Chapter 53
Madam Qi's words seemed to be a reproach, but in reality, there was no blame in her tone. She acted as if she didn't even see Mu Yulu, and took Qi Zhi Qiu's hand, wanting to lead her away.
The atmosphere in the kitchen instantly became awkward. Qi Zhi Qiu naturally noticed her mother's deliberate neglect of Mu Yu Lu. She stopped, grasped Madam Qi's hand, and then affectionately climbed onto her arm. "Mother, this is Sister Mu, whom I often mention to you. She's amazing; she can cook such delicious food."
Madam Qi seemed to sigh helplessly. Unable to persuade her daughter, she had no choice but to stop and glance at Mu Yulu again before saying indifferently, "So this young lady is the eldest daughter of the Mu family."
Mu Yulu had been hearing Qi Zhi Qiu talk about Madam Qi's past these past few days, and she had long admired this lady with a legendary past. Therefore, she was quite nervous when she finally met Madam Qi in person.
But the situation before her was clear: Madam Qi obviously disliked her, and her cold tone was clearly an order to get rid of her.
Mu Yulu calmed down instead. This kind of distant and even slightly malicious rejection was something she had long been used to in the Mu family.
She bowed respectfully to Madam Qi once again, then lowered her head to take her leave. "I have been a great bother to you these past few days, and it is getting late. I must take my leave now."
Madam Qi then asked her, "I heard Arno mention that you came to my residence these past few days to prepare dishes for the offering?"
Arno was Qi Zhi Qiu's nickname. Mu Yu Lu nodded, then realized what Madam Qi meant by asking her that question.
So she immediately said, "Tomorrow is my birthday banquet. After tomorrow, I will not come to the Qi residence to bother you again. Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Miss Qi."
Madam Qi nodded. "That's good. I'll be inviting Miss Su to the Qi residence to enjoy the flowers in a couple of days. It's indeed inconvenient to have outsiders here."
Mu Yulu remained unfazed upon hearing this, but Qi Zhiqi couldn't help but jump up, "Mother! Why are you saying these things?"
Madam Qi turned her head and glared at her. "What's wrong with what I said?"
Qi Zhi Qiu was so anxious she was almost in tears. "You invited her to admire the flowers, so why not? Miss Mu is also a friend of my brother and me. What's with all this talk about outsiders?"
Madam Qi smiled nonchalantly, "The Su family and our Qi family have been friends for generations. You and your brother grew up with Miss Su. Your brother and she can be said to have a childhood sweetheart relationship. But we have no connection with the Mu family. Miss Mu is both a guest and an outsider. Is there a problem?"
Madam Qi was quite sharp-tongued, speaking even more sarcastically than Aunt Wang. Mu Yulu, however, was not angry. She simply smiled, said nothing more, and bowed again to take her leave.
"I'll see you off!" Qi Zhi Qiu shook off Madam Qi's hand and turned to catch up with her.
But then they heard Madam Qi say behind them, "When Miss Su arrives tomorrow, you must keep her company and try to find out her feelings. Your brother is getting on in years, it's time to arrange a marriage for him."
These words drifted into Mu Yulu's ears on the wind, and Qi Zhiqi quickly pulled her away.
The two remained silent the whole way. When they reached the door, Qi Zhi Qiu said sullenly, "I don't know what's wrong with my mother today. She's not usually like this."
Mu Yulu smiled again, "It's nothing, I didn't take it to heart at all. Besides, it was indeed me who bothered the Qi residence these past few days..."
Qi Zhi Qiu quickly interrupted her: "Sister Mu, I consider you my own sister, and so does my brother. He's truly devoted to you too... Anyway, please don't let this cause any distance between us!"
Seeing that Mu Yulu didn't say much, only had a nonchalant smile on her lips, as if she really didn't care about this matter, she became even more anxious. "The Su family and the Qi family are indeed old friends, but Miss Su is just a childhood playmate of ours. She and my brother have no childhood sweetheart relationship at all. That's all my mother's nonsense. Don't believe it."
Seeing the little girl so anxious, Mu Yulu squeezed her hand reassuringly: "You know a bit about the Mu family, so you should know that what I said today won't hurt me at all, nor will it cause me any misunderstanding about you or Young Master Qi. I genuinely consider you my sister, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered you these past few days."
Mu Yulu's words were truly heartfelt, and Qi Zhi Qiu finally calmed down a bit. After seeing Mu Yulu off, she stormed back into the house.
Madam Qi was waiting for her inside the house. Seeing that she was covered in sweat from running, she took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat. "It's getting hotter and hotter. Even though it's nighttime, the temperature isn't cool. Why are you running so fast?"
