Just as Yin Weiyue and Huo Jun were mulling over their thoughts back and forth, Huo Kai pulled Mrs. Chen down to kneel before the Old Mrs. Seeing this scene, Zhang Yulin had no choice but to silently kneel along with the mother and son.
After kowtowing heavily three times, Huo Kai said, “Grandmother, Mother offending you is truly filial impiety, and Kai’er is willing to accept punishment together with Mother. I request Grandmother to punish us. However, although Mother is shrewish by nature and a bit sharp and sarcastic, I can never believe that she attempted Seventh Brother’s life. I ask Grandmother to investigate clearly.”
Yin Weiyue curled her lips.
This speech of Huo Kai’s sounded righteous, stern, clearly logical, and well-balanced. Yet the target of its subtle shade was Yin Weiyue, so these words did not sound particularly pleasant to her ears.
Before the Old Mrs. could speak, she took the initiative to walk up to Huo Kai’s side, casting the kind of “stare of death” described in many web novels.
“Huo Kai, oh Huo Kai! Back then, it was only because I lusted after your body that I didn’t let my father report you to the Emperor, but I didn’t expect you to repay kindness with enmity today. Even if you don’t believe my words, you should at least question your mother whether she did it or not before subtly shading me for framing her.”
The moment these words came out, everyone present gasped.
For present-day feudal society, the phrase “lusted after your body” carried a negative impact comparable to an earthquake; even a low-class woman from a brothel wouldn’t say such outrageous words in public.
At this moment, no one could guess where Yin Weiyue’s moral bottom line lay.
Huo Kai glared at her coldly, filled with utter disgust for this fickle, fickle woman: “Mrs. Yin, I have never provoked you! Why must you drag my mother into the grudges between us, and even sow discord in the feelings between me and Seventh Brother?”
It had to be said that this male lead was quite good at summarizing, but right now what they were denouncing was his mother’s crimes, yet he directly dragged the topic onto her, veering far off track.
Yin Weiyue naturally gave Huo Kai no such opportunity.
She glared right back at him, “Do you think that because you rejected me this afternoon, I fabricated some matters out of love turned to hatred to retaliate against your third branch?”
Kneeling on the ground, Huo Kai raised his head with the noble posture he had cultivated since childhood: “Is it not?”
Yin Weiyue did not answer yes or no, but merely stared at him with a faint smile that was not a smile.
“I originally wanted to leave some face for the third branch and for you, a fourteen-year-old top scholar. It is you who didn’t want it yourself, so you can’t blame me. Listen carefully: On the ninth day of the second month in the forty-seventh year of Chengxuan, during the quarter past nine in the morning, Third Aunt took Nanny Song to a teahouse in Lülin Alley. On that day, local magistrate Liu Fang from another province was also there. The two of them met secretively and left after the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Upon leaving, Nanny Song had an extra earthenware jar in her hand, filled with half a kilo of box jellyfish venom.
On the third day of the third month in the forty-seventh year of Chengxuan, at eight in the morning, the official residence dispatched people to deliver three scholar robes with embroidered names for the Palace Examination, which were all collected by Nanny Song. She delivered yours first, then took the other two back to the servants’ quarters. That night, she secretively soaked my Seventh Brother’s robe in that earthenware jar, taking it out to dry after it was thoroughly soaked.
On the fourth day of the third month in the forty-seventh year of Chengxuan, at eight in the morning, Nanny Song finally delivered the two robes to the needlework department. Because the box jellyfish venom was extremely vicious, fearing that accidentally injuring others would lead to the failure of the plan, she wrapped the two robes separately in bundles with embroidered names on top. After the servants delivered it to Seventh Brother to try on, trouble broke out that very night.
That night, the entire eldest branch was thrown into total chaos. Nanny Song took advantage of this opportunity to retrieve the scholar robe, repeatedly washing it while wearing fox-pelt gloves. Two days later, she returned the scholar robe without anyone being the wiser.”
Time, place, person, and plot all matched up perfectly; Mrs. Chen felt so guilty that she couldn’t kneel steadily, and was supported by Huo Kai.
“Chen Feng’e, what a vicious mind you have!” Hearing up to this point, Mrs. Feng could no longer control her emotions. “I have tolerated you at every turn, and I have not let down the nephews and nieces of the third branch in the slightest—why did you want to harm my son?”
“Mother, why did you do this?” Huo Kai had not expected Yin Weiyue to be able to describe the entire poisoning process so clearly, and looked at Mrs. Chen in utter disbelief.
With her crime exposed in public, Mrs. Chen lowered her head in guilt, not daring to meet her son’s eyes, which amounted to a tacit admission.
These words were well-founded and logical, leaving Huo Kai powerless to defend his mother.
“Grandmother, your grandson is truly ashamed. Everything started because of me, and I am willing to accept punishment in Mother’s stead.” In particular, Yin Weiyue’s phrase “lusted after your body so I didn’t report you” sent his self-esteem crashing to the ground—so it turned out his top-scholar title was earned by selling out his charms.
“Fifth Boy, some punishments can be substituted, but some punishments cannot.” The Old Mrs. pointed at the discarded walking stick. Zhang Yulin, who had been kneeling all along, truly lived up to being the female lead; she finally found an excuse to get up. She hurriedly picked it up with great discernment, presented it to the Old Mrs. with both hands, and then stood silently to the side.
The Old Mrs. nodded at her in satisfaction, then turned her head to look at Huo Kai.
