Chapter 78
Mu Yulu trembled slightly.
She could hear the threat in his words.
"Why can't you understand? Everything about you is under my control." His eyes were smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I know what you care about, and I know what your weakness is."
"I gave all my savings to those two girls, returned their indentures, and set them free." Mu Qinhan twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers, gently playing with it. "You've been so good to them. I suppose you also hope they can live out the rest of their lives peacefully and healthily?"
Finally, he made his point clear: "If you dare to kill yourself, I'll immediately send them to the underworld to join you."
Mu Yulu fell silent.
She really didn't want to say another word to him.
Mu Qinhan gave her a deep look, interpreting her reaction as compliance, and then got up and left the room with satisfaction. Immediately afterwards, the maids filed in with their eyes lowered to help Mu Yulu change clothes and wash up.
After she finished bathing and changing her clothes, a physician from the manor came to apply medicine to her wounds. By the time all the wounds were treated, it was already late at night.
Mu Yulu dismissed all the servants, and didn't touch the food that was brought to her. She lay down on the bed immediately.
She was exhausted and could have rested properly, but she just couldn't fall asleep.
The image of Sanzhou Jinse kept appearing in her mind. Sometimes she would recall the scene in her past life when he rescued her from a group of bandits with his sword, and sometimes she would recall the image of him standing alone under the moon in a tall building when they first met in this life. Finally, the image in her mind stopped at the night he sent her back to the Mu Mansion, when she suddenly reached out and took off his mask, and he awkwardly turned his face slightly to the side.
The first thought that came to her mind at that moment was that he was so beautiful, such a wonderful person, like a flower grown in a greenhouse.
But he wasn't.
He entered the Three States Pavilion at the age of seven. Before that, he lived a life of wandering in the city. After that, he became the so-called number one master in the world, but he still lived a life of licking blood off the edge of a knife every day.
Her heart was throbbing with pain.
She raised her hand to her chest, trying to comfort herself. He had survived so many dangers before, and she was sure he could turn the tide this time as well.
He had promised to come find her.
She couldn't believe he was dead.
Time passed slowly, and she remained awake until dawn.
The next morning, the maids came to help her with her hair and makeup. When they saw that the food on the table had not been touched, no one said anything. They simply took the food away quickly and replaced it with a new set of food, and respectfully placed the bowls in front of Mu Yulu.
Watching their practiced yet emotionless movements, each one as mechanical as a puppet on a string, Mu Yulu laughed in exasperation.
She didn't say anything, but simply raised her hand and gently pushed the bowl that was placed in front of her. The maids immediately understood what she meant.
They didn't argue further and silently put the bowl back.
After finishing her hair and makeup, Mu Yulu didn't go anywhere. She just sat quietly by the window, motionless, until noon.
At noon, the maids filed into the main courtyard again, quickly clearing away the already cold food and bringing out fresh food.
After doing all this, they lowered their heads and retreated silently, as if they had never been there at all.
If the food on the table hadn't been still steaming, Mu Yulu would have really thought that those people were just her hallucinations.
Is this the rule in the Prince's mansion?
She suddenly realized that if the rules in the Prince's Mansion were like this, the rules in the palace would only be even worse. No wonder Mu Qinhan went crazy like that. If she had grown up in such an environment, she would probably have gone crazy too.
She continued to sit motionless by the window, her mind wandering uncontrollably.
Her thoughts couldn't stop; she had to keep thinking about something, otherwise she would think of Sanzhou Jinse and the last look he gave her.
She couldn't bear to recall that expression, or she would truly go insane.
Before long, dusk had fallen, and Mu Qinhan, who had disappeared for a day, reappeared in the main courtyard.
He was followed by a large group of people, two of whom were carrying food boxes. As soon as they entered the house, they began to set out the dishes.
Mu Qinhan stopped beside her, followed her gaze to the blooming flowers outside the window, and began to explain in a very casual tone, "I had important matters to attend to at court today, so I spent the whole day in the palace and couldn't find the time to spend with you properly."
He raised his hand to her shoulder, then gently squeezed it. "I heard you haven't eaten all day?"
Mu Yulu kept her back to him, neither turning around nor speaking, remaining silent in the same position.
Mu Qinhan wasn't angry. He just said to himself, "It's alright. I suppose the chefs in the manor don't suit your taste. When I came back, I specially invited Chef Yang from the No. 1 Restaurant in the world and had him make a few dishes for you. Come and see if you have any appetite."
Upon hearing the name Chef Yang, she finally made a move, turning her head to glance at the dishes on the table. Indeed, they were all Chef Yang's signature dishes.
Mu Yulu shifted her gaze to Mu Qinhan and met his eyes without any politeness.
He clearly knew why she couldn't eat, yet he still brought Chef Yang from the No. 1 Restaurant in the World to the Prince's Mansion.
