rat! You got me good! Your old man was choked by that grain-hoarding hoodlum, barely able to breathe. And you're hiding your delicious rice cakes, eating them behind my back!"After he finished speakin...The atmosphere between the two was tense, like a hair trigger. Mu nervously pulled on Gong Yu's clothes.

"Forget it, Palace Master. He shouldn't do anything to me. I don't want to implicate you because of my own affairs."

Gong Yu saw that Mu Yun He still had fear on her face, yet she insisted on refusing his help.

He wasn't angry, nor did he feel that Mu Yunhe was being distant with him. On the contrary, for the first time, he felt so useless, his low official rank preventing him from protecting even those he wanted to.

And in turn, she should worry about him.

"Did you hear me, Palace Master You still haven't left."

Palace Elm raised his head and looked at Zong Pingchuan seriously, not showing any intention of leaving at all.

"No matter what happens today, I will not be leaving. Lord Zong, it is you who should leave."

The maidservant of Prince Jing's mansion has already gone to the front hall to report to Prince Jing. When everyone arrives, it will be Lord Zong who is in a difficult position.

Although slender and a scholar, Gong Yu had never spoken with such force to his superiors. He rarely interacted with his colleagues out of a desire to avoid trouble.

When encountering officials of higher rank, he would always retreat if possible. If retreat was not an option, he would treat them with utmost courtesy and caution.

Just like this, facing someone as powerful as Zong Pingchuan who is three ranks higher than him, he would have long since slipped away on a normal day.

Offending a colleague of this caliber, his life afterward is sure to be difficult.

Even so, Gyu didn't feel afraid.

Zong Pingchuan gritted his teeth, his face was indescribably ugly.

He was indeed wary of being seen, especially by Mrs. Yuan. If she found out he had come to see Mu Yunhe again, the fragile marital relationship he had painstakingly rebuilt over this period would likely plummet back to freezing point.

Just as he was hesitating, sounds and footsteps of other people could be heard from not far away in the garden.

Mu Yunhe excitedly grabbed Gong Yu's sleeve and shouted, "Prince Jing and the others are here!"

No one has appeared yet, and it's not necessarily the Prince Jing and his people.

But Zongpingchuan was guilty as charged. As soon as he heard someone else arrive, he quickly turned his head and ran from the garden through the back of the rockery.

As soon as he left, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.

The person who came was not Prince Jing. Dong'er, carrying a treasure chest, ran in with two tree branches clutched in her hands.

The girl who went to report the incident followed closely behind the two children.

"Dong'er Yuanbao, how come it's the two of you."

The two children rushed into Mrs. Mu's arms, their faces filled with anxiety and asking questions.

"Grandma, was anyone mean to you just now"

Yuanbao scrutinized Mu Shi's hand with utmost care, the little one tensing her face, especially serious. This made Mu Shi's heart warm.

"Grandma is fine, thanks to Lord Gong. The bad guys were also driven away by my two little treasures."

Mu raised her head and looked at Dong'er, "Didn't you maids go to call the lord How come it's just the two of you"

She still thought the two boys had run far away and were no longer in this part of the garden.

"When Dong'er and I were walking back, we happened to meet this maid. She looked flustered, so I stopped her and asked her what was wrong."

"Master Zong came to the back garden secretly, so we pretended to be our father. He ran away before he even saw us."

Gong Yu was surprised to see the two children.

"Young Master truly is brilliant."

Yuanbao raised his chin. “Well, of course! My brother Dong'er is not only smart but also very capable!”

Mu touched the heads of the two children and smiled, then squatted down and instructed them.

"Don't tell your mother and the others about today's events."

"Anyway, grandma's not really doing anything serious, so don't worry them and please keep it a secret from grandma, okay"

Yuánbǎo couldn't make up his mind. The bad grandfather was bullying his grandmother, why couldn't he tell his mother to help his grandmother get revenge

He looked up at his brother.

But Dong'er nodded, "Grandma, don't worry, we won't tell Mother."

After he finished speaking, he pulled Yuanbao away to continue playing, leaving the two adults with space to talk.

Mu shi looked at Gong Yu with embarrassment.

"Today, thanks to Lord Gong, I owe Lord Gong another favor."

"How about I invite you to visit my villa another day If Lord Gong has a holiday, please feel free to come over anytime."

Gong Yu nodded and smiled, both of them feeling a little embarrassed, and lowered their heads.

That's too much trouble.

Mu quickly waved his hand, “Don’t bother, don’t bother. I don’t have anything valuable to offer as a gift. I can only make some simple tea and plain food to entertain you. Please don’t find it wanting.”

Gong Yu how could possibly dislike it, he would be thrilled to have it.

Zongpingchuan hurried out of the Prince's Garden, and as soon as he returned to the courtyard in front hall, a tremendous force grabbed his arm, pulling him aside.

"Who!"

He was greatly astonished, and turning his head, he looked at the scene with wide eyes of disbelief.

"Big brother How... how could you be, how could you be in the capital city"

The instant he saw Zongping Kang, he thought he was hallucinating, that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Until he spoke.

"Second brother, you've been in such a high position for so many years, you must have made our whole family suffer!"p slightly. "Alright, I'll do as you say."He followed Fang Jinshu to the vegetable garden.The whole family stood before the vegetable patch, completely stunned by the sight before them. In just a few...