The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 72 - 71

Chapter 71

After the three siblings returned to the manor, they gathered to discuss the events of the day. They chose Mu Gongzhen’s quarters for their conversation, as it was a place that the Mu family members did not dare to enter at will, providing a peaceful setting suitable for important discussions.

In the spacious room, simply decorated, Mu Yingying immediately went to sit on the large chair in the corner. Her small hand rested on her round, protruding belly. Before returning from the banquet, she had ended up eating all of Meng Liting’s snacks, leaving her stuffed and uncomfortable.

"Ying’er, do you want some Pingdan sweets?"

Mu Qingxuan, who was talking with a servant, turned and asked her younger sister. Mu Yingying quickly declined, "I’m so full I can’t eat another bite, Sister. Please, no more."

"Usually, I see you eating non-stop. Do you actually get full?" Mu Gongzhen chuckled affectionately. Seeing his little sister’s playful scowl made him itch to pinch her soft cheeks.

"You two keep bringing me snacks non-stop. If I don’t eat them, it’s such a waste," Mu Yingying grumbled, feeling unfairly treated. For the past month, both of her siblings had frequently visited her with snacks, always pampering her with food and drink whenever they had free time. If someone offered snacks right to the mouth, it’s impolite not to eat, right?

Of course, she couldn’t refuse!

And the ones offering were none other than her brother and sister. In the end, Mu Yingying couldn’t resist and ended up eating the snacks continuously, causing her to gain quite a bit of weight.

Mu Qingxuan laughed at Mu Yingying’s grievance before turning to instruct the servant, "No need to bring any snacks, just some tea that aids digestion."

"Yes, Miss," the servant replied and quickly left to prepare the tea in the kitchen.

Mu Qingxuan walked to sit next to Mu Yingying and gently massaged her bloated belly to relieve her discomfort. "Next time, if you can’t eat anymore, don’t force yourself. You’ll end up feeling unwell."

Mu Yingying nodded quickly, relaxing under her sister’s touch. The discomfort in her stomach eased significantly. Having a sister who was a divine doctor had its perks.

"What happened today that you said you had something to discuss?" Mu Gongzhen asked as he hung his large outer robe on the rack in the corner of the room before sitting down at his desk.

"Today, we happened to encounter Shin Wang," Mu Yingying pouted in displeasure as she recalled the rogue. "He took the opportunity to harass Sister Qingxuan!"

Crack!

Mu Gongzhen’s strong hand, which was holding a brush, squeezed it so hard that the handle snapped in two. His long brows furrowed tightly into a knot.

"Did Shin Wang really harass Xuan’er?"

"Yes! He took the opportunity to grope Sister Qingxuan and even grabbed her arm to stop her from escaping!"

Mu Yingying exaggerated from start to finish, intending to make Shin Wang appear as despicable as possible in her brother’s eyes. After all, that man wasn’t a good person anyway, so a little embellishment wouldn’t cause much harm.

Mu Qingxuan glanced at her little sister’s mischievous face and stifled a laugh, waiting to see how their elder brother would react.

Mu Gongzhen clenched his jaw to suppress his anger, his handsome face showing a chilling coldness that was quite intimidating. He couldn’t believe Shin Wang had dared to take advantage of his sister like that!

"But that’s not the most important part. What’s more crucial is that we overheard him instructing his confidant to send a gift to Father to propose for Sister Qingxuan as the future Wang Fei," Mu Yingying’s words were like oil poured on the fire of his anger. The atmosphere around Mu Gongzhen became so intense that both his sisters could clearly feel it.

"Keke, Eldest Brother is really mad now. You just love stirring things up,"

Mu Qingxuan chuckled softly, unable to contain her amusement. She playfully poked her younger sister’s bloated belly, signaling her to stop provoking Mu Gongzhen. Seeing her usually calm and composed brother so enraged amused Mu Yingying. She hopped off the chair and walked over to him immediately.

"How can someone be so handsome? Even when you’re angry, you still look charming,"

Her playful voice snapped Mu Gongzhen back to reality. Seeing the mischievous expression on Mu Yingying’s face and Mu Qingxuan struggling to hold back her laughter, he immediately realized that he had been played by the little rascal.

"You little rascal..." Mu Gongzhen shook his head helplessly, lifting the small Mu Yingying onto his arm and carrying her back to sit with Mu Qingxuan. "What’s the real story?"

