Chapter 1: There's a Precious Girl in the Mu Mansion

...In the spring when flowers bloom and everything comes back to life, in the back garden of a large mansion in the capital, a slender girl was picking up the peach blossoms that had fallen from the heavy rain the night before, one by one, and wrapping them in a handkerchief....

...Her expression did not have the sorrow of Lin Daiyu for the fallen flowers, but instead she smiled with the innocence and frivolity of a young girl....

...  "Miss, the flowers are already dirty, what are you doing?" a maid nearby could not help but ask....

  "I like them." After saying this, Mu Yingbao walked to the nearby lake, raised her hand, and threw the flowers in her handkerchief into the lake one by one.

  "Annie, look, don't they look beautiful?" Mu Yingbao looked at the peach blossoms on the lake, swaying with the ripples caused by the breeze, the beauty of which was completely different from the beauty on the peach tree.

  The maid nodded, feeling that the young lady was really different from the other young ladies in the mansion, with all sorts of strange things in her head.

  "Young lady, my maid's name is Anyi." The maid couldn't help but open her mouth to correct her again.

  The man by the lake turned around after hearing this, frowned slightly and asked her, "Am I your master?"

  The maid nodded. Although she had only been with her for a few days, she was still a master.

  "Then I, your master, like to call you Annie. Do you have any objection?" Mu Yingbao asked again with a long tone. "

  Huh? Well, how dare I have an opinion? "If the young lady likes it, then the maid's name will be Annie from now on." The maid realized that the master had not misheard, remembered or called her by the wrong name a few times before, but had done it on purpose.

  "Annie, what time is it? Is it time for lunch?" Mu Yingbao said, and without waiting for anyone to answer, she shook the handkerchief in her hand and walked in the direction they came from.

  Today is the third day since she was taken into the Mu Mansion. Although she is still not familiar with the people in this mansion, she has to say that the food in the Mu Mansion is still good. Although it is not as good as what she made herself, she still enjoys the life of having everything provided for her.

  It is a fool not to enjoy the blessing, not to mention that the current environment is not as stable as it seems, and she has no intention of showing off her cooking skills. She doesn't want to feed the delicious food she made by herself to these people with ulterior motives.

  After the two walked away, five people came out from behind the rockery by the lake. Two of them were dressed as maids, and the other three were the three young ladies of the Mu Mansion.

  "Look at her, young lady! She grew up in the countryside, unworldly and uneducated. She's only been here a few days, and yet she thinks she's the master," a maid said indignantly.

  "Shut up! No matter what, she's still my sister. She must have suffered a lot these years living away from home. Her father and her father are brothers, born from the same mother. Since we've heard about her, and know she's an orphan with no one to rely on, of course we have to take her back.If you neglect her, don't blame me for not respecting the bond between master and servant." Mu Jinyi glared at her maid, scolding her.

  "What the eldest sister said is absolutely right. Sister Bao is also a pitiful person. I heard from the housekeeper that her fourth uncle died when she was three years old, and her fourth aunt also passed away when she was five. Her fourth aunt was not from that place, and she had no one to take care of her. Everyone said that Sister Bao was the calamity star that killed her parents.

  Therefore, no one was willing to adopt her.

  Fortunately, her fourth uncle had a good relationship with people there, and the neighbors did not ignore her. In other words, Sister Bao grew up eating at many people's homes." The person who spoke was Mu Jinshuang, the daughter of Aunt Lu, the eldest daughter of the Mu family.

  "Well, Mother and the other concubines are making a silk skirt for Bao-sister. It's not good for us sisters to sit around doing nothing. You two sisters, please go over and take a look, and maybe even help with the embroidery. I'll go to the kitchen and have someone make another serving of peanut cakes. Bao-sister seemed to like them yesterday," Mu Jinyi said, acting like an elder sister.

  "That's absolutely right, eldest sister. We'll go now," Mu Jinlian, daughter of the eldest concubine Shen, quickly replied.

  The three young ladies from the Mu Mansion split up into two groups and left.

  After they had walked a long way, Mu Jinlian turned around to look in the direction where her elder sister had left, curled her lips and said, "I really didn't know that my elder sister and mother were such kind people. What are they trying to do?"

