Female-dominated society: Striving for the position of powerful minister, doting on Xiao Yunqing

Mu Yunqing watched Mu Yan's departing figure, unable to describe his feelings for a moment.

As long as you don't provoke him, what does it have to do with him? He then picked up his vegetable basket and went inside.

The rice in the pot is cooked. Just add a couple more dishes and we can have dinner.

Mu Yunqing is a vegetable lover; he adores cabbage and bok choy, but he has no interest in meat and fish.

He rolled up his sleeves to his forearms, picked up the knife and began to chop vegetables. His movements were skillful and graceful. Under his knife, the vegetables were sliced ​​into pieces and shredded into strands, perfectly neat and orderly.

Then heat oil in a wok, fry scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then add the ingredients to the wok, stir-fry evenly, add seasonings, and it's ready to serve.

The vegetable soup in the clay pot on the side was also ready.

Mu Yunqing placed the food on the table, intending to sit down and eat, but fearing that Mu Yan might suddenly visit, he got up and looked outside, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

He sat down and ate with peace of mind.

It was dusk, the sun was setting, and the afterglow of the sunset created a beautiful scene.

The orange light enveloped the entire courtyard, adding a touch of warmth. The light shone through the window onto Mu Yunqing, making her look like a celestial being descended to earth, even her hair seemed to glow. She was truly a god among men.

_

Meanwhile, Mu Yan walked into the bamboo forest. It must be said that the scenery inside was truly beautiful, with lush greenery all around and a faint fragrance emanating from it.

The smell is somewhat similar to what Mu Yunqing smells like.

Mu Yan walked on the bamboo leaves. A spring breeze swept by, and many bamboo leaves fell. The soft light and beautiful scenery made her look even more beautiful.

Her modern name is also Mu Yan.

Just like the woman in front of me, Mu Yan, she was extremely beautiful.

When she first entered the world of espionage, she made a name for herself based on her good looks.

But being good-looking doesn't mean you're soft-hearted; Mu Yan can kill without batting an eye.

Mu Yan understood the principle of "if you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems" when she was ten years old.

Furthermore, with the influence of Mu Yunqing by his side, a person is no longer a life, but a tool for making money.

Her international code name is Y. She takes on orders of all sizes, both domestically and internationally. Sometimes she goes on missions alone, but most of the time she is with Q (who is Mu Yunqing).

Therefore, under Mu Yunqing's influence, Mu Yan's reputation grew.

Mu Yan isn't the most skilled among the female agents, but she's clever and often uses underhanded tactics to defeat her enemies, turn the tables, press her advantage, and finish them off before returning home.

So her performance has been excellent over the years, and she has basically passed every case without any problems.

It's a pity that she fell into the enemy's trap during her last mission. If she hadn't risked her life to go back and save him, her body wouldn't have fallen alone in the snow.

Fortunately, she saw him in her hazy state before she died.

She did not die with her eyes open in disbelief.

Human reason tells her that he betrayed her. She also senses that someone had approached her. Later, she sees Mu Yunqing holding the ice crystal that the other party wanted.

But she couldn't figure it out.

How could Mu Yunqing betray her? Their missions were only for money and equipment. Mu Yunqing didn't need those things, and he disdained such mundane possessions.

He would be heartbroken if she just pricked her hand.

If everything in the past was just a disguise, then she could only say that Mu Yunqing was too good at disguising himself.

He not only lied to her, but to everyone.

_

Mu Yan got bored after wandering around the bamboo forest for a while, so she continued to scale walls and rooftops and stroll around the mansion.

The night was getting hotter as summer approached, and if Mu Yan hadn't been wearing light clothes, she would have been fanning herself in the courtyard.

This Prime Minister's residence truly lives up to its name; its luxury and wealth are evident to the naked eye. All kinds of pavilions and towers are brightly lit. It's good that people in ancient times didn't have to pay for electricity.

All the decorations, big and small, in the mansion were related to lotus flowers, which shows that the empress had put in a lot of effort to keep Mu Yunyan.

Mu Yan walked around the mansion roughly, then casually found a rooftop to lie down under, but before she could, she heard someone chattering under the eaves.

"Mu Yan has become increasingly arrogant these days. She used to be just haughty, but now she doesn't even bother to come and invite people over. Who gave her the guts?" Mu Xue complained to Mu Xi while waving her fan.

"Perhaps it was Mother's permission. A few days ago, I saw Mother go to her room," Mu Xi put down her teacup and casually replied.

"Hmph, she runs to Muyan's room every day," Muxue said angrily, throwing her fan aside. "As if she's her only daughter!"

Mu Xi remained calm and composed. She bent down, picked up the fan, placed it on the table, and then poured herself a cup of tea.

