A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 434 Finale (6)

Mu Qingcheng ultimately did not step into the gates of the Marquis of Huai'an's residence.

It wasn't that she didn't want to get close to Lu Xun's family, but rather that she couldn't visit them without knowing her identity, which could cause misunderstandings among the families.

Lu Xun was afraid he wouldn't be able to persuade her, so he sent Lady Hou instead. Once she met Lu Xun, she made things clear in Lady Hou's presence, thus avoiding the embarrassment that would have been caused to the elders of both families by publicly annulling the engagement.

Having achieved her goal, she resigned and left, never to look back.

……

The night is quiet.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door of the side room, which made the candlelight inside flicker.

Mu Qingcheng had slept for several hours in the afternoon and was in good spirits, currently writing a eulogy at her desk.

Hearing the noise, she calmly put down her brush and got up to open the door.

It seems that her accompanying Lady Hou on this trip has stirred up her husband's jealousy once again.

Sure enough, as soon as Mu Qingcheng removed the latch, Song Shuyu rushed in and hugged her tightly.

"grown ups……"

"Qingcheng, you won't abandon me, right?"

From Song Shuyu's tone and actions, Mu Qingcheng sensed his unease. She patted his back and reminded him with amusement, "Judging by the time, the night patrol officers will pass by here in a moment."

"What, do they still dare to laugh at me?" Song Shuyu's voice was hoarse, revealing his grievance.

Mu Qingcheng's smile deepened, "It seems that you intend to publicly ask for a formal title, sir?"

"Is it okay?" Song Shuyu straightened up, her dark pupils reflecting Mu Qingcheng's bright smile.

"No." Mu Qingcheng pulled the person into the house with one hand and closed the door with the other. "The engagement is not yet settled. If people see us meeting late at night, it will be considered an affair, which will damage our reputation."

Song Shuyu suddenly became anxious, "Wasn't I worried that Uncle Mu would preemptively arrange your marriage with Lu Xun?"

"If that's the case, what should Your Excellency do?" Mu Qingcheng suddenly felt like teasing him. She stretched out her index finger, hooked Song Shuyu's chin, and said with a playful expression, "Should you accept your fate, or cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide?"

However, her response was a sudden kiss.

Song Shuyu gripped Mu Qingcheng's slender waist with his large hand, the force almost making him want to meld her into his body. Unlike before, his kiss was fierce and urgent, filled with uncontrollable passion and nervous anxiety about losing her.

Mu Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat. Her keen senses told her that something was wrong with Song Shuyu at this moment, but she did not stop him. Relationship problems are not like solving a case; they don't require constant rationality. He wanted comfort and confidence, so she granted his wish. He wanted to express his love and longing for her, and she wanted to as well. Moreover, she believed in Song Shuyu's character and bottom line, so she indulged herself and succumbed to his temptations.

They kissed passionately until the overwhelming tide of passion engulfed them both. Unable to suppress his emotions, Song Shuyu instinctively moved his lips away and kissed Mu Qingcheng's swan neck. Mu Qingcheng's breathing quickened, and he softly called out, "My lord."

Song Shuyu was startled and quickly stopped what he was doing.

He rested his head on her shoulder, his eyes closed, his breath hot. "Qingcheng, I'm sorry, I... I won't do anything reckless, but please don't push me away, let me calm down, okay?"

"Hmm." Mu Qingcheng gently stroked Song Shuyu's back with his palm and teased, "My lord is becoming more and more like a lecher."

Upon hearing this, Song Shuyu pressed his forehead against hers, his tone full of grievance, "Master Mu, you bear the majority of the responsibility for my crimes."

"What does it have to do with me?" Mu Qingcheng blinked, chuckling softly. Song Shuyu scoffed, "You hooked my chin, deliberately seducing me!"

"I didn't!" Mu Qingcheng said shyly.

“I never expected that the composed and self-controlled Master Mu would resort to such a seductive tactic.” As Song Shuyu spoke, he couldn’t help but peck her lips again. “But you must not use it before marriage. I am not a saint, and I cannot guarantee that I will remain unmoved. As for after marriage, I would be more than happy to do so.”

Mu Qingcheng's pretty face flushed red. She punched him lightly and teased, "Since you're so confident, are you really planning to pester my father relentlessly?"

Song Shuyu's lips curled into a mysterious smile. He took her hand and led her into the inner room, where they sat down at the table. Then, he said seriously, "Qingcheng, tell me first, what are Lu Xun and the Marquis of Huai'an and his wife's plans? Will they hold onto the marriage agreement?"

