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

"His Highness the Fourth Prince has long admired the Crown Prince. Knowing that the Crown Prince is in the capital, he specially ordered me to come and invite the Crown Prince to his residence for a chat," Ouyang Xiu stated his purpose.

"What if I don't go?" Mu Yuan narrowed his eyes, a meaningful expression on his face.

He really didn't want to get involved in the power struggle.

After all, this is the capital, not the southwest. If he makes a wrong step, he will face immeasurable danger.

The closer you get to the prince, the closer you are to danger.

Another point is that since the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince already know about Mu Yuan's arrival in the capital, it means that the Emperor is most likely aware of it as well.

From yesterday until now, the emperor has not sent anyone to question him.

This made Mu Yuan even more puzzled.

"It's alright if you don't go. His Highness the Fourth Prince will welcome you at any time." Ouyang Xiu did not fly into a rage because of Mu Yuan's refusal. On the contrary, he gladly accepted the fact that Mu Yuan would not go.

Upon seeing Mu Yuan's refusal, Madam Xu quickly interjected, "Go, go, of course I'll go! Who said I wouldn't?"

Mu Yuan's face darkened, and he felt somewhat dissatisfied. In order to avoid getting involved in the conflict, he had clearly refused, but Madam Xu treated him as if he were Xu Wei and actually made a decision for him on the spot.

There was absolutely no distinction between primary and secondary importance.

Noticing that Mu Yuan was somewhat angry, Madam Xu advised, "Nephew, this is a rare opportunity. As an elder, I am doing this for your own good."

Seeing this, Ouyang Xiu added:

"It's clear that the young master respects his elders. In that case, why not come with me?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan's lips curled into a mocking smile.

Judging from Ouyang Xiu's actions alone, the other party must be the kind of person who is gentle on the outside but sharp on the inside. On the surface, he is refined and gentle, with no offensive power, but he will launch an attack as soon as he finds an opportunity.

Although the attack may seem weak and ineffective, it can precisely strike the vital point.

Madam Xu took it upon herself to make a decision for Mu Yuan, and Ouyang Xiu seized the opportunity to put Mu Yuan in a difficult position.

At this moment, if Mu Yuan were to refuse again...

That would be tantamount to completely offending Madam Xu, earning him a reputation for disrespecting his elders. If this matter were to escalate, it would not benefit him either, and it would also put Xu Wei in an awkward position.

"Lead the way!"

Having been pushed to this point, Mu Yuan simply agreed.

They followed Ouyang Xiu to the residence of the Fourth Prince.

Mu Yuan met the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince, Zhu Qi, was handsome and held a book in his hands, looking every bit the scholar.

The Great Qian imperial family has a rule that only sons born into the royal family can be granted the title of king after they have undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. However, the fourth prince is an exception.

He had clearly passed the coming-of-age ceremony long ago, but he did not accept the title of king.

Just because he said he only wanted to stay by the emperor's side and did not want to be made a prince, the emperor was overjoyed and broke the rule of granting princes based on age, allowing him to continue to consider himself a prince.

"Your Highness."

Mu Yuan was about to bow to him.

Zhu Qi quickly dropped the book in his hand and stepped forward to help him up, saying, "No need for such formalities."

Mu Yuan was not particularly moved by Zhu Qi's respect for scholars, because Zhu Qi, who was clearly a scholar, had discarded his books in order to win people's hearts.

This is enough to prove that his image is all a facade.

Even now, we treat scholars with respect and courtesy.

It's mostly a disguise.

However, Mu Yuan knew this in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud.

Mu Yuan saw through the deception but didn't say anything, feigning gratitude and saying, "Your Highness's kindness is truly overwhelming."

Zhu Qi smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I only found out last night that you came to the capital. As the heir apparent, you traveled a long way to come for your sister-in-law, which shows that you are loyal and righteous."

Faced with Zhu Qi's praise, Mu Yuan felt more and more that this fourth prince, like Ouyang Xiu, was a person who was gentle on the outside but sharp on the inside.

"Let's sit down and talk."

Zhu Qi gestured for Mu Yuan to sit down, then turned to Qin Hongxiu, who had come with him, and said, "General Qin, please sit down as well."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Qin Hongxiu responded and then sat down quietly to the side.

"I've heard about your trip to the capital. Regarding Tuoba Yue's remarriage, I can go to the palace to see the Emperor and ask him to rescind his decision." Zhu Qi said, while observing the changes in Mu Yuan's expression.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Qi noticed that Mu Yuan's face remained expressionless, which made him wonder if Mu Yuan's trip to the capital was really to resolve the issue of Tuoba Yue's remarriage.

Mu Yuan smiled and politely declined, "Your Highness need not trouble yourself with this matter."

He already harbored resentment towards the princes' attempts to win him over; he had already refused the Crown Prince's promise to resolve the issue, let alone the Fourth Prince in the present.

"It's only natural for you to refuse." Zhu Qixian had already guessed Mu Yuan's refusal, and then asked with a smile, "You think I made that promise with ulterior motives, right?"

Mu Yuan remained silent.

At this moment, a man with white eyebrows sneered, "The Fourth Prince kindly helped you, and you didn't even respond. Don't you think you're showing the Fourth Prince too little respect?"

Mu Yuan glanced at the handsome man in white, then at Zhu Qi, who was squatting down to pick up the book, and sneered inwardly.

It's the same old trick, one plays the good cop and the other the bad cop.

"And who are you?" Mu Yuan asked the white-browed man.

The white-browed man's eyes were full of smugness as he said, "I am Zheng Yexian, the steward of the Fourth Prince's residence!"

"You're just a steward, you don't manage the affairs of the manor, yet you're telling me whether I can speak or not," Mu Yuan said coldly.

He was not intimidated by Zheng Yexian's position as one of the Fourth Prince's men; instead, he directly mocked Zheng Yexian for meddling in other people's business.

This was the first time Zheng Yexian had encountered someone who dared to openly mock him.

When others learned that he was the steward of the Fourth Prince's residence, they all treated him with utmost respect and deference.

But Mu Yuan showed no respect whatsoever.

This enraged Zheng Yexian on the spot: "How dare you talk back to me!"

"You're just a manager, with no official position or rank, so why can't I talk back to you?"

At this point, Mu Yuan immediately changed his tune: "To be precise, it wasn't arguing back, I was reprimanding you on behalf of the Fourth Prince, to teach you the meaning of hierarchy!"

"Your Highness, look at him..."

Zheng Yexian looked at Zhu Qi, intending to complain, but Zhu Qi scolded him: "Young Master Mu is right. You've been acting disrespectfully because of my relationship with you. Young Master Mu is reprimanding me, so you should just accept it obediently!"

Zheng was stunned.

His every word and action was specially arranged by Zhu Qi beforehand.

According to the plan, at this time, the Fourth Prince should have played the role of mediator to win over Mu Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Qi not only failed to mediate, but also publicly reprimanded him.

This left Zheng Yexian completely baffled.

Zheng Yexian was now in a bind, unable to express his bitterness, and could only go along with Zhu Qi's words, saying, "It was my rudeness."

"Apologize to Prince Mu!" Zhu Qi said in a deep voice.

Zheng Yexian turned to face Mu Yuan, lowered his head, and said, "I was very rude just now. I hope that Your Highness will forgive my offense."