111: I think... I've been treated like a fool?

"There's actually a hot spring here?"

Although he had often heard Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning mention it, now that he was actually here, Mo Yingqi was still somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected that in the quiet outskirts of the capital, in this seemingly tranquil Estate, there would actually be a hot spring to soak in.

"This Estate was awarded to Maternal Grandfather by the late Emperor when he was still alive," Luo Yongan explained to Mo Yingqi after instructing Aunt Ying Hong to prepare things.

"Because Maternal Grandfather was away for many years, and Maternal Grandmother managed all of this, after Yongan and I returned to the capital, Maternal Grandmother gifted this place to us."

This Estate was not only located in a mountain with excellent scenery, but the tenant farmers on the Estate also cultivated many fruit trees and flowers in addition to farming the land.

Furthermore, there was a dedicated medicinal field where a variety of herbs were grown.

The Estate was mostly populated by women.

Among the members of Partridge Sky, people from all walks of life were mixed together; some of these women had drifted into the pugilistic world due to misfortunes, while others had been brought here for settlement after their fellow Partridge Sky members had sacrificed themselves.

Their work was neither complicated nor too exhausting.

There were dedicated people to till the fields, so they only needed to take care of the fruit trees and flowers.

"In this Estate, there is a small Temporary Palace that the late Emperor personally ordered to be renovated. Whenever my sister and I want to find some peace and quiet, we come here," Luo Yongning said, pulling Mo Yingqi along as she walked inside.

"Yingqi, come quickly! Sister will take you to see it!"

"Yongning, behave yourself," Luo Yongan couldn't help but glare at her younger sister.

"We will eat first; the aunties here have excellent skills. I sent people ahead to inform them when we would arrive, so it should be prepared by now, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness, it is all prepared," Aunt Ying Hong replied respectfully after hearing Luo Yongan's words.

"The Estate is raising many chickens and ducks, and the Estate at the foot of the mountain has cattle and sheep, as well as some game."

"That is good. By the way, how has the harvest been from the fish pond at the foot of the mountain recently?"

"Replying to Your Highness, the harvest from the fish pond is also good, and the fish farmers are old hands who have worked here for years. Now, this fish is also supplied to the Imperial Palace."

Mo Yingqi listened from the side, completely stunned.

It was not uncommon for an Estate to raise livestock, and even raising game was not rare.

But to actually have a fish pond, medicinal herbs, and so on—this was a bit too much, wasn't it?

"Don't pay attention to these things, Yingqi," Luo Yongning tugged on his sleeve.

"This Estate was prepared by my sister and me for when we get married, so we can bring you here to stay often; naturally, it has to be meticulous."

"However, we couldn't just have the Estate ready only for our visits, so we just set up a bit of everything."

"Fortunately, the aunties and sisters-in-law here are all skilled in this. Our fruits, herbs, livestock, and fish are not only supplied to the Imperial Palace, but many shops and official households in the capital buy from us too."

"Actually, there is something I have wanted to ask you for a long time..." Mo Yingqi looked at Luo Yongning with some curiosity.

"Sister Yongning, how were you so sure that I would definitely come to the capital? What if I had really killed Zhang Jiawen, or gone somewhere else..."

"Silly, that is naturally fate from heaven. It is destined that you will be with me and my sister," Luo Yongning said with an innocent and affectionate expression, causing Mo Yingqi to feel a momentary daze.

Of course, this was actually a lie.

Mo Yingqi entering the capital to join the Pacification Bureau was naturally the best outcome for them.

After all, it was right under their noses, so they could keep an eye on him however they wanted.

But if Mo Yingqi didn't come to the capital, or if he killed someone and was captured, it wouldn't have mattered to them either.

Over the years, the scouts of Partridge Sky had always been monitoring him, and they were the elite of the elites.

There was no other way; Mo Yingqi was a young genius and had been hunting in the northern mountains for years.

Ordinary scouts would likely be discovered by him, which would not be a good thing for Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning.

Several times, when Zhang Jiawen mobilized the city defense army and flew into a rage, ordering a manhunt after Mo Yingqi caused trouble, the scouts of Partridge Sky would silently put some medicine in the food and water of those soldiers.

It was non-toxic and not fatal, but it would make their legs weak or cause temporary diarrhea.

Although they wouldn't have caught Mo Yingqi even without doing these things, after all, this was the man the two mistresses of Partridge Sky cared about, so if they could protect him, they naturally had to protect him secretly.

