Sheng Mansion, in a pavilion by the water, smoke curled up from an incense burner next to a zither. Sheng Muxue leaned against the railing outside the pavilion, throwing food to feed the fish.
"Where are the children?" Kou Yu walked out of the corridor with quick steps and grabbed Sheng Muxue's arm. She asked with a frightened expression. Her beautiful countenance was extremely haggard.
How could she not be haggard? Other than her, the rest of the Kou family had all died. There was no need to talk about whether she was sad or not. Now, she was more afraid. When the Kou Family was still around, they were extremely powerful. However, being powerful also meant that they offended people everywhere. When the Kou Family was still around, naturally, no one dared to touch her. Once the Kou Family fell, the consequences would be unimaginable. No matter who would rule the world in the end, this side would not have a good ending. It was all because she was Kou Lingxu's daughter. When she was rich and powerful, it was also because she was Kou Lingxu's daughter.
Originally, the Kou Family had also called them over, but Sheng Muxue had used the excuse of feeling unwell to decline. This was Sheng Muxue's usual excuse to avoid trouble. After so many years, the Kou Family had gotten used to it, so they just let it be. In any case, Rising Twilight Snow had always been like this. She could look for him to have fun, but when it came to serious matters, she would immediately decline. Fighting and killing matters were even more so because she couldn't bear to see blood. Regardless of whether others laughed at her or not, she didn't participate in any serious matters and didn't make enemies with anyone. Instead, she did a lot of things like helping the poor and making good connections. She had the foundation of a wealthy and idle person.
However, the results this time greatly exceeded their expectations. The northern army was defeated, and the Kou family was completely annihilated!
Even Sheng Muxue hadn't expected that the insufferably arrogant Kou Clan would fall so quickly. It was so fast that it was hard to believe. The Kou Clan was gone just like that?
As soon as the Kou Clan fell, the Sheng Clan's side immediately fell into a huge crisis. Fortunately, they didn't follow the Kou Clan and allowed the Sheng Clan to escape this calamity. At least, they were saved for the time being. Otherwise, they would have been buried together with the Kou Clan.
Sheng Muxue patted off the residue on his palm and turned to look at Kou Yu for a while. "I've already asked Uncle Sun to arrange a safe place for the children. Don't worry, they'll be fine."
Hearing this, Kou Yu heaved a sigh of relief. She grabbed his arm and said anxiously, "Then should we hurry up and leave? Why aren't you leaving? "
Sheng Muxue shook her head. "We can't leave. If we leave, we'll become fugitives, and the children will also become fugitives. We can't keep hiding forever. Send the children away first, just in case. We have to stay here! "
Tears fell from Kou Yu's eyes as he sobbed, "Mu Xue, I'm sorry. I've implicated you." He raised his head and said, "Why don't we do this? No matter who takes the throne in the end, you hand me over to them …"
Sheng Muxue raised her hand to cover her lips. "You and I are husband and wife. It's too much to say such things. I just want to ask you one thing. Have you been happy being married to me all these years?"
Kou Yu nodded. "I'm happy, but more than that, I'm calm. I know you don't want to get involved in any trouble, but if you keep me around, it will be trouble …"
Sheng Muxue smiled and pinched her lips mischievously. "Don't think too much! Forget about the Kou family. Even if you can't forget them, don't ever mention them again. The Kou family is already in the past. There's no meaning in thinking about it. Living well is better than anything else. You just need to remember that if you marry a chicken, follow the chicken. If you marry a dog, follow the dog. From now on, you are the mistress of the Sheng family and have nothing to do with the Kou family. You don't have to worry about anything else. I'll take care of it. Do you understand? "
Kou Yu nodded, but her face was full of worry.
Sheng Muxue raised her hand to help her wipe away the tears on her face.
At this moment, the old butler, Sun Yong, came to greet them. "Master, Madam."
Sheng Muxue let go of Kou Yu and turned to ask, "Uncle Sun, have they all been dismissed?"
The Kou family's downfall made everyone in the Sheng residence anxious and fearful. It was obvious that many people already had the intention to leave. There were people constantly trying to persuade Sheng Muxue to leave. Many people were afraid. After Sheng Muxue and Sun Yong discussed it, they decided to give out the severance pay. Those who were willing to leave could take some money and leave. They wouldn't force them to stay, and those who didn't want to leave could continue to stay.
Sun Yong sighed. "There are only a dozen servants left and about thirty guards, all of whom are elderly. The rest have all left. Quite a few servants from some of the businesses outside took their things and ran away. We are powerless to pursue this matter now. "
Kou Yu lowered her head sadly. A great family with tens of thousands of servants and guards had been reduced to less than a hundred people in the blink of an eye. She finally experienced what it meant to fly away in the face of a disaster.
"There's nothing to pursue. Just treat it as losing money to avoid disaster. It's not necessarily a good thing to have too much money on hand at this time. After all, they've served the Sheng family for so many years. They've been implicated by us this time. It's fine as long as they don't scold me. It's fine to take some money for them to escape and settle down in the future. Let them go." Sheng Muxue generously waved his hand and let this matter pass. He then said, "Uncle Sun, inform those who are still here. If anyone comes looking for trouble, don't stop them. Just let them come see me!"
"Yes!" Just as Sun Yong agreed, a clamor came from outside. A rather old guard landed in front of the three of them and reported urgently, "Master, a group of people has barged in. They don't look friendly. What should we do?"
Sheng Muxue's eyes flashed. He turned around and strode into the pavilion. He shook the hem of his robe and sat cross-legged by the zither table. His fingers moved up and down on the zither strings. Beautiful music flowed out smoothly. His expression was calm and collected. He glanced at the slightly frightened Kou Yu and said indifferently, "Madam, come and add incense!"
