Chapter 12
Being provoked like this by his own daughter in front of everyone, Mu Yugang was furious and the veins on his forehead bulged: "Who are you threatening, Mu Yulu?"
"Let me tell you, if you want to die, no one will stop you. You'd better just die a quick and painless death right now, and I'll pretend I never had such an unfilial daughter!"
Mu Yulu retorted sharply, "Father, I'm not threatening you. I know that if I really did kill myself by crashing into the ancestral hall, not only would you be afraid, but Aunt Wang would be too."
"There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Soon the whole capital will know that the Mu family favors a concubine over their wife, and even forced their eldest daughter to her death for the sake of a concubine. Father, if these words spread throughout the capital, do you think any decent family will dare to propose marriage to the Mu family?"
She shifted her gaze to Aunt Wang, who was huddled behind Mu Yugang: "Aunt, you've schemed for Mu Xingzi for so many years, just hoping that she could marry into a wealthy or powerful family like you, have a grand wedding, and live a life of ease and comfort."
"It's not worth paying such a price to get rid of one of the girls next to me."
Aunt Wang avoided her gaze and hid behind Mu Yugang, laughing awkwardly: "Master, what nonsense is this girl spouting?"
Mu Yugang hadn't expected that Mu Yulu would stop pretending and actually blurt out all these unsavory things in front of everyone.
She may be shameless, but he is.
Seeing Mu Yulu's firm stance, his attitude softened: "What nonsense are you spouting, child? What do you mean by favoring a concubine over the wife or forcing the legitimate daughter to her death? It's my idea to deal with this girl, what does it have to do with your aunt?"
Mu Yulu laughed in exasperation.
Her sneer was exactly the same as Mu Yugang's: "What does Aunt Guan want? Why don't you ask her yourself what she did last night when she sent a group of servants to break into my room?"
When Mu Yulu said the words "broke into the room," her voice trembled noticeably. Just moments ago she had been arrogant and domineering, but now she was on the verge of tears.
Mu Yugang was immediately at his wits' end. He turned to look at Aunt Wang in confusion and asked, "Why did you send a servant into her room?"
Seeing that Aunt Wang also looked puzzled, he turned his head and spread his hands at Mu Yulu: "Isn't it just that I came to your courtyard to find a piece of clothing? Your aunt has already explained it to me, it's not a big deal."
Before he could finish speaking, Mu Yulu was already in tears, her expression one of grief and indignation.
It didn't seem like the simple matter of finding a piece of clothing that Aunt Wang had described.
A bad feeling welled up in Aunt Wang's heart.
Sure enough, the next second Mu Yulu raised her red and swollen eyes, and a look of despair appeared on her face.
She pointed at Aunt Wang and said, "Aunt, even if you hate my mother and don't like me, it's fine if you treat me badly on a daily basis, but why do you have to go to such extremes?"
Aunt Wang pointed to herself and said, "Who went too far? Me? What did I do?"
Mu Yulu gritted her teeth, seemingly hesitant, but finally decided to speak out, shouting with a sob in her voice, "Why did you send those servants to ruin my reputation?"
Her words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, startling Mu Yugang so much that he shuddered.
He quickly stepped forward and covered Mu Yulu's mouth, stopping her from continuing, while waving at the servants who were still in the room listening to the gossip: "You good-for-nothings, get out of here right now!"
The servants nodded obsequiously and withdrew. Then they heard Mu Yugang say, "No one is allowed to enter the house, but no one is allowed to leave this courtyard either. Surround the entire courtyard and don't let a single fly out."
After saying that, he glared at Xinyun: "What are you still doing here? Get out of here too. Anyone who dares to utter a single word about what happened today, I'll kill them!"
Xin Yun stood still and turned her gaze to Mu Yulu. While Mu Yulu was wiping away her tears, Mu Yulu gave her a look. Xin Yun understood instantly, silently retreated, and closed the door tightly behind her.
Now only Mu Yulu, Mu Yugang, and Aunt Wang remain in the room.
Mu Yugang sat down wearily in the chair, raised his hand and pointed at Aunt Wang: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Before Aunt Wang could speak, he changed his mind and turned to Mu Yulu, saying, "Fine, you tell me first. Tell me exactly what happened last night."
Mu Yulu lowered her head and wept, tears streaming down her face before she could utter a word.
It's just performing opera, anyone can do that.
She cried so earnestly and heartbreakingly that Mu Yugang lost his patience and began to embellish the story of what happened last night.
Hearing that the servants had barged into the room before Mu Yulu could even finish dressing, Mu Yugang turned pale with anger.
He slammed his fist on the table with a deafening roar: "Who taught you these rules! Does Xiao Lu still want to get married?!"
