Chapter 7

Jiang Lingyu was already furious about being pushed out as a human shield by Huo Bujue.

Now, at this critical moment, she was injured because of Huo Bujue again.

Jiang Lingyu felt it was indeed necessary to assign more people to thoroughly investigate the Huo family.

To be honest, before meeting Huo Bujue, Jiang Lingyu thought the meaning of “courting death” was to cause one’s own demise.

But now the Huo family had taken “courting death” to a new level – Huo Bujue caused trouble, but Jiang Lingyu herself faced death.

Jiang Lingyu saw Huo Bujue’s little mouth about to start babbling again. Just as she was about to tell Huo Bujue to shut up, she saw a shadowy figure flash behind Huo Bujue, seemingly striking her acupoint to silence her.

A hidden guard?!

Jiang Lingyu’s pupils constricted as she saw the silhouette of the hidden guard behind Huo Bujue.

An inexplicable feeling of familiarity lingered in her heart.

Just as she wanted to delve deeper, she was forced back to reality by the imminent crisis before her.

That hidden guard seemed to want to rescue Jiang Lingyu, but was unable to act due to the close distance between Jiang Lingyu and Mu Sheng.

Jiang Lingyu gently shook her head at the hidden guard and asked:

“What exactly is going on?”

The people around, hearing Jiang Lingyu’s question, all chimed in to clarify the situation.

After hearing the course of events, Jiang Lingyu saw that the young man holding her hostage was wearing a white robe now stained with shocking bloodstains. Thinking of the outrageous things Huo Bujue had done before, she immediately said in a gentle voice:

“I’ll send someone to find your brother now.”

Perhaps it was because Jiang Lingyu’s voice was too gentle, or perhaps this was the first care Mu Sheng had received in a long time.

As soon as the words fell, the young man’s deeply furrowed brow smoothed out a little, and even the hairpin threatening Jiang Lingyu’s throat moved away slightly.

Jiang Lingyu showed a faint smile. It seemed this young man was not only not a bloodthirsty person, but his heart might even be very kind.

Finding Mu Yu’s whereabouts was simple; asking those around who had contact would naturally reveal the answer.

Especially the people around Huo Bujue, who were far less bold than their mistress, spilled everything honestly after just a few questions.

Not only did they reveal Mu Yu’s whereabouts, but they also disclosed why their mistress had insisted on persuading the Prince Consort to send the person to the brothel in the first place.

It turned out that when Huo Bujue saw Mu Sheng that day, she fell in love with him and was determined to claim him for herself.

Although Huo Bujue was both poisonous and stupid, her brain was still functioning to some extent, and she naturally wasn’t foolish enough to directly ask the Prince for the person.

Instead, she instigated her brother to take the person to the brothel.

Huo Bujue was quite interesting; she thought that if she bought Mu Sheng from the brothel herself, she could rightfully keep him by her side.

As for Mu Sheng’s brother, Huo Bujue didn’t care at all after kicking him.

After all, he was a person bestowed by the Emperor to the Prince. The steward in the Prince’s mansion, seeing Mu Yu pitiful, directly arranged for him to stay in the mansion, although Mu Yu was still bedridden recovering from his injuries.

The most interesting part was that Huo Bujue had never actually gone to find Mu Yu. Whether it was telling Mu Sheng earlier that his brother was dead to provoke him, or later saying Mu Yu was still alive to save her own life, it was all made up.

But it was these few fabrications that caused Mu Sheng to be heartbroken, even willing to perish together.

Human cruelty knows no bounds.

When Mu Sheng heard that his brother was fine, his face showed a mix of sorrow and joy, along with intense pleading.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Lingyu felt moved and said softly:

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Mu Sheng hadn’t expected the Prince to agree to his request so easily.

Perhaps the joy came too suddenly, but a sweet smile appeared on Mu Sheng’s face, clear and pure.

It was truly too beautiful, like the ultimate bloom just before withering.

“Thank you, Your Highness…”

With tears in his eyes, Mu Sheng took one last lingering look at this mundane world, then pushed Jiang Lingyu into the crowd.

Seeing the Prince safely reach the crowd, Mu Sheng revealed a relieved smile and without hesitation raised the hairpin to stab himself in the heart.

Although Jiang Lingyu’s legs were not nimble and her body not very agile, when she saw Mu Sheng’s action, she immediately shouted:

“Stop him!”

As soon as the words fell, in a flash, Jiang Lingyu saw a shadow dart past her side, followed by the sound of the hairpin being knocked away. The one who acted was the hidden guard she had seen earlier.

Jiang Lingyu saw the fallen hairpin and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

When she turned her attention to the hidden guard before her, she was stunned.

Although the guard’s face was covered and they habitually hid in the shadows, that familiar figure… those deep fox-like eyes… everything was so familiar.

So familiar that it gave Jiang Lingyu a sense of déjà vu.

In a daze, she was once again the richest woman in the world, leading her subordinates to conquer and earn abundantly.

And she never had to worry about her physical condition, because there was always a tall, slender, handsome man following behind her.

A Secretary Yang who would arrange family doctors for her, prepare healthy meals, and show concern for her well-being.

He was the man whose eyes she never understood before, but suddenly comprehended just before her transmigration.

If… if she hadn’t transmigrated here, perhaps she would be planning to turn the islands in her possession into private honeymoon retreats by now.

During the day, they could sleep in naturally, then go to the beach to eat seafood.

Secretary Yang had taken care of her for so long; it should be her turn to take good care of him.

