Outside the door, curses continued unabated. Mu Qianrou instinctively screamed, "Sister, I'm your younger sister! How could you deliberately frame me? My heart hurts so much..."
"Qianrou!" Lin Ru snapped out of it and rushed over in tears.
"Beiyin, are you satisfied now that you've harmed Qianrou like this? Yaohui, please save Qianrou. Her heart isn't well... Boohoo, how did my daughter and I end up so miserable?"
Mu Yaohui looked at Mu Beiyin's face, trembling with anger. He regretted not letting this disgrace die fifteen years ago!
Why couldn't she understand? For the sake of the Mu family and Qianrou's future, what harm was there in sacrificing her?
The more Mu Yaohui thought about it, the more he hated her. He slammed the table. "Enough! This matter is not to be brought up again!"
Mu Beiyin raised her eyelids. "Not to be brought up again? I was falsely accused and schemed against by Mu Qianrou, losing both my marriage and reputation. Now that the truth is out, you just say 'forget it,' and my sister gets off scot-free, as if nothing happened?"
Mu Yaohui's anger intensified. "Then what do you want? For Qianrou to kneel to you?! She already said it wasn't her. Why are you being so petty?"
Mu Beiyin's eyes turned cold instantly.
"So, the whole matter is just me being petty. Ms. Lin and my sister cry a bit and transform from perpetrators to victims. I can't compare to that."
Outside the door, a nurse shook her head sympathetically. "Chairman Mu is truly biased beyond measure, always defending that illegitimate daughter. Poor Miss Mu."
"Can you expect anything from a cheating man? He's probably been bewitched by the mistress long ago!"
"No wonder Miss Mu's reputation has worsened over the years. With such a stepmother and illegitimate sister who twist right and wrong, how could her reputation improve?"
Mu Qianrou, with tearful eyes, said, "It's not true, I didn't, ah..."
Suddenly, she clutched her chest and fell backward. Lin Ru hurriedly caught her.
Song Lingqian, heart aching, said, "Beiyin, Qianrou is so weak. Why must you press her so hard?"
Mu Yaohui, enraged, smashed the teacup beside him, his voice trembling. "Get out! Get out! How did I father a daughter like you? No wonder the Song family doesn't want you. Get out!"
Mu Beiyin knew the Mu family was biased. Even if Mu Qianrou committed murder or arson, they would protect her. So, she hadn't planned to make Mu Qianrou leave the Yun family right now.
Having made Mu Qianrou suffer a significant loss, Mu Beiyin was already satisfied. "Chairman Mu, I'm vindictive. It's best if Mu Qianrou gives me a satisfactory explanation. By the way..."
She thought of something. "Who said no one from the Song family wants me? Song Lingqian, perhaps next time we meet, you'll have to call me 'Auntie.' Cherish the time we're still peers."
After speaking, Mu Beiyin ignored the unpleasant curses in the ward and walked straight into the elevator.
Ten seconds later, the elevator doors opened, and she suddenly heard a surprised voice.
"Huo Shiqing? You said you're married?!"
Mu Beiyin stopped in her tracks and turned to look.
...
Huo Shiqing and his friend Chu Xiao had just exited the ward. His eyes revealed no emotion. "Is there a problem?"
Chu Xiao looked exaggeratedly surprised. "You actually got married? I don't believe it unless you bring your wife over for me to see."
Huo Shiqing raised an eyebrow slightly.
At that moment, he suddenly looked up and met Mu Beiyin's eyes not far away.
The man's eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses carried a faint smile. "Isn't she here?"
Chu Xiao exclaimed in confusion, then saw Huo Shiqing walk over to the woman. "My wife, Mu Beiyin."
My wife...
When Mu Beiyin heard these three words, her face instantly turned red. When this man said those words, why did it feel like a subtle flirtation?
Chu Xiao was shocked. He really got married? Huo Shiqing wouldn't just randomly pull a woman to deceive him.
