Chapter 295

"Official Mu, Furen Mu, may I have a word with you?" After leaving the quarters of Noble Consort Wei, an official closely allied with the Wei family quickly approached the couple.

"Of course, Official Yan," Mu Heng responded without hesitation. After all, they were on the same side, even if Official Yan was closer to the Wei family. Mu Heng had done nothing wrong, so he saw no reason to fear the conversation.

"Then please, follow me this way." Official Yan felt a small sense of relief when Mu Heng didn’t refuse. His greatest fear was that Official Mu might switch sides and align with the Crown Prince’s faction.

Due to their repeated conflicts with the Wei family, and the previous incident where Furen Mu seemed to side with the Empress—witnessed by many furens—the faction supporting the Second Prince was anxious. Though currently, Official Mu was only a minor official of little consequence, everyone knew he was destined for great things in the future.

Despite his young age, his rapid rise was impressive. Moreover, his household was formidable. Furen Mu was highly capable, and their son had been acknowledged by a renowned monk. Additionally, the Wang often turned a blind eye to favor them.

Previously, the Second Prince had made a mistake regarding his wife, the former Consort Gui. Since then, the Wang had been so displeased that he even accepted the Crown Prince as his disciple. If more chaos ensued, it would be their faction that suffered.

Thus, Official Yan had no intention of reprimanding the couple. He merely sought to confirm their future intentions.

They arranged to meet privately, so Official Yan booked a renowned inn and ordered several famous dishes for the occasion. Yueqian noted his efforts, but the renowned dishes didn’t satisfy her. It seemed she had overestimated the quality of the food here.

Seeing this, the beautiful woman had a good idea. Perhaps this could grow alongside the harbor she had recently acquired.

"Actually, inviting you here isn’t about much, just to acknowledge the discord between you and Noble Consort Wei," Official Yan poured a mild wine for Mu Heng.

Since they still had to welcome the Emperor, who was coming to inspect the refugee reception grounds himself, they couldn’t drink at this time.

However, a small amount of wine wouldn’t be a problem. For men like them, a conversation without a bit of alcohol would be rather stiff.

"As for us, we have no intention of being at odds with Her Highness at all. However, if there’s something that threatens my family, we must stand up like today," Mu Heng shook his head.

He didn’t admit to being enemies with Noble Consort Wei or the Wei family; it was the other side that kept targeting them.

"Hmm, I understand. Today’s incident was just unfortunate for Her Highness," Official Yan didn’t think too deeply about it. He didn’t even consider that Noble Consort Wei might be behind the plan, as it would do their side no good.

As long as Official Mu was criticized, the Second Prince would be blamed for not managing his people well. If it weren’t for the court physician’s negligence and the coincidental fire in the palace, this wouldn’t have happened.

Yueqian took a sip of tea, using her sleeve to hide a disdainful smile. It seemed these people thought Noble Consort Wei was truly good. They believed that no matter how much Noble Consort Wei disliked the Mu family, she wouldn’t do anything that would harm her own family. They were unaware of how deep her hatred was. Perhaps her entering the palace was solely to take revenge on them.

"Even so, I fear you might think Noble Consort Wei has ill intentions. She attended the banquet because a concubine invited her to view the artworks and asked her to judge them. She couldn’t avoid it," Official Yan explained based on what he knew.

He defended Noble Consort Wei because he heard Mu Heng blame the problematic event organization, which caused public gossip. However, Mu Heng disagreed.

"In that case, Her Highness should be more cautious. Is this the time to hold an art appreciation banquet? Would it be beneficial for the Second Prince’s faction? I think it would be better if Her Highness led prayers to Buddha to protect the people. At least everyone would see how compassionate she is," Mu Heng shook his head, pointing out the reality. Official Yan agreed.

"This is a correct recommendation, but Her Highness has only recently entered the palace and doesn’t know what to do. As the eldest young miss of the Wei family, she was probably well taken care of and unaware of the harshness outside."

"As for your suggestion, I see it as a good idea. Since Her Highness has acted poorly, if she wants to restore her reputation, performing good deeds and praying is the way to go," Official Yan saw an opportunity to fix the situation based on Mu Heng’s words.

"But be very careful. The situation is still unstable. If Her Highness continues to act now..." Yueqian cautioned Official Yan.

The current situation was chaotic. If more turmoil arose, the rumors of Noble Consort Wei being a demoness bringing misfortune might become a reality.

Even though Yueqian disliked Noble Consort Wei, her current position was precarious. It was the same position Yueqian once held, a position under public scrutiny that the Emperor couldn’t address solely based on rumors.

Previously, Yueqian had stirred rumors to shift the focus from herself to Eldest Young Miss Wei, a small revenge for the other party daring to target her. Yueqian hadn’t expected that Eldest Young Miss Wei, who looked down on those who became concubines, would offer herself to enter the palace. Ultimately, she had placed herself in a highly visible position.The instigators knew they couldn’t easily target Yueqian anymore. They realized the Mu family was not as easy to deal with as they thought. The action they took on the day she gave birth was considered a decisive and severe move, but they still could not deal with her. Consequently, they had remained quiet for a while.

