Le charme d'une femme puissante se répand à travers le monde

Chapitre 5

In the book, when encountering such situations, the other party is usually cool enough to just throw the money away and leave, while the one in my position cries and begs to chase after me, leaving his address and phone number, saying he wants to return the money. How come everything changes when it comes to me? Besides, I never intended to take your money for nothing, really.

I'm sure my expression just now was priceless, otherwise how could someone who was just as expressionless a moment ago suddenly be grinning like that, and with the smile even getting wider? Even after I walked out of the Invitation Moon Pavilion, that guy still had that wicked grin on his face. Good heavens, I'm almost certain that this usually upright and masculine man—the First-Rank General of the Dragon Yao Kingdom—is a total sly fox, with a mind full of twisted schemes. What kind of person is he? We've all been fooled. Everyone thought he was calm, collected, upright, and masculine, but he looks more like a scoundrel to me.

"General Mu, have you laughed enough?" I stopped, turned around and smiled at him, but my teeth were grinding together involuntarily. Heaven's wrath! We're of the same rank! You only have a slight connection to the emperor, is it really necessary to bully people like this? But, but why don't they dare to yell at you? Ugh, the newcomer is always the weaker party!

He looked at me for a while, then finally burst into laughter. As he laughed, he glanced around, then stared at me, panting, his eyes dark and bright: "Prime Minister Yun, how about I escort you back to your residence?"

Good heavens, how could Zhang De say he's mature, steady, shrewd, and capable? Look at that lewd grin on his face! The Dragon Yao Kingdom actually expects him to fight on the battlefield—what a misfortune! It seems that the emperor, with his stunning beauty, isn't very good at judging people. Ah, Cui'er, your young lady has been waiting for you until the flowers have withered, and you still haven't appeared. Then I'll have to go back to the manor first. You can go back by yourself later.

Without Cui'er's help, my climb onto the carriage was rather clumsy. I could imagine Mu Qinglin smirking behind me; that cold-blooded animal had absolutely no spirit of helping others. After finally getting on and settling into the carriage, I turned around and saw that while I had struggled to climb in, Mu Qinglin had effortlessly leaped up and sat down opposite me in the blink of an eye. I ignored him, glanced around, and then became absolutely certain that the carriages of Longyao Kingdom officials were all custom-made. The only difference between General Mu's carriage and the one I had ridden in that morning was that the curtains and carpet were dark blue embroidered with qilin, while mine were purple embroidered with cranes—the colors and patterns of our court robes.

Actually, this is the first day I've met Mu Qinglin. I don't know what he was like before, or what his true nature is. I only know that the Mu Qinglin sitting across from me seems very different from what others describe, but how is he different? Why is he different? I have no way of knowing. He couldn't possibly be a time traveler like me, could he? It seems he hasn't been sick or on leave recently.

"Yun Xiang seems quite different today!" Unlike Long Xiangyu's sharp demeanor, Mu Qinglin's probing gaze held a hint of interest.

"Huh?" I was genuinely startled. Was my behavior today unusual? Was my acting really that bad? Are people starting to doubt me? Did Mu Qinglin know Yun Feng before?

Perhaps my reaction was too strong, because Mu Qinglin seemed a little embarrassed and said, "Actually, it's nothing. I've run into Prime Minister Yun a few times before in Chongwen Hall. Back then, Prime Minister Yun was very serious and never smiled. I thought he was a serious and rigid person. I never expected that Prime Minister Yun was not only not serious or rigid, but even the way he ate was so... uh, unique."

My face flushed bright red instantly. Sure enough, he had seen my ravenous eating at the Inviting Moon Pavilion. This was incredibly embarrassing; my glorious image was completely ruined.

But putting aside manners, what did he just say? Before? Unsmiling and reserved? Is that how it was? No wonder the Emperor said those strange things just now; it turns out my personality has suddenly changed. But no one in the Yun family told me or reminded me. That's outrageous!