“Fifth Boy, I know you have always been upright, and plotting against a brother to steal academic fame is certainly unrelated to you. But your mother nearly cost Seventh Boy his life. Right now, although the Huo family has fallen, right and wrong cannot go unreckoned, nor can your mother go unpunished. Of course, now that your Eldest Uncle and two elder brothers are all in prison, and I am old and useless, if even you refuse to acknowledge me as your grandmother and insist on taking your mother away, I certainly won’t be able to stop you.”
Huo Kai kowtowed heavily: “Grandmother treats your grandson so well, how could your grandson not acknowledge Grandmother?! It is your grandson who was wrong; I beg Grandmother for punishment, but please show leniency to Mother, for your grandson is willing to bear it all alone!”
*Snap!*
This was the sound of the male lead filter shattering inside Yin Weiyue’s heart.
Standing from the perspective of the protagonist group, Huo Kai taking punishment for his mother displayed his good qualities of filial piety, responsibility, and accountability. But standing on the opposing side, this was proper green tea talk!
The male lead was a steaming cup of green tea—Yin Weiyue’s appraisal was complete.
When reading the book previously, readers would most likely view problems from the protagonist’s perspective. But sometimes, thinking from a different angle, some supporting villains became bad entirely because they were driven to it.
This was probably what her eldest sister often kept on her lips as a pet phrase in her past life: *There are no born good or bad people in this world; it is merely current affairs that create fate, and circumstances that shape human hearts.*
But sorry, right now Yin Weiyue was the cannon-fodder wife of the future big villain; she couldn’t let down this role, so she chose a perfectly opportune moment to speak up.
“Huo Kai, are you sincerely accepting punishment, or are you trying to exonerate Third Aunt? My Seventh Brother nearly died, yet instead of apologizing to the victim, you only kowtow to the Old Mrs. to beg for pardon. What, taking advantage of the Old Mrs.’s affection for you to mud-wrestle and smooth things over? In my view, we should simply push Third Aunt into the pond, soak her until she runs a high fever, lock her in the woodshed, and starve her for three days and three nights! If she can pull through like that, then my Seventh Brother won’t fuss over it anymore.”
The moment these words came out, the surroundings fell silent, and everyone present harbored different thoughts.
Mrs. Feng felt that this punishment was still too light; toward the person who harmed her son, she wished she could skin her and strip her bones. Mrs. He and Mrs. Su were currently digesting everything they learned today, not yet recovered from the shock.
At this moment, Huo Wanying only cared about aching in heart for Huo Jun.
He could originally have won top honors in three consecutive exams, but was harmed by his aunt so badly that he nearly lost his life; he could have married the woman he favored to hold hands for the rest of his life, but was set up to marry a wife whose heart belonged to his own elder brother.
Her Seventh Brother was truly too tragic!
Huo Kai was hit even deeper.
He was both ashamed and guilty, wishing time could rewind and hoping nothing had ever happened, even if it meant he had never become the top scholar.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yulin, who remained obscure to the side, relied on the sharp intuition and sixth sense cultivated in the workplace in her past life to feel that Yin Weiyue, this “love rival,” was no simple character, and that she should maintain maximum distance from her in the future.
After the original owner married into the Huo Manor, she had constantly treated Zhang Yulin as an imaginary enemy. Day after day, watching Huo Kai and Zhang Yulin eat and sleep together, her jealousy grew with each passing day. What the original owner didn’t know, however, was that not only had she and Huo Jun not consummated their marriage, but neither had the male and female leads.
In her past life, Zhang Yulin came from a wealthy family but was a workaholic. After graduation, she climbed all the way to become an executive at a foreign enterprise, so busy she didn’t even have a first love, before dying suddenly from high-intensity work and transmigrating into the novel as an infant.
She and Huo Kai had been engaged since infancy, having met a total of only once before marriage when they were six years old. Modern thinking made it impossible for her to engage in a physical relationship with a stranger before reaching eighteen.
Huo Kai had not fallen in love with Zhang Yulin at this time either, nor was he interested in romantic affairs.
Thus, the two made a three-point agreement not to interfere in each other’s lives, acting before others to deceive their families on both sides, remaining a married couple in name only. Furthermore, to protect her rights, Zhang Yulin added an extra clause: if one party met someone they truly loved in the future, the other party had to unconditionally agree to a divorce.
In fact, two years ago when the Marquis Xingwu Manor fell into trouble, the male and female leads had thought about divorce, but unfortunately the Emperor only granted permission for Yin Weiyue—who had the Yin family backing her—to divorce, while others lacked such good fortune, so they had to drop the matter.
Looking around at everyone’s reactions, only Huo Jun relaxed his brow and eyes. In over two years of marriage, this was the first time he felt Yin Weiyue had spoken like a human being.
However, her uncharacteristic opening and closing of her mouth with “Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother” was truly too sappy, giving him a feeling as if a nest of annoying ants had crawled onto his chest, making one feel itchy, numb, sticky, and restless.
He couldn’t help but think of Yin Weiyue’s abnormal performance; it seemed she had truly been hurt by Huo Kai today.
A woman’s love turned to hatred was truly terrifying: one second chasing to become a concubine, and the next second capable of putting the other party to death, even while intimacy-calling the enemy “Seventh Brother” in public.
No wonder even the sages said: *Vicious is a woman’s heart.*
Huo Jun made a firm resolve in his heart: if the Huo family could escape death this time and he could smoothly obtain a divorce, he would definitely never marry a wife again in his lifetime.