His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Mu Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

In strategically important locations, urgent reports received at night are often bad omens.

as predicted.

As soon as the messenger entered, he said urgently:

"General, the Old Madam has ordered you to return to the Xiping Prince's Mansion immediately."

Fortunately, Mu Yuan was mentally prepared when he heard the announcement, but his sister-in-law Qin Hongxiu and his sixth sister-in-law Lin Xueshang were completely stunned by the sudden news.

"I understand. You may leave now."

Mu Yuan remained calm and dismissed the messenger.

"The old lady has never liked sending messages in the middle of the night, so it must be something big."

A hint of panic flashed in Qin Hongxiu's eyes.

She was the first to marry into the Mu family and knew the matriarch's personality best.

at the same time.

Second sister-in-law Su Wanqing walked in.

"Mu Yuan, you've missed your bath for several hours!"

She came to Mu Yuan to bathe in the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Corroding Soup." She usually bathed at the same time every day, but Mu Yuan missed the appointed time today.

After making inquiries, she learned that Mu Yuan had called Lin Xueshang here.

Furthermore, he joined forces with Lin Xueshang to train an elite, mysterious squad.

Su Wanqing was very dissatisfied with this.

No matter how busy you are, you can't miss the time to bathe in the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Eroding Soup".

After all, the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Corroding Soup" is extremely potent. If the timing is missed and something goes wrong, the consequences could be disastrous.

However, just as she was about to continue her accusations...

But then I suddenly realized...

Inside the barracks, Qin Hongxiu and Lin Xueshang looked rather strange.

"What happened?"

With her keen insight, Su Wanqing noticed something was amiss and asked.

Qin Hongxiu didn't hide anything and explained the reason: "The old lady sent someone to inform Mu Yuan to rush back to the palace overnight."

"That..."

Su Wanqing hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Mu Yuan seemed to know what she was thinking and said, "Third Sister-in-law, would it be alright to put the bath tub on the carriage?"

"You mean you want to take a bath in the carriage while you're rushing back to the Prince's Mansion?" Su Wanqing asked, frowning.

Mu Yuan didn't speak, he just nodded.

He has too many things to do right now and can't be in two places at once.

To ensure uninterrupted medicinal bathing, the only solution is to place the medicinal tub on a carriage. This allows the patient to soak in the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Eroding Soup" to strengthen their body without worrying about not being able to get back in time.

"No, absolutely not."

Su Wanqing refused without hesitation.

The "Heart-Changing Bone-Eroding Soup" is a potent and overpowering medicine, and the pain endured is extraordinary.

If the bath tub were placed on the carriage, and the patient took a medicinal bath on the speeding carriage, the bumpy ride would be doubly torturous.

Su Wanqing was worried that Mu Yuan's body couldn't handle it, which was also the reason she refused.

"Second sister-in-law, do as I say."

Mu Yuan's tone was calm, but the expression between his brows was unusually firm.

Su Wanqing was undecided for a moment, so she looked at her sister-in-law Qin Hongxiu, who pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

After spending these few days together.

Qin Hongxiu had also gained some understanding of Mu Yuan.

Mu Yuan may look frail, but his willpower far surpasses that of ordinary people, and once he sets his mind on something, he will never compromise easily.

"All right."

Su Wanqing had no choice but to agree. To avoid any mishaps on the way, she also suggested that she return to the Xiping Prince's Mansion with Mu Yuan.

In this way.

I can take care of Mu Yuan anytime on the road.

Dark as ink.

Several soldiers from the Western Army carried a medicine barrel onto a carriage.

Su Wanqing poured buckets of sticky, strongly medicinal-smelling, and fishy-smelling medicinal soup into the bath tub.

The carriage slowly started moving.

Mu Yuan plunged headfirst into the bathtub filled with medicinal soup.

The potent medicine penetrated Mu Yuan's body through every pore.

Just a moment.

Mu Yuan's face turned bright red, his teeth clenched, and his expression was pained.

Sitting to the side, Su Wanqing dared not be careless in the slightest and kept a close eye on Mu Yuan's changes.

Seeing Mu Yuan's increasingly pained expression, coupled with the constant jolting of the carriage, Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"How about we slow the carriage down a bit?"

Despite enduring excruciating pain, Mu Yuan waved his hand with difficulty and unexpectedly said, "No, tell the coachman to go faster!"

The old lady urgently summoned him back in the middle of the night.

Most of them experienced major changes.

This matter concerns the life and death of the Mu family, so Mu Yuan dares not be careless.

Su Wanqing couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she sighed, lifted the carriage curtain, and ordered the coachman to spur the horse and hurry back to the Xiping Prince's Mansion.

After nearly two hours of bumpy travel.

The carriage came to a steady stop in front of the Prince's Mansion.

With Su Wanqing's help, Mu Yuan slowly stepped down from the carriage.

But he didn't rush in.

"What's wrong?"

Su Wanqing was puzzled.

"Take a breath before going in."

Mu Yuan had been soaked in medicinal water, and his body had just undergone inhuman torture, resulting in his face being completely pale.

He didn't want the old lady to see it, lest she worry.

Su Wanqing was secretly shocked by Mu Yuan's meticulous nature.

After resting for a while at the entrance, Mu Yuan gradually regained his color before setting off and entering the Prince's Mansion.

Upon arriving in the hall and seeing Old Madam Mu, Mu Yuan feigned nonchalance and called out:

"Grandma, why are you calling me home so late? What happened?"

Old Madam Mu's gaze bypassed Mu Yuan and turned to Su Wanqing: "Second Sister-in-law, you came back with Yuan'er. You must be tired from the journey. Go and rest first."

Su Wanqing naturally understood the meaning behind Old Madam Mu's words.

It was obvious that it was inconvenient for me to be present during their subsequent conversation.

"Yes."

Su Wanqing turned and left.

"Yuan'er, take a look." Old Madam Mu took out a secret letter and handed it to Mu Yuan.

Mu Yuan took the letter, opened it, glanced at its contents, and his brows furrowed instantly: "The imperial court has actually appointed a new governor to serve in our southwest?"

The governor was a high-ranking and powerful official who governed the political and military affairs of one or even several prefectures.

He's definitely a high-ranking official in charge of a region.

From the time the Mu family began guarding the southwest, the position of governor was always nominated by the Mu family and then reported to the imperial court.

in short.

The governorship has always been held by someone from the Mu family.

Now, the imperial court has appointed a new governor to the southwest.

The meaning behind it.

It couldn't be more obvious.

"Fortunately, I still have some connections in the capital, and I managed to get the imperial decree first, otherwise I would have been completely kept in the dark."

Old Madam Mu's gaze grew increasingly cold.

First, they sent Prince Ning to seize military power. Now, they've bypassed the Mu family and appointed a new governor. It seems the Mu family has become a thorn in the side of the court.

Through these events, Mu Yuan quickly sorted out his thoughts.

"Grandma, what is the background of the new governor, Ma Chengwu, mentioned in this secret letter?" Mu Yuan suddenly changed the subject and asked about the background of the new governor.

Since the imperial decree cannot be changed, let's first find out the background of the new governor.

Then deal with them slowly.

"I've heard others mention Ma Chengwu's deeds before. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and quite capable. Later, he was recommended to the emperor by Prince Ning and was highly valued. In just a few years, he was promoted several ranks."