"Just received news from a scout, there’s some activity in the capital, and I’m not at ease, so I came back to check." Mu Houchu strode in and raised his hand to touch Xin He’s head.
Xin He was taken aback: "What activity?"
"Not sure yet, but the Emperor has called for a secret meeting with Minister Duan and Minister Song, two powerful ministers. I guess the Emperor is probably trying to stir up some trouble." Mu Houchu played with Xin He’s hair while speaking casually.
"We’re far away in Yu State, what kind of trouble can he stir up? It hasn’t even been a year since we left the capital. Is he going to try to get rid of us immediately after taking power? He shouldn’t fear the world’s contempt." Xin He scoffed.
Mu Houchu bent the corners of his mouth, smiling, "He doesn’t have the guts for that, but he probably can’t stand doing nothing."
"What do you think it is?" Xin He asked, curious.
"Probably something to make our lives less peaceful." Mu Houchu chuckled, "Unexpectedly, as I handed over power, it made him happy, but in reality, it left a mess for him to deal with, such as the distribution of power in the Imperial Court and the management of factions. I was the mediator before, but now that I’ve stepped back, he can’t take on the responsibility nor find an appropriate way to distribute the power. So, in the past six months, the court has been full of problems, and his position on the throne is quite unstable."
Xin He laughed, "If it weren’t for these problems, we wouldn’t have enjoyed these past few months of peace."
"Indeed, however, times have changed. In the past six months, he managed to barely sort out the issues in the court. Although it’s not as good as before, he has managed to keep the throne secure. Now, his first order of business is to make my life miserable. I knew that since the moment he assigned the Great Prince to Yu State, there must be a purpose."
"But, you mentioned that Minister Song was also called to a secret meeting. Shouldn’t he take some action for you?" Xin He raised her eyebrows.
Mu Houchu smiled, "That’s why I came back. I’m waiting for him to show me some sincerity."
Depending on how sincere the Song Family can be, Mu Houchu can offer them the same level of trust, and a future.
Xin He stared at him silently, her eyes blinking, as if she was thinking about something.
"What’s the matter?" Mu Houchu raised an eyebrow.
Xin He held onto Mu Houchu’s head and said, "I feel like you’re in a good mood?"
Mu Houchu smiled, "Hmm, quite good."
"Why are you in a good mood? Because the Emperor finally thought of going after you?"
Mu Houchu pinched her face, "Can your mind think of something more normal?"
Ji Xinhe leaned closer to him, lowered her voice, and sneered playfully, "Or is it that the love letter I handed in yesterday was quite good?"
Mu Houchu curved the corners of his mouth, and his smile grew even stronger, "Pretty much."
Xin He giggled and pulled at his sleeve, "If it’s good, should there be some kind of reward?"
"Hmm... what kind of reward do you want?"
"How about just skipping the rest of the ninety-two love letters?" Xin He said excitedly.
Mu Houchu gave her a cold smile, "Do you think that’s possible?"
Xin He bit her lip, drooping her head, "Then, at least, let’s cut it in half."
Mu Houchu just smiled without saying anything. The cold look in his eyes made Ji Xinhe’s heart tremble.
Ji Xinhe gritted her teeth and held up two fingers, "Reduce it by twenty letters!"
"Hmm?" Mu Houchu pretended not to hear.
Ji Xinhe pleaded pitifully, "Can we reduce it by ten, please?"
Mu Houchu didn’t respond.
Ji Xinhe, annoyed, flung her hand away, "Fine! At least get rid of two!"
Mu Houchu bent the corner of his mouth, patted her head, and said like he was coaxing a little kid, "Good girl, we can’t reduce it by even one."
Ji Xinhe started grinding her teeth like a furious little wild cat.
Mu Houchu started to smooth things over, "You know, writing a letter a day doesn’t take much time. Once you get used to it, you won’t think it’s too much, right?"
Xin He turned her head away in annoyance, ignoring him.
Mu Houchu continued, "If you really want a reward, I can take you out for a couple of days. I recently found another nice place. The waterfall there is beautiful, and the water in the mountain streams is very cool. Now that the weather is getting hotter, it’s a great place to go."
Xin He’s eyes darted around as if she was considering the deal.
"When I take you out for a day, you don’t have to write a love letter. Consider it a day off and postpone it by a day. Is that okay?" Mu Houchu continued to coax her gently.
Either Ji Xinhe was particularly gullible in front of Mu Houchu or this man’s negotiation skills were really high, because she now felt that this was a pretty good deal.
Obviously, not a single letter would be reduced! The only reduction was for this day off!
Such a stingy man.
"Two days! I also want to go to the lake we visited last time and go boating." Xin He demanded with a stern face.
Mu Houchu raised his lip and smiled, "Alright."
Only then did Xin He start to laugh happily and chat about random things with Mu Houchu.
Shulan and Xiaoyu brought them hot tea and then withdrew consciously. As they left the room, Shulan couldn’t help but say, "Why doesn’t our master just reduce the number of letters by two? Why go to the trouble of taking madam out for two days instead?"
Xiaoyu looked at her and said, "Why don’t you go ask master?"
Shulan glared at her, "I’d need the guts to do that."
Xiaoyu sighed, "Perhaps if we had our own sweetheart, we’d understand why."
Why? Isn’t it just because someone is addicted to receiving love letters? One hundred letters are not enough, so how could he be willing to reduce the amount?
Not even one letter can be spared!
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the month and the Sun family’s grand celebration day. This time, Sun Yaowen rode a tall horse through the streets of Lian’an Town. Hating that he couldn’t travel through every street in the town.
The procession even passed by the entrance of Mu Mansion. Shulan, who loves the excitement, took Xiao Bei and Little Firewood out to get the wedding cakes distributed by the Sun Family.
Xiao Bei, Shulan, and the other maids and servants were overjoyed, while Little Firewood, who was only interested in the things children would like to play with, stood on the sidelines, indifferent.
Sun Yaowen hadn’t fully recovered from the beating Little Firewood gave him earlier. His head was still bandaged, his hand had a splint, and his face was bruised and swollen, yet he was still dressed in festive clothes, looking happy and cheerful. Seeing anyone, he laughed heartily, causing others to feel creeped out by his appearance.
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