Chapter 120: Sewage

Mu Yuqi truly wanted to applaud. He was quite impressed by Yu Youwei’s meticulous mind and keen observation, even if her deductions were still a bit off the mark. "Cousin!" he called out, finishing with a long, heavy sigh. He said nothing of substance, yet his silence spoke volumes, accusing her of having ulterior motives.

Wu Shanshan chimed in, stirring the pot with practiced coordination: "Yu Youwei, since you’ve married into the Ning family, you’re clearly terrified that your in-laws will discover the illicit affair between you and your cousin. If you wanted to silence witnesses, why not just do it? Why go through all this trouble?"

The expressions on the faces of the Mu family were a colorful display of confusion, while the Yu family looked equally strange; it was clear that they were all buying into the act performed by Mu Yuqi and Wu Shanshan.

No one spoke up to defend Yu Youwei, and she did not bother to defend herself. In matters like this, the more one explains, the more suspicious it looks. Let the innocent remain innocent.

"Did I hit the nail on the head? That fool from the Ning family is truly pitiful. Who knows how many green hats he’s been forced to wear by now," Wu Shanshan sighed hypocritically.

"Nonsense!"

A roar echoed, drawing everyone's gaze toward a cloud of red that drifted over and landed gracefully in front of Yu Youwei.

"Mother!" Looking at her mother, who appeared travel-worn, Yu Youwei felt a warmth spread through her heart.

"I will not let anyone drag your name through the mud. Mu Yuqi is not worthy of a daughter of the Yu family!" Mu Qingxi’s beautiful eyes flashed with fury as she stood before her daughter like a mother leopard protecting her cub.

"Qingxi, what are you blathering about!" the head of the Mu family roared.

With tears streaming down her flushed, doll-like face, Mu Qingxi roared back even louder: "When that demonic woman was smearing Wei'er's name just now, you played the mute! Now you find your voice to yell at me? Did I say anything wrong? Youwei is Yu Tianming’s daughter—Mu Yuqi is not worthy!"

"Yu Tianming is long dead and his bones have rotted away; who even remembers who he was?" Seizing the opportunity to fan the flames, Wu Shanshan added, "Girls always turn their backs on their own kin, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Just because she carries the name 'Yu,' she thinks she’s special? The Mu family is nothing but dog dung!"

Mu Yuqi looked aggrieved and said, "Aunt, I know I’m not worthy. I never dared to hope for anything."

A strange feeling intensified in Yu Youwei’s heart. Were her cousin and Wu Shanshan acting out a script together? It wasn't impossible that her cousin, consumed by love turned to hate, had defected to the Wu family to smear her reputation. Yet, she faintly sensed that things were not that simple. She scrutinized her cousin and Wu Shanshan, and the more she looked, the more suspicious they seemed.

Many others present also sensed something abnormal about Mu Yuqi. Even his father, Mu Qingxuan, felt that his son was behaving strangely, assuming his son had colluded with the Wu family out of vengeful spite. He feared the Yu family would mistakenly believe the Mu family had secretly defected to the Wu faction. A starving camel is still larger than a horse; even if the Yu family were in decline, wiping out the Mu family would be child's play. The Wu family, too, was not to be trifled with. Was his foolish son trying to get the entire Mu family wiped out? To protect his clan, he made a swift, decisive choice and bellowed, "Qi'er’s mind has been controlled by an evil sorcerer! Everyone fall back! Archers, ready!"

The Mu family guards, clad in matching black soft armor, each leveled an oil-slicked black crossbow at the ruined courtyard. These were standard-issue military crossbows from the Yujian Sect; a volley of ten such bolts could kill or maim anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage. Mu Qingxuan’s younger brother had obtained a batch for the Mu family after serving as a lackey for Yu Shiyu and currying favor.

Was he going to shoot Mu Yuqi as well? The Mu family members were stunned, the Yu family was equally shocked, Wu Shanshan’s face turned deathly pale, and Mu Yuqi’s eyes widened in disbelief as he screamed, "Father, you want to kill me?"

