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

After the person left, Song Qi'an said, "Do you have anything to eat in your yard? I'm starving."

"It's so late, haven't you eaten yet?"

"Yes, I left the Marquis's residence in a hurry and haven't had a meal yet." Song Qi'an rubbed his stomach and looked at her pitifully. "If you have anything to eat here, please give me some."

Mu Yan pointed to the oranges on the table, "Want some?"

"Eat." Song Qi'an picked up an orange, peeled it quickly, and handed it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Mu Yan said, taking the orange. She had a feeling that someone was outside the door, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

“These winter oranges are quite sweet,” Song Qi’an said while eating. “By the way, what happened to the person who injured you?”

"I don't know," Mu Yan replied, tossing the unfinished orange aside. "It was sent to the Dali Temple, but no word has come yet."

"You've been injured like this," Song Qi'an said angrily, "you should be executed on the spot!"

"He killed so many people, he probably won't live much longer."

"That's good then," Song Qi'an looked up at the sky, stood up and said, "Mu Yan, I should go back too, or my mother might come to arrest me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Yan replied, "Okay."

Song Qi'an was taken aback for a moment, then pouted and said, "You didn't even try to persuade me to stay. I've come to see you once in my life."

"Who told you to come empty-handed?" Mu Yan teased him deliberately. "In my opinion, anyone who comes empty-handed is considered to have acted on a whim and is not sincere."

"I see," Song Qi'an said with a grin, "I understand. Next time, I definitely won't come empty-handed!"

"Okay!" Mu Yan waved to him, "Go back now."

"Alright! I'm off then." Song Qi'an replied and hurriedly ran back to the mansion.

If we don't go back soon, we're really doomed.

As soon as he left, the room felt lifeless and suddenly a bit colder.

Mu Yan glanced to the side, but there was no sound outside.

Could it be that he/she has left?

That shouldn't be the case; she just heard coughing.

"Mu Yunqing?" Mu Yan called out tentatively, but there was no response.

“Lord Mu? Oh no,” Mu Yan joked, “you should be called Lord Kui.”

"Heh," Mu Yunqing snorted coldly and walked slowly toward her. "You're quite amusing, still having the leisure to joke about me even when you're injured like this."

“You’re also quite free,” Mu Yan retorted, “and you still manage to find time to come see me amidst your busy schedule.”

"Looking at you, it's just our duty," Mu Yunqing explained. "You were arresting criminals for the Dali Temple and were seriously injured, so it's only right that we come."

"that is it?"

“Otherwise,” Mu Yunqing said, “did you think I came here to eat oranges with you?”

"Really?" Mu Yan smiled, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him, her tone slightly teasing: "Since you came to see me, why didn't you say a word of concern?"

“What other words of concern do you want to hear?” he said. “I think Miss Mu is perfectly fine, she doesn’t need my concern.”

"Fine, if you don't care about me, then I'll have to care about you." Mu Yan said with a half-smile, "Mu Yunqing, you used to call me master, how come you don't even call me that after going to Dali Temple?"

Mu Yunqing remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Now that our statuses are different, it is inappropriate to address each other that way."

Mu Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Different statuses? You are now an official of the Dali Temple, and although I am just an outsider, I have assisted you in handling cases and have made some contributions. How can that mean we are different?"

Mu Yunqing was speechless, so he changed the subject, "You should focus on recovering from your injuries and not worry about anything else."

Mu Yan persisted, "Then why did you hide outside for so long and not come in? If it was just a routine visit to see me, there was no need to be so coy."

Mu Yunqing said helplessly, "I was afraid of disturbing your reunion with that Young Master Song."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You're afraid of disturbing our reminiscing, Lord Mu is truly understanding."

“A person in office should be reasonable.” He said, pretending to be serious. “But you should laugh less often, lest you aggravate your wound.”

"I understand," Mu Yan said, her smile fading. "But whatever your reason for coming today, it shows you care."

"Okay," Mu Yunqing said, "Then you should rest well. I'll be going now." He then left in a hurry. Mu Yan watched his retreating figure, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

He's just being silly; he's clearly concerned about her.

They still refuse to admit it.

_

Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness

Song Qi'an quietly climbed onto the wall and looked at the kneeling figure in the courtyard, feeling a terrible headache.

That's really unreasonable; they punish people at the drop of a hat.

It is unknown how long Mu Dong knelt.

He didn't want to kneel, but he couldn't bear to see Mu Dong punished if he didn't go.

Song Qi'an gritted his teeth, jumped down from the wall, and knelt beside Mu Dong.

"Young Master!" Mu Dong exclaimed joyfully, "You've really come back!"

