After Jianxiu Gave The Villain In The Book A Wedding To Bring Him Good Luck - Chapter 13

Shuangyan and Mao Leyou encountered danger near the rockery.

Wanfeng Pavilion had originally been a place Ning Bumo used to test Mu Wan, and its location within the estate was quite secluded, with very few people passing by.

Consequently, neither Shuangyan nor her young mistress expected a black cat to suddenly emerge from the shadows of the woods, its target clearly set on Mao Leyou.

To protect her mistress, Shuangyan threw herself in front of Mao Leyou. Instead of retreating, the cat did not stop; it bit down on Shuangyan’s arm, seemingly intent on tearing away a chunk of flesh.

That was when Shuangyan let out her cry of pain.

The cat did not give up after its first unsuccessful attempt. Upon landing, it lunged toward Mao Leyou again. This time, anticipating that Shuangyan would try to block it once more, it leaped lightly into the air, aiming its claws at Mao Leyou’s face.

Although Mao Leyou had practiced martial arts at home, for some reason, she was frozen by the sight of the cat’s dark, deep eyes. Fortunately, Mu Wan and the others arrived just in time. The stone Mu Wan threw knocked the cat away, but a shallow scratch remained on Mao Leyou’s cheek.

“Young Miss, are you alright?” Shuangyan asked, looking worriedly at the girl’s cheek, only to be stopped by Mu Wan. “You had better worry about yourself first.”

Mu Wan grabbed Shuangyan’s wrist and saw a deep tooth mark. Blood was streaming out; an uninformed observer might have thought she had been mauled by a wild beast.

What was even more terrifying was that the wound was glowing with a faint, bruised blue, as if she had been poisoned.

“Is it serious?” Ning Bumo asked with a grave expression. “I will have someone fetch medicine.”

“This black cat is not simple; it carries deep resentment. If not treated immediately, the wound could be fatal.”

His words left Shuangyan in a panic. She was only a few years older than Mao Leyou, and like anyone, she feared pain. Terrified by Mu Wan’s warning, her heart pounded in her chest.

“Then if this servant dies, could you please give the silver I have saved over the years to my family?”

“Who said you were going to die?” Mu Wan shot her a look, his uncharacteristic sternness causing Shuangyan to shrink back. The next moment, a pale green pill was pressed into her hand. “Eat this first. We will clean and dress the wound afterward.”

The pill was one Mu Wan had refined earlier. He had given ninety percent of them to Du Heguang’s group and kept a small remainder as a backup; he had not expected to use it so soon.

Shuangyan knew the Prince Consort was a kind person, so she obediently swallowed it. Perhaps it was her imagination, but after the sweet-tasting pill dissolved in her mouth, the pain in her arm diminished significantly.

Having temporarily checked the spread of the evil energy in Shuangyan’s arm, the group moved to the guest room. Ning Bumo sent someone to gather the necessary herbs. Once the wound was cleaned and dressed with medicine, and Shuangyan was instructed to change the bandages frequently, Mu Wan and Ning Bumo finally had time to focus on Mao Leyou.

Now that she had recovered from the shock, Mao Leyou examined the thin scratch on her cheek and, with a carefree attitude, remarked, “If my face is injured, does that mean I will not have to marry…”

“Mao Leyou.” Ning Bumo’s voice carried a faint trace of warning, echoing with the authority he had displayed earlier. “No matter the reason, you must not treat your own body as a joke. It is not worth it.”

“Oh,” Mao Leyou replied listlessly, unsure if she had actually listened.

“Let me see.” Mu Wan stepped forward to observe, then infused a trace of spiritual energy into the estate’s ointment and told Mao Leyou to apply it herself. “It is not a big problem; it will not leave a scar.”

Worried that she would be disobedient, Ning Bumo sent someone to the General’s Mansion to have them take Mao Leyou home for proper care. As she left, the young girl poked her head back in and whispered, “Cousin-uncle, do not worry, I will not tell anyone about the Cousin-aunt!”

Everyone said the Prince Consort was a simpleton, but Mao Leyou could see clearly that Mu Wan was incredibly intelligent; there had to be a secret. She was naive, but not stupid, and such information was something she would not reveal even to her parents.

