled, "What does it have to do with me?"

She was not the owner of the Cui Mansion and was obviously a guest. Even if there were guests, it was not He Yan's turn to greet them.

"No," Cui Jiao carefully observed her face, "You know this guest. She is the young lady from Ling Dianyi's family in Dianbo Hall. She came to your house today and said that she came to visit you on purpose to have some fun."

He Yan was puzzled. Ling Xiu? Were she and Ling Xiu familiar with each other? They had barely spoken to each other. Their relationship was not close enough to visit each other, right?

"Ma'am, would you like to go and have a look?"

He Yan sighed. They had already come to his house, how could he still stay away from them? Forget it, he would just go and meet them for a while to see what they were up to.

In the small garden, several girls were sitting together, all dressed up, pretty and charming, outshining all the spring scenery in the garden. They were chirping and laughing, their voices sounded like yellow orioles in the valley, and it was truly a pleasure to just look at them.

Aunt Wei stood in the corridor, twisting her handkerchief in anger, and said, "This group of people is really too much. They have bullied Yuyan to the extreme!"

Second Aunt was applying nail polish on her fingers. The nail polish was bright red, making her fingers look particularly slender and white. "There's nothing we can do about it. Who made Young Master Qiao so handsome? We haven't seen such a man in Jiyang for many years. His age is just right. If I were ten years younger, I would also give it a try."

"What the hell are you trying?" Aunt Wei was so anxious that she cursed, "Be careful or I'll tell the master!"

"Good sister, I'm just saying it, why do you take it so seriously?" Second Aunt laughed and looked at her nail polish-coated fingers carefully in the sunlight. "So many wolves are chasing a piece of meat, and I think it's too much trouble and I'm too lazy to deal with it."

"Miss Yuyan is so pitiful," Third Auntie liked to feel sad about the passing of time. She covered her chest with a handkerchief, frowned and sighed, and said with some empathy, "She has been targeted by so many people since she arrived in Jiyang. If she stays in Jiyang forever, will her life be easy? Although she is young and beautiful now, if other women really want to be in front of Master Qiao every day, how long can Master Qiao hold on? Men's sincerity is too easy to change, and it can't withstand a few words from a fox spirit."

"Who are you scolding?" Second Aunt glanced at her, "Do you dare to say that in front of the master?"

The Third Aunt pretended not to hear her and continued wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

The fourth concubine was the youngest, she was originally a street performer, she always laughed heartlessly, cracking melon seeds while asking: "That depends on whether Mr. Qiao likes his wife. I like Miss Yuyan very much, she is not spoiled like a young lady, last time she helped my maid carry the bucket. This is the first time I see a master helping the servants, how nice!"

"That would be terrible," Third Aunt was surprised, "Men all like timid girls. She can't let people look down on her and think that she is born to be treated with care."

The fourth concubine was dissatisfied and spat out the melon seed shells in her mouth with a "Puh" sound. "What do you mean by looking down on yourself? I used to be a street performer, balancing five water jars at a time, and the master still liked me. What do you mean by being timid? The master will not be patient enough to deal with someone like you who gets a headache every now and then!"

"Alright, stop arguing." Aunt Wei's head hurt from their quarreling, and she scolded, "Now we are talking about Miss Yuyan!"

"Anyway, she's pretty miserable," Third Aunt muttered. "You see, Miss Ling is not a pushover, and the other girls are not that easy to deal with either. Master Qiao is pretty, but he's very cold to others. I don't think he cares much about Miss Yuyan, so something bad will happen sooner or later."

"Third sister," the second aunt glanced at the third aunt, "Do you know why you are the least favored among the four of us? It's because you have no vision."

The Third Aunt glared at her, tears welling up in her eyes, and she was about to cry again.

"Mr. Qiao is indeed cold-hearted. He doesn't seem to care much about Mrs. Qiao. I don't know why. Maybe there was no affection before they got married? However, judging from his behavior over the past few days, he clearly likes Mrs. Qiao. It's not a big deal for ordinary people to like her, but it's extraordinary for this kind of person to like her."

"There is a kind of person who, if he is not moved, is fine. But once he is moved, he only has one person in his eyes." Second Aunt twirled her fingers and smiled like a fox spirit imparting experience to others. "No matter how many other women there are or how beautiful they are, they are all in vain in his eyes."

"Qiao Qingqing, that's the kind of person you are."

After these words were spoken, everyone was silent for a moment. Perhaps men like this were what women longed for, and they were speechless for a moment.

