Chapter 330

As long as the mastermind behind the poison remains uncaught, such incidents will continue to occur in the Hu Region. Yueqian found it tiresome to constantly clean up after others. To prevent this from happening again, they needed to address the root cause!

"From what you’ve said, it seems this poison user is very skilled."

"Yes, not only are they skilled, but they also have remarkable connections. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate the Ma and Wu manors, let alone have the connections in the palace to administer poison."

"That’s truly frightening," Mu Heng nodded in agreement with his wife, who was deeply troubled by this matter.

The young man’s broad palm rested on her soft hair, offering a reassuring smile. Yueqian, feeling the warmth of his gesture, paused her anxious thoughts for a moment.

"Don’t worry too much. You’re not the only one who has to protect this Region. Don’t take it all upon yourself," Mu Heng comforted his wife, who seemed to be carrying the burden alone.

From now on, whatever happens is meant to happen. It’s not something she has to take full responsibility for. Mu Heng noticed that his wife had changed significantly, likely because she felt the need to think for him, leading the young woman to plan meticulously. But deep down, Mu Heng didn’t want his wife to become like this.

Wasn’t she the one who used to say, "It’s not my problem," "I’m not interested in that," "Let others handle it; I’d rather sleep comfortably," or "I’m just interested in cooking right now; let others deal with the big issues"? She used to be so happy then. How did she become this overthinking Yueqian?

"Dear..."

"Do you think I’m very weak? Didn’t you once want a comfortable life? So why are you doing all these things for me and the kids now?! Don’t you trust Xihao and me?"

"I don’t think that way. I just want to help you as much as I can."

"If that’s the case, then why would we want to become stronger? Everything we do... is to ensure you live a good life, Qian’er... You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders. It’s okay to make mistakes, to be lazy sometimes. Get more rest, spend time playing with our child, okay?" Mu Heng said, causing tears to suddenly well up in Yueqian’s eyes.

She didn’t know why, but despite not overextending herself, hearing her husband’s words felt like he was unveiling all her inner thoughts!

Why was she trying so hard? Wasn’t it just to have a comfortable and happy life with her family? And were they happy now that they were together?

Every day, if they weren’t discussing work, they were talking about the future. How did it come to this?!

She thought back to their time in the Du Region when Mu Heng was just an ordinary villager. Wasn’t life more enjoyable back then? Did they really crave power so much just to fight the Young General?

It seemed that over time, they had become people she didn’t want to be!

"I understand. I’m sorry, dear," Yueqian, snapping out of her thoughts, wiped her tears and smiled brightly, the same smile Mu Heng had seen when she made delicious dumplings for the first time.

It looked like his lovely wife had returned!

"Ah! By the way, since we’re here in the Hu Region, can we take Xihao to see his uncle and grandmother?" Yueqian said after her mood lifted.

Previously preoccupied with thoughts of war, she had forgotten that her family had managed to settle here after a difficult journey(?). Taking advantage of the Qin family’s chaos, they had requested to relocate to the Hu Region. She wondered how they were doing now.

"Sure," Mu Heng replied.

Growl.

Just then, as they reminisced about the past with fondness, Yueqian’s stomach growled. Her cheeks turned slightly red. She remembered she hadn’t snacked in a while. Perhaps feeling better had made her hungry.

"Dear, would you like some mochi?" She did not wait for her husband’s response. After inviting him to have some sweets, she reached into her blouse and miraculously pulled out a wooden box the size of two hands. Fortunately, there weren’t many people around to see this, and even if someone did, they would just wonder how she managed to fit such a thing in her blouse.

Chocolate, strawberry, bean paste, egg yolk, and matcha-flavored mochi appeared before them. Yueqian licked her lips greedily. Ever since her pregnancy, she had been taking good care of herself and hadn’t indulged in sweets. She had almost forgotten the delicious taste. If it weren’t for the fact that she suddenly reminiscing about the past today and thought of food...

"Is it delicious? I like the matcha flavor the most," Yueqian chewed the soft, chewy mochi with contentment. Her demeanor mirrored how she used to be, and Mu Heng couldn’t help but laugh.

"It’s good to see you eating a lot. I haven’t seen you enjoy snacks much lately."

"Indeed. I might have been too stressed recently. Sigh! How funny. I used to say I wanted to live comfortably until I died."

"Why do you speak of death so lightly? Don’t say that. I don’t want to hear it," Mu Heng frowned. He disliked hearing her talk about passing away, even though death was inevitable.