After a long pause, she slowly said, "Muyan is a few years younger than us, and now that she is ill, it is only natural for a mother to take extra care of her."

“But…” Mu Xue was about to retort when she saw Mu Yan fly down from the eaves and sit down beside her very consciously.

"What are you two sisters talking about? Tell me!" Mu Yan said casually, leaning against the wall and reaching for a pastry to put in her mouth.

"Who...who...who wants to talk to you!" Mu Xue was speechless when she saw Mu Yan appear out of nowhere.

"But just now, I clearly heard my second sister call my name." Mu Yan feigned innocence, her eyes fixed on Mu Xue.

"Who called your name? You must have misheard!"

"Alright, then I'll just pretend I misheard," Mu Yan sighed. "Maybe it was some cat or dog meowing."

"You," Mu Xue glared angrily at Mu Yan, "who are you calling a cat or a dog?"

"Whoever agrees, that's who we'll talk about."

Mu Xue snorted and ran back into the house, lifting her skirt.

She couldn't be bothered to argue with Mu Yan; she was a good-for-nothing who had no redeeming qualities other than being quick-tongued!

With a bang, Mu Xue slammed the door shut.

Mu Yan chuckled inwardly; he really couldn't resist being teased.

“Your second sister has a quick temper,” Mu Xi said gently, “Don’t take it to heart.”

Hearing this, Mu Yan looked up at Mu Xi, her eyes saying, "Big sister, are you serious?"

But out of politeness, Mu Yan still replied with "okay".

"It's getting late, Third Sister, you should go back to your room and rest early." Mu Xi said, getting up to leave, but not forgetting to gesture for Mu Yan to go first.

Mu Yan waved to her and then flew onto the roof.

A hint of surprise flashed in Mu Xi's eyes. She was surprised but also felt that it made sense, since Mu Yan did know more than them.

So she suppressed her suspicion, ordered her servants to put away the flower tea she had brought, and left.

Seeing that everyone had left, Mu Yan got up and returned to Fanglan Garden.

_

The Phoenix Kingdom is currently enjoying a golden age, with peace and harmony between the ruler and his ministers, and no power struggles. Furthermore, the current Prime Minister is remarkably youthful and robust.

Although Mu Xue and Mu Xi had their own plans, they didn't dare to act recklessly under Mu Yunyan's watchful eye.

The Mu family has always had a good reputation, which has been praised by the Empress on many occasions, and has been emulated by the people of the capital.

Mu Yunyan had already hired a tutor to teach the three sisters when they were young, teaching them to read, paint, and compose poetry, studying them daily. They were naturally exposed to various etiquette rules and ways of dealing with people from a young age.

As for why Mu Yunyan favors Mu Yan so much, it's probably because of the good fortune she received from Ye Xiao.

When Mu Yunyan was assassinated, Ye Xiao rushed forward to shield her from a sword. She intended to return to the capital overnight for treatment, but the sword was poisoned. Ye Xiao vomited blood all the way, and the beautiful young woman died.

Mu Yunyan always remembered what Ye Xiao told her before he died: he hoped that one day there would be someone like him who would protect Mu Yan.

Perhaps feeling guilty, she always cherished Mu Yan.

Mu Yan, the daughter who resembles her the most among the three, inherited most of her beauty and also has a pair of eyes that look remarkably like Ye Xiao's. She has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. Who wouldn't like such a little beauty?

_

next day

Mu Yan got up very early, ordered Xiang Qin to go to the steward's office to get a set of men's clothes, changed her clothes, slung a bag over her shoulder, and went out.

She has been in this world for over a month now. Although she has been living a carefree life, she cannot just sit idly by and wait to die. Staying cooped up in the Prime Minister's mansion every day will weaken her abilities over time.

So today she decided to go out and buy some medicinal herbs and prepare a few bottles of pills, since there are some hidden dangers in the house, which is quite frightening.

Mu Yan pondered for a moment, then quickened her pace.

She was located in the capital of the Phoenix Kingdom, also known as the Imperial Capital, which, like other capitals in history, was a thriving center of commerce.

A few days ago, she and Xiangqin went shopping on the south side of the street. The street was mostly filled with food, so it was unlikely that they could buy any medicinal herbs.

Therefore, Mu Yan chose a small alley to the north, which seemed to have a lot of foot traffic, but the shops there probably wouldn't be very big.

Who cares? Treasures are often found in back alleys. Let's go take a look first.

This alley is called Sunlai Alley, named after a foreigner.

Legend has it that long ago, foreigners were not allowed to trade in the capital, because racial disputes often led to wars, causing suffering to the people.

In order to protect the local people, the late emperor issued a special decree prohibiting them from engaging in trade with foreign countries.

To be honest, this is somewhat similar to the closed-door policy of our Qing Dynasty. It served to protect itself, but it could not help the country develop. How sad!

