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

Gado

Pei Xuan was brewing medicine in the courtyard when he glanced up and saw Mu Yunqing walking towards him, carrying a black box in his hand.

Pei Xuan's expression hardened, and he immediately stood up and bowed: "Master, what brings you here?"

"I came to see you," Mu Yunqing said, sitting down beside him. "How is your wound healing?"

"Thank you for your concern, Master. I am much better now."

Mu Yunqing handed the black box to Pei Xuan: "Take a look, do you like it?"

Pei Xuan hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took it. Opening the box, he found a finely crafted sword inside, its scabbard inlaid with a sparkling gem. He said, "Master, this is far too precious; I am unworthy to accept it."

"Take it if I give it to you. How can you kill enemies without a good sword?"

“Yes,” Pei Xuan said, holding his sword with both hands and kneeling on one knee. “Thank you for your reward, Master.”

Mu Yun helped the man up, saying, "He's still injured, no need for such formalities."

Pei Xuan placed the sword on the table beside him and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master. My injury is no longer serious." He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Did you come today to give me a task?"

Mu Yunqing nodded and said, "I do have something for you to do, but it's not urgent. You can go after you've recovered."

"Yes." Pei Xuan bowed and clasped his hands. "By the way, Master, there is something I am not sure if I should say."

"But it doesn't matter."

“That Lord Shen… is not a kind person, Master, you must be careful.”

Mu Yunqing looked at him with great interest: "Where did you learn that?"

"Your Majesty, I only heard this secondhand. But Lord Shen's behavior is highly suspicious, and Your Majesty must not take it lightly." After a pause, Pei Xuan asked again, "Should I conduct a secret investigation?"

“There’s no need to investigate,” Mu Yunqing said. “Shen Chenxi’s personality is indeed a bit strange, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person. If he really has ulterior motives, he will soon reveal his true colors. However… someone as smart as him would never shoot himself in the foot.”

“What you say is true, Master,” he said, “but people’s hearts are unpredictable, so it’s best to be careful.” Recalling Shen Chenxi’s various actions, Pei Xuan felt a little worried.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on him." Mu Yunqing agreed verbally, but in his heart he didn't think so.

Aside from his personality, Shen Chenxi is actually a good person, and the relationship between them is very harmonious.

This person is truly unfathomable.

From the day they first met, Mu Yunqing felt that Shen Chenxi was hiding too many secrets.

The elder brother Shen Chenxi mentioned, the information he inadvertently revealed, and his words, "Surviving in this court is harder than finding a living person in a pile of dead bodies."

Shen Chenxi, a noble young master, would never go to a pile of dead bodies to find living people.

But he said those words clearly, and his expression at the time didn't seem like he was lying; rather, it seemed like he had genuinely experienced it.

Shen Chenxi going to search for someone in a pile of corpses? No matter how you look at it, it seems absurd. How could a young master from a noble family who wipes his chopsticks three times before meals and always carries a handkerchief would condescend to go to such a place?

Mu Yunqing couldn't help but recall that fox-faced boy from back then.

At that time, he and Suqin went to the mountain to pick fruit and encountered a black bear on the way. They were still young and could not subdue the black bear with brute force alone, so they had to desperately run up the mountain and hide in a pile of dead bodies.

The stench of the rotting corpse filled the air with a foul odor, which disgusted the black bear. It circled the two of them once before walking away.

Seeing the black bear leave, the two leaned against the mountain of corpses, panting heavily, but dared not go down the mountain.

The night wind was cold, making them shiver. The two were only lightly dressed; if they were left to the cold wind, they would either freeze to death or fall seriously ill.

Feeling sorry for Su Qin, Mu Yunqing took clothes from the dead man and draped them over him. As soon as he turned his head, he was met with a bloodshot face. Mu Yunqing was so frightened that he fell to the ground.

Under the moonlight, that face looked particularly terrifying.

The boy's eyes were surrounded by blood, which dripped down his cheeks. His white clothes were stained with large patches of blood, and he was holding a red fox head in his hand.

As if oblivious to pain, it stood straight in the wind.

The two dared not approach, only vaguely hearing the boy say, "Cold, I'm so cold... I'm so cold."

Su Qin tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Brother, he said he's cold."

"I heard you." Mu Yunqing responded, suppressing the fear in her heart, and slowly walked towards the boy while holding a withered tree branch.

The boy suddenly took a step back, covering his face with the red fox's head, blood dripping down his chin.

tick, tick...

Each drop of blood was like a string that had gone out of order, falling heavily on Mu Yunqing's heart.

He stared blankly into the distance.

The red fox's eyes had already been gouged out, and now only the boy's eyes, filled with fear, were visible.

“Don’t be afraid,” Mu Yunqing reassured her, “We, we are not bad people.”

The boy remained silent, his eyes still fixed on Mu Yunqing.

"I heard you say you were cold just now, here's your clothes... take these clothes." Mu Yunqing stepped forward and stuffed the clothes into his hands, then quickly stepped back.

