Suddenly, a noise came from the doorway. Mu Wan frowned, “Who’s there?”
No one responded.
“Maybe it’s your sister’s cat,” Mu Xingde lightly said.
Mu Wan didn’t pursue it further. She continued weighing the advantages and disadvantages with Mu Xingde, “Most importantly, the palace requires that the draft girls be single. My engagement with Li Yichen is public knowledge. If you send me to the palace, wouldn’t that considered deceiving the throne? Given that the Qian family is always eyeing our business, they would certainly jump at the chance to report us. Should that happen, let alone becoming a state uncle, we might even lose our imperial warrant1.”
Mu Xingde looked hesitated.
“Just annul the engagement,” a sarcastic female voice came from the doorway. “Don’t worry, our Li family won’t hinder the Mu family’s eldest daughter from climbing higher. I’m here today to call off the engagement.”
Mu Wan glanced up and saw a plump middle-aged woman entering the room. The woman appeared to be under forty, dressed in the elaborate garb of a high-ranking official’s wife. She was full of grandeur, yet retained the mannerisms of a commoner from the border town.
This was Li Yichen’s mother, Li Zhang-shi.
Mu Xingde hurriedly stood up, “Third Madam Li, it’s our honor to welcome you. Forgive us for not greeting you properly.”
Li Zhang-shi pompously took the main seat without regard for the manor’s owner. Following her, Shen-shi hurriedly explained to Mu Xingde and Mu Wan, “Third Madam Li heard that Eldest Girl was returning home today and came for a visit. It was unexpected, and we stumbled upon your conversation, leading to this misunderstanding.”
“Look at you, not even maintaining the dignity of a mother! Why are you groveling like that to a little girl? What does that look like!” Third Madam Li scolded Shen-shi and then turned to scrutinize Mu Wan: Her thick bangs covered half her face, and though her attire of plain purple was neat and practical, it wasn’t befitting a girl of her status. Glancing at Mu Rou, who carried herself with an air of elegance, Third Madam Li looked down on Mu Wan even more and resolved to annul this engagement today.
“What misunderstanding? If you had no such intentions, the matter of entering the palace wouldn’t have been brought up at all. Anyway, our Li family won’t marry someone with divided loyalties. It’s better to call off this engagement so as not to delay Eldest Miss Mu’s bright future.”
Mu Wan stood up and gave a polite curtsy at Third Madam Li, maintaining her smile throughout, “Madam can rest assured, I have no intention of breaking this engagement. Even if I were to annul the marriage, I still could not enter the palace. If His Majesty were to take a liking to me and later find out about my engagement with Young Master Li, wouldn’t that provoke his wrath? Mu Wan couldn’t bear the responsibility of jeopardizing your son’s bright future.”
Third Madam Li hadn’t thought of this before. Typically, a woman whose engagement had been broken off would face social disdain. Who would fancy her? Let alone someone of high status like the emperor…
Although she didn’t think Mu Wan could win the emperor’s favor, what if? She didn’t dare to gamble with her son’s future. However, she was still determined to annul this engagement. To prevent future trouble, all she had to do was to prevent Mu Wan from entering the palace, isn’t it? “A girl yet to be wed, speaking of whether men like her or not, do you have no sense of shame?” She glared at Mu Wan and chastised her.
Mu Wan bowed again, looking very well-behaved, “You are right, Madam. Mu Wan has taken your lesson to heart, and please be assured, my mother always said the most important thing is to keep one’s word. Of course, this includes something as important as a marriage contract.”
Seeing a slight shift in Shen-shi’s and Mu Rou’s expressions, Mu Wan’s smile deepened as she continued, “Unless the Li family commits treason or other abhorrent acts, I, Mu Wan, will stand by them. Of course, should the Li family decide to dishonor an old promise and back down on their words, that is another matter.”
Third Madam Li found herself speechless, her sarcastic remarks caught in her throat. She had initiated the confrontation with Mu Wan, so why did it now seem like Mu Wan was the one nitpicking the Li family? And what exactly did her words imply? Was she suggesting that the Li family’s decision to annul the engagement today an act of deceit and dishonesty?
Mu Wan didn’t give any of them a chance to react and simply bowed to Mu Xingde, “Father, this daughter just returned and needs to rest a bit. Allow me to return to my courtyard.”
Mu Xingde also felt the need to reassess the situation and quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, go back and rest. We’ll have a family dinner later.”
