Chapter 257: Family Friends
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Xiuyuan was sitting with his men at the Mu family’s house. He took a look at the Mu family’s new house and smiled. “This house is not bad. Is it warm to live in?”
“It’s quite warm.” Shu Wanniang made tea for Qi Xiuyuan and asked with a smile, “General, why are you looking for Ah Ling?”
“Auntie, you don’t have to be so polite. Just call me Xiuyuan.” Qi Xiuyuan paused for a moment and said, “You can call me Chengde1.”
Shu Wanniang glanced at the things that Qi Xiuyuan had brought and couldn’t figure out what he meant. Were they becoming family families who visited each other from time to time? However, her husband was just a soldier under Qi Haoran. Although her daughter had a good relationship with Qi Haoran, the Mu family’s family background was too different.
While Shu Wanniang was still in shock, Qi Xiuyuan had already straightened his back and leaned forward slightly. “Auntie Mu, I came this time to officially make the two families interact with each other.” Seeing Shu Wanniang looking at him warily, he smiled and said, “Uncle Mu is very capable, and Ah Ling is also extremely bright. Our families have interacted with each other for the past two years. The Mu family should have a certain understanding of the Qi family, right? I like Ah Ling very much and treat her like a younger sister.”
Shu Wanniang asked nervously, “So?”
Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes flashed with a smile. He looked at Shu Wanniang seriously and said, “I’m busy with work and in the prefectural capital, so it’s inevitable that I can’t take care of Haoran. That child is a tyrant and has a stubborn temper. He doesn’t listen to anyone. Only the words of his cousin, Zijin, and I can enter his ears. Ah Ling is on good terms with him, so he heeds a little of what she says. Therefore, I want to ask Auntie and Ah Ling to help me pay more attention to this child in the future. If he does anything out of line, please advise him.”
Although he said that he was inviting Shu Wanniang and Mu Yangling to pay attention, he was actually only inviting Mu Yangling alone.
Shu Wanniang heaved a sigh of relief and agreed with a smile. “Don’t worry, General. I’ll talk to Ah Ling. Actually, I think Little General is quite sensible.”
“You don’t have to call him that since he’s just a child. Just call him Haoran in the future.” As he spoke, he looked at Fei Bai. Fei Bai immediately handed over the gift he had prepared earlier. There were two high-grade crystal clear jade pendants, three white and flawless jade pendants, and a pair of sparkling white jade bracelets. The jade pendants were for Bowen and Bosi, the white jade pendants were for Xiuhong, Xiulan, and Kejia, and the jade bracelet was for Mu Yangling.
Once they accepted these gifts, the Mu and Qi families would have an extraordinary relationship in the future, and be considered family friends, even though the Qi family was out of the Mu family’s league.
Shu Wanniang only paused for a moment before accepting it. Actually, she had no choice but to accept it. The Mu family was already dependent on the Qi family to begin with. It was already a blessing that the Qi family was willing to set aside their status and interact as if they were equals.
Shu Wanniang took the gift and smiled. “Then I’ll take advantage of my seniority for once. In the future, I will call you Chengde.”
With a smile in his eyes, Qi Xiuyuan stood up and bowed to Shu Wanniang. When Mu Yangling ran in, she happened to see this scene. She scratched her head in confusion and asked, “What happened?”
Qi Xiuyuan turned around to look at her and asked with a smile, “You’re back? Didn’t you see Haoran outside?”
“No, Big Brother Qi, why are you here?”
“I came to Chef Mountain to hunt. Haoran said that he would look for you whenever he wanted to enter the mountain, so I came to look for you.”
Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin were looking at Blackie in the backyard. When they heard the voice ahead, they stood up and came out. Seeing Rong Xuan standing alone in the courtyard and looking up at the sky, they also looked up at the sky. After a while, they still didn’t see anything. When they retracted their gazes, they realized that Rong Xuan was looking at them with interest.
Qi Haoran asked, “Brother Rong, what are you looking at?”
“At the sky.”
