Gu Jiao quietly shifted a little farther behind Mu Wan, trying to minimize her own presence.
Before heading out, she had deliberately darkened her face and loosened a few strands of hair to partially cover it—she shouldn’t be recognized so easily, right?
…Yet recalling how Ning Feizhi had called out her name the moment they met, Gu Jiao’s eyelid twitched, and she lowered her head even more.
“Father.” Wei Jinyu bowed respectfully, his earlier arrogance completely gone. He smiled warmly at Huai’an. “It’s been a long time, Eunuch Huai’an. Have you been well?”
Huai’an, however, bypassed him and greeted Mu Wan instead. “General Mu’s riding just now was truly a sight to behold.”
Mu Wan stood with her hands behind her back and smiled familiarly. “Huai’an, you flatter me again.”
At that, Wei Jinyu’s smile stiffened for a split second before returning to normal. He fell silent and stood off to the side.
“I was ordered by His Majesty to bring some fine wine to liven things up,” Huai’an said calmly. “On the way, though, I ran into a guard with sticky fingers. Not only did he knock over the wine, he was even wearing General Mu’s thumb ring. So I brought him along as well—General Mu may deal with him as you see fit.”
As he spoke, two shadow guards dragged over an unconscious guard and tossed him down. After Mu Wan nodded, the shadow guards quickly vanished again.
They hadn’t been gentle. When the guard hit the ground, his face was fully revealed.
Almost at the same time, Wei Jinyu’s expression changed.
Gu Jiao glanced down at the guard, the corner of her lips lifting slightly before she quickly suppressed it.
There was indeed a thumb ring on the man’s hand—but the jade was crude, the size ill-fitting, squeezing his finger until it was bruised and purplish.
Besides, Mu Wan was a sword wielder. Forget a thumb ring—even wearing a bracelet would be cumbersome for her.
Huai’an had clearly fabricated this excuse on purpose. This man was almost certainly the one who had tried to sabotage Mu Wan in secret.
Mu Wan let out a soft “oh,” turning her hand in front of her eyes a few times and raising her voice slightly. “No wonder something felt missing—so it was my thumb ring that got lost.”
“A thumb ring?” Ning Feizhi tilted his head in confusion. After Gu Jiao pinched him hard, realization dawned on him.
He immediately spoke up indignantly. “To think there’s actually a thief bold enough to steal from a pillar of the state!”
Then he changed his tone. “But this fellow’s uniform looks awfully familiar. Hey—doesn’t he look like someone from the Wei Duke’s household?”
“It is this official’s—no, my negligence,” the Duke of Wei said. Though he was addressing Mu Wan, he first cast a probing glance at the masked man beside him. “I will certainly give General Mu an explanation later.”
“It’s a small matter,” Mu Wan said with an easy laugh. “Not anything valuable. The Duke’s affairs are many and complex—it’s only natural that some people in the household slip through the cracks.”
“But wrongdoing should still be disciplined,” Ning Feizhi added pointedly, glancing at Wei Jinyu as he fanned the flames. “Otherwise, wouldn’t it just disgrace the Wei family?”
“Indeed,” the Duke of Wei replied. “I’ve had food and wine prepared. General Mu, Nephew Ning, and this—” His gaze shifted to Gu Jiao as he searched for a suitable form of address.
“Father,” Wei Jinyu interrupted. “General Mu and I still have one more match to settle.”
“Enough.” The Duke of Wei lowered his voice sharply, rebuking him.
Wei Jinyu opened his mouth, but upon meeting his father’s piercing gaze, he unwillingly turned his head away.
“There’s no need for the Duke to be so harsh on Young Master Jinyu,” Mu Wan said with a faint smile, seemingly coming to his rescue. “What he said happens to be my intention as well.”
Her expression was calm, not at all like someone seeking momentary triumph. Though Gu Jiao was vaguely worried about her injury, she understood that if Mu Wan dared to accept the challenge, she must be confident of victory.
“No, you—” Ning Feizhi stepped forward to stop her, but Mu Wan had already turned to look at him.
“Lord Ning, this is a personal matter of mine.”
He met her gaze stubbornly at first, then let out a cold snort when she finished speaking.