Aunt Wang immediately knelt on the ground: "My lord, please understand! I only asked them to find some clothes, and I repeatedly instructed them not to be rude to Miss. How could they have barged into the room without asking any questions? My lord, I'm innocent!"
Aunt Wang also started crying.
The cries of two women echoed in the room, driving Mu Yugang to the brink of madness.
He glanced at Mu Yulu, then at Aunt Wang, and finally decided to help Aunt Wang up first: "Tell me why you're crying. I didn't blame you."
He then turned his gaze to Mu Yulu, and seeing that she was crying pitifully, he unusually comforted her for a moment: "Don't worry, the servants who broke into your room last night, I sent them all to the estate in the suburbs. There are people watching them. After a while, I will personally find a slave trader to sell them all far away. Not one of them will be allowed to stay in the capital."
When Aunt Wang heard that Mu Yugang wanted to sell off all the servants in Qingwu Courtyard, she immediately panicked: "Master, if you sell them all off, won't there be no one to serve me and Xing'er? Xing'er is still sick..."
Mu Yugang waved his hand: "I will order people to buy any servants that Qingwu Courtyard is short of, but those scoundrels who offend their masters must not be kept."
Mu Yulu seized the opportunity to chime in, "These servants are so unruly, how can we be sure they aren't harboring malicious intentions, just as Auntie said?"
She wiped away her snot and tears: "It's a small matter that they offended me last night, I'm thick-skinned anyway, but if the same thing happened to my third sister, I can't even imagine the consequences."
Mu Yugang rarely agreed with Mu Yulu's idea: "That's exactly right. This kind of thing must never happen a second time. Just because Xing'er is still sick, we must quickly deal with these lowly servants."
Aunt Wang was adept at reading people's expressions. Knowing that the matter was beyond her control, she stopped insisting and changed the subject: "Xiao Lu, I am very pleased that you have considered your sister so thoroughly. However, I am also worried about your health. You have had one accident after another recently. How are you feeling?"
Mu Yulu remained calm and composed: "Thank you for your concern, Aunt. I told you long ago that I have a thick skin, so naturally everything will be fine."
Aunt Wang shook her head, looking concerned: "If you ask me, we should still call a doctor to take a look. After all, she is a delicate young lady. After suffering so much shock, it's inevitable that her mental state will not be very good."
Having laid this groundwork, her next words flowed naturally: "Master, actually, when the servants came to report yesterday, they didn't even dare to enter the room, and naturally, they didn't retrieve the clothes. If you don't believe me, you can search now; that garment is still in Xiaolu's room."
It was clearly an excuse, but the way she said it sounded like she was concerned about Mu Yulu: "When I heard what Xiaolu said just now, I was so angry at those scoundrels that I lost my mind. Now that I've calmed down and thought about it, they didn't get the clothes back, so naturally they couldn't get into the house. So how can you say that they barged into the house before Xiaolu could even get dressed?"
She sighed, "That's why I'm so worried about Xiaolu's mental state. I'm afraid she's been through too much stress lately, and what if she starts hallucinating?"
Mu Yugang first nodded in agreement with what Aunt Wang said: "We should invite a doctor to take a look at her, so that she doesn't develop any chronic illness."
Then he took Aunt Wang's hand and gently patted the back of her hand: "However, regardless of whether they broke into the house last night or not, it is still inappropriate to enter Miss's courtyard late at night. You should also be more careful in your actions in the future. After all, Xiao Lu is about to come of age, and now is a crucial time for her to find a husband. What if these sordid things ruin the reputation of Miss Mu and affect her marriage prospects?"
As she listened, Aunt Wang nodded obsequiously, "This was my oversight. I only rushed to send people to look for her because I saw Xing'er crying so sadly when she couldn't find her clothes. Don't worry, Master, I will never do it again."
She turned and walked up to Mu Yulu, affectionately taking her hand: "It's all my fault, I'm sorry you were frightened. You won't hold a grudge against me because of this, will you?"
Mu Yulu smiled brightly at her, but there was no smile in her eyes: "What are you saying, Aunt? We are all family. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, why would I be angry with you, Aunt?"
When Aunt Wang heard Mu Yulu's reply, she chuckled, but it was a forced smile: "Auntie knew that Xiaolu was the most sensible child. You've been well-behaved and sensible since you were little, how could Auntie not love you? Good child, don't worry, Auntie will definitely put a lot of effort into the marriage arrangement for you and choose a good husband for you."
Mu Yulu bowed her head and curtsied to Aunt Wang: "Thank you for your concern, Aunt. I entrust my happiness for the rest of my life to you."
Aunt Wang was clearly seething with hatred, but she still had to laugh along with Mu Yulu. She leaned down and whispered in Mu Yulu's ear, pretending to be telling her some intimate secrets.
She smiled kindly, but her voice was filled with gritted teeth: "It's such a waste that you're not in an opera troupe."
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