Chapter 26
Mu Yulu didn't realize that her voice was trembling slightly: "Does Madam want any other options?"
Mu Zhao pondered and said, "For example, is it possible that he is from a merchant family like us? Or he could be an official in the court, but it would be best if his official position wasn't too high, otherwise, if there were any conflicts in daily life, my daughter might not be able to control him."
Mu Yulu took in Mu Zhaoshi's expression, her gaze as cold as a handful of snow in winter: "These are all Madam's own expectations. If you wish, you can personally find a good husband for your daughter."
She said, word by word, "But according to my calculations of your daughter's birth chart, I can see that she is destined to be a noble person and will marry a prince in the palace and become his concubine."
"A concubine?" Madam Mu frowned and repeated Mu Yulu's words: "Just a concubine?"
Mu Yulu fell silent, leaning back in her seat and quietly gazing at Mu Zhaoshi.
Mu Zhao quickly realized that even the daughter of the richest man in the capital could hardly hope to marry a prince. If her daughter could become a prince's concubine, that would already be quite remarkable.
But this was not what she wanted: "As a mother, all I hope for is that my children are healthy and safe. I have always told my daughter that even if she marries into a poor family as a wife, she must never become a concubine in a noble family."
Mu Zhaoshi's voice sounded heartbroken: "Being a concubine means being inferior to others, and even the children she gives birth to are illegitimate. As a legitimate daughter, she has been pampered since childhood. How can she endure such suffering?"
In fact, Mu Yulu could have easily said a few words of comfort to Mu Zhaoshi. She herself was looking for an opportunity to defy fate, so how could she easily pronounce someone else's fate?
But today she simply didn't want to say any words of comfort. She stared coldly at Mu Zhaoshi and then said emotionlessly, "This is her fate."
Mu Zhao fell silent, lost in thought, her eyes reddening.
After a long silence, she stood up and said, "Even though you say this is her fate, I still want to try. I don't believe my daughter is only destined to be someone's concubine."
Her words seemed to be addressed to Mu Yulu, but also to herself.
Mu Yulu raised an eyebrow: "What you want to do and how you plan to do it are your own business."
Mu Zhao nodded, a resolute look appearing on her face. She turned to leave, but then suddenly remembered something and turned back hesitantly to ask, "I...I have another daughter who is currently being considered for marriage. I wonder if you could also take a look at her marriage prospects?"
Mu Yulu's heart stirred, and she said to Mu Zhaoshi, "We are destined to meet today. Give me her birth date and time, and I will take a look at it."
Mu Zhaoshi's expression was somewhat awkward: "I only remember the day she was born, but not the exact time. If I only have her birth date and name, could you please tell me?"
Mu Yulu's heart, which had just begun to beat slightly, instantly turned cold again. She refused without hesitation: "Fortune telling requires a detailed birth chart. If you don't even have the birth chart, then I can't tell your fortune."
"Alright then." Mu Zhao nodded, showing no sign of regret. Upon hearing that Mu Yulu couldn't be counted, she turned around and hurriedly left.
Hearing that her daughter was destined to marry into the royal family as a concubine, she was naturally anxious. Now she was probably eager to return to the Mu residence to continue looking for a suitable marriage for Mu Wanyi.
Mu Yulu had no idea how Mu Wanyi fared after marrying the Third Prince in her previous life.
By then, she should have already been punished by Mu Qinhan and locked in that small dark room, cut off from the outside world. It wasn't until her death that Liu Wenshuang informed her of the news that the Mu family had been executed.
The day the entire Mu family was executed was also the day of her death, so she didn't know whether Mu Wanyi, who was the concubine of the Third Prince at that time, had escaped the calamity.
Unconsciously tapping her index finger on the table, Mu Yulu thought maliciously, "Mu Yugang is just a businessman. What kind of crime could he have committed to have his whole family beheaded?"
It definitely involves a power struggle within the imperial court.
The only way he could access politics was probably through Mu Wanyi's husband, the Third Prince.
It seems that with the Mu family being executed, the Third Prince's lineage, who was closely related to Mu Yugang, will also be doomed, and their fate may be even more tragic than that of the Mu family.
so what?
She wondered to herself, was this the reason she wanted Mu Wanyi to follow the same path as in her previous life and marry the Third Prince?
The idea horrified her.
She asked herself why. Was it because of jealousy? Was it because of her parents' favoritism? Or was it because, as Mu Qinhan in her previous life had said, she was born evil?
Xinyun called her name at this moment, pulling her back to reality from her chaotic thoughts: "Miss, it's getting late, we should go back."
Mu Yulu snapped out of her daze, took off her mask, and responded wearily. Then she said to Xinyun, "I'm a little tired today. Let's buy some kitchen utensils when we get back. I want to make myself some late-night snacks in the yard from now on."
