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n“Is this my belly-binder?” A cold and indifferent voice could be heard from outside the crowd. A woman approached slowly. She was dressed plainly and did not look striking. In fact, her clothes were shabbier than all the ladies present. She did not look any different from some maids standing by the side who were dressed nicely.

nA noble lady living under someone else’s roof should look like this!

nIt had been two years since Wang Yun was thrown out by Mo Huawen. Mo Xuetong was only 10 then and she looked completely different in terms of size and appearance. The girl did look slightly familiar, so Wang Yun immediately turned to her and said affectionately, “Tong’er, I’m sorry. I did not mean to tell them about what happened between us. When you gave me this two days ago, I promised that I would not let you suffer. But I can’t not say it today. It is alright. I will not look down on you. In the future, I will give you everything that I have and I will love you dearly. We will go back to the capital together later and ask your father for permission to marry.”

n“Are you talking about me?” The girl frowned and sized him up, looking at him with disdain. Her head was lifted highly and her tone of disdain angered Wang Yun. He thought about how everyone looked down on him after he was thrown out by Mo Huawen. He had been shamed plenty of times after that and he hated Mo Huawen thoroughly. He would go through with this no matter what. “Of course I am talking about you, Tong’er. Didn’t we agree that night after our meeting? Are you going to abandon me?”

nHe spoke lovingly and tenderly, but this made Mdm Yu who was standing by the side sweat profusely in her anxiousness. She took a step forward and wanted to say something but spotted the cold glance that Mdm Qin gave her. She shut her mouth immediately. No matter how much she did not respect Mdm Qin, she could see the viciousness in her eyes right now. She did not dare to say anything else and could only grit her teeth silently.

n“You’re sure it’s me?”

n“Of course I’m sure. I am familiar with not only your face but your body as well.” There was a low buzzing from the crowd that made Wang Yun feel uneasy for some reason. However, he could not tell what was wrong. He looked at the familiar face and hunkered down. He was truly vicious. While he sounded loving and tender, he was exposing the relationship they had.

n“Madam discovered you having an affair with a maid at home and you were thrown out by old sir. However, he felt that it was hard for you as a scholar and did not make the news public. However, you have forgotten that old sir was afraid that you might do something in retaliation against the Mo Manor and had you write a confession letter in your own hands with your handprint on it. He had left it at the magistrate before he left. One can find out about this matter should they go and check. I did not expect that you would refuse to be a scholar and do something like this. How dare you ruin my mistress’ reputation now.” Mo Lan glared at Wang Yun furiously.

nEven though it had been some time since the incident, the maid that Wang Yun had an affair with was her cousin. After the incident, Wang Yun was thrown out from the manor, but her cousin had been shamed and had committed suicide by jumping into the well. She had thought that Wang Yun had already disappeared, but she did not expect to see him here and how dare he besmirch her mistress’ reputation.

n“Nonsense, we were in love with each other but your father said that because he was afraid that this would besmirch the family name. I wrote that confession under distress because I cared for your reputation. Could it be…” Wang Yun’s expression grew flustered when he was exposed. He did not care about anything else now and only thought of dragging Mo Xuetong down with him and to have his accusations become fact.

nHowever, he suddenly stuttered when he said that. Old sir, Madam… sweat started running down his back profusely!

nHow dare he say he was having an affair with a young lady of the Mo family? He had even gotten the person wrong. Everyone present knew then that this person was intentionally trying to frame the young lady.

n“Why aren’t you speaking anymore? Go on? Didn’t you say that we were having an affair and that we only met a few days ago? How did you think that Mo Lan was me?” Mo Xuetong appeared from behind Mo Lan with a sneer. She was slender and was not as tall as Mo Lan. Wang Yun did not see her at all when she stood behind Mo Lan. Furthermore, Mo Lan did not dress up like a maid today but like a young lady from a less wealthy family. When one thought of how she was still in her grieving period, it was easy for one to misunderstand.

nMo Xuetong needed such a misunderstanding.

