Chapter 158
Wan Ningtong uttered her curses with intense hatred before deciding to kick the chair she was standing on, toppled it down. Her body imdiately swung in the air, the silk cloth tightening around her neck, making it difficult to breathe. Her face began to turn pale due to the lack of oxygen, and excruciating pain spread throughout her body.
Her body started to struggle instinctively due to the lack of air, her eyes rolling back until only the whites were visible. The pain from the suffocation and the constriction around her neck caused her imnse agony, nearly driving her to unconsciousness.
As her slender body dangled and she was imrsed in agony until she was on the verge of taking her last breath, she was completely unaware that in the darkness, soone had been watching the entire ti. Just as she was about to die, her consciousness fading, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Get her down. Don’t let her die just yet."
At the sound of the voice, a man dressed in black stepped forward to catch the young woman’s limp body while another dragged the chair and climbed onto it to cut the silk cloth tied to the wooden beam. Wan Ningtong’s body fell to the ground before she could draw her final breath.
Mu Yingying erged from the shadows of the corner of the room unhurriedly. Her big, round eyes, fixed on the weakened figure before her, glead coldly. She glanced at the mark on Wan Ningtong’s neck.
"Wake her up."
At their mistress’s command, the two n in black poured the cold water they had prepared onto Wan Ningtong’s face, who was lying unconscious on the floor. The shock of the cold water brought her back to her senses, and she gasped for air, taking several deep breaths until she began to regain full consciousness.
"Cough, cough,"
Wan Ningtong sputtered, choking on the water for a mont before struggling to open her eyes. She looked at the ceiling in confusion, feeling as if she had been on the verge of crossing over to the afterlife. The experience had been excruciating and terrifying!
But why wasn’t she dead?
Blinking rapidly to clear the water from her eyes, she slowly tried to sit up. Having been deprived of air for a while, her body was montarily weak and trembling uncontrollably. It took her so ti to manage to sit up by herself.
Once she was upright, she could clearly see the scene before her. Her eyes widened in shock.
"How...how are you here?"
"If I hadn’t co, you would have succeeded in ending your life," Mu Yingying said with a sly smile, her eyes sparkling ominously in the darkness, causing Wan Ningtong to shiver.
"What...what do you want!? How did you get here? You..."
Wan Ningtong was completely confused. If she rembered correctly, the young girl before her was soone she had t at Zhuiping Residence. It had to be the seventh young miss of the Mu family, Mu Qingxuan’s younger sister.
But how could a little girl like Mu Yingying sneak into her bedroom so late at night?
And she had brought strange n with her...
Wan Ningtong glanced warily at the two n in black standing behind the young girl. She did not believe for a second that they were there to help her out of goodwill!
Mu Yingying noticed the wary look in Wan Ningtong’s eyes and laughed softly. "Young Miss Wan, there’s no need to be afraid. I won’t do anything to you. I just ca to stop you from ending your life. Isn’t such an act...a bit too hasty?"
"What I choose to do is my business! I don’t need you interfering! If you don’t leave, I’ll scream for help, and you’ll be in big trouble!"
Wan Ningtong shouted, glaring at the small figure before her. Though the girl appeared innocent, Wan Ningtong was certain that this Seventh Young Miss was far from naïve as she appeared.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have broken into her room in the middle of the night and calmly prevented her suicide.
"Go ahead, scream. I’d love to see what happens when people find out that Young Miss Wan tried to take her own life to defy the imperial decree. Who do you think will be in trouble then?"
Mu Yingying replied nonchalantly, her eyes gleaming with amusent. Wan Ningtong’s already pale face turned even whiter at these words. If the Emperor learned of her attempt to defy the decree, she would undoubtedly face execution!
"What do you want?"
Wan Ningtong ground out, her voice filled with resentnt. It was her life, yet she had no control over it. She couldn’t even choose to end it on her own terms...
"I told you, I just ca to stop you from killing yourself." Mu Yingying stepped closer. She looked down at Wan Ningtong with icy eyes. "If you died, my plans would co to an end."
"What do you an...could it be you,"
Wan Ningtong suddenly realized sothing, her eyes widening in shock. "It was you behind everything! It was you!"
"Yes, it was . And what of it?"
Mu Yingying admitted with a mischievous smile, as if the entire affair had been nothing but a leisure ga to her.