The boy took the clothes and disappeared; only the bloodstain on the ground proved he had been there.

Even after all these years, Mu Yunqing could never forget those eyes filled with fear.

_

Zhang Mansion

Zhang Xunyu paced back and forth in the room.

The Wu family, who usually had no dealings with her, suddenly sent her a visiting card today, saying they had something to discuss with her.

But she waited for a long time without anyone coming. Just as she was about to give up, a voice came from outside the door: "My lord, Lord Wu requests an audience."

Zhang Xunyu straightened her clothes, trying to appear composed. She hadn't let her guard down for a moment these past few days; the Dali Temple was relentlessly pursuing her, the officialdom was in chaos, and even her carefully cultivated assassins had been discovered.

Who knows, one day the people from the Dali Temple might follow the clues and find out about her, so she wouldn't even dare to leave her house.

She felt as if countless eyes were staring at her from the shadows as she stood on the street, making her scalp tingle.

After a long pause, she finally said, "Please come in."

"Yes." The attendant responded and turned to invite Wu Peifang in, "Please come in, sir."

Wu Peifang nodded slightly and walked into the house. When she saw Zhang Xunyu, she quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Lord Zhang, I'm so sorry. There were some trivial matters at the manor. I've kept you waiting."

“It’s alright,” Zhang Xunyu said. “Since it’s a family matter, it should still be handled properly.”

“What Lord Zhang says is true,” she said with a smile, “but no matter how busy this matter is, we can’t neglect our important business.” Wu Peifang clapped her hands, and a stunningly beautiful woman immediately walked out from outside.

Zhang Xunyu asked in confusion, "Lord Wu, what is the meaning of this?"

"I've heard that Lord Zhang has encountered some trouble recently. This young lady might be able to help you resolve it."

Zhang Xunyu wasn't stupid; she understood what Wu Peifang meant—she was trying to make peace with her.

How could she possibly refuse a scapegoat offered to her?

“Lord Wu is very thoughtful,” she asked, “but I wonder what is so special about this young lady?”

"Rest assured, this girl is very capable; she will definitely satisfy you." Wu Peifang cupped her hands and said, "The girl has been delivered; I will now take my leave. I wish you, sir, great success!"

Zhang Xunyu also cupped his hands in greeting to her. After the person left, he looked up at the stunningly beautiful woman in front of him.

The woman smiled slightly at her: "Hongxiu greets Lord Zhang."

"When will we make our move?" she asked.

"Tonight at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)."

"I await your good news," Zhang Xunyu said in a low voice. "Don't disappoint me, or you will suffer a fate worse than death."

"Rest assured, my lord," she knelt down and said, "Hongxiu will not fail!"

_

That night.

It was unusually dark; you needed a lantern to see the road.

Hongxiu crouched on the wall, watching the two people slowly approaching from afar, a smile on her face.

Get ready for her big surprise!

As the figures on the ground drew closer, Hongxiu flashed past them.

Mu Yunqing raised his sword and chased after him, but after only a few steps, the person in front of him disappeared without a trace.

He lowered his eyes and looked around. Suddenly, a figure appeared on the wall. Perhaps sensing his approach, it even tried to escape.

Mu Yunqing rushed forward, drew his sword and pointed it at Hongxiu, coldly saying, "I want to see if my sword is faster or your feet are faster."

"How could you...how could you lay a hand on a weak woman?"

"Heh, a weak woman?" Mu Yunqing's lips curled into a cold smile. "Even a weak man, I would still take action." He pressed his sword a little closer. "Speak, who sent you!"

"My lord, please don't do this..." Hongxiu feigned pitifulness and moved closer to him: "You're making me so scared."

Mu Yunqing frowned, pointing his sword at Hongxiu to keep her away: "Don't come near me, or don't blame me for being merciless!"

Hongxiu said aggrievedly, "I have no one to rely on. I fled all the way from the wilderness to here. I finally found a place to stay, but you mistook me for a bad person. I am so heartbroken."

"I don't have that much time to listen to your stories. Tell me, who sent you?"

“My lord, you have misunderstood,” Hongxiu moved even closer to him. “I am just a commoner living in this dark alley. How could I have been sent by someone else?”

Mu Yunqing tightened his grip on his sword, using the scabbard to push her away: "Can't you understand human language? I told you to stay away from me!"

"My lord!" Hongxiu suddenly stood up and sprinkled a handful of poison powder into Mu Yunqing's eyes.

Mu Yunqing was unable to dodge in time, and the poison powder entered his eyes, instantly causing a burning pain in both eyes.

He instinctively closed his eyes and stepped back, and Hongxiu took the opportunity to turn around and try to escape.

Upon seeing this, Shen Chenxi shouted, "Stop running!" He drew his sword and stabbed at Hongxiu. Hongxiu dodged to the side, but Shen Chenxi kicked her in the shin, causing her to fall to the ground.

