Chapter 2: Chapter 175: How Long Have You Been Playing Dumb?

Chapter 175: How Long Have You Been Playing Dumb?

"Mhm, Father is right. Heaven truly has eyes. Although Eldest Sister is dead, Yao Suลuan failed to become Empress as she wished. Instead, Mo Wan, through a series of twists and turns, has become the most favored Noble Consort in the Six Palaces. Father, this must be something you never anticipated, right?" Yao Mo Wan suddenly withdrew her indignant expression and looked toward Yao Zhenting with a haunting gaze.

"Just how long have you been playing dumb?" Yao Zhenting looked at Yao Mo Wan with cold eyes, questioning her harshly.

"The moment Mother died, Mo Wan was outside the doors of Shujing Pavilion. At that time, Mo Wan already swore that one day, Mo Wan would make everyone who bullied Mother pay the price!" Yao Mo Wan's cherry lips curled into a cold arc, her eyes filled with icy frost.

"That early... then... then everything that happened afterward was all your doing? You meticulously designed it all?" Yao Zhenting suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, his hair standing on end.

"That same question was asked by Dou Xianglan before she died. That's right. Ever since returning from Yichun Courtyard, every single event that has occurred has been Mo Wan's masterpiece. The death of Nanny Gao, the death of Dou Xianglan, pushing Huan Cai'er into the water so that Huan Heng would view you as a mortal enemy, and Yao Sułuan falling step by step from her position as Imperial Noble Consort... Oh, and Su Muzi and Ming Yu should be somewhere far away right now, feeling grateful to this Palace. As for Bo An, even if Li Qingqing told you where he is hiding, you wouldn't find him, because Mo Wan placed him in a safe location long ago. Very soon, he will be able to reunite with his mother!"

Yao Mo Wan watched Yao Zhenting's conflicted and distorted expression with immense satisfaction; the hatred in her heart finally had an outlet. At this moment, she truly wanted her mother to see how ugly Yao Zhenting had become!

"Impossible! I already had Li Qingqing beaten to death with clubs!" Yao Zhenting retreated step by step, shaken by Yao Mo Wan's words, his eyes betraying an uncontrollable panic.

"Father did it personally? Saw it with your own eyes?" Yao Mo Wan's lips curled into a smile. That smile was as fresh as a small flower swaying in the wind in a green field, perfect and flawless, but in Yao Zhenting's eyes, it looked like the grin of a demon.

Hearing this, Yao Zhenting suddenly rushed out of the room, stumbling toward the punishment chamber.

"Your Ladyship... are you alright?" Outside the door, Ting Yue's eyes welled with tears as she looked at her mistress with heartache. Some things can only be truly understood through personal experience; even though her heart was broken by the Second Madam's death, she could not compare it to her mistress. To watch one's mother be murdered and be forced to endure it—what kind of heartache must that be?

"Do you know why this Palace is telling him the truth?" Yao Mo Wan's gaze was as deep as the dark night sky, without a single glimmer of light.

"This servant does not understand," Ting Yue said, shaking her head as she followed behind Yao Mo Wan.

"Because I want him to harbor hatred in his heart. Living with hatred is a form of torture; watching the person one hates flourish and rise above them is a form of agony. I want him to pay a price for everything he has done that even he cannot imagine!" Yao Mo Wan sneered. Having been reborn, the only thing she needed to do was live up to herself!

When she saw Ye Junqing walking out of the main hall to meet her, a smile of relief curled on Yao Mo Wan's lips. Fortunately, after her rebirth, he was still by her side.

"Are you alright? I just saw the Prime Minister running toward the southwest; he looked somewhat strange." Ye Junqing looked at Yao Mo Wan suspiciously. Only after confirming she was unhurt did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"I am fine now, but I cannot guarantee it in a moment." Yao Mo Wan walked leisurely ahead. This was the reason she had brought Ye Junqing along; if Yao Zhenting truly lost his temper, there should be someone to protect her. Revealing her identity to Yao Zhenting did not mean she wanted everyone to know her current state.

"What do you mean?" Before Ye Junqing could react, Yao Mo Wan had already walked toward the punishment chamber. Before reaching it, she could already hear Yao Zhenting's frantic roaring.

