He will not let any of those who trampled on him go.
Turning around, Mu Tao angrily rushed out, glaring at the pedestrians who were quickly walking away, and shouted: "Catch those people who stepped on him and teach them a lesson!"
"Bang!" The moment Mu Tao stepped out of Wangjiang Tower, something fell down and hit him hard on the head, instantly swelling up a large bump on his flat head.
"Who threw this at me!" Mu Tao roared angrily, his eyes bloodshot. He looked down and saw a large, gleaming gold ingot lying on the ground. He narrowed his eyes and thought, "They threw gold at him. They have so much silver they don't know what to do with it."
"Bang bang bang!" Countless gold ingots came from all directions. Mu Tao used his lightness skill to dodge left and right at top speed, but he was still hit all over his body and was in pain. His eyes widened and he cursed: "Who has so much money that they don't know what to do with it? They actually used it to hit me!"
"Yours!" A faint voice echoed in broad daylight.
Mu Tao was taken aback. He bent down and picked up a gold ingot. Looking at the mark at the bottom, he realized it was the gold stolen from the Duke of Mu's mansion!
His sharp tiger eyes scanned the surroundings, seeing only ordinary pedestrians and no extraordinary person. But he knew that person was standing in the crowd, watching him make a fool of himself.
The onlookers burst into laughter. General Mu was truly impressive, getting so embarrassed by the gold that had been stolen from his own home!
When the news reached Chang Le Palace, Consort Shu was furious. She glared at Mu Tao, who was covered in bruises and looked disheveled, and scolded him sharply: "I sent you back to the capital to protect the Mu State Duke's Mansion, not for you to embarrass yourself. What are you, a dignified border general, arguing with a bunch of commoners for?"
She smashed the Wangjiang Tower, injured people, and even had the censor's impeachment memorial presented to the emperor. Her current situation is truly worse than ever.
"They criticized the Duke of Mu's mansion for being incompetent, and I couldn't stand it, so I..." This aunt is very clever. Mu Tao has been somewhat afraid of her since he was a child. Even after he returned from his studies and became a general, he was still afraid and reserved in front of this aunt.
"If you find the lost million taels of silver, let's see which commoner dares to laugh at you. Now look what's happened, you've been hit all over the head by the gold that your own family lost, and you've even been impeached by a minister. You've completely disgraced the Duke of Mu's mansion!"
Consort Shu was so angry that her chest ached. This nephew of hers was always brave but reckless and liked to show off. He had just returned to the capital last night and was immediately intimidated by Lu Jiangfeng, making the Duke of Mu's mansion lose face. And now, only a day later, he had made such a fool of himself again.
She was framed by Consort De and lost power in the harem. She was preparing to turn the tables, but Mu Tao was in no condition to help her in the slightest. She thought that after a year of training at the border, he would have some skills, but she never expected that he would still be so incompetent and prone to causing trouble. She should have called back the steady and reliable eldest brother in the first place.
"Aunt, that man threw gold from the Duke of Mu's mansion at me. He was clearly trying to humiliate me and the entire Duke of Mu's mansion. We must not let him get away with this!" Thinking of his humiliation and the ridicule from everyone, Mu Tao gritted his teeth in anger.
Consort Shu glared at Mu Tao, annoyed: "If you hadn't fallen for the trap, how could that person have humiliated you?"
Mu Tao's eyes flickered unnaturally. He lowered his head and remained silent. He refused to admit that he was not skilled enough and that the other person was using tricks and schemes. If it were a real fight, he might not lose.
Consort Shu was already furious. Mu Tao remained silent, which only made her more frustrated. He was such a quiet, unassuming guy. Besides his brute strength and tendency to cause trouble, he had no other skills. She said impatiently, "Go back first and guard the Mu State Duke's mansion properly. You are not allowed to leave the mansion without my order!"
The person who stole the million taels of silver and threw gold at people wasn't short of money; he was deliberately trying to embarrass the Duke of Mu's mansion. She needs to think carefully about his next move, find him, and tear him to pieces.
"Yes!" Upon hearing that he could leave, Mu Tao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but did not show it. He respectfully bowed and slowly retreated. A piece of paper fell out of his sleeve and gently floated to the ground. The paper spread out, revealing the face of a young man.
Mu Tao was startled and quickly reached out to pick it up, but Consort Shu actually picked up the painting before him. The man in the painting was dressed in white, with thick black eyebrows, sharp eyes, and an incomparably handsome face. He had an arrogant and aloof temperament, seemingly both unfamiliar and familiar.
Consort Shu's icy gaze suddenly shot towards Mu Tao: "Where did you find this painting?"
Mu Tao kept his head down, not daring to look at Consort Shu: "I had someone paint this, it wasn't dug up!" The painting had just been finished, and the ink wasn't dry yet. He had been a little more relaxed to prevent damaging the painting, but he didn't expect his aunt to find out.
"It was painted by someone else right now!" Consort Shu's gaze sharpened as she examined the painting closely. The ink was indeed very vibrant, indicating that it had only been painted in half a day at most. "Who did you paint? How old is he? Why did you paint him?" Consort Shu asked three questions in a row, her tone grave and her gaze deep.