"Why!? I have no grudge against you. Why did you do this to ?" Wan Ningtong shouted.
Her eyes turned red, resembling a vicious demon. Her body trembled with the intensity of her anger. Because of this matter, she had suffered for days, unable to sleep, driven to the point of trying to take her own life.
Now, the mastermind stood before her, laughing and mocking her misery. Moreover, the girl openly acted like Wan Ningtong’s suffering was a source of amusent, as if her desperate plight was a joke!
She had just been on the brink of death!
This wasn’t an entertainnt to enjoy!
As Wan Ningtong asked with resentnt, Mu Yingying smirked coldly. Her big, round eyes, which had sparkled with amusent monts before, now reflected a deep, chilling coldness that sent a shiver down Wan Ningtong’s spine.
"Then what grudge does my sister have against you? Why did you attempt to assassinate her? And what about the incident at the birthday celebration? You sched to send my sister to a faraway land with a deranged man. Tell , what deep-seated grudge do you have against my sister that drove you to such cruelty?"
"That wretched Mu Qingxuan dared to touch what she shouldn’t have! She’s just a crow from the countryside dreaming of becoming a phoenix!" Wan Ningtong retorted with undisguised contempt, her eyes filled with genuine scorn.
Seeing this, Mu Yingying could only shake her head internally. Soone like Wan Ningtong, who had never faced disappointnt or defeat, could never accept reality when things didn’t go her way. Her mindset had beco irreparably twisted.
Talking to her was pointless...
"Then we are not so different. I bear no grudge against you either, but you touched soone you shouldn’t have,"
Mu Yingying responded icily. She reached out and grabbed Wan Ningtong’s chin, squeezing it as she continued, "When you sched against my sister, you took your ti planning. But when cornered, you chose to end your life to escape your fate. Pathetic, isn’t it?"
"Dream on!"
"I won’t let you die so easily. The sword you pointed at my sister, I’ll turn it back on you. You’ll taste the very sches you concocted, and don’t even think of escaping this fate. I won’t allow it!"
"Good luck with your marriage, Princess Qing Xian. I hear the Third Prince has peculiar tastes. I hope you can handle them, Your Highness..."
Mu Yingying said with a sneer, releasing Wan Ningtong’s chin. As her words sank in, Wan Ningtong felt a chill deep in her bones. When she regained her senses, she realized her arms had been restrained behind her by the n in black, preventing any resistance.
"No! Let go! What are you doing? Let go!"
Wan Ningtong scread, struggling with all her might, but in the end, she was no match for the man’s strength. One of the n forced her mouth open and poured a dicine down her throat.
"Mmph mmph mmph."
Wan Ningtong tried to let out a muffled cry as she looked at the dicine that was being poured into her mouth. Her eyes reflected sheer fear as tears welled up, blurring her vision. She was truly scared now.
She feared what would happen to her next as she had no idea what the dicine was or what it would do to her later!
As the two n in black held Wan Ningtong down and forced the dicine into her mouth, Mu Yingying watched the scene with cold eyes, her expression devoid of emotion. What Wan Ningtong was experiencing now was largely a result of her own sches. Mu Yingying had barely done anything, rely turned those sches back against her.
Mu Yingying had predicted that when cornered, Wan Ningtong, with her pride and arrogance, would likely try to take her own life. So, she had stationed people to watch her closely. Earlier that day, noticing sothing unusual about Wan Ningtong’s behavior, Mu Yingying and her n had snuck into the Wan Manor under cover of night to keep a closer watch, and then they found that Wan Ningtong truly had suicidal thought.
Since Wan Ningtong wanted to take her own life, Mu Yingying didn’t stop her. She had been observing Wan Ningtong’s action since the beginning and only intervened when she was near death, saving her at the last mont.
Wan Ningtong had plotted extensively against her sister. There was no way Mu Yingying would let her die so easily.
If not for the strength and resilience of the three siblings, it could have been Mu Qingxuan facing such a tragic fate. Mu Yingying’s actions were simply repaying Wan Ningtong with the sa blade she had wielded against them...
After the dicine was forced down her throat, the two n released Wan Ningtong. She imdiately tried to induce vomiting.
"What did you make drink!? What was that dicine!?"
Wan Ningtong now looked like she was losing her sanity. She gagged and coughed but could not expel the liquid. Mu Yingying was unperturbed by her outburst, smiling slyly.