I glared at Mu Qinglin fiercely, my heart filled with resentment, but my tone was exceptionally gentle: "I was bedridden for a while recently, and it suddenly dawned on me that life is short and unpredictable, and we don't know what tomorrow will bring. We are all just ordinary people in this mortal world. Instead of making things difficult for others and forcing ourselves, why not open our hearts and enjoy every day of life?"

The person opposite him was clearly taken aback for a moment, and then looked thoughtful.

I ignored him and continued, my voice becoming even more ethereal, my eyes filled with sadness and resentment: "I used to be cold because I had too high expectations of myself, always wanting to do everything perfectly. Little did I know that this was just trapping myself and putting a lot of pressure on myself."

I'm good at making things up, and even better at gaining sympathy. It's just that now, dressed as a man, I can't convincingly portray a pitiful, weak character; that would be even more effective. It's a pity. "Actually, it's not just the pressure I put on myself; the people and things around me, everything around me, all put invisible pressure on me. I wasn't born into a prominent family, and my initial official position was bought; I'm still immature in dealing with people. I'm deeply grateful to the Emperor for his favor and to be appointed Prime Minister. I'm filled with trepidation, always wanting to achieve something to repay the Emperor's kindness and to silence the gossip, proving to the world that the Emperor didn't misjudge me. This situation always feels like a heavy stone weighing on my heart, making it hard to breathe, which led to me fainting in my study a few days ago. During my recovery, I was fortunate to receive guidance from a wise man, who helped me understand that health is fundamental to serving the country, and that composure in the face of honor and disgrace is an essential mindset for those who achieve great things."

I spoke at length, almost moving myself to tears. Meanwhile, Mu Qinglin, sitting opposite me, stared intently at me, his dark eyes shifting from darkness to light, then returning to a deep, unfathomable depth, as if a flame flickered within them.

"Hehe." I chuckled awkwardly and continued to be sentimental, "I've never shared these feelings with anyone before. I don't know why, but I blurted them out today, which I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Brother Qinglin."

Suddenly I'm called Brother Qinglin! I despise myself, how hypocritical! Haha. Who says civil and military officials can't be as close as family? I refuse to believe that after today, Mu Qinglin will still only see me as an ordinary colleague with irreconcilable class conflicts.

Mu Qinglin opened his mouth, but perhaps he was too excited, and no sound came out.

I glanced at Mu Qinglin again and sighed, “Yunfeng dares not presume to compare himself to you, knowing his own status and that he cannot be compared to Brother Qinglin. But Yunfeng is not ashamed and can boldly say that, apart from the Grand General, there is probably no one in the court more loyal to the Emperor than Yunfeng.”

His Majesty's behavior this morning definitely indicates a major reform is in the works, and it seems he's trying to make me the first to act. Regardless, given Mu Qinglin's influence in court and his personal relationship with the Emperor, winning him over is definitely the right move. Mu Qinglin just needs time to process this and prove my sincerity. Of course, I never expected to be able to persuade such a powerful ally with just a few words; I'm quite satisfied with my performance today.

With the Yun residence in sight, I stopped nagging, got out of the carriage, grabbed my packed belongings, thanked Mu Qinglin, and turned to walk towards the Yun residence. After a few steps, I looked back and saw the carriage had already turned around and sped away.

Regardless of what the past was like, from now on, I'm going to do what I want. Since no matter whether I sleep on my left, right, up, down, deep, or light sleep, I don't wake up back in the 21st century the next morning, I'm going to make some plans for myself.

I slowly made my way to the entrance of the Yun residence, glancing back to see that Cui'er and the carriage were still nowhere to be seen. Sigh, that girl, she'd searched for me for ages and still couldn't find me; she should have known to go back to the residence first. The guards at the gate were all startled to see me, then hurriedly bowed. I hadn't gone more than a few steps inside when Zhang De rushed out to greet me.

"Young master, it's getting late. Are you getting used to it?" It seems that Old Man Yun instructed Zhang De to wait for me. Old Man Yun is always so busy that he's nowhere to be seen, so Zhang De has become his manager. Well, it's fine. Anyway, I'd rather see this seemingly kinder steward than Old Man Yun.