“Do as you please.”
The Duke of Wei still looked disapproving. Just then, the masked man at his side said something quietly. After hesitating, the Duke finally spoke. “Very well. I’ll have the grounds cleared. It will only be a sparring match—no weapons.”
“Since it’s a match, shouldn’t there be a wager?” Mu Wan added with a smile, looking at Wei Jinyu.
“Whatever you like,” Wei Jinyu replied with a cold smile.
“Then let it be this,” Mu Wan proposed. “Whoever wins may make one request of the other, provided it doesn’t endanger life or violate moral principles. How about that?”
The wager could be big or small, but without absolute confidence, most people would never agree to it.
Wei Jinyu showed no fear, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. “I won’t make things difficult for General Mu. If you lose, then in front of everyone here, you must acknowledge—under the name of the Mu family—that your martial skills are inferior to mine. Is that acceptable?”
A trace of disdain flashed through Gu Jiao’s eyes. It didn’t sound harsh, but to force Mu Wan to bow her head in the name of the Mu family—he really dared to imagine it.
“Sure,” Mu Wan agreed readily. “As for my condition, we’ll talk about it after I win.”
“I’m afraid General Mu won’t get that chance,” Wei Jinyu said coolly, shrugging off his outer robe and tossing it to a servant. “Go invite the lords to gather by the training grounds.”
Huai’an raised his hand and gestured behind him. “You all go as well. Make sure General Mu and Young Master Wei remain safe.”
As his words fell, several black shadows leapt away toward the training grounds.
Wei Jinyu’s expression didn’t change. He bowed once more to Huai’an, then stepped aside and gestured. “General Mu, please.”
…
After they left, Ning Feizhi’s face darkened. He turned and headed decisively toward the outer edge of the grounds.
“Where are you going?” Gu Jiao grabbed him and whispered urgently, not caring about Huai’an or the others nearby.
“To call people,” Ning Feizhi ground his teeth. “If it really comes down to it—we’ll gang up on them.”
Gu Jiao: …
Minister Wei clearly had no intention of getting involved. After hastily taking his leave, he departed as well—
And had someone carry away the unconscious guard.
News of the duel between Mu Wan and Wei Jinyu spread quickly. Those who had been chatting in small groups gradually gathered around the edge of the training grounds—twice as many as during the mounted archery contest.
In the blink of an eye, only two people remained beside Gu Jiao.
She rubbed her nose, preparing to slip away quietly, when someone suddenly blocked her path.
She lifted her gaze, taking in the jade-like chin, then following the golden mask up to those ink-dark eyes. Gu Jiao knew there was no more muddling through.
Resigned, she sighed. “At this hour, shouldn’t you be in Longzhang Palace reviewing memorials?”
The moment she saw Huai’an earlier, she had instinctively searched for Jun Heng’s figure. Mask or not—even just a silhouette would have been enough for her to recognize him.
“Why are you pretending not to know me?” Jun Heng asked in return, his voice carrying a faint, suppressed irritation.
“If I greeted you with this face, wouldn’t you feel embarrassed?” Gu Jiao flashed a toothy grin, making her deliberately darkened face look even darker.
Jun Heng studied her for a moment, then slightly turned his head away. “It’s not like I—”
“Hm?”
“…Nothing.”
He turned around. “Didn’t you want to go over there? Then let’s go.”
Gu Jiao followed closely behind him. “Aren’t we going to intervene?”
Mu Wan was still injured!
Jun Heng paused. “You’re very worried about her?”
Her closeness to Mu Wan was too obvious—it weighed on his heart like a heavy stone, leaving him uncomfortably stifled.
And earlier, he had clearly sensed her displeasure because of Wei Jinyu. In all the time he had known her, he had rarely seen her harbor such open dislike toward an outsider. Even if Ning Feizhi played a role, it was impossible to ignore Mu Wan’s injury as a cause.
Gu Jiao fell silent. She had intended to keep lying, but when she inadvertently caught sight of the tension in Jun Heng’s eyes—and recalled her conversation with Mu Wan—she finally told the truth.
“I met her back when… she wasn’t yet Mu Wan.”
