“In the end, our family only has these few courtyards.”

“Rather than letting Father continuously bring new women back, it’s better to keep a few reliable, obedient, and easily controlled concubines in the manor to dissuade Father from taking more concubines.”

“You think I and my mother need you all. Who needs whom is still uncertain—”

“Chaochao!” A hurried, soft voice interrupted her.

Mother is here?

Yue Si Chao silently closed her mouth.

“Eldest Miss, she’s young and doesn’t understand. Please don’t take it to heart,” Wen Xue walked over and pulled her behind her. “How could we not need you? You’re her older sister. Only with mutual care between sisters can our days get better and better.”

“Chaochao, quickly apologize to Eldest Miss.”

“…Sorry.” She said.

It wasn’t that she was truly afraid of Yue Si Xian.

She just knew that her mother was weak, timid, and afraid of trouble.  If her mother saw this, if she didn’t take the initiative to smooth things over, her mother would kneel before the main courtyard to plead guilty tomorrow.

She could only suppress her anger and swallow her pride.

Actually, Yue Si Xian was often speechless after being retorted by Yue Si Chao, but today, with Xue Yi present, before she could report it, Yue Si Chao apologized, so she was very satisfied and didn’t pursue it further.

Mother and daughter walked in silence.

Back in their small courtyard, Wen Xue saw that she wasn’t in a good mood and took the initiative to break the ice: “Chaochao, Mother knows you’re upset, but Eldest Miss came here today to deliver good news.”

“Spring is here. In a few days, the Empress will hold a Hundred Flowers Banquet in the palace, inviting all unmarried eligible women of the fifth rank and above in the capital.”

“Think about it, unmarried and eligible, it must be to match couples for marriage.”

“You usually only see common people. This is a rare opportunity to meet high-ranking officials.”

Yue Si Chao wanted to ask her what was so good about marrying a high-ranking official.

With her family background and status, she would still be looked down upon after marriage. It would be better for her to buy a house, do some business, and live her life vibrantly.

But if she spoke against her, her mother would definitely cry secretly and blame her for not giving her a good future.

Fine, she would go.

Just to make her mother happy.  Her own plans would definitely not change.

She casually stuffed Mu Zhao’s outer robe into her laundry basket.

The sky was clear and blue, without a single cloud.

In the Imperial Garden, flowers bloomed everywhere, even the red walls were covered with rose arbors, competing for beauty, the vines lush and vigorous.

The daughters of officials were among the flowers, making them even more beautiful than the flowers.

Yue Si Chao had no heart for such an occasion, so she naturally avoided people and walked towards the quieter lake.

As she walked, she looked up and saw Mu Zhao and another old minister standing on the rocks by the water.

The sky, the water, and the scenery made him look quite aloof.

Beautiful things always make people want to look at them more, and these extra glances made her discover something—

He was still wearing the clothes he wore when she bumped into him in the brothel.

But wasn’t that robe just washed and still drying in the yard?

Could it be that he knew he looked so good in it, so he specially made ten identical ones?

That’s really flashy.

Mu Zhao looked even more impatient than usual. The person beside him was saying something to him, but he didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids.

The old minister was his uncle, Ji Wenlan. Their voices were not loud, but because of the quiet surroundings, they still drifted over intermittently.

“Last time I took you to that place, it was because you’re not young anymore, and you should consider marriage.”

“You’ve never married, it must be because you don’t know the benefits of women, so I thought…”

Mu Zhao was annoyed:

“What are you trying to say?”

“Do you remember the Crown Prince’s cousin, Princess Huaining? She’s your age and has admired you for many years—”

“I won’t marry.”

“…You don’t even want such a well-matched marriage. What do you want?”

Mu Zhao had been nagged by him for the whole morning, and he was really annoyed. He couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke.

“I’m impotent, are you satisfied?”

Yue Si Chao stumbled, almost falling.

She leaned against a nearby tree trunk, trying to hide her figure, shocked and thinking, no wonder he didn’t have any girls in his room that night, nor was he rude to her.

However, the noise she made just now shouldn’t have been too loud.

Her heart was in her throat, intending to leave this place of trouble quietly and without attracting attention.

“Hey.”

Mu Zhao’s voice came from behind, it shouldn’t be calling her.

She quickened her pace, feeling very certain.

“Yue Si Chao.”