"Well, I ate out, which delayed me." It seems that Old Man Yun was still a little worried about my first day of pretending.

"Where is Cui'er? Why isn't she with the young master?"

"I asked her to do some errands, and she'll be back soon." If Cui'er and I got separated while shopping, she'll definitely be in big trouble when she gets back.

After saying that, I headed towards Xifeng Garden. Come to think of it, I was actually quite sleepy. I hadn't slept well last night and had gotten up early this morning, so I needed to catch up on my sleep. Otherwise, my delicate skin, which had finally returned to its youthful state, wouldn't be able to handle it. I casually put the packed food on the table. I had originally intended to give it to Yunfeng, but then I felt a little embarrassed thinking about the leftovers. Then I rolled onto the bed and started to doze off.

I was still half asleep when I was woken up by someone. It was another face with tears streaming down its face, but this time it was a woman in red.

"Hong'er, what's wrong? Why aren't you resting in bed? What are you doing here?" I squinted, feeling a little disoriented. Had I traveled through time again? But wasn't this Hong'er?

"Young master... young master, please save Cui'er! She... she was taken away by Steward Zhang to be punished according to family rules."

"What? Why?" It's the family rule again. On my first day here, I heard about this bullshit family rule of thirty lashes and three days in the woodshed. Oh right, it seems that Hong'er was the one who was punished. Her injuries haven't fully healed yet. But what happened to Cui'er? I jumped up and grabbed Hong'er, rushing outside.

Hong'er, panting as she ran, explained to me, "Steward Zhang... said that Cui'er... disregarded the young master's safety... and made him... return to the manor alone, so..."

Clouds Drunk and the Moon Slightly Sleeping (Revised Edition) Volume One: When We Met, We Were All Joyful - Family Rules

Chapter word count: 3675 Last updated: 08-12-20 15:48

Family rules

Leaving Xifeng Garden, they ran straight to the steward's office. The steward's office was a place in the Yun family specifically for punishing servants who had done wrong. It could accommodate quite a few people, probably to facilitate having onlookers when the family rules were being enforced, in order to make an example of someone.

Sure enough, a crowd had already gathered in the steward's room. As soon as I entered, the crowd made way, and I immediately saw Cui'er being pressed to the ground, with two stewards from the Yun family holding long wooden canes standing on either side of her. Fortunately, I made it in time; it seemed they hadn't started beating her yet.

"Stop!" I shouted. Hearing my voice, Cui'er turned to look at me, and tears she had been holding back burst forth upon seeing me. Seeing this, I became even more furious. Although we had only spent a few days together, Cui'er had been with me every single day since I arrived, taking care of everything. Even if you call me sentimental or promiscuous, I still have to say that I considered Cui'er family and a friend. And now, for this ridiculous reason, she, a frail woman, was to be flogged thirty times? I was absolutely enraged.

"All of you, get out!" I turned to the crowd and said coldly. The crowd immediately disappeared, leaving only me, Zhang De, Cui'er, Hong'er, and the two stewards.

"What, didn't you hear me?" I sneered at the two deacons who were still holding the big boards, bent down and pulled Cui'er up from the ground, handing her over to Hong'er who was standing to the side.

The two tall, burly deacons glanced at me, then at Zhang De, and finally silently withdrew.

"Uncle De, what has Cui'er done that warrants the intervention of family discipline?"

Zhang De gave me a slight bow. Even at this moment, he remained calm and composed, which I had to admire: "Young Master, Cui'er, as your personal maid, is not by your side, leaving you to return to the manor alone. No matter the reason, this is a major taboo in the Yun family."

"Heh, I remember saying that I asked Cui'er to do some things for me, so I went back to the manor first and let her finish her business and come back directly."

“Young master, as the master, how can you be left unattended? Even if you asked Cui’er to run some errands and delayed your return to the manor, this carriage is meant to take you back. How can you leave the carriage to Cui’er? You may not understand the rules for servants, but Cui’er should know this principle.”

"What? Uncle De, didn't you see that I was brought back in General Mu's carriage? Or do you think I should decline General Mu's kindness and insist on returning to the manor in my own carriage?"