A Dumb Lady’s Death Wish
“Whoa…” The crowd let out a collective gasp.
“They’re from Banruo Village! No wonder…”
“My, my! It’s Master Qin Ban’s relative. Qingyun houses many hidden talents. The Yun family’s Little Witch might be barking up the wrong tree.”
The mention of Banruo Village had the crowd excited. The people looked at Ji Fu and Bai Ye with admiration and respect.
Bai Ye was speechless. It never occurred to her how big of a name Banruo Village was in the empire.
Ji Fu took a hurried step forward and helped Mu Yunzhan up. “Come now, I’m undeserving of such a gesture. I’m just a lowly village chief, please, stand.”
Mu Yunzhan stood but kept his posture submissive. “You’re too humble.” Then, he turned to look at the young girl beside Ji Fu.
Bai Ye finally had a good look at the man. He had a pair of arched eyebrows that accentuated his attractive face. She bowed respectfully as the man looked at her.
“This young lady is…?” The commotion in the streets had drawn Mu Yunzhan’s attention and the young girl’s skills had thoroughly surprised him.
Mu Yunzhan assessed the young girl—she was definitely not an ordinary child to have Ji Fu as her personal escort.
“Ah, Little Ye here is our village prodigy. This… Could we continue this conversation somewhere else?” Ji Fu suggested after considering the circumstances of Bai Ye’s participation in the Erudition Trials. Such deals should not be discussed in public.
The suggestion was amenable to Mu Yunzhan and he immediately invited them to the tavern.
The young man did not acknowledge either Yun Mengmeng or Hong Qiguan who stood a few feet away.
As Bai Ye and Ji Fu turned to leave, Yun Mengmeng shrieked, “Hold up! We have unfinished business here!” She was not used to being sidelined.
Hong Qiguan quickly intervened. “Mengmeng, please step down.”
He was shocked to see a fourth-ranked official of the empire in Tong City—a general no less. The Lord of Tong City was a mere seventh-ranked official. In the Tianxuan Empire, military positions outranked administrative positions.
Therefore, Hong Qiguan knew better than to pick a fight when Mu Yunzhan was siding with their enemy. Moreover, if he had known Ji Fu was the granduncle of Qin Ban, he would have backed out immediately.
All Hong Qiguan hoped for was to be erased from Mu Yunzhan and Ji Fu’s memories. He wanted nothing more than for them to leave.
Things did not go the way he wished.
Yun Mengmeng was signing their death warrant.
At that moment, Hong Qiguan regretted taking up the job to protect the dumb lady. She was going to get him killed…
“Step down?” Yun Mengmeng retorted angrily. She glared at Mu Yunzhan and said in a disgruntled tone, “Brother Mu, it’s me, Mengmeng. Please hear me out on this.”
Hong Qiguan wondered if he could just abandon the lady and make a run for it.
“Master Mu, so what if the old man is Master Qin’s relative? They can’t simply mistreat our lady! Look at our guards, they’re all hurt because of them. Master Mu, justice must be served…” Yun Mengmeng’s handmaid—Little Wan—chimed in, skewing the narrative in support of her lady.