Chapter 313

Time passed quickly. The Mu family’s manor was now bustling with activity. Previously, Yueqian hadn’t been too interested in participating in the event, as she was already married. Attending the celebration was simply to witness the love of the new generation of young people.

She figured she would wait until Xihao was 15 years old to find a good woman to introduce to him. For now, she let him enjoy his role as a child.

She looked at her slender fingers, tightly held by her son from another world. It was hard to believe that he was already four months old. Now, her Xihao was much stronger physically. He could crawl several body lengths. The only pity was that his infant body was still too weak, with some bones not yet strong enough to support his full weight. Otherwise, he might already be standing on his own.

Communication was the only area where he excelled, to a genius level compared to others. But Yueqian needed him to hide this. In front of others, he had to act like a normal four-month-old.

Even though he tried to speak a little more when he was with her, it didn’t matter. In front of others, he could only use prearranged signals. For example, if he cried "ah" once, it meant he wanted to show something. "Ah ah" meant he needed to go to the bathroom or other things.

Others didn’t know, but Yueqian did. So, raising her child was much easier for her than for others.

Today, they had to prepare to attend the event. Little Xihao wasn’t invited, so Yueqian had to leave him at home. However, in these four months, her little Xihao had spent his time learning his powers to the point of near mastery. It turned out that Yueqian’s suspicions were correct—her son was indeed from another world.

He had told Yueqian stories and warned her about Noble Consort Wei and her prince, who turned out to be the hero of the story. He also intended to take their sister as his heroine.

Of course, Yueqian could only laugh at little Xihao’s protectiveness over his sister. Even after hearing such stories, she wasn’t worried at all. She also shared her own stories with her son. When Xihao learned that his mother had also lived through a villainess’s life, he stopped being afraid and began preparing as his mother instructed.

They wouldn’t give up their little sister, Chu’er, to anyone easily!

Moreover, Yueqian discovered that Xihao’s ability was to communicate with spirits. As long as it was a spirit, he could converse with them. This made Yueqian very happy, as his power would be incredibly helpful.

For Xihao, who didn’t have shopping mall skills like her, Yueqian considered his abilities even more useful. There was no need to rely on managing people; he just needed to manage many spirits. Gathering information in the future would be effortless, which indeed proved to be true.

Ultimately, today’s plans of others were easily uncovered by Xihao through the spirits he had under his control in the palace. Keeping spirits was not difficult but couldn’t be neglected either. Every time Xihao used spirits for tasks, he had to find compensation for them. For instance, if a spirit wanted to eat steamed buns, Xihao would ask his mother to burn incense and offer steamed buns to the spirit after the task was completed.

However, some requests couldn’t be granted, such as spirits wanting their children to be taken in as noble descendants of the manors. Xihao would refuse and opt to hire other spirits instead. Consequently, the spirits stopped making such demands. Some spirits, seeing their descendants struggling, would request monetary compensation. For highly significant tasks, they would ask for silver coins, while for less critical tasks, like spying, which Yueqian’s people could also do, they would ask for copper coins, effectively undercutting each other.

If a spirit’s descendants were well-off, some spirits, even former officials, would only ask for tasty food or beautiful clothes.

Today’s Floral Viewing event was a significant trap, with plans to ensnare Yueqian, Xihao’s mother, from all sides. It’s no wonder he didn’t want his mother to attend.

True, even though his mother was very capable and would likely handle the situation, have you ever heard the proverb "Even a four-legged animal stumbles; even a sage makes mistakes"? The cunning battles had no guarantees. One misstep could lead to disaster!

But Yueqian couldn’t afford to be afraid, nor was she.

Only fools would try to use poison against her. They must have forgotten that poison was like candy to her. Otherwise, they wouldn’t think of using it to send her to hell.

Yueqian gently touched her son’s hand, signaling him to release her fingers. Today, the beautiful woman was dressed in a luxurious purple gown. The embroidery at the bottom of the dress was unusual. Normally, embroidery in this era didn’t include characters. If it wasn’t a painting, it would be adorned with beautiful colors to make it wearable. Given that today was the Floral Viewing event, many women would have embroidered their dresses with flowers and leaves, with the most elaborate featuring beautiful butterflies.

As for men, if they weren’t dressed plainly, their clothes might be embroidered with birds or clouds to match the occasion. Some couples coordinated their outfits, such as a woman wearing plum blossoms and her partner dressed in a matching design of plum branches. When they stood together, they represented a plum tree, symbolizing their unity.

Some embroidered blue flowers, with the men donning matching blue attire. These patterns added to the festive atmosphere. Since Yueqian wasn’t participating in such displays, she chose to do something different.

