Chapter 175 The Rise and Fall of the Sea Pirates
"You...how could you not have..." Zhu Mingjun's voice trembled and twisted, filled with the anger of being mocked, "Even if you don't have, she...she is Madam Dai Rong, isn't she? Dai Rong has her, I eat whatever Dai Rong eats, hurry up and bring it here..."
"That's impossible. General Dai would never take any 'carefree pills'," Mu Xi said with a straight face. "General Dai Rong was recently given a slow-acting poison by pirates. Despite various treatments, he is now delirious and unable to lead troops into battle. That's why His Majesty specially appointed me as the 'Envoy to Pacify the South' and bestowed upon me the 'Command of Military Control' to control the troops in the southern border. You, Zhu Mingjun, didn't just find out about this, did you?"
Zhu Mingjun, concealing his drug use, forced himself to calm down before finally realizing what was happening: "Mu Xi...you...you imprisoned me? Yes...what right do you have to imprison me? Since you rescued me, you should release me. I was kidnapped by pirates, not your prisoner."
“I didn’t imprison you, and this isn’t a prison.” Mu Xi shrugged, then turned to Bai Su, “You agree, General Bai. We just invited Zhu Mingjun to the General’s Mansion as a guest. As for why he’s a guest… it’s because the ‘Fourteenth Young Master’ of the pirates, Guan Lan, has been captured. As the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Lord, we need to conduct a temporary investigation, and we also need Zhu Mingjun’s cooperation.”
Zhu Mingjun, of course, wasn't buying it: "You won't give me the 'Carefree Pill' and you've locked me up here. I want to see Dai Rong. Where is Dai Rong? I want to see Dai Rong."
"Dai Rong? How could you forget, my lord? Didn't I just say that General Dai was given a slow-acting poison by the pirates? He's now delirious and bedridden. You can't see him, and even if you did, it wouldn't make a difference." Mu Xi's disgust was undisguised.
Zhu Mingjun mustered his strength and scrambled to his feet. Drug addiction drove him to a frenzied roar: "Impossible! I don't believe it... You must have also placed Dai Rong under house arrest, otherwise Dai Rong wouldn't be avoiding me, Dai Rong wouldn't betray me, no... no..."
Mu Xi asked in bewilderment, "How can you be so sure that Dai Rong won't betray you?"
Zhu Mingjun's panda eyes were bloodshot, making him look more like a ghost than a human: "Hehehe... What do you know about Dai Rong and me? That day when I was kidnapped by the pirates, if I hadn't risked my life to push him into the screen wall and hide him, saving his life, I don't know where he would be now. I saved his life, and I know his worth better than anyone. He won't betray me. He even hopes I can help him rise to a higher position, haha... a higher position, huh..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Su's face turned ashen, and his hand on the hilt of his sword trembled.
Mu Xi only heard the inside story of Zhu Mingjun's kidnapping by the pirates today, but after coldly watching Zhu Mingjun's miserable wails, her anger was eventually extinguished.
Such a person might find greater relief in death than in life.
Therefore, she doesn't need to do anything further.
Mu Xi turned and left, giving her final instructions: "Keep an eye on him, just make sure he doesn't die easily."
After saying that, he led Bai Su away in a long stride.
Bai Su left indignantly, unable to accept it: "It was this bastard who caused Dai Rong to end up like this."
Mu Xi walked straight up to her and stopped a few steps away. Her words, sharp and direct, without any pleasantries or preamble, were not loud, but carried a piercing force and a heavy, demanding tone that demanded an answer:
"Has Dai Rong also become addicted to that 'Xiaoyao Pill'?" Mu Xi was almost certain, but still asked.
"Hmm." Bai Su squeezed out a sound from his throat, then couldn't help but growl, "If it weren't for that scoundrel Zhu Mingjun leading Dai Rong astray... people addicted to drugs are beyond saving."
“Sigh…yes…” Mu Xi also sighed, “People who are addicted to drugs can’t really be called human beings in a certain way. As for Zhu Mingjun, we will have to wait for the king’s decision in the end. Yesterday, Jiping Prefecture received the news and sent it over by fast horse. Now we are just waiting for news. As for Dai Rong…you should think it over carefully and not ruin your future.”
Bai Su's chest heaved violently. He understood Mu Xi's meaning, but ultimately, considering their marital bond, he found it difficult to make a decision.
Mu Xi didn't feel comfortable saying anything more, so she returned to Mu Xun's room to continue guarding him.
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The cold winter wind, carrying the dampness unique to Jiping Prefecture, seeped into the side hall of the east courtyard of the Zhennan General's Mansion through the cracks in the window lattice.
With the year drawing to a close, they still hadn't received the order from King Yu to recall Moyang.
Fortunately, Mu Xun's health improved day by day after he woke up.
It was evening, and the two were having dinner in a side hall.
Mu Xi pushed a bowl of yam and barley soup in front of Mu Xun: "Eat more, and your complexion will get better and better."
Mu Xun put down the delicate porcelain cup in his hand, his gentle features softening even more in the candlelight: "Staying in the General's Mansion all the time with nothing to do, I can't eat much either."
“Old Deng, Suga Nao, is dead. Suga Osamu is busy consolidating his internal forces. Although the Southern Territory is in dire need of rebuilding, it has nothing to do with you or me. Of course, there’s nothing to do.” Mu Xi ladled out another bowl of white jade salmon soup. “If you can’t eat, drink a few more sips of soup. It’s good for your skin. Otherwise, if you take eight baths a day, your skin will be ruined sooner or later.”
Although Mu Xun's physical health had largely recovered, the knot in his heart was not so easy to untie.
An unexpected side effect of the "Paradise Powder" was that Mu Xun's mysophobia completely flared up. He felt that he was unclean after spending time on the "Sanssouci Palace". Whenever he felt uncomfortable thinking about it, he would take a medicated bath to clean himself.
Therefore, Mu Xi never offered any direct advice, and even expressed her "support" in various ways.
Mu Xun picked up the fish soup and sighed, "I know, they're already making changes. But... I reckon we'll be spending the New Year at the General's Mansion."
Previously, Naoki Kan had never been found at the Sansouci Palace.
Subsequent intelligence reports indicated that Kan Naoki was either missing or dead. One rumor claimed that he was burned to death by Crown Prince Kinkaku on the Sanssouci Palace.
However, another rumor claims that on the night of the incident, Kan Nao was the first to abandon his boat and escape, and was later rescued by Kan O's men. After being rescued, he disappeared without a trace. One theory is that he was imprisoned by Kan O, another is that he was banished to the sea by Kan O, and a third is that he was killed by Kan O.
Regardless of which version of events is true, the former "King of Manjuzan" Naoki Suga no longer exists, and the new "King of Manjuzan" is Sugao Suga.
When power shifts, internal struggles are often more brutal than external ones.
Unfortunately, the Southern Territory no longer has the strength to "take advantage of the chaos," and can only protect itself for the time being. Even if it does, it won't be up to Mu Xi and Mu Xun to make decisions.
Mu Xi didn't care much about where she spent the New Year; it was all just a formality. But then a thought suddenly occurred to her: "Since the King of Yu's decree is so late, and the southern and western borders are so close, why don't we just go and see our own territory?"
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