Chapter 537: Fear
Editor: Atlas Studios
With a fatigued look, Li Jinghua asked, “Are we going back to Jingzhao Prefecture?”
“No, Jingzhao Prefecture is too far away. The children can’t endure the bumpy journey.” Mu Yangling adjusted Little Bear’s posture to make him feel more comfortable.
Little Bear nestled in his mother’s arms and hummed twice before lying weakly in her arms with his eyes slightly closed. Little Treasure also lay on the side with his eyes closed, exhausted.
They had been traveling for three consecutive days. Other than the novelty at the beginning, the children had not spoken much for the past two days. Fortunately, they were also obedient. Although they were uncomfortable, they mostly only hummed a little and rarely cried.
Seeing that Little Treasure’s face was a little pale, Li Jinghua was a little frustrated. She did not know how many more days they would have to travel like this.
Just as this thought rose in her mind, Bai Li’s slightly happy voice came from outside. “Eldest Madam, Fourth Madam, we’ve arrived.”
Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua lifted the curtain to take a look. Not far ahead was the entrance to a small village. Mu Yangling perked up and smiled. “Let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
After the carriage entered the village, it turned towards a mountain. Halfway up the mountain, there was a large courtyard with bricks and gray tiles. When Bai Li went to knock on the door, the steward inside opened the door and took a look at the token in Bai Li’s hand before hurriedly opening the door and letting them in.
Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua carried the children out of the carriage in the courtyard.
The courtyard had three entrances and three exits. It was spacious and clean, making one feel comfortable just by looking at it.
Mu Yangling turned to look at the steward and asked, “You’re Chen Ming?”
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Chen Ming bowed, “Yes, I’m your humble servant, Chen Ming.”
Mu Yangling nodded slightly. “Go get your wife to prepare some fresh vegetables. Cook some porridge and send it over. The young masters are hungry.”
Chen Ming took a careful look at the child in her arms, bowed his head, and respectfully left.
Bai Li hurriedly led them to the backyard.
Mu Yangling placed Little Bear and Little Treasure together and said to Spring, “Bring them out. I have something to say to Eldest Madam.”
Li Jinghua sat on the brick bed with a dark expression.
Mu Yangling touched Little Treasure’s head and looked up. “Sister-in-law, we made arrangements in the courtyard more than a year ago. It was Teacher Liu who handled this. Other than me, no one knows that I want to use this courtyard. Now, even Big Brother and Haoran don’t know that we’re here.”
Li Jinghua’s expression changed slightly. She asked, “What exactly are you guys up to? Are you trying to hide from the Emperor? Are you afraid that he will use us to threaten the general? But if we hide now, how can we appear in the future?”
Mu Yangling looked up at Li Jinghua seriously and said, “Sister-in-law, it’s destined that we cannot stay in Lin’an City because of what Big Brother is about to do.”
Li Jinghua’s expression changed drastically. After speculating for so many days, it had finally come true. She covered her chest and she couldn’t help but ask with moist eyes, “You’ve already discussed it and I’m the only one in the dark? Does Qi Xiuyuan still treat me as his wife?”
Mu Yangling hurriedly explained, “Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood. Big Brother wanted to tell you, but this is a huge matter. Big Brother was just being cautious. After you gave birth to Little Treasure, he had always wanted to tell you personally. However, because Your Majesty was supervising our letters, he hasn’t had a chance to tell you. I only received a secret letter a while ago in which Big Brother hinted for me to tell you.” Mu Yangling emphasized, “Big Brother wanted to tell you personally. After all, this is a big deal.”
Li Jinghua mocked, “Of course it’s a big deal. Since he knows it’s a big deal that could get me killed, why did he marry me back then?”
Mu Yangling was a little anxious. “Sister-in-law, Big Brother only started developing such thoughts after the Fuping incident. Not many people know about this.”
Li Jinghua immediately recalled the time when her husband pretended to be seriously ill and needed Mu Yangling to marry Qi Haoran urgently in order to flush out the bad luck. It turned out that it was not just to reject the marriage arranged by the Emperor for Qi Haoran.
