Chapter 10 A Divine Assistance! The Adorable Baby Mistakenly Offers Poison as Candy!
The color drained completely from Zhou's face in an instant.
She looked at the painting on the table. The woman in the painting had the same eyebrows, eyes, and even the small mole on the corner of her mouth. Even the style of the gold hairpin was exactly the same as hers!
"No...it wasn't me!" she screamed, her voice as shrill as a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Second brother! Where did you get this fake painting from! You're making false accusations! If you want to kick us out, just say so. Why resort to such despicable means to slander me!"
She suddenly rushed to her husband Mu Cheng's side, grabbed his arm tightly, and cried her heart out.
"Husband! Say something! How could I possibly harm her? She's our mother!"
Mu Cheng was already terrified. He looked at the painting, then at his brother's cold face, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Mu Fang pulled his daughter's small body closer to his arms, as if afraid that the foul language to come would taint her ears.
He ignored Zhou's tantrum and just looked at his elder brother, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Brother, do you still recognize this hairpin?"
Mu Cheng's gaze fell on the golden hairpin in the painting, and his pupils contracted.
"This is... Mother's favorite one, it was when you received your first paycheck..."
“Yes.” Mu Fang interrupted him, her voice finally trembling slightly. “I bought it for my mother with my first paycheck. She treasured it her whole life. Even when you, my sister-in-law, were short of money and asked her for some, she wouldn’t pawn it. She just gave you the hairpin so you could use it to tide you over.”
He looked at Zhou.
"But what about you, sister-in-law? You took Mother's mercy and went to the pharmacy, exchanging it for the poisonous herb that could kill her!"
The last three words struck Mu Cheng's heart like a heavy hammer. He abruptly shook off Zhou's hand, staring at his wife in disbelief.
"You...you really..."
"I didn't! I'm innocent!" Zhou Shi cried out frantically. "Mu Fang! You just can't stand to see us doing well! Now that you're the Duke of Huguo, you can't tolerate us poor relatives! You fabricated evidence and plotted to murder your elder sister-in-law! I'm going to report you to the authorities! I'm going to sue you in the clan!"
Mu Yu shrank back in fright at the sight, her little hands clutching her father's clothes tightly.
This auntie cries even louder than Princess Jia Hui; her crying is so loud and awful.
Mu Fang looked at Zhou Shi, who was acting shamelessly on the ground, his eyes cold and devoid of any warmth.
"Report to the authorities?" he said slowly, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Sister-in-law, do you see clearly what kind of seal is stamped in the lower right corner of this painting?"
Zhou's wailing stopped, and Mu Cheng subconsciously went over to take a look.
It was a small vermilion seal with two seal characters engraved on it: "Zongzheng Temple".
Zongzhengji!
The Imperial Clan Court, which oversees affairs related to the imperial family and clan! This painting came from the palace!
Mu Cheng's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud, his whole body trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind.
Zhou was dumbfounded. All her sophistry and denials became a huge joke in the face of these three words.
"Guards!" Mu Fang coldly ordered.
The courtyard gate was pushed open, and two bodyguards clad in armor and exuding a murderous aura walked in. They were assassins who had followed Mu Fang back from the border, and they obeyed only his orders.
"Take them both down! Lock them in the woodshed, and no one is allowed to visit them without my order!"
"Yes!" The guards accepted the order and stepped forward to lift up Zhou Shi.
"No! Don't arrest me!" Zhou came to her senses and crawled backward on all fours, her face full of terror. "I'll confess! I'll confess everything!"
She pointed at Mu Cheng and shrieked, "It was him! He made me do this! He said Mother favored you and left all the family property to you, and he was resentful! He sent me to buy medicine! I didn't know anything!"
"You vicious woman!" Mu Cheng was so angry that his vision blurred, and his hand trembled as he pointed at Zhou Shi. "You're talking nonsense!"
The couple immediately started fighting and beating each other, displaying their ugly side.
Mu Fang closed his eyes, his face full of exhaustion and disgust.
"Take them all away."
Without further hesitation, the guards, one on each side, dragged Mu Cheng and his wife out like dead dogs. Zhou's curses and Mu Cheng's pleas gradually faded into the distance.
The room finally quieted down, with only the occasional crackling sound of the burning candlelight.
Mu Fang's tall body swayed slightly. He walked to his mother's memorial tablet, reached out his hand, and tried to touch the cold wood, but his hand stopped in mid-air, trembling uncontrollably.
After the overwhelming anger comes endless sorrow.
His mother, a strong-willed woman who always gave him the best, ultimately died not from illness, but from the greed and malice of her own daughter-in-law.
And he didn't even get to see her one last time.
Mu Yu slid off her father's lap and looked at his desolate back, feeling saddened as well.
She wanted to make her father happy.
However, her "pool of blessings" had just been used up in the palace, so she couldn't use it for bestowing blessings now.
The little girl was a bit worried and subconsciously gnawed on her fingers. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a dusty little mouse peeking out from the corner of the wall.
Its two little mustaches twitched, and its small, beady eyes were full of curiosity and fear.
Mu Yu's eyes lit up.
She remembered what the Turtle Prime Minister had said: all things have a spirit. As the Koi Princess, she was born with the ability to communicate with these little creatures.
She carefully picked up the lotus-shaped pastry she had just dropped from the ground, broke off a small piece, and gently placed it not far from the mouse.
"Little Grey, here you go," she whispered.
The mouse seemed to sense her kindness. After hesitating for a moment, it darted out, snatched the crumb of pastry, and then scurried back into the corner.
Mu Yu squinted her eyes happily when she saw it eat.
She crouched down, facing the corner of the wall, and in her own way, conveyed a thought to her mind.
"Where did that fierce, wicked woman hide her stinky stuff?"
There was a moment of quiet behind the corner.
Soon, the little mouse poked its head out again. It squeaked twice at Mu Yu, then turned and ran quickly along the wall to the other side of the room.
It stopped in a carpeted corner and used its two front paws to vigorously scratch at an inconspicuous floor tile.
Mu Yu's curiosity was piqued, and she followed after him with her short legs.
She imitated the little mouse, crouching down and lifting a corner of the carpet.
That floor tile was indeed a bit loose.
She stretched out her chubby little hand, used her fingernails to pry open the gaps in the floor tiles, and then pried hard.
“Clatter.”
She lifted the floor tile, revealing a small, dark hole underneath. Inside the hole, a small package wrapped in oil paper lay quietly.
Mu Yu took it out, squeezed it, and found it to be soft with powder inside.
Powdered sugar!
The little girl's eyes lit up instantly. She thought it was some delicious treat her aunt had secretly hidden away.
She wanted to give this good thing to her father, so that he wouldn't be so sad if he ate something sweet!
In the front hall, Mu Fang stood quietly, his back straight as a pine tree, yet exuding an indescribable loneliness.
Mu Yu, clutching her "trophy," ran over like she was showing off a treasure, holding up the small paper bag high and calling out in her childish voice:
"Father! Father, look!"
"I found the powdered sugar that my aunt hid!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com