Chapter 25
Gu Jiao quietly shifted a little farther behind Mu Wan, trying to minimize her own presence.
Before heading out, she had deliberately darkened her face and loosened a few strands of hair to partially cover it—she shouldn’t be recognized so easily, right?
…Yet recalling how Ning Feizhi had called out her name the moment they met, Gu Jiao’s eyelid twitched, and she lowered her head even more.
“Father.” Wei Jinyu bowed respectfully, his earlier arrogance completely gone. He smiled warmly at Huai’an. “It’s been a long time, Eunuch Huai’an. Have you been well?”
Huai’an, however, bypassed him and greeted Mu Wan instead. “General Mu’s riding just now was truly a sight to behold.”
Mu Wan stood with her hands behind her back and smiled familiarly. “Huai’an, you flatter me again.”
At that, Wei Jinyu’s smile stiffened for a split second before returning to normal. He fell silent and stood off to the side.
“I was ordered by His Majesty to bring some fine wine to liven things up,” Huai’an said calmly. “On the way, though, I ran into a guard with sticky fingers. Not only did he knock over the wine, he was even wearing General Mu’s thumb ring. So I brought him along as well—General Mu may deal with him as you see fit.”
As he spoke, two shadow guards dragged over an unconscious guard and tossed him down. After Mu Wan nodded, the shadow guards quickly vanished again.
They hadn’t been gentle. When the guard hit the ground, his face was fully revealed.
Almost at the same time, Wei Jinyu’s expression changed.
Gu Jiao glanced down at the guard, the corner of her lips lifting slightly before she quickly suppressed it.
There was indeed a thumb ring on the man’s hand—but the jade was crude, the size ill-fitting, squeezing his finger until it was bruised and purplish.
Besides, Mu Wan was a sword wielder. Forget a thumb ring—even wearing a bracelet would be cumbersome for her.
Huai’an had clearly fabricated this excuse on purpose. This man was almost certainly the one who had tried to sabotage Mu Wan in secret.
Mu Wan let out a soft “oh,” turning her hand in front of her eyes a few times and raising her voice slightly. “No wonder something felt missing—so it was my thumb ring that got lost.”
“A thumb ring?” Ning Feizhi tilted his head in confusion. After Gu Jiao pinched him hard, realization dawned on him.
He immediately spoke up indignantly. “To think there’s actually a thief bold enough to steal from a pillar of the state!”
Then he changed his tone. “But this fellow’s uniform looks awfully familiar. Hey—doesn’t he look like someone from the Wei Duke’s household?”
“It is this official’s—no, my negligence,” the Duke of Wei said. Though he was addressing Mu Wan, he first cast a probing glance at the masked man beside him. “I will certainly give General Mu an explanation later.”
“It’s a small matter,” Mu Wan said with an easy laugh. “Not anything valuable. The Duke’s affairs are many and complex—it’s only natural that some people in the household slip through the cracks.”
“But wrongdoing should still be disciplined,” Ning Feizhi added pointedly, glancing at Wei Jinyu as he fanned the flames. “Otherwise, wouldn’t it just disgrace the Wei family?”
“Indeed,” the Duke of Wei replied. “I’ve had food and wine prepared. General Mu, Nephew Ning, and this—” His gaze shifted to Gu Jiao as he searched for a suitable form of address.
“Father,” Wei Jinyu interrupted. “General Mu and I still have one more match to settle.”
“Enough.” The Duke of Wei lowered his voice sharply, rebuking him.
Wei Jinyu opened his mouth, but upon meeting his father’s piercing gaze, he unwillingly turned his head away.
“There’s no need for the Duke to be so harsh on Young Master Jinyu,” Mu Wan said with a faint smile, seemingly coming to his rescue. “What he said happens to be my intention as well.”
Her expression was calm, not at all like someone seeking momentary triumph. Though Gu Jiao was vaguely worried about her injury, she understood that if Mu Wan dared to accept the challenge, she must be confident of victory.
“No, you—” Ning Feizhi stepped forward to stop her, but Mu Wan had already turned to look at him.
“Lord Ning, this is a personal matter of mine.”
He met her gaze stubbornly at first, then let out a cold snort when she finished speaking.
