Everyone held their breath, watching the long silver needle with tension. Zhang Fengyi couldn’t help but snort coldly.
Mo Yunzhu inserted the needle, slowly twisted it a few times, then pulled it out. The silver needle visibly darkened from the tip upward.
“Oh my! Miss Mo really was poisoned—the needle turned black!”
“It seems someone really did frame Miss Mo and Lan Wang. How vicious!”
“Alas, what does it matter if she was framed? She was already found in bed with Lan Wang. She definitely can’t become Taizifei now.”
“What will she do? What man would want her now? She certainly can’t be a proper wife!”
“The best outcome would be for her to marry Lan Wang.”
“Ah, Lan Wang… but Lan Wang is already crippled…” The voices grew softer.
Suddenly, Mo Huaiqing rushed out, clinging to Mo Yunzhu and wailing loudly.
“Elder Sister, I knew you wouldn’t do such a thing! Look, everyone—my elder sister was truly framed! She is innocent!”
“Who on earth poisoned Miss Mo?”
“Such a wicked heart! Truly wicked!”
“Poor Miss Mo… she was about to become Taizifei, and now this…”
“Does that mean Taizifei will have to be chosen anew?”
The whispers at the doorway shifted dramatically—more thrilling than watching a play.
Mo Yunzhu glanced at Mo Huaiqing, who was putting on a show of sisterly affection, noticing her casting several subtle looks toward The Crown Prince. A faint, mocking smile tugged at Mo Yunzhu’s lips.
“Your Highness The Crown Prince, I have proven that I was framed. I hope Your Highness will investigate this matter swiftly and uncover the truth for me and everyone present!
Moreover, I agree to cancel the engagement. After all, I am deeply disappointed in Your Highness! Even if we were to marry, our household would never know peace.”
“Mo Yunzhu! What—what do you mean? You’re disappointed in me?” The Crown Prince Jun Huanhe was enraged once more.
“You didn’t even investigate before concluding that I seduced Lan Wang. It seems that despite knowing each other for years, you understand nothing about me. How could I not be disappointed?”
With that, she turned to Shaoyao, who had long since stood up and stepped back. “Shaoyao!”
“Young Miss, it was my fault. I failed to take proper care of you, allowing you to be framed by villains. Please punish me, Young Miss.”
Shaoyao immediately rushed over and knelt, weeping sorrowfully.
“You understand well enough. Guards—drag her out and beat her to death!”
Mo Yunzhu’s icy, piercing voice suddenly rang out, startling everyone. They looked at her in horror.
In that moment, everyone realized Mo Yunzhu had changed. The smile was gone from her face, and her once-kind eyes had turned cold and ruthless.
“Ah!” Shaoyao gasped, collapsing to the ground, unable to believe that the young miss who had always treated her so well now wanted her dead.
“Shaoyao, you are my maid. You should know that if your master faces disaster, how could you fare any better? Drag her out!”
Mo Yunzhu stared at Shaoyao with a sinister gaze, a chilling sneer curling her lips.
Guards from the General’s Mansion immediately rushed in through the parted crowd.
“No, Young Miss! Young Miss, have mercy! I was wrong…” Shaoyao burst into terrified tears, her eyes darting repeatedly toward Second Miss Mo Huaiqing.
Mo Huaiqing’s face stiffened slightly, but she immediately shot Shaoyao a glare before turning away, refusing to look at her.
“Young Miss, spare me! Second Miss, save me! Save me! Mmmph—” Shaoyao’s mouth was covered by a guard as she was dragged away.
Soon, Shaoyao’s agonized screams echoed from outside—each one more piercing and wretched than the last—until finally, they fell silent.
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat down their backs. Indeed, she was the eldest daughter of the General’s Manor—ordinarily not showing her might, but once she did, it was truly terrifying.
“Everyone, mind your tongues. If you must speak, speak the truth. Otherwise, now that I no longer need to become the Taizifei, I’ll have plenty of time to visit each of you for a chat.”
