Thatâs what little Shishu told me to say. I really didnât want to say it. Itâs true. Iâll be too embarrassed to say such neauseating words out loud.
Laughter sounded in the palace hall. Everyone was used to Shangguan LingRan behaving unscrupulously. His words were very much in line with his personality.
After the laughter, most people felt pity for Zi You. But there were some people who took joy in her misfortune and some people were jealous of and hated Zi You.
For example, Taizi, Third Wangzi, and the Emperorâs eyes were like a poisonous snakesâ as they looked at Yi He (Shangguan LingRan). They hated that they couldnât rush over and devour Shangguan LingRan.
Wang Yiping looked contemptuous. She was thinking, âHaha...... I was wondering what kind of excellent man youâll find. So, heâs a dandy and an idiot. And you want some âone person for one lifetime.â Youâll probably have to call those prostitutes âsisterâ from now on.â
Yu daren was the most depressed right now! One of his most outstanding daughters was reprimanded by the Emperor because of Shangguan Lingluoâs matter. She was now seventeen years old, but no one proposed marriage yet. Even those poor scholars didnât want her.
Now, this younger daughter whom he pinned high hopes on was even more miserable. He was afraid that even if she married into Duke Yongnan fu, she wouldnât end up well. She would be a disdained master.
Not to mention, Zhao HongXiang was already demoted to be a commoner. Not only was it impossible for a son-in-law like this to help him in the future, but he might even implicate him.
So, right now, he could only harden his heart and sever his and Lanxuanâs father-daughter relationship. A daughter was a pawn used to further his own interests. Once she lost this ability, she was useless. You couldnât blame him being ruthless. You could only blame her for her presposterous actions!
The Empress looked at Zi You and Shangguan LingRan flirting like a couple. She was so angry that she couldnât help but glare fiercely at Taizi.
She scolded her son fiercely in her heart. Idiot! I told you to take care of Shangguan LingRan earlier. But you said that heâs not a threat. Now, look. Itâs a big problem if he marries Mu Zi You! I, She Fengrong, has been shrewd my whole life. How can I give birth to such a fool?!
The Empress looked at her son and then at the Emperor. She was even angrier. This stupid man only knows how to be in a womanâs arms all day long and make merry. He just thinks about his imperial power without having any strategies at all.
Mu Zi You is so powerful now. Arenât you worried?
She saw that the Emperor and Taizi werenât planning on doing anything to Zi You. Forget it. She couldnât count on these two darned men! She had to do it herself and find a way to get rid of the big problem Mu Zi You.
Actually, this celebration banquet was originally a Hongmen Banquet.*** The Emperor was going to be instigated by the Empress and We Jieyu regardless of Taiziâs opposition to make trouble for Mu Zi You, Old General Mu, and Mu YingYi.
[Hongmen Banquet = a banquet set up with the intentions of murdering a guest; from a historical event in 206 BC when future Emperor Liu Bang escaped a murder attempt by Xiang Yu]
Sixty experts were hidden on both sides of the hall and were ready to rush in at any time to assassinate Mu Zi You, Old General Mu, and Mu YingYi. But the Emperor had completely forgotten about this matter. He didnât want to target Mu Zi You and the others anymore.
The Empress thought about the sign that they had agreed on. The sign was a cup breaking. So, she took advantage when the Emperor and the Empress Dowager were admiring the plum blossom painting to throw a cup to the floor.
The sixty experts heard the cup landing on the floor and waited for their leader to give orders.
But the leader was in a difficult spot as he scratched his head. What was going on? What did the Emperor mean? Didnât they agree that the Emperor would throw a cup? The cup fell, but it was the Empress who threw it. So, should they still rush in or not?
The leader didnât give the order. The Emperor heard the sound of the cup breaking and sobered. Thatâs right. There were sixty experts on both sides of the palace hall to kill Mu Junyuan, his son, and Mu Zi You.
However, the Emperor had changed his mind. He didnât want to kill them now. Why didnât this darned Empress listen to him and threw the cup of her own accord?
The Emperor glared fiercely at the Empress. He called Eunuch Yu over and whispered to him.
Eunuch Yu quickly trotted over to stop those experts.
A sharp light flashed in Zi Youâs eyes. She and Shangguan LingRan already knew that there were assassins waiting to ambush them on both sides of the palace hall.
However, they didnât put them in their eyes. Letâs not mention sixty experts. They wouldnât be bothered even if it was 600 or 6,000 experts.
So, they chatted and laughed and didnât take those people seriously. If Xuanwu Emperor smartened up and didnât do anything stupid, he could live another day or two. But if he wanted to die today, they would fulfill his wish.
It seemed that Xuanwu Emperor had changed his mind. Let him live a few more days then.
In the palace hall, cups clinked and laughter sounded, which concealed all the schemes.