To take a step back, even if Mo Yingqi really messed up and Zhang Jiawen truly wanted to punish him, it would be impossible.

Even though the two sisters were not by his side, they knew everything about Mo Yingqi like the back of their hands.

Even if The Emperor hadn't ascended the throne at the time, it would still have been very easy for the sisters to protect Mo Yingqi.

Not to mention the methods of Partridge Sky, just a single word would have been enough to get the Duke's Mansion to intervene.

Therefore, no matter where Mo Yingqi went, the final result would be that they would find him and make him their husband.

In five years, the sisters had spent so much effort; how could they let Mo Yingqi escape so easily?

However, Luo Yongning hadn't completely lied to Mo Yingqi—in their hearts, this was indeed heaven's arrangement.

Thinking back to when they learned that Mo Yingqi was going to the capital to join the Pacification Bureau, Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning... had gone crazy again.

Aunt Ying Hong remembered this clearly, as if it were yesterday.

She still remembered Luo Yongning, having just killed someone, standing in a pile of corpses with blood on her face, laughing wantonly.

"I knew it, I knew it! Yingqi will return to our side obediently sooner or later!"

And Luo Yongan, who usually told her sister to restrain herself and preferred to use methods rather than acting personally, was also covered in blood, appearing as if she had truly become a fierce Rakshasa.

She didn't speak, just smiled softly, but Aunt Ying Hong would rather she had gone crazy and said nonsensical things like Luo Yongning.

At least that would have proven she wasn't quite as insane...

Although Aunt Ying Hong was not a superstitious person who believed in ghosts, gods, or fate, she was still very surprised when she learned that Mo Yingqi was coming to the capital.

"Even now, when I think about it carefully, it feels too coincidental..."

Watching Mo Yingqi being pulled by the hands of the two sisters, walking into the dining hall while talking and laughing, Aunt Ying Hong shuddered for some reason.

Indeed, no matter where he went, he would return to the two sisters sooner or later, but it was as if an invisible hand was pushing them, making these three people from completely different worlds meet, and with almost no major obstacles, allowing the two sisters to get their wish.

"Tsk, I just hope, I really hope, that nothing goes wrong." Aunt Ying Hong prayed silently to heaven for the first time.

"Please, let's not have any complications when The Two Highnesses and their husband are about to have children. We really can't handle anything else..."

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous courtyard in the capital, Su Yan sat on a chair, trembling.

Opposite her was a Matron dressed like a palace servant, who looked to be in her fifties or sixties.

This Matron had an ordinary appearance and was advanced in age, but her posture was exceptionally well-maintained.

Her eyes, however, were filled with scrutiny and probing.

At least from Su Yan's perspective, she wasn't looking at a person; it was more like she was inspecting livestock or evaluating goods.

"However, the appearance and figure are not bad," after a long while, the Matron finally spoke.

"Walk a few steps and let me see. Also, this sitting posture is a bit small-minded, but it doesn't matter; being too dignified and generous isn't good either, as it's easy to expose oneself."

"Excuse me, Matron..." Su Yan gathered her courage and asked.

"I don't know what the Matron does, and also... The Two Highnesses had me brought to the capital, saying they would send me to my brother, so why bring me here?"

"Girl, do you know what is most taboo for palace servants?" The Matron smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"In this Imperial Palace... no, in fact, this principle is the same everywhere: those who talk too much, have too much curiosity, and know too much often die the fastest."

"If you want to survive, you must learn to shut your mouth, close your eyes, cover your ears, and do what you are supposed to do. Since you know you were brought to the capital by The Two Highnesses, you should understand what you should ask and what you should not."

A few words from her choked all the questions in Su Yan's stomach back down.

But she was still curious, and she always felt this was not a good sign.

"Girl, don't worry. The Two Highnesses are people who keep their word, and what they promised you will certainly be done," the Matron's tone shifted, and her voice became much softer.

"As long as you listen to my words and learn the duties I teach you well, naturally, arrangements will be made for you to see your brother and sister-in-law soon."

"However, if you do not cooperate or do not listen... well, I cannot guarantee what will happen to your exiled parents, or your brother and sister-in-law in the capital."

Su Yan bit her lip.

Shortly after Zhang Jiawen was sent to the northern border, her father was interrogated by Shen Xian, and with almost no trial, her parents were sentenced to exile.

The good news was that they weren't exiled to a place of bitter cold, and because the charges were relatively light, there would still be a chance to reunite with her family sooner or later.