After a long while, Aunt Wei finally spoke and asked, "You mean we don't have to go to rescue them?"

"What do you mean by helping?" Second Aunt smiled indifferently, "That Qiao Qingqing is very protective of her. How about we make a bet? I'm afraid that before Wen Yuyan is bullied, her husband will stand up for her."

…

When He Yan arrived at the small garden, a fragrant breeze blew in her face, almost making her faint.

I don’t know why Jiyang women like to wear sachets so much, especially the kind with extremely strong scents. It’s okay if it’s just one person, but when many people are crowded together, it’s like a cloud of powder.

For a moment, He Yan missed the Yuelin fragrance on Xiao Jue very much. It was faint, light and just right.

"Mrs. Qiao is here." Ling Xiu stood up and smiled at her.

He Yan didn't know any of these girls except Ling Xiu and Yan Min'er. After thinking for a while, he said, "I heard that Miss Ling came to see me on purpose?"

"There's no need to be so serious," Ling Xiu said with a smile, "It's just that the weather is good today and we have nothing to do, so we sisters just want to sit together and chat. I thought since Madam Qiao is here too, why not go together? Madam Qiao won't mind us bothering her, right?"

"No." He Yan smiled and snorted in her heart. Even if she was not very sensitive to the affairs between women, she could see that this group of people had ulterior motives. They didn't come to see her, they clearly came to see Xiao Jue.

Sure enough, Ling Xiu's next sentence was: "Why don't I see Master Qiao?"

"My husband went out early in the morning." He Yan smiled very kindly, "He may not be back until late at night."

Why should they watch it if they want? After all, he is the commander-in-chief of the right army of Wei. Of course he is not someone who can be watched casually by anyone. If he doesn't want to let them watch it, then he won't let them watch it.

Ling Xiu and the girls behind her immediately showed disappointment on their faces when they heard this.

He Yan smiled and said, "Didn't Miss Ling come to see me on purpose? Why, are you kidding me?"

"How could that be?" Ling Xiu came back to her senses, and took He Yan's hand affectionately and sat down at the stone table in the yard, "Please take a seat. My father and Lord Cui have a very good relationship. In the past, I often came to Cui's house to play, but I never had a sister, so I felt lonely. It's good that Madam Qiao is here. When Ah Xiu comes to Cui's house again in the future, she won't have to worry about not finding someone to talk to."

He Yan thought to herself, how could this person be here to see her sisters? She was clearly here to see a handsome man. Xiao Jue should come over and see what it means to be able to lie more seriously than she is.

He Yan sat down in front of the stone table. To be honest, she didn't know these people very well and didn't know what to say. She just picked some fruits to eat casually and planned to sit here as a decoration and just listen to them.

Unfortunately, since the other party was coming for Xiao Jue, without Xiao Jue, this "wife" would not be able to escape. As he was talking, the topic turned to He Yan.

"I heard that Madam Qiao is a talented woman famous in Huzhou. Before, Ah Xiu really wanted to listen to Madam Qiao's piano playing, but unfortunately she was stopped by Master Qiao in the end. Now I feel regretful when I think about it." Ling Xiu said with a smile.

He Yan smiled and said, "What's the regret? Didn't my husband also play a song?"

"But Master Qiao said that his piano skills are not even one-tenth as good as yours." Ling Xiu stared into He Yan's eyes, "It's really hard to imagine."

Yes, it's really hard to imagine, He Yan thought to himself, Xiao Jue's lie was too exaggerated, and now that he heard it from someone else, he felt embarrassed.

"My husband has given me too much credit," He Yan poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip, "My piano skills are about the same as his. If you have listened to him, it is equivalent to having listened to mine."

"How can that be possible?" Ling Xiu obviously didn't intend to let her go. "We in Jiyang admire talented people the most. Madam has such a talent, she shouldn't hide it. The weather is good today, why don't we meet friends here and exchange poems? Firstly, it will be fun, and secondly, it will let us see Madam's talent."

Here it comes, He Yan was very annoyed. Why did Ling Xiu ask her to play the piano or write poetry? If she said she couldn't write poetry, would she play chess or write calligraphy? He Yan thought, even if this girl was attracted by Xiao Jue's appearance and admired him, she should go for Xiao Jue, such as showing her Feng Cai Luan Zhang in front of Xiao Jue. Why did she come to embarrass her? Could it be that Xiao Jue would like whoever made things difficult for her?