Qi Zhi Qiu stamped her feet anxiously, "Mother, tell me what you just did? Miss Mu didn't provoke you, why did you say those things to her?"
Madam Qi put away her handkerchief and sat down slowly. "Originally, I didn't want to talk to you about these things, but you're getting more and more unreasonable as you grow up, so I'll explain it to you properly."
"You know the Mu family is also in business, but do you know how many resources her father stole from our family? This kind of person is unscrupulous in business, with the despicable character of a villain. What kind of kind person could his daughter be?"
Qi Zhi Qiu sat down beside her and said hurriedly, "But her father is her father, and Miss Mu is Miss Mu. What Mr. Mu did has nothing to do with Miss Mu?"
Madam Qi tapped her forehead. "Alright, even if Miss Mu doesn't get involved in business matters, and those things are none of her concern, have you heard that the Mu family has a corrupt family style? The concubines and young ladies in that mansion cause trouble every three days and every five days. If you put a stage on them, they could sing for three days and three nights."
"Arno, whether it's marrying a wife or a husband, the most important thing is to look at the family's character. If the mud is too dirty, no pure flowers can grow. Do you really want your brother to marry a woman like that and turn our family into a mess?"
Qi Zhi Qiu was stunned for a moment, unable to think of a rebuttal. After a while, she gritted her teeth and said, "Anyway, Sister Mu is different from other people. She would never make a mess of our family."
She grabbed Madam Qi's arm and said, "Mother, I like Sister Mu, and my brother likes her too. If she comes to our house, we'll be overjoyed, why would we make a fuss? Besides, didn't you and Father get together because you liked each other?"
Madam Qi sighed: "That's why I've never forced you to be with people you didn't like. Even with Miss Su, I only let your brother spend more time with her; I didn't force him to marry her, right?"
Qi Zhi Qiu gave a muffled "hmm" and nodded.
Madam Qi patted her hand, "You're still young and don't know the complexities of many things in this world. Back then, when Miss Mu threw her embroidered ball at our No. 1 Pavilion, it caused quite a stir in the capital."
"Let's not even talk about the world's number one expert, San Zhou Jinse, whose background is probably very complicated. Just consider Prince Mu, who also came to snatch the embroidered ball that day. Is he someone we can afford to offend?"
"Even if what you say is true, that Miss Mu is not one to cause trouble, she is a hot potato right now and cannot be touched."
Qi Zhi Qiu shook Madam Qi's arm playfully, "But San Zhou Jin Se hasn't shown up since she snatched the embroidered ball, and Sister Mu has made it clear that she doesn't like Prince Mu at all. Brother still has a chance. How will we know if it will work if we don't try?"
Madam Qi pulled her hand away and stood up. "Why can't you understand, child? Let me tell you, even if Mu Yulu isn't trouble herself, she has already stirred up a lot of trouble."
“Such a person cannot enter the Qi family, nor is she worthy to be my son’s wife. These past few days, I’ve allowed her to come to our door every day. I’m not indulging her, but indulging you. Today I’m telling you clearly that she is not allowed to enter the Qi residence again, and you are not allowed to associate with her anymore.”
Before Qi Zhi Qiu could speak, she continued firmly, "You don't need to say anything more. Even if your father knew about this, he would say the same thing. As for your brother, I will talk to him personally when he comes back."
After saying that, she turned around, pushed open the door, and left, giving Qi Zhi Qiu no chance to continue defending Mu Yu Lu. Qi Zhi Qiu could only stand there blankly, watching his mother's departing figure anxiously.
After leaving the Qi residence, Mu Yulu did not return immediately. Instead, she wandered aimlessly through the streets for a while until her frustration subsided before slowly making her way back to the Mu residence.
If Madam Qi had said those words earlier, they certainly wouldn't have hurt her.
But these days she often hears Qi Zhi Qiu talk about Madam Qi's past deeds, how learned and capable she was, and how free and unrestrained she was.
Mu Yulu actually admires women like this and longs for such a life.
She had hoped to have the opportunity to speak with Madam Qi and hear her recount her past experiences, but she never expected that the other party would dislike her so much and immediately dismiss her upon seeing her.
She took a deep breath and thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile that it was only because she was born into the Mu family and worked under Mu Yugang that she had such a strong mental fortitude. If it were any other young lady who had been subjected to such an outburst from Madam Qi, who knows how upset she would have been.
But then she thought, perhaps it was because she was born into the Mu family that Madam Qi disliked her.
She knew that Mu Yugang's reputation in the capital had never been very good.
But in reality, her own reputation may not be considered good either.
She was engrossed in her thoughts, not paying attention to the path ahead, when suddenly she heard a clear voice above her: "If you keep going forward, your head will smash a hole in this wall."
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