A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Liu returned with the carriage. Behind him came several guards from the Wu Manor, who promptly turned around and left the moment they caught sight of Xie Heng.
Mu Wan was puzzled for a moment, but she soon realized that Lord Wu likely couldn’t bear to let the prey he had spent most of the day chasing escape his grasp so easily. Perhaps he thought she was flaunting Xie Heng’s name to scare him, so he sent people to confirm. Still, the fact that Lord Wu did not dare to come in person despite finding it unlikely showed just how much he feared Xie Heng.
At this moment, however, Mu Wan somewhat understood him; she, too, now wanted to stay far away from this crazy guy and avoid ever crossing paths with him again…
…
Half an hour later, the main gates of the Mu Manor on Bafang Street swung open. Mu Xingde rushed in, greeting the man seated on a tall horse with great reverence and trepidation. “Lord Marquis, your arrival is such a great honor. My apologies for not coming out sooner to greet you.”
Shen-shi also hurriedly emerged, her eyes lighting up upon seeing the dignified and handsome man on horseback. “Welcome to our humble abode, my lord. Is there anything the Mu family can assist you with?” She quickly ordered the servant girl who came with her, “Go fetch the Second Miss back immediately.” She had a great expectation from this unexpected guest!
“Father, Madam.” It was at this moment Mu Wan lifted the carriage curtain and alighted.
Mu Xingde’s eyes widened in shock. “Wanwan, what are you doing here…?”
Shen-shi blurted out, “Weren’t you taken by Lord Wu…?” She seemed to realize something, and in a fervent voice, she bowed to Xie Heng, her voice getting louder in gratitude. “Thank you, My Lord, for saving our daughter! Our Mu family will never forget your immense kindness.”
Mu Wan showed a puzzled expression. “What happened to me? What Lord Wu? How did the Marquis save me?”
Seated on horseback, Xie Heng glanced indifferently at Mu Xingde and Shen-shi. “The father’s biological, the mother’s a stepmother?”
It was a statement, not a question, and his face remained impassive. The oppressive sense that he saw through everything made Mu Xingde and Shen-shi’s faces go pale instantly.
Mu Xingde asked carefully, his voice trembling, “What do you mean by this, my lord? Did we slight you?”
“Nothing,” Xie Heng replied casually, as if merely making conversation. “Your daughter has a knack for roasting meat. This marquis happened to run into her when hunting at Funiu Mountain today, and we ended up sharing a meal. Then, upon returning to the city, we heard rumors all over the streets claiming she’d been forcefully taken by Lord Wu.”
He looked down coldly at Mu Xingde. “Lord Wu has been wrongly accused. If he learns that your eldest daughter was with me, he might think I, Marquis Zhenbei, stirred up trouble for nothing. So, this marquis specifically came by to clear things up. After this, I will go to clear things with Lord Wu and have him talk to you in person, so that he will not wrongly accuse me.”
Mu Xingde’s face turned deathly pale, and he immediately dropped to his knees. “Please, my lord! This humble commoner wouldn’t dare!”
Shen-shi also knelt, stammering in fear, “W-we wouldn’t dare, my lord.”
Xie Heng ignored them, raising his eyes to look into the distance. A carriage approached quickly, but, upon recognizing the man on horseback, it came to a sudden stop, remaining motionless.
Xiao Liu shouted, “Who’s there? Come out!”
The coachman quickly jumped down, and a servant girl lifted the curtain to reveal Mu Rou seated inside, her whole body frozen in fear.
Xiao Liu rode closer. “Why are you scared stiff? Are you guilty of something? Out of the carriage!”
Clenching her teeth, Mu Rou tremblingly stepped down from the carriage with the help of her servant girl, her legs visibly weak. She forced herself to keep calm, bowing to Xiao Liu with a trembling voice. “This commoner girl, Mu Rou, greets you, sir.”
She was too scared to raise her eyes. Even after so many years, she still remembered the bloody scene when the Chi Ling tribe marched south, reaching toward the capital. Outside the palace, to prevent the panicked crowd from obstructing the Empress Dowager’s procession, this man had killed a person with a single sword stroke, piling bodies in front of the carriage until a stream of crimson blood formed at his feet. Throughout the bloody carnage, his face had remained expressionless, like a demon god risen from the depth of hell.
Back then, she had been among those fleeing for their lives, watching helplessly as her head eunuch fell dead before her, his warm, sticky blood splattering her completely. All she had heard afterward was a cold, indifferent order: “Consort Rou1, please return to the palace.”
As the terror she felt back then resurfaced, Mu Rou gripped her palms tightly, forcing herself to stay calm.
