Chapter 328 Extra Story— The Special Bottle in the Country of Mu Xia
Duanmu Gongcheng felt somewhat shameless upon seeing Duanmu Gongyu’s shock, and he lowered his head to say, “It’s my fault! I am too… I hope you don’t blame me.”

Duanmu Gongyu felt happy to remedy the misunderstanding with his brother and nodded while saying, “I don’t blame you, Big Brother. I have arranged for my people to deal with those bad guys. You don’t have to be worried.”

Duanmu Gongcheng could not adapt to this change and still felt embarrassed at the moment. He said, “Third Brother, you’ve just come back, so I came to check on your injury. Since you’re fine, I should not bother you. You’re so tired after a long journey. Have a rest and I will come to visit you later.”

Then, Duanmu Gongcheng asked to leave in a hurry.

Nanny Wu suddenly felt embarrassed when only Duanmu Gongyu, Yun Muxi, and she were there. She said in a hurry, “My Lord, you should have a rest and I will go to prepare food for you. You must not have eaten much and slept poorly being outside for so long. I will make you a good meal to nourish you! Miss Yun, you can look after the prince now. I need to go.”

Only Yun Muxi and Duanmu Gongyu were there when Nanny Wu left. Recently, Duanmu Gongyu had not been at home. Staying with him alone made her feel uneasy and embarrassed. She turned around and said in a hurry, “I should tidy your pack first!” Then, she was about to leave.

Duanmu Gongyu held Yun Muxi and pulled her into his arms. He embraced her tightly! Helplessness filled his voice. “Allow me to hold you for a while!”

Duanmu Gongyu leaned his head over Yun Muxi’s shoulder and held her tightly. The latter could clearly feel the abnormal emotions of Duanmu Gongyu, so she asked softly, “What happened? You should be happy to come back. What’s wrong?”

Duanmu Gongyu did not reply for a moment. After a long while, he said slowly, “Today, my big brother even called me Third Brother. I have not heard this address in nearly 10 years! I never thought that I could clear up the misunderstandings with my brother. This is all of a sudden, but it makes me afraid. I am afraid that this is a dream or a conspiracy! Can you tell me whether or not I should trust my big brother?”

Yun Muxi did not know how to answer his question. She had never experienced the wheeling-and-dealing associated with the imperial palace, but read about this in the ancient books or history. She could not tell if Duanmu Gongcheng treated him sincerely, but she was not willing to destroy the beautiful fantasy of Duanmu Gongyu.

Duanmu Gongyu was a kind man, so he always treated people indifferently for not adapting to this kind of life. He armed himself fully. Yun Muxi hoped that Duanmu Gongyu could show his real self and did not have to live such a tired and tough life. However, she also could not make sure if this kind of simplicity would be suitable in this complex environment.

Yun Muxi could not answer Duanmu Gongyu’s question, she could only give him a soothing hug and pat his back gently.

…

The next day, the sun was just right. Yun Muxi took Duanmu Gongyu around the garden to enjoy the sunshine and told him a joke. Yun Muxi could not help bursting into laughter after she finished her joke, while Duanmu Gongyu caressed Yun Muxi’s head with a spoiled smile.

A few uninvited guests came across this sweet scene. Duanmu Gongyu’s gesture and smile greatly shocked these masters!

“Second, can you tell me what happened to Third Brother? Is his head hurt or something?” Huangfu Jianan raised his delicate eyebrows and asked Sikong Shu next to him.

“Fourth, you always like to tell jokes. I think Little Three must change his personality! There must be some hidden reasons!” Sikong Shu said faintly with his eyes squinted.

“Don’t talk about Little Three behind his back. You don’t know about Little Three’s bad temper? Be careful, or you will not have a good result.” Ouyang Fangzheng scolded Huangfu Jianan and Sikong Shu in a cold voice.

“I still think Third Brother seems to have fallen in love with this girl,” Murong Che snapped his fingers and said as if he had revealed nature’s mystery.

Duanmu Gongyu noticed a few gazes and looked around, seeing that the four were talking about him at a distance. His expression turned gloomy and he shouted in a cold voice, “What are you discussing over there?”

