Chapter 257 Pei Dong
Mu Xi's tears streamed down her neck, leaving it cold, but she didn't bother to wipe them away: "So, it seems there's no movement from Mu Chong's side, and there's nothing we can do but stay here and wait for our fate."
Cao Pan'er remained silent, accepting her fate.
"I'm sorry, I know you've always harbored hatred towards the Gao family and Mu Chong. Over the years, I haven't been able to help you get revenge, and now I've dragged you down to this point." Mu Xi felt truly apologetic.
Ever since she was kidnapped by bandits and lost her freedom, she has been taken care of by Cao Pan'er along the way. Now that she has no hope and may die with resentment, she will owe Cao Pan'er even more, a debt she can never repay in this lifetime.
Cao Pan'er shook her head gently, her eyes still flashing with hatred: "Your Highness saved my life back then, and I should have repaid you. It's just that I didn't have a chance to do it back then, otherwise I would have eliminated this trouble long ago, and there wouldn't be today. But even if I go to the Yellow Springs now, I will not be able to explain to Lu Cao and my child who died before he could even open his eyes to see this world properly."
"This grudge... your grudge, Zhelan's grudge, my grudge... I'm afraid I'll never have the chance in this lifetime." Mu Xi rarely said such dejected words, but at this point, all that was left was this sigh.
Cao Pan'er remained silent, her beautiful eyes fixed on the void, lost in thought.
For a moment, the simple house was silent, with only the white vapor formed by the collision of the cold air and the warm breath of the two people indicating that there were still two living people.
Mu Xi knew that Cao Pan'er might still be unwilling, but now that things had come to this, what could she do even if she was unwilling?
I am the fish on the chopping block.
The two remained silent for an unknown period of time until the light from the only small window in the room dimmed, and they guessed that it was already evening.
There were no lights or any illumination in the room, but the two continued to wait silently for the only meal of the day to be delivered.
I don't know if it was just my imagination, but after waiting for a long time, until it was completely dark, no one brought me food.
It wasn't until Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er were both starving that they heard footsteps approaching. This time was at least an hour later than the previous days, and the footsteps were not those of the servants from the previous days, but rather several more people.
The two exchanged a glance in the dim light, stood up alertly, and stared at the door.
As footsteps approached, the wooden door was unlocked from the outside with a "clatter" and the chains were removed.
The door opened, and first a beam of yellow light from an oil lamp shone in. Then, Granny Liu led several maids into the room. After glancing around, she suddenly smiled and said, "Haha, you two are quite fortunate. You've both made enemies and gained favors from the Jin Fangjun family. Someone wants to see you. Come with me, let's tidy up a bit before receiving guests."
"Receiving guests?" Mu Xi's expression hardened. She couldn't recall any old friends who had been kind to her in Moyang, or even in the Jin Fangjun Mansion.
Only a few guards outside the door overheard the conversation between Mu Chong and Mu Xi that day. To this day, Liu Mama and the others do not know the relationship between Mu Chong, Mu Xi, and Cao Pan'er. They only assume that the two women offended Mu Chong, and Mu Chong committed a crime in a fit of passion.
Afterwards, she was busy covering up the murder that had occurred at Fangfei Tower. She finally managed to suppress the matter and was too lazy to care. Now that someone was willing to pay a lot of money to meet the two women, she only cared about doing business and making money, and pretended not to know anything about the other interests.
When Liu Mama arrived, she had already made up her mind. Now she just kept urging, "Why ask so many questions? I haven't even settled accounts with you for the huge trouble you've caused. Now that a sugar daddy has come, if you have the ability, even just coaxing him to redeem you would be even better. But let me make this clear first: firstly, the trouble you caused cost a lot of money, and you have to make up for it; secondly, no matter what your relationship with this person is, you absolutely cannot offend him. Although the Jin Fangjun Mansion isn't much of a threat now, it's not something we commoners want to mess with, do you understand?"
"Yes." Cao Pan'er nodded obediently.
Mu Xi stood silently to the side.
Next, Liu Mama ordered several maids to take the two out, wash them up, change their clothes, and especially dress Cao Pan'er up. Then she took the two back to Fangfei Tower.
The fourth floor, but it was no longer the room where Cao Pan'er had lived before; she had moved to another room.
Before pushing open the door, Liu's mother prepared a professional smile to greet him: "Oh dear, Mr. Pei... I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Pei. He's here."
The door opened, and an elderly man with gray hair and a wrinkled face appeared before Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er.
The old man wore a brown silk robe and cloak, with jade pendants at his waist. He leaned on a pure gold tiger-head cane in one hand. Although he seemed unassuming, a closer look revealed the air of a wealthy person.
The two recognized the old man at a glance as Pei Dong, the chief steward of Jin Fangjun's mansion.
Upon seeing Mu Xi, Pei Dong, without changing his expression, immediately pulled out a silver note of unknown denomination from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Mama: "Very good, I've booked this room and Miss Jiangxue's room for tonight. You may leave now and don't let anyone disturb us."
"Good...good..." Liu Mama took the silver note, glanced at it and was overjoyed. She agreed repeatedly and led her servants away.
Pei Dong turned back and instructed the two guards behind him: "You two go and stand guard outside the door. Don't let any unauthorized people in."
"Yes..." the two guards answered in unison and withdrew.
After making the arrangements, Pei Dong personally closed the door tightly. Then, turning back, his face showing excitement, he lowered his voice to greet Mu Xi: "Your Highness, it really is Your Highness... This old servant greets Your Highness..."
Mu Xi quickly stepped forward to offer a helping hand: "Manager Pei, there's no need for such formalities in this situation. What brings you here?"
Pei Dong did not answer at first, but instead limped and led Mu Xi and Cao Pan'er into the inner room, where a sumptuous feast had already been laid out.
After inviting Mu Xi to sit down, he sighed with shame, "Alas... this old servant received the news too late... that the young master has ended up in such a place, I'm afraid even the spirit of the Lord in heaven will find it hard to rest in peace."
Although Mu Xi never considered whether Pei Dong, as a confidant of her scumbag father Jin Fangjun Mu Zhen, knew about her disguise as a man, she tacitly assumed that he had always known.
Pei Dong wasn't surprised to see her dressed as a woman and still addressed her as "Young Master," which shows that his guess was correct.
However, she didn't really know much about Pei Dong. She only knew that when her scumbag father was still a general, Pei Dong was his personal guard. Later, he was also injured on the battlefield, leaving him with a disability in his left leg, and he has been following her scumbag father ever since.
Mu Xi couldn't be sure of Pei Dong's current stance, so she could only offer a polite compromise: "Please sit down, Manager Pei. It must have been quite an achievement to find this place."
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