Fan Zijin glanced at the sky again and asked, “What’s wrong with the sky?”
“The heavens are blind.” Rong Xuan turned around and walked into the house. “Alright, go in. Miss Mu is already back. By the way, the Mu and Qi families are family friends now. You have to be more respectful to the Mu family. Otherwise, be careful that your Big Brother will deal with you later.”
As they spoke, Mu Yangling walked out with Qi Xiuyuan with a bow and arrow on her back. “Aren’t we going hunting? Let’s go.”
Shu Wanniang hurriedly chased after her and said, “Do eat first before going.”
“No need. We were just thinking of settling our meal in the mountains,” Qi Xiuyuan said. “It’s getting late. If we enter the mountains now, we probably won’t come back tonight. Auntie, don’t worry. We’ll take good care of Ah Ling.”
Shu Wanniang didn’t expect them to spend the night in the mountains hunting. After all, her daughter was a girl. How could this be convenient? She hurriedly turned to look at her daughter.
However, Mu Yangling waved her hand and said, “Mother, go back quickly. Let Big Brother Qi’s men stay in the front yard tonight. I’ll stay in the forest for a night at most. It’ll be fine.”
Seeing her daughter’s calm expression, it was obvious to Shu Wanniang that she had made up her mind. “Then be careful.” She watched them leave anxiously, still feeling a little uneasy. Why did Qi Xiuyuan suddenly think of making the two families become family friends?
Not many people were brought into the mountain by Qi Xiuyuan. Other than Rong Xuanhao and Zijin, there were only Fei Bai, Yanmo, two servants, two guards, and an old man who had been lowering his head in silence.
Mu Yangling took a few more glances at the old man. He looked to be in his forties, but he was energetic and his eyes were bright. It was obvious that he was in good health.
Mu Yangling glanced at his limbs and stopped in her tracks. She turned around and said, “Big Brother Qi, let’s go up the mountain from there. I rarely go to that forest. There should be a lot of prey there.”
That was the intersection between Chef Mountain and Luocong Mountain.
What a clever girl!
Qi Xiuyuan said with a smile in his eyes, “You’re the guide, so we naturally listen to you.”
Qi Haoran could not help but roll his eyes. There were only a few of them standing in the endless field and no one could eavesdrop. Everyone present knew what they were going to do. They could just say that they were going to Luocong Mountain to look at the minerals. Why did they have to make up such an excuse?
Fan Zijin elbowed him to indicate to him not to say anything else and to follow obediently.
Mu Yangling led them straight into the mountain. After entering the deep forest, they continued to walk down. Qi Haoran wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked, “Why are we going further in?”
Mu Yangling said, “Not only is Chef Mountain long, but it’s also wide enough. Of course, we have to go further.”
“You want to pass through Chef Mountain?” Qi Haoran glared at her and said, “After Chef Mountain is the territory of the Jin Kingdom. This Chef Mountain is not small. Wouldn’t it take us more than two days? Furthermore, there isn’t a route.”
“I didn’t say that I was going to pass through Chef Mountain. I’m just bringing you to the other side of Luocong Mountain.” Since they were in the deep forest, Mu Yangling didn’t like to beat around the bush anymore. She said directly, “Luocong Mountain isn’t small either. Not to mention its length, its width is half that of Chef Mountain. After that is another mountain range. Aren’t you going to check the situation of the mineral resources? Then you have to take a look at everything, right? Now, Luocong Mountain is almost equivalent to a naked mountain. It’s obvious if you stand on it.”
Mu Yangling looked up at the surroundings and said after seeing the mark she had made, “Let’s go. We’ll reach a junction not far away. Let’s go out from there. That place slightly exceeds the top of Luocong Mountain. If we go out from there, our figures will be blocked and no one will notice.”
Qi Xiuyuan took a closer look and finally found a mark in an inconspicuous place on the ground. Only then did he know that Mu Yangling had done her homework in advance. He asked, “Ah Ling, you already knew that this was an iron mine mountain?”