Chapter 33

Mu Wanqing had been busy all day before she finished butchering a whole ox, braising what needed braising, stewing what needed stewing.
That evening, the clerks and guards ate beef ramen for dinner, with a few cold side dishes, and everyone was especially satisfied.
Follow Third Miss, and there's delicious food every day.
Stuffed, Mu Wanqing linked arms with Madam Qian and wandered the courtyard to digest.
The moonlight was bright, a gentle breeze stirred, indescribably picturesque.
Madam Qian had eaten two big bowls herself and was stuffed, but couldn't help remarking, "These noodles are really good, I wonder when we'll get to eat them again."
At the thought of that, she couldn't stop herself from having another bowl.
Beef wasn't easy to come by, back when the Mu family was prosperous, they only ate it on occasion.
Mu Wanqing smiled slightly. "There'll be an opportunity in the future." Anything was possible.
A tall figure approached. "Third Miss."
It was Du Shaoxuan. Without small talk he told her plainly, "Third Miss, I'm leaving at first light tomorrow, so I won't bother to say farewell in person, take care on your journey."
He was bound for the capital while she was headed to Liangcheng, two completely opposite directions.
Madam Qian instinctively widened her eyes. What was going on? Since when had they formed such a bond that required farewells?
Clearly, they'd only met twice, passing acquaintances at best.
"You as well, safe travels," Mu Wanqing said, a faint melancholy stirring in her heart.
From this departure, there would be no set time to meet again.
In an age when travel was difficult, meeting someone even once was hard.
But no gathering lasts forever, take care of yourselves.
She suddenly jumped up. "Ah, wait a moment, I've prepared a gift for you."
She spun on her heel and ran. Madam Qian froze for a moment, then hurried after her, unable to resist asking, "Since when did you two get so close?"
She'd spent the day serving as a quality inspector, the final check before the soap went on sale.
"We just talked a bit more today," Mu Wanqing panted as she sprinted straight for the room where the main house's family lived.
After the main branch made a little money, the women no longer wanted to sleep in the communal quarters, they requested two separate rooms, divided by gender, so they could at least tend to themselves.
Don't be sloppy.
Old Madam Mu didn't object, as long as they didn't come begging her for money.
Mu Wanqing knocked wildly on the door. "Mu Jinyao, Mu Jinyao."
Old Madam Mu, who'd been nibbling a steamed bun, startled and dropped it. "Doesn't that sound like that girl Mu Wanqing's voice?"
The head son's wife pricked up her ears. "It is her."
Old Madam Mu's face fell. "What does she want? Surely she's not causing trouble? Jinyao, don't pay her any mind, so rude and ill‑mannered."
The head son's wife hesitated. "Maybe she's bringing food."
The enticing aroma of meat had hung in the air all day, making everyone ravenous.
Everyone indoors turned to Mu Jinyao at once, excited. "Go open it, quickly, hurry."
Mu Jinyao rose silently, fished a wooden box from the corner, and then opened the door.
Mu Wanqing blurted out, "Mu Jinyao, where are the things?"
"They're all here." Mu Jinyao handed over the wooden box.
Mu Wanqing opened it and glanced inside, sure enough, it was exactly what she'd wanted. "Thank you."
She pulled out a scrap of silver and shoved it at the other person, scooped up the wooden box and ran. The Mu family were bitterly disappointed, so it wasn’t food after all.
Are you kidding? You spent the whole day making food, what’s wrong with giving you a little something? That’s so stingy.
The old Old Madam Mu craned her neck to look outside; only after she was sure Mu Wanqing hadn’t turned back did she look to her eldest granddaughter. “What is that? Why did she give you half a coin?”
Mu Jinyao opened her palm. “She had me make a few bars of soap, the high-end kind. She paid separately.”
It had taken a lot of effort, but earning half a coin wasn’t bad at all.
Old Madam Mu started up her usual tirade, cursing the second branch’s ancestors as if it were a daily ritual.
Everyone felt helpless, the second branch’s ancestors were their ancestors too; was it really right to insult them like that? That old woman, honestly.
But Old Madam Mu wouldn’t be reasoned with. The older she grew, the more stubborn she became; even when she was wrong she stuck to her ways.
It was the only amusement she had left.
Mu Wanqing didn’t care what they said behind her back. If anyone had the nerve to insult her to her face, she wouldn’t consider it a loss unless she slapped them a few times.
She ran back and presented the wooden box like a treasure. “A gift for you, keep it or give it away, either way it’s nice.”
Du Shaoxuan opened the box and found eight bars of soap: some snowy white like jade, some a brilliant gold, some emerald, and others a riot of purple, two bars of each color, each with a different scent.
What they had in common, though, was that they smelled wonderful.
Not only were the colors lovely, they were carved with plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo, exquisitely refined and upscale.
