Your Highness, please stop chasing me.

Chapter 74 Nightfall Abyss Spits Blood

Cang Lin looked at Mu Xue, who was still smiling as she boarded the carriage, and clicked his tongue twice in annoyance.

He was about to tease Mu Xue a couple of times when he looked up in her direction and saw the dragon pearl jade pendant she was wearing around her neck.

Although it's called a dragon ball, it's actually more like a safety buckle, only thicker and rounder.

Those who don't recognize it might mistake it for a peace buckle, but its design is quite unique, featuring a phoenix embracing each other in a subtle carving.

Without a close inspection, it's hard to tell that this is the dragon ball in the middle of the double dragon buckle.

It seems that Ye Shangyuan had carefully considered giving this to Mu Xue.

He couldn't resist teasing Mu Xue, saying, "Oh ho, you thought I was in your way? So this kid from the Ye family is going to give you a belated birthday present!"

Mu Xue was a little embarrassed by his teasing, and she said, "Okay, let's go back quickly. I'm tired."

Cang Lin asked with a grin, "Do you know what the meaning of this dragon ball is?"

Mu Xue's heart skipped a beat. No way, it really does have a meaning!

She said calmly, "What could it mean? Brother Ayuan said it's just the leftover material. It would be a waste to throw away such fine warm jade."

Cang Lin chuckled as he looked at her. He could tell that this little girl was incredibly shrewd; she must have already figured things out.

He didn't point it out, but suggested that Ye Shangyuan was older and would be a good candidate for son-in-law.

Mu Xue will be going to the capital sooner or later, and with Ye Shangyuan protecting her, Mu Xue will have an extra layer of protection.

Neither of them spoke, and the carriage drove quietly along the road.

"Giddy up! Giddy up!" Several loud spurring sounds rang out from afar. Mu Xue and Cang Lin opened their eyes at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance; horse racing was prohibited on Yu Nan City Street.

Cang Lin peeked out through a crack, just as a fast horse galloped past in the opposite direction.

Cang Lin's eyes flickered slightly; it was actually Mu Qinghe!

Mu Xue asked, "What's wrong?"

Cang Lin hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth: "It was Mu Qing who came."

Mu Xue was taken aback when she heard the name; she hadn't expected him to arrive so quickly.

It's only been a day and a night; it would take three days to get from the capital to Yunan City.

He must have traveled day and night to get here.

Mu Xue said calmly, "Now that everyone's gone, can we go home? I'm tired and hot. Let's have some of the fruit and rock sugar water that Granny made."

Seeing that Mu Xue didn't react much, as if Mu Qinghe had nothing to do with her, Cang Lin stopped worrying about it and simply said, "Okay, when we get back I'll have someone bring you a lot of different kinds of fruit and put them in the ice cellar to keep them chilled."

Mu Xue chuckled and said, "A watermelon is enough. This one is enough for the whole summer!"

The two people inside the carriage chatted and laughed, completely undisturbed by Mu Qinghe's appearance.

As soon as Ye Shangyuan returned to the First Crafting Shop, he learned that Mu Qinghe had arrived in Yu Nan City.

He looked at the note in his hand and snorted, "They came quickly."

Ye San stepped forward and said, "Miss Zhu from the General's Mansion also came along."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shangyuan's expression grew even colder. He said in a chilling voice, "The eldest son of the Mu family is already on the verge of death, yet he still brings along this outsider with no blood relation. Who are you trying to annoy?"

Ye San sensed the displeasure in his words, lowered her head slightly, and remained silent.

"How's the investigation into Zhu Zhiyue going?" Ye Shangyuan asked.

“I’ve investigated, and there’s nothing wrong with her appearance. The time and place match up. It was just a coincidence that she was rescued by Young Master Mu, and she looks like the General’s wife,” Ye San said, bowing.

“The real problem is when there are no problems,” Ye Shangyuan said.

"Yes, so I went to inquire in the villages she might have passed through, but no one had noticed. However, I discovered that three of the villages she might have passed through had been massacred, with no survivors." Ye San reported his findings to Ye Shangyuan.

"A massacre of a village? Can you find out who did it?" Ye Shangyuan was shocked.

The borders of Xiyu Kingdom have been plagued by war for years, and peace has only been restored in the last two years. If a massacre of a village were to occur, it would be detrimental to the stability of the country.

"When I arrived, the village was deserted, and even the bodies could not be found," Ye San replied truthfully.

Ye Shangyuan clenched his fist and coldly ordered, "Investigate. Find out the truth. Keep an eye on Zhu Zhiyue too."

After saying that, he covered his chest with one hand, turned his head, and spat out a mouthful of dark red blood, which startled Ye Sanlian, who rushed forward to support Ye Shangyuan.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, how are you?" Ye San called out anxiously. Just then, Leng Quan returned from outside. Hearing the call, he rushed in.

Seeing that Ye Shangyuan still had blood on the corner of his mouth and was leaning against Ye San, he hurriedly stepped forward to help support Ye Shangyuan.

"What happened? Everything was fine just now!" Leng Quan asked anxiously.

"This... His Highness was so enraged when he heard that several villages had been massacred that he suffered a stroke!" Ye San and Leng Quan helped Ye Shangyuan to bed.

"Reizen, what do we do now?" Yoruzo asked.

"I'll go and invite Miss Xue. You keep an eye on the Prince." Leng Quan immediately thought of Mu Xue.

"Alright, go quickly," Ye San urged.

Mu Xue returned to Shenjing Lane, intending to take a nap and have dinner later. However, just as she lay down, Leng Quan's loud shouts came from the courtyard.

"Miss Xue, Miss Xue, come with me quickly!" Ignoring Wang Heping's obstruction, Leng Quan leaped into Mu Xue's courtyard.

Upon hearing Leng Quan's voice, Mu Xue didn't care about resting. She hastily put on her outer robe, pushed open the door, and came out. Before she could even see the person's face clearly, Leng Quan pulled her outside.

Wang Heping saw Mu Xue being pulled away and was about to step forward when Mu Xue stopped him, saying, "It's nothing. They need to talk to me. Go tell Uncle that I'll be right back."

Upon hearing this, Wang Heping nodded in agreement and stepped aside.

Su Su recognized Leng Quan. She chased after him for a couple of steps but couldn't catch up. She called out, "Miss, where are you going?"

"Susu, you and Granny stay in the courtyard and don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a bit." Mu Xue was pulled along by Leng Quan and ran very fast.

The sound gradually faded away in the wind.

Su Su stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking at the empty path. She lowered her hand, looked at Wang Heping at the gate, and said, "Butler Wang, did they just take Miss away like that?"

Wang Heping shrugged and said, "We can't beat them."

SuSu: ......

Mu Xue was carried by Leng Quan all the way to the backyard of the first forging shop in Dongfang.

It was the hottest time of day, and the two didn't encounter anyone along the way.

As soon as they arrived at the shop, Wu Ying came up to them and hurriedly said, "Fifth Miss, the master just coughed up blood again."

Upon hearing this, Mu Xue didn't stop and quickly followed Wu Ying into the courtyard where Ye Shangyuan was.

It turns out there's a hidden gem behind the shop. The design is quite ingenious.

It seemed like we had already reached the courtyard wall, but through the artificial hill, we could actually reach another courtyard.

At this moment, Mu Xue had no time to appreciate it. She quickly stepped into the room and walked to the bedside, where Ye San was cleaning the bloodstains from Ye Shangyuan's mouth.