Shen Chenxi ignored Hongxiu and hurriedly helped Mu Yunqing up: "Lord Mu, how are you?"

Despite the pain, Mu Yunqing said, "Don't worry about me, grab her."

Shen Chenxi turned around and saw that Hongxiu had already disappeared. He replied, "She got away."

The pain in her eyes was unbearable. Mu Yunqing raised her hand to look, but all she could see was darkness.

Anxiety and restlessness filled my heart.

"Lord Mu?" Shen Chenxi called out to him.

Mu Yunqing forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What's wrong?"

"your eyes……"

"I'm fine." Mu Yunqing interrupted him, took a step forward, but bumped into the wall next to her.

Shen Chenxi quickly stepped forward to help, and said in a deep voice, "You clearly can't see, why are you pretending?"

"I can see." Mu Yunqing's expression was cold as he groped his way forward, taking each step cautiously.

Shen Chenxi forcefully pulled his hand and said, "I'll help you walk."

"I don't need your help, I can walk by myself." Mu Yunqing shook off his hand, but after taking only a few steps, she bumped into something else.

Are you planning to stay here all night?

"Nothing to do with you."

"Heh," Shen Chenxi scoffed, "Your word doesn't count." With that, she pulled the person close.

“You…” Mu Yunqing gritted her teeth and said, “Shen Chenxi!”

"Here you are." Shen Chenxi patted his shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll hold you up, you won't bump into anything."

"I'm just temporarily unable to see, not blind."

"I know, but you're practically blind right now."

Mu Yunqing said angrily, "Lord Shen, you'd better shut your mouth."

“Now is not the time to argue,” Shen Chenxi said. “I’ll take you to the clinic first.”

"Ah."

_

Medical Center

"Have we arrived?" Mu Yunqing twitched her nose twice, smelling the faint scent of herbs in the air, and her tense body relaxed a little.

"We're here, please sit down," Shen Chenxi said.

"Thank you, Lord Shen."

Shen Chenxi looked up and saw no sign of the doctor anywhere.

"What's wrong?" Mu Yunqing's heart sank, and her hand unconsciously tightened its grip on the sword hilt. "Isn't the doctor here?"

"I don't know where they went."

“It’s alright,” he said. “We will wait.”

The two waited for a long time, but the doctor didn't appear. Mu Yunqing was getting impatient and was about to ask when she heard a commotion outside. She immediately sensed something was wrong: "What's going on outside?"

Shen Chenxi said calmly, "They're just a few stray cats. Lord Mu, there's no need to worry."

"A stray cat?" Mu Yunqing frowned slightly, his unease growing stronger. "This is a clinic, how could there be a stray cat here?" He stood up and groped his way towards the door.

Shen Chenxi quickly stepped in front of him to stop him: "Don't go!"

Mu Yunqing paused, standing still, his voice low and deep: "Lord Shen, what are you hiding from me?"

“Lord Mu is overthinking it,” he said. “I was just worried that you might fall.”

Mu Yunqing snorted coldly, clearly not believing his words, "I think Lord Shen is afraid that I will discover something, isn't he?"

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Shen Chenxi said, pulling the person back. "The doctor is here."

"Ouch!" Zhao Siheng asked, "What happened?"

Mu Yunqing sat in the chair, her lips tightly pressed together. After a moment of silence, she slowly spoke: "My eyes have been stung by poison powder. Please, doctor, take a look."

"I see. Let me light a lamp first."

"No need, I can't see for the time being, so turning on a lamp won't help."

Zhao Siheng rolled her eyes at him: "The lamp isn't for you to see, it's for me to see."

Mu Yunqing: "..."

Zhao Siheng lit the oil lamp, picked up the medicine box, and moved closer to Mu Yunqing. "Relax, open your eyes and let me see."

Mu Yunqing took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she could only see a rough outline. "Doctor, can my eyes... be cured?"

"Don't speak, let me take a look first."

"Okay..." Mu Yunqing's body tensed up, his hands gripping the sword hilt tightly, his palms already damp with sweat. "Thank you for your trouble, doctor."

After a while, he said, "It doesn't look like there's anything seriously wrong. You shouldn't be blind. Hey, what did you say you were injured by?"

"Poison powder."

Zhao Siheng stroked his beard: "That's quite strange."

"Strange? You mean... my eyes are difficult to treat?"

"Not really, it's just that it's really rare for this poisonous powder to hurt the eyes," Zhao Siheng scratched his head. "Wait for me to study it for a couple of days. This is the first time I've ever seen this stuff before!"

"Two days?" Mu Yunqing said, "My eyes... can't wait that long."

"We have to wait, even if we can't!" Zhao Siheng said firmly.

Mu Yunqing remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, doctor. But I'd better find someone else to treat my eyes."

Zhao Siheng was displeased upon hearing this. How could a patient he had already secured still want to fly away?

"You brat! You don't trust my medical skills?" He turned to Shen Chenxi and ordered, "You, go and bring him back. Don't let him leave!"