It's only natural to want to treat yourself to some good food when you're in a bad mood. After returning to her courtyard with all sorts of kitchen utensils, Mu Yulu breathed a long sigh of relief. She built a small stove on the basis of the stove that Xin Yun had set up earlier, and used this stove to cook dinner for the two of them.
After eating and drinking their fill, she and Xinyun stretched out their arms and legs and lay down in the yard.
At this moment, Xinyun asked her, "Miss, are you in a bad mood today because Madam came to inquire about the Second Miss's marriage?"
Mu Yulu turned to look at her: "Do I look like such a petty person?"
Xin Yun's eyes were full of heartache: "This is not being stingy, I just think it's wrong for Madam to be so biased."
Mu Yulu laughed and flicked her head: "You really are a silly girl. No one in this world is born to like anyone else, not even parents. Whom your mother likes more is her own choice, and there is no right or wrong in it."
Her words were clearly carefree, but her voice sounded quite desolate: "If you think that parents are born to love their children and keep holding onto that idea, you'll have a lot of heartbreak to come."
Xinyun listened with a puzzled look: "Miss, I don't understand. Aren't parents supposed to love their children by nature? If they don't love them, why would they have children in the first place?"
Mu Yulu pondered and said, "Perhaps they didn't think they wouldn't love the child before they gave birth to it?"
She smiled again: "Or perhaps some children are just bargaining chips for their parents from birth, like you. Didn't your parents sell you to support the other children in the family?"
Xinyun seemed to be stung by her words and turned her head away somewhat awkwardly.
Mu Yulu continued, "It's not just you, I'm the same. It's just that your parents sold you to the Mu family to get some food to save their lives, while my parents sold me to Mu Qinhan to give themselves and their other daughters a wider path."
Such cruel words, such a bloody reality, were spoken by Mu Yulu in a light tone: "I'm telling you this to tell you, and to tell myself, never forgive them."
Xinyun struggled a bit: "But my parents weren't actually bad to me. They were just too poor, so poor that the whole family was on the verge of starvation, which is why they chose to sell me..."
Mu Yulu interrupted her: "Don't make excuses for those who have hurt you. If you make excuses for them, you're just helping them bully yourself."
She suddenly remembered what San Zhou Jinse had told her in her previous life: Make those who bullied you pay the price, that's what true resistance is.
Having died once, she finally understood the meaning of this sentence, so she said to Xinyun, "If the world is unfair to you, then you should resist, instead of making excuses for them here."
Seeing that Xinyun looked like she understood but not quite, she sighed softly: "Alright, it's getting late, you should go and rest."
Xinyun stood up: "Then I will help Miss rest first."
Mu Yulu shook her head: "I want to sit for a while longer. You go and rest by yourself."
"Then I'll go down first. Don't stay up too late, Miss." Xinyun instructed worriedly, "Tomorrow is your coming-of-age ceremony and the day to throw the embroidered ball. You must get a good rest tonight so that you can be energetic tomorrow."
"Okay, okay, I understand." Mu Yulu waved her hand and urged Xinyun to leave.
After Xinyun left, she sat alone in the courtyard for a long time. Her legs went numb, but she didn't feel sleepy. Instead, she got hungrier and hungrier, and her stomach started growling.
She rubbed her stomach, got up and lit a candle, thinking that since she couldn't sleep anyway, she might as well make some late-night snacks.
Holding the candlestick, he scanned the area around her small stove and found a piece of white radish, leftovers from dinner, and a stale steamed bun...
She automatically put together a menu for a late-night snack in her mind.
First, make a bowl of white radish soup.
Crush the white radish in your hand, then boil it in water. No other seasonings are needed. Just add rice when the radish is cooked through, and a bowl of crystal clear radish soup is ready.
Mu Yulu drooled as she cooked, but unfortunately, all she had on hand were leftovers from dinner. It would have been even better if she had some fresh white rice.
If the raw rice could be ground into powder before cooking this radish soup, then it would be a truly delicious dish.
While the radish soup was cooking in the pot, she also made use of the charcoal fire at the bottom of the pot.
Don't throw away leftover steamed buns. Cut them into thin slices, bake them over a fire, brush them with oil, and then spread the crispy, golden-brown slices on the stove to let them cool slightly. You can then eat them with radish soup.
Fragrant and crispy steamed bun slices, along with crystal-clear radish soup, are simply a perfect match.
Mu Yulu wiped away her drool without any self-respect and sighed to herself, "If only we had honey, spreading it on the toasted bread slices would be absolutely amazing."
Not long after, the porridge was almost cooked, and the sliced steamed buns were roasting over the fire. Just as they were about to be taken out to cool off, a jar of honey fell from the sky.
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