Chapter 391: His lies, her honesty
Mute Granny stormed huffily into the house, only to face Long Feiye brewing tea inside. His austere and stern aura was enough to make anyone fearful, but Mute Granny simply waltzed right in. She’d been waiting for him the entire time! She could remember clearly that it was Linger’s friend who’d brought the young Miss to see her at the Mu Estate. Then the Mu Clan guards had shown up and everyone had started fighting. After that, she lost consciousness. When she woke up again, she’d been trapped here by all these people. Who were they? How did they get her out of the Mu Estate?
Originally, she was kept in a secret chamber, where this icy youth would occasionally come to pay her visits. Later on, a kidnapper came for her but failed to take her away. She had been waiting for the icy youth to do something–anything–but he hadn’t done a thing. Naturally, she would make a fuss in turn until the proper master of it all showed up. As Mute Granny approached Long Feiye, he simply glanced at her before placing a teacup opposite him and pouring in some tea.
Mute Granny was both mute and deaf, so any words from Long Feiye would be wasted on her. His actions were an invitation for her to sit down. Mute Granny glanced at him. Though she understood his invitation, she refused to sit. She simply stood in front of him and waited for him to join her. Long Feiye simply rapped his knuckles against her teacup and sat with his head bowed. But Mute Granny simply took out a sharpened stone from her sleeve and placed it against her neck. She opened her mouth and tried to make a sound, but nothing came out.
“Your Highness, she wants to kill herself!” Chu Xifeng exclaimed in alarm. He had felt sorry about the loss of Little Li Fourth, but now he wished he could kill the man again. He was supposed to guard Mute Granny, not let her sharpen a stone lethal enough to kill–and hide it on her person!
Long Feiye remained unmoved. How could the actions of a person standing right before him escape his eyes? He kept his head down and rapped at Mute Granny’s teacup again. Mute Granny didn’t budge, so neither did Long Feiye. After a while, Chu Xifeng saw blood flowing from the edge of the stone pressed against Mute Granny’s neck and cried out again, “Your Highness, there’s blood flowing!”
They’d spent so much energy and so many resources to entrap this person. Before they got the antidote to get her secrets out of her mouth, she couldn’t die. They might as well throw up in frustration if that happened!
And yet, Long Feiye still didn’t move.
At this moment, Mute Granny suddenly slashed at her throat with the rock. In the same instant, Long Feiye tossed out the teacup and knocked the rock out of her hands. When Mute Granny rushed to pick it up, Chu Xifeng kicked it out of the way. Filled with rage, Mute Granny glared at Long Feiye, her mouth opened wide. If she could speak, she’d definitely be cursing him right now. Since she couldn’t, she threw himself at Long Feiye instead, but Chu Xifeng quickly held her in place and pressed her hands behind her back. Mute Granny stomped on his toes and strained in his grasp, but she wasn’t strong enough to escape.
Long Feiye finished his tea before he finally spoke up. “She certainly has a fiery disposition. I heard the Miss Mu Xin of the Mu Clan once had a hotheaded servant girl by her side. She must be it.”
Mu Xin was none other than Mu Linger’s fourth aunt, the supposed Mu Clan daughter who had a liaison with a Poison Sect member. Long Feiye had long started investigations into the woman in Medicine City. Nobody knew whether Mu Xin really had a relationship with someone from the Poison Sect. If this was true, then nobody would know the details…beyond this servant. Whatever the case, Mu Yingdong shouldn’t have left Mute Granny alive in the first place! Mu Xin was already a taboo topic amongst the Mu Clan and Medical City. Mu Yingdong should’ve known that killing Mute Granny was the best solution of all. So why did he leave her alive? Who was he planning to lure out with Mute Granny’s existence?
Long Feiye was tired of making guesses. He wanted to get the antidote fast so he could have Mute Granny tell them the truth. He took out the rolled up painting from his sleeve and slowly spread it open on the tea table. At the sight of the , Mute Granny abruptly stilled. The painting depicted a young woman dressed as a doctor, carrying a bag that looked very similar to Han Yunxi’s. She couldn’t be considered a great beauty, but her features were delicately pretty and she had a bright, sweet smile. She was the type of person that radiated sincerity and kindness.
This was none other than the painting of Mu Xin that had been hanging in the bamboo house in the Mu Estate. After a moment of silence, Mute Granny began struggling again, her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to throw herself at the painting. Her mouth kept opening and closing as she soundlessly called out ‘young Miss.’
That’s right, Mu Xin was the fourth young Miss she’d watched grow up!
Miss Mu Xin had treated her like a mother, while she was more intimate with Mu Xin than any daughter of her own flesh and blood. Miss Mu Xin had said she’d come back, but she never did after she left. She had been keeping watching over her picture for over 20 years. After being overcome with emotions, Mute Granny immediately leveled Long Feiye with a glare as she turned guarded.
How did this youth of extraordinary origins get that painting from the Mu Estate? Was he looking for Miss Mu Xin? Or did he want answers out of her mouth?
Just what are his motives?
