Dream Spring

That night.

The flickering candlelight cast a soft light and shadow, illuminating a man and a woman lying on the couch, wearing only a moon-white lingerie.

The girl's delicate skin shone with a crystal luster, like a flower bud about to bloom, deeply immersed in the clouds.

She pursed her red lips, her almond-shaped eyes slightly blurred, and she looked shyly and timidly at the young man with deep eyes lying on her.

The young man looked at the girl's tender and tempting red lips, and suddenly stretched out his big hand to slowly hold her slender hand, gently inserting his fingertips into her palm, melting it into his own.

The sound of warm breathing intertwined with the violent heartbeat. The boy could no longer control himself and suddenly leaned down.

His movements progressed from light to heavy, as he absorbed the sweetness unfamiliarly and greedily, like a beast that finally found its prey.

As the young man lowered the slightly swaying dark red bed curtain, the two figures finally merged into one.

At that moment, Gu Huaizhi, who was lying on the couch with his scarlet shirt slightly open, suddenly opened his peach blossom eyes with a slight reddening at the corners.

He looked dazed for a moment, but as a drop of sweat slid from his forehead to his neck, bringing a slight itchiness, he suddenly came to his senses.

In an instant, that handsome face flushed red, and even the tips of his ears became hot and red, like cooked shrimps.

What kind of ridiculous dream did he just have? !

He sat up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief, but the slightly wet clothes sticking to his skin told him without a doubt -

He was indeed fantasizing about a girl.

And that girl was his former fiancée.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice someone opening the door.

Gu Ji stretched out his hand and waved it in front of the distracted young man, calling him twice in succession: "Young Master, Young Master..."

"Young Master!" This last shout that echoed throughout the house finally brought Gu Huaizhi back to his senses.

Gu Ji placed a bowl of sobering soup beside the bed and asked in confusion, "Sir, what were you thinking about just now? I called you several times, but you didn't hear me."

That scene flashed through Gu Huaizhi's mind, and his expression became even more unnatural. He frowned and said angrily: "I didn't think of anything!"

Gu Ji looked at his son's handsome face, which was flushed red, and asked suspiciously, "Sir, are you having a fever?"

What happened today really surprised him and puzzled him. How could the young man who always boasted of being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk actually drink himself unconscious?

Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent someone to send the young master back. Otherwise, if the prince and princess blamed him, he would be unable to deny the blame.

Gu Ji took a look at his young master, then reached out his hand to touch the young man's sweaty forehead to find out what was going on.

Gu Huaizhi suddenly turned aside with a look of disgust, as if he had been humiliated: "Don't talk nonsense! This prince is in good health, how could he have a fever!"

“Ahem—” Seeing that Gu Ji was still skeptical, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a somewhat stiff tone: “You should leave first and let this prince be alone.”

...The young man, who had never even seen a picture of a pornographic palace, could not accept that his thoughts were so dirty.

Gu Ji frowned and glanced at Gu Huai. The moment he turned around to leave, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he understood something.

Could it be that this young man, who appears to be extremely arrogant on the outside but is actually very innocent on the inside, finally had the same dream as other young men of his age?

*

The next day.

In the hall, Madam Mu looked at her daughter-in-law whom she had just called over and said with a kind smile, "Ms. Xu, you have worked hard these years."

Xu was startled when she heard these inexplicable words. She first observed her mother-in-law's expression calmly, and then smiled gently without any disturbance: "Mother, you are too kind. This is the responsibility of a daughter-in-law, and I should do my best."

Madam Mu took a sip of tea and said with deep meaning, "Although Yunniang is not presentable, she has helped our Mu family to expand."

She also didn't expect that Yunniang could raise two children to this age quietly.

By the time of Lord Chongde, the Mu family had only one male heir, and now they only hope to have more grandchildren.

When she first heard these words, Xu's heart tightened and she immediately understood the implication of her mother-in-law's words.

She subconsciously tightened the handkerchief in her hand and nodded in response, "Mother is right."

Apparently, word had reached her mother-in-law's ears that she had ordered the servants in the mansion not to treat the two little bastards born to Yunniang as young masters and young ladies.

Although she did not have deep feelings for Marquis Chongde, she was unhappy with the pity he showed towards Yunniang, and she could not tolerate the concubine's constant aggrieved look.

Also, they both gave birth to two children, but why did Yunniang look like she had never given birth, while she looked obviously much older?

Madam Mu nodded slightly, but stopped there. She then changed the subject and said in a leisurely tone, "Have you forgotten to send a maid to Xiangningxuan these days?"

Mrs. Xu knew that her mother-in-law loved her adopted daughter the most, so she quickly explained, "My daughter-in-law has been busy with Wan'er's wedding these days and has forgotten about it. So I will send a few more maids to Xiangningxuan."

She actually did this with the tacit approval of Lord Chongde, in order to let her adopted daughter realize that she was just a guest and not a real member of the Mu family.