"Shin Wang wants to propose to Sister Qingxuan to make her the future Wang Fei because he wants to draw the Mu family’s power to his side. It seemed he won’t let go of the Mu family easily, just like in our previous life,"

Mu Yingying explained as she released herself from her brother’s embrace and sat down on a chair. She tugged his arm to pull him down to sit beside her before continuing, "He’s already making moves. He’s planning to approach Father to get him to agree to this engagement. What we need to do urgently is to prevent this engagement, or more specifically, to ensure Father doesn’t agree to Shin Wang’s proposal..."

Upon hearing that, Mu Qingxuan laughed forcefully, it was a laughter filled with mockery. "Do you really think Father won’t agree? As soon as Shin Wang mentions it, he’ll be ready to agree to anything."

They all knew their father’s nature well. As long as there was a benefit offered, Mu Cui Ming was ready to give anything the other party wanted in exchange for that power without hesitation.

"Not necessarily," Mu Gongzhen interjected. "What if we use someone with more power than Shin Wang to intimidate Father? Do you think he would still dare to agree?"

"And who might that be?" Mu Yingying raised her eyebrows in surprise. At the same time, when Mu Qingxuan saw the peculiar look in her brother’s eyes, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Her beautiful face immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

"You can’t possibly mean..."

"If there’s anyone more powerful than Shin Wang, it would be His Majesty."

Mu Gongzhen’s words left both Mu Qingxuan and Mu Yingying stunned for a moment. The way their brother mentioned His Majesty so casually made them wonder if he was referring to the same emperor they knew.

"Uh..." Mu Yingying scratched her head a few times before asking, "Using His Majesty’s name...won’t us be decapitated?"

"Not at all. You might not know this, but I’ve been a close friend of His Majesty for many years. He isn’t so narrow-minded," Mu Gongzhen reassured his sisters. He also had another thought he didn’t voice: judging by past actions, His Majesty would likely be more than willing to use his name to resolve the engagement issue...

"Furthermore, let me tell you a secret. His Majesty has always been suspicious of Shin Wang. The Mu family aligning with Shin Wang is certainly not something His Majesty desires."

Mu Yingying furrowed her brows tightly. "His Majesty is suspicious of Shin Wang?"

"Yes," Mu Gongzhen nodded before lowering his voice.

"Although it might seem that Shin Wang is someone His Majesty trusts, in reality, His Majesty is pretending to reassure the Empress Dowager. Currently, power in the court appears to be divided into four factions: His Majesty, Duan Wang, the Su family, and the Zhao family. But in truth, power is actually divided into three factions: His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the Su family."

"Duan Wang Palace is loyal to the region and would not interfere in power struggles. However, if a rebellion were to occur, Duan Wang Palace would undoubtedly act, aligning with His Majesty. On the other hand, the Zhao family of the Right Side Chancellor, is truly allied with Shin Wang, which means they are allied with the Empress Dowager. The power in this group is controlled by the Empress Dowager. Lastly, the Su family is an enemy that both the Empress Dowager’s group and His Majesty’s group want to eliminate first."

"Although the Empress Dowager’s side is currently quiet, if His Majesty were to show hostility towards Shin Wang, the Empress Dowager’s faction would not let His Majesty go..."

"Wait a moment,"

Mu Yingying raised her hand to stop her brother, her face showing confusion. "Isn’t His Majesty the Empress Dowager’s son? Why do they seem like enemies? And why does the Empress Dowager seem to care so much about Shin Wang?"

"Because the royal family is best at covering up internal corruption," Mu Qingxuan, who had been silent all this time, couldn’t help but comment. While she didn’t know as much detail as her brother, she had heard some general information from Chen Feng Yue.

Mu Gongzhen did not dismiss Mu Qingxuan’s thoughts. He simply continued to explain the situation. "Generally, people might only know that the Empress Dowager is His Majesty’s mother and that Shin Wang is His Majesty’s uncle. However, in reality, His Majesty’s biological mother passed away a long time ago. The current Empress Dowager was the Empress in the previous reign."

"Shin Wang is the youngest brother of the previous emperor and the son of the former Huang Tai Fei[1] in the previous reign. The current Empress Dowager is the sister of the former Huang Tai Fei, so to be precise, Shin Wang is her nephew!"

Mu Yingying silently processed the information before summarizing it in her own words, "So, the Empress Dowager is not His Majesty’s real mother, just his stepmother. Meanwhile, Shin Wang is her biological nephew."

"And there is a possibility of another power struggle for the throne. Right now, everyone is holding back, but eventually, they will clash."

