“You Shuyao, you’ve come at the right time. Lord Huo is naturally guilty, because everything I just said is true, and he has no way to refute it. So he’s willing to break his oath to kill me to silence me.”

After escaping death, Yuefang covered her neck and took a few steps back. Only after maintaining a safe distance from Huo Jingsha did she say indignantly.

"Answer me, is everything she said true? You kept Luo Wenpei outside, calling her your husband, then brought her back to the manor insisting on taking her as a concubine, ultimately forcing me away, and I even... I even died tragically at her hands?" Shu Yao appeared ready to unleash a storm, but inwardly she was filled with shock. Huo Jingsha! Just how much had she been hiding from her?

She was doing well at Biyue Residence when she suddenly heard a commotion outside. It sounded like the guards were searching for someone. When she asked, she learned that Yuefang, who had been imprisoned, had escaped. She was puzzled. How could Yuefang have been placed under house arrest after not returning for several months? That's why she rushed over to ask Huo Jingsha. But what she heard was shocking. She was greatly astonished and couldn't believe it was true.

“Yao’er…” Huo Jingsha’s face was deathly pale.

"Let me explain this matter. It is true that the lord kept Luo Wenpei outside, but the only person he treated as his wife was Luo Wenpei. The lord never did that. I can testify to that." It was Xu Chang who had rushed over who spoke.

"Regardless of who calls whom, it's a fact that he's keeping a mistress. It's no secret in Chengze Hutong. It's just that the young mistress, who stays at home every day, obediently and devoted to her husband and children, doesn't know it." Yuefang began to add fuel to the fire.

Shu Yao felt a mix of emotions. So, Huo Jingsha had done such dirty things behind her back. Heaven knows, before coming here, she had almost forgiven him.

"What else did he...?" Her voice was trembling uncontrollably.

"besides……"

*Slap!* Yuefang received another hard slap across the face. This time, it wasn't Huo Jingsha who hit her, but Xu Chang, who couldn't stand by and watch. The fact that the master and madam were able to reconcile was the result of countless hardships and immense sacrifices, especially now that the young mistress was facing a life-or-death situation. He wouldn't allow this wicked woman to sabotage things again.

“Liu Yuefang, stop distorting the facts. You have repeatedly slandered the master and young mistress in order to achieve your own goals. The master did not tell you the truth entirely for your sake. Do you know how much grievance he swallowed and how much pain he endured? If you listen to this vicious woman’s one-sided story again today, you will have wasted the master’s good intentions.”

"Xu Chang..." Huo Jingsha tried to stop her, but was interrupted by Shu Yao.

"Fine, I won't listen to Yuefang. Xu Chang, tell me, what exactly happened from beginning to end?"

Since everyone is gathered here today, let's lay everything bare and expose it to the light, so that we can gain a better understanding of all things.

"What I said is true..." Liu Yuefang realized that the situation was not going well for her, and still wanted to make a last-ditch effort. She didn't care about her loosened teeth anymore and opened her mouth to lie again.

Huo Jingsha had reached her limit and kicked her directly in the chest. Yuefang couldn't withstand the sudden and fierce force and crashed into the wall with a loud bang. She then spat out a mouthful of blood. The pain was so intense that she wished she could die on the spot and couldn't even speak anymore.

"You can't kill her," Shu Yao stopped her, at least not until the standoff was over.

But Huo Jingsha calmly said, "Don't worry, I don't plan to kill her yet."

Shu Yao glared at him, then turned to Xu Chang and commanded, "Speak!"

"Yes," Xu Chang clasped his hands in a fist salute and began to explain in detail...

"My lord once had a younger brother named Huo Jingzhe. Once, while fighting alongside my lord, he was captured alive by the enemy. In order to force my lord to surrender, they killed Jingzhe and hung his head on the city gate as a warning. They said that if he did not surrender, they would feed Jingzhe's body to the dogs. However, this battle was crucial to the life of the country. If it were lost, the entire dynasty would be overthrown. In order to protect the country, my lord did not obey the enemy's words and fought bravely. After winning the battle, he stormed into the enemy's camp and indeed did not find Jingzhe's body."

The man felt deeply guilty for leaving his only brother without a trace. Luo Wenpei, who had been Jingzhe's fiancée, went insane after hearing of his death. Filled with remorse for his brother, the man bought a property in Chengze Hutong to house Luo Wenpei. However, because the man and Jingzhe looked so alike, and Luo Wenpei was mentally unstable, she would often mistake him for someone else and even call the man her husband. This led to misunderstandings among the neighbors, who thought she was the man's mistress when she was merely his nominal sister-in-law.

Every time the master went to visit, Yueping and I accompanied him. We can both swear on our lives that the master has never visited Luo Wenpei alone, never stayed overnight there, never done anything inappropriate with Luo Wenpei, and never had any improper thoughts.

Seeing Xu Chang's serious and thoughtful expression, Shu Yao believed him almost instantly. It turned out that Huo Jingsha had a younger brother who died so tragically. Out of a sense of duty, it was only right for her to take care of Luo Wenpei.

"Then why did you insist on taking her as a concubine?" She had completely forgotten that memory.

"Let me tell you the rest," Huo Jingsha said, taking Shu Yao's hand affectionately. Then, he recounted the whole story in detail, which stirred up a storm in Shu Yao's heart. He explained why he brought Luo Wenpei back, why he took her as a concubine, and how she later ran away from home. He searched for her frantically, but it was too late, and she died at Luo Wenpei's hands.

"He... he had an old Taoist priest save your life, but the condition the old priest set was that you two could be together but not stay together. That's why Huo Jingsha came to me, and he even had the servants in his mansion and the people of the whole city cooperate with him in this charade. Later, he even wanted to use his own son's life to bring you back. He almost strangled Xiaobao to death..."

"Liu Yuefang, how dare you reveal this!" Huo Jingsha's eyes flashed with a fierce light; this was the last thing he wanted Shu Yao to know.

“What wouldn’t I dare? You humiliated me so much that night. You know, a woman can love to the extreme, and she can hate to the extreme. You beat me, stripped me naked and made me take a beating, and tied me to a pillar. Do you know how much I hated you then? But I… but I couldn’t control loving you.” As she said this, Liu Yuefang’s expression shifted between hatred and adoration, with a touch of mad, demonic charm. “Hahaha, Huo Jingsha, I hate you, You Shuyao, I hate you even more! I’m willing to perish with you both to break you up!” If Liu Yuefang wasn’t happy, no one else would be either. At worst, she’d die; she was ready to risk it all!