A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

An Qinghe was a very outgoing person. Seeing how easy it was for his host to get along with, he quickly overcame his initial awkwardness and ran over to the stone table to look at the chess game on it.

"Hasn't it finished yet?"

"Chen Fang, oh no, Mu... what? You're too focused. I'm talking to you, we're old acquaintances, don't pretend to be deep and ignore me."

"Huh? The white piece over here is almost dead."

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan both gasped in surprise.

He Jinghui subtly observed An Qinghe, recalling how his younger sister had recently been often lost in thought and giggling to herself, her eyes and brows seemingly blooming with peach blossoms.

He Jinghui suddenly realized,

Could it be because of this kid?!

At this moment, Gu Xixi had completely calmed down as she watched An Qinghe actively provoke Mu Nanzhao.

The calm indifference of "since they're already dead"

Mu Nanzhao finally raised his head and looked over, but it was unclear whether he was looking at An Qinghe in front of him or Gu Xixi standing behind An Qinghe.

"Haven't you heard of 'one should remain silent while observing a game of chess,' Mr. An?"

Upon hearing this, He Jinghui unexpectedly looked at An Qinghe with higher regard and also went over to look at the table.

Tonight, Mu Nanzhao will play black, and He Jinghui will play white.

The two were evenly matched at first, but when He Jinglan entered the room, He Jinghui's chess skills began to show signs of defeat.

It will take at least another fifteen moves to truly determine the winner.

An Qinghe, however, only glanced at the pieces and immediately realized that Bai Zi was about to lose.

However, An Qinghe clearly ignored Mu Nanzhao's words. He frowned, picked up a white piece, pondered before placing it, and muttered to himself:

"This should be it; we can save him if we make do."

Mu Nanzhao, sitting opposite, had his pupils contract.

He Jinghui suddenly turned his head and stared at An Qinghe, revealing an incredulous expression.

He actually found the only way out so easily?!

Not only that, the tide turned and the score shifted to the black pieces.

He Jinglan had never seen her brother look like this before. Out of curiosity, and thinking that things had come to this point, she pulled Gu Xixi over to see.

An Qinghe snapped out of his daze and, seeing He Jinghui glaring at him, realized that playing chess for someone else was a serious overstepping of his bounds, and quickly apologized:

"I'm sorry, I saw it at a glance and couldn't help myself..."

He reached out again, "I'll restore you to your original state!"

Mu Nanzhao stood up, "No need, the outcome is already decided."

The small flower hall of Yuzhuyuan was brightly lit.

Gu Xixi followed He Jinglan back to the bedroom to wash up and changed into clean clothes.

During that time, the two of them deliberately lingered a little longer.

He Jinglan said apologetically, "If I had known he was here, I should have stayed at the inn with you tonight."

Gu Xixi calmly replied, "Yes, I know you don't know."

He Jinglan: "If I had to choose between him and you, I would definitely side with you."

Gu Xixi turned her head and smiled, "I believe you."

He Jinglan silently wept and roared inwardly, "Too calm! How can she be so calm?!"

She'd rather Gu Xixi go crazy than be like this now—it's too terrifying!

By the time Gu Xixi and He Jinglan slowly moved into the flower hall, more than half an hour had passed.

However, the regent was still present, having drunk his umpteenth cup of tea.

An Qinghe stood up. "Why are you so slow? Xixi said she was hungry on the way here."

He Jinglan glanced at Mu Nanzhao, thinking to herself, "Why haven't you said anything? If you're not going to talk, you might as well go home!"

She could only manage a forced smile. "Let's eat then."

The maids of Yuzhu Courtyard brought out the food that had been prepared in advance.

Then, her four personal maids, Ziyan, Lüla, Lianxing, and Guangzhu, placed it on the table.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan both lost their appetite.

Anqing ate with gusto, his chopsticks flying across the table. "Why aren't you two eating? Eat more!"

"Jinglan, you seem to have lost weight since I last saw you."

He Jinglan smiled and said, "The water and soil of our Huachidu Village are still the best for people. I really miss Auntie's cooking."

He Jinghui's mind went blank once again. How did An Qinghe know that Jinglan had lost weight? Could it be that he had been watching her closely all along?

Also, what does "our Huachidu Village" mean?

The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Male visitors from outside the residence are not allowed to enter the inner quarters; this is the rule.

My younger sister has always known what's important. Even though Mu Nanzhao, her childhood friend with whom she often visits, doesn't need to avoid suspicion, she has never been to Yuzhu Courtyard before.

But tonight, an exception was made for this Hu man surnamed An…

Upon realizing this, He Jinghui was shocked and couldn't help but look at An Qinghe.

Speaking of which, this kid is really good-looking. Among the many non-Han people in the capital, he is definitely one of the most outstanding.

Since ancient times, Chang'e has loved young men, so it's not impossible that her younger sister was bewitched by this face.

Judging from watching him play chess just now, it's clear that although he has a carefree personality, he is quite intelligent.

No wonder he was able to build a business in Beijing at such a young age.

He Jinghui himself didn't have any prejudice against merchants, but this An Qinghe was a Hu person!

The eldest daughter of the He family is entangled with a foreign merchant. I'm afraid the old men in the family will go crazy, and it will be inevitable to open the ancestral hall and invoke family discipline.

He Jinghui was filled with lingering fear.

If I hadn't just happened to be in the mood to play chess at Yuzhu Courtyard tonight, I don't know what would have happened!

At this moment, An Qinghe turned around with great interest and said, "You two shouldn't just sit there, come and have some food with us. It'll be more lively if we eat and chat together."

He first greeted Mu Nanzhao, whom he thought he was more familiar with, "Mr. Mu... Mr. Mu."

Although Mu Nanzhao still had a cold expression, he actually got up and walked over.

He sat down directly opposite Gu Xixi and said, "I have a name, Mu Nanzhao."

An Qinghe put down the half-eaten chicken leg, smiled and nodded, "Yes, your name is Mu Nanzhao, I've remembered it."

After saying that, he realized something and the chicken leg he was about to put in his mouth fell back onto his plate.

"Wait, what did you say your name was?"

Mu Nanzhao said quietly, "Didn't you say you remembered it?"

An Qing stared intently at Mu Nanzhao, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

At this moment, Gu Xixi said, "Mu Nanzhao, the current regent, is the one you're thinking of."

An Qinghe always believed Gu Xixi's words without question.

He stared at Mu Nanzhao in disbelief, "You, you, you, aren't you Chen Fang? Didn't Chen Fang go back to his hometown? He even had someone bring Xixi some seeds along the way! How could you possibly be him!"

Mu Nanzhao gazed at him, his eyes as calm as still water.

Anqing suddenly fell silent.

He lowered his head for a moment, then said, “I understand. There was never any Chen Fang from the beginning; it was always you.”

"You are the teacher at the village school."

“I’m not in the village, I’m going back to visit relatives, so I’ll be honest with you and tell you that my surname is Mu.”

"It was you who went to the local temple, pretended to be a relative of Master Liu, and claimed that you were delivering seeds to Gu Xixi on behalf of Chen Fang."

"The Northwest Army has returned victorious, and the capital now has a regent who is famous throughout the land—and it's you!"

Mu Nanzhao said, "There are some things you haven't seen with your own eyes, yet you can say them with great accuracy. I underestimated you in the past."

Gu Xixi looked at An Qinghe and said, "Brother An, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide it from you. I just didn't know how to say it."

An Qing smiled at Gu Xixi, "I understand, there's no need for explanations between us, besides..."

He turned to Mu Nanzhao, "You're not the one deceiving everyone."

The two stared at each other, and sparks seemed to crackle in the air.