“Do as you please.”
The Duke of Wei still looked disapproving. Just then, the masked man at his side said something quietly. After hesitating, the Duke finally spoke. “Very well. I’ll have the grounds cleared. It will only be a sparring match—no weapons.”
“Since it’s a match, shouldn’t there be a wager?” Mu Wan added with a smile, looking at Wei Jinyu.
“Whatever you like,” Wei Jinyu replied with a cold smile.
“Then let it be this,” Mu Wan proposed. “Whoever wins may make one request of the other, provided it doesn’t endanger life or violate moral principles. How about that?”
The wager could be big or small, but without absolute confidence, most people would never agree to it.
Wei Jinyu showed no fear, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. “I won’t make things difficult for General Mu. If you lose, then in front of everyone here, you must acknowledge—under the name of the Mu family—that your martial skills are inferior to mine. Is that acceptable?”
A trace of disdain flashed through Gu Jiao’s eyes. It didn’t sound harsh, but to force Mu Wan to bow her head in the name of the Mu family—he really dared to imagine it.
“Sure,” Mu Wan agreed readily. “As for my condition, we’ll talk about it after I win.”
“I’m afraid General Mu won’t get that chance,” Wei Jinyu said coolly, shrugging off his outer robe and tossing it to a servant. “Go invite the lords to gather by the training grounds.”
Huai’an raised his hand and gestured behind him. “You all go as well. Make sure General Mu and Young Master Wei remain safe.”
As his words fell, several black shadows leapt away toward the training grounds.
Wei Jinyu’s expression didn’t change. He bowed once more to Huai’an, then stepped aside and gestured. “General Mu, please.”
…
After they left, Ning Feizhi’s face darkened. He turned and headed decisively toward the outer edge of the grounds.
“Where are you going?” Gu Jiao grabbed him and whispered urgently, not caring about Huai’an or the others nearby.
“To call people,” Ning Feizhi ground his teeth. “If it really comes down to it—we’ll gang up on them.”
Gu Jiao: …
Minister Wei clearly had no intention of getting involved. After hastily taking his leave, he departed as well—
And had someone carry away the unconscious guard.
News of the duel between Mu Wan and Wei Jinyu spread quickly. Those who had been chatting in small groups gradually gathered around the edge of the training grounds—twice as many as during the mounted archery contest.
In the blink of an eye, only two people remained beside Gu Jiao.
She rubbed her nose, preparing to slip away quietly, when someone suddenly blocked her path.
She lifted her gaze, taking in the jade-like chin, then following the golden mask up to those ink-dark eyes. Gu Jiao knew there was no more muddling through.
Resigned, she sighed. “At this hour, shouldn’t you be in Longzhang Palace reviewing memorials?”
The moment she saw Huai’an earlier, she had instinctively searched for Jun Heng’s figure. Mask or not—even just a silhouette would have been enough for her to recognize him.
“Why are you pretending not to know me?” Jun Heng asked in return, his voice carrying a faint, suppressed irritation.
“If I greeted you with this face, wouldn’t you feel embarrassed?” Gu Jiao flashed a toothy grin, making her deliberately darkened face look even darker.
Jun Heng studied her for a moment, then slightly turned his head away. “It’s not like I—”
“Hm?”
“…Nothing.”
He turned around. “Didn’t you want to go over there? Then let’s go.”
Gu Jiao followed closely behind him. “Aren’t we going to intervene?”
Mu Wan was still injured!
Jun Heng paused. “You’re very worried about her?”
Her closeness to Mu Wan was too obvious—it weighed on his heart like a heavy stone, leaving him uncomfortably stifled.
And earlier, he had clearly sensed her displeasure because of Wei Jinyu. In all the time he had known her, he had rarely seen her harbor such open dislike toward an outsider. Even if Ning Feizhi played a role, it was impossible to ignore Mu Wan’s injury as a cause.
Gu Jiao fell silent. She had intended to keep lying, but when she inadvertently caught sight of the tension in Jun Heng’s eyes—and recalled her conversation with Mu Wan—she finally told the truth.
“I met her back when… she wasn’t yet Mu Wan.”