Li Jinghua looked at the anxious Mu Yangling and restrained her anger slightly. She asked, “Then when did you know?”
Mu Yangling looked embarrassed. “I knew since I came back from Fuping.”
Li Jinghua lowered her eyes. Perhaps the Qi brothers trusted Mu Yangling so much not only because she grew up with Qi Haoran, but also because she accidentally stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have because of fate. Was that why Qi Xiuyuan was so anxious to let Qi Haoran marry her?
Li Jinghua was a smart person. The biggest characteristic of smart people was that they liked to complicate simple things. When she thought of this, she felt less resentful towards Mu Yangling. She sighed and said, “Then, who else knows about this?”
“Cousin Zijin and Brother Rong know, and so does Master Yuan Hui.” Mu Yangling thought about it seriously before shaking her head. “I don’t think anyone else knows about it.”
Li Jinghua asked curiously, “Your father doesn’t know either?”
Mu Yangling nodded. “Big Brother said that the time isn’t ripe yet, so we won’t tell him yet.”
Li Jinghua looked at her speechlessly for a while and said, “You really trust the general huh. Didn’t you think of telling your father in private even though he told you not to?”
Mu Yangling asked blankly, “Big Brother has always been very good to us. Of course I trust him. Moreover, Big Brother wasn’t going to do it right away. Telling my father in advance would just cause him to worry needlessly.”
Seeing the confusion in Mu Yangling’s eyes, Li Jinghua felt a little embarrassed. Speaking of which, she was the closest to Qi Xiuyuan. If Qi Xiuyuan succeeded, she would be the one who would benefit the most. From this matter, she guessed that the Mu family would be screwed by her husband.
Li Jinghua quickly changed the topic and asked, “Why are we suddenly leaving this time? Is it time?”
Mu Yangling shook her head. “Cousin Zijin said that there’s some abnormalities outside the city and it’s too dangerous for us to continue staying there. Anyway, since we’re going to leave anyway, we could just take this opportunity to leave.”
Li Jinghua looked at the confident Mu Yangling and sighed in her heart. This sister-in-law was very smart and capable in certain matters, but she was also a little naive in some aspects.
Just as this thought came to Li Jinghua’s mind, Mu Yangling said ingratiatingly, “Sister-in-law, the village we’re living in now is far away from the town, and it’s even further away from the main passes. In the past 300 years, there have been many natural disasters here, but there are the least war disasters, so it’s very safe for us to stay here. We only bought two additional servants, and there are only in total 14 servant girls and maidservants including the ones we brought. You can make arrangements as you see fit..”
Li Jinghua knew that Mu Yangling didn’t like to care about these trivial matters. When she heard this, she said with a smile, “If you push all these things to me now, what will happen in the future? You’ve also learned from me how to manage a household for a few months. You seemed to do a fine job doing that. Why do you like to go to the farmstead?”
Li Jinghua persuaded her in a low voice, “A family like ours doesn’t lack food or clothes. The women just need to manage the household and raise the children. There’s really no need to go to the fields…”
Seeing that the anger between her brows had disappeared, Mu Yangling knew that the crisis had been resolved. Grinning, she said, “I have you for that, don’t I? We can each specialize in what we’re good at.”
Li Jinghua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What kind of specialization is this?”
Although she said that, Li Jinghua still made arrangements for the servants in the residence. At night, they ate hot food and took a hot bath. Then, she soaked the two children in a wooden basin and washed them. The fatigue from the past few days was greatly relieved.
After leaving the children with Li Jinghua, Mu Yangling ran to the front to see Bai Li.
“Is there any news from the capital?” They had been busy traveling and hiding their tracks along the way and had no time to inquire about the capital at all. Now that they had settled down today, she naturally had to ask.
Bai Li lowered his head and said, “The Second Prince and Prime Minister Qin forced the Emperor to abdicate. The Empress was burned to death in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. The Eldest Prince, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince were all killed. The other young princes are either missing or imprisoned. Right now, Lin’an City is in total chaos.”