Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 323 Return

Qin Muyan's method of making money was naturally to rob directly.

There were many bandits around, so he robbed them. When the bandits ran out of food, they could only rob the common people. What they robbed was then taken by Qin Muyan, which allowed the smelting of the mines to begin.

Chen Hongwu turned a blind eye to some things, since his Southwest Army only cared about the safety of the mines and didn't interfere with anything else.

He received a message from Yuan Cuo, informing him that Yuan Cuo had already embarked on his journey back to Beijing...

He summoned his deputy and whispered a few instructions to him.

The deputy general led his men back to the southwest without a trace, and soon news of a border rebellion broke. Chen Hongwu left a contingent of southwestern troops to guard the mines, while he led a portion of his army back to the southwest to engage in battle…

When Emperor Qi Xiao received the battle report, Yuan Cuo was already close to the capital.

They should have returned much earlier, but they kept stopping along the way, deliberately timing their journey. Even Liu Musheng, who loved to have fun, couldn't contain himself, "Don't you miss my sister at all? She's heavily pregnant!"

"It's you who wants to be with Wanwan, don't blame me." Yuan Cuo didn't believe he was that considerate.

Liu Musheng sighed, "Can't I think about everything? By the way, now that you're Viscount Yongyi, aren't you moving out of the Liu family?"

"If you move away, I'll be quite lonely." He had gotten into the habit of going to the Liu family's house first to chat with Liu Yuechu for a bit before returning to the courtyard to rest.

Yuan Cuo glanced at him sideways, "You don't necessarily want to follow me to the Viscount's mansion, do you?"

“One more of me won’t make a difference…” Liu Musheng didn’t mind being seen through. “Or you could just stay here, take down the Liu family’s sign, and replace it with the Yuan family’s. I don’t mind.”

"There are too many uncertainties, and it's not worth discussing them seriously for now." Yuan Cuo summoned his personal guard and ordered him to quickly go to the palace to report.

He didn't make a big fuss, but kept a low profile. "I want to give Yuechu a surprise. Why don't you go back first?"

"What surprise have you prepared?" Liu Musheng asked curiously, wishing he could have learned from Huang Wanwan and used it on her.

"If I told you, would you still call it a surprise?" Yuan Cuo rolled his eyes again.

"Let me tell you, even if you get promoted, you're still my brother-in-law. Besides, I went all the way to Huaizhou twice to deliver money, so you'd better show me some respect!" Liu Musheng got off the carriage and stretched his limbs; he was really exhausted from the journey.

Yuan Cuo remained seated as still as a bell, watching Liu Musheng stride away.

He waited for a while at a small teahouse outside the city, and soon met Hou Lai.

This time, Hou Lai didn't grin and joke around. Instead, he knelt on the ground and said, "I have failed your trust. Please punish me, Master!"

"You've done your best in this situation, get up." Yuan Cuo didn't blame him. Hou Lai was just one of the secret guards, but now he had left the organization and was only protecting Liu Yuechu.

Hou Lai felt even more guilty. "Princess Liu received a letter from Prince Chun today, and she was quite upset, but she didn't go to meet him. Nobody knows what it said."

Yuan Cuo nodded. "Does the palace know I've returned?"

Hou Lai nodded, "I know, but I don't know the exact time of entry into the city. Recently, several mansions have been built in the city, and there is a bit of a bloody smell." Emperor Qi Xiao's eyes were only on money, and he hoped that Yuan Cuo could bring back good news to add to his glory.

"Take these to Cheng Hai, I'll go pick up Madam and take her back to the Liu family." Yuan Cuo had no intention of listening to the commotion, like a monkey show; he simply handed Hou Lai a box.

The box was very heavy and over a meter long.

Hou Lai was somewhat surprised, but he didn't dare to ask what was inside.

"You really don't want to return home in glory? That scene would probably be something you can brag about for a lifetime!" Hou Lai asked with great curiosity.

Yuan Cuo shook his head. "Hypocritical things are useless." Besides, if he were to enter the city in a grand manner, with the people cheering and overshadowing Emperor Qi Xiao, wouldn't he be waiting to die?

Hou Lai received the order and left in a hurry.

Yuan Cuo did not have the main force follow him, but instead slowly dismounted from the carriage.

The long convoy headed straight for the Liu residence to deliver the luggage, but he strolled leisurely into the city.

He went to Liu Yuechu's favorite braised pork rib shop to buy food, and also bought her favorite osmanthus cake. He strolled along, stopping frequently, still resembling the serene scholar he once was.

He did not change into the viscount's attire; he remained in his blue robe with a long overcoat.

Someone on the street recognized him and thought they were mistaken. Wasn't Lord Yuan still visiting various countries? How could he possibly be returning to the capital? Besides, even if he were returning, he should have been given a grand welcome with gongs and drums. How could he not even have ridden in a carriage?

You must have misread it.

But how could there be someone who looks so much like Yuan Cuo?

Passersby on both sides were very curious, but Yuan Cuo didn't care at all.

After buying many of Liu Yuechu's favorite foods, he leisurely walked to the Princess's residence.

At this moment, Chen Zhongyao had just returned from the Inspectorate and was getting off his carriage in front of the Princess's residence.

He glanced at it casually out of the corner of his eye, then instantly turned his head and focused, "They're back?" He hadn't expected that.

Yuan Cuo smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you for taking care of Yue Niang for so many days, brother-in-law..."

"You came back with just this little bit of stuff?" Although Chen Zhongyao was an imperial censor, he came from a wealthy family, and his taste in clothing was unique and extraordinary. He looked at least more affluent than Viscount Yuan Cuo.

Yuan Cuo laughed and said, "I've already had it sent back to the Liu residence. I just bought some snacks."

Chen Zhongyao remained silent for a long while, then asked, "Aren't you planning to go to the Viscount's mansion?"

“No matter what official position I hold, I’m still a son-in-law of the Liu family. I can still live and beg for food and drink in the Liu family without any problem, right?” Yuan Cuo said these words without any pretense.

Chen Zhongyao chuckled lightly, "I'd really like to know if those people in the palace will abandon all decorum and start cursing when they hear what you've said."

"It doesn't matter, let them scold me, I'm back anyway..." Yuan Cuo picked up the items in his hands, "If we don't eat now, they'll get cold."

That's a good excuse.

Chen Zhongyao led the way into the mansion, followed by Yuan Cuo.

The people inside the mansion were quite surprised to see Chen Zhongyao bring an outsider into the mansion, as they were working at a leisurely pace.

This ancestor has always been a loner with no friends, yet he brought people with him?

"Holy crap, it's the son-in-law!"

"Princess, your husband is back!"

"Masters, the son-in-law is back!"

The servants, disregarding whether Chen Zhongyao would be displeased, immediately ran and shouted to deliver the message.

Princess Chen was not in the courtyard at this time, but went to Liu Yuechu's room for a long talk with her daughter.

"Does he really know your father's whereabouts? I always feel like he has ulterior motives. If it were true, he would have told you after arriving in the capital. He even kept saying he would treat you as his daughter-in-law. Now, it seems like he was just setting a trap!"

Liu Yuechu looked at the letter in her hand, and she was indeed anxious and restless.

No matter how much she disliked her father, she still wanted to know his whereabouts. She had to admit that Prince Chun had indeed found a weakness in her.

"Even if it's a trap, I have to step in it twice. Otherwise, if he threatens me with my father's affairs at a crucial moment, wouldn't I be in an even more passive position?"