Old General Mu showed no mercy at all. For a traitor who had betrayed his master, death was too good for him!
With one kick, he sent the two of them flying two or three meters away.
They landed right in front of Old Madam An!
“My son!”
Old Madam An hurriedly helped her son to his feet. Her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes glared at Old General Mu as though they had been dipped in poison.
“Old Man Mu, what do you think you’re doing? My son is a third-rank Hanlin Academy scholar, and His Majesty himself has praised him! How dare you humiliate my son like this?”
Old Madam An was consumed with fury. The pearl hairpins and earrings on her head jingled loudly, making her look like a nouveau riche.
The jewels covering her from head to toe made her resemble a walking treasure chest.
The old hag wore a sapphire-blue brocade robe. The auspicious-cloud embroidery on it had been stitched, bit by bit, by Madam Mu herself.
And all of it had been part of her daughter’s dowry!
The kingfisher-feather filigree headdress on her head had been specially commissioned by Old General Mu at great expense for his daughter back then, and the jewels set into it were extraordinarily valuable.
Then there was the brocade itself. It had been bestowed upon them by the Emperor, and there were only two bolts of it in the entire capital.
Blue brocade was the rarest of all, especially brocade of such excellent quality. It was tribute fabric.
Everything the Emperor had bestowed upon him, he had given to his daughter to serve as her dowry and support.
“How does it matter if I humiliate him? Not only will I humiliate him—come here! Strip this old hag of everything she’s wearing!”
The moment Old General Mu spoke, the two older female servants who had once attended Madam Mu exchanged a glance and rushed forward.
“Stop! You stop! How dare you!”
【Ah… My Maternal Grandfather is so fierce and mighty! Maternal Grandfather is amazing!】
Old General Mu staggered and nearly fell.
He seemed to have heard a soft, babyish voice.
But apart from this old hag, where could there possibly be a child?
Old General Mu blinked his tiger eyes, remaining stunned for quite some time.
【Ah, what a pity. My mighty Maternal Grandfather actually… actually…】
Madam Mu’s heart tightened, and she pricked up her ears to listen carefully.
Yet in the next instant, she heard the familiar sound of snoring.
Perhaps because the child had only just been born, she kept falling asleep at the slightest provocation. She would speak only halfway through a sentence, leaving the listener unbearably curious!
Madam Mu sensed that her father had stopped moving and gave a light cough.
Old General Mu felt as though a cat had scratched at his heart.
He could neither scratch it nor catch it, and the sensation was maddeningly uncomfortable.
“Ah… Father-in-law, how can you humiliate my widowed mother like this? You’re taking my wife and child away! Even if you go before His Majesty, you’ll still be in the wrong!” An Taidi roared furiously.
He rushed over and hugged Old General Mu’s leg tightly.
“Good heavens, are all of you dead? Hurry and drive these old women out!”
After being bullied by the two servants, Old Madam An finally came back to her senses from her shock.
Mu Niannian, who had just fallen asleep, was instantly jolted awake by An Taidi’s anguished scream.
The Little Milk Dumpling was furious. She had almost eaten the chicken leg.
She had been just a tiny bit away from it! The chicken leg had already reached her mouth, but An Taidi’s roar had made it disappear.
Niannian was so angry!
【Maternal Grandfather, kick him in the chest, kick him in the face, kick him in his little… chick…】
Old General Mu heard that voice again.
It was soft and adorable, exactly as cute as his daughter had been when she was little.
But no matter how many times he looked around, he could not find its source.
Just then, Madam Mu, who was in her father’s arms, saw that he had stopped moving and could not help giving another soft cough.
Old General Mu’s expression changed instantly. He put the matter out of his mind. He must have hallucinated after traveling for so many days!
His daughter had only just given birth, yet this dog of a man had bullied her.
And now he was even clinging to his leg and refusing to let him leave.
His daughter had just finished giving birth. How could she possibly withstand all this?
“Bang!”
The old man raised his foot and kicked An Taidi away. Then he looked toward Old Madam An, his eyes full of disdain.
“Hmph. A worthless creature who relies on his daughter-in-law’s dowry for everything he eats, wears, and uses. I’d like to ask His Majesty what kind of logic this is.”
“An Taidi, I’ll come to inventory my daughter’s dowry in three days. If even one item is missing, I’ll chop off one of your fingers. Count it together with your three legs—how many do you have left?”
After Old General Mu finished speaking domineeringly, he spat a mouthful of thick phlegm toward An Taidi.
“Hmph… Ptui… You piece of dog crap!”
Cradling his daughter, Old General Mu swaggered out of the An household.
He had just been about to get into the carriage when that soft, babyish voice reached his ears again.
【Maternal Grandfather, don’t take the carriage. Walk all the way back like this and stir up public opinion!】
【My mother is clearly such a wonderful person, but this whole family tells everyone that she’s a shrew. They even say that she’s jealous and fails to show filial respect to her mother-in-law!】
【That dog of a man kneels before my beautiful mother and begs her forgiveness every time he does something wrong. But the moment he turns around, he pretends that my mother bullied him and spreads rumors everywhere that she made him kneel!】
Listening to that soft, babyish voice, Old General Mu’s expression darkened as he looked at his daughter, who was wrapped tightly in his arms.
He felt both distressed and furious!
That foolish girl was so fierce with him, yet so obedient to that dog of a man. How could she listen to him so willingly? She truly had no sense at all!
This soft, babyish voice should belong to his granddaughter!
If his daughter knew what the little girl was thinking, she would probably be even more heartbroken.
Thus, Old General Mu carried his daughter and walked step by step toward the General’s Residence.
His face still bore many wounds that had not healed.
Even through the torn armor on his back, one could see scar after scar, crisscrossing over his flesh.
The people of the capital could not help stopping to stare.
Before long, both sides of the road were packed with people. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that the entire city had turned out.
Caiyun followed beside her mistress. At first, she was somewhat ill at ease.
But when she heard what everyone was saying, her expression turned even uglier.
“No! That isn’t true! Our Madam is the best person in the world!”
Caiyun’s nose burned, and tears streamed down her face.
At that moment, Mu Niannian became angry as well!
Those voices entered her ears, and the little girl felt that all those people deserved to be sent to the Hell of the Unsewn Tongue!
【Nonsense! You’re all talking nonsense! My mother is the best mother in the world!】
【I’m so angry…】
Mu Niannian wailed angrily, and only then did everyone realize that something was wrong.
The little girl grabbed hold of the cloak.
Her tiny hand actually tore the cloak in half in one pull.
In the next instant, everyone saw Madam Mu wearing nothing but coarse cloth garments.
Mu Niannian, nestled in Madam Mu’s arms, was wrapped in a woman’s clothing.
Madam Mu was terribly thin, looking nothing like a woman who had just given birth.
Her face was deathly pale. She looked even more like a ghost than a ghost itself!
“Wasn’t Madam Mu once the most beautiful woman in the capital? Why does she look like a wisp of a wandering spirit?” one scholar muttered despite himself.
“Madam Mu truly was the most beautiful woman in the capital back then!”