The Female Alpha Consort Mistakenly Marks the Empress - TFACMME Chapter 7

Mu Lanshi waited in the room for a while before stepping out.

She had instructed her trusted servant to watch over Qi Yingzhu, making sure she was safely taken away and reunited with her family—though her family wasn’t exactly kind, they still needed her for now, so they wouldn’t recklessly harm Qi Yingzhu.

Now, Mu Lanshi needed to think about her own matters.

In her previous life, when she had opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Meng Yan. Meng Yan had said they were bonded, and Mu Lanshi had wanted to know who she really was. After much evasion, Meng Yan “accidentally” revealed the royal insignia. When Mu Lanshi had pointed it out directly, Meng Yan finally admitted who she was. Looking back, it hadn’t been a slip of the tongue at all—it was a well-planned scheme.

Mu Lanshi’s eyes darkened. What was to come next was indeed something to look forward to.

She pushed open the door, and before she had taken two steps, she heard a clear voice calling her: “Sister Lanshi!”

Only her younger sister, Yaozhi, would call her that so freely.

Yaozhi didn’t share her surname because she was born to Mu Mei’s former lover.

She had taken Mu Mei as her mother, but the surname came from another woman.

Mu Lanshi had heard rumors about her mother’s past, and after years of rumors, Mu Mei had finally brought Yaozhi home.

In noble families, reputation was important. A person’s background was crucial, but it was power that truly mattered.

Thus, in Mu Lanshi’s family, there had never been any conflict between legitimate and illegitimate children—her mother, who was usually so stern, even used to boast about this.

But all of that was just on the surface.

Some people were never well-intentioned.

“Sister Lanshi, where did you go yesterday?” Yaozhi asked, her large round eyes blinking as she affectionately held Mu Lanshi’s hand. “Big Brother has been looking for you for a long time!”

Just when Mu Lanshi had thought that someone was up to no good, that person was brought up to her.

“Older Brother? Has he been looking for me for that long?” Mu Lanshi lowered her eyes and smiled, reaching out a hand to gently pat Yaozhi’s soft head.

She was still at the age where she wore twin buns.

What a pity… In the previous life, she had forever stayed at this age.

In her previous life, Yaozhi had been lively and active, always seeking affection from her mother, brother, and sister. But Heaven had no mercy, and at just over thirteen, she was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

And at that time, Mu Lanshi had been too absorbed in politics to care for her younger sister.

Not this time. This time, she would be a good sister, at the very least, not neglect her sister.

Yaozhi’s eyes resembled her biological mother’s, round and light brown, unlike Mu Lanshi’s pitch-black eyes.

“Yes, Big Brother was looking for you,” Yaozhi giggled, holding onto her sister’s hand without letting go. “I saw Big Brother looking for you early this morning. He asked if I’d seen you, and I said no. Then he told me to look for you and come to the side room.”

He certainly knew where to find her.

Mu Lanshi smiled at Yaozhi, “Well, now he’s found his sister.”

“Yeah, found the sister!” Yaozhi grinned widely, her cheerful laughter filling the air as the sunlight danced across the fine hairs on her face.

Seeing her smile, Mu Lanshi felt a moment of melancholy.

She clearly remembered that their family, or even the relatives in their extended family, had once worried about this younger sister.

Before she appeared, they couldn’t help but speculate if the newcomer would take away what they held dear; but when Yaozhi returned, and still didn’t change her surname, they were finally relieved, although new worries emerged…

But Yaozhi didn’t live to the coming-of-age.

Mu Lanshi suddenly felt that she had made too many mistakes in her previous life.

“Hehehe, sister, I’ve prepared a gift for you. I’ll deliver it later, or maybe tomorrow!”

Yaozhi’s voice once again pulled Mu Lanshi back to the present. Mu Lanshi paused for a moment before replying, “Mm, okay. What gift have you prepared for your sister?”

“A secret! It’s to celebrate your awakening into the alpha! But I can only give it to you in a couple of days…” she said, her voice lowering.

Mu Lanshi smiled slightly, “Then I’ll wait.”

At that moment, hurried footsteps could be heard not far away.

It was her older brother, who had just said he was searching for her.

“Lanshi! Where did you go last night? Mother found out this morning and immediately started searching for you as well,” Mu Yan called out from a distance.

Mu Lanshi gently raised an eyebrow.

Her earlier doubts were now explained.

Mu Yan clearly knew she was here, yet he had let Yaozhi search for her first.

He could have come earlier, so why didn’t he?

Seeing her mother behind him, Mu Lanshi immediately understood.

Her mother was now old and could no longer get up early. On her rest days, she woke up very late.

Mu Lanshi’s Awakening Ceremony meant her mother would naturally rest at home.

That said, Mu Yan must have wanted to let their mother see that Mu Lanshi had just walked out from the side yard—not her designated quarter.

The group quickly approached.

Mu Mei looked at her with an unreadable expression and said, “Last night, after the guests left, I didn’t see you when we were seeing them off.”

Mu Lanshi made a mistake.

Mu Lanshi didn’t respond, only lowering her head.

Mu Yan quickly intervened, “It’s just that Sister wasn’t there for the farewell, but she was present in the beginning and behaved with grace. The guests I met praised her, saying that another fine alpha has been added to the Mu family.”

“Oh, another one?” Mu Lanshi raised her eyes, a playful glint in them.

“Uh, what… what do you mean?” Mu Yan’s face briefly flashed with awkwardness. “They meant that Sister has awakened as an alpha, right?”

Mu Lanshi wasn’t referring to that. “I was asking this ‘another.’” Who was the other fine alpha?

Mu Mei had already caught on to the underlying meaning and glanced at the brother and sister.

—In the family, inheritance disputes were rare, largely because she treated all her children equally, but was particularly harsh on Mu Lanshi.