Kou Yu was already at a loss at this time and had no idea what to do. She could only listen to whatever Sheng Muxue said. She walked over obediently and knelt by the zither table. She opened the lid of the incense burner and opened the incense box, adding incense into the burner.
"Madam, in any case, is from a prince's estate. What kind of people have you not seen? They're just a group of soldiers. Why are you so uneasy?" Sheng Muxue teased with a faint smile.
Seeing that he was so calm and composed, the terrified Kou Yu felt a sense of security in her heart. She also forced herself to calm down.
It was at this time that a large number of people rushed in.
The people who were looking around and preparing to take the opportunity to rob saw Sheng Muxue and his wife's calm and confident demeanor. They did not dare to act rashly and shouted, "Is it them?"
A woman timidly walked out from the back of the crowd and pointed at Sheng Muxue and Kou Yu. "They are Kou Lingxu's son-in-law and daughter."
Sun Yong stared coldly at the woman. She was a servant of the Sheng estate. She had just received her severance pay and left not long ago.
From their conversation, he could tell that this group of people did not know Sheng Muxue and Kou Yu. They were definitely not from this sector. It was most likely this woman who had reported them.
The sound of the zither came to an abrupt end. Sheng Muxue elegantly pulled back his sleeves and stared at the commander with interest. He asked, "Which division are you from?"
The commander sneered. "The Southern Army is cleaning up the troops. If you surrender immediately, you might have a chance to live." The other party's calmness made him a little uncertain, so he spoke rather politely.
"Oh, Niu Youde's men. What a coincidence." Sheng Muxue flipped his hand and took out a jade archive. He handed it over to Sun Yong and gestured for him to take a look. "Not too long ago, Niu Youde sent someone to deliver a letter to me. I'm not sure how to reply to him. I hope you can give me some pointers."
The commander was taken aback. He took the jade archive and took a look. There were only greetings inside. It was indeed His Majesty's name. As for whether the transcendence seal belonged to His Majesty, he did not know.
The other party's confidence and this letter made him cautious. He quickly took out his starbell to verify it.
The verification was relayed to Miao Yi. He knew that he hadn't written any letters to the other party lately. When he found out that Sheng Muxue had stayed in the estate and hadn't gone anywhere, he didn't ask for help even though he could have contacted him directly. Instead, he made this move. What the hell was he up to?
He wasn't in the mood to ponder over this matter right now. However, Sheng Muxue's attitude of not going anywhere and allowing him to do whatever he wanted with her was very clear. Their friendship was there, so Miao Yi replied, 'Don't make things difficult for me!'
When the commander received the message from his superiors, he almost broke out in a cold sweat. He respectfully handed the jade archive back to Miao Yi with both hands and said, "I still have military matters to attend to. Sorry for the disturbance. I will take my leave first!" He then turned around and kicked the woman to the ground. Then, he waved his hand and ordered his men to quickly retreat.
Kou Yu secretly glanced at Sheng Muxue. She wondered when Niu Youde had delivered a letter to her recently.
The spacious estate regained its peace and quiet. Only the sound of the woman begging for mercy could be heard.
Sheng Muxue didn't even look at her. Her fingers stroked the strings of her zither as she said, "I gave you money out of goodwill to let you leave, but you … do you really think I'm some clay Buddha that you can easily bully? I don't want to become enemies with others. But after what happened today, even if I let you go, you will definitely bear a grudge against me. "
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Yong gave the old guard a look. The old guard immediately grabbed the woman's neck and dragged her away. Not long after, the woman's miserable scream came from outside.
As soon as the commotion died down, everyone in the estate suddenly turned around and looked in the same direction. The faint sounds of intense fighting could be heard in the distance.
Not long after, another guard came to report, "Master, that group of people just now ran into another group of people. They were defeated and fled. The other group seems to be charging towards us again."
Sheng Muxue laughed bitterly. He turned around and said to Kou Yu, "Continue playing the zither." He then turned around and walked back to the pavilion. He sat down beside the zither table. The zither started playing again.
It was almost the same as before. But this time, there were fewer people reporting. The people who came were the Imperial Guards and the Overwatch Right Division.
Sheng Muxue handed over a letter that Defeating Armies had recently given him. He used it to drive away another wave of people who were prepared to take advantage of the situation.
After the people left, Kou Yu asked in bewilderment, "Is it really Defeating Armies's letter?"
She reluctantly believed Niu Youde's letter earlier, but how could it be so coincidental that Defeating Armies just happened to send a letter over?
Sheng Muxue shook his head slightly. Defeating Armies's letter wouldn't be easily leaked out. He had relied on the fact that his father was acquainted with Defeating Armies when he was still alive to pay his respects to him as a junior. Later on, Defeating Armies realized that he didn't seek any benefits, nor did he send gifts, nor did he involve himself in any conflicts of interest. He was purely paying his respects to him as a junior. As time passed, Defeating Armies decided to return the letter with courtesy. The contents of the letter were also a reminder for him to know his place.
As for Niu Youde, he didn't just send a single letter to him. He had collected all of the letters sent by various influential figures. The letters were secondary. What was important was that he had a good relationship with the people who wrote to him. Many of them had gone against the Kou Clan's trend and taken the initiative to interact with him when they were in trouble, such as when he was being slighted by the Kou Clan. As such, even if the people he came into contact with didn't care about the Kou Clan's reputation, there was no need for them to make things difficult for him.
After Sheng Muxue roughly explained his intentions, Kou Yu asked worriedly, "This can only last for a while. What will happen in the future?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
