Chapter 39 – Matters of the Heart: It Seems I’ve Fallen for Someone…
When Yan Hong came to her for help, Mu Qing wasn’t surprised at all—in fact, this wasn’t the first time.
It was exactly because of this that no matter how outrageous Yan Hong could be, she never dared to cross the line in front of Mu Qing. After all, whenever she encountered a difficult problem, as long as she found her cousin, there would always be a solution—often more than one.
If Mu Qing were in her shoes, she’d probably idolize a “cousin” like that too.
To Yan Hong, Mu Qing was such a figure.
At first, Mu Qing had merely pitied her cousin. She had softened momentarily and helped her out with a few things. Most of the so-called “big problems” that troubled Yan Hong had seemed trivial in Mu Qing’s eyes—no more than a flick of the wrist to solve, and hardly worth the effort.
Who would’ve thought that after helping a few times, there’d be no end to it?
Over the years, whenever Yan Hong ran into something she couldn’t handle, she’d inevitably come running to Mu Qing.
And every time, she showed up with this desperate, all-in attitude, as if she were counting on Mu Qing’s soft heart to prevent her from refusing.
And truthfully, up until now, Mu Qing had never turned her down.
But—that was in the past.
There’s a first time for everything.
This time, she feared her cousin would be disappointed.
“Hong’er, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s just that… your husband…”
Mu Qing tactfully voiced her refusal. Seeing the light in Yan Hong’s eyes slowly fade, she felt a pang of guilt and almost wanted to say the same words she always had:
“What’s the big deal? With me here, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Because in truth, from Mu Qing’s perspective, the situation between Yan Hong and Liu Feng wasn’t unsolvable.
The simplest solution, of course, would be to divorce him—after all, who hasn’t fallen for a jerk or two in their youth?
As long as she secured her dowry from her mother’s side, Yan Hong would be a wealthy heiress in her own right.
Mu Qing really wanted to tell her cousin: with that kind of wealth, if this were the modern world, she could afford to keep a whole harem of young, handsome men. No—she wouldn’t even need to look for them herself; they’d come throwing themselves at her feet, saying, “Big Sister, we don’t want to struggle anymore.”
She had money, looks, and youth.
Even if she was once married, there’d still be plenty of people lining up to marry her—a classic rich and beautiful catch. Why pine after someone like Liu Feng?
Unfortunately, nothing she said would get through to Yan Hong right now.
She was still deeply obsessed with Liu Feng—what couldn’t be obtained always seemed more valuable. Come to think of it, Liu Feng really was something, even knowing how to play hard to get.
The more Mu Qing thought of his smug, disgusting behavior recently, the more she wanted to gag.
It occurred to her that perhaps she had grown lax lately. With her husband busy with his own matters, she hadn’t paid enough attention to Liu Feng’s movements.
But of course, as the male lead of this book’s world, Liu Feng wouldn’t sit quietly in the background. Though he’d failed to snag Qin Qin in Baihe Academy, he had already “skipped a grade” and gotten involved with Miss Yanran.
If things continued like this, his entire harem would soon start showing up one after another…
And each woman’s background would be more powerful than the last, involving imperial exams, court politics, and even the inner palace.
If the Mu family had remained mere merchants in Jiangnan, that would’ve been fine.
But her younger brother Mu Jiang was destined for the imperial exams. With his talent, anything less than becoming a famed minister would be a waste.
In that case, their family was bound to interact with the court—and perhaps even the inner palace.
In that process, they would inevitably become entangled with Liu Feng. Not just because he was now married to Yan Hong, but also because of the trajectory their lives were on. They couldn’t avoid each other even if they wanted to.
And that… was a headache.
Mu Qing now felt that persuading her cousin to divorce Liu Feng was more than just for her emotional wellbeing—it was a strategic retreat.
That way, not only could her cousin be free, but the Mu family could also minimize their ties with Liu Feng.
