Forced love, an inescapable fate

Chapter 121 Flowers, Plants, and Trees All Have Feelings

The snow on the ground in the mansion had already been cleared away, and the guards and maids were doing their duties, and everything looked no different from usual.

However, what Mu Qingli did not realize was that when she just walked out of her yard, someone had already informed Jiang Ci of her news.

Xiao Tao followed beside her, looking at her frail body, her eyes filled with heartache.

Mu Qingli has lost a lot of weight in the past few days, and even when she left the house, the gloom between her brows did not ease.

The two walked in silence until plum blossoms of different colors appeared in their sight.

Looking at these plum blossoms, Xiao Tao thought of a story her parents had told her before she came to the Princess's Mansion to be a maid.

In order to break the silence and get Mu Qingli to speak, she asked, "Does the princess know who the original owner of this mansion was?"

Hearing this, Mu Qingli did not turn around, his eyes still fixed on the plum tree not far away. He said calmly, "I don't know, what's wrong? Why are you talking about this?"

Mu Qingli did not trust Xiaotao. After experiencing those things, she not only did not trust Xiaotao, but she also did not trust anyone in the mansion. She always felt that these people were arranged by Jiang Ci.

So he has been very cold to Xiaotao these days.

After what happened with Jiang Ci, she could no longer trust anyone she wanted as she did before.

Xiao Tao never thought that Mu Qingli was on guard against her. She just wanted Mu Qingli to talk to her, so she told Mu Qingli the story that her parents had told her.

"Before I came to serve the princess, my parents told me a story about the previous owner of this mansion. They said they both worked in this mansion when they were young. The previous owner was a high-ranking official in Shangjing. He was a very kind person and treated the servants very well. He had a very beautiful wife. I heard that his wife was once a famous chivalrous woman in the martial arts world, with great martial arts skills, while the official was a weak scholar. Although I don't know how they got together, my parents said that they had a good relationship and even had two sons. Their story was spread everywhere in Shangjing at the time. There was a large plum forest where the official's wife used to live, so he personally planted plum blossoms of various colors in this mansion for his wife."

Mu Qingli hadn't expected the plum blossoms in this mansion to have such a story. She had planted plum blossoms before, and the previous owner had planted them at least twenty years ago. And it was clear that the plum blossoms in this mansion today didn't look like they were planted more than twenty years ago.

Could it be that it was replanted later?

Although he was confused, he didn't ask Xiaotao.

Seeing that she seemed interested in the story she was telling, Xiao Tao continued, "At that time, everyone in the capital knew that the official was deeply in love with his wife. The plum trees he planted in his mansion were once a popular sight. My father said that the official was really kind, and even ordinary people on the street could come to his mansion to see the beauty of the plum blossoms. But later..."

Xiaotao sighed silently, her tone full of regret.

"Later, for some unknown reason, it was said that the high official had committed a serious crime. Although he wasn't executed, his entire family was not exiled. In the winter of that year, all the plum trees in the mansion died within a few days. When my father told me this, I found it incredible. It turns out that flowers, plants, and trees have feelings. They knew their owner was gone and no one would care for them, so they withered."

At this time, the two of them had arrived at the place with the most plum trees planted in the mansion. There was a water pavilion here. They came to the water pavilion and looked at the plum blossoms in full bloom in front of them. Mu Qingli felt that her emotions calmed down a lot.

Her eyes were still fixed on the plum blossoms in front of her, and she asked about Xiaotao for the first time.

"How are your parents? How many people are there in your family?"

Hearing this, Xiao Tao looked surprised. She had never expected that she would ask about her family affairs, but she answered truthfully.

"My Lady, my parents are in good health. There are four of us in my family, including a younger brother who is currently studying at the academy. My parents run a bun shop. By the way, My Lady, the buns they make are delicious. If you don't mind, I'll take you there to eat some whenever you want."

Xiaotao's eyes were always sparkling, and she was full of joy when she talked about her family. Mu Qingli couldn't help but be infected by the sincere smile in her eyes, and then asked about some other things.

"Well, I'll definitely go try it someday if I get a chance. By the way, Xiaotao, do you know the last name of the previous owner of this mansion?"

"It should be the surname Su. My parents are very taboo when talking about this matter, so they only told me this roughly. They told me this after they knew that I was chosen by the Sixth Prince to be a maid in the Princess's mansion. They asked me not to tell anyone about it. I just saw that the Princess liked these plum blossoms very much, so I couldn't help but tell her about the past events in this mansion."

When Mu Qingli heard Xiao Tao say that she was chosen by Jiang Ci to come to the Princess's Mansion, his face darkened.

Just as she thought, everyone in this mansion was arranged by Jiang Ci.

Although she had thought of it a long time ago, she still didn't give up. She then asked, "Besides you, were all the other people in this mansion arranged by the Sixth Prince?"

Xiao Tao didn't hear the hidden meaning and nodded. "Well, it's not just me. The other maids in this mansion were also carefully selected by the Sixth Prince to serve you. Even the cooks were specially hired by the Sixth Prince from a famous restaurant in the capital. Princess, the Sixth Prince really cares about you. I heard that this Princess's Mansion was also a reward he obtained from His Majesty, specifically because it is closest to the Sixth Prince's mansion. The Sixth Prince probably wanted to be closer to you so that he could take care of you."

Xiao Tao didn't know what happened between Mu Qingli and Jiang Ci. After she finished speaking, Mu Qingli's face became colder and colder.

It turned out that she belonged to him inside and out, and that her every move was under his control. Mu Qingli felt a strong pang of bitterness in her heart, and her hands hanging in her wide sleeves couldn't help but clench tightly.

But in the end, I was powerless to let go.

At this point, what can we do even if we know all this?

He is a prince and now has his own power in the capital. Even if he imprisoned him in this mansion, he could do nothing.

Her current state of mind has completely changed from before, and she is filled with fatigue and bitterness.

Xiao Tao originally wanted to let her go out to relax, but now she found that she looked listless and didn't seem to have improved much.

Mu Qingli rubbed the sore corners of his eyes, without looking at the plum tree in front of him again, and just said lightly.

"Go back."