Mu Qingyao paused, said nothing, and turned to walk to the side of the secluded path. Not far away, she saw a koi pond filled with many beautiful koi, including three-colored koi and red koi...
Fish food was placed beside the intricately carved jade railing. Mu Qingyao scooped up some fish food and sprinkled it down. She didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Mei Xin inadvertently saw the imperial decree in her hand and suddenly realized that her young lady was unhappy because of this. She hadn't wanted to enter the palace, but in the end, she still had to.
The wedding was on the fifteenth of July, which was only a little more than ten days away. No wonder her young lady was in a bad mood?
"Miss, are you unhappy because of this?"
Mei Xin raised the imperial decree in her hand. Mu Qingyao furrowed her brows slightly and sighed.
"It's not that I'm worried about entering the palace, but I'm troubled by the thought of all the things I'll encounter once I'm there."
Upon hearing this, Mo Chou's thin face flashed with determination, and she said in a deep voice, "Miss, please rest assured, Mo Chou will protect you."
"Mm," Mu Qingyao looked up at Mo Chou. This girl was indeed loyal, but the palace was not as simple as they imagined. It was true that she needed to be more careful in the future. For now, she shouldn't think about those things. The more she thought, the more troubled she became. She would deal with it then.
"Mo Chou, eat more usually. You're so thin, it looks like a gust of wind could blow you away."
After feeding the fish for a while, Mu Qingyao took the two young maids back to Green Courtyard. On the way, she reminded Mo Chou. Although this girl was so thin, her complexion had improved a lot, and she had become even more delicate and lovely.
"Yes, Mo Chou remembers Miss's words."
Mo Chou responded earnestly. The three of them entered Green Courtyard. The courtyard was filled with excited laughter and a festive atmosphere. In the distance, they saw Lü'er and Xiao Lian standing on the stone steps. As soon as the two maids saw Mu Qingyao and the others, they rushed over, excitedly asking.
"Miss has been granted the title of Empress. This is truly wonderful."
"Yes, we are also very happy."
As Mu Qingyao listened to the girls' words, her expression grew darker, and she said coldly, "I'm a bit tired. Don't disturb me." With that, she walked up the stone steps without looking back and went inside to rest.
The few young maids in the courtyard exchanged glances. "What's wrong with Miss?"
Mei Xin reached out and tapped Lü'er and Xiao Lian on the forehead. "You two, you know Miss doesn't want to enter the palace, yet you keep talking about it. How can she be happy? Forget it, go do your work. Let Miss rest for a while."
Lü'er and Xiao Lian stuck out their tongues and quickly led the other maids away to do their work. They had forgotten about it and were only focused on their joy. However, their young lady was truly strange. She wasn't happy about becoming Empress. This was the dream of all women in the world! Who knew she would be unhappy...
On June 28th, the imperial family officially went to the Mu residence to present betrothal gifts.
In the early morning, as the twilight receded, the morning glow broke through the sky, casting myriad rosy hues that enveloped the entire Mu residence. The Mu residence was filled with jubilation and festivity.
Only Green Courtyard was silent. The young maids stood outside the corridor, looking at each other. Lü'er whispered.
"Mei Xin, why don't you go wake Miss? The betrothal gifts will arrive soon."
"Miss instructed last night not to disturb her early this morning," Mei Xin said with a distressed face. Her young lady had warned her yesterday, and she dared not disobey her anymore. She wouldn't dare to go in.
"Then what should we do?"
Xiao Lian gasped. The other young maids were even more afraid to go in. Silence fell upon them for a while. Soon, a deep voice was heard, "I'll go."
Mo Chou, who had been standing by, spoke up. Mei Xin and Lü'er immediately nodded happily, urging Mo Chou to go in and wake their young lady.
"Go in. If Miss doesn't get up soon, it will be too late."
"Yes," Mo Chou turned and walked into the bedchamber.
On the carved bed made of rosewood, the gauze curtain swayed gently. The exquisite and delicate figure of the person on the bed was faintly visible, appearing lazy and casual.
Her palm-sized face was flushed, and her long eyelashes concealed her bright eyes. Her cherry-red lips were slightly pursed, making her exceptionally alluring. Gone was the cold and proud demeanor of the day, replaced by a soft radiance that made people stare in awe.
"My lady is truly beautiful," Mo Chou praised softly. Unfortunately, it wasn't the time for admiration. She needed to wake her young lady. With this thought, she walked to the bedside and reached out to lift the gauze curtain.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind flashed past her ear. Mo Chou quickly dodged. It turned out that her young lady had ambushed her. She quickly exclaimed, "Miss?"
Unfortunately, Mu Qingyao didn't stop. She flipped her palm, unleashing a fierce killing intent towards Mo Chou. Mo Chou dared not be careless, and the two began to fight in the bedchamber.
The commotion alerted the maids standing outside, who rushed in. They stared dumbfounded at the two women fighting inside the bedchamber, not understanding what was happening, and could only cry out from the side.
"What are you two doing? Stop fighting. Mo Chou, are you crazy? How dare you fight with Miss?"
"Yes, Mo Chou, are you out of your mind?"
The bedchamber became a scene of chaos. The two women who were fighting finally stopped and looked at each other. Mo Chou muttered unhappily, "Miss, you ambushed me again?"
"Ambushed?" Mei Xin and Lü'er exclaimed, looking at their young lady. They saw that her face was wet, her hair clung to her shoulders with sweat, and her tender cheeks were as beautiful as flowers bathed in morning dew, making them dumbstruck.
"Miss, you actually ambushed Mo Chou?"
Mei Xin's voice rose by an octave. Mu Qingyao casually wiped away a bead of sweat and said calmly, "If you girls hadn't rushed in, I would have succeeded in the ambush."
She turned and sat on the edge of the bed, then looked up at Mo Chou. "Be careful. One day, I will succeed in my ambush."
"Miss, I will practice martial arts diligently," Mo Chou said respectfully. She knew what her young lady meant – to tell her not to be lazy.
"Mm," Mu Qingyao nodded, her gaze of approval falling on Mo Chou.
Mo Chou was more intelligent and stronger than ordinary people, and her martial arts were formidable. She had found a treasure. Turning, she saw the maids standing dazed in the bedchamber and quickly gave instructions. "Mei Xin, didn't you ask me to get up?"
"Yes, Miss," Mei Xin came back to her senses and led Lü'er over. Instantly, the small bedchamber became bustling.
Although the imperial family presenting betrothal gifts was still a legal procedure, and it was only for the Empress, how many emperors had actually followed this procedure? At most, they would bestow some symbolic gifts.
Therefore, the fact that the Xuan Yue Kingdom was so formally presenting betrothal gifts this time surprised everyone in the world.
Rumor had it that the future Empress was the infatuated third daughter of the Mu residence. How could the usually shrewd and wise Emperor Xuan do such a foolish thing? Or was there something else going on?