What does this mean?
Are you threatening her with Chef Yang?
Mu Qinhan understood the questioning look in Mu Yulu's eyes, and knew that she understood his meaning. So he raised his hand and stroked her face with satisfaction, "You have always been very smart, so don't make me say anything more. Come and eat."
Mu Yulu stood up angrily, glared at Mu Qinhan, and walked unsteadily toward the dining table.
The maid who was serving her dinner quickly pulled out a chair for her, and after she sat down, she respectfully handed her chopsticks.
Mu Qinhan sat down opposite her as if nothing had happened and said softly, "You haven't eaten for two days, so I had someone cook some porridge. Drink a little to warm your stomach first."
Before he could finish speaking, the maidservant beside him hurriedly began to serve Mu Yulu porridge.
Mu Qinhan continued, "The cooks haven't been attentive enough these past two days, failing to prepare any dishes that would whet your appetite. I've already ordered them dragged away and each given fifty lashes."
He spoke these words casually, as if he were just talking about everyday things, yet he decided the life and death of others with a few words.
Both sides should be punished equally; either the person will die or be crippled.
Mu Yulu never imagined that simply refusing to eat would lead to the deaths of several people.
Before she could say anything, the maid beside her trembled slightly and accidentally dropped the bowl of porridge she was holding to the ground.
The porridge that had spilled on the ground was still steaming hot. It was unclear whether she had dropped the bowl because the porridge was too hot or because she had been frightened by Mu Qinhan's words.
She knelt on the ground, trembling, her forehead pressed against the ground, even her tightly closed eyes were trembling uncontrollably.
Mu Qinhan didn't speak, but frowned. Immediately, someone stepped forward, grabbed the maid, and tried to drag her away.
"Wait a minute!" Mu Yulu spoke up at this moment.
She glanced at Mu Qinhan, then at the maid who, despite trembling with fear, kept her lips tightly shut, not daring to utter a sound. After a moment's thought, she organized her thoughts and said, "I don't have a personal maid by my side, so it's inconvenient for me to do anything. This girl is beautiful; Your Highness, please grant her to me."
Mu Qinhan looked at her with interest: "This girl is clumsy. How about I pick out a few experienced maids for you to be your personal maids?"
Mu Yulu shook her head and refused: "I only want someone who is good-looking. This girl is pretty, so I want her."
Her words sounded rather unreasonable, but Mu Qinhan found them quite amusing. He stared at her for a while with a smile in his eyes, then slightly raised his chin in the direction of the maid.
Those who were supporting her immediately let go.
Mu Qinhan turned to look at her, his gaze returning to its usual gloomy tone, without a trace of the smile he had just shown. "From now on, you will serve the Princess. What is your name?"
The maidservant kowtowed heavily to the ground once again. "Your Highness, my name is Tanxiang."
After saying that, she turned to the side and kowtowed to Mu Yulu again, "This servant thanks Your Highness for your appreciation. I will serve Your Highness wholeheartedly in the future and will never make the same mistake again."
Mu Qinhan hummed in agreement: "You're quite obedient."
Mu Yulu's reaction was completely different from his. She looked at Tan Xiang's scraped forehead and frowned slightly. "Alright, you can go down now and take care of your wound."
Sandalwood quickly retreated.
Mu Yulu sat back down at the table and looked back at Mu Qinhan. "I don't have an appetite, not because the food is bad."
Mu Qinhan nodded. "It seems you're finally willing to talk to me properly?"
Mu Yulu paused for a moment, then continued, "You asked me to go back to that mountain; I want to see it for myself."
She originally thought Mu Qinhan would refuse, or at least not agree to her so quickly, but to her surprise, he simply raised an eyebrow and immediately agreed.
Seeing Mu Yulu's astonished expression, he seemed quite pleased, even personally serving her food, "Can we eat now?"
After making her request, Mu Yulu stopped talking and buried her head to eat.
She ate a lot at this meal, partly because Mu Qinhan had agreed to her request that she could personally go to find the Three States of Violet Seed, and partly because Chef Yang's cooking skills were truly excellent, and all the dishes were incredibly delicious.
Indeed, people live for a meal.
After eating and drinking her fill, she found Mu Qinhan more agreeable and spoke to him with slightly more politeness.
She had already made up her mind. According to the timeline of her previous life, Mu Qinhan would soon be poisoned, and after a while, Liu Wenshuang would come to treat him. The two would then fall in love, and Mu Qinhan would marry no one but her.
At that time, her status as a princess will be very awkward. She can't be the principal wife and Liu Wenshuang the concubine, can she?
Of course, if Mu Qinhan were to decide to elevate Liu Wenshuang to the position of principal wife and make her a concubine, she would absolutely refuse.
If he wants to marry Liu Wenshuang openly and honestly, the only way is to divorce her first.
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