Chapter 95: Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Her provoking demeanor made Mu Heng could not help but feel an urge to tease her out of affection. He reached out to pinch the cheek of his mischievous wife, who could even come up with a severing ties situation. Yet, his face was filled with joy, a stark contrast to when he first heard that their engagement had not been canceled.
For such a delicate matter, Mu Heng admired Yueqian quite a lot.
"E... Eldest Young Miss, I believe there must be some misunderstanding here. I... I will return to report this to you later," the squad leader widened his eyes at the sight of the playful interaction.
He was one of the most skeptical about the idea that Yueqian could have a side that allowed someone to pinch her cheek playfully. Even with the Young General, whom she repeatedly claimed to love deeply, the distance between them was always more than an arm’s length.
If Yueqian said she loved the Young General so much in the past, wouldn’t this be a deep love that consumes the heavens?
Above all, now that Miss Qin had declared she was no longer a Qin family member, his pretext for conveying the general’s orders was gone. This was a significant issue, and he needed to report it as soon as possible. Considering this problem and the Young General’s intentions...
A low-ranking squad leader like him didn’t want to imagine facing the Young General’s wrath.
As soon as he finished speaking, the squad leader, who had only been ordered to spread the news that the engagement between the Young General and the Eldest Young Miss Qin was still valid, hurriedly retreated.
Yueqian responded to him clearly and told the villagers this side of information. This served as a public announcement of her severed ties with the Qin family. The people here were villagers, though did not know much information, they were not fools. They understood the gravity of a woman being disowned by her family.
Even for something as simple as separating households, they still had to inform the village leader, submit documents to the authorities, and turn it into a big deal. After separating, they could no longer cause trouble for each other, making it an important matter.
And for those in the city who had been removed from the family registry, wasn’t that an even bigger issue?
Moreover, Yueqian’s purpose in speaking was not to make these villagers understand. She merely wanted them to know that she no longer had any commitments to anyone else. She had only one husband, Mu Heng, and from now on, anyone who pressured or caused trouble for her did so out of misunderstanding. Yueqian had never intended to return.
The real purpose of Yueqian’s words now was entirely for the Young General and the Qin family!
After tonight, the Young General would have to deal with the consequences of his actions. Although accepting a concubine into the household was not a big deal, accepting a concubine while on a mission, and with Liu Sun coming all the way here to distribute food aid, only to be found the next morning sleeping together as if they were husband and wife—this would definitely impact their reputation.
Even the Young General, who had received a grand royal decree, would be tarnishing the emperor’s reputation with this scandal. Thus, he needed to handle this properly, and he might even face punishment. As for Liu Sun, she had to quickly restore her reputation, build her image, and deal with the people within the Young General’s manor. These two would be embroiled in chaos for quite some time.
Of course, Yueqian orchestrated this outcome for them. She did not want to be involved with those people any longer by declaring that her commitment as his fiancée was null and void. She was no longer the eldest young miss of the Qin family. Therefore, they could not bring her into their household and ruin her reputation just to draw attention to her.
If she was still listed as a member of the Qin family, if she was still the Eldest Young Miss Qin, those people would have the power to force her back to the Qin Manor and marry the Young General.
Up until now, Yueqian hadn’t mentioned this because she didn’t want them to realize it in advance. Otherwise, the Qin family, who had just thought of it, and the Young General, who had come to know of this, might try to bring her back as a member of the Qin family first.
However, now it was time for Yueqian to speak out because even if they tried to reinstate her as a member of the Qin family, the villagers and nobles would immediately recognize that they were using Yueqian as a scapegoat for public sentiment. Therefore, their plan would not succeed and might even seem more despicable.
In the eyes of the villagers, they would think, "To restore the reputation of the Young General and his lover, they are willing to smear Yueqian." After that, people would feel some sympathy for her and would press even harder on the scandal involving the Young General and Liu Sun.
Moreover, the Qin family, who valued their reputation above all else, would seize the opportunity to take a breather after hearing about the Young General’s improper conduct. They wouldn’t force Yueqian back and wouldn’t be pressured during that time.
If they were smart enough, they would begin to build their reputation, using the fact that they had cut ties with Yueqian to their advantage. Of course, Yueqian knew they were smart enough to do just that.
Otherwise, according to the original novel, they wouldn’t have managed to quiet things down so quickly after exiling Yueqian.
Clap. Clap.
"Stop concerning yourselves with my affairs and focus on finding your own solutions," Yueqian clapped her hands to snap the people out of their focus on her.
