The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 154 - 153

Chapter 153

Meanwhile, on another side of the inner palace, the sounds of sobbing and crying echoed intermittently from within the Empress Dowager’s residence. Wan Ningtong, heartbroken by the events at today’s banquet, couldn’t help but weep in the presence of Empress Dowager, who was like a close elder relative to her.

"Even though our plans were going well, I never imagined that His Majesty...would issue such a decree. I can’t face anyone now,"

Wan Ningtong said with a trembling voice, tears slowly streaming down her face. The once strong image she had was now fragile beyond belief. Her eyes reflected a mix of resentment and sorrow.

The Emperor’s decree announced at the banquet was nothing short of a slap to her face in front of everyone. The entire capital knew she was the lady the Empress Dowager had prepared to be the future empress. If nothing went wrong, she was destined to become the mother of the nation. However, the Emperor’s decree at the banquet today shattered her heart into pieces.

"Tong’er, don’t be disheartened. Ai Jia didn’t expect things to turn out this way either. Perhaps we were too slow. If we had acted a little sooner, maybe our plan would have succeeded. That Mu family’s eldest young miss wouldn’t have been an obstacle in your path," the Empress Dowager consoled her gently.

To the Empress Dowager, Wan Ningtong was an obedient girl she cherished genuinely. Seeing her cry, when she had never done so before, stirred the Empress Dowager’s compassion. She reached out to gently pat the young woman’s shoulder to comfort her.

“What should I do now, Your Majesty? Do I really have to give up?”

Wan Ningtong asked through her sobs, her heart aching deeply. She didn’t want to give up at all. If she did, wouldn’t that mean her ten years of effort were all in vain...?

“Give up? How can that be? That woman is nothing compared to you. You have been preparing to be the mother of the nation since you were young, whereas Mu Qingxuan is just a country young miss who recently got lucky,” the Empress Dowager patted her head as she reminded her with a serious expression.

The Emperor already had enough power to counterbalance the Empress Dowager. If he married the Mu family, he would gain an advantage, which the Empress Dowager would never allow. The empress position had to be filled by someone she could control, to monitor the Emperor closely.

So, someone uncontrollable like Eldest Young Miss Mu shouldn’t even dream about it!

“There are still more than two years before Mu Qingxuan’s wedding. By then, who knows if she will still be alive or suitable to be the Empress...?”

The Empress Dowager spoke with a chilling tone, her eyes reflecting a menacing glint. She had decided to find a way to get rid of Eldest Young Miss Mu and hasten Shin Wang’s marriage to Lady Ping An as his primary consort, to secure an alliance with the Mu family before the Emperor could.

Mu Manor

After the Mu family’s carriage returned to the manor, Mu Cui Ming immediately went to the study to devise a plan to deal with the recent events. Meanwhile, the mother and daughter returned to their quarters. Upon arrival, Mu Luofei vented her frustration by destroying objects in a fit of rage. After a while, once her anger had somewhat subsided, she sat down next to her mother.

"I refuse to accept this! Why does that Mu Qingxuan always get everything? Why is it always her!?"

Mu Luofei spat out through gritted teeth, her eyes red with fury like a vicious demon’s. The thought of the shocking imperial decree announced at the banquet fueled her heart with anger and envy.

In the past, because she was a concubine’s daughter while the other was the principal wife’s daughter, she had to struggle to become the principal wife’s daughter, reaching a status equal to Mu Qingxuan. Later, the other became the eldest young miss of the Left Side Chancellor’s residence while she had to endure hardships outside. When she managed to return to the capital and was granted the title of Lady, she finally stood above Mu Qingxuan. But now, the other had become the future empress.

Why did fate always favor that wretched Mu Qingxuan?!

Why did she have to struggle alone for everything?!

"Calm down, calm down. Ranting won’t help now. Moreover, the court’s internal strife is not over yet. It’s still uncertain who will become the Empress,"

Bai Lijun consoled her daughter. She too was troubled by this matter. If Mu Qingxuan became the Empress, she and her daughters would surely face hard times. She knew that the royal court was divided into factions and that one day this balance would be shaken and there would definitely be a shift, but she didn’t know which faction would prevail...

"I won’t let Mu Qingxuan become Empress. I will be the one to rise and crush her! Before she becomes Empress, I must eliminate her," Mu Luofei declared with a resolute tone, having made up her mind.

