The next morning, Lu Ziyuan sent someone to Qingshui Village to deliver the message. That same afternoon, Zhong Muyu packed her things, boarded an oxcart through the side gate, and quietly left.
Lianye watched the oxcart leave from behind the door, then happily ran back to Tingzhi Courtyard.
"Madam! Madam!"
Su Zhirou asked, "How is it? Is she really gone?"
"It's absolutely true! It seems the Prince has truly grown tired of her and sent her to a place like Qingshui Village, so don't expect her to come back!"
Su Zhirou couldn't hide her excitement: "Great! We've finally gotten rid of this troublesome woman!"
"Yes, from now on you will be the only mistress of the Prince's mansion, Madam, no, Your Highness the Princess!"
Lianye gave her a respectful bow in a flattering manner.
Su Zhirou smiled broadly, but still pretended to be serious and said, "Alright, alright, you're so good with words. Don't say things like that in front of others."
"Your Highness, rest assured, I know what I'm doing."
Su Zhirou felt as if she were being held on a pedestal, and her heart was filled with an unprecedented joy.
"By the way, is the Prince at his residence?"
Lianye said, "His Highness is out on business today, and neither of his guards, Chengfeng and Zhiyu, are here."
"I see, what a pity. But it's alright, His Highness will definitely come tonight."
Su Zhirou tidied her hair; she was determined to keep Lu Ziyuan here tonight!
...
On the oxcart, the three of them huddled together. Apart from Zhong Muyu, Zaochun and Granny Zhang were clearly not very happy.
Zhong Muyu asked, "Why do you look so gloomy? Would you like me to play a tune for you?"
Zhang Mama sighed and said, "Your Highness, you've been assigned to this place. How are we supposed to live? Although the Prince left you a monthly allowance, that little bit of money is hardly enough to survive here."
"What? Lu Ziyuan is actually giving me a monthly allowance?"
Zhong Muyu was surprised; she had thought that once she left, Lu Ziyuan would no longer care about her.
Early Spring nodded: "Yes, Your Highness, it seems that the Prince still cares about you, so he still gives you a monthly allowance, but it's hard to say what will happen in the long run."
"I don't care about that little bit of money, but since he gave it to me, I'll reluctantly accept it. Don't forget we still have a shop in Linghai Port. If all else fails, we can secretly move there in a while, and Lu Ziyuan won't know."
Zhong Muyu plucked the strings of the zither, and before long, the carriage arrived at Qingshui Village.
This is a small mountain village nestled beside a river, with few residents. As its name suggests, the river that flows around the village has crystal-clear water, so clear that you can see small fish at the bottom.
The largest building in the village is Lu Ziyuan's property.
This area contains farmland belonging to the Prince's residence, and this house was built by the guards of the farmland. It is said that it was originally guarded by one of Lu Ziyuan's subordinates. Later, during a war, that subordinate died in battle, and only two of his relatives remained.
I don't know what kind of person he is.
They were brought by Chengfeng, who also brought two royal guards to help. After Zhong Muyu got off the carriage, she saw a middle-aged couple waiting respectfully at the door.
The couple were dressed simply but neatly and cleanly, with very kind eyes and a gentle demeanor. Zhong Muyu breathed a sigh of relief; they didn't seem like difficult people to get along with.
Upon seeing Zhong Muyu, the two bowed together, saying, "This old servant greets Your Highness."
Chengfeng said, "Your Highness, these two are the Zheng couple whom the Prince arranged to guard this place."
"Then I'll call you Uncle Zheng and Sister-in-law Zheng. From now on, we'll live together and take care of each other."
Upon hearing Zhong Muyu's words, the couple quickly replied, "Your Highness is too kind to say that!"
"Don't worry, I and my people are easy to get along with. Hurry up and move your things inside, we'll be busy."
Chengfeng directed two guards to help, and after Zhong Muyu was ushered in, she saw a large courtyard with a main house and side rooms, which was very spacious.
Uncle Zheng explained, "My wife and I live in the side room on the right. We don't need all these rooms, so they've been empty. Today, we heard that the Princess was going to move here to recuperate, so we quickly cleaned it up."
"Hmm, it feels pretty good."
Along the way, Zhong Muyu saw the potted plants they carefully tended, the pigs, chickens and ducks kept in the fence by the wall, and a small field behind the house. Overall, there was not much decoration, which made it seem very homey.
After everyone moved their belongings into the house and settled in, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng decided to cook a meal to entertain them, while Zhong Muyu and the others sat together in the living room to rest.
Chengfeng stood up and said, "Your Highness, everything has been arranged, and I should take my leave now. Please don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng are easy to get along with. Of course, if you have any grievances, you can also tell His Highness, and I believe His Highness will uphold justice."
Seeing Chengfeng's reluctant expression, Zhong Muyu smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I don't think I'll have to trouble Lu Ziyuan, unless he wants to get rid of me. Of course, I would be happy to do so."
"His Highness wouldn't do that!"
Almost subconsciously, Chengfeng shouted it out. Knowing he had been impolite, he simply clasped his hands in a fist salute and left with the two guards.
The room fell silent again. The Zheng couple had prepared a large table of food; they were quite skilled cooks, so Zhong Muyu invited them to eat together.
Sister-in-law Zheng said, "We are servants, it is improper for us to eat at the same table as our masters."
Zhong Muyu said, "It's just the few of us here, it's alright. You've all been busy all day, haven't you? Come on over."
Seeing that Zhong Muyu was also a gentle master, the Zheng couple breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, they had heard that the princess and the prince had a bad relationship, so they voluntarily came here to recuperate. They were worried that the princess would be a difficult master, but now it seems that they don't need to worry about that.
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