Even when the people there talked about Zhao HongXiang, Yu Lanxuan, and Wu Jieyu, it was like they were talking about clowns.
In the desperate battle, Zi You and Shangguan LingRan used their intelligence and spiritual powers to shock everyone and win.
After the banquet ended, Mu YingRui went to look for Zi You in the Generalâs Manor. He asked incredulously, âYouâer, tell me the truth. Is your mother really a goddess?â
Zi You looked mockingly at him and sneered. âDo you want mother to come over and slap you a few more times?â
Mu YingRuiâs face instantly turned red like a monkeyâs butt. After a while, he asked softly, âIs your stepmotherâs child really a deformed fetus?â
Zi You sneered again. âIf you donât believe me, wait until she gives birth. Youâll understand everything then.â
âBut...... But how did it happen?â Mu YingRui wanted a son. He wanted one until he was about to go crazy. But why didnât things go according to his wishes?
This time, Zi Youâs attitude was very good. She patiently answered him. But her words were like a dagger stabbing in his heart and being pulled out. Every stab was dripping with blood. âShe was supposed to be pregnant with twins, but the child became deformed.â
âWhy is it deformed?â
âThereâs only one reason. The child is the offspring of relatives. The offspring of siblings or cousins will cause deformities. If Iâm not wrong, this child isnât yours, father. Itâs her half-brotherâs.â
Because of Zi Youâs words, Mu YingRuiâs face changed from ashen to green and finally purple.
Zi You could hear the sounds of his teeth gnashing. Sure enough, Mu YingRui said, âThat slut! I want to get rid of that b*stard! Iâm going to kill them!â
âNo.â Zi You said slowly, âShe wonât be reconciled if you get rid of the child now. You know better than me how cunning Nee Wang is. You should wait until you have evidence of her affair with her brother. It wonât be too late for you to make a move then. But donât wait too long, father.â
Indeed, he didnât need to wait for long. The next day, while Zi You was treating patients in the free medical clinic, Weishali reported, âMaster, Nee Wang returned to her maiden family.â
Zi You slightly sneered. It seemed that Wang Yiping couldnât sit still anymore. She had heard what Zi You said last night. Although she wasnât very convinced, she still had doubts. That was why she went to find Wang Shengmin and her yiniang mother.
Zi You slowly instructed, âContinue to monitor.â
Then she got up and went into her changing room. She disguised herself as female medical team member Huayun and said to Muling, âSee patients for me. Iâm going out.â
âYes, Master,â Muling replied. They quickly exchanged places.
Soon, Zi You, disguised as Huayun, got into a horse carriage and galloped towards the Generalâs Manor.
No one noticed any of this. The free medical clinic was full of patients. The fact that Zi You was the descendant of a goddess had soon spread throughout all of the capital.
The people who wanted to see a doctor almost reached the Palace when they lined up. It could only be described as a vast sea of people.
The cityâs general had no other choice but to dispatch soldiers here to maintain order.
They heard that Zi You would only see ten patients per day. A lot of official and noble households sent her invitation cards and were willing to pay more if she would visit them.
Zi You warned the servants in the fu, âHand all the invitation cards to me. Youâre not allowed to privately accept any money. If I find out, you will be flogged to death!â
The servants didnât have that courage, but Mu YingRui dared to. He used the excuse that his father was ill, so he stayed at home.
He looked at all the invitation cards and money sent to invite Zi You and didnât care about his wife making him a cuckold anymore. He accepted everything and patted his chest to make a guarantee. âDonât worry. Iâll tell Youâer to go over to your fu.â
Soon, he accepted more than 10,000 silvers. Just as he was being happy, Zi You returned.
Zi You heard the doorman say, âThe servants wanted to return the invitation cards and money, but First Laoye refused and accepted all the invitation cards and money.â
Zi You waved to Shiyun and Rong Yunhe. âReturn all the invitation cards and money and apologize to everyone.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Then she went to Mu YingRuiâs study. She looked at his greedy eyes and him counting money and slapped her hand down on a table angrily. She shouted, âFather, youâve gone too far! How dare you accept this money? Rong Yunhe, Shiyun, take all the invitation cards and money away.â
Rong Yunhe and Shiyun went over to take the money. Mu YingRuiâs hands wrapped around it and didnât let them take it. Even his body was splayed over the table. âAre you stupid, Youâer? If you donât accept this money, then arenât you working for nothing? You have to treat them sooner or later anyway. If you ask me, why go to the whatever free medical clinic? Why do you bother with those poor people?â
Even Shiyun looked contemptuous at his greedy appearance.
Zi You was too lazy to talk to him. She had Shiyun and Rong Yunhe take the invitation cards and money away. Then she said to Mu YingRui, âYou still have the heart to think about money? Your wife went to her maiden family to have a tryst with her brother. Youâre still not going to take a look?â