Passion

Mu Guiling, who was walking ahead of the two sisters, knocked on Xu's door, but there was no response.

Mu An Ning was secretly wondering in his heart, his clear eyes looked around silently.

There seemed to be more maids in the yard than in the previous few days, but Nanny Liu, who was supposed to be guarding outside the door, was nowhere to be seen.

Mu Guiling suddenly turned around and looked at his two younger sisters who were standing obediently behind him.

His face was calm, without a trace of emotion: "An Ning, Wan'er, what disease did mother contract?"

[Xu should be well now. It would be abnormal if he didn't recover...]

【There is no such plot in the original novel. 】

Mu An Ning heard Mu Wan'er's thoughts and turned her head slightly to look at her, but Mu Wan'er had an expression that said, "Don't ask me, I know nothing."

Mu An Ning noticed his brother's eyes on him. After thinking for a moment, he decided to open his mouth to explain.

The adoptive father did not allow anyone to reveal the truth, but as Xu's biological son, Mu Guiling naturally had the right to know what disease Xu had.

However, just as she said the word "mother", the door was suddenly pushed open.

It’s Xu.

Seeing Mu Guiling looking away, Mu Anning swallowed the words that were about to be said and turned his gaze to his adoptive mother.

Ms. Xu seemed to be in much better spirits. The sickly complexion on her face actually gradually faded away, and her rosy complexion returned.

She looked even healthier than usual.

[I told you, she really recovered.]

The three siblings bowed and said in unison, "Mother."

Mu An Ning lowered her eyes, feeling surprised.

Could it be that the Taoist priest really has some skills, and in just a few days, he was able to make such a significant improvement in Xu's condition?

Mrs. Xu welcomed them into the house and said softly to her son as they walked in, "I was taking a nap just now."

Mu An Ning followed behind Xu and Mu Guiling, his eyes wandering around the house, looking at everything carefully.

The house had returned to its original cleanliness before Xu fell ill, and was no longer as dirty and messy as it had been the last time she and Mu Wan'er came to visit.

It turned out that Xu's strange illness improved so quickly. It came strangely and went away strangely.

After Xu asked them to sit down, she looked at her son with concern and said, "Gui Ling, how come you have time to come back home today?"

Mu Guiling did not reveal that he returned home because of the news of her illness. Instead, he said calmly, "There is no important business in the Dali Temple these days, so I will return home to rest for a few days."

As he spoke, he observed Xu's expression and saw that she was indeed fine. The worry between his brows relaxed slightly and he asked, "Mother, your illness..."

At this moment, Nanny Liu suddenly opened the door and walked into the room, interrupting Mu Guiling before he finished speaking.

After she bowed, she placed the plate of snacks on the table, with a warm smile on her face: "Young Master, Young Miss, Second Miss, it's rare for you three siblings to come to see Madam together. Madam must be very happy."

Xu frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "Gui Ling, what disease did you just talk about?"

Mu Guiling glanced at the nervous Madam Liu, took a sip of tea, and replied in a calm tone: "It's spring now, mother, please take care of yourself and don't get sick."

After hearing what Mu Guiling said, Nanny Liu visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense shoulders quietly relaxed.

Mu Wan'er echoed without any emotion: "Brother is right, mother should take good care of herself."

[Wuwuwu, now that she has recovered, she is forcing me to sew a veil again. ]

Mu An Ning nodded but didn't say anything. Her adoptive mother wouldn't pay any attention to her anyway.

When Nanny Liu heard Mu Wan'er speak, her eyebrows twitched slightly and she thought something was not good.

She quickly walked behind Xu, massaged her shoulders, and said with a smile, "Madam, you are so good at this. The young master and young lady care about you so much. This old slave is really jealous."

There was just a hint of envy in Nanny Liu's eyes, which amused Xu, who originally looked a little dissatisfied.

Xu smiled while holding the handkerchief in her hand, but she didn't even look at the two sisters standing beside her.

Mu An Ning noticed that Nanny Liu was particularly nervous, and felt a little strange in her heart.

It would be fine if Xu ignored her, but why did she even turn a blind eye to her own daughter?

*

Nanny Liu escorted the three siblings out of the yard, but after Mu An Ning and Mu Wan'er walked away, Mu Guiling stopped.

His face was calm, and he said to the old woman whose smile had already faded, "Madame Liu, if you have anything to say, just say it."

He realized that Nanny Liu had interrupted him deliberately because she didn't want him to ask about Mrs. Xu's condition.

Madam Liu looked around and confirmed that there was no one around before she confessed in a low voice, "Sir, although Madam has recovered in the past few days, she has forgotten that she was sick. I was afraid that you would upset Madam, so I had the courage to interrupt."

Mu Guiling's eyes turned cold and he glanced at the closed door.

He asked in a stern tone, "Madame Liu, what is wrong with mother?"

What kind of disease can cause people to lose their memory?

Nanny Liu's eyes flickered. Under Mu Guiling's questioning, she finally sighed and spoke slowly, "My Lord, I will tell you the truth. When Madam was sick, she told me that she could...she could see evil spirits."