The Mu family patriarch, heart-stricken for his eldest grandson, stomped his feet and howled, "You bastard! Qi'er is still in that evil woman's hands!"

"Qi'er has lost his mind! Are you going to sacrifice the entire Mu family for him?" His heart bleeding, Mu Qingxuan finished shouting at his father and waved a hand: "Take the patriarch away! Archers, fire!"

"Wait!" Mu Yuqi shouted. While cursing his father’s lack of humanity in his mind, he wept convincingly: "Father, I am perfectly sound of mind! I only fear that following the Yu family will lead the Mu family to total ruin."

Mu Qingxuan wished he could sew his son's mouth shut. The Mu patriarch, who hadn't yet been dragged away, was so terrified his heart nearly jumped out of his throat, and he hurriedly barked: "Qi'er, hold your tongue!"

"I will not hold my tongue! There is no future in getting entangled with the Yu family. Hasn't Fourth Uncle Yu contributed enough to the Yu family? Yet when he was ambushed and killed by the Emperor's men, not a single person from the Yu family dared to utter a peep!"

At these words, the entire crowd was shocked. Observing the expressions of the three Yu family elders, Yu Youwei knew that what Mu Yuqi said was true. She opened her mouth to speak, but heard her mother ask in a trembling voice: "Is it true? Was our Fourth Master killed by the Emperor's men?"

Wu Shanshan calmed down and sneered: "I heard that the Fifth Elder of the Yu family personally collected Fourth Master’s remains back then."

The Fifth Elder’s body trembled, and two large, bead-like tears of an old man rolled from his eyes.

Yu Youwei secretly pinched her mother’s waist and laughed: "Mother, you are so silly! My cousin, consumed by unrequited love, has completely defected to the Wu family. Since he couldn't ruin my reputation, he’s now trying to slander the Yu family. He’s just trying to sow discord between the Yu family and the Imperial Court, hoping for the Yu family to rebel so they can be wiped out by the throne. He and the remnants of the Wu family would naturally be overjoyed."

The three Yu elders hadn't expected this retort from Yu Youwei; they were surprised, but no one said anything. While they remained silent, other Yu family disciples could not hold back, and many shouted for Wu Shanshan to explain herself clearly.

Mu Qingxi shook off her daughter’s hand, her eyes red as she demanded: "We must investigate! Who exactly killed the Fourth Master!"

When she was married off, the wedding fleet was attacked. Yu Youwei and Ning Mofei had escaped to the shore, where they were ambushed by her second uncle, Yu Tianhao. She had heard her second uncle say that killing her and Ning Mofei would sabotage the marriage between the two families and strike a blow to the Yu family. She had always found it strange what deep-seated hatred her second uncle held against the Yu family.

She remembered her second uncle saying at the time: "I would rather destroy what I cannot have. Eldest brother is weak and incompetent, yet because he is the legitimate heir, the ancestors favor him. Your dead father was even more foolishly loyal to him. And what was the result? Your father was killed by enemies, and he didn't even dare to make a sound. In his hands, the Yu family will fall sooner or later."

At the time, she had guessed that the force behind her father’s death was powerful—too powerful for the Yu family to provoke—and she had suspected it might be the Imperial family. She didn't need to investigate; she knew Wu Shanshan and Mu Yuqi were telling the truth. However, the Yu family had to endure in silence even before their current hardships; now, they needed the support of the Imperial Court to escape their predicament. Digging for the truth would only lead to the Yu family’s total destruction.

Gripping her mother’s hand tightly, Yu Youwei said coldly: "I will naturally find out how my father died. You have already left the Yu family; my father’s affairs have nothing to do with you."

With her face turning from flushed red to iron-blue, Mu Qingxi wiped away her tears and said, word by word: "I will find out the cause of the Fourth Master’s death, whether I am a member of the Yu family or not."

Staring at her mother, Yu Youwei felt an inexplicable heartache, but she said coldly: "Eldest Uncle, my mother and grandfather are not in their right minds; they require long-term rest. Please handle the matter of my cousin quickly."