The peerless and dark princess

Zuo Qi gestured to the woman beside him and asked her to follow Qiao Yan, so that the old girl of the Qiao family wouldn't be helpless against Mu Heng's concubine before she could do anything. Then he tiptoed out of the Qiao Mansion.

Qiao Yan looked at the pretty woman in front of her and asked, "What's your name?"

"Miss Qiao, just call me Caiyu." The woman replied indifferently.

Qiao Yan was a little nervous. She felt uneasy about such an outstanding girl being her maid. "Girl, you..."

"Miss Qiao, after today, you will be living in the Shangshu Mansion. Do you think the Shangshu Mansion is the same as your Qiao family? That's the one that both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince want to win over... You have to get used to it in front of others. If you still can't do it, I advise you not to seek revenge."

Cai Yu looked at Qiao Yan calmly, with a hint of disdain in her eyes, because she felt that if it were her, she would definitely try her best to learn martial arts or other ways to get close to the enemy who killed her relatives and torture him before killing him, instead of wasting so many years in such a cowardly way.

"Okay, I know."

After hearing what Caiyu said, Qiao Yan stopped worrying about it. No matter who she belonged to, she would be treated as her "maid".

How could Mu Wange, the legitimate daughter of the Shangshu Mansion, know such people? They don't look like the guards and maids of a wealthy family.

Zuo Ci sent the person to Qiao Yan and was about to go find Mu Wange. Before he set off, he was stopped by Zuo Qi.

"Sir, are you going to look for Miss Mu?"

"how?"

"Oh, Miss Mu is probably not at home at this time today. Today is the anniversary of her mother's death. She should be at the cemetery paying tribute to her mother..."

Zuo Ci then realized that today was Chu Wanran's death anniversary, yet the entire Shangshu Mansion was decorated with lights and flowers, busy preparing for Mu Heng's wedding the next day. So, she must be very sad, right? (Ahem, this author wants to say, you're overthinking it. The current Mu Wange is not the same person she used to be, so she wouldn't be sad about something like this...)

"Mo Xuan, what are you looking at here?"

Zuo Yunxin looked at Chu Moxuan gazing into the distance on the top of the mountain, as if she was missing or mourning someone. After knowing her for so long, this was the first time he saw Chu Moxuan like this.

"Ah? It's nothing. I'm just missing a relative. Today is her death anniversary, but I can't go to pay my respects to her here."

When Chu Moxuan heard Zuo Yunxin's words, she immediately put away her previous expression and explained softly.

"I think he/she won't mind down there. It's good that you have that intention. Nowadays, living a good life is what matters. People like those people in the border towns are displaced, but we're lucky here. Oh, and my master has gone down the mountain..."

Now, only Chu Moxuan, Zuo Yunxin and her adoptive parents are left in the mountain, while her "brother" was taken away by Zuo Ci and handed over to Leng Qing.

Chu Moxuan followed Chu Lianyao's master to learn martial arts and medical skills, but Zuo Yunxin had no interest in martial arts so he taught her medical skills and poison techniques. Even Chu Lianyao's master did not expect that Zuo Yunxin would become a famous "poison doctor" in the future and even taught two powerful apprentices. Of course, that's another story.

"Master, did he go down the mountain to use his medical skills to help the soldiers and civilians?"

"Master, no. I think it should be." Because Zuo Yunxin and Chu Moxuan were almost the same age, he also called him Master.

"It's a pity that our medical skills are not up to par, otherwise we could have come down the mountain with you. But how is your research on poisons going?"

Chu Moxuan remembered that Zuo Yunxin had been researching poisons recently, and he would play with poisonous spiders, snakes and the like whenever he had nothing to do.

Even though Chu Moxuan was carefree, she would be scared when she saw those things. What surprised her even more was that Zuo Yunxin was not afraid at all. As a result, she didn't dare to stay in a small courtyard with her, for fear that she would suddenly test the poison on her.