Originally, only she and Xu knew about this matter, and she didn't even dare to tell Marquis Chongde.

Mu Guiling narrowed his dark eyes: "Evil spirit?"

Madam Liu nodded, her lips trembling slightly: "Madam said that she could see the soul of a girl..."

Mu Guiling finally revealed a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone: "Why didn't you tell me about this important matter earlier?"

Xu had been ill for some time, but he only received the news after Xu recovered.

Madam Liu's old eyes turned red visibly, and she said in a trembling voice, "Sir, I want to send you a message, but the master has clearly forbidden anyone to disclose the news of the lady's illness."

Fortunately, Xu has recovered now. Otherwise, according to Marquis Chongde's temper, he would have waited until Xu was seriously ill before letting Mu Guiling know.

Mu Guiling frowned even more tightly. He knew his father's character very well. He always put fame and fortune first.

But he never expected that his father would be so cruel to his first wife.

He seemed to remember something, and his sharp eyes swept over the old woman in front of him: "Madame Liu, do you mean that you have never sent me a letter?"

Since it wasn't Nanny Liu, then who was the person who delivered the message to him yesterday?

Mu An Ning and Mu Wan'er were obviously quite surprised that he returned home, so it couldn't be the two of them.

As for Marquis Chongde, that is even more impossible.

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu shook her head in bewilderment and said, "How dare I, this old slave?"

Although she cared about Xu's safety, she still didn't have the courage to act rashly, for fear of angering Marquis Chongde and losing her job.

She looked up and saw Mu Guiling's solemn expression. She sighed slightly and explained, "Young Master has also seen it. Madam's illness has disappeared and she has returned to her former self."

She paused for a moment, then said in embarrassment, "Sir, there is one more thing that I dare not hide from you... For some reason, Madam has adopted the Second Miss as her adopted daughter."

*

The young man on the couch frowned tightly, breathed rapidly, and suddenly opened his eyes.

He glanced at his palms subconsciously, and an indescribable depression surged in his heart.

Was that just a dream?

This dream seemed too real.

In the dream, the two countries of Chu and Liang were at war, and he was ordered to lead the troops. The flames of war were raging and the horses were neighing.

But for some unknown reason, he suddenly left the battlefield and rode away on his horse.

Then, he appeared in a mansion.

Suddenly, a girl in white appeared in his arms, but her face seemed to be covered by a layer of mist, so he could not see her appearance clearly.

He could only see streams of blood gushing out from her neck, and no matter how tightly he covered her, he couldn't stop it.

When the girl in his arms completely lost her breath, he finally saw her bloodless face.

That's...Mu Anning.

He came to his senses and looked at his clean hands without a trace of blood.

He rubbed his temples, stood up with a slightly unsteady step, and stretched.

He stroked his chin lazily and said self-deprecatingly, "My dreams lately have been getting more and more outrageous."

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that she has often appeared in his dreams since he broke off the engagement with Mu An Ning.

He shook his heavy head and went to wash up.

Afterwards, he hesitated between a royal blue gown and a crimson brocade robe, but ultimately chose the latter.

*

Gu Ji saw Gu Huaizhi walking out with a smile on his face, and secretly exclaimed in his heart: "Young Master."

Gu Huaizhi nodded slightly, motioning him to follow. Today they had to go to the residence of the top scholar.

But halfway through the journey, a sickly sweet voice suddenly rang out: "Brother Huai!"

Gu Huaizhi paused, and immediately came to his senses. His hair stood on end, and he said to Gu Ji, "Hurry up."

But despite this, the person behind him still kept chasing after him: "Brother Huai, wait for Yan'er..."

Gu Ji suggested, "Sir, do you want to explain it to your cousin?"

Seeing that he was about to leave the house, it would be useless for her to continue chasing him.

Gu Huaizhi glanced at Gu Ji, knowing that he was right, and turned around and said, "Stop!"

The girl in a bright yellow dress took a few steps forward unwillingly, but when she saw the boy's unhappy expression, she had to stop five feet away from him.

She pouted and said coquettishly, "Brother Huai, wherever you are going to play, take Yan'er with you."

Gu Huaizhi tutted his words and took another step back: "I have something to do, don't follow me."

Luo Zhiyan's eyebrows darkened immediately, she put her hands on her waist and said: "Brother Huai, if you don't take me with you, I will tell my aunt!"

Gu Huaizhi sneered, raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you still trying this? Go ahead."

He watched this cousin grow up, and if she hadn't often spoken wildly, he would have treated her as his own sister.

Ever since Luo Zhiyan lost her brother, whenever she saw him, she would follow him like a follower and couldn't get rid of him, and even said unreasonably that she wanted to marry him.

After he and Mu An Ning got engaged, she calmed down a lot, but now he has broken off the engagement...

Seeing that he didn't accept the challenge, Luo Zhiyan covered her face with her hands and cried, "Wuwuwu, I'll go tell my aunt now!"

Gu Huaizhi looked at his increasingly childish cousin, took a few deep breaths, and then said, "Okay, stop crying!"

Seeing Luo Zhiyan's crying stopped, he crossed his arms and said, "I can take you there, but you can go play by yourself and don't follow me."