Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Chapter 45 The first meeting

Afterwards, Su Qianrou and her companions arrived at the hot spring resort. The manager had been waiting at the entrance for a long time. Upon seeing them alight from the carriage, he immediately went up to them and said, "Greetings, Miss and Young Master."

"You are Uncle Liang."

"Yes, Miss... Miss, everything is arranged. Shall we go in?"

"Ok".

"Miss, sir, please come in."

Su Qianrou and Su Haoyu went inside.

Upon entering, one is greeted by blooming red plum blossoms, which reminds Su Qianrou of a poem: "All the flowers have withered, but the plum blossoms alone bloom in splendor, captivating the small garden with their charm."

“Miss, you may not know this, but this red plum tree was planted by the lady herself,” Uncle Liang said.

“My mother planted them herself,” Su Qianrou said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it was early spring when the lady came here to visit. Seeing that the courtyard was empty, she said she wanted to plant a plum tree so that plum blossom cakes could be made in winter. Unfortunately, before winter came, the lady got married, and she never came again after that."

"When I go back, I'll make some plum blossom cakes to take with me."

"Miss can also make plum blossom cakes."

"Plum blossom cake is nothing, our young lady knows a lot more," Chunzhu said proudly.

Uncle Liang smiled and apologized, "It was my fault for being so blind."

"Uncle Liang, please take us to the side room."

"Yes, Miss... Miss, sir, this way please."

Then, the group went to the side room.

Meanwhile, in the study of the villa, the guards were reporting the progress to Mu Jinchen.

"It is possible to find out who did it."

"Reporting to Master, not yet. There are no clues on those assassins, therefore..."

"Investigate Prince Min and Prince Qing to see if they have made any moves recently. Also, clean up all the servants in the palace."

"Yes".

"Have you found out that young master's identity?" Mu Zexuan asked.

"Your Majesty, we have found out. He is the fifth son of the Marquis of Anping."

"The Marquis of Anping's residence"—Mu Zexuan racked his brains for a long time but couldn't think of anyone who could match it.

"Whose son is he?" Mu Jinchen asked.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, he is the son of Su Jing'an, the former prefect."

“Su Jing’an, what a familiar name, I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before… Oh, right, isn’t he the one you summoned back to be the Minister of Revenue, Uncle?”

Mu Jinchen did not respond, but asked instead, "Do you know why they were there?"

"Miss Su San is ill and has gone to the estate to recuperate, and their estate happens to be near the East Garden."

"So, it really was his sister who asked him to help," Mu Zexuan said casually.

"Send some gifts over as a token of my appreciation."

"Uncle, everyone says that a life-saving grace should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. Doesn't what you're doing make us seem insincere?"

“That’s right. After all, they saved His Majesty’s life. Sending them just some gifts is too disrespectful,” Yingfeng chimed in.

"Then what do you think should be done?"

"Of course, I'll personally go to express my gratitude," Yingfeng said.

"That's right, that's how it should be."

Mu Jinchen looked at the two of them without saying a word.

Mu Zexuan and Yingfeng felt a little guilty and lowered their heads, pretending not to have seen anything.

After resting for a while, it was time for dinner, so Su Qianrou and Su Haoyu went to the front yard.

Seeing the table full of things, with a pot in the middle, Su Haoyu asked curiously, "Sis, what's this...?"

"hot pot".

"Hot pot?" Su Haoyu asked, looking puzzled.

"There's nothing better than eating hot pot in winter. I guarantee you'll never forget it after you've tried it."

"Really".

"Yes, please sit down."

"it is good".

Then the two sat down and were about to start eating when Uncle Liang came in. "Miss, someone outside is requesting an audience."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know, they said they came to thank you for saving their lives, young master."

Su Qianrou roughly guessed who it was, but she was a little surprised that they would come to her door. However, after thinking about it, she felt that it made sense, so she said, "Let him in."

A short while later, Mu Jinchen and Mu Zexuan walked in.

Su Qianrou's attention unconsciously fell on Mu Jinchen. His dark and deep eyes revealed a sharp gaze, thick sword-like eyebrows, a high and straight nose, thin and slightly pursed red lips, and a near-perfect face. He exuded a cold and aloof aura, making people respect him from a distance, all of which demonstrated his nobility and extraordinary nature.

Similarly, Mu Jinchen's gaze also fell on her, but only for a moment before he quickly looked away.

After regaining her senses, Su Qianrou asked, "May I ask what brings you two here?"

"We've come to express our gratitude," Mu Zexuan replied eagerly upon hearing Su Qianrou's question, his eyes fixed on her, captivated by her beauty.

"It was just a small favor, no need to thank me."

"For you, it is just a small favor, but for me... for those who truly need it, it is a life-saving grace. For example, you helped me out of my predicament and saved me from being killed. This is a great grace."

At such a young age, she already knew how to be grateful. Su Qianrou felt that she hadn't saved the wrong person.

Mu Jinchen glanced at Yingfeng.

Yingfeng understood, opened the box in his hand, and handed it to Su Qianrou. "Miss Su, this is a gift from our master to thank you for saving my young master."

Su Qianrou knew they were rich and powerful, but she never expected them to be so generous. It was one thing to give them luminous pearls, but to give them two at once. "This is too precious, we can't accept it."

"It's just an external thing, nothing compared to life," were the first words Mu Jinchen said after entering.

Su Qianrou couldn't help but look at him.

"Yes, Sister Su, it's nothing important, please accept it."

Su Qianrou thought to herself, "This is nothing. A single luminous pearl is worth a thousand gold pieces, and even with money, you might not be able to buy one, let alone two. As expected of the rich, they are so extravagant."

Su Haoyu was already starving from the delicious aroma of the hot pot, but the others kept making polite conversation. He couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Sister, I'm hungry," which was tantamount to telling them to leave.

"Xiaoyu... I'm sorry, he's just a kid and doesn't know any better, please don't mind him."

Just as Mu Jinchen was about to take his leave, Mu Zexuan walked up to Su Qianrou and asked curiously, "Sister Su, what are you eating? It smells so good."

"hot pot".

What is hot pot?

"Um...it's actually just antique soup."

"But yours is not quite the same as the antique soup."

"I've improved this one; it can hold more and is more convenient."

"Um, may I try some?"

"Mu Zexuan, you're here to deliver a gift."

"But I want to eat it," Mu Zexuan said pitifully to Mu Jinchen.

Mu Jinchen remained silent.

Su Qianrou, however, felt a little reluctant and looked at Mu Jinchen, saying, "If you don't mind, please sit down and eat with us."

Mu Jinchen glanced at Mu Zexuan, but ultimately did not refuse, replying, "Thank you."

Seeing that he had agreed, Mu Zexuan was overjoyed and couldn't wait to go over and sit down.