Murong Che was careless and said, “We are talking about whether you’ve hurt your brain or fallen in love with this girl…” Before he could finish his words, his mouth was covered by three pairs of big hands.

Later, Huangfu Jianan explained with a smile, “Third Brother, don’t listen to Little Five’s stupid words. You know he is usually careless and always babbles nonsense.”

Sikong Shu also explained after Huangfu Jianan, “Yes, Little Three, we heard that you got injured, so we’ve come to see you!”

Ouyang Fangzheng cough lightly and asked, “Little Three, are you getting better?”

Duanmu Gongyu did not answer their questions, but glanced at them with a fierce gaze. He could easily tell what they were discussing. They had to be talking about his abnormal attitude toward Yun Muxi.

The four felt stunned when receiving Duanmu Gongyu’s gaze and showed their flattery in a hurry.

Yun Muxi curiously asked, “Gong Yu, who are they?”

Hearing Yun Muxi’s intimate address to Duanmu Gongyu and the latter having no special reaction, the four were greatly shocked. There had to be some hidden stories between them, something they did not know…

Duanmu Gongyu introduced them to Yun Muxi in a light voice, “They are my friends from childhood and all my best friends. We call each other brothers. The one with a serious and cold expression is our eldest brother, Ouyang Fangzheng. That one looking literary and tender is Second, Sikong Shu. That one with exaggerating smile is Fourth, Huangfu Jianan, while the one who looks careless and naive is Little Five, Murong Che. I am Little Three.”

After hearing Duanmu Gongyu’s introduction, the faces of the four changed color. From his introduction, they were normal people. How could he make remarks about them in such an unpleasant way?

Little Five refuted at first, “Third Brother, you’re not right to introduce us in this way! How could we have a cold expression, be tender, have an exaggerate smile, and be careless?”

Although the four were unsatisfied with Duanmu Gongyu’s introduction, they got angrier when hearing Little Five even repeating the keywords again. They hit Little Five’s head and the latter burst into screaming.

Yun Muxi felt that they were so cute. Besides, they were Duanmu Gongyu’s friends, so she thought that they had to have good characters.

Then, she stood up and greeted them, “Hello everyone, my name is Yun Muxi. You can call me Xiao Xi. It’s really nice to meet you all. Duanmu Gongyu is my friend. If you don’t mind, we can also become good friends.”

Yun Muxi’s proper behavior left a good impression on their minds. When carefully sizing her up, they found that she was so beautiful!

Her extremely delicate facial features were written on her palm-sized face. A rare sense of spirit showed in her black eyes. Her nose was standing tall, her lips were tender, her chin was small, while her skin was delicate. Her short black hair was scattered on her shoulders. The two slender braids made her refreshed and refined. Her special hairstyle brought her another kind of unique quality. Her pure white dress displayed her perfect body curve, while the color of white gave her a more fresh and natural feeling.

A sweet smile on her face made her glare with a dazzling shine.

Huangfu Jianan praised her, “Such a remarkable beauty! Little Three, you have kept this secret so deeply! How can you hide such a beauty by your side?”

Murong Che also gave her his complement. “Yeah, Third Brother, didn’t you say that you would not get close to a woman? When did you bring such a beautiful girl beside you?”

Sikong Shu wore a slight smile and said, “Xiao Xi, it’s our honor to be your friends!”

Ouyang Fangzheng finally noticed his impoliteness and coughed slightly, saying, “Miss Yun, I am sorry for our rude behavior.”

Yun Muxi answered them with a sweet smile and said, “Don’t stand over there. Come and have a seat! I should go to prepare some tea and cakes for you, so you can have good communication with Gong Yu!” Then, Yun Muxi left after seeing that everyone was sitting down.

Huangfu Jianan automatically sat next to Duanmu Gongyu, watching Yun Muxi leave and leaning his head to ask with curiosity, “Hey! Where did you find such a remarkable beauty? I have never thought that the reason why you spare no effort on women is that your requirements for women are too high. You will take action rashly when meeting a good one!”

Duanmu Gongyu pushed Huangfu Jianan’s head away with objection and gave him a cold glare.

