Gu Fu swore that when she mischievously arranged for Wen Xi to visit Tang Mumu at Yunlai Pavilion without any prior notice, she hoped it would be a coincidence that would reveal to Wen Xi that Tang Mumu was not as deserving of his true feelings as he thought.
If it didn’t happen to be a coincidence, and Wen Xi didn’t discover anything, they might even resolve their conflicts and deepen their relationship.
But she never imagined that things would become so dramatic.
Foreign hostages, the eldest grandson of the Grand Tutor Wei, the young general of the Southern General’s Residence, the son-in-law of Duke Bian, the youngest son of the Marquis of Changning… These individuals themselves were notable, and their elders were even more prominent figures.
Therefore, this matter was not publicized within the capital. The reason Gu Fu knew about it was because Wen Xi had confided in her.
At first, Wen Xi was very calm and even took a long time to mention his recent trip out of the city to see Tang Mumu.
But as he spoke, this seventeen-year-old young man ended up crying out of anger over what had happened that day.
It was unclear if he was more angry at Tang Mumu for deceiving him or at his brother for his insidious tactics, causing irreparable damage to his heart.
Gu Fu comforted him while marveling inwardly at how capable Wen Xi’s brother was.
Then Wen Xi spent another half hour cursing his brother. However, because Young Master Wen had never heard many curse words growing up, his curses lacked any real impact, sounding more like throwing a tantrum and whining, which only ended up straining his voice.
Gu Fu kept refilling his tea and pushing food towards him. As a result, Wen Xi drank two pots of tea, ate most of the food on the table, and had to visit the restroom multiple times before finally calming down enough to tell Gu Fu how they ended things that day.
Having seen and heard everything firsthand, any remaining hope the group had for Tang Mumu was completely extinguished.
To be fair, Tang Mumu’s ability to maintain this charade was partly due to good fortune. This situation, where several “confidants” ran into her simultaneously, had happened before. To avoid suspicion, Tang Mumu would act like she was not familiar with any of them, and they didn’t find it odd. They would even resent each other for being in the way.
In her private conversations and letters with them, Tang Mumu would subtly reveal her “rigidity” and “chastity,” aligning with the values inherited from the previous dynasty. This made the men who cared for her too afraid to mention her in public, fearing gossip would upset her.
Thus, everyone believed they were the only ones secretly connected with Tang Mumu and worked hard to cover for her, missing the chance to learn the truth.
After Duke Bian’s son-in-law, Xiao Ran, made his promise to Tang Mumu, Lin Yi was the first to lose his patience and stormed into the garden.
Xiao Ran was startled, especially since he was a married man. His wife was the beloved youngest daughter of Duke Bian. If his wife accused him of having an affair with Tang Mumu, he could argue that his wife was overly suspicious and gain some belief from others. But if he was caught red-handed with Tang Mumu, both of them would be ruined.
Tang Mumu was even more frightened than Xiao Ran. Looking in the direction Lin Yi came from, she saw Wei Shaoqing and Xie Zichen as well. She didn’t see Wen Xi, who was still hugging a pillar in shock. By the time Wen Xi snapped out of it, Lin Yi, Wei Shaoqing, and Xie Zichen had already entered the garden, leaving Wen Xi alone and dazed.
Wen Xi, unwilling to be left out, tried to follow them in. However, the shadow-like servant who followed him held him back, saying, “Young master, it’s chaotic inside. Let’s not go in.”
Wen Xi struggled but found he couldn’t break free from the servant’s grip, so he got angry and demanded, “Let go of me!”
The servant, having no other choice, pulled out a rope from who knows where and tied Wen Xi up. Seeing Wen Xi about to shout, the servant quickly gagged him with a clean piece of cotton cloth.
With such a swift and fluid move, Wen Xi realized that the servant had come prepared. Otherwise, how could he have had rope and cloth ready at hand?