He felt pleased. “Thank you.”
He couldn’t help thinking the girl before him was gentle and clever; he’d only casually said the soaps were nice, and she had quietly prepared this gift.
He hesitated a moment, took the dagger from his waist. “This is for you.”
Mu Wanqing accepted it happily, it was exactly what she wanted.
Both were content; after a few more words they took their leave and returned to their rooms.
Du Shaoxuan walked on for a bit, glanced back, and saw only that slender figure.
Back in his room he set the wooden box on the table and opened it for another look.
The soaps were beautiful, but the wooden box was too plain, it didn’t match.
“Azhong, come here.”
The attendant hurriedly set down what he was carrying and came over.
Du Shaoxuan ordered, “Have a pretty jade box made for these soaps. I’m giving them to my aunt.”
The attendant, captivated by the soaps, kept glancing at them and answered eagerly.
“Eh, master, your dagger, did you drop it? Where were you just now? I’ll go look for it right away.”
He was frantic, but Du Shaoxuan replied casually, “I gave it away.”
The attendant could hardly believe his ears. “But…that was the birthday gift someone gave you. You shouldn’t just give it away so rashly.”
That dagger was no ordinary piece: forged from specially tempered iron, it cut through steel as if it were clay and could split a hair with a breath.
It was Du Shaoxuan’s prized possession and seldom left his side.
Du Shaoxuan said matter-of-factly, “If it was given to me, it’s mine to deal with however I like. It’s not a big deal, I’ll ask my cousin for another.”
Mu Wanqing was far too earnest; she should have a dagger to protect herself.
Better she wield one than be left defenseless.
The attendant’s mouth twitched. Fine, suit yourself.
Elsewhere, in a dim courtyard, a startled cry burst out: “Mother, what did you say?”
Madam Mu clapped a hand over her daughter’s mouth and lowered her voice. “Yao’er, you’ve always been clever, you should know your situation. When someone like the Fifth Prince sets his mind on something, will he let it go easily?”
Men’s possessiveness runs deep, especially princes like him, pampered from childhood; anything he desired was delivered into his hands.
Anything was within reach, and if he couldn’t get it, what would he do?
Mu Jinyao’s face drained of color. “Mother, please don’t say more.”
Madam Mu doted on this daughter above all; she’d worried herself sick for her, lying awake night after night.
“If you intend to be the Fifth Prince’s concubine, I won’t argue, but the Fifth Prince has a violent temper. He lashes out with his whip at the slightest provocation; he’s no suitable match.”
Most importantly, Mu Jinyao’s position is precarious; she must never appear in public.
She couldn’t be expected to live her whole life in hiding, penned into a tiny corner with no hope.
“Even if it weren’t the Fifth Prince, there will be others, your beauty is a liability. At this point the Mu family can no longer protect you.”
She didn’t want to be so cruel, but that was the cold, hard truth.
A beautiful girl from an ordinary family can’t be kept safe; all the more so now that they’re exiles. If anything happened, there would be no one to appeal to.
Since the day their home was ransacked, her heart had hung in the balance, never settling for a moment.
A beautiful girl without protection ends poorly; being taken as a concubine is the better fate, some are even forced into prostitution.
“Mother.” Mu Jinyao’s eyes reddened.
Madam Mu sighed softly. “I don’t blame you, but if these things keep happening and the clan gets dragged in, how will our relatives treat you? The road ahead is full of danger; if someone takes a wicked notion, what then?”
Each question struck Mu Jinyao like a hammer blow to the chest, leaving her gasping.
In truth, after the last incident some relatives had already begun to shun her.
If it weren’t for the fact she still managed a work group, she’d have been cast out long ago.
Though it wasn’t her fault, she had to bear countless strange looks and slanders.
Madam Mu worried herself sick for her daughter and laid out the reasoning plainly. “You are both gifted and beautiful, with high hopes, why would you lower yourself to such a filthy, despicable man? Better to seize the opportunity you have now.”
“That young master’s clothes are made of tribute brocade, only a hundred bolts are presented to the imperial household each year, and the emperor rewards a few to his trusted ministers and royal kin. Our Mu family doesn’t have that standing, so you can imagine how lofty that young master’s status must be. He’s handsome and carries himself with rare bearing, no less than those highborn young lords, he wouldn’t disgrace you.”
Compared to Mu Jinyao’s original fiancé, he might lack a certain refinement, but he carried far more presence.
Even if she couldn’t be the official wife, she could be a concubine, and a favored concubine would still force the legitimate wife to yield a little.
Once she had a child, she’d have someone to rely on, and she wouldn’t have to worry for the rest of her life.
“If you attach yourself to him, you’ll live a peaceful life; even the Fifth Prince wouldn’t dare to seize you.”
