Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

But those who truly stand at the pinnacle of power know that the bandits of Qishan will eventually submit; it's just a matter of time and effort.

Once this official position is given out, Qishan will remain the base of Princess Yongning's faction for decades to come, making it difficult for the imperial court to place its own people there.

Even if Princess Yongning were to die of illness one day, it would not change this established fact.

As for whether the bandits on Qishan Mountain were obedient, Mu An said that he received hundreds of letters on his first day back in Yongning County.

They were all sent by the villages in the mountains, piled up with various gifts, looking like a small mountain.

Unruly mountain bandits? ✘

A wagging-tail pug! ✔

Mu An found it troublesome and dumped everything on Lin Li, letting her handle it however she wanted.

It's not easy to shift the blame. No matter how much Mu An pleaded, Lin Li refused to help. But Jun Yunxin took sides, and in the end, Mu An shifted all the blame to the hardworking head steward.

Although Jun Yunxin didn't say it explicitly, Mu An strongly suspected that the position of Grand Commander of Qishan Road was something she used to find something for Lin Li to do.

People always need something to do to keep their minds occupied.

The hidden thoughts behind it are not hard to guess; it's just that the person involved may not have thought too much about it.

With a slight worry in mind, Mu An took his leave and returned to Qing'an County alone.

He'd been away from home for too long and was starting to miss it.

……

Peaceful days always pass quickly, and after returning to Qing'an County, Mu'an's life seemed to be on fast-forward.

He usually taught Xiao Ling'er to recognize characters, and every three days he would go to Yongning County to help Jun Yunxin take care of her health, drink two cups of fine wine, and cultivate for an hour in a slightly tipsy state. Several months would pass in this way.

The official residence of the Grand Commander of Qishan Road was built at the foot of Qishan Mountain. Mu An took a look and found it to be quite well-built, but he had no intention of moving there.

He preferred the soldiers of the Anshan Patrol Office, whom he had personally trained, to the bandits on Qishan Mountain.

Over the course of several months, Mu An only used his authority to do one thing.

The Anshan Patrol Office was incorporated into Qishan Road, its size expanded to two thousand men, and soldiers were recruited from the entire Yongning County.

The original regulations were changed to a military system, with five men forming a squad, and two squads forming a company.

The entire original staff of the Anshan Patrol Division were promoted, and even the worst-performing ones became squad leaders.

This series of actions terrified all factions in Qing'an County, who feared being targeted by the powerful Mu An as a scapegoat.

The elders of the Mu family even visited in person, and after much persuasion, they talked for half a day, from blood ties and kinship to clan ethics and the family's great cause, before finally returning to the Mu family's ancestral home with smiles on their faces.

The old man felt that he was quick-witted and extremely good at handling household affairs, and was truly the pillar of the Mu family.

When he arrived, the other clan elders didn't think highly of him. They all believed that Mu An was unruly and never gave them, the clan elders, any face. It was almost impossible to get Mu An to agree to let them place people in the new army.

So what if it was difficult? We still managed to get it done for him, didn't we?

What kind of Grand Commander of Qishan Road is he? He's just a greenhorn who thinks he can disregard his elders just because he's latched onto Princess Yongning and become a gigolo?

Even his son, who was recently promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue, didn't dare to mess with him. A mere 20-something-year-old kid was easy to subdue.

He knew that as long as he brought up Mu Ping, Mu An would definitely agree to his conditions, and that would solve everything.

The old man, who relied on his seniority, still doesn't know who exactly gave Mu Ming the opportunity to rise through the ranks.

Mu An said nothing to the old man who couldn't grasp the bigger picture, but mentioned it to Wang Wan in casual conversation.

"Recruiting five hundred members of the Mu family, and even requiring their direct descendants' young masters to serve as deputy inspectors of the Anshan Patrol Office! Brother Mu, you can actually agree to this?"

Wang Wan, who was chatting with Mu An under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, suddenly heard this news and immediately felt terrible.

This is outrageous! Will Qing'an County become a one-man show by the Mu family?

Over the past year, the Mu family has been insatiable, constantly expanding its power and suppressing other forces. How will the Wang and Li families deal with this in the future?

Mu An didn't care much about this. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and pushed the pastries on the table toward Wang Wan.

Wang Wan seemed not to have noticed this action. She simply took a piece of pastry from the very edge, covered her face with her sleeve, and ate it in small bites.

Mu An remembered clearly that before they got married, Wang Wan loved to eat pastries, and the flavors on the plate were all her favorites.

When she was little, Mu An was afraid she would get cavities, so he didn't let her eat too much. She would try to snatch it from Mu An when he wasn't looking, and if she couldn't get it, she would sulk and not talk to him for a long time.

Now look what's happened! The food is right here, but they're not going to eat it.

Mu An saw all of this, his eyes narrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

This silence made Wang Wan even more reserved, and she used the act of constantly drinking tea to cover up her nervousness.

She drank the tea sip by sip, not daring to drink too fast, but it wouldn't do to pick up the teacup and not drink any at all.

Sitting in front of Mu An, Wang Wan felt extremely uncomfortable, the invisible pressure was even greater than that from her elders at home.

She felt that Mu An now was nothing like the kind and approachable older brother Mu she used to know; instead, he seemed more like a powerful figure who had long held a high position.

This sight made Mu An sigh inwardly.

"You haven't been here for a while."

The sudden remark made Wang Wan's hand tremble. She hurriedly picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and then whispered.

"Brother Mu, as you know, you're busy with your wedding, and the Li family has quite a few rules. If you keep coming here, people will inevitably gossip."

As she said this, Wang Wan lowered her head and touched her lower abdomen, her eyes revealing a maternal love.

Seeing this scene, Mu An didn't know what else to say.

After getting married and having your own family, it's natural that you can't be the same as before, which is reasonable, but there will still be some strange feelings.

To be honest, he had to blame himself. He treated Wang Wan like a daughter, but for Wang Wan, Mu An was her childhood sweetheart.

Once married, one naturally has to avoid such things.

In this era, the power of rumors is far more terrifying than we imagine.

Not to mention him, even Wang Chong, Wang Wan's biological father, had much less contact with his daughter after she got married.

Mu An didn't want to think too much about the contradictions. He picked up the teapot and poured Wang Wan a cup, then answered her initial question.

"The old men in the Mu family all like to act like they're old and arrogant. I'm too lazy to argue with them. It's just an Anshan Patrol Office. If they want it, they can have it."

"Favors are like that; they diminish with use, and how they use them is their own business. This time, they've repaid the debt they owed the Mu family."

Seeing Mu An's attitude, Wang Wan immediately became anxious. She stood up abruptly, opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say for a long time.

Should we advise Mu An against agreeing? Or should we ask him to plant some members of the Wang and Li families within the Patrol and Inspection Division?

From what standpoint should she say these words?

The Wang family's daughter? The Li family's daughter-in-law?

Neither is appropriate.

Wang Wan stood up and felt her face burning red. She apologized and sat back down.

"I'm sorry, I got a little excited. Please forgive me, Brother Mu."

Mu An grew increasingly bored by Wang Wan's polite demeanor, and his good mood from seeing her visit dissipated considerably. He sighed and finally blurted out a sentence.

"You've grown up too."