Her mouth split into a smile, and her round eyes sparkled under the dim light of a candle, in it clearly reflected someone’s frantic, puzzled gaze.
“Haven’t you noticed that I’m very powerful? So, there’s no need to worry about me; I will definitely take good care of myself. Moreover, I will undoubtedly look for you in the future!” Ye Mu assured with a broad grin.
Mo Linyuan paused, the fingers wiping the blood off her face going still. Then, he raised his phoenix eyes slightly and said, “Yes…you are very powerful.”
Sometimes, he felt she was above his league that it involuntarily made him feel embarrassed. Before he met her, he felt that he was already very mature among his age group—the one who lead people.
But upon meeting her, he unexpectedly became the one who was taken care of.
This made him want to become stronger, better, for her. He was eager to achieve what he had always wanted, but there was no immense power that did not come from slow accumulation and self-preservation. However, the harder he worked, the more pressure he felt, and consequently, the more restless he became. This caused him to become even more taciturn, turning to silence for tranquility, while his personality quietly changed a bit.
However, at this moment, neither of them realized this change unfurling.
“That’s why I have to work even harder…” Mo Linyuan said softly.
Ye Mu thought that he meant he would work even harder, so she raised her chin and said, “Rest assured! You will definitely become renowned in the future!”
“What about you?”
Mo Linyuan pinched her fingers through the sheets. With a smile, his phoenix eyes teasing, he asked, “You said that you would definitely come and find me in the future. Why is that?”
Ye Mu lay on the bed, unable to help but hold her breath in front of his hypnotic eyes. After a long time, she finally said in a serious tone, “Because…because I feel that you will be a person not to be taken lightly in the future. I’d definitely want to hold to your thighs!”
“Hold on to my thighs?” Mo Linyuan raised his eyebrows. He kept having the feeling that this word matched her clingy, lovable appearance.
What an interesting way of thinking! He thought.
Ye Mu nodded, “Yes! Only you can get what others can’t obtain, and do what others can’t do, so I must keep up with you!”
Silent doubts filled Mo Linyuan’s head, Are you so sure I’m going to be strong? But with a slight shake of his head, he brushed them off.
His mood was incomparably joyful, there was no need to dampen it with overthinking. This kind of elated feeling actually made him reach out to pinch Ye Mu’s cheeks repeatedly without shame.
His voice, although low, was exceptionally clear in the silent night; the words also holding an affectionate tone. “Since you believe I will be strong in the future, how can I just let you down now?”
Yes, he shouldn’t have to wait any longer—he would protect her now.
Unfortunately, Ye Mu didn’t catch the meaning behind his words and only thought that it was spurred out of self-motivation…
It was only a few days later when her body was a little better that she was finally able to get out of bed. She immediately prepared for Mo Linyuan’s departure.
At this time, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. Ye Tian, who had always held a grudge against her, had been locked up. However, Wen Ru, on the other hand, had been released. She had heard that it was Wen Ru’s influential family that had pressured her father into releasing her.
It was truly annoying.
Meanwhile, some place where Ye Mu was unaware of, Mo Linyuan had increasingly become busier with his own matters. Late in the evening, he appeared in Ye Li’s study.
Looking at the note Mo Linyuan had handed him, Ye Li slightly raised his brows. “Boy, you finally admit that you can read?”
In fact, Ye Li had already suspected he was literate a long time ago. If Mo Linyuan couldn’t read, then how was he supposed to tell him at the banquet that he had something to show him and then threatening him with the Imperial Jade Seal?
Mo Linyuan, at the face with Ye Li’s intense glare, knew in his heart that Ye Li would not directly kill him at this moment, so he admitted it on his own accord.
Ye Li swept a glance at the beautiful penmanship on the slip of paper and said in a deep voice, “Why do you propose that outsiders should be silent about the affair with the drug? Is it because you’re afraid of death?”
Mo Linyuan stood in front of his desk. He wore a simple, clean, green robe, and even though it was made from cheap material, it was enough to make him look like a respectable man.
