Mu Hua watched Feng Qishi's curious expression and, after a moment's thought, began to spout nonsense. "On her first day here, she bullied people. Not only did she bully people, but her heart was also exceptionally wicked. Once, a young maid here was almost killed by her. If I hadn't appeared in time."
Feng Qishi knew what Mu Anxiao was like better than anyone. Therefore, seeing Mu Hua spewing falsehoods before him, he deliberately did not respond, wanting to see how many slanderous words she would say about Mu Anxiao.
"..."
Seeing Feng Qishi remain silent, Mu Hua assumed he wanted to hear more. She smiled and continued, "In short, she is incredibly bad, particularly prone to causing trouble, and always falsely accuses our family members of murdering her. Anyway, don't believe anything she says, because it's all lies."
"Murder..." Feng Qishi repeated, deliberately asking, "Did you actually do it?"
"Of course not. For these past three months, she has been going out at night. Because of this, she even threatened my father, saying he should issue an order that anyone who sees her face will be displayed on the city wall," Mu Hua sighed. "In any case, that woman is extremely wicked."
"..." Feng Qishi listened to Mu Hua's rambling words and fell into deep thought.
Mu Hua cautiously watched Feng Qishi, who had suddenly fallen silent again, and asked, "Why have you stopped speaking again?"
"She's really quite wicked," Feng Qishi said, then paused and deliberately asked, "By the way, does your third sister go into the palace every month?"
"..." Mu Hua nodded slightly.
Feng Qishi also nodded and said, "Is that so? But I thought I saw... a man with your sister near the back gate. However," he said, "I can't be sure if that was your sister."
Mu Hua gave a dry laugh. "It shouldn't be."
"Shouldn't be. I remember seeing her once when you and your sister were shopping. The woman I just saw looked very much like your sister. I think," Feng Qishi said expressionlessly, "I'm not mistaken."
"You..." Mu Hua argued defensively, "You must have mistaken her. Seeing her just once doesn't prove anything."
"I've been on the battlefield and seen countless people. I've never mistaken anyone. I believe," Feng Qishi stated with certainty, "it was her."
"..." Mu Hua's eyes flickered away.
Feng Qishi lowered his head to look at Mu Hua's awkward expression, then glanced at the maid standing beside her and said, "You tell me."
The maid was startled. She glanced at Mu Hua cautiously and dared not speak.
Feng Qishi's face turned cold. "I'm talking to you. Why are you looking at her?"
"..." The maid swallowed and said, "This servant is dull-witted and does not understand what you are talking about."
"Dull-witted," Feng Qishi said with a cold laugh. "I think your eyes are quite sharp. If I recall correctly, the maid who ran when she saw me just now, that was you, wasn't it?"
Upon hearing this, the maid's shoulders trembled, and she hastily knelt before Feng Qishi.
Feng Qishi looked down at the maid's seamless movements and said, "I'm not going to kill you, so there's no need for you to be like this."
"General, this servant is dull-witted. This servant truly does not understand what you are talking about."
Seeing this, Mu Hua feigned gentleness and said, "Brother Shen, if you have any anger, please vent it on me. Do not treat her this way."
"Do you think that was your mistress?" Feng Qishi asked, not even looking at Mu Hua.
Mu Hua frowned slightly.
The maid shook her head.
"You mean, it wasn't."
The maid nodded.
After seeing the maid's response, Feng Qishi looked back at Mu Hua. "It seems that was your sister."
The maid's body stiffened. She raised her head and hurriedly said, "Miss, I didn't say anything."
Hearing this, Mu Hua looked down at the maid and said impatiently, "Go away. You shouldn't be here anymore."
"Yes." The maid stood up as if released from a burden and said, "This servant takes her leave." She then glanced cautiously at Feng Qishi and turned to leave.
Feng Qishi: "..." He calmly watched the maid leave without a word.
Mu Hua turned sideways, and after ensuring the maid had gone far, she turned back to Feng Qishi and said firmly, "That was definitely not my sister."
"..." Feng Qishi shifted his gaze back to Mu Hua's face.
Seeing Feng Qishi's still silent expression, Mu Hua felt a pang of fear. "That was definitely not my sister."
"Do you know your sister well?" Feng Qishi retorted.
Mu Hua's eyes flickered. "I don't... I don't know her well."
"These past few months, I haven't seen your sister enter the palace. Her name is also not on the list. Why is that?"
