"Court rules?"
"If a young lady is to act as a substitute for a noble person, then her words and actions must be exactly the same as the noble person's."
"What Madam Song means is, that noble lady... from the palace?!"
Mu Run was speechless with astonishment.
...
The multi-story ship moved slowly along the Yingjiang Grand Canal.
Every day, Mu Run had to learn etiquette, from morning till night, from the moment she opened her eyes until she went to sleep, undergoing various forms of discipline and special training.
Eating was one of the things she found particularly painful. Not being able to eat large bites or make noise while eating was manageable. But being limited to three bites of a dish at most, and a total of six bites for two dishes, was practically torture.
In comparison, Fu Yunchen was quite kind to her. At least when it came to food, whenever she asked for it, there was always more than she wanted.
"Can I have another sugar cake?" Mu Run pleaded with Song's mother. "I have to study a lot of things every day, which is very taxing."
Mrs. Song said with a serious expression, "No."
"Then I can rest for a while. I'll practice again in fifteen minutes."
"Okay." Mother Song took the ruler and went out.
Mu Run breathed a sigh of relief, slumped in his chair, and looked out the window, where he could see the Chongyang Inn.
Startled, I ran to the window and shouted, "Redmi—"
It was a completely thoughtless, instinctive action.
The river was still a bit far from Chongyang Inn, and with the wind blowing, Mu Run's voice didn't travel very far before it dissipated.
But as if sensing something, Hongmi in the inn looked up and peered outside while she was shelling beans.
"What are you yelling about?" Shrimp Cripple entered, carrying a whip in his hand.
Mu Run hurriedly closed the window. "I... I wasn't full just now, so I was just calling out."
"Then you'll be even hungrier, shut up." Shrimp Cripple scolded Mu Run, then turned and left.
Hongmi saw a multi-story ship sailing across the river.
Mu Run pushed the window open a crack again, gazing at the Chongyang Inn that was getting further and further away from her... If she wanted to escape, this was the best opportunity.
"The bandits in Chongyang Mountain are getting more and more rampant. I heard they wiped out the Qinghai gang in Jingyu River," Song's mother's voice came from outside the door.
Mu Run was startled and looked sharply at the door.
“The Qinghai Gang is indeed a ruthless force under Bianyun Village,” said Shrimp Cripple. “However, what is not widely known is that the leader of the Qinghai Gang, Fu Qinghai, is actually the illegitimate son of Prince Zhou.”
"What did you say? Fu Qinghai is Prince Zhou's illegitimate son?" Madam Song was also very surprised, seemingly unaware of this secret.
"His Majesty has no sons, and Prince Zhou only has this one illegitimate son. It's easy to imagine that if Fu Qinghai hadn't died, his future prospects would have been truly unpredictable..."
"Then Prince Zhou must hate these bandits to death."
"If it weren't for the sudden invasion from the Wu Kingdom, Prince Zhou would have personally led his troops to suppress the bandits. However, Prince Zhou is already on his way back, and the day of the bandit suppression will be soon."
Mu Run stood by the window, listening to what Song's mother and Xia Quezi were saying, lost in thought. Even when Song's mother pushed the door open and entered the room, he didn't come back to his senses.
Seeing that she was standing there motionless, Madam Song coughed lightly, "Miss Mu, have you rested enough?"
Mu Run looked up at Song's mother with a somewhat unfocused gaze, then suddenly her pupils sharpened, and a flattering smile appeared on her face. "Yes, let's start learning the piano now."
“Very good. Before you go to the capital, you must learn to play at least one piece of music.”
"I understand, thank you for your hard work, Aunt Song."
As the ship receded further and further from Chongyang Mountain, Hongmi, watching it disappear into the distance, said to Yang Yang, who was wiping the table, "This ship looks like it's a canal transport vessel?"
Yang Yang glanced at it and said, "It's not a canal boat. Canal boats all have flags, but this one doesn't. It must be a private boat belonging to some wealthy family. If the chieftain were here, he would definitely stop it."
"What a pity, they're obviously rich," Hongmi said with regret.
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