n“I don’t know when I have ever seen you. And even in the Mo Manor, what right do you have as an outsider who is a man to see me? Furthermore, I was just 10 then and was just a child. How could I have an affair with a man who is in his 20s? You were trying to ruin my reputation deliberately today, otherwise, why would your statements not match?”

nMo Xuetong stood there calmly and coldly. Her tone was powerful and her innocent and ethereal expression did not seem angry at this moment. Her beautiful face was sharp as she strode forward and stood in front of Wang Yun who was sweating profusely. She asked him coldly, “But if I had not brought you here today, who did!”

nShe looked at Wang Yun from above as he knelt before her.

nThis statement had not only brought up the fact that Wang Yun had tried to frame her. Suspicion towards Wang Yun grew in the crowd once again.

nThe women of the court officials were all present. Even the serving monks in the temple were all young monks who were about seven or eight years old. How was it possible for other men to appear unless someone brought him in to get Mo Xuetong into trouble? Who would put in so much effort to bring someone in and set up such a scheme? This person must have grudges against Mo Xuetong.

nEveryone glanced at Mdm Yu thoughtfully.

nThere were many people who witnessed the Yu family’s dispute with Mo Xuetong yesterday. When they saw this scene and recalled what happened yesterday, they could not help but suspect the Yu family. However, no one else in the Yu family was in the mood to admire flowers today. No one else from the Yu family had come except Mdm Yu.

nSome of the quick-witted recalled how Mdm Yu had jumped out and said all those things while she tugged on Wang Yun. The looks of suspicion cast on Mdm Yu grew stronger.

nMdm Yu’s expression grew ugly and she was shocked and flustered. She did not expect the small tweak in Mo Lan’s dressing would cause her plot to fail. According to her plans, Wang Yun only needed to insist that he had an affair with Mo Xuetong. The crowd would not care how old she was two years ago. After all, it was hard to explain love.

nShe did not expect Mo Xuetong to not appear but to stand behind Mo Lan. Mo Lan looked like a lady and she had not expected Wang Yun to just rush forward and treat the maid as Mo Xuetong. His actions were so quick so much so that she had no time to react. By the time she came to her senses, Mdm Qin had glared at her coldly and she did not dare to say anything.

nThe slut was too sly. No wonder Mo Lan was dressed differently today. They had already planned for this! However, there was no use in her being angry right now. The facts were laid bare before everyone. Her plot to frame Mo Xuetong had failed. Mdm Yu did not know what to do next.

nThe plot that she had been confident in had failed. How could she not be flustered!

nMdm Qin glared at Mdm Yu hatefully and angrily. She was one of the few in the crowds who knew what was happening. How could she not know that Mdm Yu was angry about what Mo Xuetong had done to the Yu family yesterday and had set up such a vicious plot? Mdm Yu had disregarded the Qin family and tried to slander Mo Xuetong.

n“Alright, drag this person away. How dare he slander Tong’er. Even if there is no one else from the Mo family present, I cannot allow Tong’er to be bullied. Mdm Yu, what do you say!” Mdm Qin said coldly, thusly blaming Wang Yun for the matter. If she continued pressing the matter, she feared that the Qin family might be the one embarrassed, which was why she had tried to deal with the matter using Mo Xuetong’s name.

nHer sharp gaze landed on Mdm Yu’s face. Everyone followed in the direction in which she was looking and the way they looked at Mdm Yu turned thoughtful.

nMdm Yu was flustered when she saw how everyone was looking at her. She did not dare to say anything else. She was already unnerved given the current situation and only wanted to extricate herself from the matter. When she heard what Mdm Qin said, she could not help but scream sharply, “Come, take this shameless person away and hit him. Hit him badly until he dies.”

nThe two female servants behind Mdm Qin hurried up to Wang Yun and attempted to drag him away when they heard what their mistress said.

nWang Yun had long been panicked. The matter had already been exposed and he could not be bothered to frame others right now. He only wanted to extricate himself from this mess. When he heard that Mdm Yu wanted to beat him to death, he came back to his senses and yelled while he struggled. “Mdm Yu, what do you mean? You were the one who told me that I could frame Miss Mo if I took this belly-binder…”

n“Nonsense. Shut his mouth!” Mdm Qin ordered coldly as she shook in anger.