In the future, even if they ran into each other at court, at least they wouldn’t be connected by family and have to endure unnecessary disgust.
But Mu Qing also understood—precisely because she felt this way, she couldn’t push too hard.
First, Yan Hong wasn’t ready to let go.
Second, Mu Qing wanted to teach this brat a lesson. She needed her to learn how to think for herself, to stop relying on Mu Qing to fix everything—and becoming more reckless because she thought someone would always clean up after her.
If that continued, it would only hurt her in the end.
Once Mu Qing came to this realization, she hardened her heart and told her cousin she had to solve this herself—“In my view, divorcing him is the best option.”
That bit of honest advice, she still offered in the end.
Naturally, Yan Hong didn’t take it to heart—she was still deep in her fantasy of marital bliss, picturing candlelit harmony and perfect affection…
Mu Qing watched her cousin leave in low spirits, and out of caution, walked her out of the academy herself. Only then did she sigh and turn to head back.
On the way, she naturally drew plenty of attention—after all, Yan Hong’s earlier entrance had stirred up quite a commotion. Anyone with eyes would’ve seen it.
Mu Qing had initially worried that it might alarm Master Qin, but when she asked how Yan Hong got in, she remembered: Master Qin wasn’t on campus this afternoon.
She hadn’t seen him after class earlier.
Vaguely, she recalled Qin Qin mentioning that a VIP from the capital had summoned him. He hadn’t even eaten lunch—he rushed straight to the capital… “If he’s not careful, he might not even get back before the city gates close.”
Since Master Qin wasn’t here, that explained everything—no wonder Yan Hong had made it in so easily.
In fact, the longer Mu Qing stayed at the academy, the more she realized: aside from Master Qin, who strictly enforced the no-women rule, none of the other teachers seemed to care.
As for the older and younger students—no need to mention it. Studying was tough; catching a glimpse of a lovely young lady was practically a dream come true. They welcomed it wholeheartedly. Why would they object?
If anything, they were thrilled.
That’s probably why everyone turned a blind eye to Yan Hong’s blatantly fake male disguise when she entered.
In fact, while they were all pretending to study or recite poetry along the paths and in their rooms—shaking their heads in scholarly devotion—they were secretly watching Mu Qing and her cousin’s every move.
So when Mu Qing calmed her cousin down, escorted her out, and personally walked her to the academy gate, they saw everything.
And of course, when Mu Qing came back alone, a crowd swarmed her with questions.
“Brother Mu, who was that young ma—young lady to you?”
“Yeah, Brother Mu, that person was awfully good-looking…”
Though they’d only shared one day of class, these teenage boys were surprisingly forward.
Not just because Mu Qing looked friendly and easy to talk to—but mostly because Yan Hong was just too beautiful.
So really, cousin, why are you chasing after Liu Feng again?
Mu Qing was exasperated, but kept her tone polite and casual, offering vague answers before retreating to her courtyard.
Sure enough, Qin Qin was already waiting for her outside the door.
The moment she arrived, the girl rushed over. “Sister Qing, just now, that was…?”
Since she asked, Mu Qing didn’t want to hide it.
So she invited Qin Qin into her courtyard, brewed a pot of floral tea, brought out her treasured pastries, and hosted a little afternoon tea.
Of course, the food and drink were secondary—what mattered was the gossip.
Naturally, the topic was her cousin and Liu Feng.
“So that Liu fellow is already married? And his wife is your cousin?” Qin Qin stared, eyes wide.
Mu Qing sighed and nodded. “That’s right.”
Qin Qin looked dazed and a little sorrowful, clearly feeling bad for Yan Hong.
But Mu Qing didn’t dwell on it. Seeing the time, she was about to send her off when Qin Qin suddenly whispered, “Sister Qing, there’s something I wanted to tell you too…”
Seeing her expression shift, Mu Qing swallowed her words and instead smiled encouragingly.
“What is it? Qin, just say it.”
