Yu Mu’an’s face looked sorrowful, as if she had been terribly wronged.
But in her heart, she sneered.
The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.
Since she was willing to be Hu Rui’s unwitting pawn, she might as well let her use her.
She showed no restraint at all, almost as if she were proud to let everyone know she had come back to life.
“I don’t understand why you bear hostility toward my husband.
On our wedding night, before my husband and I entered Wei Rui Xuan, I heard you mocking him for being simple-minded, which is why you ran off.
But you hadn’t even met him yet! You, a young lady in the inner chambers, how could you know something so important?
Tell me, do you dislike my husband so much? Or is it that, without my knowledge, you have some sort of connection with him?”
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Yu Lin froze, pointing at Yu Mu’an with trembling fingers, instinctively looking toward Hu Rui in the main seat.
Hu Rui’s face was dark with anger and hatred as she glared at her.
Yu Lin quickly turned and saw Xie Jinghong sitting rigidly in his chair, his face sullen, eyes fixed sharply on her.
Panicking, Yu Lin fell to her knees at Xie Jinghong’s feet.
“Husband! I didn’t do it!”
She clutched his leg, crying sincerely.
“Husband! That wretched Yu Mu’an slanders me! I have no connection whatsoever with that fool, my elder brother!
I I’ve never even met him before! After entering the mansion, it was only then that I saw him for the first time. How could it be possible…”
Yu Mu’an’s cold voice cut through her crying: “Then how did you know my husband was simple-minded?”
Yu Lin froze.
Yu Mu’an bowed toward Hu Rui: “Mother, An’er heard it clearly that night. Please, mother and little uncle, recall if it happened exactly as An’er said!”
All eyes turned to Yu Lin.
A flicker of panic crossed her face.
She was uncertain whether she had misspoken during the time she was searching for Yu Mu’an, so she could only shake her head repeatedly and look at Xie Jinghong: “I didn’t… Brother Hong, I didn’t! Please believe Lin’er, Brother Hong, I didn’t…”
“That’s enough!”
Xie Jinghong’s expression darkened further. He kicked Yu Lin aside, took a deep breath, and looked at Yu Mu’an.
“Madam, the Eldest Young Master’s condition has stabilized!”
Ping’an rushed in from outside, beaming.
“The court physician is writing a prescription. As long as he takes the medicine on time, the Eldest Young Master should wake within three days!”
“Really?!”
Hu Rui immediately stood up, face bright with joy, hands clasped together.
“Thank the heavens, thank the ancestors, thank the heavens, thank the ancestors…”
She happily bowed back and forth, then turned to Ping’an: “Let’s go! Take me to see Yan’er!”
Ping’an bowed: “Madam, the physician says the Eldest Young Master should rest quietly. As long as no one disturbs him and he sleeps well, taking the medicine will wake him.”
Hu Rui nodded: “Very well, then I won’t disturb him…”
She looked at Yu Mu’an. “Although Yan’er is out of danger, you will still be punished.”
Yu Mu’an looked Hu Rui straight in the eye: “Mother, please see clearly: this daughter-in-law has absolutely not done such a heinous thing.”
Hu Rui shouted angrily: “Ping’an has confirmed it! And yet you yourself just spoke Ping’an does not lie!
Ping’an! Tell her!”
Ping’an shivered and instinctively turned his head, meeting Yu Mu’an’s eyes.
He quickly looked away, then kowtowed on the floor: “Madam! The Eldest Young Master did indeed feel unwell in his stomach after eating the Eldest Young Madam’s pastries…”
Hu Rui sneered: “Did you hear that?
Someone! Drag Yu Mu’an away and lock her in the ancestral hall! We’ll deal with her when the General returns!”
“Yes!”
A young servant stepped forward immediately.
Yu Mu’an stood, shook off the servant’s hand, and let her gaze sweep over everyone present.
Hu Rui’s anger flared, her eyes icy cold.
Yu Lin’s face was still wet with tears, filled with hatred and satisfaction.
Xie Jinghong’s expression was silent and impatient.
Yu Mu’an lowered her eyes and glanced at Ping’an’s back, smiling slightly.
Alright, Xie Jingyan really is cruel he poisoned someone just to frame her.
The Ancestral Hall.
Bright lightning streaked across the sky with violet light, tearing through the night.
Yu Mu’an sat on the mat, gazing out the window.
“Boom ”
Thunder shook the heavens and earth.
In the blink of an eye, pouring rain fell.
The damp, cold air spread quickly.
She groped her way to the altar table and lit a candle.
Granny Yu, who had watched her during the day, had been sent scurrying home by the storm to avoid work. Now, no one was watching her.
Yu Mu’an wandered through the ancestral hall holding the candle.
For some reason, she felt slightly uneasy, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.
She looked up; the high beams were hidden in darkness, and the thunder outside made the shadows tremble faintly.
On the huge altar were the ancestral tablets.
Layer upon layer, dozens of them at a glance.
Normally, on the first and fifteenth of each month, and during festivals, incense burned and candles lit all night in honor of the ancestors.
But on a day like today, the hall was pitch black.
Yu Mu’an stepped forward, lit three incense sticks, placed them in the burner, and whispered:
“It is a special fate. Mu’an has been a daughter-in-law of the Xie family for two lifetimes. This time, I only hope the ancestors bless your descendants, and do not let evildoers cause unrest in the Xie household.”
As she spoke, a subtle sound amidst the thunderstorm drew her attention.
Yu Mu’an turned sharply.
At the window, a head slowly emerged from below.
Bright lightning silently cut through the night, illuminating the shadow outside for a moment.
Before she could see what it was
“Boom ”
A deep, rolling thunder exploded from the distant horizon.
Yu Mu’an’s chest pounded wildly.
She stepped back slightly, pressing her lower back against the altar table, shaking the tablets.
“Young Madam? Are you inside?”
Ju Hong’s voice was faintly audible through the rain.
Yu Mu’an: “…”
Trying to scare your mistress to inherit Anxin, huh!
Ju Hong opened the food boxes layer by layer, revealing steaming hot meals.
“The Eldest Young Master was kept in Wei Rui Xuan by the mistress, who insisted on personally seeing him wake.
Ping’an feared others couldn’t take care of him properly, so he suggested bringing Miss Linxin and the four other girls to help.
Wei Rui Xuan is very lively now.”
Yu Mu’an sneered: “That’s what you call being too clever for your own good.”
Ju Hong blinked, puzzled.
She didn’t explain, just asked: “Wasn’t the General supposed to return early tomorrow?”
Ju Hong replied: “This servant pretended to be sent by the mistress to report. I’ve already informed the General about the Eldest Young Master being poisoned; he’s rushing back tonight.”
Yu Mu’an frowned:
“The Eldest Young Master poisoned, such a serious matter, and the mistress doesn’t hurry to tell the General?”
Ju Hong shook her head: “I saw that the General is extremely anxious and angry.
He needs to handle military affairs, but he won’t be much slower than me.”
It seems the General really does care about his eldest son.
But Xie Jingyan’s move was self-defeating: even if he knew the antidote, he is now trapped in Wei Rui Xuan.
He’s like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den, willingly!
This fool!
Yu Mu’an suddenly stood up.