Listening to Ye Li’s words, he also wrote a few words in response to this:
‘I’m not afraid of death. But at the same time, I’m afraid of death for I haven’t completed my mission.’
This kind of indomitable spirit and determination caused even Ye Li, who had a stone heart, to be slightly moved. Everyone knew what consequences were to befall would a handsome young man were to go to the filthy residence of that Official Liu. Not to mention that he had suffered a narrow escape from death from the same man before.
He would have to endure the humiliation that ordinary people could not endure!
However, this little slave was not afraid at all and still acted very eager to offer himself to the misfortune.
“Why?” Ye Li asked, a little confused for his real motivation. He tapped the table with his fingers and said, “This mission is likely very impossible for you to complete. Why do you still…do you really have to put in all your efforts, to go as far to belittling your life, for this?”
If Official Liu was easy to fool, he wouldn’t have been at the bottleneck, unable to obtain the Imperial Guard’s blueprint in a short period of time. Thus, Ye Li felt, for this meager slave, the chances of him succeeding were very small.
Upon hearing his question, Mo Linyuan relaxed his tense body. He thought of something and the corners of his lips curled up. His almond-shaped eyes drooped as he wrote a few words on the paper.
‘If he didn’t, she would die. If she died, he wouldn’t be able to return to her side.’
Ye Li stared at these few words in silence for a long time. He suddenly felt that the death of such a loyal child was absolutely his loss! Especially this child, not only was he bold and meticulous, but he was also quite shrewd.
With these efforts plainly displayed to him, he felt he should also extend a helping hand!
Ye Li pondered for a moment before loudly saying, “Alright! I’ll give you anything you need. You just need to remember your determination to complete your mission and return alive!”
Mo Linyuan sharply raised his head, looking at him fixedly before giving a succinct bow.
***
On the other side, Ye Mu was still worried about Mo Linyuan.
She knew that there were still some dedicated subordinates of him in the Yue country, but he couldn’t leave the General’s Estate to find them. Moreover, those people wouldn’t find him after being in captive for a long time. Especially since the General’s residence was even stricter than the imperial palace of the Yue country.
Her plan was to give Mo Linyuan vast amount of money to propel the escape plan, but in reality, she held no penny, so what could she do?
Ah…Ye Mu, who always had money to spend and once had no sense of crisis for money, felt a bit listless now. She held onto the pen and felt a headache coming on.
“Young lady?” Ye Xiaolang came in with a delicious snack. Looking at the various medicines littered around and scattered clothes on Ye Mu’s bed, he found it all somewhat strange. “Young lady, what are you doing?”
Ye Mu frowned. “Aji is going far away. I’m going to prepare something for his departure.”
“Aji is leaving?!” Ye Xiaolang was stunned, “Young lady, you….don’t you want him by your side anymore? ”
Ye Mu sighed, “No…in short, this is how the ways of the world change. You shouldn’t’ worry—if you practice martial arts well, you will meet him again in the future!”
Upon hearing this, Ye Xiaolang’s outlook on life received another serious blow!
Why is it always Aji who gets hurt?
“No, I have to go find him!” After declaring so, Ye Xiaolang put down the plate with a solemn expression and ran away from the room. Ye Mu smiled and let him go. She actually didn’t want Ye Xiaolang to bear too much of a burden at such a young age.
However, things often went against one’s wishes.
After Ye Xiaolang ran out, he turned towards the corner and was suddenly pulled by someone! Just as he was about to scream out in alarm, his mouth was blocked. However, he could keenly smell the fragrance of the medicine from his opponent’s body.
This familiar scent only came from one person he knew.
“Aji?” He perplexedly asked, his voice still holding a hint of his disbelief from his earlier conversation with Ye Mu.
Mo Linyuan released him carefully. The moment Ye Xiaolang turned around, he gave him an indecipherable look.
Spending time with him for so long, Ye Xiaolang naturally was able to understand him easily at a glance.
“Aji, you really are leaving.” His green pupils on his dark face stared at him soberly.
Mo Linyuan nodded and then quietly brought him somewhere.
