Chapter 612: Self-Recommendation
Editor: Atlas Studios

After inviting Mu Yangling in, Ji’an explained his reason for inviting her here—he hoped that Mu Yangling would have a good impression of the Miao stockade and that it would enhance the relationship of the Han and Miao people going forward.

Of course, Mu Yangling didn’t believe it. Back then, the people who came to “invite” them were aggressive, as if they would forcefully bring her here if she had refused. However, now that Ji’an’s attitude was surprisingly good, Mu Yangling felt that either someone had forcefully “invited” her over behind Ji’an’s back, or Ji’an had split personalities.

However, she didn’t say anything and just nodded with a smile. She guaranteed that the Han and Miao people would get along and improve together in the future.

Just as the two of them were trying their best to ensure that the atmosphere was not awkward, a girl in glamorous clothes rushed in. With a slight change in expression, Ji’an stood up and pointed at the girl. “Who let her in? Take her away.”

“Father.” Jinhua glared at Mu Yangling and broke free from the maid’s hand. She shouted, “I’m not leaving. If you insist that I leave, I’ll jump down from the cliff.”

She pushed the maid away and rushed to Mu Yangling, then sized her up impolitely and sneered. “You’re the Prince’s Princess Consort? You’re so ugly.”

This was the first time Mu Yangling had heard someone call her ugly. Taking after her great-grandmother, she had gorgeous looks. In fact, in the past two years, she had gradually grown up and her beauty had only enhanced. Qi Haoran would even occasionally stare at her face dazedly. Looking at the girl carefully, she saw that her eyes were glued to her face. She could not help but purse her lips and smile, knowing that the other party was not being truthful.

She turned around and asked Ji’an, “Chief Ji’an, who is this lady?”

Jinhua looked up and said, “I am the lord’s future Princess Consort.”

Mu Yangling stopped smiling and sized her up. She asked Ji’an, “Chief, I didn’t expect you to let a lunatic in.”

Not to mention Jinhua, even Ji’an could not help but get angry. His expression darkened slightly. “Your Highness, this is my youngest daughter. Although she is a little insensible, you’re going too far by calling her a lunatic.”

“In my opinion, her behavior is no different from that of a lunatic.” Mu Yangling insisted. “Since you call me ‘Your Highness’, you should know my identity. By introducing yourself as the future Princess Consort in front of me, are you hinting that you want to kill me and replace me? The chief just said that he wants the Han and Miao people to live in peace and develop together, but in the blink of an eye, you wish to kill me. If this isn’t a lunatic, what is?”

Ji’an stuttered slightly. “No, she doesn’t want to kill you. Your Highness, you’ve misunderstood.” He scratched his ears and cheeks, not knowing how to explain.

Compared to his clansmen, he could be considered proficient in Mandarin, but it was only limited to commonly-used terms and some ordinary interactions. That was the extent to which he could communicate in Mandarin, so he blushed and didn’t know how to explain. However, he couldn’t let Mu Yangling misunderstand, so he could only explain roughly, “Jinhua has taken a fancy to the Lord and wants to marry him.”

Little Madam Xia, who was at the side, had long widened her eyes. She had never seen such a shameless person. Moreover, it was too unorthodox for a woman to demand the first wife to give up her position simply because she had taken a fancy to the man.

However, Mu Yangling felt that a simplistic conversation would solve the problem more easily. Although she was also furious, she replied, “Just because she fancies a man, he has to marry her?”

Mu Yangling turned around and met Jinhua’s gaze. She said critically, “You’re neither outstanding in looks nor abilities, and your family background is quite ordinary too. What right have you to insist a man marry you?”

Jinhua was furious. “I’m the daughter of the chief.”

“Ah~~” Mu Yangling said mockingly, “Impressive. Then how many people are there in this stockade?”

Before the chief could stop her, Jinhua had already shouted, “We have more than 7,000 people. We’re the largest tribe in this area.”

“There’s really a lot.” Mu Yangling said insincerely, “Then do you know who my father is?”

“Who cares who your father is?”

