Yun Mu Jing’s body jolted. She looked up and said with a sob, “I don’t want to…”
“Shut your mouth!” General Yun said coldly. “You’ve implicated your younger sister and the Yun Family. At a time like this, you still dare to protect that outsider. What right do you have to speak!”
“If you know what’s good for you, hand that man over to me, and I’ll give him a quick end.”
Yun Mu Jing didn’t answer. She collapsed to the ground, unable to straighten up from the pain. Tears streamed ceaselessly from the corners of her eyes, creating a pitiful sight.
Seeing Yun Mu Jing go mute again, the anger General Yun had just suppressed flared up once more.
This time, however, for Yun Si Yu’s sake, he didn’t let it erupt.
“I think Yu’er’s suggestion is a solution,” General Yun said to Madam Yun, his face grim. “Keep an eye out for prospects for Jing’er these next few days. Marry her off as soon as possible.”
“This is perfect. I was worried that Jing’er’s previous engagement to the Crown Prince would put him in a difficult position, and I didn’t want Yu’er to be wronged because of it.”
“This way, everyone is happy.”
“You make it sound so easy. Jing’er already has a bad reputation out there. Which young master from a noble family in Dijing would want a woman like Jing’er who has wandered for so many years?” Madam Yun said, exasperated.
“And now that Jing’er has caused such a scandal, who do you expect me to find to marry her?”
General Yun was at a loss for words.
Yun Si Yu, who had been waiting for this opportunity, immediately said, “I actually have someone in mind. When Prince Yu came to my birthday banquet yesterday, he happened to see a portrait of my elder sister and was utterly captivated.”
“He said he would do whatever it takes to win my elder sister’s heart. I think, since Prince Yu adores my elder sister so much, he probably won’t mind.”
Hearing the words “Prince Yu,” both General Yun and Madam Yun were stunned.
“Mother!” Yun Mu Jing cried out in agitation. “You once warned Second Sister to stay far away from Prince Yu, and you even called him a scoundrel.”
“You couldn’t bear to marry Second Sister to Prince Yu, so how can you have the heart… to marry me to him!”
She—she would die if she married Prince Yu!
Prince Yu might not care about her reputation, but could he not care about her chastity?
Her father and mother didn’t know what had happened between her and His Highness… If she were to marry, and Prince Yu discovered she was not a virgin, given his temperament, there was no way he would let her off easy!
Outside, Mo Han Zhao’s expression also changed slightly upon hearing this.
Yun Si Yu should know better than anyone what kind of person Prince Yu was. How could she even suggest marrying Yun Mu Jing to Mo Yu?
Madam Yun frowned and said, “Then tomorrow… I’ll personally make a trip to Prince Yu’s residence.”
“Mother!”
Yun Mu Jing stared at Madam Yun in disbelief. Her mother, who knew full well that she would suffer terribly in Prince Yu’s hands, was still willing to throw her into a pit of fire for Yun Si Yu’s sake!
“Father!” Yun Mu Jing looked at General Yun as if grasping at her last straw, her voice trembling. “I don’t want to marry Prince Yu.”
General Yun looked at Yun Mu Jing with disdain. “You don’t want to? Then why didn’t you think of your sister when you were having a secret tryst with that wild man!”
“Your sister is going to marry the Crown Prince. Can that wild man of yours possibly compare to the Crown Prince?”
Yun Mu Jing’s already bloodless face turned two shades paler, as if she would shatter in the next second.
“Fine! This matter is settled!” General Yun, turning a blind eye, waved his hand. “Men, lock the Eldest Miss in the Ancestral Hall. Make her copy the Female Virtues. She is not to be let out until she has finished fifty copies.”
Yun Mu Jing stood there in a daze. It wasn’t until Granny Li grabbed her by the shoulder and forcibly pulled her up that she followed her away, lifelessly.
When Mo Han Zhao saw Yun Mu Jing being led away by Granny Li, he quickly followed.