  "Shut up, be careful with your mouth. You will suffer harm sooner or later because of that mouth of yours. How many times have I told you off? There are many flatterers in our house. If someone hears it, it won't be a big deal for you and me to kneel in the ancestral hall, but what if it gets to my aunt and she is banished to the manor? What shall we do then?" Mu Jinshuang was so angry that she pointed at her sister's forehead with her finger and warned in a low voice.

  Mu Jinlian was still very unconvinced; "I just can't stand their hypocritical appearance. They always say one thing in front of outsiders and another behind their backs. Fourth uncle and fourth aunt didn't leave any property deeds to Bao-mei. What are they trying to achieve by pretending so painstakingly? Who are they trying to show off to?"

  After hearing this, Mu Jinshuang looked around again, and seeing that there was indeed no one, she whispered; "Are you really stupid, or just pretending to be stupid? Can't you use your head and think about it? Father actually knew about Bao-mei's matter a long time ago.

  But why didn't he pick her up earlier or later, but at this time? Don't you think there is something wrong?"

  Huh? Yes, hearing Mu Jinshuang mention this, Mu Jinlian suddenly remembered that her aunt had mentioned this matter privately years ago. Back then, her aunt had said, "Poor child, after all, she's a member of the Mu family, yet she's all alone and helpless out there."

  She also said the Mu family didn't have the financial resources to feed one more mouth.

  It seemed, however, that her father hadn't gone to pick her up because he'd learned that Bao Meimei was an unlucky person.

  "Sis, now that you mention it, I remember now. Yes, why did you bring her back now? It can't be that the eldest sister's wedding to Master Xue is approaching, and they brought her back for the wedding banquet? That's not right. Since she was considered an unlucky person, shouldn't we avoid bringing her back on the day of the eldest sister's wedding?" Mu Jinlian seemed to understand something, but after thinking about it a little more carefully, she became even more confused.

  Mu Jinshuang looked at her sister with a half-smile, who was not born from the same mother but had the same status. "You are not stupid, are you? I tell you, stop complaining about what you are used to.

  Our biological mothers were both concubines, and their status was not as high as that one. So what if you can't stand their hypocrisy towards that precious sister?"

  You just said that the wedding date with Prince Xue is approaching, but two months ago, there were rumors that the prince, who was escorting the crown prince of Xiyue back to his country, was killed by unidentified people on his way back, and his body has not been found since then.

  What's more, the granddaughter of Marquis Yongwei was made a concubine upon entering the palace and was deeply favored by the emperor. And the daughter of Marquis Ding'an, Concubine Xue Yi, caused a nobleman to give birth prematurely because of her restlessness. Although she was not banished to the cold palace by the emperor, she was also sent to the cold palace. There is no difference. The Xue family has lost its glory.

  Our father has already regretted this marriage, but he is unsure of the emperor's intentions. He is not sure whether the Xue family has really begun to decline? Whether it can make a comeback in the future, so he hesitated and did not say to cancel the engagement.

  Think about it again, how could our proud sister be willing to marry into the Xue family and become a widow? "

  "Ah? What do you mean, second sister?" No matter how dumb Mu Jinlian was, she understood it now, but she still couldn't believe it.

  "My sister's meaning is very simple. If you don't want to be a sacrifice to marry our good sister into the Xue family, you should keep your mouth shut. Especially in front of Sister Bao, say less nonsense. "Mu Jinshuang warned again cautiously.

  She also sympathized with that Bao Meimei, but she didn't dare to be a good person.

  Oh, I see. Mu Jinlian stuck out her tongue after hearing the serious relationship. She didn't want to be a widow by marrying in a place of marriage. What about being a prince's concubine? She might be a widow for the rest of her life.

  How could these two sisters know that the little white rabbit in their eyes who fell into the trap - Bao Meimei, knew that there was cat pus in it before she was brought here.

  If Out of consideration for family ties, they would have brought her back long ago! Being attentive without any reason is either a traitor or a thief!

  But she had lived in that lawless place for three years and was already bored. This was the perfect opportunity for her to come to Beijing for free, with food and lodging provided. As for the real purpose of the Mu family taking her in, she didn't take it seriously.

...The ancestors had thirty-six strategies. If there was really something wrong, the worst that could happen was that she would just leave. Of course, she couldn't come in vain, and she couldn't leave empty-handed. Wanting to plot against her? That wouldn't be free......

...  (End of this chapter)...

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