If anyone had suffered, it was Mu Lanshi. That was why Mu Mei was sensitive to discussions about inheritance.

A formal ceremony like this was rare in the Mu family, and only one person could host it.

Mu Yan seemed to realize the awkward atmosphere and quickly changed the topic, “By the way, how did you end up here? This doesn’t seem to be your yard?”

“You slept here last night?” Mu Mei suddenly furrowed her brows and asked.

The fact that Mu Lanshi had mysteriously disappeared last night, rather than staying to see the guests off, had already left Mu Mei unsettled. Now, hearing that Mu Lanshi had slept in another yard…

She had hoped Mu Lanshi would deny it.

After all, the family only had four children. Other than one who was at the border, the others were here. Mu Lanshi, as the heir, shouldn’t be breaking such rules.

Mu Lanshi looked at her mother and replied firmly, “Yes, I stayed here last night.”

Mu Mei’s brows immediately knitted together in a “川” shape.

Why had she stayed here?

There were not only the siblings, but also the servants behind her. If the servants gossiped, in a few days, the fact that Mu Lanshi had stayed in another yard would spread.

Mu Lanshi was still unmarried. If this news got out, it would tarnish her reputation.

Other prominent families would never marry their alpha daughters or sons to Mu Lanshi.

Mu Yan, however, casually turned to Mu Lanshi, then glanced around to confirm that their mother’s servants were present. He nonchalantly said, “Yesterday was such a grand occasion. Lanshi attended a poetry gathering in the afternoon, got tired, and fell asleep immediately when she came back. It’s not a big deal.”

Mu Mei’s brows remained furrowed. Whether it was a big deal or not wasn’t the point. What concerned her was if there was something else going on…

And the thing she had feared did indeed happen.

“Wait, Sister, there’s a faint bluish tint under your eyes. And I smell something strange. Yaozhi, you smell that, too?” Mu Yan suddenly lowered his head and asked his younger sister.

Mu Lanshi’s eyelids fluttered slightly.

She finally understood her older brother’s intentions: He had conspired with Meng Yan to trick her into drinking the love wine, then brought in their mother to ensure she would see her trusted heir emerge from the side yard, implying that she had already bonded with someone.

This was nearly identical to Mu Lanshi’s suspicions. What surprised her was that her most trusted and beloved older brother and mate had conspired against her already.

To achieve power, they had pushed her—his sister, her mate—into an irreparable abyss.

With that thought, Mu Lanshi’s lips twitched.

‘Fine. This lifetime is long.’ In her previous life, she had been blind, unable to see through even Mu Yan’s clumsy schemes.

Yaozhi didn’t understand and simply sniffed the air before asking, “No, I didn’t smell anything. Brother, what did you smell?”

She still looked confused, glancing over at Mu Lanshi. “Sister, did you smell something?”

Yaozhi, still under ten years old, was far too young to recognize the scent of a bond.

When alphas and omegas bond, the bond scent naturally emerges. Especially with someone like Mu Lanshi, who was a top-tier alpha.

An alpha could sense the bond scent.

Omegas were even more sensitive to the scent, and their mother, Mu Mei, was an omega.

“Then… does mother smell it?” Yaozhi didn’t get an answer from her older siblings, so she turned and asked Mu Mei, stammering.

Mu Mei’s face darkened, but because the servants were present, she didn’t speak directly. Instead, she said, “Let’s go inside and talk.”

“Did mother smell it?” Yaozhi still didn’t understand, nearly sniffing her nose off!

“You three, take Yaozhi and play,” Mu Mei ordered in a heavy tone, instructing the servants behind her.

The servants quickly took Yaozhi away.

They were sharp enough to understand that something was off. The eldest Young Lady had woken up in another yard today, and who knew what had happened? Everyone knew that the eldest Young Lady always followed the rules—she never strayed from her usual habits, even to the point of using the same bowls for meals!

As for the faint blue tint under her eyes that Mu Yan had mentioned, it could be a manifestation of the bond… since every alpha’s bond scent was unique. They were all too cautious to speculate too much. For now, they obeyed the family head and took Yaozhi away.

“What happened last night?” Mu Mei stood still as soon as she entered, her gaze cold as she fixed her eyes on Mu Lanshi. It felt almost like she was looking down at her.

Her gaze was as sharp as a torch, burning fiercely.

She wasn’t a fool. When she approached the side yard, she had already sensed the faint trace of the bond scent.

As an omega, Mu Mei was sensitive to the scent of alphas’ bond marks. And more importantly, Mu Lanshi was her own child.

Mu Yan, however, appeared completely oblivious and tried to explain, “Why is mother suddenly so serious? Perhaps Lanshi drank too much last night and just rested without thinking. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? Mother, weren’t there still some guests staying here? We should all go together and see them off…” Mu Yan continued.

There had been many guests at the ceremony, from all over the country. They wouldn’t be able to leave right away, so the Mu family had arranged accommodations for them.

But Mu Mei ignored Mu Yan and simply said, “Answer me. What did you do last night?”

Her face was stormy, her eyes sharp enough to cut.

Mu Lanshi’s heart raced.

Her mother had asked her this in her previous life, but that was days later—

During that time, Mu Lanshi had rejected every marriage proposal from eligible omegas, which had infuriated her mother.

She had kept her relationship with Meng Yan a secret, taking all the blame for it.

No one had known why she had been so eager with Princess Meng Yan, and the family had thought she was mad.

In the end, she caused the death of her entire family, and the title of the most prestigious family fell on the Li family.

With that in mind, Mu Lanshi raised her gaze and met her mother’s eyes. “Last night, I mistakenly bonded with an omega.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the gleam of triumph in her older brother’s eyes.

But what mattered most was her mother’s reaction.

“You bonded with an omega?”