The man never expected that not only would Mo Guiyi dare to make a loud scene while rendezvousing with him in the middle of the night, but what was even more shocking to him was that she had actually brought her sister-in-law along! Something felt completely wrong here…
However, before the man could figure it out, Ming Siling had already strode forward, shoved him away, and stood protectively in front of Mo Guiyi with her hands on her hips. “With me here, let’s see if you still dare to touch my sister-in-law!”
“Siling, what’s going on? What happened?” A neighbor, awakened by the commotion, opened their door to see what was happening.
Ming Siling pointed at the man and shouted, “Auntie, this guy tried to get physical with my sister-in-law!”
“What? Who tried to get physical?” Hearing this, the surrounding neighbors all rushed out of their homes.
Painter Wen instantly panicked. No! The situation right now was completely wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong… What he had originally planned was to meet Mo Guiyi for some sweet talk, get caught by the neighbors, and then push Mo Guiyi out to take the blame. That way, her reputation would be ruined, leaving her no choice but to follow him whether she wanted to or not. After comforting her while she was feeling low, Mo Guiyi would undoubtedly become completely devoted to him, and from then on she would obediently do whatever he told her to.
Why had things turned out like this? This was completely different from his plan.
The enthusiastic neighbors had already surrounded Painter Wen. A sturdy, burly-looking fellow grabbed Painter Wen’s wrist, squeezed it hard with a fierce glare, and barked, “You’ve got a death wish, trying to lay hands on a young woman around here!”
“It hurts…” Painter Wen’s face contorted into a grimace. “It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding! Mo Guiyi and I are just courting each other, we weren’t getting physical, really, we weren’t!”
As soon as those words came out, the expressions of the helpful neighbors instantly turned bizarre. Mo Guiyi? Wasn’t that the name of the daughter-in-law the Lu-Ming family had married? Wasn’t she married to the Ming family’s eldest son? The eldest son of the Ming family was a soldier, definitely not some weak, spineless fellow like the one standing here. What was this about courting each other? Could it be…
“Bah! Stop talking nonsense!” Ming Siling snapped angrily. “My sister-in-law and him are completely innocent, so stop splashing dirty water on her! Tonight, it was clearly this guy who asked my sister-in-law to come out. She was worried something might happen late at night, so she asked me to come along. Thank goodness I came with her, otherwise you hooligans would have gotten away with it!”
“It’s, it’s true!” Painter Wen flurriedly explained. “If you don’t believe me, I have the letters Mo Guiyi wrote to me. The contents inside can prove it!”
Painter Wen had originally intended to nail down the illicit affair between Mo Guiyi and himself tonight, so he had brought all their past correspondence with him. He just hadn’t expected to have to pull them out under these circumstances. Trembling, he finally managed to fish the letters out from inside his jacket.
Ming Siling took a large stride right up to him, snatched the letters, and made to rip them to shreds on the spot. Regardless of whether the rumors between Mo Guiyi and this man were true or false, they could not be substantiated right now, or else where would her brother’s dignity go? She couldn’t blame herself for not trusting Mo Guiyi—it was just that Mo Guiyi was truly impossible to trust. Pulling stunts like flirting with other people was something she was entirely capable of doing.
Just as Ming Siling was about to tear them up, a hand stopped her. Ming Siling followed that pretty hand to Mo Guiyi, blinking anxiously and making frantic eyes at her. Why on earth was she stopping her?!
Mo Guiyi took the letters from Ming Siling’s hand, unsealed them right in front of everyone, and unfolded them for all to see. Today, she was going to completely clear this matter up once and for all, ensuring it wouldn’t kick up even a ripple of trouble in the future and leaving no hidden hazards behind.
“Everyone, please take a look at the contents of these letters. Not a single word steps out of line. Writing these letters was purely about appreciating his painting techniques, and everything written in them is a discussion of art. I never expected that someone would use this as an excuse to splash dirty water on me. Painter Wen, doesn’t your conscience feel unsettled? Doing such a heartless thing, won’t you have nightmares at night?”
