Chapter 142
Chapter 142: Affair Exposed
Could it be that he knows who the real master of this household is?
Ha. Madam Yun shook her head at her own thought. Yun Rui, no matter how clever, was only a four- or five-year-old child. How could he understand such things? He liked the little milk dumpling perhaps because she was adorable, or perhaps because, unlike his older siblings, they were close in age—a simple fondness between children.
“Little Sister, how did I read?”
Suddenly, Yun Rui closed the book, looking at Yun Wan Ning with a bashful smile, his eyes carrying a faint trace of expectation.
Yun Wan Ning: [You read very well, but asking me is useless. I can’t talk, you know.]
“The teacher said he will teach me arithmetic and Disciple Rules tomorrow. Once I learn them, I’ll come read to you again…”
[Sure, go ahead. Think of it as reviewing your lessons.]
The siblings—one speaking aloud as if talking to himself, the other responding earnestly in her heart—sat together in quiet harmony in Duke Ning Manor.
But elsewhere, Lu Huai Jin was in trouble.
A letter had been delivered to Princess Hua Yang, Mo Zhao Zhao, laying bare his affair with a mistress.
After reading it, Mo Zhao Zhao’s face was cold. With over twenty guards at her back, she headed straight for the elegant residence on Beautiful Water Alley.
That afternoon.
The gates were kicked open, and a troop of silver-armored guards stood outside, their killing intent thick in the air.
The sudden intrusion startled the house guards inside. They froze, then tried to muster their courage, edging forward to ask who these intruders were.
With a metallic hiss, more than twenty silver-armored guards drew their goose-feather sabers. The lead guard’s gaze was icy as he looked at the house guards.
“Princess Hua Yang has arrived. If you dare to block her way—kill without mercy!”
The murderous pressure made the house guards’ legs tremble. They instinctively stepped back, leaving a clear path.
“Where is Lu Huai Jin? Take me to him.”
Mo Zhao Zhao’s eyes narrowed as she fixed her gaze on one of them.
The man looked stricken. “Your Highness, this…”
“Enough nonsense. Lead the way.”
A flash of steel—a blade’s cold edge pressed to his neck. The guards’ commander’s face was grim, his eyes sharp with killing intent.
The terrified guard’s knees went weak. Sweat streamed down his back. “Yes… please, Your Highness, follow me…”
They passed through a long corridor and reached a courtyard. At the sight of them, the maidservants at the gate shrieked in alarm.
“Who are you? How dare you break in here? Do you know—”
“Out of the way.”
Before she could finish, someone kicked her aside, sending her sprawling on the ground.
Without sparing the fallen girl a glance, Mo Zhao Zhao lifted her skirts and strode up the steps. She raised her leg and kicked at the tightly closed doors.
The impact sent pain shooting up her leg without budging the door. She hissed through her teeth, her eyes glistening with pain, then turned a furious glare at the silver-armored guards behind her.
“Why are you standing there? Open the door for me!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Two guards stepped forward, mounted the steps in a few strides, and kicked the doors.
With a loud crash, the doors flew open, and a heavy scent of intimacy spilled into the air.
Mo Zhao Zhao turned, slowly drawing a guard’s saber, and stepped inside.
She pushed through the drifting veils, catching a blurred glimpse of two figures scrambling into their clothes.
Her eyes narrowed as she advanced toward the bed, blade in hand.
Suddenly, the thin veil was pulled aside. Lu Huai Jin, dressed only in a thin white inner robe, stepped down from the bed, panic in his eyes as he faced her.
“Zhao Zhao, let me explain—”
“Oh?”
The blade’s cold gleam slid from his cheek to the prominent line of his throat.
“Go on. I’m listening.”
“I…”
He opened his mouth, but after one word, no sound came—as if something had blocked his throat.
“Say it. Why stop now?”
Mo Zhao Zhao’s face was dark, her voice edged with frost.
Her expression made his heart pound with unease. He moved his lips again, but in the end, gave up defending himself.
“Forgive me, Zhao Zhao. I was wrong. Truly, I was wrong. I know you’re angry—punish me however you want. Anything… as long as you don’t trouble Ying’er.”
Though he admitted fault aloud, in his heart he felt no regret for being with Ying’er. His only regret was being careless enough to let Mo Zhao Zhao discover it so soon.
“Heh. Very well.”
Her smile was like a blade. Her eyes sharpened, and she gripped the hilt with both hands, driving the point toward his groin.
Lu Huai Jin’s face drained of color. He twisted aside in time, narrowly avoiding ruin.
Breathing hard, still rattled, he stared at her in disbelief. “Zhao Zhao, how could you be so cruel?”
If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would already be destroyed. The thought sent a cold shiver over his skin.
Her strike missed, but her eyes burned red as she held the blade.
“You said I could punish you however I wished. So it was only empty words?”
“…”
He had meant any punishment—but never imagined she would strike so viciously.
“Some words cannot be taken back at whim. You dare deceive me? That depends on whether I allow it…”
“Guards. Hold him down.”
Her radiant face was shadowed with rage. At her order, the guard commander lunged at him, and the two men began to fight.
On the bed, Xu Meng Ying clutched the quilt to her chest, her lips pale. Fear clawed at her heart, and she began to regret ever dealing with “the lord.”
Only now did she understand—she had been competing with a princess for a man.
And who could win against a princess?
Blinded by greed, she had dismissed the princess entirely. Now, regret came far too late.
After a long hesitation, she slid off the bed and stumbled to her knees before Mo Zhao Zhao, tears streaming down her face.
“Your Highness, forgive me. I was wrong. I should never have liked the young marquis, never have dreamed of becoming his concubine. Please, Your Highness, spare my life. I swear I’ll never see him again—please…”
Mo Zhao Zhao blinked, startled, then slowly bent down and seized the woman’s chin.