Chapter 73 Disposal
Mu Chong also knelt before Mu Zhen and pleaded, "Father, I don't want to go to the East Courtyard, I don't want to go to the East Courtyard..."
"You still want to wallow in the harem of women in the inner courtyard?" Mu Zhen was even less warm towards Mu Chong. "Since both of your brothers are willing to take care of you, then go ahead."
Madam Gao's face turned even paler, yet she still made a last-ditch effort: "My lord, please reconsider. How long will Chong'er be gone? If you are worried that Chong'er is too old to come and go from the inner courtyard, you can build a separate courtyard for him to live in. Why must you..."
Mu Zhen said, "Madam should have arranged accommodation for Chong'er in the outer courtyard long ago. However, this arrangement would save trouble. As for how long... that depends on Chong'er's own progress."
Lady Gao was utterly desperate: "Is Your Majesty going to forcibly separate us, mother and son?"
"What are you saying? Chong'er hasn't even left the manor; it's just a short distance between the east and west courtyards." Mu Zhen said expressionlessly, then turned to Mu Chong, "From today onwards, you are not allowed to enter or leave the inner courtyard without a valid reason. You must obey your two elder brothers' arrangements, understand?"
"No... Mother, save me." Seeing that pleading with Mu Zhen was useless, Mu Chong went to find Madam Gao.
Unable to defy Jin Fangjun in public any longer, Gao could only grit her teeth and swallow her anger: "My son, go ahead. Since the young master said he would discipline you, it must be for your own good. He will never let you get hurt in the slightest. You can rest assured."
"No...I won't..." Mu Chong still couldn't see the situation clearly.
Mu Xi smiled and assured her, "Don't worry, Madam. Mu Chong is our brother, and brothers only love each other."
Madam Gao was so angry that her teeth itched. She pulled her son up from the ground and said, "Why are you crying and begging? Your mother is still here and I'm not dead yet. As long as your mother is here, I will keep you safe and sound."
Mu Chong was startled and stunned for a moment, but finally had to accept reality: "Then...then...I have to move all my things over there."
“No, Mu Xun’s courtyard and rooms are limited. You can’t bring too many things. As for personal servants… one is enough. More would just be a burden,” Mu Xi said again.
“This won’t do, this won’t do, I can’t get used to living here…” Mu Chong shouted at Gao Shi again.
Before Madam Gao could object, Mu Zhen had already issued his final ultimatum: "It's settled then, Madam. You must be tired today. Come back with me. We'll leave things here to the three brothers."
After speaking, Mu Zhen gestured for his attendant to push the wheelchair away.
Having no other choice, Gao had to leave as well.
Mu Chong grabbed Gao Shi's hem and wouldn't let go: "Mother..."
Before Mu Xi could return the knife, she tapped Mu Chong's wrist with the back of the blade: "Let go, unless you don't want your hand anymore."
“Mu Xi, you…” Madam Gao called him by his full name, “Don’t push your luck.”
"Who is going too far? Doesn't Madam know? From now on, Mu Chong will be my shield. We'll go out together, eat together, and live together. If I'm safe, Mu Chong is safe. If someone tries to assassinate me, he'll be the first to die." As Mu Xi spoke, she raised her hand and brought down the back of her knife.
"Ah..." Mu Chong cried out in pain as her wrist was struck, and she pulled her hand back.
“You…” Gao’s eyes turned red.
Mu Xi saw the guest off, saying, "Please take care, Madam."
Gao glared at him fiercely and left with her men.
Mu Xi turned around before paying attention to Cao Pan'er: "Someone, help her into the house. As for the baby... bury him."
Cao Pan'er didn't cry or make a fuss; she just held onto the swaddling clothes tightly.
A servant woman tried to pull her up, and she seemed to wake from a dream, slowly raising her head from her swaddling clothes.
He slowly stood up, his dazed eyes unable to focus, as if he had lost his soul.
A maid took the swaddling clothes from her.
The moment the swaddling clothes left her hands, Cao Pan'er suddenly snapped awake, her unfocused eyes widening in a fierce glint: "My child! You're trying to take my child..."
"The child is dead, let him rest in peace." Mu Xi had no other choice.
“Dead? Yes, dead…” Cao Pan’er’s gaze shifted, as if trying to accept reality. But when her eyes fell on the imprisoned Granny Qian, she finally remembered everything. “You killed my child.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Pan'er pounced on Granny Qian, grabbing her neck tightly with both hands and banging her head against Granny Qian's head.
Granny Qian was being held captive by two guards and had no way to resist, but Cao Pan'er came on fiercely, using herself as a weapon and charging forward without regard for her life, managing to push away both guards.
Granny Qian struggled desperately: "Murder! Murder! Help! Help!"
Mu Xi neither helped nor stopped them.
Cao Pan'er went berserk, banging her head against the wall, biting and tearing at the throat, and grabbing it with her hands.
Granny Qian was being choked until her eyes rolled back, and she was on the verge of death.
Mu Xun reminded him from the side, "Your Highness, it's not appropriate for Granny Qian to die at Cao Pan'er's hands at this time."
Mu Xi understood this principle, but she was unwilling to stop Cao Pan'er from the bottom of her heart.
but……
“Cao Pan’er, Qian deserved to die, but she was only an accomplice, not the mastermind. You just strangled her like that, and now you want to pay with your life. Who will avenge the rest of the grudge?”
Upon hearing this, Cao Pan'er's previously crazed gaze gradually cooled down.
After a while, he gradually loosened his grip.
"Cough cough..." Granny Qian was saved by the skin of her teeth.
Once Cao Pan'er let go, her attention turned back to the swaddled baby. Just as she was about to get up to hug her child again, she stumbled and fell down.
"Ah, Doctor Luo..." Mu Xi hurriedly called out to Doctor Luo, who had been watching the show from the sidelines.
Without even taking her pulse, Doctor Luo said, "Carry her back inside first. She's weak from childbirth and has suffered a great emotional shock. The fact that she's held on this long is already beyond what others can do."
Mu Xi immediately had someone send Cao Pan'er back to her room and instructed, "I trouble Doctor Luo to do his best to treat her. She is a pitiful woman, after all."
Doctor Luo nodded without saying a word and followed him inside.
Mu Xun then gestured for Granny Qian to be taken away again, and turned back to ask, "What should we do with these two?"
“Both of them deserve to die. If they are sent to the Court of Justice…” Mu Xi hesitated, noting that there were clearly people in the Court of Justice’s office who were colluding with the Western Court.
On the other side, Li Fu, who was also being held captive, suddenly cried out: "Your Highness, Your Highness, please have mercy! Although I am a gambler, I have always been loyal to the Jun family. I have an elderly mother to support, and a wife, daughters, and young children to raise. Please, Your Highness, give my family a way to survive."
Mu Xi pretended not to hear, but couldn't think of any other solution, so she could only leave it to the Court of Justice: "Do whatever needs to be done."
Mu Xun then added, "Then let's send them to the Court of Justice. As for how to deal with them, since Father has already spoken, we just need to give Liu Qi a special reminder. Lord Liu shouldn't offend the entire Jun family for the sake of two servants."
Mu Xi nodded: "If that's the case, we should ask the Court of Justice to give an explanation, the kind that everyone in Moyang City knows. These two not only betrayed their own people, but also secretly became pregnant. This should be exposed, both publicly and privately, to warn the world."
So Li Fu and Granny Qian were taken away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
