Chapter 117 – Black-Bellied Regent VS Loyal Shadow Guard (21)
Wen Renhong ignored the astonishment of everyone and continued, “During this disaster relief, Mu Jin has always been by my side, sharing my burdens. I have admired him all along, and in this lifetime, there will only be him for me. So, I’m afraid I am destined to have no offspring.”
For Wen Renhong, who had the hidden power of the Hidden Pavilion behind him, fabricating someone’s identity at will was effortless. Especially with Mu Jin’s outstanding performance in the disaster relief efforts, which left traces, it became even easier to confirm his status as a physician.
When Wen Renda heard Wen Renhong say this, he was momentarily dumbfounded, as he never thought Wen Renhong would actually choose an ordinary person.
Rumors from the Jiangnan region had also reached Wen Renda’s ears, thinking it was just a romantic debt of some prince. But he never expected his own brother to foolishly develop genuine feelings.
Even if he had outstanding medical skills, what difference could it make, being just a commoner without any background? More importantly, Wen Renhong actually said he wanted to spend his entire life with him.
As a member of the royal family, to be so naive and childish was truly laughable. Wen Renda suddenly felt that Wen Renhong was not worth worrying about.
Now, those courtiers who had been thinking of forming alliances with this loyal prince, who had suitable sons and daughters at home, all relaxed their thoughts.
However, Wen Renda felt somewhat satisfied when he heard what the other said. He felt that if this were true, this loyal prince who was trapped by love for his children wouldn’t be something to worry about.
Thinking of this, the emperor put on a stern face and scolded Wen Renhong for a while before pretending to have a headache and said, “You’ve grown up and your wings are hard now. Your older brother can’t control you anymore. So, you can handle this matter according to your own wishes.”
When Wen Renhong heard the emperor say this, he naturally expressed gratitude on the surface, but he also understood why Wen Renda had suddenly relented.
He didn’t care how the officials and generals in the court thought, because the most important thing in his heart was that he could finally marry Mu Jin legitimately. And this matter had to be done as soon as possible.
So, Wen Renhong simply consulted the Ministry of Rites during the court session, verified the most suitable wedding dates, and requested the emperor to decree the marriage three days later.
The emperor, seeing Wen Renhong’s eager expression, felt even happier, and readily agreed, even bestowing a considerable amount of gold, silver, and jewels for the wedding.
However, Mu Jin was completely unaware of what had happened in the court. After all, his injuries were still apparent to others, although he had mentioned that it was just a scar that looked a bit frightening, the man insisted on not letting him follow.
Apart from the palace banquet last night, Wen Renhong still required him to recuperate in the mansion, and if he felt bored, he could order someone to find some interesting things, but he couldn’t go out.
Helpless against his lover’s dominance in this regard, Mu Jin could only quietly stay at home like this. Considering that Wen Renda would definitely be more wary of Wen Renhong and wouldn’t take any action in the next two days, he felt much relieved.
Since returning to the capital’s mansion from Jiangnan, Wen Renhong had instructed all the people in the mansion that, apart from himself, Mu Jin was the one in charge. He even ordered others to regard Mu Jin as the future mistress of the mansion.
Moreover, Wen Renhong had dealt with the spies who had followed him to Jiangnan, knowing that he had been exposed, and he no longer worried about letting Wen Renda know his true strength. Now, everyone in the mansion had been replaced by his own people, leaving no loose ends anywhere.
So, most of the people left here knew Mu Jin’s true identity. They were mostly transferred from the Hidden Pavilion and naturally understood the importance of obedience. They didn’t see any problem with the intimacy between Mu Jin and Wen Renhong.
However, he didn’t expect that even if he stayed in the mansion, there would still be unexpected visitors.
Hearing 003 reporting that Ye Ran was already at the gate of the mansion, Mu Jin blinked, momentarily unable to react. But curious about the other’s intentions, Mu Jin still specially went to the door to greet her.
Since the other party didn’t actively reveal her identity, Mu Jin pretended not to know, politely saying to Ye Ran, “Second Young Master, I wonder what brings you to the mansion today?”
Unexpectedly, when the other heard his words, she showed a shy expression and said, “I’m here to wait for the Lord. I felt a kindred spirit with the Lord yesterday, so passing by here today, I thought I’d come to pay a visit.”
As she spoke, she carefully observed Mu Jin’s expression. Seeing this, Mu Jin’s eyes flashed with a hint of amusement, suddenly understanding why his lover insisted on inserting Ye Ran into this role through Wen Renda’s side. What exactly was the purpose?