"I agree. We must quickly plan and urge Shin Wang to propose marriage to you as his consort. Only then will we have the upper hand over Mu Qingxuan," Bai Lijun suggested, and Mu Luofei agreed.

Initially, she planned to gradually deepen her relationship with Shin Wang, waiting for him to propose and make her his primary consort. However, given the current situation, she needed to find a way to hasten his proposal.

Bai Lijun and Mu Luofei discussed their plan for a long time before Bai Lijun revealed her strategy.

"In that case, here’s what we will do..."

Zhuiping Residence

After the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration ended, Mu Yingying had people monitor the movements of the Wan family continuously. After a week, her people returned with a report.

"Miss, our people who are monitoring the Wan family have found nothing unusual. The members of the Wan family, especially Young Miss Wan, have kept to themselves in the manor as they usually do, meeting others as per their usual routine. However, our people noticed that Young Miss Wan’s close maid, after being called by her mistress, would often go out on errands for a long time."

"Recently, our people secretly followed that maid and discovered that she went to meet a woman in Xianping Alley. This woman closely resembles the sketch you had us look for a few days ago..."

Upon hearing the report, Mu Yingying immediately furrowed her brows. "Are you sure you didn’t mistake her for someone else?"

"Yes, I am sure. After our people reported back, I personally went to Xianping Alley to verify, and it is indeed the woman from the sketch. Currently, some of our people are keeping a watch on her."

Mu Yingying’s face turned icy cold, her big, round eyes glinting with a chilling light. It seemed that the previous assassination attempt on her elder sister was undoubtedly connected to Wan Ningtong. If her suspicions were correct, this would mean that Wan Ningtong had plotted against her sister twice already!

Both through an assassination attempt and by pushing her sister to marry far away.

This Wan Ningtong...she really didn’t cherish her life!

"Find an opportunity to capture that woman and extract information from her. However, make sure the Wan family doesn’t catch wind of it," Mu Yingying ordered sharply, and the man quickly acknowledged and left.

If it turned out that Wan Ningtong was indeed behind all this, Mu Yingying wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate accordingly...

Time quickly passed into the evening. When Mu Gongzhen returned to the residence, someone reported that his youngest sister was waiting for him in his quarters, likely with urgent news. He wasted no time and rushed back to his quarters.

"Have you returned?"

Mu Yingying greeted her brother with a wide smile as he stepped into the study, immediately pouring tea for him.

"You come to see me like this, is there an urgent matter?" Mu Gongzhen removed his cloak and draped it over a screen before sitting down next to his sister. He calmly took the tea from her and sipped it.

"This morning, my people who were monitoring the Wan family reported that they found the woman from the sketch we’ve been looking for. She appears to be connected to Young Miss Wan Ningtong. I have already instructed my people to find an opportunity to capture her without alerting the Wan family," Mu Yingying quickly got to the point.

Upon hearing this, Mu Gongzhen furrowed his brows tightly. He couldn’t believe that the person he had been searching for so desperately was so close. Moreover, if this woman was indeed connected to Young Miss Wan, it implied that Wan Ningtong might have been the mastermind behind the previous assassination attempt on Mu Qingxuan.

Realizing this possibility, Mu Gongzhen’s eyes gleamed coldly. During his investigation into the birthday celebration scheme, he had discovered a hidden truth. The Third Prince of the Yingjie Region, who outwardly appeared gentle and trustworthy, was in reality a sadistic person who took pleasure in torturing women to death.

The late primary consort, who died two years ago, succumbed to her injuries from his torture, but the truth was concealed by the royal family, who publicly announced that she died from illness.

If the scheme on the day of the celebration hadn’t been thwarted in time to save his sister, she would have been forced to marry this Third Prince at the Yingjie Region, and in the future, she would have faced unimaginable suffering until her death a few years later.

What a cruel plan!

Mu Gongzhen was quite certain that the mastermind behind this scheme was aware of the Third Prince’s atrocities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen him as a target.

“Ying’er, you’ve done well. Just the other day, my men reported the palace activities before the incident on the day of the event. It was found that after Young Miss Wan Ningtong visited the Empress Dowager at the palace, a low-ranking palace maid left the palace two days later on leave and returned three days after that.”