After leaving the drawing room, Yunling muttered angrily, “What cat? That was definitely someone eavesdropping on us just now!”
“That Third Madam Li is too absurd. We barely get home, and she’s already here to hassle Eldest Miss. She preaches about manners and propriety, yet who is it that arrives without a visiting card and immediately starts talking about annulment?”
“Still, why does the Second Miss refuse to enter the palace?” This matter thoroughly puzzled Yunling. Growing up together with Mu Wan, she was very familiar with the characters of Shen-shi and Mu Rou. Because of her background, Shen-shi highly valued social status and raised Mu Rou as if she were some precious daughter of a noble family. In fact, Shen-shi always felt a sense of injustice for Mu Rou, believing that if not for their family’s low status, her daughter was surely destined for the highest ranks—like an empress, for example.
Now that they were finally presented with an opportunity to become an empress, why did they reject it?
“Maybe she already has been through it,” Mu Wan murmured.
“What did you say, Miss?” Yunling didn’t catch her words.
“Nothing,” said Mu Wan. Normally, things such as rebirth would not cross one’s mind. Perhaps only she, who had experienced reincarnation and time travel, would consider the possibility. The sudden poise that Mu Rou exhibited, her ability to maintain a perfect composure, and her detailed knowledge of the palace intricacy—these things required years to cultivate. Only if Mu Rou had been in the palace in her previous life would all of this make sense.
The residents of the imperial palace were bound with the strictest rules and etiquette, and the first thing one learned there, besides the rules, was forbearance…
It was obvious that Mu Rou’s time in the palace was far from pleasant, and that is why she was filled with fear at the idea of repeating the same fate. As a result, she persuaded her mother to send the half-sister she hated instead.
“She’s trying to push you into the palace and take the marriage proposal with the Li family for herself,” Yunling remarked. “Second Miss has quite the perfect plan, but it seems destined to fail.”
Mu Wan shook her head, “No, I will annul this engagement.”
Yunling was stunned for a moment, “Why?”
“Although I don’t mind if my husband has someone else in his heart, I refuse to be a ‘third party’ who breaks up a loving couple.”
If Mu Rou entered the palace, Li Yichen’s yearning would remain that, a yearning. He would be forced to keep his feelings to himself, which would not only be harmless but would actually simplify matters for her. However, it now seemed that Mu Rou had no intention of entering the palace, which meant the two of them could easily cause a scandal. Shen-shi and Mu Rou were never content with what they had, Third Madam Li was a self-centered fool, while Li Yichen was too oblivious and naïve to consider the bigger picture. Personal conduct was one of the important assessments for a court official, and the matter of favoring a lover and degrading one’s wife was a big enough defect that could jeopardize one’s career, not to mention other potential scandals.
She, Mu Wan, sought a good marriage in order to have a comfortable life, not to constantly clean up messes for her bosses.
Besides, tolerating one difficult colleague was manageable—which company didn’t have one or two troublesome employees? However, dealing with two difficult bosses would be unbearable.
Anyway, the Li family was only a conveniently suitable option for her at the moment, not her only choice.
Yunling was still confused, “But Miss, you were so adamant just now about not breaking off the engagement.”
Mu Wan explained, “It’s all a matter of negotiation. The engagement will certainly be annulled, but I can’t just let the Li family take all the benefit for nothing. My mother invested years in him, and now that he has gained both fame and fortune, he not only wants to get out of the contract but also has me taking the blame? That doesn’t make any sense.”
In this era, a girl’s reputation was like her resume, crucial for securing a good future. If the Li family wanted to break the engagement, she would have them pay a corresponding penalty.
‘Still, it’s time to start looking for a new job, huh…’
Mu Wan thought for a moment and then instructed, “Bring out a collection of poems later.”
Yunling was puzzled, “Why do you need a poetry collection, Miss?”
Mu Wan replied leisurely, “It’s a gift for my dear second sister.”
Yunling immediately crossed out the rare, precious books and mentally replaced them with an ordinary poetry collection, but she was still curious, “Why would you give it to Second Miss?”
‘Of course it’s because the Second Miss knows the future.’—Mu Wan smiled slightly. Even if Mu Rou was trapped in the inner palace in her previous life, she would surely know which families would rise to power and which ones would fall. With such a convenient golden finger2 at her disposal, wouldn’t it be wasteful not to make good use of it?
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