Chapter 654: Made a Cuckold

　　Yan Qing? Isn’t he Rong Xiu’s subordinate? The ‘master’ he’s referring to must be Rong Xiu then. Since when did he arrive in Xi Ling though? Despite the questions in his head, Mu Qinghe calmly nodded and entered the mansion.

　　The mansion wasn’t big. After walking past the courtyard and through a corridor, they arrived at a room.

　　Yan Qing pushed the door open and invited Mu Qinghe inside. “Please enter, Lieutenant Mu.”

　　Mu Qinghe thus entered the room.

　　A faint herbal fragrance lingered in the air of the warm room, and Rong Xiu was seated next to a bronze gilded furnace. He was dressed in a robe as white as the snow outside.

　　“Master, Lieutenant Mu is here,” announced Yan Qing respectfully.

　　Rong Xiu looked over.

　　It had been a while since they last met, but Rong Xiu appeared even more distinguished and alluring than before. Even Mu Qinghe couldn’t help but admit in his heart that the other man’s good looks were one of a kind.

　　A small smile formed on Rong Xiu’s lips. “Welcome to my humble abode, Lieutenant Mu. I apologize for the shabby welcome.”

　　He makes it sound like this mansion belongs to him. Wasn’t it a gift from Weichi Song to Chu Liuyue? Mu Qinghe raised his eyebrows slightly. “I hope you’re doing well, Prince Li. There’s no need for you to be so polite to me.”

　　As he spoke, he walked over and sat at one side, silently observing his surroundings. This place looks pretty much the same as before. It looks like they didn’t do any extensive renovation. There are just a few additional items… which obviously belong to Rong Xiu. Clearly, he’s indeed staying here.

　　“Weren’t you in Country Yao Chen? When did you arrive in Xi Ling?” asked Mu Qinghe, cutting to the chase. “If my memory serves me right, this mansion… was a gift from Chong Xu Cabinet’s Cabinet Master to Chu Liuyue. May I know why you’re staying here?”

　　Rong Xiu smiled. “I happened to be passing by Xi Ling while on business, so I thought I should pay Yue’er a visit since she’s here. She’s not staying in the city at the moment, so she lent this mansion to me for the time being.”

　　Since they’re engaged, there’s nothing wrong with him staying here. Mu Qinghe nodded. “I see.”

　　“I wonder what sort of business requires you to pass by Xi Ling, which is tens of thousands miles away from Country Yao Chen.” He nonchalantly posed this question to Rong Xiu. The distance is nothing compared to how he managed to enter Heaven’s Canopy. It must’ve taken him some effort.

　　“To tell you the truth, I’m here because of this body of mine. An elder from Mingyue Tianshan has found a heavenly doctor who may be able to cure my illness completely. It just so happens that I suffered another relapse while I was passing by Xi Ling. Since I was also missing Yue’er, I decided to stay here and recuperate for the time being.” Rong Xiu put a fist to my mouth and coughed a couple of times. From his pale face and all, it seemed that he was telling the truth.

　　Mu Qinghe mulled over Rong Xiu’s words for a while but couldn’t detect anything amiss. There are many talents within Heaven’s Canopy, so the heavenly doctors here are naturally more skillful as well. It makes sense that Rong Xiu would come here to seek treatment.

　　“Chu Liuyue has been doing well in Xi Ling City lately. I’m sure you’ve heard a thing or two about her reputation, right?” Practically everyone here knows her name by now.

　　“She’s always been the best.” The smile on Rong Xiu’s face deepened, and his eyebrows relaxed as a hint of warmth appeared in his eyes. His voice was light and filled with undisguised pride and indulgence when he answered in a matter-of-factly manner. The woman I like is naturally the best. No matter what she does, she does it to perfection. Didn’t her performance at the Wan Zheng Competition and the clan competition say it all?

　　“There’s something I’d like to ask you, Prince Li,” said Mu Qinghe hesitantly.

　　“Please speak your mind, Lieutenant Mu.”

　　“Does Chu Liuyue… know anyone in Xi Ling? From what I heard, General Manager Yue of Hundred Herbs Building is very attentive toward her.”

　　Yan Qing—who was standing by the side—lowered his head. Very attentive toward her? Of course, Yue Ling has to be attentive to our madam. Never mind that he didn’t know her identity at the start, but now that our master has made it clear to us, Yue Ling naturally became eager to serve her. Didn’t Jiang Yuzhi suffer a beating because she couldn’t control that mouth of hers?

　　“I never heard her mention that, but this is her first time in Xi Ling. Therefore, how could she possibly know anyone from here? As for that Hundred Herbs Building’s manager… I heard a thing or two about him, and I think it’s because she spent quite a bit of money there.” Rong Xiu lifted a corner of his mouth and said in a seemingly nonchalant manner, “Speaking of which, I heard that it was Lieutenant Mu who helped back Yue’er up on her visit to Hundred Herbs Building.”

　　For some reason, that smile didn’t reach his eyes and seemed rather cold instead.

　　When Mu Qinghe sensed the room’s drop in temperature, he moved his body slightly to shake off that cold feeling. “It’s what I should do since I brought her here to take part in the Wan Zheng Competition. But she moved out of my residence to this mansion not long after that, so there’s little interaction between us. I heard some things though… Jian Fengchi won a lot of money from betting on Chu Liuyue, so he shared a portion of his winnings with her. I think it was quite a tidy sum.”

　　Word of her spending tens of thousands of white crystals at Hundred Herbs Building spread like wildfire back then. It must be because of this sum of money that she could afford to spend so lavishly.

　　“Is that so?” Rong Xiu drew out the question as he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

　　The room instantly became even colder, which made Yan Qing close his eyes in despair. Mu Qinghe sure knows how to touch a sore spot. Strictly speaking though, it was Ms. Liuyue who extorted money from Mu Qinghe. There’s also nothing wrong with Jian Fengchi splitting his winnings with her since he won it with her help. Besides, all the money she’s spending now belongs to my master… But nobody else knows about it! In that case, how will outsiders view my master?

　　Mu Qinghe finally sensed something amiss. He managed to guess what was wrong when he saw Rong Xiu’s sullen expression. Rong Xiu was born noble as a member of Country Yao Chen’s royalty, but his royal status is nothing at all here in Xi Ling. He probably finds it very hard to support Chu Liuyue’s living expenses… Otherwise, he would’ve found himself somewhere else to stay instead of staying here.

　　The current situation made him look like… he’s living off her… To think Chu Liuyue was deemed unworthy of Rong Xiu just two months ago. Who could’ve imagined things to turn out this way? The world sure is unpredictable. There was a subtle change in Mu Qinghe’s expression when he realized this. On top of that, Chu Liuyue is bound to have a promising future based on the talent and potential she’s showing now. Rong Xiu, on the other hand, is still carrying a sickly body…

　　Based on what happened so far, Chu Liuyue obviously knows someone important from Hundred Herbs Building. Otherwise, there’s no reason for them to protect her to this extent. But from the look of things… it seems that she didn’t tell Rong Xiu about it. This made Mu Qinghe look at Rong Xiu with a trace of sympathy.