Qin Qin glanced at her, cheeks flushed, then bit her lip and softly said:
“I… I think I might be in love with someone.”
The moment Mu Qing heard that, her interest soared. She’d just been thinking about finding a good match for Qin Qin so she could completely escape the shadow of being Liu Feng’s future second wife—and now look, she’d already found one herself.
So capable!
Mu Qing nearly clapped for her.
Still, to be safe, she asked, “So… who is it you like, Qin?”
Blushing furiously, Qin Qin whispered, “He’s also in the academy… Sister Qing, you know him too.”
Mu Qing was even more intrigued. “I do? When did this happen?”
Qin Qin’s cheeks turned scarlet. “You greeted him today… but he didn’t answer you.”
Huh?
That happened?
Mu Qing thought hard and finally remembered.
It must’ve been this afternoon when Master Qin was away and their teacher had assigned them self-study. She and Qin Qin had snuck over to visit her little brother in the “accelerated class.”
Her brother, being a prodigy, had been handpicked by Master Qin for special instruction as soon as he entered Baihe Academy.
Naturally, he wasn’t the only one in the class—there were about ten other geniuses, each more brilliant than the next.
Back during the orientation class, her brother had already admired these peers. When he’d gone home for break, he’d uncharacteristically gushed to her about one in particular.
Of course, he praised everyone in general terms first, saying things like “They’re all extremely knowledgeable, well-read, and brilliant,” but the real praise went to a transfer student who’d joined three days before the break.
“You wouldn’t believe it, Sister! Brother Wu is amazing—he’s not only well-read… but also… and his calligraphy… and he even…”
Anyone who could earn such admiration from her scholarly little brother had to be quite the character.
That afternoon, Mu Qing had just wanted to check in on her brother and see how he was getting along. After all, she’d been so busy managing her own affairs, guarding her secret identity, keeping up with studies, and nurturing her relationship with her husband…
She hadn’t had time to spare for him.
Now that things were calmer, she finally came to visit.
Her brother had been thrilled, and after a quick chat, he’d excitedly introduced his favorite classmate.
“Sister! Brother! This is Wu Jing, my deskmate. He’s helped me so much…”
Just as her brother was about to go off singing praises again, Wu Jing had smiled helplessly and said, “Brother Mu flatters me. I’m not as exceptional as he says… On the contrary, your elder siblings are both clearly extraordinary. I wouldn’t dare show off in front of them.”
He had spoken gently, with a refined air, and looked handsome—no more than fourteen or fifteen. If not for her little brother’s monstrous talent, Wu Jing would likely have been the youngest in the academy.
Smart, courteous, handsome—it was easy to see how he might capture a young girl’s heart.
But… as Mu Qing recalled, they’d only exchanged a few brief words. How had Qin Qin already fallen so hard?
Mu Qing wanted to talk to her about rash infatuations, maybe suggest observing a bit longer—after all, Wu Jing was two or three years younger. What could one glance really tell her?
Don’t fall into another trap right after escaping Liu Feng’s.
She had plenty to say, but after revealing her secret, Qin Qin had grown too shy to continue the conversation.
With no other choice, Mu Qing sent her off to rest and returned alone, her mind full of thoughts.
She had just reached her courtyard gate when she saw a figure in white waiting there—it was none other than Wu Jing himself.
Bathed in the evening glow, his youthful face looked like a finely painted portrait. As soon as he saw her, he smiled and saluted. “Brother Mu, you’ve finally returned. I’ve been waiting here for some time—may I have a word?”
Mu Qing was surprised. She was certain she had little connection with this boy, so she asked directly, “Is there something you need from me, Master Wu?”
Wu Jing studied her for a moment, then couldn’t help chuckling softly. “Fourth Sister-in-law is indeed interesting. No wonder Fourth Brother is so reluctant to come home… I only came to ask—did you receive his letter? And… would you like me to take a reply to him?”