After she left, Mu Wan asked curiously, “She calls you Cousin-uncle?”

Ning Bumo nodded. “She is the daughter of my cousin; my grandfather is my uncle.”

It was not appropriate to discuss further details. The two returned to the sleeping quarters.

Mu Wan still remembered who had let Mao Leyou in, and with the system nagging him about the task every day, he said directly, “I do not like Lin Zhong.”

“Then we shall cast him out.”

The promptness of the answer surprised even Mu Wan. He spun Ning Bumo’s wheelchair around and asked, “Why did you agree so readily? And is he not a person sent by the palace?”

“It would not have been easy before, but he used Mao Leyou to his advantage. The Empress Dowager will not tolerate that.”

Those few words, combined with Mao Leyou’s earlier vague remarks, made it impossible for Mu Wan not to connect the dots. “Mao Leyou, she…”

“She is the Empress my mother has chosen for Ning Yu,” Ning Bumo said with a mocking smile. “In fact, even back when the Crown Prince was still the heir, she wanted my cousin to become the Crown Princess, but neither the ministers nor the Mao family allowed it.”

The ministers would not permit two consecutive Empresses from the Mao family, and since neither the Crown Prince nor his cousin had any romantic interest in each other, Mao Xinyun, who was not yet as paranoid, or perhaps not yet as powerful as she was now, had stopped pursuing it.

That changed after she became the Empress Dowager and began ruling from behind the curtain. Mao Xinyun’s desire for control grew intense. Forcing Mao Leyou to marry Ning Yu to become Empress and tighten her grip on the court and the harem became an urgent priority.

“However, aside from her, I doubt anyone else is happy about it.”

Ning Yu had long since grown unwilling to be manipulated by her, and Mao Leyou had no interest in entering the palace. Despite that, Mao Xinyun was capable of forcing the marriage.

She was simply trying to maintain appearances, hoping to convince her family members to accept her arrangements willingly to avoid creating a rift.

Thus, Lin Zhong’s secret scheming today—trying to make Mao Leyou cause trouble for Mu Wan, which almost resulted in her disfigurement—was a major taboo for Mao Xinyun.

As a steward sent by the court, Lin Zhong had not previously made mistakes, so Ning Bumo could not easily dismiss him, but that was no longer the case.

“So you do not need to worry about him bothering you in the future.”

The task was completed so easily that Mu Wan raised an eyebrow at the system, which was clenching its fists in the void.

It was hateful. Did this thing have any autonomy? Was it being led by the nose by its host too easily?

Watching Ning Bumo sitting opposite Mu Wan, looking as if he would grow two ears and wag them at Mu Wan if he could, the system spun in circles in frustration.

Looking at the villain, whose character setting had gone completely off-track, with a mix of resentment and disappointment, the system still dutifully transferred the points into Mu Wan’s account.

Ning Bumo handled Lin Zhong’s case, so Mu Wan did not need to ask further. However, he still felt he needed to emphasize the matter of the black cat.

“You are saying this is not the first time it has appeared in the estate?”

Mu Wan nodded. While purchasing spiritual stones from the system shop, he emphasized, “I also feel the layout of your estate is wrong. It should have been a good place, but it is always shrouded in a chilling aura, as if something is affecting the feng shui.”

This matter could be significant. If anyone else were told this, they might fear someone was plotting against them. But after everything he had endured on the battlefield, Ning Bumo paused for a moment and felt a sense of acceptance.

“Do you want me to find a Taoist priest to inspect the estate?”

“That is not impossible; the black cat is clearly strange. However, do not get your hopes up too high,” Mu Wan said. “The person who set this up is quite skilled; it was likely planned a long time ago. Even I cannot find the source for now. It will take time. If a priest can make them stop temporarily, that would be good, but I am afraid of alerting the enemy.”

As he hesitated, a sudden idea struck Mu Wan. “No, actually, it is possible.”

Seeing Ning Bumo’s curious gaze, he beckoned him closer. “Come closer, I will tell you.”