Chapter 53
When Mu Qing brought it up herself, only then did her husband and Miss Yanran realize that, in the midst of their chatting, time had already slipped away.
However, it was clear that the conversation wasn’t yet over.
At the very least, her husband still looked like he had more to say—his brows and eyes full of that classic “let’s talk all night” kind of expression.
That was rather amusing.
Mu Qing couldn’t help but smile, but given the situation, she still had to propose putting a temporary stop to their conversation.
Being stared at so directly and openly by Mu Qing like that, Chu Yu felt his ears slowly start to burn. The truth was, this trip he and Sister Yanran had made from the capital to Tongzhou City was for other important business.
The palace affair had reached a critical juncture. Based on what he knew of that sovereign’s nature, the more sensitive the moment, the more necessary it was to “avoid suspicion.”
So, the first chance he got, he did the opposite of what was expected—he left the task of “serving medicine” and showing “filial piety” entirely to his two elder brothers. If things went smoothly, maybe those two would clash again over this supposed devotion—so much the better.
That had been Chu Yu’s exact plan when he found an excuse to come all the way to Tongzhou.
Since it was all just a pretext, the actual errand wasn’t difficult. He had already dispatched Ying Thirteen and others halfway through the journey to get it mostly done in advance.
By the time he and Sister Yanran reached Tongzhou, there was no need for him to lift a finger. He just had to wait for the agents to return and report, then review the results.
So this time out, they had only planned to stop by their respective mothers’ old residences before going to the academy to visit his wife, Mu Qing.
Who would’ve thought that, before even reaching the house, they’d bump into Mu Qing—and at such a moment, just as she was being accosted by that insolent thug? It had made his blood boil on the spot.
In broad daylight, that bastard dared do something like that—it was utterly infuriating.
Chu Yu’s opinion of Liu Feng plummeted. Feeling that he was “upholding justice,” he didn’t reflect too much on the burst of fury and panic he’d felt in that instant.
Of course, all of this looked entirely different from Miss Yanran’s perspective.
To someone as experienced as she was, the dynamic between her younger brother and this girl named Miao-niang was suffocating to witness.
Still, it was fine—give it some time and she’d get used to it.
And since neither her brother nor this Mu Qing girl was stupid, once they both figured things out, things would naturally fall into place.
She only needed to watch and enjoy the show.
Leaving aside what those two were thinking, Mu Qing did notice their meaningful glances, but didn’t have the energy to dwell on it—
Right now, she was more troubled over whether to reveal the original story plot or not. But she didn’t even know how far the succession struggle had progressed.
Especially with Elder Qin, her husband, and his whole family all tangled up in it—it was just a mess.
She had never felt so mentally chaotic before and thought today really wasn’t the time to make any big decisions.
After confirming that her husband and Sister Yanran wouldn’t be leaving right away and would be staying in Tongzhou for a few more days, she began to make up her mind.
Whether or not to speak up, she’d first need to figure out the current situation.
Might as well skip school for a few days.
With Elder Qin away, the White Crane Academy wouldn’t fall into chaos in the short term, but at the same time, no one would be keeping a close eye on them either.
And since her husband had been able to take leave, she—being his wife—ought to be able to benefit from that as well.
Most importantly, now that she and Elder Qin’s daughter, Qin Qin, were as close as sisters, if no one else helped her, Qin Qin definitely would.
Thinking this, Mu Qing relaxed quite a bit. She parted ways with the other two, agreeing to visit them at their inn first thing in the morning.
As for why not go together tonight—that was because she still needed to return to the academy to touch base with Qin Qin and explain things. With Elder Qin gone, she was basically Qin Qin’s emotional support, and now that she was also going to slip away, she had to soothe her friend properly.
After all, Mu Qing really did like this girl.
So, under her husband’s “reluctant to part” and Miss Yanran’s “knowingly amused” gazes, Mu Qing declined their offer to escort her and said her goodbyes.
By the time she returned alone to the White Crane Academy, it was already quite late.
Qin Qin was waiting at the gate, craning her neck in anticipation—almost like a wife awaiting her husband’s return.
When she saw Mu Qing, she was so overjoyed that she practically jumped on the spot and ran toward her like a shot.
Mu Qing saw her, clearly even happier than when they’d parted earlier in the day, and began to have some suspicions.
After bracing herself for the inevitable loving tackle hug from Qin Qin, Mu Qing barely managed to stay upright despite the near bone-crushing force.
