Free Web NovelChapter 2680: Chapter 11: Afraid No One Will Believe Me
"You little idiot!"
Qi Yunqiao poked her on the head. "Of course you’re going to the Ye Family to tell my Third Aunt, to tell Cousin Qingqing that you’re the girl! Tell them the person that night wasn’t some Xiaoyu at all. You’re the real one!"
As soon as she finished, the room went so quiet you could hear a needle drop.
"Sister-in-law, I..." Mu Shuang’s face went deathly pale. She stammered, "You... you mustn’t talk nonsense..."
"You—you’re going to drive me to my grave." Qi Yunqiao planted her hands on her hips, then swept out like the wind and came back in like the wind. "Don’t you try to deny it in front of me. I already questioned Fourth Girl about everything that happened to you at the Ye Family. That night, you came back to the courtyard in the middle of the night. That was more than enough time to do the deed, and the next morning at dawn you even had someone prepare water so you could bathe. Since when do you have the habit of bathing at the crack of dawn?"
"That’s one thing. Another is, when you talk about what happened at the Ye Residence you’re all vague—saying you didn’t ask around, yet you can still bring up Xiaoyu. Actually you definitely know everything, don’t you?"
She paused, then stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Mu Shuang, whispering in her ear. "Silly girl, do you know what your sister-in-law’s greatest strength is?"
Mu Shuang stiffly shook her head.
"Hehe, your sister-in-law’s greatest strength is these good eyes of mine. I can tell at a glance who’s a virgin maiden and who’s a woman. Take you—just by the way you walked when you came back to the Mu Residence that day, it was all wrong."
As she spoke she pinched Mu Shuang’s icy cheek. "So don’t think you can fool me. You honestly tell me everything, and I’ll naturally stand up for you."
Qi Yunqiao had laid it out so clearly that Mu Shuang knew she couldn’t hide it anymore, and all the fear and dread she’d been holding in these past few days suddenly burst out.
"Wuu wuu... Sister-in-law..."
"Miss..." Fourth Girl called through the room when she heard the sound.
"Don’t come in, wait outside." Qi Yunqiao raised her voice. "I have things to discuss with your young lady. Go guard outside and don’t let anyone in."
"Yes, Princess!"
After she left, Qi Yunqiao patted Mu Shuang’s back. "You silly girl, this is a sky‑high matter and you actually didn’t say a word. Just listen to yourself!" She poked her head. "What if you end up with a child in your belly? Even taking a step back and saying you don’t, with something like this hanging over you, how are you going to marry in the future? And if after you marry your husband finds out, then what?"
"Sister‑in‑law... *hic*... it’s not that I didn’t want to say it." Mu Shuang sobbed and snuffled. "At the time I was just scared and panicked, so I ran back in secret. I was going to come back the next day and tell my father and mother, but... but who knew a Xiaoyu would suddenly pop out. I thought that by then whatever I said would be useless. Xiaoyu was lying there right in front of everyone; even if I spoke up they might not believe me, and would probably scold me for being shameless instead."
"Stupid!" Qi Yunqiao scolded. "Who are you, and who is that Xiaoyu? You are a young lady of our Mu Family. In the Capital City our Mu Family has status and has money. Do we need to lie for the sake of one Ye Rongqing? There are plenty of good men under heaven; do we have to cling to him? But that Xiaoyu? That’s different. She’s from a poor background, short‑sighted and ill‑conducted. To claw her way up, there’s nothing she wouldn’t dare say or do."
She hadn’t seen Xiaoyu herself, but she had already had people inquire about her in detail.
She’d heard that the one who was supposed to come serve at the Ye Residence wasn’t her, but a cousin from her Third Uncle’s branch. It was she who told her Third Uncle that she was prettier than her cousin and would more easily win the masters’ favor, so her Third Uncle forcibly gave the spot to her.