Yueqian, who had experienced death once, looked at her husband. She never expected to find a man who loved her this much in this life, and she gave him a resigned smile.

"Death isn’t as scary as being separated from loved ones; that’s the truth," she seemed to reflect on the teachings of Buddhism and the actions of the enlightened Buddha. It seemed that all these desires truly did lead to suffering.

The atmosphere in the pavilion was peaceful, time flowing like a river, until a small child’s voice broke the tranquility, bringing Yueqian and Mu Heng back to the present moment.

"Wh-what is that soft thing?" A timid voice of the girl came from below the pavilion. The little girl, dressed as a young court lady, was quite dirty and ragged.

As soon as Yueqian saw her, her eyes narrowed!

"Who are you?" The stern and threatening tone caused the little girl to tremble in fear.

"I-I am a court lady in the kitchen. A-and you... can you tell me what that is?" The small hand with only three fingers pointed at the remaining three mochi pieces. Mu Heng noticed the abnormality in his wife’s expression. She looked very stressed. Did that mean that there is something wrong with this child?

Yueqian narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing the court lady from head to toe. The other party was physically incomplete, appearing in a pitiable state, and there was a distinct smell...

"Do you want to eat it?"

"I-I don’t dare," Yueqian tried to ask. The girl immediately stepped back three paces as if she was scared. But when she looked at the mochi she had never seen before again, the girl stepped forward.

"I want to trade."

"Hmm? Trade for what?" The beautiful woman raised an eyebrow, finding the girl both interesting and frightening.

"I want to trade. I have an antidote for the princess. If you give me that sweet, I’ll give you the antidote." At that moment, Yueqian was certain of her thoughts.

Mu Heng immediately stood up, positioning himself in front of the little girl as soon as he heard something amiss. The court lady, with only seven fingers in total—two missing from one hand and one from the other—looked pitiful. She also had a limp, her face was swollen, and one eye appeared to be completely shut, as if it was missing. This ghastly sight...

"Don’t talk nonsense," Mu Heng scolded sternly.

"I’m not. I’m not lying. There are people who know I can do it. If you give me something tasty... I can do it," the girl insisted. Yueqian gently touched her husband’s shoulder and spoke seriously to the child.

"Let her come up. I smell a lot of herbs on her," Yueqian said. Hearing this, Mu Heng became even more cautious. The girl slowly climbed up.

"You smell like herbs too. That means you must know how skilled I am," the child sat across from Mu Heng and Yueqian, as if ready to negotiate.

"If you have such knowledge, why are you still here... with such a condition?" Yueqian asked. The girl bore clear signs of deformity but also showed a certain innocence. If not for this, Yueqian would have dealt with her immediately upon her appearance.

"There’s a lot of food here. Many smart people know how skilled I am, just like you do," the little girl starred unblinkingly at the mochi.

"If you eat a lot, then why are you so thin? Aren’t you being deceived?"

"I’m not. I’m not being deceived. I get to eat much more than I did at home! So, I’m definitely not being deceived."

"Is that so? Then don’t you think that leaving this place would allow you to eat even more?"

"Leave? Leave to where?"

"Yueqian..." Mu Heng said with a tense voice. She didn’t need to bring such a frightening person into their manor. From their conversation, it seemed possible that this girl was behind all the poisoning. But... wasn’t it enough to just kill her and be done with it?

However, Yueqian didn’t think so. She looked at the girl’s body and understood. Those who wanted to use her had shown her terrifying depths of hell, then fed her gruel to make her believe she was receiving something special. They didn’t give her as much as she deserved, fearing she would become uncontrollable. This girl... was merely an innocent tool, oblivious to everything!

"Why did you come out to meet me?" Yueqian continued to ask after signaling Mu Heng.

"I saw that you were trying to cure the princess, but the others weren’t interesting. They didn’t smell like delicious things."

"Really? You have a very good nose. It shows you’ve used your talent well. Here, take these," Yueqian handed the remaining three mochi pieces to the girl.

She accepted them happily and then pulled out a small bottle of medicine. Yueqian smelled it and immediately understood the herbs and preparation method. She spoke to Mu Heng seriously.

"This is genuine. It will cure the princess."

"Yes, I never lie. But no one believes me... What is this called? It’s delicious. I’ve never had anything this tasty before," the girl asked excitedly.

"You won’t get to eat this here, nor will you get to taste even more delicious things."

"No, I want to eat more of it."

"Is that so? Then there’s only one way for you to get more..." Yueqian said with a sly smile, which made her look a bit like a villain...