It was not very wise of Mdm Chen to take Yu Sirong around so flagrantly after what happened yesterday. As such, they had stood outside the crowd and did not draw much attention. As such, they had not seen how Wang Yun had thought Mo Lan was Mo Xuetong and failed at his plot against Mo Xuetong. They were hating Wang Yun for being so useless when Yu Sirong was suddenly dragged into the matter. How could she still stay calm? She wrenched herself out of Mdm Chen’s grasp and pushed the people around her aside, charging into the crowd.
She pointed at Wang Yun and scolded madly, “Who is the one who is giving you instructions to frame me like this.”
Her face was injured and her hair was messy. She was so angry that she had lost her mind. Her eyes were wild and she looked as if she was going to tear Wang Yun apart. This scared some of the madams and young ladies. Many of them backed away, looking at her in disdain. No matter what, Yu Sirong did not look at all like a noble lady.
“It seems like it’s true. Look at how worried she is…”
“It’s probably true. Otherwise…why would that be in his hands!”
“The Yu family really has bad breeding to have such a daughter!”
“They’re already like this when they just arrived in the capital. What would they do in the future…”
Yu Sirong seemed to shake with anger as she heard the mocking laughter around her. “I didn’t, I didn’t, it’s not me!” She shook her head wildly and tried to defend herself. However, to the crowd, she only looked guiltier.
There were not many who believed that she was innocent!
Mo Xuetong stood forward then and lifted her innocent and clear eyes. She looked wronged and gentle as she said helpfully, “I don’t believe that Miss Yu has anything to do with this person. Wang Yun’s statement is full of loopholes, so how can his words be trusted.”
She had been framed earlier but was still helping others. Her gentleness and graciousness made her even more well-liked. Even though she looked up fearfully, she was standing by Yu Sirong’s side with determination. Furthermore, Yu Sirong had tried to disfigure her yesterday. The crowd looked at the tiny girl with appreciation.
Miss Mo was indeed a noble lady. In comparison, the ferocious-looking Yu Sirong paled in comparison. She seemed like a shrew. She did not have the disposition of a noble lady and had lost her wits when she encountered a problem. There were many who looked down on her after what happened yesterday and today.
“Mo Xuetong, you slut. Why are you pretending to be a good person? Is it you again? You tried to get someone to ruin my reputation again.” Her disfigurement had already made Yu Sirong lose all her rationality. And after what happened today and looking at the looks of disdain cast at her, she was almost mad. How could she still remain calm? Her finger which was pointing at Wang Yun’s face shifted to pointing at Mo Xuetong’s face as she yelled at her loudly.
She was furious and felt hot and cold. She could not be bothered to be gracious and only wanted to tear apart the gentleness on Mo Xuetong’s face for everyone to see her true self. Her features were twisted in her anger and her face was wrapped up in bandages. Her terrifying appearance scared a few of the noble ladies and they backed away.
“Who is this? And Miss Yu, why are you still so fierce after doing something like that with other men.”
“I heard my cousin say that the Yu family were not very nice people in Cloud City. Someone even tried to introduce me to the First Son of the Yu family. Look at how they have taught their daughter, how can their son be any better? How dare a young lady still be so arrogant after having an affair with someone? The Yu family really doesn’t have much morals.”
“Her face was scratched yesterday, and she has lost all face today. No wonder she is worried. Who is she going to marry after this incident? She might as well marry that pathetic looking man. Anyway, she has been disfigured and has lost face. What else can she not do?”
Mo Xuetong had not yet spoken when a few other young ladies spoke up and helped her. They could not hide the look of disdain on their faces.
“Elder sisters, please don’t speak of Miss Yu like this. Despite what happened yesterday, it is just a small matter, but you must not speak of what happened today so casually. Miss Yu is my aunt’s family and my aunt has always had self-discipline. How could she have a niece like this? This must be a mistake and Miss Yu must definitely investigate carefully. How could we let a person like this ruin the reputation of First Miss Yu?”
Mo Xuetong looked up and said gently. Her voice was soft and her tone sincere. Her actions were elegant and charming and her appearance was innocent and beautiful. Her disposition and the sufferance in her tone made others feel as if they could relate to her and they could not help but pity her.
She had been framed yesterday and plotted against today. Yet, she was still speaking up for others. This graciousness and kindness was not something that an ordinary girl could possess. A woman like this, no matter her young age, was someone to admire! Everyone had already forgotten the bad rumors about her reputation that she had when she first came to the capital.
Wang Yun was really worried now. He was afraid he would be sent to the magistrate court. When he saw how everyone seemed to believe Mo Xuetong, he stood up and wrenched himself from the servants’ grasp, rushing up to Yu Sirong. He hugged her tightly in front of everyone and said agitatedly, “Sirong, I know that you are afraid. It’s alright, it’s alright. I was useless. I didn’t manage to succeed in dealing with Miss Mo. But I am willing to do anything for you.”
He was giving it his all this time. He hugged Yu Sirong tightly, not allowing her to struggle out of his grasp.
Yu Sirong was totally confused, angry, wronged and afraid! She was flustered! She despaired!
A strong emotion surged up Yu Sirong’s heart. She knew that it was very inappropriate for her to be in close contact with Wang Yun right now, which was why she struggled valiantly. She was angry and anxious. She wanted to escape Wang Yun’s embrace. She jumped up and down and scolded, “Shut up, let go. You’re speaking nonsense. I don’t know you. Mo Xuetong sent you to frame me.” She was so flustered that she spoke without thinking.