“This… I…” Painter Wen was left speechless, unable to defend himself properly. Mo Guiyi was naturally shy, and the letters genuinely didn’t contain anything inappropriate. But it was also true that Mo Guiyi had harbored romantic feelings for him in the past. He had originally expected to catch her red-handed and dump a bucket of filth on her reputation, but now he was completely tongue-tied!
In his anxious panic, Painter Wen’s gaze suddenly paused on something. Mo Guiyi followed his line of sight and spotted Yao Shujing hiding in the back of the crowd.
Mo Guiyi let out a soft hnh. Did Yao Shujing come here specifically to watch her reputation get dragged through the mud with her own eyes? Did she come to appreciate a scheme she had plotted all by herself? Just in time—she was just worrying about only having Painter Wen to deal with.
Yao Shujing also noticed that Mo Guiyi was looking at her. Meeting Mo Guiyi’s pitch-black eyes, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively turned around, wanting to slip away.
Mo Guiyi didn’t give her the chance. She strode forward, grabbed Yao Shujing’s arm in a firm grip, and dragged her right out of the crowd. Raising her voice, she called out, “Shujing! Come help me testify!”
With a guilty conscience, Yao Shujing stammered, “I—what can I testify to?” This idiot, why was she dragging her down into the water at a time like this?!
In a ringing, forceful voice, Mo Guiyi announced, “You’re the one who’s been helping me pass letters back and forth with Painter Wen all along! You know the exact relationship between Painter Wen and me better than anyone else. You’re the one who told me Painter Wen wanted to meet me here tonight—hurry up and help me clear this up.”
Strange, critical gazes from the crowd landed heavily on Yao Shujing. Helping a married woman pass love letters to another man—what kind of intentions did she have?
Sensing the odd, scrutinizing looks from everyone around her, panic washed over Yao Shujing, and her face turned instantly pale. If Mo Guiyi really was innocent of any illicit affair with Painter Wen, then what did that make her, the go-between passing the notes? Did she even want her reputation anymore? The spittle and scoldings of the neighborhood gossips could drown her alive! How was she supposed to live her life after this? And if Ming Xianbai found out, how would he view her? He would surely despise her to his core.
Flustered, Yao Shujing hurried to explain, “No, that’s not it! I—I only helped pass a few of them.”
“What do you mean, just a few!” Mo Guiyi exaggerated dramatically. “Shujing, don’t hold back—just tell everyone everything! You’re the one who helped deliver every single piece of correspondence between me and Painter Wen. Every single letter was handed to you, and then he had you pass them back to me. We’re completely innocent and there’s nothing going on between us, so what’s wrong with saying it out there?”
Wasn’t that just helping a married woman pass secret messages to another man? That was assuming Mo Guiyi and this man didn’t have an illicit affair. What if they actually did? What kind of game was Yao Shujing playing here?
The crowd’s gazes toward Yao Shujing took on a distinct layer of contempt.
Yao Shujing’s face burned bright red with shame and panic. “N—no, that’s not how it is! Guiyi and Painter Wen are completely innocent. She said she admired Painter Wen’s painting skills, which is why I helped them pass the letters! It’s not what you all are thinking!”
With an expression that seemed to say See? Didn’t I tell you?, Mo Guiyi remarked, “Look, Shujing has helped prove my innocence.”
The neighbors still looked at Yao Shujing with a trace of strangeness, while their looks toward Mo Guiyi were filled with a mixture of sighs. Was this girl genuinely naive, or just acting like it? That Yao family girl clearly harbored some ulterior motives. Who on earth helps a married woman exchange messages with another man, especially when it turns into such a massive public scene? Fortunately, this was cleared up in time—what if it hadn’t been explained clearly? Wouldn’t her reputation for life have been completely destroyed? As for that Yao girl, what on earth was she playing at?