However, someone else appeared later, and that person was Sun Lai Brian.

He came from a distant country and fled to Phoenix Kingdom due to the war.

The people of Fengqi Kingdom live in harmony and happiness. Sun Lai loves this country and longs to live here.

But the locals didn't welcome him. When he walked the streets, people always kept their distance from him, as if touching him would mean certain death, and they were afraid of accidentally getting involved with him.

That day, Sun Lai walked from one end of the street to the other, but no inn was willing to let him stay.

He walked into a small alley, which is now Sunlai Alley, and saw an old man cooling off at his door. He went up to the old man and begged him to take him in, but unfortunately, they couldn't communicate, and the old man didn't understand what he was saying. It wasn't until Sunlai gestured with his hands to express his purpose that the old man instantly understood.

But the old man was unwilling to take him in.

He continued walking for a long time, during which he met many people. He asked each of them to take him in, but due to the ban, no one dared to risk their lives.

It was summer, and summer in the capital was the hottest time of the year. He dragged his luggage through the streets and alleys, feeling utterly alone and dejected.

No one was willing to take him in, even late into the night.

Exhausted from walking all day, Sun Lai found a corner to squat down and doze off. But before she could close her eyes, she saw a raging fire burning deep in the alley. It was a huge fire.

As the fire grew larger, Sun Lai was at a loss, not knowing why the alley had suddenly caught fire.

Haha, of course he didn't know, because the fire was set on purpose. Both sides of the alley were smeared with oil, and with the firefighting technology at that time, there was no way to save it.

Sun Lai felt that the priority was to evacuate people to minimize the losses.

He shouted for people to leave again and again, but thankfully the night was quiet, which made Sun Lai's voice sound very loud.

People in the alley fled at the sound of screams, and the news spread like wildfire, with the screams continuing unabated.

The shouting stopped only after everyone inside had left.

The men led the children to evacuate outside the alley, while groups of women rushed to put out the fire.

In the end, the fire was extinguished, but Sun Lai perished in it.

He could have evacuated immediately, but he chose to be the savior of the world.

The people of the capital were extremely indifferent to his plea for help, but he disregarded past grievances and saved nearly half of the capital's population.

Later, people renamed this alley Sunlai Alley.

Later, the local people collectively petitioned the late emperor, pleading with him to abolish the ban.

After reading the memorial, the late emperor changed his opinion of foreigners and thus abolished the ban.

From then on, commerce in the capital gradually prospered, and more and more people came to Phoenix Kingdom to do business.

To repay Sun Lai's kindness, the people of Sun Lai Lane set up guest rooms in their homes, specifically for foreigners who came to Sun Lai Lane to do business.

This custom is still maintained to this day, and nowadays, Sunlai Lane has become the most popular trading lane among merchants in the entire Phoenix Kingdom, without exception!

_

There were so many people in the alley. Looking at the sea of ​​people in the alley ahead, Mu Yan suddenly began to question her life.

In the 20th century, the streets were deserted early in the morning.

And here it is! My goodness, what's going on? There are so many people here!

Mu Yan walked forward while complaining, but to be fair, there was quite a lot of stuff for sale. Gold and silver jewelry, pots and pans, exotic clothing, bracelets and anklets, and countless other items.

It was only morning, but it was as bustling as a night market.

Mu Yan walked forward, when suddenly her eyes lit up. Oh my, a herbal medicine shop! Excitedly, she rushed forward.

The owner of the herbal medicine shop was a plump woman, about thirty years old. Perhaps because of the hot weather, she kept fanning herself.

A man was sitting next to her, massaging her legs; he looked like her husband.

"Oh, you've come to buy medicinal herbs!" the shopkeeper said, standing up.

Mu Yan nodded, trying her best to appear as if she didn't like to talk.

"Tell me, what kind of medicine do you want?"

This boss is being a little too enthusiastic.

She hadn't even looked at it yet, and they were already asking her what she wanted.

Seeing that he was hesitant and didn't speak, the medicine seller mistakenly thought that he wanted to buy Yangchun San (a kind of aphrodisiac), and very helpfully put the medicine bottle out in the corner, and even winked at Mu Yan.

What?!

Mu Yan was completely stunned. What was she doing?

What did that look in her eyes mean? Even though she's dressed as a man now, could this boss be trying to seduce her?!

"Hey, do you still want it or not!" The boss's words instantly stopped Mu Yan's wild thoughts.

"Ahem." Mu Yan coughed strategically to ease the awkwardness.

She then looked up and said to the shopkeeper with elegance and politeness, "I'll come back to you once I've gathered the medicinal herbs."

The boss then realized that she had misunderstood him, and quickly hid the medicine bottle in the cabinet under the table, pretending to be nonchalant as he continued to fan himself.