Poison Genius Consort

getting slapped! Anxiously, General Mu turned his sights on Mu Qingwu.
“What is his highness anticipating?”

“The results of the bet…” Mu Qingwu said timidly.

“Whose results?!” General Mu asked again.

Mu Qingwu had no answer for that question.
General Mu raged and fretted before turning aside to whip viciously at the air.
“Mu Liuyue! That damned girl, when will she stop causing trouble!”

If His Highness Duke of Qin had already spoken, regardless of what he actually meant, then General Mu had no way to force Mu Liuyue to apologize.
Nor could he plead with Qin Wangfei to rescind the bet.
How were they supposed to clean up the mess afterwards?!

Mu Qingwu saw that his father was really angry and said, “Father, Liuyue’s all grown up now.
She should take responsibility for her own troubles.
The affair of the enemy agents is very important–if these really are Northern Li spies and the emperor blames us, it’ll be hard to explain.”

The situation had already developed to this point, so what else could General Mu say? He gave Mu Qingwu an agitated look.
“Immediately draw up a list of names and investigate each suspect! If it’s really one of our people, I won’t forgive them!”

—

Meanwhile, Mu Liuyue was completely clueless about her father’s anger.
She was currently in a famous teahouse outside the capital by the Celestial Fragrance tea plantation, meeting with a friend.
Of course she was invested in the results of the investigation, but neither her father nor her brother had told her anything.
Still, seeing her father wearing a long face everyday was enough for her to guess that they hadn’t made much progress.

Ten days had already passed, leaving 18 days left.
From this she could tell that Han Yunxi’s prospects were fraught with grim possibilities! Moreover, even if there were new developments in the next 18 days, she wasn’t afraid.
With father and big brother on the case, she was sure they wouldn’t stop caring for her sake.
No matter what, there were ways to drag the investigation to the last day.

This time she not only wanted Han Yunxi to eat her own bitter fruit[2], but to have the cruel reality teach her a lesson: an empty title of Qin Wangfei was nothing compared to a good family background! She had nothing to be proud of despite marrying into the Duke of Qin’s household! Thinking up to here, Mu Liuyue chortled to herself.
At the same time, Han Ruoxue carried over a teapot and smiled in response.

“Well, my eldest young Miss, what are you thinking of that’s made you so happy? Tell your little sister so I can be amused too.” As she spoke, she placed the teapot on the table and sat down cross-legged, resting her chin on both hands as she waited for Mu Liuyue to speak.

Mu Liuyue glanced at her and laughed a few more times before calming down.
“Nothing, how can there be anything?”

Han Ruoxue gave her a dubious glance.
“You’re laughing so much that your face is blooming.
You couldn’t be thinking of some household’s…”

Before she could finish, Mu Liuyue grabbed the teacup before her and made to smash it over, but Han Ruoxue quickly blocked her.
“Fine, fine, fine! I won’t ask, then! I’ll slap my own face instead!”

Han Ruoxue exaggerated slapping herself lightly a few times.
Before she came, she worried that this eldest young Miss would refuse to meet her on account of Han Yunxi.
But she didn’t expect her attitude was the same as before.
However, this was within expectations.
Mu Liuyue liked to interact with her in the past, not only because Han Ruoxue gave her generous gifts, but because she could ask about lots of details regarding Han Yunxi.

Mu Liuyue darted a glance at her now before laughing again.
“That’s better.”

Seeing that her mood wasn’t half-bad, Han Ruoxue decided that today was the right time to meet her.

“Come come, your servant will steep another pot for good tea as apology to young Miss,” Han Ruoxue joked, pretending to talk like a servant.

Mu Liuyue raised an eyebrow.
“All right, your ladyship shall wait.”

The pair burst out in laughter before Han Ruoxue opened her canister of tea leaves and handed it over.
“Take a sniff, see how fragrant it is.”

The people of Tianning were addicted to tea, especially those in the capital.
Multi-storied teahouses large and small peppered the streets of the city, while the outskirts were filled with various tea shops.
People like Mu Liuyue and her, who were very particular about the Way of Tea, rarely visited teahouses.
Their own tea leaves and spring water were much better than those sold in shops.
If they were in a leisurely mood, or had things to discuss outside of home, they usually arrange to meet at tea shops at the outskirts of the city.
They’d choose tea leaves that were freshly picked and dried, then steeped with water from mountain springs.
That level of fragrance and flavor was yet another level higher than home-brew tea.

Strictly speaking, Mu Liuyue and Han Ruoxue could be considered tea friends.
Whenever the two of them met, it was always at a tea shop, and Han Ruoxue had gifted Mu Liuyue many priceless teas worth the value of several cities.

Mu Liuyue took a light sniff of the tea, finding it clear and refreshing.
She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent while signaling Han Ruoxue to start brewing.
Even the exact same tea leaves, water, and kettle could produce different tea under the hands of different people.
Han Ruoxue was an expert in this field, so Mu Liuyue liked to drink her personally brewed tea.
She had no idea, however, that Han Ruoxue had learned her Way of Tea from her mother Madame Li.

Very soon, a cup of lightly tinted tea was delivered before Mu Liuyue, who smelled the fragrance first before tasting a tiny sip.
Only afterwards did she drink it in earnest.
Once she’d savored the aftertaste for a while, she was all praise.

“Excellent! Exquisite! I think I’ll have to invite along Princess Changping next time so she can try some too.”

Hearing this, Han Ruoxue was secretly delighted.
She’d long wanted to form connections with Princess Changping through Mu Liuyue.

-o-

[1] aifei (爱妃) – literally ‘beloved concubine/consort,’ an ancient equivalent of ‘darling/beloved’ for a lord’s wife.

[2] eat her own bitter fruit (自食恶果) – zhishi eguo, meaning to suffer the consequences of one’s own actions, to stew in one’s own juice.