Wen Xi was so angry that he felt dizzy. The servant, very considerately, moved him to a wind-sheltered spot and reminded him, “Young master, be obedient. It’s satisfying to confront them face-to-face, but if the servants here overhear and spread the word, the master won’t spare you. So let’s stay out here and listen. How about that?”
With his mouth gagged, Wen Xi had no chance to say “no.” So, for the rest of the events, Wen Xi could only watch from a stone window, unable to participate.
Xiao Ran, to divert attention from his relationship with Tang Mumu, took the initiative to question how they had entered. However, Lin Yi pinned him to the ground.
Lin Yi, being straightforward, held Xiao Ran down and asked Tang Mumu, “Do you have anything to explain?”
Facing Lin Yi’s murderous expression, Tang Mumu panicked. Seeing Wei Shaoqing and Xie Zichen looking at her with icy stares, she realized they must have heard her and Xiao Ran’s conversation.
However, Tang Mumu didn’t know they had already discovered the whole truth on their way here. She thought they were only angry about her relationship with Xiao Ran and still had a chance to deceive them, so she racked her brains to salvage the situation.
Recalling Xiao Ran’s reason for being here, she asked, “Did you all receive the message saying I was dying and wanted to see you one last time?”
The crowd was stunned. Tang Mumu, seeing this, teared up and murmured, “I knew it. Even after being expelled from the capital, someone still won’t let me go.”
If one only listened to Tang Mumu and Xiao Ran’s conversation and then saw Tang Mumu’s current performance, they might be swayed. They might think Xiao Ran was harassing Tang Mumu unilaterally, that Tang Mumu, a weak woman, had tried her best to refuse him but was still being manipulated and used by someone with ulterior motives, ruining her reputation.
But they already knew that Xiao Ran wasn’t the only one with an ambiguous relationship with Tang Mumu. If someone had indeed plotted to gather them here, could Tang Mumu’s simultaneous flirtations with them, her moonlit confessions of love, also be a scheme by others?
Lin Yi and the others weren’t that naive. Moreover, Tang Mumu’s performance revealed to them that she wasn’t as innocent and pure-hearted as they had thought. She had the ability to toy with all of them and was still trying to deceive them even at this moment.
It was Wei Shaoqing, not Lin Yi, who finally burst out in anger and tore apart Tang Mumu’s facade. Born into a noble family, with a grandfather who was a Grand Tutor, Wei Shaoqing always appeared gentle and refined but was actually more proud than anyone.
Being mercilessly toyed with by someone he cherished deeply was a massive blow to such a proud young man. His eloquence shone through as he systematically exposed Tang Mumu’s actions, laying them bare for all to see. This not only resonated with the others present but also caused Wen Xi, tied up behind the stone window, to struggle against his bonds, wanting to join Wei Shaoqing in questioning Tang Mumu.
Xiao Ran, pinned to the ground, was stunned. He never imagined that not only had he divided his heart between two people, but Tang Mumu had divided hers among even more.
Tang Mumu was also in shock. For the first time, she was being thoroughly scrutinized and exposed. Her past pride, joy, and contempt turned into shame, making her tremble all over, wishing desperately that everything was just a nightmare.
Because Tang Mumu was a woman and someone Lin Yi and the others had once liked, they didn’t do anything to her. They simply left, throwing harsh and cruel words behind them.
When the excitement dissipated, only Tang Mumu remained in the desolate garden. She dug her nails into her palms, eyes filled with intense hatred. She hated these men who had turned on her so ruthlessly and the people behind the scenes who had orchestrated everything. She hated them with a passion, yet she didn’t see herself as having done anything wrong. She had forgotten how the wives of the men she had used for her own gain must have hated her, and how she had persuaded those men to cherish their wives so they wouldn’t leave them for her, leaving those women unable to even obtain a divorce.
Wen Xi, who hadn’t left yet, didn’t know what Tang Mumu was thinking, but he saw the hatred in her eyes. Such hatred was unfamiliar to Wen Xi and was enough to extinguish any remaining affection he had for her.