“Chu Xifeng, release her.” For the third time, Long Feiye tapped the teacup across from his, suggesting that Mute Granny take a seat.
“Your Highness, be careful!” Chu Xifeng couldn’t help but warn his master. It really was impossible for anyone to get a handle on Mute Granny’s personality. But when he did let her go, she didn’t get impulsive. Her eyes remained fixed on the painting as she took a seat.
Long Feiye was quite generous, and rolled up the painting before pushing it her way, indicating that she should take it. Mute Granny immediately snatched it up, her wrinkled hands trembling as she carefully tidied up the work and carefully rerolled it. Then she hid it in her own sleeves and even patted it a few times to make sure it was actually there.
It made one’s heart ache to see those coarse, wizened hands treat the object like some sort of priceless treasure.
“This was the painting of your former mistress. It’s a pity that Mu Xin’s already passed away,” Long Feiye intoned.
Mu Xin was Tianxin, but Lady Tianxin was already dead. If Mute Granny knew the truth, how would she feel? When Han Yunxi and Gu Qishao had first found her, they’d been in too much of a rush to explain everything. Mute Granny was ready to get up after getting the painting, but Long Feiye simply took out another drawing. This one was none other than the painting of Han Yunxi he’d ordered pasted all around the continent when she went missing.
Mute Granny recognized Han Yunxi. Based on the Xin (心) character embroidered on her medical pouch, she was certain that the girl was Mu Xin’s daughter. She hastily went to reach for the painting, but Long Feiye immediately withdrew the object before carefully hiding it within his robes. Mute Granny didn’t move, but looked suspiciously at Long Feiye, who didn’t express any views whatsoever.
He rose to his feet and headed for the door, leaving instructions with Chu Xifeng. “Pick someone to look after her. If there’s any disturbance, you can take full responsibility!”
Mute Granny went to chase after Long Feiye, but there was no way she could catch up to him. She only gave up when he disappeared from sight and returned inside without a glance at Chu Xifeng. Then she slowly sat down, her sunken eyes turning even more sunken. She clutched tightly at the painting in her sleeves and wished desperately that she could speak so she could get the answers to her questions.
She was smart enough to understand the implied warning in the young man’s actions. He was threatening her with Mu Xin’s daughter! She didn’t dare to raise a ruckus anymore, much less act wantonly. Now, all she knew was that she had to wait–wait and see exactly what these people wanted.
But Chu Xifeng was left completely in the dark. Did master come just to deliver a painting in person? I could’ve done that myself.
In any case, he was more preoccupied with the antidote for Broomcorn Millet Poison than anything else. They had the Serpent Fruit now, but they still needed Bear Chuan and Panoptic Red Lotus. They’d given Pill Fiend a year-long deadline to find both items, but they still hadn’t heard any news from the man. Chu Xifeng only wished the guy would find the items faster. One day earlier from him was one day more of freedom for the guards. More importantly, he could stop worrying constantly about esteemed wangfei finding out. There was no saying whether she would!
But this time, she definitely wouldn’t.
Long Feiye still hadn’t returned by late night, so Han Yunxi still hadn’t slept. She was already in her bedroom, however. Husband and wife had used the search and seizure excuse to take over the entire senior provincial official’s estate and were now living in one of the guest houses. Their rooms were right next door to each other. When she heard the door next to hers open, she immediately opened her own.
“Your Highness, you’re back?”
“Mhm,” Long Feiye said simply.
“What were you busying yourself with? You didn’t bring me along?” Han Yunxi teased.
Instead of replying, Long Feiye asked, “You’re still not sleeping?”
Han Yunxi was used to this already. She was only asking on a whim rather than looking for any concrete answers. Right now, she simply wanted them to talk. “Your Highness, that gentleman from the Shadow Clan stopped by,” Han Yunxi murmured.
She’d thought over the entire afternoon before deciding to tell Long Feiye about what had happened. After all, this was related to her birth origins. She wasn’t much interested in finding out the secrets there, since she was someone from the future rather than the real Han Clan’s young Miss. Her reasons for wanting to know came more from selfish motives, because she was half-hoping she really was the West Qin imperial orphan. Maybe then she’d be a stronger help to Long Feiye!
More than that, she wanted to find out the truth behind Lady Tianxin’s difficult labor. Was it a coincidence? Or sabotage by human hands? Lady Tianxin was a highly respected doctor and the mother who granted this body life! She had to get to the bottom of it! If it hadn’t been a coincidence back then, just who was the culprit to blame? And why did they do it?
“That white-veiled man?” Long Feiye was surprised.
“Mhm, he came for a bit in the afternoon,” Han Yunxi replied honestly.
“What did he say?” Long Feiye seemed even anxious to know.
“He denied it and say he was aiming for Lil Thing. He also said that Lil Thing’s already recognized its new master, so he couldn’t take it away anymore.” Han Yunxi was always honest and reserved when speaking in front of Long Feiye.
“Anything else?” Long Feiye asked.
Han Yunxi drew back, looking a little pitiful. “Your Highness, can we discuss this inside the rooms?”