nHow would she allow Mdm Yu to be implicated? No matter how bad she was, she was still the matriarch of the Qin family. If there were bad rumors about her, the entire Qin family would be implicated. She glared at Mdm Yu hatefully and furiously.

n“Oh, what’s that. It doesn’t look like it says ‘Mo’ or ‘Tong’.” Someone called out in surprise.

nSomeone picked up the red belly-binder that Mdm Qin tossed onto the floor without looking and exclaimed.

n“Yu… rong! Yu Sirong! It’s Yu Sirong’s!” A few madams read the characters on the belly-binder. The madam who was holding onto the belly-binder flung it out in a hurry and yelled in surprise. That caused a murmur amongst the crowd. Everyone’s attention was drawn to it and even Mdm Qin could not help but look in that direction with a grave expression.

nCompared to Mdm Yu, Mdm Qin felt that it was better for Yu Sirong to take the rap. At least Yu Sirong was not as closely related to the Qin family as Mdm Yu! As such, she did not get rid of Wang Yun right there and then.

nMo Xuetong did not approach. Instead, she went up to Wang Yun, whose mouth was gagged. She said to him coldly, “Scholar Wang, you are someone who has studied history extensively, so you should know which is more serious between trying to frame a daughter of a minister and having an affair with one.”

nIt sounded as if she was warning Wang Yun because of how he had tried to frame her. However, there was an underlying meaning to it.

nIn the law of Great Qin, the expectations towards the reputation of a woman were very high. A woman with a ruined reputation would live her life in shame or would have to die in order to escape her sins. To destroy the reputation of a woman was equivalent to killing her, and who sinned would have to be thrown out into the wilderness. However, having a secret love affair would only be rebuked in theory. After all, both parties were unmarried and they might end up having a good marriage. Even if the woman’s family did not agree, they could only accept their fate. That was why Wang Yun dared to say that Mo Xuetong was having an affair with him.

nMo Xuetong turned around and lowered her head after she finished her words. Her thick long lashes cast a shadow over her face. There was a faint sense of sadness on her beautiful face. However, she bit her lips stubbornly, looking gracious despite having been shamed.

nShe looked out from the corner of her eyes, cold and sharp. Wang Yun felt fearful for some reason when he saw that. When her beautiful eyes landed on him, it was cold and felt as murderous. She did not look like the innocent, helpless and weak girl she was portraying. For the first time, Wang Yun felt regret for trying to plot against a woman like this!

nHow was a woman like this as gentle as she portrayed herself to be!

nShe did not say much, but just a statement from her made Wang Yun change his mind. He was certain that he would no longer be able to frame Mo Xuetong. But with the belly-binder as evidence, he would be able to make others believe that he was involved with that woman called Yu Sirong. That was the only way for him to stay alive today. Furthermore, he could hear the threat in Mo Xuetong’s tone.

nOtherwise, he might just die here!

nMo Xuetong looked up slightly, sweeping her gaze upon him lightly. Her dark eyes were like frozen ponds. He lowered his head with just a glance from her. He did not dare to meet his eyes. Those eyes were so sharp they could steal one’s soul. They were not eyes that a fallen scholar was worthy to look at.

nWang Yun was a spineless sort or he would not have taken a job like this.

nA female servant had already taken out the cloth from Wang Yun’s mouth. She scolded, “What’s this?”

n“This, Sirong, we… did not mean to. I was afraid that others would find out about us, so I said I was looking for Miss Mo!” Wang Yun had worked under Mo Huawen before and knew how serious the situation was. He coughed and shivered as if he was so frightened he was speaking the truth. “Sirong gave me that.”

n“Nonsense. Nonsense! You bastard, you’re speaking nonsense!” Yu Sirong rushed out from behind the crowd like a madwoman as she screamed sharply. Her face was wrapped in bandages. She had not been here for long, but it was enough for her to hear what had happened clearly. She had not needed to come today but she would not let go of the chance to see Mo Xuetong being shamed!

nAs such, she had pestered Mdm Chen eagerly and brought a few maids with her to the plum forest as well.

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