Though the matter wasn’t publicly announced, those who needed to know were aware. The escape of the Prince from the Kingdom of Fuyao, who was caught with two carts full of valuables, was no small matter.
Officials and servants who had facilitated the escape were thrown into prison. Lin Yi, who had initially appeared to assist the imperial guards in capturing the fugitive prince, was immediately arrested upon returning to the capital and thrown into Dali Temple for interrogation to determine if he was an accomplice.
Lin Yi, hailing from a military family and having joined the army at fourteen, had endured all sorts of hardships and was naturally unafraid of Dali Temple’s interrogation. However, he did not want his family, the Southern General’s Mansion, to suffer the stigma of treason, so he requested an audience with the emperor and confessed everything.
Following this, the Marquis of Changning, Grand Tutor Wei, the Southern General, the Duke of Bian, the Xie family, and the Earl of Lin’an were summoned to the palace. Due to the extensive implications of the matter, which could damage the prestige of the court and noble families, they unanimously decided to keep it under wraps.
The two carts of goods Wen Xi had planned to bring to Tang Mumu were confiscated and attributed to the prince as evidence of his attempted escape. Upon returning home, the Marquis of Changning punished Wen Xi by making him kneel in the ancestral hall and copy scriptures. Wen Jiang, the mastermind behind the scheme, never expected it to involve the prince from Fuyao and escalate to the emperor. He immediately realized there must be a secret agent in his household who had taken advantage of the situation to cause this mess.
“Li Yuming…”
Wen Jiang assumed the responsibility lay with the Li family, not knowing that the real mastermind behind the secret agents was the national advisor.
Grand Tutor Wei was even harsher, directly imposing family discipline on Wei Shaoqing, beating him so severely that he couldn’t walk for nearly a month.
The Southern General secretly petitioned for an imperial edict to send Lin Yi to the northern frontier, where he would live incognito, severing ties with his family to start anew under difficult conditions.
The Xie family restrained Xie Zichen from participating in this year’s imperial examinations. Being entangled in such sensitive matters, Xie Zichen would face suppression from others even if he passed the exams. It was deemed better to wait three years for the influence of this incident to dissipate before trying again.
Duke Bian retrieved his youngest daughter from her husband’s home and pressured Xiao Ran to write a divorce letter. He threatened Xiao Ran with career stagnation if he refused and had his unruly third son arrange for people to ambush Xiao Ran three times a day. Once Xiao Ran could no longer endure it and wrote the divorce letter, the Duke used his connections to have Xiao Ran exiled to a remote and impoverished area, ensuring Xiao Ran would have no chance of advancement as long as the Duke’s family remained influential.
As for Earl Lin’an, to appease the public’s anger and protect his family’s honor, he sent several strong nannies to the estate. Not long after, a fire broke out at the estate, and Tang Mumu was unable to escape, perishing in the flames.
Nearly everyone involved in this matter received their due punishment.
Thus, Wen Xi was not afraid of Tang Mumu seeking revenge unless she suddenly rose from the dead…
Wen Xi shivered at the thought and couldn’t help but ask Gu Fu, “I heard that Second Brother once lived in the Zuowang Mountain for a while?”
Gu Fu calmly sipped her tea. “Yes, he did. Why?”
Wen Xi hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, “Is the temple there effective?”
If it was, he wanted to go pray, fearing that Tang Mumu’s spirit might return to seek revenge on his elder brother.
Gu Fu replied, “…It should be, I suppose.”
The two chatted a bit more, but since Marquis Changning had set a curfew for Wen Xi, he couldn’t stay out too long and had to go home.
After seeing Wen Xi off, Gu Fu didn’t immediately return home. Instead, she went to a bookstore, picked out a few music scores, and then headed back.
That evening, Gu Fu went to the Qitian Tower as usual. Just as she put down the music scores, she heard the Imperial Preceptor say, “The Emperor summons you. Enter the palace tomorrow.”
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