“The interesting thing is that although this maid had a minor position and was inconspicuous, my men discovered she is a distant relative of the Empress Dowager’s close maids. Normally, it’s difficult for a low-ranking maid to leave the palace, but this one had a permit from a high-ranking individual, making it easy for her to leave. I suspect she was ordered by the Empress Dowager’s close maid to carry out some tasks outside the palace.”

Mu Yingying considered her brother’s words and added her own thoughts, “...Or perhaps the maid went out to procure something not easily obtainable within the palace.”

At her words, both Mu Yingying and Mu Gongzhen simultaneously thought of love potions. They exchanged knowing glances. Such substances were forbidden and not available within the palace, which strictly controlled such items. The only way to get them was to bring them in from outside.

Using a low-ranking maid to smuggle something into the palace would be an effective way to avoid detection!

“Additionally, my men discovered that this maid, the distant relative of the Empress Dowager’s close maid, was responsible for serving food and drink to the delegation from Yingjie Region...” As Mu Gongzhen finished speaking, the chaotic events behind the scenes became clear.

Everything began to make sense, starting with Mu Yingying’s report and supplemented by Mu Gongzhen’s findings, making it easy to piece together the puzzle. Now, they only needed evidence. However, if the Empress Dowager was the mastermind, finding evidence would be challenging. But Mu Yingying wasn’t one to demand justice publicly. Thus, evidence wasn’t necessary.

As long as she confirmed who was behind the scheme, she had countless ways to exact her revenge!

“It’s highly possible that Wan Ningtong proposed this plan. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have initiated it after her return,”

Mu Yingying said coldly. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Wan Ningtong was the mastermind behind the entire scheme. Her big, round eyes glinted with a chilling light, like they were blanketed with the ice curtain.

Once she extracted the truth from that woman, it would be time to deal with the treacherous Wan Ningtong!

Mu Manor

The next morning, Mu Yingying found an opportunity to visit her grandmother again to check on her health and ask about her late mother. When Mu Yingying arrived at the main quarters, she noticed that her grandmother looked even more fatigued than the last time they met, indicating that her condition had worsened. Despite her severe illness, Elder Mu Furen felt an inexplicable joy upon hearing that her youngest granddaughter was coming to visit, making her more spirited than usual.

“Come closer, Ying’er. Cough, cough. Have you been well?”

Elder Mu Furen beckoned her granddaughter with a wave. Mu Yingying hurried to sit by her grandmother’s bedside. “I’ve come to visit you, Grandmother. Why is your condition getting worse again?”

“Cough, cough. I’m old, dear. Even without this illness, my body would still grow weaker, cough, cough.”

Elder Mu Furen responded, coughing intermittently. She gathered her strength to pat her granddaughter’s head affectionately before leaning back against the headboard, exhausted.

“I heard that His Majesty has issued a decree to betroth your elder sister as the future Empress. Is this true?” Elder Mu Furen asked with curiosity. Although she had been bedridden, she kept up with the outside world.

Mu Yingying nodded. “It’s true. Eldest Brother said that the formal betrothal process hasn’t started yet. Currently, they’re exchanging birth dates to match their horoscopes. If they’re compatible, the next steps will follow accordingly.”

“It is good to hear that, cough, cough. Your elder sister is truly fortunate, to be blessed enough to become the future Empress. Cough, cough. However, this position comes with immense responsibilities. I hope she can bear this duty well. Cough, cough.” She took a deep breath, struggling to catch her breath due to the coughing, pausing for a moment and then decided to voice what had been on her mind.

“Cough, cough. Ying’er...can you convey a message to your elder sister for me? If she indeed becomes the mother of the nation, cough, cough, can she look after the Mu family? Cough, cough. If I am no longer here, I do not know what will become of the Mu family. I understand this might be a burden to you both, cough, cough, but I have no choice but to rely on my old face to ask you siblings.”

After finishing her plea, Elder Mu Furen coughed continuously for a long time, her face turning red from the exertion. Su Ming, who was nearby, quickly stepped in to help, rubbing her back and pouring warm water to soothe her cough.

Mu Yingying, sitting by her grandmother’s side, watched her condition with concern, but inside, she felt a chilling coldness. She understood her grandmother’s love and concern for the family, but the fate of the Mu family had been sealed the moment her father took Bai Lijun into the family.

No matter how her grandmother pleaded, the end of the Mu family would not change. In her past life, their father had abandoned the three siblings for the family’s progression. In this life, she would ensure that the Mu family, which her father took so much pride in, would be reduced to dust...

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