“Of course,” Song Qi’an tossed his hair and said coolly, “Don’t you know who your young master is? He’s a man of his word!”

“But my lord, the master said that no matter whether you come back or not, you must kneel here tonight.”

"Don't worry," Song Qi'an said with a smile, looking at the snowflakes drifting in the air, "You won't be kneeling for long."

"Really."

“Of course it’s true,” Song Qi’an touched Mu Dong’s hand. “Why are your hands so cold? How long have you been kneeling?”

“It’ll only be a few hours,” Mu Dong said. “It’ll be fine.”

Song Qi'an tied the cloak around his neck, "You're so stubborn. There are still a few hours left. If I don't come back, you'll freeze into a snowman!"

With the large cloak draped over his body, Mu Dong felt warmer and smiled faintly as he lowered his eyes.

"Look at you, so pleased with yourself," Song Qi'an said, looking around. "Where is your master?"

"She was just in the yard a moment ago, but she's probably gone back inside now."

The snow was falling heavier and heavier.

Song Qi'an called out to the inner room, "Mother! I'm cold! Come out quickly, your son is going to freeze to death!"

"Come out quickly! Someone's going to die!"

"People are really going to die!"

"Ah, he's stopped breathing!"

"died."

……

Seeing that there was no sound outside, Song Qinghe rubbed her temples and said to the maid behind her, "Go out and take a look."

"Yes."

The maid opened the door and saw Song Qi'an lying in the snow. She hurriedly went back to report.

"My lord, the young master seems to have fainted."

"You actually believe that?" Song Qinghe chuckled. "Don't you know his habits?"

"Then you mean..."

"Let him go back. The wind and snow are getting heavy, and he might catch a cold."

"Yes." The maid took the order and left.

Song Qi lay quietly on the snow, occasionally opening her eyes to look around, "Have they arrived?"

"They're here," Mu Dong said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Song Qi'an immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.

"Young master, young master," the maid said softly, "His master wants you to go back. The wind and snow are getting heavy, you should go back quickly."

Song Qi'an squinted, "Really?"

"Of course it's true. The Lord cherishes you the most, how could he bear to see you kneeling in the wind and snow all night?"

"Hehe, I knew it," Song Qi'an pulled Mu Dong to his feet, patted the snow and said, "Then I'll be going first, you should go back too!"

"Yes."

"Young master," Mu Dong exclaimed, "you are truly intelligent!"

"Keep it low-key," Song Qi'an said, leading Mu Dong back into the house. "Let's go back and take a hot bath first."

"Okay, sir!"

_

next day

Dali Temple

Wei Chengfeng entered carrying a bag of oranges and excitedly distributed them to the two people at their seats.

"Lord Shen, please try this," Wei Chengfeng said with a smile. "This is a specialty from my hometown!"

"Thanks," Shen Chenxi said, making room for him. "Just put it there."

"Hey," Wei Chengfeng responded, placed the oranges on the table, and then turned to walk towards Mu Yunqing.

"Lord Mu, would you like some oranges?"

Mu Yunqing: "..."

This orange is deliberately trying to make things difficult for him.

"Leave it there."

"Okay!" Wei Chengfeng saw that he had agreed and grabbed a handful of oranges and put them on the table.

"You seem to be in high spirits," Mu Yunqing said. "What good thing has happened?"

"Nothing good is coming from here," Wei Chengfeng said with a fawning smile. "It's only natural to be happy to see you, sir!"

Mu Yunqing curled her lips but did not reply.

This person does resemble Gong Xu somewhat, only he is a bit older.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been to the Green Stone Gang in a long time.

I need to find some time to go back.

Just as he was pondering this, a voice came from outside the door announcing something, and Wei Chengfeng hurriedly ran to check.

A moment later, Wei Chengfeng returned with the invitation.

"My lords, here is the invitation."

Mu Yunqing took the invitation and glanced at it; his expression changed drastically.

"what happened?"

"Lord Shen will understand once he takes a look." Mu Yunqing handed the invitation to him.

"Minister of Rites..." Shen Chenxi pondered for a moment and said, "We two are complete strangers to her, so why did an invitation suddenly arrive?"

"Perhaps there is some happy event in the family."

Shen Chenxi shook his head, "I don't think so."

“It’s alright,” Mu Yunqing said calmly as he sat back down. “No matter what it is, neither of us can escape it.”

"What Lord Mu says is true, but the time is simply too short."

“If Lord Shen were not unable to attend,” Wei Chengfeng volunteered, “this humble official could accompany Lord Mu!”

“No need,” Shen Chenxi said. “I just felt that time was tight, not that I couldn’t get away.”

“That’s excellent, that’s excellent,” Wei Chengfeng said with a smirk. “When the two of you go, you can look out for each other.”