Mo Yunzhu swept her cold gaze around the room, causing those whose status was originally inferior to hers to shrink their necks and hastily shake their heads, promising they wouldn’t.
“Very well, you may all disperse.” Mo Yunzhu waved her hand, then looked at the stunned Crown Prince. “Your Highness, go and annul the engagement. I am unworthy of you, but perhaps my second sister could take my place.”
“Elder Sister, what nonsense are you saying! How could Huaiqing possibly be worthy of His Highness the Crown Prince?” Mo Huaiqing immediately exclaimed in panic, feeling that Mo Yunzhu seemed to have changed, which unsettled her greatly.
“Enough, we’ll discuss it later. I’m a bit tired and will return to the manor first.” Mo Yunzhu did not press the topic further and strode directly out, with everyone making way for her.
On the bed, Lan Wang watched Mo Yunzhu’s straight and resolute back, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
For the next seven days, Mo Yunzhu did not leave the manor, yet rumors had already spread like wildfire throughout Huangcheng.
However, it was said that Miss Mo and Lan Wang had been framed. Even so, she was no longer pure and could not become the Taizifei. The Emperor had also agreed to cancel the engagement between the two.
Many lamented, many watched with amusement, and even more simply enjoyed the spectacle.
Mo Yunzhu paid no mind to any of this. Even without this incident, as a transmigrator, she would never have married that womanizer, the Crown Prince.
After all, Taizifu already had two Cefei and countless concubines. The original host had indeed liked the Crown Prince and had accepted it all.
Fortunately, this incident had resolved that thorny problem for her. Getting married and having children before the age of eighteen—as someone from the post-2000s generation, she couldn’t accept that.
During those seven days, Mo Yunzhu remained in her Yaoguang Courtyard, as she needed to familiarize herself with this otherworldly continent and this body. Additionally, the swelling on her face needed to subside—this was a debt she had etched into her heart.
She spoke with all the guards and maidservants in Yaoguang Courtyard once, then dismissed them all, shutting herself in alone.
Great General Mo Tiancheng and his wife, Feng Jinyu, thought she was grieving and heartbroken, so they gave her some time to recover. Apart from delivering meals, they allowed no one to disturb her.
Just as Mo Yunzhu finally thought of going out, she received an imperial decree: The Emperor had bestowed a marriage, ordering her to marry Lan Wang, Jun Huolan.
Mo Yunzhu had actually anticipated this. After all, ancient times emphasized a woman’s chastity and reputation. She had already shared a bed with Lan Wang, and even if they were framed, they could no longer clear their names.
If she did not marry Lan Wang, she would also be unable to marry someone of equal status. In the end, she would only be able to take a commoner as her husband or remain unmarried for life.
“Yunzhu, if you truly do not wish to, your father will beg the Emperor to annul this marriage. Even if you remain unmarried for life, your father will provide for you.”
Great General Mo Tiancheng looked at his beloved daughter, his aged eyes reddening, filled with immense heartache.
He knew this incident was not his daughter’s fault, so he did not blame her. Instead, he blamed himself—as her father, he had failed to protect her.
Yet no matter how much he blamed himself or how heartbroken he was, he could not turn back time. Life still had to go on.
“Who could be so utterly wicked as to frame Yunzhu? Despicable, truly despicable.” The General’s wife hugged Mo Yunzhu and wept.
“Mother, don’t cry. I’m fine. I’ve given up on the Crown Prince! So what if it’s marrying Lan Wang? I’ll marry him!”
Mo Yunzhu patted her mother’s back. She knew these parents genuinely doted on their original daughter, so she didn’t want them to grieve.
“Elder sister, but… but Lan Wang is a cripple. I heard from Taiyiyuan that his poison hasn’t been cleared, and his right leg is still lame. You’d be at too great a disadvantage marrying him.”
Seeing the mother and daughter embracing, Mo Huaiqing immediately jumped in to speak.