Two months passed in a blink of an eye.
Nothing else happened during these days, but the Great Prince’s ability to handle affairs was really limited. This bandit suppression matter had been dragging on for so long, yet there was still no progress.
However, Marquis Mu Houchu’s scouts reported that the Great Prince had spent almost the entire two months half-heartedly trying to deal with the bandits.
He had sent people to ask Marquis Mu Houchu for help every three or five days, but Mu Houchu had directly declined, citing that Ji Xinhe was about to give birth.
So the matter was at a stalemate. The Great Prince was not in a hurry, and Marquis Mu Houchu was even less so.
As the days went by unhurriedly and Ji Xinhe’s due date drew closer, Mu Houchu simply stayed at home all day, keeping her company and preventing her from getting bored.
Recently, Ji Xinhe was particularly restless since her belly was getting bigger and sitting for a long time made her back sore. So Mu Houchu specially made her a soft couch that could adjust the height of the backrest. When she was tired from sitting, she adjusted the height and lay down halfway. When she got bored from lying down, she adjusted it back up again.
At the time when Mu Houchu was handcrafting the soft couch with a sickle and a pile of wood in the courtyard, the whole household’s servants were shocked with their jaws almost dropping to the ground. Even the usually composed Xiaoyu was dumbfounded for a long time.
Their banished immortal-like master could actually act as a carpenter with a sickle in hand!
Xiao Bei looked at Mu Houchu with admiration at the time: "Brother-in-law, I want to learn too, will you teach me how to make it?"
Mu Houchu didn’t raise his head while splitting wood: "You want to learn?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiao Bei said excitedly.
"Once you’ve mastered the sword art that Martial Arts Master taught you last time, you’ll naturally know how."
Xiao Bei’s face fell immediately: "What does this have to do with sword art?"
Mu Houchu casually flipped the sickle in his hand, performing a beautiful sword dance, and looked at Xiao Bei with a smile: "It’s related. Once you’ve mastered the sword art, I’ll teach you how to make this."
Xiao Bei indignantly sniffed and walked away, feeling wronged.
Xin He really liked the adjustable lounge chair, and she would often lie on it when she had nothing to do. To stave off her boredom, Mu Houchu recently taught her how to play Go. As someone who loved games that required mental challenges, she became quite engrossed in it.
However, Ji Xinhe tended to get sleepy easily, playing for a while before growing tired. Nevertheless, she refused to sleep without finishing a game. Mu Houchu had no choice but to let her win when he saw her looking drowsy, so he could coax her to sleep.
"Alright, I lost." Mu Houchu put down the chess piece.
Ji Xinhe glared at him unhappily: "You must have let me win again! It’s no fun playing chess with you!"
Mu Houchu smiled helplessly: "Be good, go to sleep, and stop making a fuss."
Xin He angrily put down the chess piece and rolled her round body to bed: "I won’t play with you next time!"
"Alright, alright, you won’t play with me next time, okay?" Mu Houchu covered her with a quilt and said, "The doctor said that the baby is due next month. It’s better to be careful during this period, right?"
As soon as Mu Houchu’s voice fell, Xiaoyu walked in and bowed: "Master, the Great Prince has sent someone."
Xin He’s eyes hadn’t even closed yet, and at the sound of this, she rolled out of bed.
Due to her large belly, she could only sleep on her side; otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable from the pressure. Moreover, it took a great effort for her to get up. She felt like a clumsy ball.
"Why did he send someone again? Is there no end to this? They’ve been in Yu State for two months already; he must be doing this on purpose!" Xin He said angrily.
Before she could finish her sentence, Mu Houchu pushed her back down.
Mu Houchu’s face darkened: "You go to sleep honestly, it’s none of your business."
Xin He: "······"
Mu Houchu let the curtain down and went to the outer room.
As soon as he left, Ji Xinhe opened her eyes, propped herself up, and listened carefully to the conversation outside.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Prince!"
Mu Houchu looked indifferent: "What is it?"
The repeated visits from the Great Prince’s people had caused Mu Houchu to lose any patience in dealing with them.
"Your Highness, the bandit suppression matter is now quite difficult. We have tried all the methods we can, but these bandits are extremely cunning. Moreover, the hills they occupy are easy to defend and hard to attack. It’s really not a solution to carry on like this!"
Mu Houchu remained silent.
The man continued: "The Great Prince is exhausted and unable to face the enemy. It’s difficult to deal with this matter. If it drags on, these bandits will not only have a huge impact on the common people living at the foot of the mountain but the task itself will be impossible to complete."
Mu Houchu still didn’t say anything.
After the man said so much, and seeing that Mu Houchu had no reaction, he couldn’t help but say: "Your Highness?"
"Hmm."
"Do you have any opinions on this matter?" The man asked awkwardly.
Mu Houchu looked up with cold eyes, meeting the man’s gaze directly. The man shuddered, almost wanting to take two steps back.
Then he heard Mu Houchu speaking unhurriedly: "What does it have to do with me?"
Guards: "······"
So everything he said just now was a waste of breath!?
Mu Houchu spoke lightly: "The matter of suppressing the bandits was handed to the Great Prince by the Emperor. If the Great Prince can handle this task, he should do it well. If he can’t handle it, he should return to the capital and beg the Emperor for forgiveness. What do I have to do with it? I don’t have a single soldier under me, do you expect me to help him suppress the bandits in the mountains?"
The guard’s face stiffened, and he awkwardly smiled: "But... Although the Emperor didn’t specifically order Your Highness to suppress the bandits, these bandits are in the area of Yu State."
"Yes, they are on my territory, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a group of bandits there. The Great Prince wants to eliminate them, and I won’t stop him."
Guards: "······"
You don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a group of bandits on your territory, and you actually like bandits that much!?
Guards were practically roaring in their hearts.
Mu Houchu’s face completely cooled, clearly losing patience: "I don’t want to repeat what I’ve said. You go back and tell him my exact words. If there’s nothing else, don’t bother me all the time."
The guard was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he barely managed to bow: "Yes."
——
"He really said that?!" The Great Prince was so angry that he almost overturned the table.
"Prince Pingyang told me to directly convey his words. The meaning within his words is that he will definitely not get involved in this matter..." The guard said with cold sweat dripping down.
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