Chapter 610

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Su Muchun nodded slightly, indicating he understood, then rose from his seat and said to Qianqian, "Since that's the case, you pass my regards to Aunt. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

After all, men and women are different, and I am merely an outsider; it would be rather improper to rashly go pay respects to An Wangfei. Moreover, Prince An is not present at the moment.

Qianqian naturally understood Su Muchun's thoughts perfectly. So she readily nodded and replied, "No matter, I'll take care of this."

Having received a definite answer, Su Muchun lingered no longer, but turned and strode toward the door.

By the time Su Muchun had nearly reached the door, Qianqian hurriedly rose to see him off, but did not escort him all the way out the mansion gate — after all, if outsiders saw such intimate familiarity between them, it would be rather improper.

After watching Su Muchun's figure recede into the distance until it vanished from sight, Qianqian only then let out a soft sigh and slowly turned back.

Meanwhile, Su Muchun had already stepped out of Prince An's mansion gate, and Xiao Ding, following behind him, trailed close at his heels, not leaving his side for a step.

After master and servant boarded a carriage that had been waiting for some time, Su Muchun involuntarily looked back once more toward Prince An's mansion, his gaze deep and lingering, as if wanting to see through that tightly shut vermilion gate whether Qianqian's figure was inside...

After seeing Su Muchun off into the distance, Qianqian composed herself slightly, then walked with light steps straight toward the courtyard where An Wangfei resided.

Entering the courtyard and seeing An Wangfei admiring flowers and the moon before the house, Qianqian called softly, "Mother~" An Wangfei turned at the sound, smiling at her daughter and asking, "What is it? Qianqian, has Xiao Su left?"

Qianqian hurried forward a few steps to An Wangfei's side and relayed every word Su Muchun had entrusted her to convey to An Wangfei, without missing a single one.

Hearing her daughter's words, An Wangfei's face showed relief, and she gently stroked Qianqian's hair, comforting her, "You've gone to the trouble of making a trip; we're all family, no need for such formality. Xiao Su is quite a polite good child, too." Immediately after, mother and daughter chatted a while longer about household trifles, and time slipped away unnoticed...

Time flies; in the blink of an eye, five short days have passed. On this day, after the morning court session, Prince An hurried to Qianji Yuan.

It turned out he had come this time to deliver a piece of good news to Qianqian.

It is learned that in the recent Imperial Guards assessment, Su Muchun displayed his prowess stunningly, emerging victorious to become the Commander of the Imperial Guards!

You must know, competition for this post is exceptionally fierce, yet Su Muchun managed to suppress all rivals by his own strength — truly no easy feat.

Precisely because of this, all other competitors were convinced and had nothing to say.

The Emperor, greatly pleased, specially issued an edict granting Su Muchun one day's leave, and ordered him to formally assume office the next day.

Upon hearing this news, Qianqian was so excited she jumped three feet high, dancing with joy, even directly ignoring Prince An standing to one side.

Like a gust of wind, she rushed straight to the courtyard where An Wangfei was, unable to wait to tell her this tremendous good news.

An Wangfei, overjoyed, immediately decided, "Tonight we'll hold a banquet, invite Xiao Su to the mansion for dinner, and celebrate properly!"

Qianqian, wild with joy, hurriedly dispatched Hua Hua to notify Su Muchun.

Before night had fallen, Hua Hua had already driven an exquisite, magnificent carriage out the mansion gate, speeding toward Su Muchun's residence.

Only because An Wangfei had instructed, "Bring him back early; after all, it's been a month since we last met, a good chance to catch up on old times."

Qianqian naturally agreed wholeheartedly, so Hua Hua dared not delay a moment, rushing straight to the destination without stopping.

Before long, Su Muchun had been smoothly escorted into Prince An's mansion. The moment Su Muchun stepped into the front hall, he saw everyone inside sitting upright with proper decorum, in perfect order.

Those present at this time, aside from the already-married Yan Xiner and Yan Shuang'er sisters, were all here.

Compared to the restrained manner of his last visit, Su Muchun was clearly much more relaxed this time.

After all, with his photographic memory, after just one brief meeting last time, he already knew the identities of everyone in this hall clearly.

So he greeted each person in turn. When he reached Yan Si and Yan Wang, although by age Su Muchun was actually older than Yan Si, this fellow's face was so thick he utterly disregarded dignity, opening his mouth to call Yan Si "Second Brother" and addressing Yan Wang as "Fourth Brother" — such forms of address were naturally copied from Qianqian.

Faced with this, Yan Si and Yan Wang were both quite uneasy: first, they worried accepting would shorten their lives;

second, they knew full well their own father had not yet nodded agreement to this matter, so how could they rashly agree? Thinking of this, the two tacitly turned their gazes together toward Prince An seated to one side.

They saw that Prince An's face was gloomy as ink, yet he remained silent throughout, making his intentions impossible to fathom.

Yan Si thought secretly, "Since Father hasn't explicitly expressed opposition, it most likely means tacit consent!" Thinking this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and agreed without hesitation.

Yan Wang at his side, seeing this, also nodded slightly, indicating approval. Immediately after, Su Muchun turned his gaze to Yan Jie and called softly, "Sixth Brother"

Yan Jie's face flushed bright red, like a ripe apple, his lips moving soundlessly; after a good while he barely squeezed out two words: "Su... Brother..."

Originally, he had wanted to blurt out "Brother-in-law," but feared angering his father, so he hemmed and hawed and called out "Su Brother."

However, Su Muchun didn't take it to heart, merely smiling faintly in response.

At this, An Wangfei hurriedly called warmly, "Xiao Su, come sit over here!" She pointed to the empty seat between Yan Wang and Yan Jie. Su Muchun hurriedly thanked her, "Thank you, Aunt!" Then stepped to his seat and sat down steadily.

After everyone was seated, Prince An spoke first, breaking the silence: "Xiao Su, I called you here today to tell you I've learned you've been promoted to Commander of the Imperial Guards, and you start your post tomorrow! So I specially invited you over to celebrate this happy occasion."

Before his words ended, Su Muchun immediately stood, cupping his fist toward Prince An, and said earnestly, "That I have such an opportunity is entirely thanks to Uncle's strong support behind the scenes and secret assistance. This junior is infinitely grateful!"

Prince An shook his head slightly and said slowly, "I didn't help you at all! This post you won by your own genuine talent and learning."