“The Lu family wants to honor the engagement, but tonight I expressed my intention to dissolve the engagement to Madam Hou and Lu Xun. No matter what they intend to do, the engagement is null and void in my eyes.” Mu Qingcheng said, her brows furrowed with worry. “But even if my father agrees to annul the engagement, he may not necessarily agree to your marriage proposal.”

“I understand. Although the truth is clear and my father is not a bad person, Song Zi is, after all, from the Song family. If we were to marry into the Song family again, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.”

"Well, that's right."

“My family thinks the same way. They want to apologize to your parents and you, even if it weren’t for our marriage, to make amends. So, could you please invite Uncle Mu over tomorrow to give our family a chance to make amends?”

“I did not enter the Marquis of Huai’an’s residence tonight, but my father will surely come looking for me tomorrow.”

"Okay, I'll make arrangements."

At this point in the conversation, Mu Qingcheng suddenly remembered something, "Sir, Aunt Liu said that you have designs on our Mu family's old house?"

Song Shuyu nodded. “The Mu residence was the site of a murder case, in which three women died. In the eyes of the world, it is considered a haunted house, neither suitable for living in nor easy to sell. Now that Uncle Mu has returned to the capital, he needs a place to live. I do have a few houses with good feng shui, but given Uncle Mu’s temperament, I’m afraid he won’t easily accept gifts from outsiders. So, I’ve come up with a good solution that satisfies both sides.”

“Qingcheng, I plan to buy the Mu residence in the name of the Jingzhao Prefecture, have a monk perform a ritual to help the deceased, and then have the Ministry of Works demolish and rebuild it to establish the first girls’ school in the Great Zhou Dynasty! Then you can use this money to buy another house to live in.”

"As expected of my master, his political views are extraordinary and his courage is remarkable!" Mu Qingcheng was both surprised and delighted. "With the establishment of girls' schools, women throughout the land can study, understand principles, and know the world just like men!"

A smile appeared in Song Shuyu's eyes. "So, you agree?"

"Of course we agree!" Mu Qingcheng was overjoyed. "Establishing a girls' school is a great thing that benefits the country and its people. We can donate our house free of charge!"

Song Shuyu thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. In this way, the public will have a positive view of the Mu family and women's education, which will then lay the foundation for promoting women's official positions. As for Uncle Mu's residence, I'll think of a pretext to procure one..."

“My lord, there’s no need to worry. Master Bai and Zhizhi have already made the arrangements. They gave me the land deed and house deed tonight. I don’t want to accept them for nothing. I’ll return them to Zhizhi when I’ve saved enough money.” Mu Qingcheng said eagerly.

Upon hearing this, Song Shuyu, unusually, did not feel jealous of Bai Zhizhi. He smiled and said, "Never mind, we're all family from now on, no need to be so polite."

"My lord, what you mean is..."

"I told my family tonight about my father adopting Bai Zhizhi as his goddaughter, and they all agreed. My grandmother will be in charge of choosing an auspicious date and arranging the wedding, and my father will be in charge of arranging Bai Zhizhi's marriage. By the way, Lord Ji's investigation into the prefect should have yielded results by now. I'll ask him about it tomorrow."

"That's wonderful!" Mu Qingcheng was overjoyed and couldn't wait to tell Bai Zhizhi the good news.

Song Shuyu took her hand in his large palm. "Before I returned to my post, I went to the palace to see the Emperor. Besides reporting these matters to him, I also asked him to consider reinstating Uncle Mu to his post and to grant us a marriage. Qingcheng, believe me, I will not use imperial power to force Uncle Mu to marry you to me. The Emperor's bestowal of this marriage is to give you face, to silence public opinion, and to prevent anyone from slandering you. But privately, I will try my best to move Uncle Mu with my sincerity and prove to him that I am the one you should choose and spend your life with."

Mu Qingcheng and Song Shuyu unknowingly intertwined their fingers. Her eyes were moist, and she felt a lump in her throat. "My lord, only you understand me best. I forgot to tell you that I have fully regained my memories. I remembered the artificial hill, I remembered slaying the snake to save you, I remembered abandoning you in the mass grave, I remembered that your name was A Yu, and that I made up the false name A Yuan to deceive you, and that I promised you to marry me and be my husband."

"So, my intuition was right. I didn't mistake you for someone else. You are A-Yuan, and you are also Qingcheng. Whether you were young or now, you must repay the life-saving grace with your body!"

Song Shuyu was overwhelmed with joy. He would never forget the day they reunited. The first time he saw Mu Qingcheng, he called out "A-Yuan" in his heart. He had accepted her request to be a coroner almost without thinking. In his mind, a voice kept echoing: A-Yuan, his A-Yuan has returned—