Ye Xiaolang wasn’t able to understand his motives but nonetheless followed him. Finally, they reached a garden situated very close to the main courtyard.
“This place…where are we?”
As soon as Ye Xiaolang spoke, Mo Linyuan covered his mouth. The duo hid behind the fake stone mountain in the garden. With his free hand, Mo Linyuan inconspicuously pointed to a direction.
Siting while casually drinking tea in the pavilion, it was the first wife, Wen Ru, who had just been released from confinement.
There were six guards standing outside the pavilion and inside it were eight maids attending to Wen Ru; it was tightly secured.
Mo Linyuan glanced at Xiaolang and used his finger to write something down on the ground. ‘Your ears are sharp. Listen to what she is saying,’ it said.
This was one of the reasons why Mo Linyuan wanted to bring Ye Xiaolang along. It was due to the fact that Ye Xiaolang had grown up within the wilderness together with wolves that his five senses were much sharper than that of an ordinary person’s.
Seeing how serious Mo Linyuan was with this request, Ye Xiaolang firmly nodded and closed his eyes to listen, concentrating on the tidbits of voices he was able to catch…
Within the pavilion, Wen Ru sat opposite a man. She personally poured a cup of tea for him.
“Official Yu, it’s good that you’re here…otherwise, how would have I have continued living?”
When Wen Ru said this, her countenance was filled with a hint of spring, teasingly flashing the inside of her wrist as she dipped the teapot. Anyone with a discerning eye would be able to tell what impure things they had just done, but it was a pity that she was heavily guarded.
So even if Mo Linyuan were able to take a hint, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to get evidence for her actions.
Hearing this, the man smiled and lowered his voice, “It’s fine, I will always be with Madam from now on. Madam…this official took a lot of effort to undertake the task of protecting you, madam. In the future, you must reward me well!”
The two of them exchanged amorous glances, and the servants around saw it, but they did not dare say a single word. After all, the madam was very tactful with her plans. Although her words were ambiguous and suggestive, no one dared to overstep their boundaries.
Mo Linyuan naturally knew who this man was. His name was Zhao Yu, someone Wen Ru’s family had recently sent over to protect her. As for the reason why they sent another person over, it was because she had been previously strict with her son’s protection and sent the other person to guard him.
However, it was hard to find an expert in internal martial arts. Although this man’s skills were decent, he was hundreds, thousands of miles inferior to that of Yan Xu. Moreover, these types of capable men couldn’t just be found anywhere, therefore she had to settle with this.
“Don’t worry…”
Wen Ru replied with a smile. But then, she thought of something and her eyes turned exceptionally icy and ruthless. She lowered her voice and timidly asked.
“Oh that’s right, I remember…has father replied yet? That little girl, Ye Mu, caused Tian’er to be seriously injured. I will definitely not let her off!”
When Zhao Yu heard this, he smiled and proudly waved an item procured from his sleeves, “Feel rest assured Madam, this afternoon, the food has arrived. This stuff is remarkable—as long as that little girl eats this for a month, she will die without a sound! No one will be able to discover anything!”
“Repulsive! You still refuse to give it to me…” Wen Ru glared at him and tried to snatch it away, but Zhao Yu sneakily grab ahold of her hand. The servant girl beside her immediately coughed and Wen Ru hastily retracted her hand, glowering at Zhao Yu.
“Madam, don’t be in such a hurry.” Zhao Yu looked at her with a perverted smile and said, “As long as I’m here, madam does not need to move a finger. I will definitely make that little girl die an atrocious death without a proper burial place!”
The man smiled viciously, and it was only then that Wen Ru’s heart was placated. After this discussion, the duo changed the topic and began to talk about other matters.
Meanwhile, when Ye Xiaolang on the other side heard that this woman was trying to harm Ye Mu again, his anger immediately flared up!
“This woman is too evil! She wants to poison the little miss this time?! Let’s go and report her to the general right now!”
Mo Linyuan signaled for him to stay calm. The two silently retreated from the scene, leaving no evidence of their spying.
But before he left, Mo Linyuan’s lips suddenly rose, his eyes filled with a cold light. Giving one last look at the pavilion, he scoffed.