I have to say, Chu Moxuan, you have revealed the truth. You will experience all of this in the future. Of course, it also trained her to have good escape skills and a vigilant mind, because there is a "poison doctor" Zuo Yunxin in her hospital.

"The medicine isn't very effective. It can only kill a few mice." Zuo Yun was a little unhappy.

"Huh??? You've only been learning for three days and you can already poison rats. You're amazing."

Chu Moxuan noticed that Zuo Yunxin was a little inferior, which was completely contrary to her natural optimism, so she always encouraged Zuo Yunxin. Under her influence, Zuo Yunxin is no longer so inferior.

"No one is as good as you. My master said that you are more insightful than your father in martial arts. But I won't give up. Here, this is the medicine I just picked... Hey, Mo Xuan, don't go so far away. This is medicine for treating diseases, not poisonous herbs."

Zuo Yunxin took out a medicinal herb from the basket on her back, and Chu Moxuan immediately jumped far away. She had to call Chu Moxuan.

"Mo Xuan, can you help me? I just saw a medicinal herb on the cliff over there. It looks like a hundred-year-old Ganoderma lucidum. Unfortunately, I don't know kung fu, so I have to trouble you."

"Don't go."

"Then I'll make you roast chicken tonight???"

"Deal, where is it?"

Chu Moxuan, do you know that you can't eat anything that a poison doctor eats? It's a pity that this girl was tempted by the roast chicken. Zuo Yunxin's cooking was so delicious. After eating it once, Chu Moxuan moved from the room next to her master's to the small courtyard where Zuo Yunxin's family lived. Well, she fed that bite of food.

Zuo Yunxin's adoptive parents farmed in the backyard of that small courtyard and took care of the medicinal herbs for Chu Moxuan and Zuo Yunxin. Of course, Zuo Yunxin usually took care of the poisonous herbs herself. Zuo Yunxin's adoptive parents were a little scared when they saw Zuo Yunxin like this, and they kept wondering why such a weak girl liked to stay with those poisonous creatures.

The couple were extremely worried, because Zuo Yunxin was a dignified princess. If Zuo Ci saw Zuo Yunxin now, he would definitely blame them for not taking good care of her.

After paying their respects to Chu Wanran, Mu Wange and her brother, and Chu Lixiao and his brother, left. Chu Liyin knew that he didn't quite understand what Mu Wange and Chu Lixiao said yet, so he simply took Mu Haolin with him and sat in the carriage with Qingzhu and her brother, Mu Ying and the others. The carriage in front only had Mu Wange, Chu Lixiao and the maid Shiqi. The reason why Shiqi was asked to follow was that Mu Wange felt that she needed to be trained and that she would be more stable.

"Wangge, I will pass on the information you mentioned to my uncle and brother, but do we really have to cooperate with Prince Heng?"

Shiqi's heart tightened, but her face showed no emotion, just like usual.

"Second brother, you can talk to the uncles, but forget about the cooperation. This is just an alliance between me and Prince Heng. I came up with the idea, and he protected us siblings in certain ways...???"

"Wangge, do you know what you're saying? If you want to seek refuge, why bother looking for others? We in the Prince of Yan's Mansion are here to support you and Lin'er..."

Chu Lixiao couldn't find any words to describe it. He wondered why his cousin didn't want to find them, as they were her relatives.

"Second brother, of course I know what I'm doing. I'm looking for someone who can protect us. As for why I went to him and not you, it's because the Prince of Yan's Mansion has attracted attention... Then, Your Majesty, the harem, and the princes, who wouldn't be keeping an eye on us..."

"But even so, we can protect you two siblings for the rest of your lives."

"Can they protect them? Who are the soldiers accompanying my uncle to the border this time? The Prince of Yan's Mansion is loyal to the court and His Majesty... This time, I hope my uncle and Brother Li Xiu can gather those soldiers and generals. Otherwise, the marshal and the deputy general will not get along, and a defeat on the battlefield will mean the end of the Chu family. If you don't believe me, you can secretly investigate and find out which of the soldiers going to the border city this time were planted by the royal family..."