As night fell, in the main room of the Marquis of Fu'an's mansion, Marquis Mu Dongqing reclined on a daybed, looking at the ancient chess manual he had just acquired that day. Several pages at the back of the manual were missing, which made him quite regretful.
At this moment, a maid came in to report that the guard Mao Chai had returned.
Princess Feng Ganlin, who had been absentmindedly picking out handkerchiefs, immediately perked up and invited people in.
"Your Highness, the city gates are closed. The carriage from Prime Minister Dong's residence has not returned. Just after Yuanxiao came out of the young master's study, he took some tea and sat on the roof," Mao Chai reported.
The princess's expression darkened upon hearing this. She waved her hand, indicating that Maochai could leave.
"What are you two doing? Jing'er ordered Yuanxiao to keep an eye on Dong Xiang's youngest son, and you ordered the guards to keep an eye on Jing'er's servants," Lord Mu said helplessly.
As soon as the Marquis finished speaking, he saw the Princess glancing at him and immediately regretted it.
"What are you doing? What do you mean by 'what are you doing'? What kind of father are you? Your son has lost his soul, and you're not worried or anxious at all. You spend all day studying your lousy chess scores and games. Do you believe I'll burn them all down?" Princess Fenglin's temper flared up instantly.
The Marquis quickly got up and stuffed the chess manual in his hand into the highest shelf of the multi-treasure pavilion. Then he walked over to the princess, sat down, and helped her tidy up the stack of handkerchiefs that had been scattered on the table.
“Jing’er has always been decisive. I think this matter mainly depends on him. If he recognizes his own feelings, he will certainly not miss that young lady,” the Marquis advised softly.
"Don't try to talk to me about these things, as if you know your son very well. Yes, he is very smart and capable, but so what?"
He rushed back from his business trip to Beijing, only to watch helplessly as that brat from the Dong family took him away.
At a time like this, why is he still being so reserved? He should just chase after them. If he can't take them away, he should at least be shameless and go with them. Someone as smart as him, what reason or excuse can't he find?
No, he returned home dejectedly and sat idly in his study, holding the book upside down.
"I used to think he was smart, but now I see him, and I just want to spit on him. How could he have given birth to such a useless idiot? He should learn from that good-for-nothing from the Dong family. How could he disregard the fact that they were alone, a man and a woman, and take her out of the city in front of everyone at the palace gates, and not bring her back even after the gates were closed?" The princess became more and more agitated as she spoke, her fair hands slapping the table until they were red.
The Marquis's lips twitched, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "That Miss Hong, how could she just leave with a man so casually?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the princess staring at him with eyes as sharp as knives.
"What do you mean 'as you please'? How can you call it 'casual'? Xiao Duo is a woman of the martial world, living openly and honestly. Back then, if I, the princess, were the kind of person you all call rule-abiding, what chance would you have?" The princess looked at her husband, even more annoyed.
The Marquis was immediately speechless; it was indeed true.
"Ahem, that's not what I meant either. How about this, I'll go and talk to Wei Junpei tomorrow and have him sound out the girl's intentions first. Otherwise, even if we help Jing'er together, it won't be good if it turns out she doesn't have any feelings for Jing'er at all."
"We have nothing to do with each other, but we need to think more about Jing'er's sake. If we've been frank and she's refused, it's a small matter if Jing'er feels embarrassed, but it would be inappropriate if this creates a rift between us." The Marquis pondered for a moment and then spoke again.
He finally understood that if the matter between his son and Hong Xiaoduo wasn't resolved properly, his life wouldn't be easy.
No, it's that if this doesn't work out, I won't have a good life either!
After listening to her husband's words, the princess pondered for a moment, and her gaze toward the Marquis softened slightly: "What the Marquis said makes sense. Then you'll have to put in more effort, hmm."
Seeing the princess frown and cover her cheek, the Marquis asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
"My tooth hurts." The princess's face contorted in pain.
The Marquis quickly ordered his men to fetch the royal physician, who, after examining the princess, said she had a fever!
Are you feeling hot and bothered?
The Marquis was heartbroken; this was unacceptable. He immediately changed his mind and ordered a carriage to be prepared so he could go to the Wei residence.
Mu Rongjing learned from the servant that a physician had been summoned from her mother's side. She rushed to her mother's courtyard, but did not see her father.
"Getting a sore throat? Mother, how could you get a sore throat?" Mu Rongjing was very puzzled after hearing this.
Why would I get so angry? It's all because of you, Your Highness!
The servants attending the princess glanced at their young master and dared only mutter to themselves.
"It's probably because you ate too many dried fruits and snacks. It's nothing serious. It's your father who made such a fuss and insisted on summoning the royal physician," the princess said, rubbing her cheek as she looked at her son.
I don't know why, but seeing my son made my teeth hurt even more.
After finally getting rid of her son, the kitchen brought over some stewed pear soup. She was drinking half of it when the Marquis returned.
"What's wrong? Wei Junpei won't help?" The princess guessed, seeing her husband's expression.
The Marquis shook his head: "No, I didn't see him. He said he left the capital around noon."
...
The next morning, shortly after the city gates opened, the carriage from the Dong family slowly entered the city.
Inside the carriage, the two adults and one child, looking refreshed, discussed what to eat later.
Yesterday, they soaked in a hot spring at a resort ten miles outside the capital, which was very relaxing. If it weren't for the fact that they might have to go to the palace today, they would have stayed another day.
To everyone's surprise, the carriage was stopped as soon as it entered the city by someone Dong Yuefan knew.
Dong Yuefan got off the carriage, and the driver moved the carriage to the side to wait.
"Zhu Mingfeng, you'd better have something important to do," Dong Yuefan warned in a low voice, looking at his playmate in front of him and the others behind him.
"Brother Yuefan, if it weren't for something important, why would I be waiting for you here so early in the morning?" Zhu Mingfeng said, glancing at the carriage parked nearby.
Dong Yuefan frowned, somewhat displeased, and urged, "Get to the point quickly if you have something to say."
He doesn't have anything important to do, but the woman in the carriage might have something important to do later, like going to the palace. If she misses breakfast, she'll go hungry.
"The man behind me is the head steward of the Sancai Trading Company, here on behalf of their master. Brother Yuefan, your sister knows the art of bloodline identification, so their master wants to ask her to help identify whether his children are his biological offspring."
I don't know how you found out about my relationship with you, but you came to me for help.
The other party had also heard that performing this bloodline identification procedure was very mentally taxing and would affect one's lifespan, but his employer said that the price was negotiable. "Zhu Mingfeng told him in a low voice.
After listening, Dong Yuefan thought for a moment. Xiao Duo still had six children to raise, and the more money the better. So she said, "Although she is my sister, I can't make this decision. You wait here while I go ask..."
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