Chapter 445: Is it not the Grand Princess you like, but Miss Xixi?

Yelu Kebao Ge said.

She looked at Mu Yuanzhi and smiled knowingly: "You want to talk about Tea City, right?"

Tea City?

It's rather intimate to call it that, Mu Yuanzhi thought.

Their relationship really isn't ordinary.

"That's right, I want to learn a bit about my older brother," Mu Yuanzhi said with a light smile.

"Your brother? You acknowledge him as your brother?" Yelu Kebao Ge asked, not quite believing.

"Even after a blood relation test, how could you not believe it? It's just that emotionally it's a bit hard to accept at first, so I came to ask the Grand Princess about him." Mu Yuanzhi said half-truthfully.

Yelu Kebao Ge nodded, indicating understanding.

"I actually met Tea City at a poetry gathering; at that time I was attracted by his talent—no one could match that poem, but he did, and it was absolutely splendid!"

Recalling this, Yelu Kebao Ge's expression showed a subtle sweetness.

Mu Yuanzhi naturally caught that.

This princess favors Tea City even more than she had imagined.

She didn't interrupt Yelu Kebao Ge's words, waiting for what came next.

"Only after getting to know him well did I learn of this fateful background—he was alone and helpless in the Flourishing Severe State, and wanting to return to the Great Zhou to trace his roots was extremely difficult; I decided to help him, securing this opportunity to come to the Great Zhou on an envoy mission, bringing him along."

Yelu Kebao Ge said, her eyes full of relief: "Fortunately, things have gone fairly smoothly so far."

"Why do you, Grand Princess, trust him so much?" Mu Yuanzhi asked again.

"Because with his talent, as long as I recommend him, he will surely rise smoothly in our court; there's absolutely no need to fabricate such a complicated background and come all the way to the Great Zhou." Yelu Kebao Ge said.

Mu Yuanzhi raised an eyebrow, noncommittal, then asked: "So, Princess, do you think he is extraordinarily talented, of excellent character, someone you could entrust your life to?"

As if her thoughts had been spoken aloud, Yelu Kebao Ge's face instantly reddened; she hadn't expected Mu Yuanzhi to be so blunt, and she immediately felt a mix of annoyance and embarrassment: "What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Mu Yuanzhi: "I hit the mark."

"You! I……" Yelu Kebao Ge stammered for a while, unable to find a suitable excuse to rebut, then she coldly snorted: "Even if it were, what's wrong with that? Unmarried man, unmarried woman."

"Have you ever considered, Princess, that if Tea City weren't from the Grand General's residence, he couldn't marry you?" Mu Yuanzhi began to get to the point.

Yelu Kebao Ge didn't understand: "What do you mean by 'Guardian State Princess'?"

"Even if you recommend him to an office and he rises smoothly, can someone of his background marry a state's Grand Princess?"

"As long as the office is big enough, heroes don't ask about origins!" Yelu Kebao Ge said, and then suddenly, as if realizing something, she narrowed her eyes: "I get it—you mean he fabricated a background for himself just to marry me? Hah, your imagination is rich, but he doesn't have such thoughts." Yelu Kebao Ge's voice carried some resentment.

"You're sure there isn't?" Mu Yuanzhi asked, not annoyed, turning the question back.

"Of course, I've been with him that long—how could I not know?" It was all her wishful thinking.

Mu Yuanzhi dropped the topic and asked another: "Did Li Pozi follow Tea City from the beginning?"

"Yes, Tea City said that after his foster mother died, it was this Li Pozi who found him and continued to raise him to adulthood." Yelu Kebao Ge said.

After hearing that, Mu Yuanzhi asked the final question: "Grand Princess, do you know anything else? For example, what did Tea City used to do for a living?"

"He said he did odd jobs to make a living—worked at the docks moving goods, and also set up a stall." Yelu Kebao Ge said, "Other than that I'm not sure, and I didn't ask further."

"I see, no wonder I can't find any info about his past—it's like he appeared out of thin air, turns out it's because he did odd jobs." Mu Yuanzhi said deliberately.

Could Yelu Kebao Ge fail to grasp her implied meaning?

But when Yelu Kebao Ge tried to retort, Mu Yuanzhi bade farewell and left, leaving her alone here to stew in anger.

She believed in Tea City, and would never easily change because of others' gossip!

"Wait a moment!"

Mu Yuanzhi turned back: "Grand Princess, is there anything else?"

"I'd like to visit the Grand General's residence to see Tea City—would that be convenient?" Yelu Kebao Ge asked.

"Of course."

Mu Yuanzhi could say today she gained nothing; this Grand Princess seems to only have a superficial understanding of Tea City's past—let her come over and see if there might be any pleasant surprise.

Mu Yuanzhi returned home, saw in the courtyard Mu Yumo and Gu Yutong playing, while Tea City stood nearby watching and smiling, seeming eager to play with the kids, but the two little ones weren't really interested in engaging with him, keeping a polite distance.

Seeing this, she felt relieved; her reminders to the children were all heeded.

"Sister!" Tea City saw Mu Yuanzhi first and came over laughing.

"Mother!"

The two siblings ran over happily.

"Have you finished your homework?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

The two little beans glanced at each other, then in unison said: "We're heading back first!"

They both knew that when Mother asked that, she wanted them to leave first.

They also didn't want to stay with this cheap uncle!

"You're really strict with your two little nephews," Tea City said with a laugh.

"Of course—strict from a young age, so they'll be useful when they grow up." Mu Yuanzhi also laughed.

Tea City nodded deeply in agreement: "You've taught the children well; brother, when I have kids someday, I'll still need to learn more from you, sister."

"Do you have someone you have your eye on, brother?" Mu Yuanzhi asked deliberately.

Tea City shook his head: "I haven't even settled down myself, so I wouldn't delay any young lady."

Again reminding her? Mu Yuanzhi thought with a quiet chuckle.

"Feelings can't be arranged perfectly; when fate arrives, things fall into place naturally—brother, you actually already have a girl you like, right?" Mu Yuanzhi probed: "But Princess Kebao Ge?"

As she spoke, she saw a flash of sharpness in Tea City's eyes, then he quickly put on a frightened look and waved his hands: "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Don't you like the Grand Princess? But today I met the Grand Princess, we chatted a bit, and she seemed to appreciate you?"

"The Grand Princess merely values talent."

"Is that so? Or are you saying that brother actually likes not the Grand Princess, but Miss Xixi?"

Mu Mingcheng's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze flickering a little guiltily, as if he hadn't expected that his getting close to Xixi would be discovered by someone.

He also didn't know that behind him, Yelu Kebao Ge, who had just entered the courtyard, was looking at him.