Mo Yunxuan looked at the young woman before him, his expression blank and his tone calm, but worry lingered in his eyes. He gently pinched her cheek and asked softly,
"Do you know that eunuch behind us?"
Qing Li scrunched up her nose, unsure whether she was uncomfortable or annoyed that someone was so clueless about romance.
She tilted her head slightly and looked over his shoulder, spotting Wang Hai standing not far away, watching the two of them in silence.
For the first time, displeasure crept into her expression. She thought to herself,
Why is it that every time I go out with my beloved, some clueless fool has to show up?
But she calmly explained,
"He's the new eunuch serving His Majesty. His name is Wang Hai. He was also the one who suggested that His Majesty leave you waiting today."
Mo Yunxuan grew interested as soon as he heard that. He turned to look at Wang Hai, and their eyes met.
Wang Hai felt his scalp prickle. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to linger, then turned and hurried away.
Mo Yunxuan also received a Simulated Script from the system.
"There sure are a lot of Protagonists in Great Gan. I've been here less than a month, and this is already the fourth one I've run into!"
Qing Li noticed him staring in the direction Wang Hai had gone and felt a little unhappy.
She reached out with her right hand and tugged at his sleeve.
Mo Yunxuan turned back and realized he had neglected his little pet.
He immediately cupped her face in both hands and spun her around, then planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.
She was left completely flustered,
and from then on, she let Mo Yunxuan do as he pleased, not even knowing what was happening.
At the Wei State Duke Mansion,
when Meng Qianxue and Meng Zhirou saw that Mo Yunxuan had brought home another woman,
they didn't react much. Their man was the Duke of Wei, and it was perfectly normal for him to have several wives and concubines.
As long as she wasn't like Qiu Ziqin, who loved getting carried away with herself, they wouldn't be too strict.
"The world really is beautiful!" Mo Yunxuan said, feeling especially pleased at the sight.
The next day, he struggled free from a pair of slender arms and made his way to the Dining Hall, one hand braced against his lower back.
At a glance, he spotted Qing Li sipping her porridge in small mouthfuls, her eyes clear and bright.
Mo Yunxuan casually took his hand away from his back and smiled.
"Well, Qing Li, you're up early! Is the food to your liking?"
"It is, Yunxuan Gege."
Qing Li nodded lightly, her eyes casually scanning him before she suddenly asked,
"Yunxuan Gege, what did you and Meng Qianxue do last night? Why do you look so tired again?"
"What! Tired? How could I possibly be tired?"
Mo Yunxuan shouted instinctively at Qing Li's question.
"Ahem!"
When he came to his senses, he found her staring straight at him with eager curiosity. He gave an awkward smile.
"Well, last night they had me honing my sword all night."
"It really was... a little tiring, haha."
"Then invite me next time. I can help you hone your sword too!"
"Just get Qianxue and Zhirou to agree, and I'll be more than happy to have you."
Qing Li was delighted by his enthusiastic reply.
After the two finished eating, Qing Li said goodbye and returned to her little courtyard.
It wasn't that she didn't want to stay longer. It was just that cultivating was like rowing upstream: if you didn't advance, you fell behind.
Of course, the main reason was that Mo Yunxuan hadn't told her about the secret to rapidly increasing one's strength.
Meng Qianxue and Meng Zhirou, for instance, were still sleeping in, with no intention of cultivating at all.
Mo Yunxuan had no intention of reminding them, either. In his eyes, Qing Li still wasn't trustworthy.
Though Qing Li was utterly devoted to him now, she had been Ji Ruxue's trusted confidante for a long time.
Even though Qing Li's affection score had already reached 85, who could say Ji Ruxue's score in her heart wasn't 95?
For now, he and Ji Ruxue maintained an unspoken balance. Neither would make the first move to upset it.
But if Qing Li let Ji Ruxue learn the secret that allowed cultivators to grow stronger so quickly,
Ji Ruxue definitely wouldn't sit back and wait. She would strike at the Wei State Duke Mansion first.
Then he'd not only face the heavy casualties of war, but also lose a sweet little pet.
The loss would be too great!
So he could only tell Qing Li once his wings had grown strong enough.
And when would that be?
Without ten Body Integration Realm cultivators and two hundred Void Refinement Realm cultivators, he truly couldn't feel safe.
Take the surprise attack on Taihua Academy this time. If he hadn't been burning with anger,
how could someone as cautious as him have charged straight in like that?
Luckily, nothing had gone wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to fix it.
Now, he'd gotten carried away again and brought Qing Li home. Sigh! He could only keep it from her for now.
When he came to his senses again, Wang Yuan was already beside him.
As Mo Yunxuan walked toward the study, he asked, "Uncle Wang, is there any news from the Imperial City?"
"Master, the officials were coming and going frequently yesterday. It seems many of them were discussing our Wei State Duke Mansion," Wang Yuan replied at once.
"That's only natural. We wiped out Taihua Academy. It'd be strange if nobody talked about it!"
"Just wait. Some students' families and teachers' families will definitely come here to cause a scene. When they do, kill them. Don't let them disturb the peace of my mansion."
Hearing this order, Wang Yuan hesitated.
"Master, isn't that... too cruel?"
"Heh!"
Mo Yunxuan stopped and glanced back at Wang Yuan with a faint chuckle, then continued walking.
"Uncle Wang, I didn't know you were so naive. You actually think our Wei State Duke Mansion can still have a good reputation."
"As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel beyond the door, but bad news travels a thousand miles."
"Whether it's noble families and powerful officials or ordinary people..."
"They've never cared about the truth. They care about rumors that can set their emotions ablaze."
"From the moment we massacred Taihua Academy, outsiders were bound to link the Wei State Duke Mansion with cruelty."
"From now on, whenever people mention the Wei State Duke Mansion, the first thing that comes to mind won't be some loyal minister of Great Gan."
"It'll be labels like... cruel and overbearing."
"If they've already decided that's the truth, why should we press our warm faces against their cold backs and force ourselves to play the good guys?"
Mo Yunxuan pushed open the study door and turned his head to ask, but then added, as if with a sigh,
"Just kill them. It's so much easier."
Wang Yuan stood at the door, staring blankly at Mo Yunxuan, who seemed almost like a different person from before.
But Mo Yunxuan didn't care. He hadn't gone after those people only out of consideration for the Empress.
If anyone failed to take the hint and dared to come looking for trouble with the Wei State Duke Mansion—
Heh. A bunch of ghosts whose families had lost their pillars. He'd show them what true cruelty meant!
Wang Yuan still felt this was somewhat inappropriate, but years as steward of the Wei State Duke Mansion had long since taught him to obey the Duke of Wei's orders,
even when those orders came from Mo Yunxuan, the New Duke of Wei, who had only taken over less than a month ago.
He sighed helplessly and replied in a low voice, "I understand, Master."
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