Looking into her excited, sparkling eyes, Mu Qing sighed inwardly but still forced her signature smile and asked gently:
“Qin Qin, why are you so happy? Did you get some news from Elder Qin?”
Qin Qin shook her head, then nodded—nearly making Mu Qing dizzy with confusion.
Fortunately, the girl had always been straightforward. Soon, beaming from ear to ear, she confessed to Mu Qing:
“It’s A-Jing. He said… he can take me into the palace to secretly see my father.”
Mu Qing felt like lightning had struck her on the spot… Wait, what?! You can just… go into the palace like that?
Wasn’t that a little too absurd?
And what was this “A-Jing”?
Wait—was that the Little Fifth Brother?
Mu Qing was stunned for a second before it clicked—right, the alias he used earlier was “Wu Jing.”
So his real name must include the character Jing too?
Fifth in rank, with Jing in the name… “Wu Jing.” That pseudonym was ridiculously casual.
But what was even more casual was how easily this girl believed him.
After all, wasn’t he still someone they barely knew?
Why was she still so trusting, just like before?
Mu Qing felt a flood of disapproval rise in her heart, but when she looked into Qin Qin’s shining eyes, she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
Was she really supposed to crush the hope of this sweet girl, who was finally seeing a glimmer of a chance to reunite with her father? Telling her to “be rational” and that “he might be lying” felt unbearably cruel.
She just couldn’t do it.
The only silver lining was that it meant she was no longer Qin Qin’s only emotional support.
The girl had found a new source of hope—Little Fifth Brother. No, A-Jing.
Mu Qing looked at Qin Qin with mixed feelings, a bit like a mother seeing her daughter grow up at last.
Still, as long as she was happy, that was enough.
And with her happy, Mu Qing’s own tasks would be easier to accomplish.
Sure enough, when she asked Qin Qin to help her get a few days off, the girl was surprised but didn’t refuse.
She even teased:
“Did Brother Fengqing come to visit? So Sister Qing is heading out to keep him company?”
Seeing her look so delighted—as if genuinely happy that her best friend was finding love—Mu Qing blushed furiously. She wanted to explain, but swallowed the words back down.
Fine. Let it be.
After all, even if she and her husband both knew this was all fake, outwardly it did look that way, so what was the point of explaining? If she had to explain everything, then what was the point of the contract in the first place?
If anything defined self-inflicted suffering, this was it.
So she smiled and nodded, trying her best to ignore Qin Qin’s endless compliments like “I’m so jealous of your love” and “I wish I had such a perfect gentleman,” before being dragged off to her room to sleep together.
Under the noble-sounding excuse that “I’m scared sleeping alone…”
Really, girl? You never seemed scared sleeping alone before.
Mu Qing was exasperated, but one look at those big, charming eyes and she couldn’t say a word.
Fine. You’re beautiful—you win.
Qin Qin, as an only child who lost her mother early, had probably never had the chance to bunk with someone else.
Mu Qing was also an only child, but had been close with her mother, Madam Bai, and sometimes shared a room with her.
Later on, her cousin Yan Hong was brought into the household by Madam Bai, and though they didn’t live together all year round, there were still times when they stayed under the same roof.
Although, young Mu Qing had once beaten Yan Hong up, and Madam Bai had forcibly separated them after that.
Aside from that, in her past life, Mu Qing had plenty of roommates.
During her school days and when she’d just started working without her own apartment, she had shared flats with various gorgeous roommates.
She was well-versed in the art of “pillow talk” and was more than happy to enjoy a late-night heart-to-heart with Qin Qin.
Since Qin Qin had no experience sharing a room, after they washed up, Mu Qing guided her to bed and began the talk.
First, of course, was asking what exactly she and the Little Fifth Brother had done today.
Thankfully, Qin Qin was always honest and quickly told her everything.
Apparently, Little Fifth Brother had, that afternoon, actually told Qin Qin that he knew where Elder Qin was and could sneak her into the palace to see him. That was… impressive.
Granted, Mu Qing knew that this Little Fifth Brother was her husband’s sibling. Since her husband was involved in the succession struggle, it wasn’t surprising that his brother might also play a role.
Still, with his limp and young age, Mu Qing hadn’t expected him to be so involved. Clearly, you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover.
She immediately curbed any dismissiveness and asked Qin Qin to recount every detail of their interaction—and sure enough, she picked up on something strange.