“Sirong, how can you say that? We met in Ruyu Teahouse in the east of the city thrice over the last few days. If you don’t believe me you can ask the servers at Ruyu Teahouse. We met in a private room and I saw more than one server then.” Wang Yun refused to let go. He thought of how he would die if he did not get the crowd to accept that they were having an affair and was very anxious. He would naturally say everything that he should not say right now.
They had indeed met at Ruyu Teahouse thrice. However, that was because Yu Sirong wanted to prepare Wang Yun to plot against Mo Xuetong. She was just bribing him and they were not truly having an affair. He was after all a failed scholar who had been thrown out and she would naturally not fall for him. She would only feel soiled even if she just looked at him.
However, Wang Yun was speaking the truth. Others would be able to ascertain that they had met if they checked and they would not be able to tell the reason for their meeting.
Yu Sirong opened her mouth but was speechless.
Mdm Chen had squeezed through the crowd and the two female servants behind her pulled Wang Yu away, helping Yu Sirong out.
The scene and what Wang Yun had said convinced the few people who were still suspicious. Wang Yun had spoken so confidently, he was probably telling the truth. When they saw how Yu Sirong was speechless, they all felt that Wang Yun had spoken the truth. They all felt disgusted when they thought of how Yu Sirong had had an affair with a man like this and had done something so shameless but was trying to frame others. The crowd backed away from her.
“Come, take this man away. This fuss is inappropriate.” Mdm Qin went up to Mo Xuetong and pulled on her hand, putting Mo Xuetong behind her protectively. Then, she turned around and looked at Mdm Chen icily and said frostily, “Mdm Chen, Tong’er is a good child and I don’t know how she offended you all. Your First Miss is a capable one and our Xuan’er is not worthy of her. From today on, do not bring up your noble First Miss together with Xuan’er. Our Qin family is not worthy of the Yu family.”
She had spoken sharply and had brought a stop to Mdm Yu’s thoughts. Mdm Qin had effectively stopped not only Yu Sirong but also all daughters of the Yu family from marrying into the Qin family. No matter whether Yu Sirong was the one who had planned this, Mdm Qin had already put an end to the relationship between both families.
Everyone could see clearly after the fuss today that Mo Xuetong was innocent. There was also the scandal between Yu Sirong and Wang Yun. According to the laws of Great Qin, what would follow next was business between the two families and had nothing to do with anyone else. As such, Mdm Qin pulled Mo Xuetong away angrily after she said her piece.
Mdm Yu who was standing behind her hesitated. She glanced at Yu Sirong who was stunned and Mdm Chen, who looked very much ashamed. Then, she gritted her teeth and followed Mdm Qin, leaving the place. She was firstly the matriarch of the Qin family before she was a daughter of the Yu family. A daughter who was married out was like water that had been thrown out. If she continued standing there, she would only be splashed by the dirty water. So she did not dare to stay.
“Aunt, Aunt…” Yu Sirong cried out resentfully behind her. Mdm Yu paused but did not stop. Then, she hurried after Mdm Qin and left the place. She still had a son and she could not drag his reputation down.
The Madams and young ladies present looked at Mdm Chen and Yu Sirong coldly when they saw Mdm Qin leaving. They looked at them in disdain and then left.
“Mother, mother! Mother, send someone to beat that slut to death. Beat her to death.” Mdm Qin’s words rang in her ears. Yu Sirong was completely stunned. She screamed, out of control, when she regained her senses. This was all Mo Xuetong’s fault. She had been disfigured because of her and her reputation had been besmirched because of her. She could not marry her cousin because of her. How could Yu Sirong bear this shame?
She was going to kill her. She was going to kill the woman who had hurt her!
“Slap!” A heavy slap landed on Yu Sirong’s face on where her wound was. Fresh blood flowed. Yu Sirong held her hand against her face subconsciously, losing all color in her face.
Yu Sirong was still screaming after such an embarrassment without regard for their reputation. Mdm Chen was so angry that she was shaking from head to toe. She slapped Yu Sirong viciously and ordered people to gag her and drag her home. She was too embarrassed to stay there and immediately ordered for a carriage and headed home.
Wang Yun saw that no one was paying attention to him. His mind whirled and he hurried out. However, before he could get too far, someone hit him heavily on his head and everything went black. He slumped down and did not have a chance to even make a sound before he fainted.
Mo Xuetong felt dizzy when she left Mdm Qin and returned to her room. She had not felt dizzy earlier during the argument. But she was covered in cold sweat right now. She held on to Mo Lan’s shoulders and shut her eyes. She felt slightly dizzy and weak. The injuries on her neck and arms burned with pain.
“Miss, do you feel unwell?” Mo Lan helped her to sit down and did not ask anything else but showed concern for her health. She had watched her mistress over the past few days and she knew that her mistress was no longer weak or useless. She thought long and hard with every step she took. Mo Lan knew that her mistress would naturally tell her what she needed to know and she would not ask about things that she should not know about.
Mo Xuetong shook her head and shut her eyes tiredly. She said, “You can go, I will rest for a while!”
She truly felt tired. She had been plotted against again and again after her rebirth and she was afraid of making the wrong move at every step. Those people were really vicious and would not rest until she was destroyed. She felt physically and mentally exhausted as she leaned back into the couch!
Mo Lan only felt heartache when she looked at her mistress’ weak and pale face. Then, she left unhurriedly.
She still felt heartache for her mistress even though her mistress was now mature and intelligent. Her mistress was only 13. If Madam was still around, would her mistress need to depend on herself so much! With Madam’s protection, her mistress would still be weak.
“What’s the matter? Are you too into character and can’t get out of character?” A mocking voice could be heard from the side. The voice was lazy and teasing. It was a person whom she could not figure out.
This person was really hard to get rid of. But it was someone she did not dare to offend. Mo Xuetong sighed softly and turned to the other side!