…There was really nowhere to hide.

She slowly stopped, raised her eyes to meet the man’s dark eyes.

“Haha, Hou Ye, what are you doing here? What a coincidence.”

Yue Si Chao tried to squeeze out a naive and harmless smile.

However, this smile looked even worse than her crying in Mu Zhao’s eyes.

What?

Hearing that he was impotent, was she sad and heartbroken?

“Coincidence? Aren’t you here to find me?”

“I’m not…”

“Otherwise, why would you be in such a secluded place?”

“I just wanted to find a quiet place to stay, don’t—”

Before the words “being presumptuous” could be uttered, Mu Zhao impatiently interrupted her: “Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

“You actually don’t want to see me at all, but you accidentally walked to the lake where I’ve been staying for the whole morning, accidentally overheard my conversation with Grand Uncle Ji, and accidentally made some noise to attract my attention. Everything is a coincidence.”

Yue Si Chao: “Indeed.”

But Mu Zhao clearly didn’t believe it at all.

There was no use in explaining.

She sighed dejectedly and decided to comfort him properly.

Let him know that she wouldn’t use this news to harm him, and he would let her go, right?

“…Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Actually, many men have this problem, but they are too embarrassed to say it, and they even make their wives pretend. A Hou Ye like you who is so shameless… no, a man who is so frank and outspoken is rare. It’s really courageous.” She said seriously.

Mu Zhao: …

He felt like he had been scolded.

But looking at the girl’s expression, he couldn’t find any evidence.

Mu Zhao rarely didn’t sneer at her. This attitude greatly encouraged Yue Si Chao.

She looked into his eyes, her words full of sincerity, and began to think of ways for him from the bottom of her heart: “I have met many people of all kinds outside, and I have also heard others mention that if this disease is not particularly serious, with active cooperation with the doctor’s treatment, there is indeed a high probability of recovery.”

Mu Zhao frowned: “What kind of people have you met? You actually talk about this with a young girl.”

His focus was so strange.

But she still answered seriously: “An old physician, I was responsible for helping him organize medicinal herbs for a while.”

“As for the treatment methods… besides medicine, psychological assistance is also very important, for example, looking at the girl you admire…”

Mu Zhao’s gaze became complicated: “You care so much about me?”

Actually, when he called her, he wanted to explain that he was talking nonsense, but on second thought, he suddenly felt that if she really believed it, it might not be a bad thing.

She played so wildly in her articles, so she must be a flirt, with very high requirements for married life.

Now that she suddenly knew that the man she had a crush on was impotent, although it was difficult to accept for a while, after a long time, she would definitely let go of this failed relationship.

This can be said to be a win-win situation, both getting rid of his uncle and getting rid of her.

But Mu Zhao miscalculated, he didn’t expect that she was only sad for a moment, and then she started to actively think of solutions for him.

Things had developed beyond his expectations, and he even began to wonder how much this woman admired him.

“But I don’t have a girl I admire.” He looked down at her.

Yue Si Chao readily agreed: “It doesn’t matter.”

“I heard that the Empress is holding this flower viewing banquet to bring about a few good matches. Hou Ye might as well go to the Imperial Garden to have a look.”

Mu Zhao frowned: “Why are you acting coquettish?”

Did she really think he didn’t know what she meant?

Using the tactic of seeming to push him to the Imperial Garden while actually wanting him to say no.

Yue Si Chao was stunned: “What am I acting coquettish about?”

Okay, she was trying to be generous and win his favor in front of him, right?

He would show her.

“Okay.”

He took the first step, seeing that Yue Si Chao didn’t follow, he turned back and said: “Why aren’t you coming? Are you angry?”

Yue Si Chao didn’t know why things had developed to this point.

She had deliberately avoided people to avoid idle talk.

Why was she now walking back with Mu Zhao?

In order not to cause gossip, she deliberately didn’t walk side by side with him, keeping a distance of several steps.

Now she was acting coy and trying to cover up.

Mu Zhao glanced at her subtly and didn’t bother to expose her.

As they walked, Yue Si Chao felt that the eyes on her increased.

Mu Zhao was always aloof and indifferent, not close to women. The people in the palace had long been accustomed to his solitary habits, but today, he actually had a plainly dressed girl following behind him.

The girl’s clothes were not even as good as those of the palace servants.