Chapter 451: Just like my sister

The witch doctor still dressed as usual, his mouth saying sorry, but his face was completely smiling.

Mu Yuanzhi and Gu Rongjin were also used to him being like that.

"It's so late; why did you summon us?" Gu Rongjin asked.

"Naturally, it's an urgent matter." The witch doctor sat down to drink tea, showing no sign of urgency at all.

"Is it about Mu Cheng?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

"Of course, for you, Princess, his matter is the only urgent one now." The witch doctor leisurely took a sip of tea before continuing: "I used the birth characters he provided to do several divinations."

He stopped mid‑sentence, selling the suspense.

Mu Yuanzhi anxiously asked: "How is it?"

"It matches perfectly; in other words, the birth characters he gave are correct, and he indeed was born just before or after the Princess, so trying to question his identity based on the birth characters won't work." The witch doctor said.

Gu Rongjin: "It seems this person has made thorough preparations; his own birth characters match his fabricated identity perfectly, leaving no room for error."

Mu Yuanzhi: "He's so cautious, he's hard to deal with."

"That's all I have to say." The witch doctor said and continued drinking tea.

"By the way, Commander Si Ma, someone mentioned a viewpoint to me; I don't know what you think—do you consider blood‑drop kinship verification reliable?" Mu Yuanzhi asked the witch doctor.

"A unique viewpoint." The witch doctor raised his brows, "I've never heard it before, but unless one can prove that two drops of blood merging doesn't necessarily mean kinship, this is challenging ancient authority and would be deemed heretical."

Gu Rongjin: "So you support this viewpoint?"

"Not exactly; I'm quite flexible." The witch doctor said, "But so far, in my experience, blood‑drop kinship testing has never been wrong, as long as nothing interferes—why don't we three test it right here?"

Gu Rongjin: "So casual?"

"Just a prick on the finger, no big deal." Mu Yuanzhi thought it didn't matter.

Gu Rongjin nodded, "Alright, it's just a drop of blood."

Then the witch doctor brought a bowl and water; the three of them each pricked their fingers and dropped blood in, and none of the drops merged.

"We three have no blood relation, and the blood won't merge—still pretty authoritative, right?" the witch doctor said.

"Yes, that's the usual view." Mu Yuanzhi personally poured out the bowl of water, "So I'm wondering, how can my blood merge with Mu Cheng's, and how did he know our blood would merge?"

"From what you've said, Princess, have you already accepted this novel viewpoint?"

Mu Yuanzhi nodded: "Yes, since we've ruled out any trickery by Mu Cheng, the only fact left is that his blood truly can merge with mine, yet blood‑drop kinship testing is indeed unreliable."

"Then I, humble as I am, look forward to your verification, Princess." The witch doctor interestedly narrowed his eyes.

In the following days, Mu Yuanzhi again stayed at home reading ancient texts; she hadn't gone to the Ministry of Works for a long time, and the Ministry temporarily didn't need her, so she could focus on her work in peace.

That afternoon, a rare guest arrived—General Ximo.

This surrendering general, since following them to the capital to support the new emperor's ascension, they had hardly seen each other.

Today his sudden visit was truly rare.

Gu Rongjin didn't know where he had gone; Mu Yuanzhi went outside to meet him, and happened upon Mu Cheng speaking with General Ximo at the gate; the two stopped talking when they saw her approach.

"Sister." Mu Cheng, as always, greeted Mu Yuanzhi warmly, as if they had grown up together and were close siblings.

Mu Yuanzhi merely twitched the corner of her mouth, a gesture anyone could see was perfunctory; Mu Cheng seemed not to mind, still greeting her with a smile.

"Princess!" Since becoming a surrendering general, General Ximo's attitude had changed greatly from before—no longer arrogant, now proper and disciplined.

"General Ximo, it's rare for you to visit; please follow me."

General Ximo glanced at Mu Cheng.

As the saying goes, an honest official finds it hard to judge family matters; he had no intention of meddling in the Mu family's grudges, and followed Mu Yuanzhi away.

Left standing aside, Mu Cheng only after they walked away did his face cloud over again.

However, no one saw this scene.

"Yes, General, are you here to look for Rongjin or…?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

"I'm here to find you, Princess, to be frank—Xixi that girl has run off again; this time she's been missing for several days, I'm a bit worried and wanted to ask if you know where she went."

Before, when his daughter had been missing for a long time, he had been utterly despondent, thinking she'd meet more misfortune than fortune; after losing and regaining her, he as a father finally realized he actually cared deeply for his daughter.

If it were the first time, he would never allow his daughter to marry far away into the Great Zhou!

But all that is past; his daughter's engagement to the former crown prince has long been dissolved.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuanzhi turned: "I did go out with Xixi a few days ago, but that day I was the one who escorted her home; I left after seeing her enter, and we haven't met since."

"Did she mention to you where she wanted to go?" General Ximo asked.

Mu Yuanzhi pondered, then shook her head: "No, she never said she particularly wanted to go anywhere; have you sent people to look for her? Is she missing?!"

A young lady missing for several days is a major matter!

"We've looked, but didn't find her, and we don't know where she ran off to; however, this girl often stays out, and she's never just disappeared for a few days, so I'm a bit concerned." General Ximo said, "Princess, you needn't be nervous—that girl is clever; before, we thought she'd met with mishap, but she always came back safe."

"That's not how you should speak." Mu Cheng, who had come up at some point, interjected, "A young lady going out alone is dangerous! Let me also go out and look for Miss Xixi."

Mu Yuanzhi glanced at Mu Cheng, thinking, "Here he comes again, fawning."

"Thank you very much, Young Master." General Ximo bowed his hands.

"No need for thanks; I get along very well with Miss Xixi—she's just like my sister." Mu Cheng said.

Mu Yuanzhi thought, then said: "I'll have Rongjin and the Escort Bureau send people to look; I'll inform the general at once if there's news."

"Thanks! Thanks, Princess and Young Master—this puts my mind at ease; next time I'll surely discipline that girl properly!"

However, several more days passed with no news of Xixi, and Mu Yuanzhi began to feel something was off.

"Little Yuanzhi has news!"

Gu Rongjin strode in, taking three steps as if they were two.

"Found her?!" Mu Yuanzhi rose to her feet.

"No, it's that someone once picked up an exquisitely embroidered, expensive sachet on Zhuque Avenue and tried to sell it."