Mu Xi is indeed a playboy Little Overlord, but precisely because of his illustrious birth, he knows all too well what lines must not be crossed, lest even his uniqueness becomes worthless, potentially dragging down his entire family with a single misstep.
Like the trap Yu Changkong laid out, claiming that all lands under the sky belonged to the Mu Family—if he, in a moment of folly, agreed with it, any cunning person reporting it upwards would make Duke Cheng’en Mansion seem intent on rebellion. And once it reached the Holy Emperor, the brother-in-law, wouldn’t there be a seed of doubt and a sliver of suspicion sown, even if they were believed?
Once the seed of doubt is planted, watered a little each day, it will sprout and take root, growing into a sapling or even a grand tree. By then, both Duke Cheng’en Mansion and Marquis Wei Guo Mansion would be in grave danger!
Mu Xi isn’t particularly smart, but he isn’t completely foolish either. Though aware of the danger, he wasn’t scared yet; after all, if one were to rebel, there would be a reason. His sister, the Queen, has only birthed a Princess so far and is now over forty. Whether she can have a legitimate son or not is uncertain.
Without a legitimate son, the Queen’s position is steadier than many of the concubines with children; the Holy Emperor wouldn’t be too wary or suspicious of her family wielding power.
So his current annoyance at Yu Changkong’s smug face was twofold because he was indeed better looking than him.
When it came to the Yu Family, Mu Xi had to restrain his pettiness after hearing the praises and wary respect Marquis Cheng’en and Marquis Wei showed for them.
"Seeing how handsome you are, young master here won’t fuss with you, Mr. Changkong. Please step aside; I’m not here to find you," Mu Xi huffed.
Yu Changkong felt displeased and his face grew cold, about to speak when Qin Liuxi patted his arm.
Turning his head, he saw Qin Liuxi approaching and thus kept quiet.
Mu Xi stepped up close to Qin Liuxi, very closely, and said, "It’s definitely you; strange, I knew it the moment I saw you, but when I tried to capture your likeness or even describe you to the artist, why couldn’t it be drawn?"
Qin Liuxi’s eyes sparkled as she lifted the piece of paper in her hand, "So this is your masterpiece?"
"Yes, that’s right." Mu Xi grabbed the paper and said, "I’ve been searching for you for days to no avail, and that’s why I thought of this method. Look, it works, doesn’t it? The portrait is quite lifelike!"
Go your lifelike portrait, is there a problem with your taste?
Qin Liuxi held back her annoyance, growing curious as to who could recognize her from this so-called drawing.
"Who identified me from this?" she asked.
A guard timidly raised his hand, saying, "I was in charge of posting on West Street. When I was at the notice board just now, I sent the signal."
Qin Liuxi snatched the paper from Mu Xi and held it next to her face, "Which eye of yours saw that this is me? Are you blind?"
Guard: "Better to wrongfully kill than to let one escape."
Mistaken identity, then justify it, a principle they learned after following the Princely Heir for many years.
Could they really kill him?
Of course not, at worst they’d put him through a lot of trouble.
And this time, fortune smiled, there was no mistaken identity; hey, merit was achieved.
Mu Xi was quite satisfied, telling the guard, "Go back and get your reward from your boss." He then looked at Qin Liuxi, "It was really hard to find you, but now that you’re here, let’s go."
Qin Liuxi: "Go? Where?"
"Obviously, to enjoy life with young master here!" Mu Xi arrogantly crossed his arms and said, "Didn’t I tell you before? Follow me, and you’ll be clad in gold and silver, savoring delicious foods and spices, living a life of pleasure, swaggering through the world!"
Yu Changkong: Utterly outrageous!
He was about to stand up for Qin Liuxi, but then?
He heard the sounds of someone beside him swallowing and salivating, then that person spoke with regret.
"I’d like to, but the head of the family won’t allow it!"