It was fine once, but it was like this every time. He Yan didn't want to be patient and play this trick with them anymore. He just smiled and said, "I don't want to compose poetry today, nor do I want to play chess, nor do I want to write. Of course, I definitely can't play the piano."

There was no room for maneuver at all and Ling Xiu directly rejected it.

No matter how tactful Ling Xiu was, she didn't expect He Yan to say that. After a while, Yan Min'er, who had been silent, snorted and said mockingly, "It is said that women in the Central Plains are graceful and polite. I see that Madam Qiao's speech and behavior are more like our Jiyang girl, very straightforward."

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." He Yan smiled flawlessly.

"Mrs. Qiao, do you look down on us?" Ling Xiu lowered her head and asked uneasily.

"It's not that I look down on you," He Yan said doubtfully, "I just don't want to today. Isn't it said that Miss Ling is a talented woman? How come you can't even understand a simple sentence? Is what I say difficult to understand?"

If it was a man who was looking for trouble today, He Yan would have asked them to come out and fight. But as a woman, it is not good to do such a rude thing. After thinking about it, it is better to have the reputation of a wicked woman Luosha, so as to teach these girls that she is not easy to mess with. After being frightened, they will naturally not come to her house to ask her for tricks of "playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting" in the future.

Ling Xiu stared at her blankly without saying a word. Seeing this, the other girls on the side all showed dissatisfaction with He Yan. Perhaps Ling Xiu was very prestigious among them, and when Ling Xiu was wronged, everyone wanted to stand up for her.

A girl with a loud voice said, "Mrs. Qiao doesn't want to do this or that. Could it be that she doesn't want to do that? She is not worthy of the title of a talented woman. That's why she always refuses."

"How is that possible?" The other woman seemed to be deliberately echoing her, and said in surprise: "That Mr. Qiao is not an ordinary person. He plays the zither so well, which shows that he is an elegant person. He was already very wealthy in the past, and now he has recognized his ancestors and returned to his ancestral home. He has long been a person of status in Jiyang. I heard that Madam Qiao is also an ordinary family. If she doesn't have any special skills, what does Mr. Qiao like about her?"

Yan Min'er smiled wryly and said, "Beauty. Speaking of which, Mrs. Qiao has skin as white as jade and a face as beautiful as the moon."

She bit the words "skin as white as jade" heavily.

He Yan: "..." It seems that Xiao Jue was the one who was slandering her. How can this be blamed on her? What's the reason?

"There are so many beautiful girls in Jiyang, isn't Ah Xiu beautiful? She has a good family background, a gentle temperament, and great talent. In this way, Ah Xiu is the perfect match for Master Qiao."

"Don't talk nonsense." Ling Xiu said with red eyes.

He Yan had finally experienced how bold Miss Jiyang was and how direct her words were. But what did they mean? Ling Xiu was a pure and innocent lady after all, and Xiao Jue was now a "married man". Did they want her to be Xiao Jue's concubine? Or did they want her to be married to Ling Xiu? Was there anything wrong with their brains?

"We are not wrong. Madam Qiao is like this. Sooner or later, you will not be favored by your husband." The girl with the loudest voice laughed and said, "Madam Qiao, please don't blame us for speaking rudely. We are saying this because we treat you as our own. Don't be so formal."

Oh, since being open doesn't work, you come to her to sow discord?

He Yan had been with Xiao Jue for a long time, and had learned a thing or two about his ability to curse without using profanity and to infuriate people to death. He immediately shook his head nonchalantly, smiling very sweetly: "Don't be so polite, don't be so polite. I know you sisters have good intentions. But you are really worrying too much."

"My husband treats me very well. Not to mention that I know these arts, he wouldn't complain about me even if I didn't. I have a bad temper and I get angry and ignore people easily. My husband always coaxes me patiently. He cooks noodles for me and takes me to buy noodles. He remembers every word I say. He even remembers things like menstruation better than I do." He Yan glanced at Ling Xiu and saw that her face was not looking good. She was proud in her heart and spoke more and more. "How difficult is it to learn the arts? When I am unhappy, my husband uses his skills to please me. What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more that you don't see."

Outside the yard, Xiao Jue hadn't even reached the garden yet, just as he turned the corner, he heard He Yan sighing in a pretentious manner, speaking in a disgusting and nauseating tone.

"Ah, such an outstanding and unique man just favors me and doesn't tolerate others. What can I do?"