"How is that possible?" Mu Hua was astonished.
"You ask me, and I ask you. Yesterday, King Jin asked me to inquire why your Mu family's young ladies were not entering the palace. Today, I intended to tell your father about this, but," Feng Qishi said, "your father is very unhappy about Mu Xiao's matter, so to avoid causing him further distress, I planned to mention it later. Who knew I would run into your sister outside just now."
"My sister... how do you know it was her entering the palace..."
"You said so last time on the street."
"I..." Mu Hua uttered a single word and suddenly remembered everything she had said after meeting Feng Qishi while shopping, as well as Mu Yanxing's reaction to her words. She laughed inexplicably. "You said you didn't remember me."
These were all things Feng Qishi had just thought of. Mu Hua's reaction was also beyond his expectations, so seeing her expression, he instinctively took half a step back in alarm.
"I just remembered; I didn't deliberately record it."
"It doesn't matter. When you're like this," Mu Hua became shy, "I'm very happy."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qishi cleared his throat and said, "Don't be happy too soon. This matter concerning your sister is very serious. If not handled properly," he said with a grave expression, "it could implicate your entire family."
"What do you mean?" Mu Hua became nervous.
Feng Qishi: "What do I mean... this is a crime of deceiving the emperor. If I'm not mistaken, that man should be your sister's intended."
"A man..." Mu Hua realized the seriousness of the situation and said, "Brother, can you help me think of a way? I don't want to die."
"You won't die, but your father's official position might be in jeopardy. Go back and talk to your mother. As for your father, I won't mention it for now."
"Brother..."
"Hurry up," Feng Qishi interrupted.
Seeing Feng Qishi's stern expression, Mu Hua also began to feel extremely frightened. "Brother, I'm going."
"Go ahead."
Mu Hua nodded, turned, and ran.
Feng Qishi watched Mu Hua run away, recalling every word Mu Anxiao had told him, as well as the lives of his brothers. He decided to use this opportunity to help Mu Anxiao enter the palace to find the demon soul.
Thinking this, he glanced to his sides and disappeared.
Inside the illusion.
Mu Anxiao leaned against a tree, looking up at Feng Qishi, who was gradually appearing in the distance. A smile played on her lips. "You're here." She glanced at Jia.
Upon hearing this, Jia looked forward and his eyes widened. "No way."
"Wash my feet," Mu Anxiao said, supporting herself on the tree and struggling to stand up.
Jia's heart sank. He looked up at Mu Anxiao and then also stood up.
Just then, Feng Qishi walked over and said, "Still haven't figured it out."
"Stubborn duck," Mu Anxiao said, limping forward a step and looking up at Feng Qishi. "I knew you'd figured it out."
"..." Feng Qishi averted his gaze and said, "Alright, tell me your plan."
Mu Anxiao pursed her lips and smiled.
Jia looked utterly bewildered. He glanced cautiously at Mu Anxiao, who had guessed everything, then at Feng Qishi, feeling awkward about speaking.
Feng Qishi: "What you said is not without reason. If that demon soul is not saved, it will not benefit my brothers in the future."
"Is that so?" Mu Anxiao nodded slightly.
Feng Qishi continued, "So, what is your plan to deal with that demon soul?"
"My plan..." Mu Anxiao took a deep breath. "Humans have their methods, immortals have their methods. I am human now, so I naturally have to use human methods. As for what I'm going to do, you don't need to know."
"You..."
"What is your plan?" Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Feng Qishi looked at Mu Anxiao's seemingly all-knowing expression and decided not to hide anything. He asked, "How much do you know about your third sister?"
"My third sister..." Mu Anxiao rolled her eyes. "I don't have a sister."
"What do you know about the third one?" Feng Qishi, not wanting to argue with Mu Anxiao, asked patiently.
Mu Anxiao: "Know... If I were to say I know, I know nothing about her. However," she said, "I know she is involved with a man named Qiu Yan."
"You know?" Feng Qishi was surprised.
"Of course. I understand the character and personality of those people in their family better than anyone. Especially that third one, Mu Yanxing, she's so good at hiding. Honestly, I even suspect she never entered the palace at all."
"..." Feng Qishi frowned.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's astonished and silent expression and said impatiently, "Shen Moyun, can you say something?"
"What do you want me to say?" Feng Qishi retorted.