Secretary Yang seemed to be quite a foodie; she could invite Michelin-starred chefs to cook for him in rotation.

If they got bored, they could even build an amusement park on the island.

Though it might be a bit childish, she wanted to build the world’s largest Ferris wheel there, sit on it, and make wishes endlessly.

…

The surrounding voices were too noisy, forcibly pulling Jiang Lingyu out of her momentary trance.

After coming to her senses, Jiang Lingyu found that the hidden guard before her had disappeared. She instinctively wanted to go find them.

Until she realized the hidden guard was behind her, her heart inexplicably settled.

After Jiang Lingyu was rescued, those attendants had already restrained Mu Sheng, and the crowd had surrounded him.

Many people were condemning Mu Sheng for his audacity in holding the Virtuous Prince hostage.

Some were even calling for Mu Sheng to be executed by lingchi.

The fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth was forced to kneel on the ground, his head bowed low, seemingly without much expression.

The youth appeared to have accepted his fate; he didn’t struggle or resist, just quietly remained there letting people surround and attack him.

But as Jiang Lingyu looked at him, she inexplicably felt like she was looking at herself when she had just left the orphanage to study as a child.

Even without the protection of parents, even though she was afraid of this strange world in her heart, she still stubbornly put on an indifferent appearance, as if doing so would prevent anything from coming to hurt her.

Mu Sheng saw Jiang Lingyu in the crowd and prostrated himself on the ground, pleading for punishment: “Mu Sheng deserves death for holding Your Highness hostage. I submit to whatever punishment Your Highness deems fit.”

Before Jiang Lingyu could speak, Huo Bujue, who had been controlled by the hidden guard earlier, jumped out and said ‘thoughtfully’:

“Sister-in-law, I think this criminal slave should be severely punished. Otherwise, if people think they can threaten you and get away lightly, won’t everyone be able to step on your head in the future?”

Jiang Lingyu said with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile:

“How to punish him? Send him to your courtyard?”

Perhaps it was because the original owner had been too indulgent of the Huo family in the past, or perhaps Huo Bujue was really too stupid.

In any case, Huo Bujue didn’t detect anything unusual about Jiang Lingyu at all. Instead, she rubbed her hands together and let out a greasy laugh:

“It’s rare for you to think so highly of me, sister-in-law. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely teach this little thing to be obedient and submissive. He absolutely won’t cause you any more trouble!”

Jiang Lingyu directly mocked:

“If Mu Sheng is trouble, then what was you pushing me earlier?”

The smile on Huo Bujue’s face froze for a moment, but soon recovered its oily grin as she said:

“Hehe, please forgive me, sister-in-law. At that time, the situation was urgent and I just thought of pushing someone to block. I didn’t expect you would run over.”

Jiang Lingyu: …

There wasn’t a hint of remorse on Huo Bujue’s face. Instead, her eyes were full of desire for Mu Sheng.

Jiang Lingyu gave Huo Bujue a deep look. If it weren’t for the fact that there were too many eyes in the brothel and Mu Sheng’s matter shouldn’t be made a bigger deal, she definitely wouldn’t let Huo Bujue off so easily today.

Jiang Lingyu couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Huo Bujue anymore. After exchanging a glance with Xiao Shunzi, she directly took off her cloak and covered the scarred young man with it.

Covering the young man’s battered and wounded body.

Mu Sheng knew how serious the consequences of holding the Prince hostage were. When he saw the Prince agree to take care of his brother, he prepared to end his own life.

Unfortunately, heaven didn’t grant his wish, and he ultimately failed to die.

Faced with the curses of those around him, he appeared expressionless and unconcerned only because his upbringing and pride were desperately supporting him. In reality, his heart had long since curled up into a ball.

Until the Prince appeared before his eyes again and said softly:

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll take you home.”

Mu Sheng didn’t know what was wrong with himself. He had always been very strong.

But when he heard the Prince’s words, the tears in his eyes couldn’t be controlled no matter how hard he tried.

Jiang Lingyu looked at the young man in her arms, like an injured young beast. Although he was terribly upset, his crying sound was incredibly gentle.

Jiang Lingyu gently patted the young man’s back and said softly:

“It’s all over now.”

Huo Bujue was displeased when she heard this and shouted:

“Sister-in-law, what do you mean? This little bastard just tried to hold you hostage, and you’re letting him off just like that?!”

Jiang Lingyu couldn’t be bothered to even look at Huo Bujue and directly said in a loud voice:

“Ever since this beauty came to my mansion, I’ve been delighted. Thinking the days were too boring, I staged a hero-saving-beauty play with him. I’m sorry to have made everyone a laughing stock.”

Hearing the Prince’s explanation, the crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, with many people silently questioning the truth of this matter.

After all, if what the Prince said was true, she was willing to go to such lengths to coax a man, doesn’t that mean this man would have an extraordinary status in the future?

Many of those who had been rude to Mu Sheng earlier began to regret it in their hearts.

If what the Prince said was false, that would be even more remarkable.

After all, for a Prince to go to such lengths for a mere man, and not mind that he had been in a brothel, isn’t that showing even more favor?

While everyone was uncertain and speculating, Jiang Lingyu said something even more explosive:

“Huo Bujue’s actions today were outrageous and offended me. Take her down and give her twenty heavy strokes!”

Hearing these words, not only was Huo Bujue shocked, but even the people of the Wanhua House were stunned.

They never imagined that the Prince would actually take action against someone from the Huo family.

It seems that regardless of whether what the Prince said today was true or not, the Huo family’s fortunes changing might be real.