Ji Xinhe’s heart skipped a beat, and her face turned slightly pale. What was he doing here?!
Li Junyao stood there in a daze, seemingly unable to react for a moment. She had heard Mu Houchu’s name countless times, but had only met him a few times.
That’s because this powerful minister was not interested in banquets like this at all. Even during the Empress Dowager’s birthday in the palace, he might not show up. Apart from courtiers in the Imperial Court, boudoir daughters rarely got to see him.
As a result, when she saw this minister appearing at her birthday banquet, Li Junyao felt utterly stunned. How did she have such face to invite him over?
She even doubted whether she was seeing things.
But when Mu Houchu entered and his sharp gaze swept over her, Li Junyao shuddered, and her legs went soft in fear. How could she dare to imagine that she could garner such face? She could only hope that his anger was not directed at her, and then she would be grateful.
When Mu Houchu stood in the courtyard, his cold aura made all the beautiful ladies in the courtyard gasp. However, they couldn’t help but look up to catch a glimpse of this famous minister.
As the host, Li Junyao had to present her host’s frame and forced out a stiff smile: "How come Minister Mu has time to come? I was just teaching the people below a lesson, and I hope it won’t cause laughter for Minister Mu."
While speaking, she remembered her dirt-covered body and felt both angry and ashamed. Mu Houchu had seen her in such disgraceful state!
However, before she decided whether to go inside and change her clothes, she saw Mu Houchu coldly looking at her: "Teach the people below? When did this minister’s woman become someone ’below’ in your mouth?"
As soon as his words came out, everyone in the courtyard gasped and raised their heads in surprise. They couldn’t help but look at Ji Xinhe and then at Mu Houchu.
The meaning of Mu Xiang’s words was, his woman?!
Ji Xinhe’s eyes widened, and she almost ground her teeth and lowered her voice: "Mu Houchu!"
Mu Houchu put his arm around her and brought her into his embrace, asking with a bit of reproach: "Who told you to come here without telling me?"
He had gone to the palace early this morning, and she didn’t mention anything about coming to Le Yuanhou’s mansion. He only learned about it after he finished his duties and went to find her.
Today was Le Yuanhou’s eldest daughter Li Junyao’s birthday. Li Junyao had invited her over intentionally, what could her intentions be?
But Ji Xinhe didn’t know. She didn’t know about the marriage contract between Li Junyao and Duan Lan, nor about Duan Lan’s feelings for her. Moreover, she didn’t even know that she had unwittingly become Li Junyao’s mortal enemy. So this time, it was definitely a Hongmen Banquet.
Upon receiving the news, he rushed over immediately, fearing that she would suffer. Fortunately, he was not too late.
It seemed that he had been over-worried. When had his little fox ever been at a disadvantage?
Ji Xinhe struggled a bit, but his arm didn’t budge like iron. Annoyed, she said, "It’s none of your business!"
She tried her best to keep her distance from this man, fearing that any connection with this influential figure would disturb her peace for the rest of her life!
More importantly, they had no relationship at all!
What did he mean by his woman?!
But Mu Houchu completely ignored her protests and anger. With one arm around her slender waist, he looked coldly at Li Junyao, "Lady Li has a really big frame, even this minister’s woman isn’t in her eyes, becoming someone ’below’ in your mouth. Do you think this minister can be ignored too?"
Li Junyao’s face had turned pale as paper, and she trembled for a long time without saying a word. Standing there stiffly, she stared at Ji Xinhe in fear: "You, you..."
The chattering crowd had now fallen silent, their fear and shock evident on their faces as they struggled to accept this sudden bombshell.
This legendary woman-free, unfeeling minister actually had a woman!
They had thought that the rumors about Ruifu Building were just that, but now it seemed that they might be true.
What they never expected was that this woman would turn out to be Ji Xinhe!
What kind of background did she have to have the minister do such extraordinary things for her?!
Chen Yining’s face had turned pale, and her figure seemed unsteady as she stood there, almost stumbling. Thankfully, Rui Xue was quick to support her: "Are you alright, Miss?"
Chen Yining stared at Ji Xinhe in Mu Houchu’s arms, her whole body trembling: "It’s her, it’s her, it’s actually her!"
"Miss...""
Chen Yining laughed bitterly: "I knew her back was so familiar. I knew... So she’s that woman."
That woman who had stolen the man she had always been thinking about and guarding for sixteen years!
In contrast, Duan Lan’s face had become rigid. He moved his lips but didn’t say a word, not knowing what to say or ask. He never even knew that she and Mu Houchu had met before.
Witnessing the changes in the expressions of everyone in the garden, Ji Xinhe wanted to find a hole to crawl into, infuriated and mortified.
"I..." Ji Xinhe was about to speak out in anger.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in Chinese clothing came running into the garden. Seeing Mu Houchu, he was startled and quickly bowed: "I didn’t know that Minister Mu would grace my daughter’s birthday banquet. I apologize for not welcoming you from a distance."
"Dad." Li Junyao almost wanted to cry. Whether from anger or fear, she couldn’t even walk away and could only feebly call out this one word.
This middle-aged man was none other than Le Yuanhou. According to strict rules, he should be respected by Marquis Mu due to his title. However, in the Imperial Court, Mu Houchu’s power was dominant. Even princes would have to courteously greet Marquis Mu.
In this world, the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest prevailed.
Le Yuanhou glared at Li Junyao and shouted, "Scoundrel! Hurry up and apologize to Minister Mu!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
He had just heard in the front hall that Mu Houchu had suddenly arrived because of his good-for-nothing daughter daring to provoke Mu Houchu’s woman. Le Yuanhou, of course, was both angry and alarmed, so he hurried to clean up the mess.
Li Junyao lowered her head, not daring to look at Mu Houchu. His cold and sharp eyes seemed to have the power to kill her intangibly. When she heard her father’s words, she shuddered for a long time before kneeling down and stumbling: "Jun, Jun Yao knows her mistake."
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