Murong Che also leaned his head over and asked with curiosity, “Yeah, yeah, Third Brother, you should tell us the story of Xiao Xi. Where did you find such a beautiful girl?”

Duanmu Gongyu did not answer their questions, but said in a cold voice, “Don’t address her in such an intimate way. You can’t call her Xiao Xi!”

They became more and more curious upon seeing Duanmu Gongyu insisting on showing his ownership of Yun Muxi and felt stunned by the relationship between the two! It seemed that Yun Muxi had a really important position in Duanmu Gongyu’s heart, which was greatly beyond their imagination. They stared at Duanmu Gongyu with a curious brilliance in their eyes, as shiny as a flash.

Sikong Shu waved the fan gently and looked at Duanmu Gongyu elegantly, with curiosity in his eyes. He also seemed to be waiting for Duanmu Gongyu’s answer. Ouyang Fangzheng was still serious and did not ask anything. As usual, he was the one who disliked this kind of gossip most and would scold them to stop this topic, but he did not today.

Duanmu Gongyu did not explain but said faintly, “No matter what you’re thinking, don’t bother her.”

The four felt disappointed when seeing that they could not get the answer from Duanmu Gongyu. Then, Ouyang Fangzheng asked, “Little Three, how did you get injured for this time? Did Duanmu Gongcheng trap you?”

They were clear about Duanmu Gongcheng’s attitude toward him. They did not know who could hurt Third Prince Duanmu Gongyu so badly except for Duanmu Gongcheng. Besides, it was weird for Duanmu Gongyu to go to a battle. Why was he chosen when there were a few heroic generals among the ministers? Why was Duanmu Gongyu arranged to join the battle in a sudden and so hurriedly? In this way, everyone had to suspect that it was Duanmu Gongcheng’s trap. He must have set up Duanmu Gongyu a few times in secret.

Duanmu Gongyu answered indifferently, “It was not him!” Duanmu Gongyu detailed Duanmu Gongcheng’s traps and the process for them to clear up the misunderstandings.

“So, who dares to hurt you except for Duanmu Gongcheng?” Huangfu Jianan asked with his eyebrows furrowed, while the other three also looked at Duanmu Gongyu with confusion.

Duanmu Gongyu did not want to mention this, but considering that they were his brothers of life and death, he had no reason to hide it from them, so he just said, “It’s Hua Yun Pavilion of Jiayu City.”

“Huh? Hua Yun Pavilion?” Huangfu Jianan searched this information in his memory and said suddenly, “You mean the whorehouse? How can you provoke them?”

Everyone knew that Duanmu Gongyu never got close to any woman, so how could he have any relation with that kind of place?

“I killed the son of the city governor of Jiayu City there. They did not know my identity and were afraid of the anger from the city governor, so they looked for me to give the city governor an excuse. They dared not capture me directly, so they set a trap. I fell into the trap accidentally,” Duanmu Gongyu said in an easy way deliberately and cut out the content about Yun Muxi.

Murong Che got angry after hearing his words and he hit the table. “Bold! Such a bold Hua Yun Pavilion. Third Brother, after I come back, I will get rid of this whorehouse for you!”

Huangfu Jianan glanced at Murong Che and said with hatred, “Little Five, you always refute it when we said you’re obstructive. Have you ever seen Little Three suffer loses? Before you get rid of the whorehouse, he has wiped them all out before you arrive in Jiayu City.”

Sikong Shu closed his fan and hit Murong Che’s forehead. “Little Five, you’re not a little boy anymore. Can you think more when encountering something?”

Murong Che’s mindless words successfully shifted the topic. They stopped asking Duanmu Gongyu why he killed the son of Hua Yun Pavilion.

Then, Sikong Shu took out a delicate bottle and passed it over to Duanmu Gongyu. “Little Three, you haven’t been home recently. We found this wine with a special taste last time and kept some for you. After you get better, you can have a taste.”

The wine was not Sikong Shu’s main point, but the bottle was. Sikong Shu got this special and refined bottle once. Knowing that Duanmu Gongyu had a hobby to collect these little objects, he specially sent it to him. Besides, the wine inside was also good. He thought it was perfect to take to Duanmu Gongyu together.

Duanmu Gongyu, of course, was attracted by this bottle.