Her life and her issues weren’t that interesting. What was interesting now was what they would have to face next. Naturally, Yueqian was very interested as well, because if all these villagers were slaughtered, her Mu Heng probably wouldn’t survive either.
After this, no matter how meticulously she plans, the mistakes Mu Tian made will render all her efforts meaningless.
"T... That’s true," the village leader was the first to regain his composure. He turned back to continue the discussion.
"Previously, someone suggested that we assist the soldiers in searching for the bandits to show that we are not in league with them. However, we must also consider that the soldiers might no longer trust us. So, what should we do next?" He summarized quickly. The villagers there began to share their opinions.
"In that case, we shouldn’t go with the soldiers. We should hunt the bandits ourselves. If we catch them, we can hand them over to the soldiers. How about that?"
"Won’t the soldiers think we planned this ourselves?"
"True, we must go with them, let them see with their own eyes."
"And if they see it and still don’t believe us, thinking we are planning to harm them, then what?"
People continued to voice their opinions. As interesting as the matters of Yueqian and the Young General were, they weren’t as important as their own lives.
"So, do we have any way out, or are we really going to die this time?" As the arguments went back and forth, one villager could no longer bear it. A middle-aged woman collapsed, crying in exhaustion.
The more she listened to the arguing, the more hopeless she felt.
Her sobs made everyone feel despondent. The villagers’ voices gradually fell silent. No matter how much they argued, they felt like there was no way out.
"If... If it weren’t for Mu Tian..." one woman said. She never liked Mu Tian, and now she despised her even more. If Mu Tian had to be the reason she and her family suffered...
"Stop bringing that up."
"But if it wasn’t for her, would we face this situation? What’s wrong with blaming her?"
"That’s not wrong, but right now we should be helping each other find a way out."
"And do you have any ideas? If you can think of a way out, then go ahead. I can’t think of anything, do you understand? I can’t figure out any way for us to survive! Showing that we’re not with the bandits—who would believe that? If we need proof, what proof can we offer?! Sob, sob. I can’t believe this is really happening. If anything happens to me and my children, I will curse the Mu family!"
"Y... You people!" Mu Xian, who was being pointed at, was so startled that he shook. His elderly body was not in good state, and hearing these curses only added to his stress.
"Alright, alright. I think that’s enough for today. Everyone is struggling to find a solution, so let’s disperse for now. Continuing this discussion will only lead to more pointless arguments," the village leader said. He realized that no one could think of any ideas at this point.
The people were already in a state of despair. When trouble looms, people’s true nature tends to show, disregarding others’ feelings or the facts.
In this situation, they blamed everything on the Mu family, even though the Mu family did not relate to Mu Tian. She was the one who committed the crime, not the entire Mu family. Moreover, they were also at risk of dying.
If he let this continue, the village leader knew it would lead to internal conflict and nothing but division. He couldn’t let that happen. At the very least, in this crisis, the villagers needed to stay united. Otherwise, someone might exploit this division, making things even worse.
Ultimately, they couldn’t come up with the best solution today. As it grew dark, they should return to their homes, leaving the Mu family behind. They couldn’t go anywhere. If the villagers were at risk of being falsely accused and killed, the Mu family was certainly the group that would die first.
"Finish your meal and go rest for now. Tomorrow might bring better ideas." Yueqian turned to the Mu family after seeing off the guests. She had already asked the children to prepare some food. Even though it was simple, it was great for the Mu family at this moment.
If it weren’t for the incident with Mu Tian and the threat of death hanging over them, they might have enjoyed these delicious meals more.
It didn’t take long to finish dinner before Mu Heng told them to leave. Though Grandfather Mu and Grandmother Zhu were reluctant to go, staying with Mu Heng and Yueqian made them feel inexplicably safe.
After everyone had left, the couple didn’t go to bed right away. They continued discussing the matter, as it concerned Mu Heng. If they made a single misstep, Mu Heng could be attacked.
"Do you think Mu Tian really harmed the soldiers?" Mu Heng asked as he lay holding his beautiful wife by the waist. In the quiet of the night, with Mu Tian’s faint cries echoing, the atmosphere was slightly eerie."You probably think the same as I do. Originally, it shouldn’t have been Mu Tian, but she likely became a victim of this situation due to her own greed," Yueqian replied, shaking her head, feeling tired of that woman. She constantly got herself into trouble, and now she had caused a major incident.
