Chapter 17: The Chaotic Loyal and Brave Marquis Mansion

When Lord Ming arrived at the gates of the mansion, he paused for a moment and instructed in a voice an octave higher, “Go to the Eastern Palace; we need to check on His Highness the Crown Prince.” Yes, he was saying this for Mu Hou to hear.

However, he genuinely wanted to go to the Eastern Palace. He was eager to ask the Crown Prince, who was the “thief” that had completely cleaned out the Marquis Mansion? Moreover, how were those “stolen goods” transported? It was clear that to rob the Marquis Mansion so thoroughly, one would need dozens of horse-drawn carts.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince,” as soon as he arrived at the Eastern Palace, Lord Ming asked with a gossiping expression, “Was the robbery at the Marquis Mansion arranged by someone you know?”

Jun Mohan recalled what Lang Yi had told him upon his return, “Did the Lord visit the Marquis Mansion? What was it like? Impressive?”

“Oh, my Crown Prince,” Lord Ming exclaimed, “You should have seen it; the entire Marquis Mansion is left with nothing but walls. Even the doghouse is gone. By the way, Your Highness, you still haven’t told the old servant: was that ‘thief’ arranged by you?”

“Thief?” Jun Mohan smiled. “You’ve seen that thief too, and… you should be quite familiar with them. If I’m not mistaken, you should quite like that thief.”

In front of Lord Ming, Jun Mohan seldom referred to himself as “this palace”; he always used “I” as long as there were no outsiders.

“What? The old servant knows them? Likes them? That thief can’t possibly be you, Your Highness, right? Where did you hide those things? Are you afraid of being discovered?”

In Lord Ming’s heart, the only people he could like that much were the two legitimate princes and the legitimate princess. However, the third prince and the legitimate princess… neither of them could have emptied the Marquis Mansion in one night. The only possibility was that it was the Crown Prince.

“Lord, I was still ‘unconscious’ at that time; how could I have gone out to be a ‘thief’? It wasn’t me!”

“Then who was it? Your Highness, quickly tell the old servant; I’m anxious,” Lord Ming couldn’t make sense of it. In his heart, there were only a few people; it wasn’t the Crown Prince, and it certainly wasn’t His Majesty. So who could it possibly be?

“The old general’s granddaughter, the disaster star in the mouths of everyone at the Marquis Mansion, the Crown Princess of Dayan, my newlywed bride… Mu Ling! How about that? Did you not expect it? By the way, Lord, do you know her? Do you like her? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

Lord Ming slapped his forehead in realization, “Oh, that girl! The first time I saw her, I thought she was too much like you. Now it seems to be true! This matter… only you two can accomplish in all of Dayan. Not bad, not bad; she is a clever child and worthy of being the Crown Princess of Dayan.”

“Your Highness,” Lord Ming seemed still puzzled, “What do you think that girl took the doghouse for? Also, where did she put so many things? Did she move them to the General’s mansion? That would be too easy to discover since that is also the Marquis Madam’s family!”

Taking the doghouse? That girl just wanted to save space and indiscriminately collect things into her space.

“Don’t worry; the places she hides things, others can’t get into. By the way, Lord, have you tried the fruits that Ling’er prepared for you? How is it? Is it very delicious?”

Mu Ling was afraid that Lord Ming and Nurse Liu would feel unwell, so she specially packed two bags for them. Inside were not only fruits but also milk and some health supplements.

“We’ve eaten, we’ve eaten; both the old servant and Nurse Liu have eaten,” Lord Ming’s eyes turned red. “Oh, speaking of this matter, the old servant is also a person with a fate. His Majesty and the Empress have no complaints about me; your three children are also very good to me. Now… oh, I truly didn’t expect that girl to be so kind and considerate. Your Highness, don’t blame the old servant for being talkative; such a girl, you must cherish her. Just be accommodating and don’t throw tantrums, understand?”

Jun Mohan nodded, “Lord, don’t worry; I know what I should do. She… indeed deserves my life to protect.” Only then did Lord Ming feel relieved, “That’s good. Your Highness, the old servant must take his leave now. Is there anything else you want to instruct about tomorrow’s palace banquet?”

“No, tomorrow’s palace banquet is just to wash away the humiliation that Mu Ling has carried for more than… more than ten years. She knows how to handle it; we just need to cooperate with her.”

Jun Mohan wanted to say that what Mu Ling wanted to wash away tomorrow was the humiliation she had carried for two lifetimes, but he was afraid Lord Ming would think too much, so he changed it to more than ten years.

“Then the old servant will take his leave first; we’ll see each other again at the palace banquet tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, at the Loyal and Brave Marquis Mansion, the old lady was angrily pointing at Concubine Lan, who was dressed in maid’s clothing, and scolding her, “Look! Yesterday, Fuxing and the others angered King Jing and the legitimate princess in the Eastern Palace. We don’t even know if we can keep our heads; how can you still have the mind to seduce the Marquis to sleep with you?! You worthless thing!”

The old lady’s words reminded Mu Hou, who was momentarily stunned. That’s right; he had gone to Concubine Lan’s courtyard yesterday to settle accounts with her. How did he suddenly want to get close to her? Moreover, why was it that every time he got close to her, it was so frenzied? Was it strange?

Mu Hou was right to suspect. The reason Concubine Lan had been favored for so many years was actually just a small trick of hers; it was a Western Liang royal drug. Just a little bit was enough to make any man unable to resist her…

He had no idea about this secret drug.

But now that the old lady had said this, what else was there for him not to understand? Their family was about to be exterminated; how could he still have the mind to indulge in foolishness? The only explanation was that this vile woman had drugged him.

However, now was not the time to pursue this matter. The most important thing at hand… was still preparing for tomorrow’s palace banquet. Since His Majesty still allowed him to attend, it meant that His Majesty did not intend to deal with him over yesterday’s incident. After all, his daughter had gone to bring good luck to the Crown Prince; His Majesty would have to consider the situation.

“Alright, my dear, let’s not talk about that for now. There’s nothing left in the mansion now; we should first procure some things. For tomorrow’s palace banquet, we need to prepare clothes and jewelry. Other matters can wait until after the banquet.”

“Procure? Don’t you need silver to procure things? Do you still have any silver left?” The old lady became even angrier at the mention of this.

“It’s alright. I’ll sell a few shops first. We’ve registered with the government; otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to sell even if we wanted to.”

Although the old lady didn’t reply, she still glared at Concubine Lan with her inverted triangular eyes, which frightened Concubine Lan, who shrank back behind Mu Hou.

“Dear, let me make it clear in advance. If His Majesty insists on beheading someone, I won’t exchange my head for Fuxing’s. Hmph, what good fortune? Without her, would we have to worry about our heads?”

Mu Yao was still angry. Yesterday, they had fought fiercely after returning from the Eastern Palace, and now he had already broken one arm. He absolutely would not exchange his life for hers.

Mu Zhu also spoke without anger, “Dear, I won’t do it either! Whoever causes trouble should bear the consequences, don’t drag me into this. I’m not that disaster star you can bully at will!”

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Don’t worry; no one’s head will roll. Stop arguing; I’m already annoyed enough.”

With that, Mu Hou angrily left. He first went to sell three shops, finally managing to procure things for the Marquis Mansion. Then he found a tailor shop, casually bought a few pieces of clothing for everyone to change into. As for the clothes to wear at tomorrow’s palace banquet, Mu Hou felt it would be better to let Su San and Concubine Lan take the children to buy them. After all, he wasn’t good at buying clothes and jewelry.