Counterattack of the Concubine’s Invincible Daughter

34. Killing Both with One Stone or Getting the Best of Both Worlds

Translator: Snowball

Xu Min stared at the six vertical blood-colored lines in disbelief. It was probably due to this sudden change that her questioning of Hongling seemed to have gone completely distorted. “Hongling, what’s going on?”

Ever since Hongling had followed Xu Min, she had gained deep trust from her. Coupled with her slick personality, she had never been as overwhelmed as she was today.

“Madam, I, I don’t know!” She was too shocked to call herself a servant. “Someone must have done something to this. Otherwise, how could it be six?”

Mu Yingxue suddenly lowered her head and smiled. She then raised her eyes and said, “Oh, who do you think have laid a finger on this evidence? The murderer?”

“Who else could it be?” Hongling was flustered on the spur of the moment. Now, she had no choice but to continue to make the story up.

Mu Yingxue was dismissive of Mu Yueli, not to mention a maid. She only asked Xu Min, “Your maid said that the murderer had tampered with the evidence. Do you have any evidence, Mother?”

Of course, Xu Min didn’t have any evidence. Since she thought it would be fine with Hongling taking the rough cloth all the time, she had no preparation for this. However, even if she could foresee this, how could she prove that the so-called evidence had been tampered?

“Hongling just holds the doubt. However, I’ve personally read this, and there were four vertical lines indeed.”

After a short period of shock, Xu Min gradually came to her senses. She almost instinctively realized that her plot might have been ruined by Mu Yingxue again. In the current situation, even she was in an unfavorable position, let alone Mu Yueli. If this didn’t end smoothly, she would be accused of covering up the real murderer and framing innocent people. Even if the situation didn’t go that far, at least she would be blamed for embarrassing herself as the matriarch and failing to manage family issues.

“The murderer must’ve stolen the posthumous letter without her noticing.”

Xu Min was quite capable of telling lies without changing her expression. Mu Yingxue’s smiling face suddenly became cold, and her eyes swept over Xu Min who was past her prime. This woman was even more abominable than Mu Yueli.

“Mother mentioned the murderer again and again. May I ask who you refer to?” She slowly took a step forward and stared sharply into Xu Min’s eyes. “You insist that the ‘fourth girl’ is written on the posthumous letter. Aren’t you aware it’s me you are talking about? Now it’s obviously “sixth girl” on it, but you said it had been falsified by the murderer.”

She paused for a moment and suddenly smiled, looking at the crowd who were shocked and doubtful, “Didn’t Mother say what’s written on the letter was the murderer? Now we still have the material evidence here, but you insist on saying that this is fake. So, it’s either the fourth girl or the sixth girl. But the sixth girl on the cloth is fake in your eyes while the fourth girl is real. Mother, as the matriarch of the family, why are you so unfair? Or is it that you were originally determined to pin Mammy Rong’s death on me?”

What she said was really bold, and shocked everyone present. Even Xu Min did not expect that she would directly tell the truth one by one. But how could she admit that she set up the trap for her today?

“How dare you!” With her eyes widened, she decided to take advantage of her status as the matriarch to suppress this farce forcefully. “What evidence do you have can prove that I’m accusing you? In the name of the matriarch of the family, I swear that ‘fourth girl’ was clearly written on this posthumous letter!”

Given Mu Yingxue’s experience in her previous life, of course she wouldn’t be intimidated by her. Instead, she was going to play her role with concentration today. No one noticed the sneer on the corner of her mouth. She said sorrowfully, “Mother, why do you put pressure on me in the name of the matriarch? If you want me to take out the evidence that I framed you, then I’d like to ask what evidence you have to prove that the posthumous letter had been falsified.”

Glancing at Hongling, she said sharply and quickly, “Don’t tell me that your trusted maid can testify. I’m sorry, but she is not trustworthy at all. You said that you saw the posthumous letter with your own eyes, but who can prove that? What evidence do you have? Besides, who can prove that the posthumous letter was picked up in the back mountain, and who had seen Mammy Rong’s handwriting before to confirm it’s written by her? Regardless of the above questions, except you and Hongling, who else can guarantee that the content on the letter was changed? Who can prove that what you said is the truth?!”

Xu Min was too astonished to refute her, only saying, “You, you, you…” But Mu Yingxue did not intend to let her go. She changed the topic and said, “Mother, please don’t be mad at me. I’m just asking these out of passion. In fact, like all other concubines and sisters, I believe that the letter in Hongling’s hands is true. And I believe it was found in the back of the mountain and written by Mammy Rong in person. Mother, you are the noble matriarch of our mansion. With your status, of course you would not join the servants to lie, not to mention frame innocent people. So what you said must be true.”

She flattered Xu Min like a sage all of a sudden. Everyone was puzzled. Even Mu Shuilan, who had always been calm and self-restraint, was a little impatient, wondering what she would do to her mother.

Xu Min was even more shocked and doubtful. What the hell was this little bitch up to by saying that? Did she take her as a toy or something?