“Oof!” Granny Li shoved Yun Mu Jing into the Ancestral Hall. Losing her balance, she tumbled to the ground, and a tearing pain shot through her body as her injuries were aggravated.
Tears welled in her eyes. Biting her lip in grievance, she crawled to the table, and her small, delicate hands began to slowly grind the ink.
Crack—
Before long, a roof tile was lifted, and a dark figure dropped down from the eaves.
Yun Mu Jing hastily looked up, her eyes meeting Mo Han Zhao’s guilt-ridden gaze.
“I heard everything from outside the hall. I’m sorry.” Mo Han Zhao slowly approached Yun Mu Jing and knelt down. Looking at her scarf-wrapped neck, he slowly reached out his hand.
“Don’t!”
Unexpectedly, Yun Mu Jing reacted like a startled bird, recoiling sharply.
Her subconscious, defensive action pierced Mo Han Zhao’s heart. He withdrew his hand that was suspended in mid-air and tried to make his tone as gentle as possible. “I was impulsive earlier. Tell me what happened. I will listen to your explanation.”
Feeling Mo Han Zhao’s gentleness, all of Yun Mu Jing’s grievances poured out like a flood.
“They don’t know what happened between me and Your Highness last night,” Yun Mu Jing said, her throat thick with sobs. “From what Father said, it seems a servant must have seen me helping Your Highness back to the courtyard last night and assumed I was having a secret tryst with an outsider in the rear garden.”
“It’s my fault. In my haste, and with the poor visibility at night, I didn’t see anyone nearby.”
“The servant spread the news, and my father and mother found out. They think I’m indecent… They say I’ve disgraced Second Sister and the Yun Family.”
At this point, Yun Mu Jing’s voice grew quieter, laced with a faint, broken sob. “But I didn’t. I really didn’t expose Your Highness. I promised you I wouldn’t go back on my word.”
Mo Han Zhao’s body trembled. Seeing Yun Mu Jing crying so hard she could barely breathe, his heart filled with guilt and pain.
In just one short morning, Yun Mu Jing had suffered so many grievances.
How much had her frail shoulders borne? And all of this was because of him.
Yun Mu Jing could have told the whole truth. If she had, she wouldn’t have been punished; she might have even gotten everything she wanted.
But she didn’t. She held fast to her so-called promise, preferring to be misunderstood.
Yun Mu Jing had done so much to help him, and what had he done? Instead of compensating her, he had wrongly accused her without distinguishing right from wrong and had even choked her.
It was truly…
Yun Mu Jing’s tears fell, drop by drop, and the only sound in the Ancestral Hall was her soft sobbing.
Seeing her like this, Mo Han Zhao wanted to comfort her, but before he could speak, he heard her add in a low, unconfident voice.
“I wasn’t the one who administered the poison… It wasn’t me. Can you believe me?”
Mo Han Zhao was taken aback. He had thought she was crying because she blamed him. It turned out she was crying because she couldn’t prove her innocence in this matter.
She simply felt powerless.
“I believe you. Don’t cry, I will investigate this thoroughly.” Mo Han Zhao took out his personal handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, an irrepressible look of pity appearing on his handsome face.
It was the first time he had ever met a woman with a heart so pure she was almost devoid of a temper.
It was as if, in her eyes, the world was full of good people, and if a good person got angry, it must be her fault.
If she encountered someone with ill intentions, wouldn’t she be bullied to death in the future? Mo Han Zhao sighed deeply. “Yun Mu Jing, you are the Eldest Miss of the Yun Family. You should be a little tougher.”
Hearing this, Yun Mu Jing stopped crying and raised her eyes to meet Mo Han Zhao’s gaze. But after just a moment, she quickly lowered her head and said, “In the Yun Family… no one treats me as the Eldest Miss. Not even the servants.”
“What?”
Yun Mu Jing’s voice was a little quiet, and Mo Han Zhao thought he might have misheard.
She was the daughter of the Zhenguo Great General. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration for even the princesses in the palace to show her some respect. How could she be looked down upon by servants?