Chapter 258

258 Good People Don’t Come

She usually dressed as a man and tied her hair into a high ponytail. Now that she had changed into women’s clothing, she was really cold, refined, and unparalleled. Even an old servant from a mansion like Madam Du, who was used to seeing beautiful women, was dazed by her.

“Madam Du, are you done?”

Although Mo Ruyue was used to all kinds of looks, she saw that it was getting late and she didn’t want to be late.

“Oh, oh, sorry. This old servant has lost her composure.”

!!

Only then did Madam Du come back to her senses and repeatedly apologized to Mo Ruyue. Then, she couldn’t help but praise, “Lady Qin, we all know that you are born with good looks, but we didn’t expect you to be so good. Look, when you dress up, you really make people unable to take their eyes off you!”

Mo Ruyue smiled faintly and didn’t give her any response.

No matter how beautiful they were, they were just skin and bones. In the world of assassins, no one would spare their lives just because they were handsome or beautiful.

After packing up, Mo Ruyue got into the carriage waiting at the door and went straight to the venue of the banquet tonight – Duanmu mansion.

Although this was not her first time in Ping City, it was her first time at the Duanmu residence. Although it was nighttime and she could not get a full view of the Duanmu residence, it was not difficult to imagine the size of the residence just by looking at the two black gates and the two ferocious stone beasts at the bottom of the steps.

Mo Ruyue had also glanced at the so-called puppet shows in her spare time. Although she had no feelings for the characters in them, she still had some impression of the mansions of the princes and ministers. They were not much different from what she was seeing now, except for the size of the door.

There were already many horse carriages parked at the entrance. The people entering the Duanmu residence were all officials and their families who had been invited. As they watched the endless stream of people enter the residence, the sound of silk and bamboo music could be heard from the courtyard, making it seem very lively.

Mo Ruyue was sitting in the Duanmu family’s carriage. The moment she appeared, she attracted many gazes. When she got off the carriage and stood in front of the crowd, the originally noisy crowd suddenly quieted down.

“Is it Lady Qin? Aiya, I’m sorry for not welcoming you!”

Duanmu Xize had already received the news when Mo Ruyue set off. He had also specially waited for her to get off the car and go out to welcome her. In the end, when he walked out of the main gate, he was instantly stunned.

At the bottom of the steps outside the mansion stood a beautiful woman with a cold and elegant look. She had a cloud of black hair, smooth skin, and eyes as bright as the cold stars and moon in the sky. She was wearing a sky-blue long dress that made her tall and exquisite figure look particularly graceful.

He had always known that Mo Ruyue was a beauty, but he had only seen her valiant side in men’s clothing. It was only today that he knew how amazing this woman was.

However, Duanmu Xize’s self-control wasn’t bad. He only lost his focus for a moment before he immediately regained his consciousness.

“Master Duanmu,”

Mo Ruyue slightly bent her knees in greeting to Duanmu Xize. The extent of her movements was almost invisible, and it was just a gesture.

“No need for gifts. Come, Lady Qin, follow this official in. The banquet is about to begin.”

The fact that he had personally come out to welcome them was already giving Mo Ruyue a great deal of face. As for the other officials’ families, they could only look forward to it. It was already not bad to be able to get a hint of Master Duanmu’s approval. No one dared to dream of being welcomed in person.

There was another person who was dumbfounded, and that was the county magistrate, Chen Luyu.

Not only was he once again stunned by Mo Ruyue, but he also felt his heart turn cold after seeing the look in Magistrate Xize’s eyes.

He was very familiar with the look in the magistrate’s eyes. He, Chen Luyu, had also seen that look before. It was the look of someone who wanted to get this woman by hook or by crook, at all costs.

It was precisely because of this gaze and the various ostentatious arrangements that the magistrate had made that Chen Luyu clearly realized that he had no chance at all.

Even if he ate a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall, he would not dare to snatch the magistrate’s woman!

For the rest of the night, Chen Luyu was in a daze. All the delicacies tasted like wax in his mouth, and he couldn’t even taste anything.

Perhaps it was because he had a guilty conscience, but he always felt that the magistrate’s eyes were cold and full of warning.

Could it be that Lady Qin had said something to the magistrate and told him about all the offenses he had done to her in the past? That was why she was awarded by the imperial court in public and had invited guests to celebrate.

So, was this a warning to him?

The more Chen Luyu thought about it, the more frightened he became. The chair under his butt seemed to have grown nails, making him unable to sit still for a moment. The back of his clothes was already soaked with cold sweat.

Mo Ruyue had endured this banquet with patience.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on her. They were like searchlights, scanning her over and over again.

Her five senses were extremely sharp. Even if someone was whispering to her from far away, it was as if they were shouting in her ear.

Whether it was men or women, they were all gossiping about her. Some men were even more shameless than women when it came to gossiping.

Mo Ruyue’s mind was filled with all kinds of voices, and her face was stiff the entire night.

If it was any other occasion, she might be able to just leave, but not now.

Duanmu Xize had caused so much trouble just to create momentum for her and to borrow each other’s power. If she were to just leave like that, the only ones who would suffer would be the magistrate’s face and her interests.

Mo Ruyue would never do anything that would not benefit her, so she had to restrain herself.

The good news was that the banquet was finally coming to an end, but the bad news was that she had to continue to endure it before it ended.

“Lady Qin, your medical skills are so brilliant, to be able to get the imperial court’s award, it really makes people envious.”

A well-dressed woman walked over with a glass of wine in her hand and tried to strike up a conversation with Mo Ruyue. There were too many people who came to talk to her that night, but she only responded with a few short sentences.

She only nodded to this woman. Even if someone scolded her behind her back for being arrogant because she had connections with the magistrate, as long as it was not said in front of her, she would pretend not to hear it.

When an ordinary person saw that the magistrate thought so highly of her, they would just smile and find a random reason to leave even though they had been rebuffed. However, this woman had been standing in front of Mo Ruyue with a cup in her hand and looking at her with a fake smile.

It seemed that the good did not come!

Mo Ruyue glanced at her. She didn’t know where this woman came from. She should be the family of some official, or at least not Duanmu Xize’s wife, because that woman was sitting on the main seat of the women’s side and was prepared to watch the show with a smile.

“Lady Qin, I sincerely want to give you a toast, I don’t know if you would do me the honor?”

That woman saw that Mo Ruyue was only looking at her without saying anything and thought that she was afraid of her identity. She felt a little smug.

In the end, she was just a commoner, how could she be on equal footing with her, the official’s wife?