Mu Anxiao: "You should be asking why you think so, not..." She pointed a finger at Feng Qishi's shoulder, "...pretending to be profound in front of me."
"I'm not pretending to be profound; I'm genuinely profound," Feng Qishi said seriously.
Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's expressionless face and listened to the tone in which he seriously uttered those words. She let out a cold snort. "Talking to you is so boring."
"I know about this," Feng Qishi said lightly.
Mu Anxiao's expression froze upon hearing this. "What do you mean?"
"Just now, when I returned, I saw the third one with that man named Qiu Something Yan. Also, just now, I realized she never entered the palace."
"How can you witness everything?" Mu Anxiao exclaimed.
"It was just a coincidence. It was at that very moment that I decided to help you."
"You figured it out, didn't you?" Mu Anxiao said calmly.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's calm expression as she exposed him, Feng Qishi was too lazy to conceal anything else. "Yes. However, you're lucky, King Jin happened to ask me to investigate the Mu family."
"Investigate..."
"Yes. The Mu family had previously reported the third one's entry into the palace. But then her name suddenly disappeared from the list. This made him very confused."
"He is King Jin, and he also manages the harem?"
"This is why I didn't want you to go in. Many concubines in the harem consider people from the Mu family enemies. Naturally, they are fully aware of your father's decisions. In other words, they interfered and told King Jin about this matter."
Mu Anxiao: "..."
"Scared?" Feng Qishi asked, seeing Mu Anxiao's silence.
Mu Anxiao shook her head. "Not scared, really. I just didn't expect that this Mu Gui would be so annoying."
"He got to his current position solely through connections, so naturally, those people all find him displeasing."
"Indeed," Mu Anxiao nodded, then focused her gaze on Feng Qishi's face. "Then, aren't you relying on connections?"
Feng Qishi's eyes darkened. "Think what you will."
"Think what I will..." Mu Anxiao looked at Feng Qishi's strange behavior, then thought again and asked, "Have you suffered some sort of blow?"
"No," Feng Qishi said in a low voice.
Mu Anxiao: "No? That's for the best." She didn't intend to pry into Feng Qishi's privacy because she believed he would eventually share his experiences himself.
"Mmm," Feng Qishi nodded absently. "Mu Yanxing is going fishing now. If you happen to encounter her there, you'll have a chance to enter the palace."
"Why would I have a chance to enter the palace by encountering her?" Mu Anxiao suddenly became slow-witted.
Feng Qishi: "This is her leverage. You can use it to threaten her, and perhaps, you can replace her to enter the palace." He looked at Mu Anxiao's appearance, which wasn't what King Jin preferred, so he arranged it this way.
Conversely, Mu Anxiao also had a mysterious confidence in her own appearance. "What if he likes me? If my master finds out I became a concubine, he'll kick me out."
"You are not King Jin's preferred type," Feng Qishi said coldly.
"What if King Jin wants to try a different type? What if I am the type he likes?" Mu Anxiao said, the more she thought about it, the more unnerving it became. "No, I absolutely cannot let him like me."
"Can you stop being so narcissistic?" Feng Qishi asked impatiently.
Mu Anxiao clicked her tongue. "Anything is possible."
Feng Qishi changed the subject. "I believe you know what to do."
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao withdrew her various narcissistic imaginings and said, "I know. Isn't it just about threatening her? By the way, do you think Mu Hua knows?"
"Mu Hua?" Feng Qishi was puzzled why Mu Anxiao suddenly brought her up.
Mu Anxiao gave an 'um.'
Feng Qishi thought for a moment and said, "I've already told Mu Hua. She's gone to find her mother now. So you need to find the third one before they do, and then the third one will speak up for you."
"You've thought of everything so considerately," Mu Anxiao smiled.
Feng Qishi did not smile back at Mu Anxiao. Instead, he continued coldly, "I'll take you there." He turned his back.
Instantly, Mu Anxiao stepped forward and grabbed Feng Qishi's sleeve without a word.
Feng Qishi was startled. He looked down at his sleeve, which Mu Anxiao was holding tightly, and said, "Let go."
"I'm injured now. What if I can't keep up with you later?" Mu Anxiao retorted, her mood turning unhappy. "Let's go."
Seeing this, Jia consciously took Mu Anxiao's arm.
Feng Qishi sighed and walked forward.
Mu Anxiao and Jia followed closely behind.