Chapter 74
That wasn't the end of it; Mu Zhao's outburst had only just begun: "What do you know? I was engaged to your father before I even came of age. He's the only man in my life; he's my whole world. But there are always people trying to take him from me, including you, the daughter who crawled out of my womb!"
"Don't even mention you, even your sister, the two of you combined don't weigh as much in my heart as your father. Daughters are like water spilled out of a cup, only a husband can accompany and take care of you for a lifetime. You don't understand now, you'll understand why a husband is a woman's heaven after you get married."
Mu Yulu really felt that she couldn't do it anymore.
All she wants now is to escape.
In that instant, she suddenly felt incredibly fortunate. Fortunately, she hadn't grown up by Mu Zhaoshi's side since childhood, and fortunately, her maternal grandfather disliked her because she was a girl and hadn't taught her much since she was little. This allowed her to have a relatively healthy mental state despite lacking familial affection.
Isn't this a case of turning misfortune into blessing?
At this moment, she even began to feel sorry for Mu Wanyi. So this was how the girl's brain had gone mad.
She asked herself again, "Why bother arguing with these people?"
Mu Zhaoshi was immersed in her grief and lunged forward to grab Mu Yulu to continue saying something, but Mu Yulu dodged her.
She practically launched herself forward, leaping out of the corridor in an instant. Saying, "I know, daughter won't blame you," she ran out of the yard as if fleeing.
She and Xinyun ran through the rain one after the other, without even having time to open an umbrella, and ran back to their yard in the rain.
Even after returning to her room and settling down, she still felt lingering fear.
She used to think she was mentally unstable, but after living two lifetimes, she realized that the most normal person in the entire Mu family was actually herself.
There isn't a single normal person left in the entire mansion besides her.
At this moment, Xinyun came over and carefully squatted down in front of Mu Yulu, reaching out to touch her knees.
Xinyun's hair and eyes were wet, and there was still lingering fear in her eyes, but she still forced herself to comfort her.
Mu Yulu was stunned for a moment, looked at Xinyun for a long time, and then bent down and hugged her.
For the next two days, Mu Yulu seemed like a different person. She stopped going out and stopped making a fuss. She just stayed quietly in her room every day, checking the dowry list over and over again, or sitting at the table writing and drawing, though no one knew what she was writing.
It wasn't until the night before her wedding that she summoned Xinyun and Mohe to her side. After closing the doors and windows, she took out a pile of valuables, a stack of silver notes, and a letter that she had finally finished writing after revising it over the past two days.
She divided the gold, silver, valuables, and banknotes equally between the two men, and then took out two indentures from her sleeve.
The moment Xinyun saw the contract of indenture, she understood what her young mistress wanted to do. She knelt down with a thud. "Is Miss going to send us away? I won't leave."
She knelt on the ground and hugged Mu Yulu's knees. "You are getting married tomorrow. If Mohe and I leave, you will be marrying into the Prince's mansion alone, without a single person you can trust. How will you live in the Prince's mansion?"
Mu Yulu bent down to help her up. "Xinyun, I'm not trying to drive you away. I'm just fulfilling a promise I made to you."
"Do you remember? I once told you that women can also stand tall between heaven and earth." She raised her hand to wipe away Xinyun's tears and stuffed the contract of sale into her hand. "From now on, you are no longer of lowly status."
“This amount of silver is enough to support you to go to a very, very far place, but silver alone is not enough.” As she spoke, she carefully handed the letter to them. “Before you set off, take this letter to the Qi residence and find Zhi Qiu. Ask her to recommend you to study at the school.”
"In the Xuanwu Kingdom, there is a school that only accepts female students. The school was founded by Madam Qi's junior sister. I heard that she is very learned. If you have the opportunity to become her students, you must cherish it."
"Remember, don't marry yourself off too early. Go to school, learn to understand principles, and acquire the skills to make a living in this world. Only in this way can you stand upright between heaven and earth, and even if you are a woman, no one will dare to bully you."
Finally, she took their hands and made them hold each other's. "Your journey is long and arduous; you must take care of each other and treat one another kindly. We are all women, and we all know the hardships women face in this world. Therefore, we must help each other even more, and never be like the sisters and concubines in the mansion..."
She paused for a moment, then smiled helplessly, “You’ve all seen what life is like in the manor, so don’t follow in their footsteps.”
Mohe lowered his head in silence, without saying a word, but he clenched his hands even tighter.
Xinyun was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably, "But Miss, you said you'd take me with you, but now you won't come with us! You lied to us!"
Mu Yulu continued to patiently wipe away her tears, "The one who goes out first is the brave one. You guys go and scout out the road ahead for me, and I will definitely catch up with you."