“Where were you headed? And why did you stop?” Xiao Liu demanded.
Mu Rou replied with a shaky voice, “Hearing that my eldest sister was in trouble, this commoner girl went to seek help from a friend. As our carriage drew nearer, we saw the Marquis. This commoner girl was afraid of obstructing an official business, so I had the carriage stop.”
Xiao Liu scoffed, “Oh, anxious to spread the word, were you? You couldn’t wait for others to know about your sister’s predicament, could you?”
Mu Rou shivered, dropping to her knees immediately. “This commoner girl has no such intentions!”
Xiao Liu glanced at his master, but the man paid them no further mind and rode off without another word.
Xiao Liu cast a sardonic look at the Mu family members, then turned to his men and said, “The matter is clear now. Let’s go.”
It wasn’t until the Mingjing Bureau’s people had disappeared down Bafang Street that Mu Xingde, Shen-shi, and Mu Rou, with the support of their servants, slowly got to their feet. The neighbors who had been watching the commotion from behind their gates now rushed out. One of them asked, “What did that official mean just now? ‘The matter is clear’? Did you really wrong the State Uncle? Will Lord Wu actually come here?”
Mu Xingde’s heart was pounding, unsure of what Marquis Zhenbei really meant. This kind of attitude of revealing incomplete information without clear explanation was the most unnerving—was the matter resolved or not? Was the Marquis dissatisfied with the Mu family? Would he act against them in the future?
Mu Xingde glanced at his eldest daughter, who had been silent. The neighbors, curious as well, asked her, “Weren’t you taken away by Lord Wu? How did you end up hunting at Funiu Mountain?”
Mu Wan’s expression was incredulous. “I don’t have the beauty or talents of my second sister—why would Lord Wu want to take me?”
The neighbor nodded, agreeing with her statement. “You’re right. Lord Wu may be a womanizer, but he loves beauty; if he were to take a girl, it’d be someone beautiful. There’s no reason he’d take you.”
“…” Although the comment was helpful, Mu Wan could not feel happy!
The neighbor then turned to Mu Xingde, asking with confusion, “Then why did such rumors spread in the first place?”
People with sharper minds had quickly put things together. Recalling Xiao Liu’s sarcastic remark, their gaze toward the three members of the Mu family turned peculiar.
“Madam Mu, why did you make such a big fuss before getting the facts straight? Even if we wanted to help, we would be powerless, right?”
“Exactly. The most powerful connection your second daughter has is the daughter of the Deputy Minister of Rites. Would she dare ask her family to cross Lord Wu? Yet you managed to spread this far and wide.”
“Right, right! Fortunately, Marquis Zhenbei came in person. If not, your eldest daughter’s reputation would have been utterly destroyed. Can the girl still have a good life later?”
Someone sneered, “Whether or not she can still have a good life is one thing, but her engagement with the Li family will certainly be gone.”
Shen-shi had been anxious ever since Xie Heng’s words earlier, and the neighbors’ accusations hit a nerve. She immediately raised her voice, “We were worried sick when we heard the eldest girl was in trouble! What else were we supposed to do—just sit at home and worry in silence without seeking help?!”
A few were sympathetic. “If it were true, then seeking help would be reasonable. A desperate situation calls for desperate measures.”
“Heh, you really believe that? Then tell me this: if the same thing happened to your daughter, would you quietly seek help, or would you stir up a big fuss, asking for help from everyone you know—even from the younger generations who have no authority in the family? Wouldn’t that just end up spreading the news all over the capital?”
Just then, someone came running over, out of breath. “Big news! Lord Wu just returned to the city, and his head is swollen with bee stings!” Although the speaker sounded anxious, his eyes were twinkling with mirth.
The crowd: “…”
They all turned to look at Shen-shi. She really was lying! Lord Wu was stung so badly, how could he possibly have abducted Mu Wan?
Shen-shi was already struggling to defend herself, and now the neighbors were completely convinced that she had been deliberately trying to destroy her stepdaughter’s reputation.
Not wanting to face the crowd’s pointing fingers, Mu Xingde quickly ushered his wife and daughters back into the residence.
When they reached the second gate, Mu Wan bowed to the family of three and said with a smile, “Father, Madam, and Second Sister, your sentiments today—Mu Wan shall remember them well and repay you someday.”
“Today has been quite a tiring day. Allow me to head back first to rest.” With that, she returned straight to her Wutong Courtyard.
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LOL!!! Serves them all right!
I can’t believe the father would be so dumb, too – I thought he’s supposed to spoil the FML, I guess it’s really true, when there’s a stepmother there is a stepfather