“You don’t have to care, but my father leads an army of 120,000 soldiers. 120,000 soldiers against 7,000. Guess who hails from a more prestigious background—you or me?”

Jinhua opened her mouth slightly and glared at Mu Yangling hatefully.

Mu Yangling continued to say with a smile, “Qi Haoran is mine. It’s not because my family background is better than yours, nor is it because I’m prettier, more capable, and smarter than you. It’s because he’s Qi Haoran, so he’s mine. I’d like you to stay away from him. Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”

Eyes widening, Jinhua was so mad that she turned around and whipped off the whip hanging on the wall. With a swing, she whipped out a loud bang on the ground and shouted, “You’re capable of killing me?”

Mu Yangling looked at her with a smile and easily snapped the table beside her into pieces. Then, under everyone’s dumbfounded gazes, she broke the entire table with her bare hands. As she patted the sawdust off her hands, she said, “I’m not just someone who knows how to swing the whip and yell, but I’ve truly killed someone.”

As she spoke, her eyes turned red. When Ji’an met her gaze, he felt a chill all over his body. Indeed, it was the murderous aura of someone who had seen blood. Realizing this Princess Consort was not a delicate and weak woman in a Han family’s backyard, Ji’an’s expression changed. Knowing that his daughter had encountered a difficult opponent, he put away his previous dissatisfaction and revealed an apologetic smile.

If Ji’an was already so shaken, Jinhua, who was being suppressed at the side, was even more so. She felt her body sink and was almost suffocating under the pressure. Fear could not help but arise in her heart. When she came back to her senses, Mu Yangling’s gaze had already returned to normal. At this moment, Mu Yangling was looking at her with a faint smile, while Jinhua’s back had turned wet.

Jinhua glared at Mu Yangling with red eyes for a while and said, “Then, then I’ll be his concubine.”

Mu Yangling scoffed. “Neither Qi Haoran nor I want you to be his concubine.”

Even the good-tempered Ji’an could not help but feel a little angry when he saw his daughter being despised like this. However, recalling Mu Yangling’s ferocity, he merely said with slight dissatisfaction, “Princess Consort, my daughter is very precious…”

“That’s only to you.” Mu Yangling interrupted him. “Chieftain, what’s precious in your eyes might not be important in our hearts. Your daughter is naturally precious to you, and we’re willing to give her respect within reasonable limits. I just hope that she can respect herself.”

“For example, His Highness and I value friendship and integrity, but in your opinion, these things might not be worth mentioning.”

Chief Ji’an hurriedly said, “No, we also value these wonderful qualities.”

He was a little vexed, realizing that he had been led by the nose by Mu Yangling. However, it just so happened that Jiacai was not at home, and his daughter kept dragging him down. He had no way of resisting the unpredictable Mu Yangling. He wondered why Han people always jumped to conclusions.

All along, it was Jiacai, his eldest son-in-law, who was in charge of interacting with the Han people. However, friendship and integrity were indeed virtues, so they had to admit it. Otherwise, what if the Han people used this as a reason not to talk about friendship and integrity to them in the future?

“It’s rare for us to share the same values. In that case, please respect what we value. Before I married Qi Haoran, he swore that he would only marry me and no one else. He would not take in concubines, nor would he accept mistresses. He would not even hire prostitutes. Emperor Jingyan of Great Zhou bore witness to those words.”

Chief Ji’an and Jinhua opened their mouths wide. Jinhua swallowed her saliva and asked, “What if he breaks his oath?”

Mu Yangling smiled. “Then the woman who sleeps with him will die a horrible death and won’t be able to reincarnate as a human in the next lifetime.”

Jinhua shrunk her neck and felt that this oath was very vicious.

Little Madam Xia looked at her pitifully. Then, she carefully glanced at the chief and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that he didn’t find any loopholes in Mu Yangling’s words.

Mu Yangling asked Jinhua, “Do you still want to sleep with my husband now?”

Jinhua blushed and retorted, “I don’t want to sleep with him. I-I want to marry him…”

“Then don’t even think about it. Even if I die, Qi Haoran won’t remarry.” Mu Yangling said, “Besides, I’m not even dead yet.”