Consort Shu did not reprimand him for neglecting his duties. Mu Tao was stunned. Looking at Consort Shu's sharp gaze, his heart trembled as he gathered his thoughts and carefully recalled Dongfang Heng's appearance: "I don't know who he is. Judging from his age, he is only nineteen or twenty years old. He slapped me and made me look bad. I must find him and tear him to pieces."
"Are you sure he's nineteen or twenty years old, and not thirty-nine or forty?" Consort Shu's cold gaze fell on Mu Tao again.
“Twenty is youth, forty is middle-aged. Even if I were incompetent, I wouldn’t get that much of an age wrong.” Mu Tao carefully observed Consort Shu’s gloomy gaze and cautiously asked, “Aunt, do you know this person?”
Chapter 173 Seeking one's own death
"I don't recognize him!" Consort Shu's eyelids darkened, her thick black eyelashes curling slightly upwards, cleverly concealing the expression in her eyes. Her slender fingers, adorned with gold nail guards, folded the drawing paper and tossed it to Mu Tao: "Once you catch this person, don't rush to kill him. Lock him up first and await my instructions!"
Mu Tao was taken aback, then his eyes lit up: "Yes!" He had injured him and made him lose face in front of the common people. If he were killed with a single sword, it would be too easy for him. Keeping him alive and slowly torturing him, making him suffer to the point of wishing he were dead, would be the cruelest punishment for him.
My aunt is so clever! How come I never thought of such a brilliant method?
Looking at Mu Tao's face, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and his expression, which was sometimes sunny and sometimes gloomy, Consort Shu frowned tightly. This nephew of hers was really stupid to the extreme. He didn't know how to control his emotions at all. His joy, anger, sorrow and happiness were all written on his face.
It's not even close to being a done deal, and whether he can even catch that person is another matter entirely, yet he's already having pipe dreams—utterly foolish.
"The Chrysanthemum Banquet is almost here. How are your preparations going?" A leopard can't change its spots. Mu Tao was beyond redemption, and Consort Shu was too lazy to lecture him further. Let's get back to the important matter at hand.
"Aunt, your nephew is fully prepared and will surely impress the Emperor!" Mu Tao said with his chin held high, his tone arrogant and full of confidence. He was the second son of the Duke of Mu's family, the respected General Mu Er, and all the soldiers on the border admired him. It was just a small matter to display his talents and win the Emperor's praise.
"Your talent is related to the reputation of the Duke of Mu's mansion, so you must be careful and not mess it up!" Consort Shu was tricked by Consort De, lost her power to manage the six palaces, and left the emperor with a bad impression of lax palace management.
The theft of a million taels of silver from the Duke of Mu's mansion has become the laughing stock of the people in the capital. If Mu Tao makes any further mistakes, the Duke of Mu's mansion will become a laughing stock among the nobles of the capital, and she will have no chance to turn the tables and suppress Consort De.
"Don't worry, Aunt, I know what's important and I won't be careless about this!" Mu Tao clasped his hands together, making a solemn vow, his face serious, almost as if he were raising his hand to swear an oath.
Consort Shu could tell that Mu Tao was serious and capable, so she didn't say anything more and waved him away.
Leaning against the soft pillows, her agitated heart gradually calmed down. Her eyes and mind were filled with the handsome face of the man in the painting, and she vaguely guessed his identity. A hint of coldness flashed in her sharp, beautiful eyes: What is he doing in the capital of Xiliang?
If it was just a chance encounter, she wouldn't make things too difficult for him. But if he was there to cause her trouble, she would never let him off the hook!
The Chrysanthemum Banquet was a custom of the Western Liang Kingdom, held annually in October. A banquet was held in the palace to entertain civil and military officials and their families, who would eat crabs and admire chrysanthemums.
Under the azure sky and bright sunshine, the center of the spacious area was filled with purple, yellow, and white chrysanthemums, pot after pot, clustered together, and a gentle breeze carried their fragrance throughout the air.
The court officials and their families had almost all arrived. They chatted and laughed as they took their seats. Shen Lixue, dressed in white with her black hair tied up, followed the old lady and the lady of the Marquis's residence to the location of the Zhenguo Marquis's residence.
The old lady and Madam Hou, being elders, sat in the front row, while Lu Jiangfeng and Shen Lixue, being juniors, sat side by side in the back.
Shen Lixue quietly raised her eyes to look at the location of the royal family members. They were quite far away from her, and there were people blocking their view in front of them, so Ye Qianlong should not be able to see her. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Her movements to relax her breathing were very subtle, but Lu Jiangfeng still noticed something was off: "Brother Shen, is something on your mind?" Calling her Xiao Li was too intimate, and Dongfang Heng was jealous, so Shen Lixue had to ask Lu Jiangfeng to change his address back to Brother Shen.
Shen Lixue smiled and replied perfunctorily, "This is my first time attending a chrysanthemum banquet, and I'm surrounded by high-ranking officials and nobles from the capital of Xiliang. I'm a little unaccustomed to it!"
She was a doctor who answered the call for help, not a member of the Zhenguo Marquis's family. The chrysanthemum banquet in the palace was originally none of her business, but the day before the banquet, Consort De suddenly sent a messenger to invite her to the palace to attend the banquet, saying that she wanted to personally thank her for saving her life.