The peerless and dark princess

Shen Xinyue had wanted to interrupt, but Caiyu, who was beside Qiao Yan, had secretly pressed her acupuncture points, leaving her speechless. Of course, she hadn't noticed, thinking it was Mu Heng's way of silence. She immediately grew even more furious, but there was nothing she could do.

"Hmph, Mu Heng, you..."

Chu Lianyao saw that his brother was getting angry, so he raised his hand to stop him, "Ayue, forget it. Today is Ge'er's coming-of-age ceremony, we can talk about it later."

Chu Liyin on the other side was a little surprised to see his father like this. In his eyes, his father always looked cunning or had a stern face. His expression would soften a little when he saw his sister Chu Moxuan, cousin Mu Wange and little cousin Mu Haolin, but he rarely saw him like this.

In reality, this wasn't Chu Lianyue's nature. It was because of Mu Wange's coming-of-age ceremony that he was facing Mu Heng (Mu Heng represented the two princes). Secondly, Chen Yan and the people from the imperial harem were there today, and they usually treated him like a fox, making it hard for them to guess the true Chu Lianyue. Thirdly, because of his eldest brother, he'd made them think Chu Lianyao was the boss of the Chu family in Prince Yan's mansion, and thus ignored him, the Second Master Chu, so he could plot against them in secret...

"For the sake of Wange, Lin'er, and Big Brother, this is the only way I'll do it this time. If..."

Mu Heng listened to Chu Lianyue's threats, feeling angry but not daring to say anything. No matter how aggrieved he felt, he could only wait with a smile on his face.

"Second brother, Mu Heng knows."

"Ge'er, why are you still here?" Old Madam Chu appeared here at the right time, breaking the slightly awkward situation.

"Grandma, my uncles and dad just pulled me aside to chat for a while."

"Ge'er, your grandpa is a little drunk, so we're going back home. Oh, and the mansion has a lot of things prepared for you and Lin'er. Take Lin'er there tomorrow."

Chu Lianyao and the others listened to their mother (grandmother) and said nothing more. Besides, couldn't they discuss how to treat this Minister Mu at home? Should they discuss it in front of Mu Wange and Mu Haolin? Although they wouldn't care about this Minister Mu, he was still their father after all. And there were so many ways to deal with Mu Heng. He was already in his forties, why was he still so...

Thinking of this, Chu Lianyue and others also expressed their desire to return home. Of course, this also allowed Mu Heng to see that their Prince Yan's Mansion valued Mu Wange and Mu Haolin very much.

What no one expected was that Zuo Jiu took this opportunity to sneak into Mu Heng's study. Because one of the people who was eliminated by Mu Wange and failed to enter Xuanying was quite proficient in various mechanisms and locks. No matter what kind of secret lock it was, as long as he saw its appearance, he could open it. It was because of this that he was targeted and ended up in Mu Wange's hands. However, this person's martial arts were not very good, but Mu Wange felt that such talents were useful, so he kept him in his hands. He also learned the art of mechanism and modified the mechanism of Xuanying headquarters. However, after staying with Xuanying for a long time, he changed his cowardly character. Now he stayed in Xuanying and specialized in studying various mechanisms and various locks that he had never seen before, and made them himself.

Therefore, Zuo Jiu took this opportunity to go to Mu Heng's study again to see clearly what kind of mechanism, secret lock, or keyhole it was. After drawing a blueprint, he would let this capable man solve the key or mechanism and get the key evidence inside.

Although this time wasn't as smooth as last time, thankfully Mu Ying was able to handle the situation on his own. He lured the people out of the study, making it much easier for Zuo Jiu to proceed. After all, it was just a matter of showing that less skilled kid the secret lock. At least he could get a thorough look at it before the lured person returned. Zuo Jiu was quite puzzled. Mu Wange and his group seemed to have a diverse cast of talents. It wasn't like when she followed Zuo Ci, who were all the children of the old prince's trusted subordinates. But she also truly admired Mu Wange even more.

"Zheming, how is it?"

"That's it? No problem at all. Sigh, the things the master has prepared are enough for me to figure out. Ninth Miss, I can get the key tomorrow." Meng Mingzhe was disappointed, thinking it was some challenging lock or mechanism. "But be careful with the mechanisms inside. I think the secret room in this Shangshu Mansion can't be so simple."

"There's no need to rush in now. As long as the key can solve the problem, the mechanism inside can still be difficult for you, kid."

"Miss Jiu, this..." Meng Mingzhe was a little excited. He had suffered many setbacks from Zuo Jiu in the past, and now it was a rare opportunity to receive her praise, and he was a little at a loss.

"Why, is it better to scold you?"

"No, I finally received your praise, Miss Nine. I have to be happy for a while."

At this moment, Mu Heng was thinking about Mu Wange's coming of age. As a father, he couldn't participate in Mu Wange's marriage at all, and he couldn't use his daughter to exchange for any benefits. He was also threatened by his former father-in-law and brother-in-law. He felt extremely uncomfortable, but he had to flatter and maintain his relationship with the Prince of Yan's Mansion. Moreover, Mu Heng also felt that Chen Yunjie was alienating him. Fortunately, as long as Mu Ruohan gave birth to a prince, he would be the second prince's father-in-law. Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes and thought~~~

"Master, what are you doing?"

“It’s okay. Elegy is older now. As a father, I actually… Alas!”

"It's alright. As the granddaughter of Prince Yan, the royal family is probably wary of her, so Master..." Qiao Yan stopped there. Qiao Yan had become much more shrewd under Caiyu's guidance, and now that she was ostensibly at odds with Mu Wange, her words naturally resonated with Mu Heng, making him feel that marrying this woman was a wise decision. However, the thought of "Madam" this time reminded Mu Heng of Shen Xinyue's recent actions, which further irritated him.

"Master, but, what about Concubine Shen..."

"Xinyue? She..."

"You don't know, Concubine Shen is going to do this today... You know, if something as simple as this is done and the Prince Yan's Mansion finds out, Master..." Qiao Yan said with appropriate consideration, appearing impartial and leaning towards Shen Xinyue. "If this thing is accomplished and not discovered, it's fine. However, as the daughters of the mansion all know about it, this... So, Yan'er..."

"Yan'er, you did a good job. Right now, our Mu family still has to maintain relations with Prince Yan's Mansion... and Wange... thank you for your hard work." Mu Heng held Qiao Yan in his arms, but he didn't know that Qiao Yan was suppressing her nausea and maintaining a smile.