However, she knew that her mother-in-law would never blame her husband, so she could only accept the blame silently.

Madam Mu smiled with satisfaction and said slowly, "That's it. I know you love Wan'er, and as her mother, it's normal for you to feel a little unhappy. But An Ning's parents have raised Wan'er safely to this age, and our mansion shouldn't treat their daughter badly after their death."

She took in Xu's hesitation and said meaningfully, "Besides, although An Ning has broken off her engagement with Prince Gu, you can't just ignore her marriage. Instead, you have to arrange it as soon as possible."

Mrs. Xu remained silent, lowered her eyes, and nodded, but in her heart she was blaming her mother-in-law for her partiality.

Madam Mu saw her daughter-in-law's dissatisfaction and pointed out the key point: "Wan'er is going to marry the prince, but how can a younger sister marry before her elder sister?"

Xu suddenly understood and regretted that she had not thought it through. She finally said with some sincerity: "It was my daughter-in-law who was not thoughtful enough."

Although Mu An Ning and Mu Wan'er are the same age, in the eyes of outsiders, Mu An Ning is half a year older than Mu Wan'er. As the elder sister, she should get married earlier than Mu Wan'er, and she should not marry too well or too badly.

Madam Mu raised her hand and a maid brought over a piece of paper with the names of several young men going to the capital written on it.

She passed it to Xu and said slowly, "Please find out about their personalities." She pointed to the first name on the list and said with a smile, "Especially this one."

*

Xiangningxuan.

Aunt Liu beside Xu smiled and greeted Mu An Ning respectfully: "Miss, Madam knows that your courtyard is short of people, so she specially asked me to bring you a few maids. Please choose a few to serve you in the future."

Mu An Ning was stunned. All the maids in her courtyard had indeed been dismissed by her foster mother.

Nanny Liu waved her hand and called in more than twenty maids.

They all bowed their heads and said in unison, "Miss."

Mu An Ning looked over and found some of the faces were quite familiar. They should be maids from other courtyards. They all looked reluctant, obviously unwilling to serve an adopted daughter who had just broken off the engagement with the royal palace.

The remaining maids should be new faces who had just been bought. Some of them showed curiosity, while others seemed calm. It was obvious that they were unaware of her rather embarrassing situation in the mansion.

Mu An Ning did not hesitate, and picked a few maids who looked honest and dutiful. Then his eyes fell on a beautiful maid. He felt that she looked familiar, so he asked, "What's your name?"

The maid said respectfully, "My lady, I am Yuandong."

Mu An Ning nodded slightly, and somehow chose her to be her maid.

After sending away the remaining maids, Madam Liu said with a smile, "Madam also said that the young lady could go to the dining hall to eat in the future. It would be boring to stay in the house all day."

Aunt Liu made it sound as if the young lady was willing to eat those bland meals...

Baoqin couldn't help but curl her lips and sneered in her heart, but when she saw the young lady nodded calmly, she couldn't say anything to complain.

Fortunately, we no longer have to eat those rough rice and noodles without any meat.

As soon as Aunt Liu left, Mu Wan'er walked in.

Mu An Ning was quite surprised to see the newcomer. Before she could open her mouth, she heard her inner voice:

[Why is my daughter losing weight again? She must not be eating well! ]

Mu Wan'er quickly put away her distressed expression, and said with a little gratitude: "Sister, let's go out and play today!"

[I must let you see the true face of the villain, so that you won't fall in love with him in the future! ]

Mu An Ning's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't pay attention to her strange words. Instead, he wondered, "Wan'er, how come you have time today?"

I heard that Mu Wan'er has been practicing embroidery for several days without any results. She should have worked harder. Why did she have the thought of going out for fun?

Mu Wan'er rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "Mother allowed me to take a day off."

In fact, she took advantage of the fact that Xu was busy and sneaked out.

But it's better for her to keep this to herself.

Mu An Ning was quite curious. He thought about it for a while and finally nodded and said, "Okay, let's go talk to grandma first."

Mu Wan'er waved her hands and stopped him, saying, "No, no, I've already told grandma."

Seeing that she was so sure, Mu An Ning said no more. After calling Bao Qin to assign tasks to the new maid, he left with Mu Wan'er.

*

On the street, Mu Wan'er, who was about to do something serious, suddenly had bright eyes, as if she had been hungry for three days: "We have cakes, would you like one?" After saying that, without waiting for Mu An Ning to answer, she said to herself: "I almost forgot, you don't like sweets, so I'll have one myself, hehe."

Mu An Ning nodded, then felt a little surprised, and shifted his gaze from the cake to Mu Wan'er's bright face: "How do you know?"

She had never told Mu Wan'er about her eating habits.

Mu Wan'er pursed her lips: "Guess...guess."

[I can't say it's a character setting, right? ]

While the two sisters were talking, they didn't notice the two men passing by them.

"Brother Gu, I really envy you. My mother has been forcing me to discuss marriage these days..."