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

Their expressions were exactly the same as Qin Hongxia's, filled with curiosity.

Seeing that his sisters-in-law were very curious, Mu Yuan stopped hiding it and put his hand in front of them, gesturing for them to smell it.

Upon seeing this, Qin Hongxiu and the others blushed. What woman would willingly smell a man's hand?

But their curiosity got the better of them, and the group eventually blushed and went over to sniff Mu Yuan's right hand.

Besides the smell of hot oil, Mu Yuan's hands also smelled of hot oil.

There was also a distinct vinegar smell.

"Why does it smell sour? It smells like vinegar."

"That's right, it smells like vinegar."

The second sister-in-law, Su Wanqing, and the third sister-in-law, Fang Yuyan, were the first to react by smelling the odor.

"Does this have anything to do with you being completely unharmed?"

Qin Hongxiu asked, puzzled.

"Of course," Mu Yuan explained patiently. "Pour a lot of vinegar into the oil pan, which can suppress the temperature of the hot oil for a short time. This way, I can quickly take the jade pendant out of the oil pan without getting burned."

After listening to Mu Yuan's explanation, the women nodded thoughtfully, seemingly understanding, and exclaimed in amazement.

Mu Yuan simply touched his nose and smiled at their comments.

What's so amazing?

It's just some basic physics knowledge.

However, in this era, Mu Yuan couldn't be too cryptic, since they wouldn't understand even if he explained it. So, he chose to explain it in a straightforward way.

late at night.

Mu Yuan was summoned to the room by Old Madam Mu.

"Yuan'er, you made the Mu family proud today, and Grandma is very pleased."

Old Madam Mu greatly admired Mu Yuan's actions tonight, but then she changed the subject and said seriously, "However, you exposed Prince Ning's conspiracy in public. Given his personality, he will not let you off easily. You must be careful."

"Grandson understands, Grandma, don't worry," Mu Yuan nodded in reply.

He had already incurred the wrath of Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, and now, the other party was resorting to underhanded tactics at Old Madam Mu's birthday banquet.

Mu Yuan naturally wouldn't let him run wild.

Moreover, Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, was using magic tricks as a pretext to try and get rid of me.

Mu Yuan would be even less likely to give him face.

Having incurred several grudges in succession, Mu Yuan was not afraid of Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, seeking revenge. He had long been accustomed to it and was now in a state of indifference, like not caring about having too many debts or too many lice.

"Also, that man who came with Prince Ning this time, the way he looked at you... I felt something was off."

Grandma Mu couldn't recall the name for a moment, but fortunately Mu Yuan reacted quickly and added, "Grandma, is the person you're talking about Lan Que?"

After Mu Yuan's reminder, Old Madam Mu nodded and said:

"Yes, that's him."

I never expected that the old lady would still have such keen observation skills at her age.

Mu Yuan did not hide anything.

He recounted what had happened at the county government office a few days prior.

"You gave him eighty lashes?"

When Old Madam Mu learned the whole story, her face was full of surprise:

"He is the son of Duke Lan Shi of Liang. Lan Shi holds a very high position in the court and is the Grand Commander of the Five Armies, wielding great power. By hitting his son, aren't you making enemies for yourself and getting yourself into a quagmire?"

Old Madam Mu wasn't blaming Mu Yuan, but rather worried that his actions would create too many enemies and put him in danger.

If anything were to happen to Mu Yuan, the Mu family line would end.

Especially for powerful figures like Lan Shi, who hold a pivotal position in the court, if they were to incur enmity...

The Mu family will face even greater difficulties.

"Grandma, don't worry, I'm not a reckless person."

Not wanting the old lady to worry, Mu Yuan first offered words of comfort, and then explained the reason behind it:

"Regarding the matter at the county government office last time, I was merely responding passively. All procedures were carried out in accordance with the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty. Even if Duke Liang, Lan Shi, knew about it, he would have no grounds to punish me!"

Old Madam Mu nodded thoughtfully:

"Be careful with everything."

"Grandson understands," Mu Yuan replied earnestly.

Mu Yuan chatted with Old Madam Mu until almost midnight before leaving the room. He then took Qin Hongxia and rushed back to the Xifu Army's garrison under the cover of darkness.

Several more days passed.

Upon returning to the Xifu Army's garrison, Mu Yuan trained with the soldiers every day.

In addition, after taking "Heart-Changing and Bone-Eroding Pills" daily, the body has developed drug resistance. After each dose, not only does the body not feel any discomfort, but it also feels noticeably stronger.

He was completely different from his previous sickly appearance.

"In another twenty days, I will be completely transformed."

Mu Yuan clenched his fists, his grip noticeably stronger than before.

He had been soaking in the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Eroding Soup" for a long time, and was tormented by its domineering effects. Later, Su Wanqing developed the "Heart-Changing and Bone-Eroding Pill", which Mu Yuan took every day. More than half of the forty-nine days had passed.

The day of transformation is drawing ever closer.

"General!"

At that moment, a soldier strode into the barracks.

"What is it?" Mu Yuan slowly got out of bed and put on his armor.

"The imperial court has sent someone."

"That's what the soldier said."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan, who was putting on his armor, was slightly taken aback, then calmly asked:

Where is he/she?

"The central command tent!"

"I understand, you may leave now." Mu Yuan waved his hand.

The central command tent, located at the very center of the Western Army's garrison, was where all the officers of the Western Army discussed strategies and held joint meetings.

After donning his armor, Mu Yuan hurried over.

at this time.

Inside the central command tent.

The officers, led by Qin Hongxiu, gathered here.

"I've always heard that your Western Army is known for its strict discipline. Why is your commander so late? I've come with an imperial decree. If I'm late, can your commander bear the consequences?"

The speaker was a middle-aged eunuch whose face was covered with a thick layer of rouge. As he spoke, the rouge on his face fell like snowflakes.

"Eunuch Liu, I have already sent someone to inform them that the Marshal will arrive soon."

Qin Hongxiu stared expressionlessly at the middle-aged eunuch.

This wasn't the first time she'd met him. At the Mu family's funeral, besides Prince Ning, Zhu Zheng, there was also Eunuch Liu standing before her.

Unexpectedly, half a month later...

This time, Eunuch Liu arrived again with an imperial edict.

Unlike the last time at the Mu family's mourning hall, where Prince Ning was present, this time, Eunuch Liu was accompanied by a strange man.

The man was tall and burly, with wrist guards and shoulder guards on his wrists and shoulders. Most notably, he had a scar on his right eyebrow and his eyes were filled with an unyielding ferocity.

"How much longer? We've come all this way to proclaim the imperial edict, not to wait for someone!"

"I am very dissatisfied," said Eunuch Liu.

"I've arrived, haven't I? Why are you in such a hurry, Eunuch Liu? Is your mistress waiting for you?"

Just then, Mu Yuan walked into the central command tent.

With her fingers tapping in a delicate, orchid-like motion, Eunuch Liu angrily said, "Mu Yuan, what do you mean by this? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass us?"