"Exactly...There’s more to the story than what I’ve shared. It’s better to leave the royal family’s internal issues as they are, rather than digging them up and bringing trouble upon ourselves," Mu Gongzhen warned his sisters. Normally, he wouldn’t share such information with them, but they had vowed never to keep secrets from each other, so he decided to reveal the truth.

Mu Yingying pondered quietly. It was because the Empress Dowager was Shin Wang’s aunt that she intervened so decisively in their case in the previous life. Even though Miss Fei Yang had pleaded for mercy for them, the Empress Dowager still decided to execute them.

It was because she sided with Shin Wang!

As more truths were unveiled, the mysteries of their past life became clearer. Mu Yingying hadn’t realized that their enemy had such powerful backing. Given the Empress Dowager’s affection for Shin Wang, if she took action against him, the Empress Dowager would surely retaliate.

It seemed she would have to be very cautious in dealing with Shin Wang...

"Don’t worry about the proposal. I’ll handle it," Mu Gongzhen reassured his sisters with a gentle smile.

After escorting Mu Yingying and Mu Qingxuan back to their quarters, Mu Gongzhen turned and walked towards his father’s residence, a place he hadn’t visited in over a year. When he reached the entrance, Servant Tao, who had just come out, quickly bowed.

"Eldest Young Master."

"Servant Tao," Mu Gongzhen greeted him, glancing inside. "Is Father still awake?"

"Yes, sir. I’ll go inform him," Servant Tao bowed again and hurried inside to report to Mu Patriarch.

Upon hearing that his son had come to see him, Mu Cui Ming immediately allowed him in. The father and son sat across from each other without speaking, the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense until Mu Cui Ming could no longer bear it.

"What brings you here to see me?"

Mu Gongzhen didn’t rush to respond. He glanced around the room before his eyes settled on a beautifully carved wooden box on the corner of the table. "Is that from Shin Wang?"

"Ho...how do you know that?" ‘

Mu Cui Ming furrowed his brows in surprise. This evening, after he finished work, a close confidant of Shin Wang came to visit him. Even he was caught off guard, so how did his son know about this?

"I suggest you return it to Shin Wang, Father."

"What did you say!?" Mu Cui Ming looked at his son in confusion. Returning a gift from a royal family member was not something one could do lightly! What kind of trouble was his troublesome son trying to stir up now?

"Do you know what Shin Wang wants?" Mu Gongzhen crossed his arms and showed a cold expression.

"Shin Wang’s confidant said that the prince is interested in marrying Mu Qingxuan and wants her to be his future Wang Fei." Mu Cui Ming replied with confusion. This was a good thing, so why was his son looking so cold, as if he was committing a grave mistake?

Mu Gongzhen raised his eyebrows and asked, "And you approve?"

"Of course I do. Who would refuse such a good thing!? Qingxuan will become the future Wang Fei, and in the future, Wang Fei to Shin Wang. Aren’t you happy for your sister?"

Mu Gongzhen looked at his father’s unabashedly delighted expression with cold eyes. Mu Cui Ming’s eyes shone with greed and joy, imagining all the power and wealth he would enjoy in the future. But his dreams were shattered by Mu Gongzhen’s next words.

"But this good thing you speak of goes against the Emperor’s wishes..."

Mu Cui Ming quickly looked up at his son, his body frozen in shock, his eyes filled with confusion. What did he mean by going against the Emperor’s wishes?

"Shin Wang may be interested in Xuan’er, but so is His Majesty." Mu Gongzhen paused, observing his father’s pale face before continuing, "Do you still think...this is a good thing?"

Bang!

Mu Cui Ming abruptly stood up, causing his chair to topple over and crash onto the floor with a loud noise before silence fell over the room. Mu Gongzhen remained calm and unaffected, but Mu Cui Ming’s face turned as pale as if he were about to die!

If what his son said was true, then this was a significant problem!

Shin Wang had sent a gift, and Mu Cui Ming had accepted it enthusiastically. But now, knowing that the Emperor was also interested in his daughter meant that both the Emperor and Shin Wang were vying for the same woman!

If Mu Cui Ming accepted Shin Wang’s proposal, he would offend the Emperor. But if he declined Shin Wang for the Emperor’s sake, he would have issues with Shin Wang.

Moreover, neither of these individuals was someone a lowly official like him could afford to displease!

No matter which direction he looked, Mu Cui Ming saw only a bleak future. There was no trace left of the good fortune he had dreamt of just moments ago!

[1] Huang Tai Fei is the royal consort who is the mother of the emperor.

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