Feeling somewhat amused in his heart, he restrained himself and showed a polite smile to the person opposite, inviting her into the house.
In fact, Ye Ran’s visit today was not prompted by Wen Renhong’s instructions. However, she had always been serious about her tasks and felt that since she had done so yesterday, she should continue to maintain her presence in front of Mu Jin today as well.
Mu Jin had always been courteous to Ye Ran. After leading her to the hall, he had someone bring refreshments for her. Later, when he pretended to leave, he was indeed stopped by Ye Ran.
After all, Ye Ran’s purpose for coming this time was to make Mu Jin jealous. If Mu Jin left, then what was the point of her being there? So she intentionally put on a shy expression and asked Mu Jin about Wen Renhong.
Mu Jin’s response was very calm, showing no signs of impatience. Or, it could be said that, aside from Wen Renhong, he usually had a blank expression with no emotion towards others, which made Ye Ran feel a bit conflicted.
On the one hand, she knew that a shadow guard shouldn’t have emotions, especially after undergoing the kind of harsh training in the survival camp; they were more like tools in the hands of their master rather than actual people.
Mu Jin’s response showed that their training was successful, but for her master, it wasn’t exactly a good thing.
After all, she had heard her master’s orders before and knew that Wen Renhong had deep feelings for Mu Jin, so all the tricks he pulled were merely to make the person in front of her care more about him.
Ye Ran and Lin Hua had known Wen Renhong since childhood, though he was their master while they were just his subordinates, but their feelings were a bit closer than with others.
Especially since Ye Ran had someone she loved, she knew how hard it was to love without reciprocation, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic towards Wen Renhong.
As her thoughts turned, Ye Ran remembered Wen Renda’s purpose when he found her and assigned her to the Anping Marquis’ mansion. The other party gave her the identity of an illegitimate child, intending to send her to Wen Renhong as a spy.
She said to Mu Jin with a feigned look of embarrassment, “Well, since you are so close to the Lord, I won’t hide it from you. My father has always admired the Lord’s character, and the Emperor had intended to pair the Lord with my eldest sister, but it seems the Lord prefers ger, so my father thought of marrying me to him.”
“I suppose today in the court, the Emperor would announce it, setting our marriage. So, I must ask, what is your relationship with the Lord? There are rumors that you are close to him, so we need to get along. I would like to ask you for advice on the Lord’s preferences.”
Hearing Ye Ran’s words, Mu Jin knew she was intentionally trying to provoke him.
He found it quite amusing, but on the surface, he kept his blank expression, hesitated for a moment, and shook his head, saying, “I’m just a servant in the mansion and have no other relationship with the Lord. You needn’t worry; there’s no one else around the Lord.”
Although Mu Jin showed no special reaction, Ye Ran still noticed his stiffness, sensing that he might not be completely indifferent to the master, feeling a surge of joy. So she continued to say more similar things, attempting to provoke Mu Jin.
However, the other party’s actions remained steady, and his responses were seamless. The two of them spent quite some time playing verbal sparring, making Ye Ran suspect that Mu Jin was doing it on purpose.
The two of them sat together for a while longer, but it was mostly Ye Ran doing the talking while Mu Jin just replied politely. Fortunately, she didn’t feel awkward.
Noticing that she’d been there for quite some time, and Wen Renhong still hadn’t returned, Ye Ran decided to leave since her purpose was already achieved.
Before leaving, Ye Ran specifically told Mu Jin, “Please let the Lord know that I stopped by. I’ll come back another day.”
Mu Jin nodded in response, but his lack of reaction made Ye Ran feel a bit disappointed. However, feeling that she had completed her task, she quickly left.
Mu Jin saw Ye Ran off at the gate, watching her figure disappear. He returned to the mansion with a smile on his lips, feeling that it was his turn to put on a show tonight.
Since he had already figured out his lover’s thoughts, he couldn’t let him down. But he didn’t expect that even after confessing, the man would still not fully trust him. Yet, knowing his lover cared so much about him made Mu Jin feel quite satisfied.
Meanwhile, Wen Renhong was delayed on his way back to the mansion, so he didn’t return at his usual time.
Seeing several food stalls on the way, he decided to buy some of the city’s famous pastries for Mu Jin. He knew the little one in his house loved these treats.
Wen Renhong himself was also feeling somewhat anxious because he had asked the Emperor for marriage in court today without discussing it with Mu Jin beforehand.