In the era she came from, wearing clothes with characters wasn’t unusual; it was interesting. Her dress featured prominently embroidered characters along the collar of her outer garment. The letters read, “Beautiful flowers, admired in the wind, defying the sky. If plucked from the branch, they might wither and die. Wait until they bloom and fall, then gather them; only then are they truly beautiful.”

Anyone knowledgeable would understand that these characters were related to the floral viewing event and had deep meaning. Most people wouldn’t think much of it until the Empress’s intentions became clear. Then they would understand the message.

This outfit wasn’t meant to stand out but to deliver a direct slap to the Empress’s face! It was a grand gift Yueqian had prepared especially for her.

Xihao, wanting to keep his mother from leaving, couldn’t stop her. He could only watch as she left, radiating unique beauty. Wan Gui took over her duties, allowing the maid Fanyu to accompany her. Xihao could only send spirits to follow and protect his mother. If anything happened, they were to report back immediately. If it was truly an emergency, he would speak out, even if it shocked people that he could talk!

Yueqian rode a carriage from the Mu manor, and it didn’t take long to reach the event venue. People were starting to gather, and the decorations were incredibly lavish, unlike anything she’d seen before. Various flowers were arranged, and their subtle fragrance filled the air.

As the young woman stepped down from the carriage, many other women came over to greet her. It was likely because she was the First Rank Honored Furen, the most prominent among all the wives, thus attracting a lot of attention.

"Furen Mu, your outfit is especially eye-catching today," several people greeted her and then moved on, until one furen asked her directly.

"Thank you," Yueqian spread her arms to reveal the intricate characters on her dress.

"This reads, ’Beautiful flowers, admired in the wind, defying the sky. If plucked from the branch, they might wither and die. Wait until they bloom and fall, then gather them; only then are they truly beautiful,’ correct?" The furen asked, using her ability to read the characters but sounding unsure. Yueqian nodded at the other party.

"I can read, but I don’t understand such difficult interpretations," she said, seemingly embarrassed. However, Yueqian saw this as a mere act.

What woman of status didn’t study the interpretation of characters? All noblewomen aspired to be skilled in this area. Pretending not to understand was just a way to flatter Furen Mu and make her look good.

"They are just characters written from feelings, nothing more," Yueqian smiled, choosing not to boast about her abilities, which made that furen even happier.

Although she wanted to flatter Yueqian, no one came here to be lectured by another woman! The fact that Yueqian didn’t need to explain the meaning of the inscription made her feel less bored. She’d gained her recognition, so all she had to do now was walk into the event.

As Yueqian entered the event, she found her seat, which was grand and nearly on par with the Empress’s position. Yueqian couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. She had heard that the Empress was the one organizing the event, so had she gone so far as to make Yueqian her rival in front of everyone?

But if we talk about correctness, there’s nothing truly wrong here. She is the Honored Furen, so assigning her such a position is appropriate. However, traditionally, exceptions are made to show greater respect for the royal family.

"The Emperor has arrived."

"The Empress has arrived." The eunuch’s announcement rang out. The courtiers who had already arrived quickly stood up. Yueqian did the same. When the Emperor and Empress arrived and saw Yueqian, they smiled warmly at her.

"Please be seated," the Emperor of the region said. The Empress then signaled for the food to be served.

"Furen Mu, how have you been lately? Deputy General Mu has sent news about the army. It seems he will be arriving soon," the Emperor greeted Yueqian first, showing her significant respect.

Beside the Empress sat Noble Consort Wei, whose position was slightly lower than Yueqian’s. This was clearly an attempt by the Empress to provoke Noble Consort Wei. Stirring discord between the Second Prince’s faction was a well-placed strategy. However, the Empress didn’t realize that the battle was now among three factions, not just two!

"Yes, Your Majesty. My husband mentioned that he is also approaching the capital."

"Indeed. You and your husband work very hard. After Deputy General Mu returns, I will send him with you to the Hu Region for the royal medical delegation’s invitation. That way, you can both take care of Xihao properly." Yueqian was slightly taken aback upon hearing this new information.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." It seemed that being a prominent figure wasn’t easy. Just as the task of welcoming refugees was over, she now had to travel to the Hu Region?

Seeing Yueqian accept the order graciously, the Emperor laughed and even poured her tea attentively. This display drew considerable envy from the onlookers. However, they understood that this was in appreciation of Mu Heng’s accomplishments.

While it took Mu Heng little time to defeat all the enemy forces and secure a complete victory, the other Deputy General hadn’t completed even one task successfully. It was reported that a severe rebellion had erupted there. By the time Mu Heng returned from the Hu Region, the other party might still not have finished his work.

Now it was clear who had the best chance of becoming the next great general of the Hu Region!

"Alright, alright, let’s start the performances now. On the way here, I saw many people diligently preparing their acts. If today’s performances are good, I will surely give out rewards!" The Emperor shifted his focus to the performances in front of him as the food continued to be served at the tables.