She was about to refute, but Mu Yingxue didn’t give her the chance. She continued, “I just can’t figure out why Mother insists that the letter has been falsified. I think Mother does realize that Hongling is trustworthy enough to prevent the murderer from doing that. Furthermore, it is a matter of great importance. Mother would definitely not have any reason to reveal it beforehand. So, how did the murderer know that Mother has such evidence in hand?”

“I couldn’t figure it out no matter what. In the end, there was only one explanation. Mother must have misjudged the four vertical lines on it into six.”

“How could it be…?” When Hongling was about to rebuke her, Xu Min secretly beckoned her to stop. She took a look at Mu Yueli, and then Mu Yingxue. The former was frightened, desperately suppressing her emotions; while the latter looked calm but aggressive. Deep down in her heart, she wanted desperately to tear Mu Yingxue into pieces.

Nevertheless, she was not stupid.

Although Mu Yingxue’s analysis sounded logical, anyone sensible could understand that she was helping Xu Min get out of the situation so that she could push another person over a cliff at the same time.

What a good play by killing both with one shot! No, it was more appropriate to put this as getting the best of both worlds.

Xu Min had to make a choice. Should she ruin her reputation by inviting trouble to herself or sacrifice her face as well as abandon Mu Yueli?

“Mother, it’s none of my business. This posthumous letter must have been written for nothing. I didn’t kill her!” Mu Yueli saw that Xu Min hesitated, so she hurriedly defended herself.

Struggling between reputation and dignity, Xu Min found it very noisy when she heard Mu Yueli’s words—what an impatient loser!

“Shut up!” She vented all her anger on Mu Yueli. “Why is your name on this posthumous letter?”

As soon as Mu Yueli saw the letter, she was extremely shocked and puzzled. She had made Lvzhi do it very secretly. Who had learnt that she had something to do with this?

“Mother, I’m wronged. I have nothing to do with this!”

At this time, Concubine Fang stood out. Seeing Mu Yueli astonished and frightened, she thought her daughter was afraid of being wronged, so she hurriedly pleaded with Xu Min, “Yueli has always been obedient. It can’t be her. Madam, please uphold justice for my daughter and me!”

“Obedient?” Xu Min sneered sarcastically. “It’s you who always have been spoiled Yueli that made her so unruly and headstrong today.”

Concubine Fang’s face turned pale. She didn’t expect that Xu Min would scold her like that in front of the crowd. She blinked her eyes grievously, telling her depression with her tears.

Mu Yueli was also annoyed to see her mother sobbing, but she could not care that much at the moment. On second thought, she joined her mother and cried.

Seeing that she was putting on a show, Mu Yingxue stopped her play, because she knew that Xu Min would definitely abandon Mu Yueli to protect herself.

As expected, Xu Min did not care about their tears at all but asked coldly, “Didn’t you want me to dispose of this based on the family law?”

The two kneeing on the ground raised their heads in shock. Mu Yueli was frightened to death, knowing that she might be in big trouble this time.

“Mother, please don’t. I’ll confess. I’ll tell you, okay?”

Xu Min was so unnerved that Mu Yueli was unusually useless. It was a pity that she had done a lot for her in the past. Mu Yingxue quietly watched them as an onlooker. After today, there would probably be one less annoying fly that would circle around her in the future. She could live peacefully since then.

“Tell me the details clearly!” Xu Min shouted in a deep voice.

Mu Yueli glanced at her with fear and began to explain intermittently. No one noticed that she was looking around with her eyes lowered.

“I, I did look for Mammy Rong once.”

As soon as she said that, the story once again took a turn, and the expressions of the crowd were totally different.

Xu Min said, “Humph, you’d better tell me the truth. If there’s one more lie, I’ll not spare you easily.”

“Yes, Mother. I don’t dare to lie to you.” Mu Yueli quickly said, “It was I who told the cook to add dishes for the fourth branch. Incidentally, I asked Mammy Rong to add some laxative into the soup. I just wanted to play a joke on Sister Yingxue…”

She knew that what she said was absurd, so she didn’t continue to make it up. The audience was also speechless to hear her absurd description. But due to the seriousness of this matter, they held back their questions.

Mu Yingxue was so speechless that she almost wanted to laugh out loud. She thought to herself, “Incidentally? A joke? I don’t remember having such a good relationship with you, Sister Yueli. Laxative? If my mother and I did drink it, I’m afraid that it would be our bodies here in front of the public today.”

Mu Yueli glared at her hatefully. Taking two steps forward with her knees, she said to Xu Min, “Please, Mother. It was Mammy Rong who had a grudge against Sister Yingxue somehow. So she took the opportunity to poison my sister and swindle my gold as well. After realizing that she wasn’t able to save the situation, she committed suicide for fear of punishment. But before she did that, she even tried to frame me. This lowly slave deserved to die!”

In dismay, everyone didn’t expect that Mu Yueli now defined Mammy Rong’s death as suicide.

Xu Min was slightly relieved to witness her “resourcefulness” in an emergency, “Since she swindled your gold, why didn’t you report it at that time?”