But this Mrs. Huo looked so familiar. Her name also sounded familiar. Mu Beiyin...
Chu Xiao silently repeated the name several times in his mind, suddenly thought of something, and abruptly looked up, almost choking on his breath.
"Miss Mu? Isn't she the one from yesterday's wedding who—cheated—cough cough, I mean, the one who shone brightly at the event?! Huo Shiqing, you actually married the woman Song Lingqian didn't want…"
The last few words got stuck in his throat—he swallowed hard and didn't dare to say them aloud.
Mu Beiyin suddenly understood.
Chu Xiao must have been shocked because Huo Shiqing had married his nephew Song Lingqian's ex-fiancée. That's why he was so surprised.
After all, Huo Shiqing, being the uncle, having any unclear involvement with his nephew's former fiancée, would be considered ethically inappropriate.
Huo Shiqing's gaze darkened slightly. He gave a faint "Mm," then said, "You can go now."
Chu Xiao, eager to get away from this mess, coughed a few times.
"Miss Mu, I'll take my leave then. Oh, right, Shiqing—that person has shown up again. Look into it when you have time."
With that, he took off like something was chasing him, vanishing in under three seconds.
Huo Shiqing turned his gaze to Mu Beiyin, as if assessing something. After a moment, he spoke in a gentle tone.
"Looks like Miss Mu has already clarified the rumors from yesterday's wedding. You handled things quicker than I expected."
Mu Beiyin was momentarily caught off guard. She had the distinct feeling Huo Shiqing's words carried a hint of probing.
"Just luck, pure luck. I happened to run into someone Mu Qianrou had bribed, so things went smoothly."
Huo Shiqing's lips curved slightly. "Is that so?"
He had also looked into the person who spread the edited photos online, but he was a step too late. This Miss Mu's methods were more forceful than he'd imagined.
Mu Beiyin wasn't sure what he truly meant, and just then, Huo Shiqing's assistant Bai Ji opened the car door for them.
She seized the opportunity to change the subject. "Mr. Huo, what brings you to the hospital?"
Huo Shiqing narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just dealing with some junior's mess."
Mess? Mu Beiyin thought for a moment and suddenly understood.
Heh. It was probably that ridiculous matter of Song Lingqian trying to cancel the engagement.
At the thought of the broken engagement, Mu Beiyin's brows furrowed tightly.
The engagement token between her and Song Lingqian was a jade pendant, a gift from her mother to the Song family—but with the condition that it would only truly belong to them after she married into the Song family.
This jade pendant could be used in the capital to exchange for a powerful favor. That was also one of the reasons why, despite his disdain for her, Song Lingqian had never formally broken off the engagement.
Now that the jade pendant was in her possession, Mu Qianrou would surely try to find a way to steal it.
But if she gave it to Huo Shiqing…
At that thought, Mu Beiyin's eyes flickered, and she gave a shy smile, speaking in a negotiating tone.
"Mr. Huo, no time like the present—how about I give you my jade pendant to celebrate our marriage?"
The air instantly turned still.
Huo Shiqing glanced at her lightly, spotting the "宋 (Song)" character carved on the pendant. With a faint smile on his lips, he effortlessly shut her down.
"Doesn't sound like a great idea. Giving me the engagement token from your ex-fiancé? Is this a case of gifting recycled goods or simply passing on a burden, hmm?"
Mu Beiyin: "..."
You didn't seem to have a problem when you married your nephew's ex-fiancée—so what now?
Her smile nearly cracked, but she forced herself to keep it in place. "How could it be considered recycled? This jade pendant was a token agreed upon between my mother and the Song family. Since I'm going to give it to you anyway, does it really matter when?"
Huo Shiqing narrowed his eyes.
A token from the Song family? Why would it be his "sooner or later"?
He suddenly had the unsettling feeling that he'd overlooked something incredibly important.
Staring at Mu Beiyin, the look in his eyes grew more dangerous by the second. A bold guess suddenly flashed through his mind—