Good Ending: She Swears She Will Not Let Him Die!

Chapter 297: Chapter 296: Reliance

Breaths brushed against her cheeks.

Du Yunluo’s hand trembled slightly, and the venison she was holding with her chopsticks nearly fell onto the table.

She secretly took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the room. The maids, so perceptive, had all managed to sneak out, leaving only Jin Rui to serve inside.

Jin Rui had her head bowed low, pretending not to notice anything.

Du Yunluo turned her head slightly to look at the handsome face just inches away, and teasingly said, ”If I can’t ride properly, I’ll just stay in the tent with Princess Nanyan.”

Mu Lianxiao’s eyes filled with a smile: ”How could you not ride well? I’ll teach you when I’m free.”

”You were meant to teach me,” Du Yunluo gazed at Mu Lianxiao, partly complaining, partly with reluctance, ”You said you’d teach me last time, but it was only once before you went to De’an... Now you say it again, who knows when you’ll be free.”

Mu Lianxiao paused, just about to explain, when he saw Du Yunluo lower her gaze.

”I know, you can’t defy orders, going to De’an is important, and going to the border is a military command.” Du Yunluo paused, then looked up with a smile, ”I’m just saying, come back early.”

It wasn’t a complaint, nor a misunderstanding, just attachment and concern.

Du Yunluo’s voice was soft, tinged with a nasal tone, yet she forced a smile, and this look in Mu Lianxiao’s eyes made him feel a pang of heartache.

”Yunluo...” he sighed softly, holding her hand, his thumb gently rubbing her palm, momentarily at a loss for how to comfort her.

After a while, Mu Lianxiao looked directly into Du Yunluo’s eyes, solemnly saying, ”I remember, I’ll return early. When I’m free, I’ll teach you to ride for sure.”

Du Yunluo smiled softly, glancing at the venison on the table, ”Let go, I’m not done eating yet.”

With the venison, Du Yunluo couldn’t help but eat a bit more, and by the time she finished, her stomach felt a bit bloated.

Mu Lianxiao smiled wryly, unaware that before he returned, Du Yunluo had already eaten quite a bit, and thus he didn’t stop her.

”Let’s walk to help digestion,” Mu Lianxiao pulled her up, ”It’s warm tonight, let’s go to the garden.”

Du Yunluo naturally agreed.

The two of them didn’t bring any maids, only carrying a lantern, walking hand in hand.

They chatted sporadically, turning a corner when a sudden gust of wind caused the lantern to wobble and go out with a puff.

”I don’t have a fire striker on me,” Mu Lianxiao turned and asked, ”Should we go back, or do you want to wait here for me?”

Du Yunluo tightened her grip on Mu Lianxiao’s hand, interlocking their fingers, softly saying, ”Continue forward, you can see after all.”

The simplicity of her words was full of trust.

The feeling of being trusted and relied upon by his wife made Mu Lianxiao extremely comfortable. He bent down to give her a light peck on the lips, agreeing with a smile.

He had good night vision, walking at night was no problem. As for Du Yunluo, as long as he held her hand, he could protect her.

Du Yunluo followed Mu Lianxiao’s lead.

Although she couldn’t see clearly, she was extremely familiar with the back garden of the Marquis Mansion. Even if she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, she could find her way once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, especially with the starlight tonight.

She just enjoyed this feeling of relying on Mu Lianxiao.

They walked slowly, occasionally seeing maids and old women passing by in the distance, but they didn’t call out to borrow the light from their lanterns.

After about a quarter hour, a person passed by carrying a lantern. Judging by the figure, it was a man.

”Is that Second Uncle or Fourth Uncle?” Du Yunluo raised her chin, signaling Mu Lianxiao to look.

Mu Lianxiao glanced over and said, ”It’s Fourth Brother.”

”At this hour, why is he still in the inner courtyard?” Du Yunluo was puzzled.

Mu Lianxiao pointed westward.

Du Yunluo looked over, and in the distance, there was light from a courtyard, and she immediately understood.

Ahead was Manhe Garden where Mu Yuanjing lived. Not far to the southwest of Manhe Garden, there was a corner gate. Out of the corner gate was a long tunnel connecting to the front courtyard.

Mu Lianyu had dinner in the second house. Returning to the front courtyard from this corner gate was much closer than going around to the second gate.

”Let’s go back.” Mu Lianxiao said.

Du Yunluo nodded; ahead was Mu Yuanjing’s residence, and she didn’t want to deal with her.

The two of them retraced their steps.

Shaohui Garden was brightly lit.

Yu Zhu stood under the veranda, glaring coldly at Hongfu and Cangzhu.

Hongfu’s face was deathly pale, leaning against the wall with her head lowered, breathing cautiously, afraid of provoking Yu Zhu’s wrath.

Cangzhu looked at Hongfu’s state, feeling a wave of irritation, ”Hongfu, what are you afraid of? We didn’t break any rules.”

Hongfu silently lamented. They indeed didn’t break the rules, but Cangzhu had said something disrespectful about Yu Zhu, which Yu Zhu happened to overhear.

She originally thought Yu Zhu would be as haughty as before, not even sparing them a glance. But unexpectedly, Yu Zhu stopped and coldly stared at them.

Yu Zhu spoke in a distant tone, ”What did you say about me just now?”

Cangzhu stiffened her neck and said, ”I said you served around the concubine, which isn’t wrong.”

”That’s incorrect,” Yu Zhu coldly responded, ”I used to serve Aunt Qiao, but now I work in Madam’s residence. Your ambiguous words, are they meant to look down on me or Madam?”

Such a serious accusation was thrown down, and Hongfu gasped.

Cangzhu bit her lip and snorted, ”Since Sister Yu Zhu works in Madam’s residence, shouldn’t you be magnanimous and not stoop to our level as cleaning maids?”

”I didn’t want to stoop,” Yu Zhu stepped forward and pinched Cangzhu’s jaw, ”What you choose to do is your business, who you want to please or win over, I have no interest. But keep your mouth clean, and if you have the ability, climb up on your own. I won’t be your stepping stone.”

Cangzhu’s eyes instantly tightened, her lips trembling, her jaw aching under Yu Zhu’s pinch.

She immediately understood.

When Madam first arrived, she had used the pastries Yu Zhu divided to go curry favor and stir up trouble in front of Jin Rui, and Yu Zhu already knew.

After Yu Zhu finished speaking, she released her grip, dusted her hands, and left with a cold laugh.

Cangzhu stared hard at her retreating figure, eyes nearly burning with rage.

Yu Zhu returned to her own room.

Lian Qiao poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it in front of her, ”Why bother with them?”

Yu Zhu took small sips of tea and said, ”Who’s letting her try to step on me to climb up?”

Lian Qiao, having served in Baijie Hall for many years and having seen much of the scheming among maids and servants, didn’t find it unusual, only advising, ”As long as you know your limits.”

When Mu Lianxiao and Du Yunluo returned to Shaohui Garden, the confrontation had already ended.

That night, it was Lian Qiao’s turn to stand guard. She hurried to the main room to attend to Du Yunluo, assisting her in washing and tidying her hair before retreating to the outer room.

Jin Lan went out to fetch the wash water, and upon returning, she whispered to Jin Rui, who was too drowsy to keep her eyes open, ”As Sister predicted, I just heard from Mrs. Ma that before Madam came back, Yu Zhu confronted Hongfu and Cangzhu in the veranda. They were too far to hear, but it was clear Yu Zhu made a move on Cangzhu.”