Her voice was firm: "Don't worry, I haven't given up on myself. No matter how long it takes or how much effort it takes, I will find a way to escape. When that time comes, I'll be counting on you all, so you can't slack off."
Xinyun threw herself into Mu Yulu's arms, crying so hard her whole body was trembling. Mohe's eyes also reddened, and he lowered his head, trying his best to hold back his tears.
Mu Yulu patted Xinyun's head again, easing the atmosphere with a light tone: "Alright, stop crying. I'm not married yet, am I? There's still one night left. Maybe Sanzhou Jinse will come to take me away tonight."
Xin Yun nodded with red eyes. Although she knew that Mu Yulu was saying this to comfort them, she still harbored a faint expectation in her heart.
As long as it's not the last moment, there is still hope.
Who knows, who knows, maybe Sanzhou Jinse will arrive at this last moment.
The candles in Mu Yulu's room remained lit all night, and Xinyun and Mohe insisted on staying in the courtyard, waiting for that last glimmer of hope.
They waited like that from the dead of night until dawn.
Sanzhou Jinse did not come.
The next morning, many people flocked into Mu Yulu's courtyard, busying themselves with changing her wedding dress and doing her new makeup. Mu Yulu took advantage of the chaos and winked at Xinyun and the others.
Since the person they were waiting for hadn't come, they should leave.
Xinyun was about to say something when Mohe stopped her. She shook her head at Xinyun, glanced at Mu Yulu one last time, and then took Xinyun's hand, leading her away from the Mu residence amidst the chaos.
Mu Yulu watched them leave from the window. She saw a crowd of people at the courtyard gate, and the two slender figures quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Only at this moment did Mu Yulu truly breathe a sigh of relief. She sat back down in front of the dressing table, letting others do her makeup and dressing up like a puppet on a string.
Before long, the auspicious time arrived, and Mu Yulu, dressed like a budding flower, gracefully walked out with the help of others.
As soon as she stepped out of the backyard, she saw Mu Qinhan, dressed in red, coming to pick her up for the wedding, and she almost fainted.
It seems that Mu Qinhan was indeed very worried that she would run away, so he actually brought the wedding procession to the backyard of the Mu residence. But since he was the regent who held real power, even though it was against etiquette, no one dared to say a bad word about him.
On the contrary, the people around her began to praise Mu Yulu for her good fortune.
Given Mu Qinhan's status, he didn't need to come to fetch the bride in person. However, he not only came in person, but even went directly into the backyard, as if afraid that Mu Yulu would have to take an extra step.
Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Mu Qinhan extended his hand to Mu Yulu, saying, "I'll help you into the sedan chair."
Today, he was dressed properly in a bright red prince's robe, the gold-embroidered sleeves shimmering with a restrained yet dignified radiance in the sunlight. Although he was not wearing his usual black clothes, he still exuded a cold and solemn aura under the sunlight.
Like a piece of jade immersed in clear ice water, it exudes a chill from head to toe.
Mu Yulu took several deep breaths before she managed to suppress her aversion and placed her hand in his.
His hands were also ice-cold, without a trace of warmth. Mu Yulu trembled and subconsciously tried to pull her hand away from his, but he held it tightly.
He took her hand without giving her any chance to resist and led her through the crowd toward the gate of the mansion.
At this moment, the vermilion gate of the Mu residence was wide open, and the steps in front of it were swept spotless. Mu Yugang, wearing a brand-new brocade robe that had just been made, was about to kneel down at the foot of the steps with his whole family to see them off, but was stopped by Mu Qinhan.
He stood tall and elegant on the steps, looking down at Mu Yugang, still with a superior air, but his tone was gentler than ever before: "Father-in-law, there's no need for such formalities."
Mu Yugang was so excited he almost cried.
A large crowd had already gathered outside the mansion to watch the spectacle, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, Mu Qinhan certainly gave him plenty of face.
As for those kneeling behind Mu Yugang, their expressions were even more varied. Mu Yulu's gaze swept across their faces one by one, finally settling on Mu Wanyi.
At this moment, Mu Wanyi's gaze towards her was filled with unprecedented hatred, a hatred that was almost tangible, turning into a knife to stab Mu Yulu.
Mu Wanyi was really bad at hiding her thoughts; Mu Yulu understood her intentions in that instant.
She was secretly competing with her older sister. She didn't want the world to admit that she, who had been pampered and loved by her mother, was married worse off than the wild child who had been abandoned in the countryside since childhood.
She had to marry someone better than her sister, someone of higher status, only then could she feel at peace with herself.
No wonder she clearly admired Qi Zhizhi, yet she was able to accept the fact that she was about to marry the Third Prince and become his concubine so quickly.
Although Mu Yulu understood her thoughts, her expression remained calm. She was suddenly surprised to find that when faced with the malicious gazes of the Mu family once again, her heart was no longer stirred.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