"Yes," Mu Yunqing nodded and said, "Go and make some preparations."

"Yes!"

Seeing that he had sent the others away, Shen Chenxi asked, "Lord Mu, is there something you want to say?"

“Hmm,” he said in a deep voice, “Zhang Xunyu probably has other purposes.”

"As Lord Mu just said, no matter what it is or what her purpose is, neither of us can escape it."

"Alright," Mu Yunqing stood up and said, "Since you've invited me, I'll go."

"It can only be the."

_

Prime Minister's Mansion

Fanglan Garden

Mu Yan remained in her room, unable to get out of bed.

Xiangqin sat beside her and kept asking her about the military training ground.

"Master, what do you do at the military training ground?"

“Running, jumping, lifting jars, shooting arrows, body support…” Mu Yan said, “It seems like I’m practicing everything.”

"You've been training so much," Xiangqin said with concern. "No wonder you've gotten so thin."

"It's alright, being thinner is better."

“What’s so good about you?” Xiangqin held up the bronze mirror in front of her. “Look at you, you’ve become like this.”

Mu Yan looked in the mirror and saw that there was no change, except that she was a little darker.

"So what do you usually eat?"

"eat."

“No,” Xiangqin said, “I want to know what you eat every day.”

"Oh, let me think," Mu Yan recalled, "vegetables, cabbage, radishes, and when I trained well, I even got to eat meat!"

“So,” Mu Xi said softly as she walked slowly in from outside the door, “my sister has suffered quite a bit.”

"Greetings, Second Miss," Xiangqin said respectfully.

"No need for formalities," Mu Xi sat down beside her. "I heard from Mother that you were badly injured. Are you feeling any better?"

"Thank you for your concern, elder sister," Mu Yan said. "I feel much better after taking care of myself these past few days."

"That's good," Mu Xi said, taking out a box from behind her and placing it in front of Mu Yan. "These are some tonics I asked someone to find for you. You've lost too much blood, so you should take good care of yourself."

"Big sister is so kind," Mu Yan glanced down at the medicinal herbs. They looked normal, but she didn't know if they were poisonous. She would have the system test them later.

“My own sister is sick, so of course I have to be concerned,” Mu Xi said, feigning concern. “How are you doing at the military training camp? Are you adjusting well? If not…”

"Don't worry, big sister," Mu Yan interrupted her, saying softly, "I'm fine, the military training ground is fine, everything is fine."

Mu Xi smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "If that's the case, that would be great. I was worried you wouldn't be used to it. You used to hate those places the most."

Mu Yan's eyes narrowed, and she became more wary, but she remained calm on the surface.

She asked why Mu Xi had suddenly come to her place.

So they came to get information out of me.

“Big sister is right. I used to dislike those kinds of places the most,” Mu Yan said with a smile. “You may not believe it, but I had a dream before I went to the military training ground. In the dream, an old deity said that if I could go to the military training ground, I would surely become a great person in the future.”

“It was just a dream,” Mu Xi said. “Why did you believe it?”

"Big sister, please don't laugh at me. I once read a book that said dreams are all guiding."

Mu Xi sneered inwardly, but said aloud, "Third sister is right. Dreams do have a bit of spirituality to them."

"Yes, the old sage gave me guidance, I should seize it."

“Since you believe it so much, I won’t stop you,” Mu Xi said feigningly. “However, if you suffer any injustice at the military training ground, you must come back as soon as possible.”

"Don't worry, if I'm wronged, I might come back right away tonight."

Mu Xi chuckled lightly, "Third sister is always joking. With your abilities, I'm afraid you can't handle being wronged."

"Oh?" Mu Yan pretended not to understand and asked, "What abilities do I have?"

“I’ve heard about your glorious deeds more than once, so don’t be modest,” she said. “Your abilities are obvious to everyone.”

"Haha," Mu Yan laughed, "You actually believe a rumor?"

"It's both a rumor and a fact, so why can't it be believed?"

“Since you insist on believing it, I can’t say much,” Mu Yan said calmly with a slight smile. “However, I still have to remind you that rumors should not be believed lightly, otherwise you will bring disaster upon yourself, and there will be no way to avoid it.”

Mu Xi touched the jade bracelet on her wrist and said, "My sister is right, I will be careful."

Mu Yan nodded.

“The goods have been delivered, so I won’t bother you any longer,” Mu Xi said, getting up. “You should get some rest.”

"Okay, take care, big sister."

Mu Xi nodded slightly and stepped forward.

Seeing that she had left, Mu Yan called Aladdin out.

The little blue thing flew around in the air, saying proudly, "Now you're finally willing to come looking for me."