“Oh, if you insist, there really is one—the granddaughter of Old General Mu. Sob, they’re truly pitiful…”
The young man froze. He lifted his eyes and looked toward Old General Mu again.
Old General Mu’s cloak was still stained with blood, and his gaunt face was covered in stubble. Even so, the old man’s sunken cheekbones were clearly visible.
For some reason, the moment the young man looked at him, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he felt that the old man’s eyes looked somewhat like Eldest Brother’s!
“Gousheng, what are you doing? Stop staring. It’s time for us to go!” an old man called out to him.
The young man paused, then finally moved his gaze away from Old General Mu’s face.
At almost the same moment, Old General Mu sensed something.
He turned his head, but all he saw was the back of a gaunt young man’s head.
Old General Mu did not take the matter to heart. He quickened his pace. The weather was still somewhat chilly, and he could not let his daughter catch cold.
Mu Niannian was growing drowsy from being jostled.
She had overtaxed her mind today. Even with the brothers from her previous life chattering incessantly beside her, she still could not withstand the natural sleepiness of an infant.
Meanwhile, at the An household—
Nanny Liu clung to An Taidi, seeking comfort, her entire body pressed against him.
An Taidi frowned slightly as a strange stench reached his nose.
He had originally come to see his mother, but she had fallen asleep.
Then he had been waylaid by Nanny Liu.
Suppressing his impatience, An Taidi said gently to Nanny Liu, “Sister Yu, I still have quite a few things to take care of today. Comfort my mother here at home, and wait for me to return!”
An Taidi looked at the fullness of Nanny Liu’s bosom.
Unable to resist, he reached out and gave her breast a hard squeeze.
“Good girl. Be obedient.” An Taidi lowered his voice beside Nanny Liu’s ear.
Nanny Liu let out a soft cry and cast him an aggrieved, coquettish glance.
Only then did she pitch her voice coyly and say, “Master, you’re so wicked! You have no idea how badly that little slut bullied me today. You absolutely must avenge me…”
An Taidi immediately smelled the stench coming from Nanny Liu’s mouth.
Even so, he did not push her away.
“Mm. Don’t worry.”
Holding his breath, An Taidi turned and left.
Nanny Liu watched his back, biting her lip. She let out an angry huff.
“He has no conscience!” she muttered under her breath before turning around and swaying her hips toward the room.
As soon as An Taidi returned to his study, he saw a squinty-eyed, shifty-looking Daoist whose eyes had begun darting around the moment he arrived.
“Daoist Master Huanghun, Madam Mu didn’t die. After giving birth to that child, she was taken away by that old fool from the Mu Family!” An Taidi hurried forward and said.
Daoist Master Huanghun gave a cold snort and looked at An Taidi displeasedly. “That infant girl is the key to immortality. You lost her. If that person finds out, do you know what the consequences will be?”
An Taidi’s expression changed slightly, and he secretly clenched his fists.
But remembering how formidable that person was, he still endured his impatience and asked, “Daoist Master, what do you say we do now?”
Daoist Huanghun’s eyes shifted. He leaned close to An Taidi’s ear and whispered something.
An Taidi froze, and his eyes instantly lit up.
“Good!”
Mu Niannian, who had been sleeping, suddenly rubbed her nose and let out a tremendous sneeze.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Madam Mu’s tense face.
【Who’s thinking about me?!】
Mu Niannian muttered inwardly.
Then she saw a cold, unyielding face. A layer of sky-blue gauze covered the man’s eyes.
Mu Niannian stared at the middle-aged man before her with her round, gleaming eyes.
【Wow, what a handsome face! My abstinent male god!】
Mu Niannian cried out inwardly. If she were not still a tiny baby, she would definitely have thrown herself at him and hugged him tightly.
Mu Anguo’s long eyelashes trembled faintly. Through the gauze, he opened his eyes.
A faint glimmer of light fell into his eyes, and he tried to locate the source of that voice.
He could vaguely make out a silhouette. Just as he reached out, he felt a tiny hand tightly grasp one of his fingers.
【I remember now. My Second Maternal Uncle had such a tragic life too…】
The man’s hand trembled slightly.
He pressed his thin lips together and pulled the Little Milk Dumpling into his arms.
A milky, babyish scent immediately entered his nose, bringing him an inexplicable sense of peace.
【When the Mu Family was sentenced to execution in its entirety, Second Maternal Uncle was secretly replaced by someone else and sent to a male brothel…】
The Little Milk Dumpling grabbed the ribbon covering his eyes and gave it a tug.
An impossibly handsome face was revealed.
Mu Niannian’s eyes met those unfocused pupils, and for a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
【Ah, what a pity. Such a handsome man died wearing hardly any clothes, with nothing but skin and bones left…】
Mu Anguo froze, his long eyelashes trembling faintly.
How could the Mu Family be sentenced to execution in its entirety?
What kind of person was his father?
For the sake of the country, Father could abandon his wife and children. Loyalty to the emperor and devotion to the nation had always come first…
Mu Anguo remained silent, waiting for the Little Milk Dumpling to continue. However, Mu Niannian no longer wanted to think about it!
She had wet herself…
Mu Anguo felt the front of his robe grow damp. A faint smell drifted into the air.
【This is so embarrassing!】
The Little Milk Dumpling began wailing. Even without hearing her words, one could feel her utter despair through her thoughts.
Mu Anguo was startled, but the corners of his lips curved upward slightly.
There was a breathtaking beauty to it…
【Beauty really does lead people astray! It’s all because Second Maternal Uncle is too handsome—he made my heart race so wildly…】
The Little Milk Dumpling’s mouth released a series of wailing baby sounds.
Mu Anguo could no longer hold back, and his usually cool, detached expression cracked slightly.
Fortunately, someone arrived at the crucial moment.
Mu Anguo moved his ears and heard his father’s footsteps.
Old General Mu walked in, his face carrying a somewhat solemn expression.
“Father, I have something to say to you!”
“Second Son, I have something to say to you!”
Father and son looked at each other. In the end, Old General Mu spoke first. “Forget it. We’ll talk later!”
Old General Mu turned his attention to the little one, a trace of scrutiny in his eyes.
He thought of the mad monk he had encountered that morning.
The mad monk had fainted from hunger at the entrance to their home.
Old General Mu had happened to be returning from outside early that morning, so he had ordered someone to give the monk plenty of food.
After eating, the monk had suddenly gone mad and shouted a great many strange things at him.
“General, your mighty name shakes the realm of the dead; your family will be ruined and your loved ones lost. Your fate hangs by a single thread, yet you will turn danger into safety today. After hardship comes prosperity, and fortune will arrive; an orchid blooms beautifully amid the cold spring!”
“Terrible, terrible! Wonderful, wonderful! Think and think, yet nothing can be thought! Think, think, think—dispel, dispel, dispel! Is it good, is it evil, or is it freedom… Hahaha, interesting, interesting indeed!”
The monk shouted and laughed as he walked off into the distance.
At the time, Old General Mu had been bewildered. Yet deep in his heart, he could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.
Now, he looked at the child in his arms.
That soft, tender voice reached his ears.
【My Maternal Grandfather is really handsome!】