You want to hurt her? Over my dead body.
“Damn it! This is too barbaric! It’s too much!” Finally reaching a deserted place, Ye Xiaolang could not help but blurt out curses, “That woman actually plans to poison the young lady.” He then turned to his quiet partner beside him, “Aji, we have to find a way to stop her!”
After Ye Xiaolang had told Mo Linyuan about the conversation between Wen Ru and Zhao Yu, someone as innocent as him still did not have the slightest inkling of the hidden scheme behind Zhao Yu and Wen Ru’s words. He was only angry over the poison.
It was too easy for Wen Ru to do anything to Ye Mu. As long as she could do it flawlessly, no one would be able to hold anything against her. Thus, if he wanted to take her down, he needed proof.
Mo Linyuan wrote a few words Ye Xiaolang’s palm.
‘It’s inevitable that Wen Ru will do evil again. Don’t be angry.’
When Ye Xiaolang saw this, his eyes widened. “You knew from the beginning that she was going to do something bad? Then why didn’t you remind the young lady to be on her guard?” He shook Mo Linyuan’s hand, hasty to depart, “Why did you bring me here?”
He really felt that Aji was acting inappropriately; he felt that e felt thatiif he already knew about such an important matter, he should have said it earlier!
Mo Linyuan shook his head but remembered that he was about to depart from this place. By Ye Mu’s side, there was only the Ye Xiaolang left to accompany her. He could not help but write:
‘I have brought you here to tell you that the heart is evil. When you are with the young lady, besides protecting her, you must also do something to kill the danger in the cradle.’
Ye Xiaolang scratched his head in confusion. “What do you mean by killing the danger in the cradle?”
Mo Linyuan patted him on the shoulder and smiled faintly. He ambiguously wrote, ‘You’ll know in a few days.’
Ye Xiaolang looked at the palm of his hand and asked somewhat sorrowfully, “So, the reason why you showed these to me is because you’re leaving… and you want me to protect the young lady better in the future?”
His eyes were a little red, and he grabbed Mo Linyuan’s sleeve, “Aji, where are you going? What is it? Are you running from danger?”
Mo Linyuan looked at the youth before him. Despite being the same size as him, Xiaolang had always wanted to take care of him. At this genuine sentiment, he felt his heart warm up.
He pursed his lips and smiled, writing something on his palm.
‘I’ll be back, but don’t tell her yet.’
A few days passed by in a blur until the fated day of the departure was almost looming…
Evening had just come, Ye Mu was looking at Mo Linyuan, who had returned very late.
“Recently, you and Xiaolang always leave early and come back home late. What have you been doing?” She asked, feeling something was amiss.
Seeing that there was no one in the room, Mo Linyuan explained in a low voice, “During these few days, Ye Li has been continuously inviting me to the banquet. Since the servants are insufficient, Xiaolang and I will go help him. He will chop firewood and I will boil water.”
Ye Mu simply nodded. She thought it was too bad because of her injuries that she had been lax with their lessons. Fortunately, these two children were independent and were actually studying every day, even without her guidance.
Ye Mu took out the package she had prepared days before and passed it to him. “Here you go! I’ve got everything ready. Now tell me your escape plan!”
She stretched out her short hand and took out a large map from behind her, laying it on the bed. Her delicate little finger pointed in a direction and she said, “This is the General’s estate where we are now. This…it’s the residence of Official Liu.”
She gestured towards the official road with her finger, “I asked what events where to happen on the day I send you to Official Liu’s residence. It just so happens that it’s the day that high official takes a concubine! That day, there will definitely be a lot of people on the main road. At that time, as long as you-”
Just as she was about to explain her meticulous plans, Mo Linyuan suddenly interrupted her.
“You don’t have to do that. I actually have some former subordinates from the Zhao country who are still actively looking for me everywhere. As long as I leave the General’s estate, I can contact them—so you don’t need to worry about me.”
He straightened his back and seriously said, “Since you asked me to leave, I will definitely ensure that I’ll be safe and sound.”