The Hot Spring Manor had finally reached the day of its official groundbreaking.
Under Mu Yuqing’s careful planning and detailed instructions, Zhang Jie steadily directed the craftsmen as construction officially began.
The very first task was to build a solid blue-brick wall around the entire estate, standing roughly two meters high.
Not only would the wall provide privacy and security for the manor, but it also gave the estate an elegant and dignified atmosphere.
Inside the courtyard, the layout had been thoughtfully divided into two separate sections.
The inner courtyard served as the primary residence.
It was spacious, bright, and decorated with refined elegance.
Meanwhile, the outer courtyard contained several smaller yet exquisite buildings arranged neatly throughout the property.
These smaller structures had been specially designed for the hot springs.
Each room contained its own private bathing pool, allowing guests to soak comfortably in the warm healing waters whenever they wished.
To preserve both privacy and beauty, approximately one meter of space had been left between every building.
Those empty spaces created endless possibilities.
Vegetables could be planted there in the future, providing the manor with fresh ingredients year-round.
Or perhaps colorful flowers could fill the gaps, allowing blossoms to bloom throughout every season.
At least, that was the vision Mu Yuqing currently held in her mind.
As for the final result, only time would tell.
With the experienced and dependable Zhang Jie personally overseeing every aspect of construction quality and progress, Mu Yuqing naturally felt reassured about the manor itself.
What truly troubled her was the matter of the shop.
More than a month had already passed, yet she still had not found a storefront that satisfied her standards.
She had searched nearly everywhere and asked countless people for information, but the perfect location remained impossible to find.
As the days passed, her frustration only continued to grow.
At that moment, Qingyun entered to report,
“Madam, Lu Jincheng has come again.”
Mu Yuqing replied weakly without even lifting her head,
“If he’s here, then let him in.”
With steady footsteps, Lu Jincheng walked into the courtyard.
On the way over, he had imagined seeing that familiar smiling face waiting for him, radiant and lively like blooming spring flowers.
Instead, what greeted him was a woman whose expression looked bitter enough to rival a dried bitter melon.
The stark contrast left him utterly puzzled.
He truly could not understand what could make such an optimistic woman appear so drained and troubled.
“My, my, if it isn’t our famous Doctor Mu.”
Lu Jincheng clicked his tongue teasingly while curling his lips into a mischievous grin.
“What exactly are you worrying about? Look at that frown. I’m afraid if a mosquito flew too close, it would get trapped in those forehead wrinkles and die on the spot.”
The moment she heard him, Mu Yuqing instantly raised her head and glared fiercely at him.
She rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Young Master Lu, if you came all this way simply to mock me, then kindly turn around and leave. The door is right behind you. I won’t bother seeing you out. Hmph!”
After speaking, she deliberately turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Watching her puff up angrily like an offended little animal, Lu Jincheng suddenly found her even more amusing.
He could not resist teasing her further.
“Don’t be so fierce, Miss Mu. I actually came today because I have important news.”
As he spoke, he deliberately paused before pulling a delicate little chest from his sleeve and placing it onto the table in front of her.
The moment Mu Yuqing heard anything related to silver, her eyes immediately lit up like stars.
She swiftly opened the chest.
Inside, the box was filled completely with gleaming silver ingots, sparkling brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Mu Yuqing inhaled sharply.
“So much silver?”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“Master Lu, you’re not trying to bribe me, are you?”
Lu Jincheng froze briefly before bursting into loud laughter.
“Hahaha! This is the first time I’ve ever met a woman who complains about having too much silver!”
He looked at her as though she were some strange creature from another world.
But Mu Yuqing merely snorted.
“Hmph. This lady would never dislike too much money. If you’re so capable, then hand over your entire fortune to me and see whether I complain.”
As she spoke, she placed both hands on her hips and raised her brows proudly, looking unexpectedly domineering.
Lu Jincheng’s smile immediately deepened with wicked amusement.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice deliberately.
“If you truly want my entire fortune, then why not simply marry me?”
Then his tone grew even more suggestive.
“And as for whether I’m truly a man… would Miss Mu like to verify that personally?”
He even winked shamelessly at her.
Mu Yuqing’s face instantly flushed bright red.
“Scoundrel!”
Unable to endure his outrageous flirting any longer, she turned around angrily and prepared to leave.
But Lu Jincheng quickly reached out and grabbed her sleeve, refusing to let her escape so easily.
The atmosphere between them instantly became strangely intimate and ambiguous.
Right at that moment, the two children came running back from outside after finishing their playtime.
The instant Chen’er saw a strange man grabbing his mother, his little face immediately darkened with anger.
Without hesitation, he charged forward swinging his tiny fists.
“You’re bullying my mother! I’ll beat you up! I’ll flatten you!”
Despite his fierce shouting, his small punches barely counted as ticklish to Lu Jincheng.
Amused, Lu Jincheng simply reached out and effortlessly lifted the boy up by the collar.
“Little fellow, your uncle isn’t bullying your mother. I came to deliver silver to her.”
However, the moment he looked carefully at Chen’er’s face, he suddenly froze.
The child resembled him far too much.
At least half of the boy’s features looked identical to his own.
If someone unfamiliar saw them together, they would absolutely assume the child belonged to him.
But Lu Jincheng had never even married.
So where could such a son possibly come from?
Could this child belong to his deceased elder brother instead?
But that also made little sense.
Miss Mu’s husband had supposedly gone directly to the battlefield immediately after their wedding.
Could it be that she actually…?
For some inexplicable reason, the possibility filled Lu Jincheng with relief instead of discomfort.
No.
He needed to investigate this matter thoroughly after returning.
If the child truly carried Lu family blood, then the eldest grandson of the Lu family absolutely could not remain outside forever.
He had to return to the clan and acknowledge his ancestors properly.
At the same time, Mu Yuqing was also staring back and forth between Lu Jincheng and Chen’er.
The more she looked, the stranger things felt.
Why did the two of them resemble each other so much?
Weren’t the twins supposed to be the children left behind by that cheap husband of hers?