But Su Yan knew very well that the lives of her whole family were firmly held in the hands of Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning.

Although she had been arranged by them to follow the boat to the capital, she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do now, or what her future held... Su Yan could only take it one step at a time.

For some reason, Mo Yingqi suddenly flashed through her mind again.

Since seeing him at the Temporary Palace, knowing she would never have anything with him in this life, Su Yan still couldn't stop dwelling on him.

"If there hadn't been those things, if I had told my father earlier, if I had married Mo Yingqi..."

Su Yan always felt that if she were the one who had married Mo Yingqi, could she have avoided enduring all this?

She couldn't explain why she felt this way, but she just couldn't forget Mo Yingqi's figure in her heart.

"Forget it, I won't think about it. I'm afraid I have no hope in this life."

Su Yan sighed, and while learning the posture and etiquette from the Matron that she completely didn't understand, she secretly vowed that if there were a next life, she must meet him earlier than the Luo sisters, and be with him... earlier.

"Tsk, I always feel a bit uncomfortable."

Mo Yingqi had been happily eating, but for some reason, a sense of annoyance suddenly rose in his heart.

It was very similar to the last time—inexplicable, and it came and went quickly.

"Should you drink some fish soup?" Luo Yongan smiled and placed a bowl of steaming fish soup in front of him.

"After eating and resting, we can go soak in the hot spring."

"Okay, I understand," Mo Yingqi didn't dwell on this sudden episode.

"By the way, Sister Yongan, didn't you say that when we arrived here, you would tell me how I can become stronger?"

"You, you really are impatient. You haven't even finished eating and you're thinking about this," Luo Yongning feigned a coquettish glare at him, but she was still putting food on his plate.

"Let's eat until we are full and rest well, and then talk about this, isn't that better?"

"It's fine, Yingqi is a boy, and he has practiced martial arts since he was young," Luo Yongan put down her chopsticks.

"Yingqi, do you know why you are so exceptionally gifted?"

"Uh, Master only said that my aptitude was excellent. When I asked about other things, he didn't say."

It really wasn't that Mo Yingqi didn't understand; his dog-like Master only cared about teaching, and if he asked, he would just say his talent was good, so what was there to ask about?

This led to Mo Yingqi only thinking his body was exceptionally sturdy.

Coupled with running in the mountains every day while in the northern border and being used to all the bumps and scrapes, he didn't pay attention to these things.

"Uncle-Master is really... sigh..."

Luo Yongan had always known Xie Qingfeng's temperament, and while she felt helpless, there was nothing she could say.

She feared that in this world, only her Maternal Grandmother and their late Master could control this old urchin.

"Indeed, your body is naturally excellent, but that is only one aspect."

"Yingqi, you learn martial arts quickly, and your comprehension is very high; a large part of it is because your Ren and Du meridians were naturally opened from birth."

Luo Yongan still remembered how surprised she was when she first discovered this.

Even her terrifying Maternal Grandmother, or the once-infamous Xie Qingfeng, were not as exceptionally gifted as Mo Yingqi.

Therefore, Mo Yingqi's martial arts attainments were far above his peers.

All these years, it had always been him beating others; apart from Xie Qingfeng, no one could control him.

Of course, for this reason, Luo Yongan and Luo Yongning had poisoned him.

Otherwise, even if the two sisters' current real martial arts could suppress him, it would be hard to say in the future.

Someone with naturally opened Ren and Du meridians grows at a speed far exceeding ordinary people, which is why the two sisters had gone to such pains to do these things.

"So, Yingqi, what you need most now is to learn how to properly apply this point."

"Although your talent is already superb, that old Daoist is, after all, an old monster of many years; it's not something that can be caught up with in a day or two."

Luo Yongan said, taking out a square box from the side: "The hot spring is best for conditioning the body. If you add some herbs and supplement it with some necessary techniques, it will definitely help you grow quickly."

"There are also techniques?"

"Yes, didn't you know?" Luo Yongning, who was on the side, blinked.

"My sister and I haven't really been greedy for being close to you these days. Don't you feel that your current state is much better?"

"Uh, come to think of it, it seems to be the case..." Mo Yingqi scratched his head.

"No, Sister Yongan, Sister Yongning, don't tell me..."

"Yes, it is exactly as you think!"

Watching the two sisters speak in unison, Mo Yingqi only felt like a big naive fool, and... in this situation, he was actually... believing it?