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

Along this journey.

Mu Yuan did not respond to Xu Yan's complaints.

Qin Hongxiu tried several times to speak up and ease the tension, but then she remembered that her relationship with Xu Yan wasn't that close.

I decided to keep quiet.

Moreover, Xu Yan's negative impression of Mu Yuan stemmed from witnessing her and Mu Yuan being affectionate.

Speaking out now will only make things worse.

the other side.

The entrance to the residence of the Fourth Prince, Zhu Qi.

As Le Shi watched Xu Yan's carriage gradually disappear into the night, a surge of hatred welled up in his heart, and he clenched his fists tightly.

He and Xu Yan had a tacit understanding, but they just hadn't made it official yet.

Now, Xu Yan has distanced herself without any warning.

Then he thought about how Xu Yan got into Mu Yuan's carriage, and how Mu Yuan was still staying at Xu Yan's house.

This led Le Shi to conclude that it must be Mu Yuan's appearance that caused Xu Yan to distance herself from him.

"Mu Yuan, you stole my love! I swear I will not rest until I avenge this!"

Le Shi had already come to hate Mu Yuan, blaming Mu Yuan for Xu Yan's estrangement. He secretly vowed to teach Mu Yuan a lesson.

Mu Yuan is in the southwest; perhaps he cannot shake him.

But in the capital city.

With his connections, he can still cause some trouble for Mu Yuan!

At this moment, Gu Jiang came out from inside and saw Le Shi standing at the door, not having left. He couldn't help but ask:

"Brother Yue, why aren't you leaving yet?"

"Brother Gu!" When Le Shi saw Gu Jiang, it was like seeing a lifeline. He told Gu Jiang everything that had just happened.

After hearing this, Gu Jiang's face turned extremely ugly.

"That Mu Yuan is a despicable scoundrel! He not only humiliated us at the Moonlight Banquet, but also stole your beloved!" Gu Jiang cursed.

When Le Shi saw that Gu Jiang was angry, he was secretly delighted.

He was outnumbered and outmatched. If he could also win over Gu Jiang to deal with Mu Yuan together, it would be much easier.

After all, Gu Jiang's older sister, Gu Wei, was the most beloved concubine of Prince Zhu Huan of Chu.

"Brother Gu, it's nothing for me to suffer a little grievance, but it's a big deal that you were humiliated by him tonight." Le Shi deliberately brought up the moonlight banquet tonight in order to get Gu Jiang to focus all his efforts on dealing with Mu Yuan.

Gu Jiang felt a surge of hatred when he thought about how he had been humiliated by Mu Yuan at the Moonlight Banquet tonight in front of so many talented men and beautiful women.

"Brother Le, what do you suggest we do?"

Gu Jiang couldn't suppress his anger and looked at Le Shi. Le Shi was usually full of ideas, so if he wanted to deal with Mu Yuan, he would have to get Le Shi to come up with a plan.

Seeing that Gu Jiang had been pulled to his side, Le Shi deliberately frowned and pretended to be deep in thought.

Gu Jiang didn't urge him.

After all, Le Shi needs to come up with ideas and strategies.

"I've got it!" Le Shi suddenly exclaimed. "Brother Gu, I remember you have a masterpiece in your collection, a painting called 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'!"

Gu Jiang's body trembled, and he stared at Le Shi warily, as if looking at a thief, and said:

"Brother Le, I asked you to find a way to deal with Mu Yuan, why are you also eyeing my 'Hundred Birds Soaring Over the Phoenix' painting?"

"Brother Gu, you've misunderstood," Le Shi quickly explained. "You can use the 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' painting to invite everyone present tonight to your home to admire it. Mu Yuan isn't a scholar; how would he understand the art of painting? Then..."

Le Shi didn't finish his sentence, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

Gu Jiang instantly understood Le Shi's intention.

Tonight, both he and Le Shi were humiliated by Mu Yuan, and in front of so many people, they were utterly disgraced.

Under the pretext of viewing the painting, invite everyone present tonight to your residence to admire it. Mu Yuan is not a scholar, and his painting skills are his weakness. But at this time, use his painting skills as an excuse to humiliate him severely, so that he can not only save face but also vent his anger.

"We'll do as you say!"

Having made up his mind, Gu Jiang immediately set off back home.

Le Shi watched Gu Jiang's departing figure, a smug smile spreading across his face.

The next day.

The servants of the Xu family found Mu Yuan.

From the servants of the Xu family, Mu Yuan learned that Gu Jiang had invited those who attended the Moonlight Banquet last night to the Gu residence to view the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" painting.

"These pedantic scholars love to do this kind of pointless stuff."

Mu Yuan didn't want to participate; he preferred to do something else rather than admire famous paintings.

Qin Hongxiu, who was also invited, said, "Gu Jiang argued with you last night and lost. He suddenly invited us to see the 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' painting. He clearly has ulterior motives."

"Whatever his intentions are, I have no interest in finding out."

Mu Yuan waved his hand.

Just as Mu Yuan and Qin Hongxiu were talking.

Xu Yan walked in.

She said coldly, "Young Master Gu comes from a scholarly family; how could he be the petty and narrow-minded person you all speak of?"

Seeing Xu Yan suddenly walk in and make accusations, Mu Yuan knew that she must have overheard his conversation with Qin Hongxiu.

"Miss Xu Yan, you've read the classics, so what? Doesn't the book say 'Do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper'?" Mu Yuan said with a forced smile.

Xu Yan blushed and said, "I was just passing by and happened to overhear your conversation."

"Just passing by?" Mu Yuan smiled knowingly and said, "Not necessarily! You must have also received an invitation from Gu Jiang to visit his residence to see the 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' painting, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan's eyes darted away, clearly feeling guilty.

Seeing her like this, Mu Yuan already knew that he must have guessed correctly.

Xu Yan came here most likely with the intention of inviting him and Qin Hongxiu to go to Gu Jiang's residence together.

Let's go!

Mu Yuan stood up and walked outside.

"Where to?" Qin Hongxiu asked, looking bewildered.

"Of course, I'll go with Miss Xu Yan to Gu Jiang's residence to admire the paintings."

Mu Yuan smiled faintly.

Qin Hongxiu was taken aback. Just now, Mu Yuan had seemed rather uninterested. How did he suddenly become interested?

"Miss Xu Yan, would you like to come along?"

Mu Yuan looked at Xu Yan, who blushed and turned to walk away.

Xu Yan originally wanted to ask Mu Yuan if he wanted to go to Gu Jiang's mansion to admire the paintings together.

Now, Mu Yuan has indirectly exposed her true intentions.

How could Xu Yan not panic?

Seeing that Mu Yuan had already walked out, Qin Hongxiu followed closely behind.

The three of them rode together in a carriage.

We arrived at the Gu residence.

Without any hindrance, they entered the Gu residence.

Mu Yuan then realized that, in addition to them, the talented men and beautiful women who were present that night had also arrived here.

"Xu Yan".

As soon as Le Shi saw Xu Yan, he immediately came up to her and fawned over her.

While greeting Xu Yan, Le Shi glanced at Mu Yuan, his eyes filled with resentment.

Mu Yuan caught Le Shi's resentful gaze, but made no comment. Instead, he pretended not to see it and completely ignored Le Shi.

At this moment, Gu Jiang appeared.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards those present:

"Gentlemen, your presence is an honor to my humble abode. As you may already know, I have a painting of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix in my collection, which I will now present to you for your perusal!"