Soon, Wan Ningtong felt as if her body was drained of strength. Her body went numb from head to toe, collapsing to the floor, unable to move or even speak. Only her eyes could still dart around.
"Don’t worry, it’s just an anesthetic, but its effect was quite powerful. It will paralyze your body for a while, probably a day or two, ensuring you can’t escape or attempt suicide again,"
Mu Yingying said with a smile, as if they were discussing casually. However, her words terrified Wan Ningtong, who expressed her fear through her eyes.
"Also...there’s no need to worry about dressing tomorrow morning, attending to personal matters, or even eating. I have arranged for soone to take good care of you. You will arrive in Yingjie and participate in the wedding ceremony as planned."
As she finished speaking, Wan Ningtong’s eyes widened, almost bulging out. Fear and anger radiated from her gaze non-stop, but Mu Yingying paid no attention. She nodded to her n, who lifted Wan Ningtong’s body and placed her back on the bed.
Satisfied that everything was in order, Mu Yingying turned to leave but not before delivering a final remark.
"May your married life be filled with smooth sailing..."
...
..
.
The following morning, the envoy delegation from Yingjie began their journey back ho, accompanied by the future primary consort of the Third Prince, along with a significant dowry. The entire capital watched the procession with great interest. The citizens cheered and praised Wan Ningtong all along the way out of the capital, believing that she had selflessly agreed to marry for the sake of maintaining good relations between the two regions.
As the procession moved out of the capital, Wan Ningtong lay inside the carriage, listening to the praise surrounding her. Her eyes burned with a redness akin to fresh blood. The more she heard these praises, the more her heart filled with pain and resentnt.
But despite her deep-seated anger, there was nothing she could do.
She could only lie listening to the false accolades with a heart full of bitterness and hatred, until the words of praise faded away once the carriage left the city limits.
...
..
.
Five days after the Yingjie envoy had departed, the Empress Dowager learned of the events that had transpired. Enraged, she hurried back to the royal palace and demanded an audience with the Emperor to ask about the incident, leading to a heated argunt. In the end, it was the Empress Dowager who returned to her palace with a grim expression.
She had only taken a brief retreat for ditation, but her enemies had used the opportunity to blindside her, taking away a valuable pawn!
Now that Wan Ningtong had been eliminated, where would she find another suitable and controllable pawn to be placed beside the Emperor? If things continued as they were, Mu Qingxuan would undoubtedly beco the Empress soday, making it difficult for the Empress Dowager to maintain control over the position of the nation’s mother.
This couldn’t be allowed to happen!
She needed to expedite the marriage between Shin Wang and Mu Luofei. It seed she would have to summon Mu Furen to discuss the wedding arrangents. Ideally, the wedding should take place imdiately after the New Year, securing an alliance with the Mu family before the Emperor could make a formal proposal.
The next day, Bai Lijun was summoned by the Empress Dowager to discuss the marriage between Shin Wang and Mu Luofei. The wedding was scheduled to take place ten days after the New Year, leaving only twenty days for preparations. However, the Empress Dowager assured her that she would fully support and assist with the arrangents, alleviating Bai Lijun’s concerns.
When Mu Cui Ming heard the news from Bai Lijun, he was initially shocked by the prospect of this marriage alliance, but his shock soon turned into overwhelming joy. If his daughter married Shin Wang, she would undoubtedly beco the primary consort, significantly enhancing the Mu family’s power and influence.
Mu Cui Ming and Bai Lijun were highly pleased with the marriage arrangent. They exchanged the birth dates with the Empress Dowager for horoscope matching. Upon finding their horoscopes compatible, the Empress Dowager officially announced the marriage, causing a sensation throughout the capital.
However, despite the stir caused by the announcent of Shin Wang and Mu Luofei’s marriage among people in the capital, the news had no impact on the Zhuiping Residence. The three siblings continued their lives as usual, unperturbed by the events. Especially Mu Yingying, who was busy preparing for the New Year’s celebrations with her family.
Mu Yingying was neither complacent nor unconcerned; she had planned everything in advance. The marriage between Shin Wang and Mu Luofei was part of her strategy from the beginning. As she thought about the upcoming wedding, a mocking smile spread across her face.
She eagerly awaited this so-called joyous event, hoping Mu Luofei would savor her remaining days of happiness before the wedding...
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