Yueqian believed they needed a new target for their schemes, and the easiest one to attack now was Noble Consort Wei, who already had a background of rumors. These people would wait for an opportunity to instill fear among the common people. It seemed that the witch hunt wouldn’t end soon, and it wouldn’t just be Noble Consort Wei who suffered from this plan. It could potentially lead to internal conflict within the city, affecting both the authorities and the common folk!

Previously, to avoid those chaotic events and not fall into the schemes of a third party, Yueqian had completely thwarted their plans. If Noble Consort Wei were still in her position as Eldest Young Miss Wei, it wouldn’t have mattered. But now she had gained a position, aligning with the prophecy that had spread as a rumor, saying "The appointed woman" was a demoness that would bring chaos to the region.

"What do you think, Furen Mu?" Official Yan was not like the others who underestimated women. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chosen as the representative to speak with Mu Heng.

Everyone in the Second Prince’s faction knew that to communicate effectively with Official Mu, they had to include his wife. Others who didn’t accept Yueqian didn’t want to represent their side.

Because of this, the elderly man wanted to hear Yueqian’s opinion as well. This approach earned genuine respect from both husband and wife.

"I’ve heard rumors about Her Highness. If she makes any moves now, it will only fuel those rumors. The common people won’t think twice. Once reminded of the rumors, they will be terrified, and she might not be able to maintain the position of Noble Consort." When Yueqian mentioned this, Official Yan’s eyes flickered.

In the end, Furen Mu’s abilities were not just talk. She thought things through more thoroughly and foresaw possibilities that the old officials couldn’t.

"What should be done then?"

"Her Highness made a mistake from the start. From now on, she should accept her errors and quietly hold onto her position as Noble Consort Wei. If she acts again, ill-intentioned people will undoubtedly use this opportunity to attack her."

"Additionally, she must accept the consequences. There are many in the inner palace who want to push the Noble Consort out. The recent fire might be blown out of proportion, but if the Noble Consort sincerely admits her missteps, His Majesty might not punish her severely."

"As you said, His Majesty probably thinks the same way, that the Noble Consort, being new to the palace, can’t think as far ahead as those who have been here longer. Compassion will be extended to her as much as possible."

"But if the Noble Consort doesn’t recognize her mistakes and wants to act further, I can’t predict what she might face." Yueqian wasn’t threatening, but since Noble Consort Wei planned to target the Mu family without seeing the lurking dangers, she would have to face the consequences of her actions.

Since Noble Consort Wei chose to enter the palace, she should have known that her enemies wouldn’t be limited to just Yueqian. Perhaps she underestimated the situation, believing herself to be exceptionally clever, but she didn’t realize what kind of people the inner palace had molded.

"I will discuss this with the Wei family later. The position of Noble Consort is very important right now. Our Second Prince’s faction has gained power from this. If she is dismissed within a few days of entering the palace, it would become a laughingstock," Official Yan expressed their concerns.

"Oh, and regarding that piece of land, we had discussions with Official Wei earlier. We didn’t expect the Wei family to be punished this way. Still, it’s fortunate that Official Mu now owns it. So, about the cooperation..." The old man felt slightly embarrassed to bring this up.

Truthfully, the main purpose of his visit was to discuss this matter.

"In that case, you can offer me the same terms that Official Wei received. I was present during the previous discussions, and I find the proposal fair. It also benefits you. However, I don’t agree with the proposal to excessively exploit the Crown Prince’s faction."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Official Yan stiffened slightly at this. They were from the Second Prince’s faction and naturally aimed to target the Crown Prince’s faction as much as possible, right?

"Official Yan, don’t worry. Our thoughts are not to support that faction either. There are just some details that I find problematic," Mu Heng waved his hand, not wanting Official Yan to overthink. Although the old man was concerned, he waited to hear the other’s explanation.

"Actually, charging five times the docking fee is a good idea. But if I were them, I would change the plan. I wouldn’t dock here and instead use carts. I would bring the goods in at once, using larger carts and wagons, to make the trip worthwhile."

"If they think this way, not only will we miss out on their fees, but the goods they bring might be cheaper. They would order large quantities at once to save on transport costs. In the end, this would be a bigger problem for us."

Official Yan pondered Mu Heng’s words. If he were in that situation, he might do exactly as Mu Heng suggested. There was no need to dock at the capital; instead, they could dock at a more distant location, even though this was usually unpopular due to the risk of bandits or goods getting damaged.

However, if the Crown Prince’s faction coordinated and brought in large shipments at once, hiring more guards to protect them, how could the bandits dare cause trouble when they saw it was a large group with hundreds of guards?

Thinking this through, Official Yan realized that the resulting problem would be theirs to deal with!