Song Chaoyu always felt a sense of unease.
But Mu Changxi didn't ask further. He merely looked up at Song Chaoyu, "Perhaps... this is also a kind of tacit understanding between the Ning King and me. The moment I saw him again, I knew that neither of us could have it both ways. Ah Yu, I think... it's probably the same between you and him?"
He knew even this?
Song Chaoyu hadn't expected it, but Mu Changxi continued, "You probably don't know, do you? Before we got married, the Ning King even came to find me once."
Mu Hansu would look for Mu Changxi?
For what reason?
Mu Changxi held Song Chaoyu's hand, unwilling to let go, "He asked me to cancel the engagement. He said you were the woman he fancied and wanted to take you as a concubine in his Ning King's manor."
"Heh—"
Song Chaoyu could no longer hold back and let out a cold laugh, "Absurd!"
Her attitude, however, brought Mu Changxi a good deal of comfort.
Mu Changxi looked down on Mu Hansu a million times over, "He said a lot to me, saying that the two of you were deeply in love. If I hadn't known you before, I might have believed him. I think from that day on, there was no need for us to say anything to each other to understand each other's intentions. So Ah Yu, I'm afraid from now on, it's inevitable that we cannot have peace with him. Are you prepared?"
She had been prepared long ago, or rather, she had never been unprepared.
Now, all it took was a smile to convey her intentions to Mu Changxi.
No matter how things were now, as long as the two of them weathered it together, what was there to fear?
Song Chaoyu gently rested her head on Mu Changxi's shoulder.
She knew that one day, Mu Changxi would understand her.
—
As the carriage headed towards the Chang King's manor, Mu Changxi coughed lightly, "Ah Yu, there's something I need to tell you. In our Chang King's manor, I'm afraid we'll need your help to manage things."
This statement puzzled Song Chaoyu, and Mu Changxi explained it in detail.
The Chang King's manor was actually quite chaotic at the moment.
Under normal circumstances, when princes reached the age of twenty, they would leave the palace to establish their own manors.
When establishing a manor, in addition to the eunuchs who had served the princes since childhood, it was natural to transfer more young servants, maids, and governesses from the inner palace.
These people were mostly personally chosen by the prince, his mother consort, or even the Empress, and their family backgrounds should ideally have no significant problems.
However, the Chang King was an exception.
He had gone to the Southern Kingdom as a hostage since he was young. Originally, even the Noble Consort had not prepared people for him to establish a manor, as it was uncertain when he would return to the capital.
Therefore, although the Emperor granted him a manor when Mu Changxi turned twenty, this manor remained empty, and the Noble Consort rarely inquired about it, perhaps fearing that it would give her unfounded hope and then seeing Mu Changxi was the most difficult thing.
No one had expected Mu Changxi to return from the Southern Kingdom so quickly.
And upon his return, he could no longer reside in the palace, so he naturally had to live in this manor bestowed by the Emperor.
Although the Noble Consort had prepared many things for Mu Changxi, everything was too rushed.
Mu Changxi said that in his Chang King's manor now, people from all walks of life were present.
Even using the phrase "a motley crew" would not be an exaggeration.
This was why the Empress Dowager had seized this opportunity to insist on placing her own people into Mu Changxi's inner court.
On one hand, she wanted to place informants by Mu Changxi's side, and on the other hand, the Empress Dowager genuinely felt that Song Chaoyu would be unable to handle the mess in the Chang King's manor.
Speaking of this, Mu Changxi looked at Song Chaoyu with a hint of apology in his eyes, "Ah Yu, before I...
It was fine when I lived alone in the manor. Now that you are here, many people can be dealt with. Don't worry, I will support you from behind and will never let anyone bully you!"
Song Chaoyu knew that Mu Changxi meant well.
But she still smiled and shook her head at Mu Changxi, "If I cannot win over the crowd with my own abilities, I fear I will not be able to firmly hold the position of Chang King Consort. You can rest assured and go about your business. You don't need to worry about the affairs of the inner court."
Song Chaoyu's certainty made Mu Changxi both happy and sad.
Happy because he had never seen Song Chaoyu like this before and looked forward to this version of her even more.
Sad because he understood how happy Song Chaoyu had been on the estate, but why had the Song Chaoyu who had experienced all this become so capable? He wished Song Chaoyu had never gone through all this, and even more, he wished that the person who brought all this upon her should not have been himself!
But Song Chaoyu nodded confidently at Mu Changxi, "Don't worry, I can do it!"
Perhaps this one sentence was enough.
Mu Changxi nodded. As their carriage arrived at the entrance, Song Chaoyu had one more question to ask Mu Changxi, "By the way, where is Madam Han, who served you on the estate?"
They had relied on each other for many years, and she should have been the closest person to Mu Changxi. But Song Chaoyu had not seen Madam Han this time upon their return to the capital.
She missed Madam Han a little.
Mu Changxi understood Song Chaoyu's thoughts and patted her hand, "Mother Consort said that Madam Han had served me on the estate for too long and feared she might be recognized. So she sent Madam Han back to her hometown to recuperate for a couple of years. When you are pregnant in the future and the manor is short of staff, Madam Han will be brought back. By then, I suppose no one will be focusing their eyes on Madam Han anymore."
These words made Song Chaoyu's cheeks blush slightly.
She nodded and smiled, understanding much more, and knew she didn't need to ask further.
As their carriage stopped at the entrance, and Xiao Ruizi had just helped Mu Changxi out of the carriage, someone came to report that the Crown Prince wished to see Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi glanced at Song Chaoyu, who simply smiled and waved to him, "Go ahead. Don't worry too much about the affairs of the manor!"
Mu Changxi then nodded and left, but he left Xiao Ruizi by Song Chaoyu's side.
Xiao Ruizi was clever and loyal, and Song Chaoyu quite liked his skill in making flower tea.
Xiao Ruizi knew that Song Chaoyu was still unfamiliar with the Chang King's manor, so he led Song Chaoyu into the manor and introduced the situation, "The Emperor dotes on our Chang King, so the prince's manor is the largest and best among all the princes. Although it's not as grand as the Eastern Palace, it's truly incomparable to the manors of other princes. With a large manor, there are naturally more people. In our manor, there are as many as twelve stewards in various capacities, one hundred and three maids, and one hundred and twenty-two servants."
He pointed to Tiaohong and Qiuying, who were accompanying Song Chaoyu, "Adding the people the Consort brought, there are even more."