She laid out her arguments to her daughter one by one, desperate to escape their current predicament.
With her daughter’s looks, getting safely to the frontier would be far too difficult.
Even if she reached the border, with its biting cold, rough customs and collapsing morals, it wouldn’t stop those covetous glances.
In truth, Mu Jinyao understood, but she couldn’t get past it in her heart. “Mother, you’re asking me to offer myself as a bed-companion, I really can’t.”
She could accept marrying an ordinary man in a proper ceremony, with the blessing of both families and friends.
Not sneaking into a man’s bed like a shameful concubine hidden from the light.
Madam Mu put a gentle arm around her daughter’s shoulders and spoke earnestly, “Jinyao, this isn’t just for you, it’s for the Mu clan. Right now we desperately need a patron. Our chance to turn our fortunes depends on this. You carry the hopes of the whole family; think of the greater good.”
They still clung to the hope of returning to the capital, restoring their household and recapturing their former glory.
Mu Jinyao’s face grew paler and paler; she’d bitten her lip until it bled and her mouth tasted of iron. “I… let me think about it.”
A flicker of pity passed across Madam Mu’s eyes, but she steeled herself. “There’s no time. He leaves tomorrow morning.”
She gave her daughter a gentle shove. “Go now. I believe in your abilities; you’ll make him putty in your hands.”
Mu Jinyao was not only breathtakingly beautiful, her talents were no empty boast. Masterful at music, chess, calligraphy and painting, well-mannered and perceptive, she was the companion any man would dream of.
...
They were setting out at dawn, and Du Shaoxuan was still writing by candlelight. When he finished he scrutinized every line, and once satisfied he sealed the letter into an envelope.
“Send it out now.”
“Yes.” The attendant dared not delay and hurried out with the letter.
Du Shaoxuan rubbed his brow; if he could, he really wouldn’t return to the chaotic capital.
But the Empress had personally summoned him; he had no choice but to make the trip.
The door creaked open and soft, tentative footsteps approached. He narrowed his eyes, drew his long sword in a flash, and turned, swinging it toward the intruder.
“Ah!” the woman cried in alarm. “Young master, it’s me, I mean no harm.”
Du Shaoxuan stopped his swing and stared at the beautiful girl before him, a slight frown on his face; the blade still hovered at her throat.
“Who are you? What business brings you to my room at this hour?”
She felt the sword’s steel chill her to the bone.
She held a small plate with trembling hands, fragile as a lily blown loose by the wind. “I… my name is Mu Jinyao, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Mu clan’s head. I made some pastries and wanted you to try them.”
Du Shaoxuan regarded her coolly, his expression as cold as snow. “Why?”
Mu Jinyao licked her lips and summoned her courage. “You might not remember me. You rescued Third Miss that day, and by doing so you saved our Mu clan. I’m very grateful and wanted to express my thanks.”
“Third Miss?” A smile flickered across Du Shaoxuan’s mind and his expression softened a little. “You’re Mu Wanqing’s cousin? You don’t look alike, she’s prettier than you.”
Mu Jinyao: …
Her reaction: Is his eyesight okay? He’s the first person to say that!
Seeing she had no reply, Du Shaoxuan lost patience. “I don’t eat food strangers bring me. Take it back and do not disturb my rest at this hour.”
He made a clear refusal, putting up an attitude that kept everyone at arm’s length.
A flash of disappointment crossed Mu Jinyao’s eyes, he was unmoved by beauty.
She drew a deep breath, set the pastries aside, steeled herself, and with trembling hands reached to unfasten her belt. “For saving my life, I’m willing to give myself to you, to serve you like a beast of burden.”
She’d thrown caution to the wind, if it failed, so be it. It was for the future of the whole family.
But her heart was full of shame and despair.
She had fallen. Who could have imagined that one of the capital’s famed beauties would sink to this?
Du Shaoxuan’s face turned thunderous. He glanced away and strode to the door without hesitation. “Get out.”
Mu Jinyao wished she could burrow into the ground in shame, but she had nowhere left to retreat. She slowly slipped off her outer robe, revealing her graceful figure, her exquisite face flushed. “Please, Young Master, have mercy.”
“Get out of here…” Du Shaoxuan raged, but he stopped mid-sentence when he met a pair of clear, black-and-white eyes and froze.
Mu Wanqing swore she was just passing by and had poked her head in out of curiosity. “Wow.”
What a juicy scandal!
Du Shaoxuan’s first instinct was to cover her eyes. “Don’t look. You’re still a child.”
Mu Wanqing: …
Mu Jinyao: …
Mu Wanqing tried to pull his hand away. Flustered, Du Shaoxuan blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “She tried to assault me!”
The atmosphere froze, nothing but awkwardness.
Blood rushed to Mu Jinyao’s head; everything buzzed. Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?