"Where is Li Qingqing? I am asking you! Speak!" Looking at the empty punishment chamber, the veins on Yao Zhenting's forehead were about to burst, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Re... replying to Master, it was Liu Xing from Consort Yao's side who took them away. It has nothing to do with us!" Several large men performing punishments knelt on the ground, reporting in trembling voices.

"This is the Prime Minister's Manor! By what right does she! Men, drag them down and give them fifty strokes each!" Yao Zhenting's anger surged, causing his body to stumble back several steps. Fortunately, Yao Tu supported him, preventing him from collapsing.

"Father... Wan'er just didn't want Bo An to be without a mother. Wan'er knows the feeling of not having a mother... Father, please don't be angry, it is all Wan'er's fault..." At this moment, Yao Mo Wan walked up to Yao Zhenting with a face full of grievance, her slender fingers pulling at his lapel as tears fell profusely.

"Get away! You bastard! I will kill you!" Seeing Yao Mo Wan's pitiful act, Yao Zhenting could no longer endure it. He grabbed a leather whip nearby and swung it violently toward her.

Seeing the tip of the whip about to strike Yao Mo Wan, Ye Junqing lunged forward, pulling Yao Mo Wan into his arms with one hand while his other hand gripped the tip of the whip.

"Prime Minister, please show some restraint! Consort Yao is, after all, a Noble Consort of the Imperial Palace; her rank is above yours. If this whip falls on Consort Yao, the Prime Minister may not be able to bear the consequences!" Ye Junqing's brows were like sharp peaks, and his voice was absolutely freezing.

"Don't interfere... If Father feels that hitting Wan'er will make him feel better, Wan'er is willing to be beaten by Father... But Wan'er truly feels Bo An is so pitiful. Even if he is not Wan'er's biological brother, not Father's child, Father has still cared for him for so long... Father, please let him go, okay? If Father wants a son, he can marry the former concubine again!" Every word from Yao Mo Wan was like a knife cutting into Yao Zhenting's heart, driving him toward madness. Not only had he been cuckolded, but he was also raising someone else's son—and not just one. Especially after learning about the "water without roots," Yao Zhenting truly wanted to strangle Yao Mo Wan to death.

"Yao Mo Wan! Shut up! You vicious woman! You serpent! I will kill you today to vent my hatred! Men! Tie Yao Mo Wan up for me!" Yao Zhenting had lost all reason, howling hysterically.

At this moment, Ye Junqing finally understood Yao Mo Wan's meaning; it seemed she was not just in trouble, but in serious trouble. The servants of the manor looked at each other, then simultaneously turned to look at Yao Tu.

"Master, you absolutely must not! Consort Yao is your daughter, and even more so, a Noble Consort of Great Chu. Doing this is an act of insubordination against the Imperial family; it is a capital crime!" Yao Tu never imagined things would develop to this point.

"Bah! She is a bastard! Just like Yao Moxin, they are all bastards! Listen to me, if you don't move now, I will slaughter you all right here!" Yao Zhenting's words touched a taboo in Ye Junqing's heart.

Seeing the servants rushing forward in a swarm, Ye Junqing's figure flashed. In a split second, all the servants in the courtyard fell to the ground, wailing in pain. Only Yao Mo Wan remained unharmed, leaning in Ye Junqing's arms, her eyes shining brilliantly like stars.

"Yao Zhenting, if you were not Moxin's biological father, I would have taken your life just now! Whether it is Moxin or Mo Wan, they are existences you are not worthy of acting insolently toward! I will report today's events to the Emperor exactly as they happened. When the time comes, you shall face the Emperor's judgment for your crime of insubordination!" The cold voice carried a bone-chilling frost. Ye Junqing spoke word by word, his voice like a great bell, especially those eyes, which made Yao Zhenting's heart freeze.

"How can you be so mean to Father!" Yao Mo Wan pushed Ye Junqing away in feigned anger and turned toward Yao Zhenting. Reaching him, she leaned down slightly and spoke leisurely in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Don't even dream of finding Li Qingqing and Bo An. There is no one Mo Wan wants to save that she cannot save."

"I will not let you go!" Yao Zhenting gnashed his teeth fiercely, the flames in his eyes appearing as if they would burn Yao Mo Wan alive.

"Likewise." Leaving behind those words, Yao Mo Wan's voice suddenly brightened.