Hidden Marriage: Spoiled by the Imperial Commander-Chapter 600: She’s Just Using You

Yunlie and Mu Huaner had finally buried the hatchet; their relationship was now much better than before.

Yan Qianyi agreed to Xu Zhiqiang’s request partly because she thought of Mu Huaner.

On the other hand, she also hoped this matter could be resolved as soon as possible.

If Xu Zhiqiang would cooperate properly and testify in court about Mrs. Ning’s crimes soon, she could avenge her mother sooner.

If it had been before, she wouldn’t have cared about any evidence at all.

Once she confirmed someone deserved to die, she would execute them in private without hesitation.

But now, as the First Lady of the Federation Empire, she couldn’t handle some people without consideration like she used to.

Mu Yunlie frowned.

He hadn’t agreed to Xu Zhiqiang’s request, not only because he disliked being manipulated but mainly because Xu Zhiqiang had killed his mother-in-law and almost turned his darling into a real vegetable.

So he didn’t want Xu Zhiqiang to feel comfortable.

He looked at Xu Zhiqiang and said coldly, "For my wife’s sake, I’ll agree to your request, but you’d better cooperate afterward, or else I’ll make you understand what ’worse than death’ means."

Xu Zhiqiang nodded hastily, "I’m already in your hands, I can’t trick you, and I have no reason to protect Mrs. Ning. I just want to see Miss Huaner one more time before I die."

Mu Yunlie immediately sent an audio message to Mu Huaner, concisely explaining the current situation.

It was late at night, and Mu Huaner had just lain down to sleep. After receiving Mu Yunlie’s message, she immediately agreed to come right over.

She wanted to see Xu Zhiqiang and find out why he had tried to harm Shu Meng years ago.

Xu Zhiqiang’s actions puzzled her greatly. They had also caused her to take the blame and almost cost her Ah Lie because of Yan Qianyi.

Soon, Mu Huaner arrived.

Xu Zhiqiang requested a private word with Mu Huaner, so Mu Yunlie and the others went to the adjacent surveillance room.

Seeing Mu Huaner, Xu Zhiqiang’s eyes instantly reddened, "Miss, thank you for being willing to see me."

Mu Huaner looked at him with cold eyes and asked, "Why did you do it back then? Doctor Shu had done no wrong to you. Do you realize you almost made me take the fall for you!"

"I’m sorry."

Mu Huaner wanted to lash out at Xu Zhiqiang, but seeing his reddened eyes, she suddenly found she couldn’t.

She sat down and sighed, "I’ve been looking for you all these years, too. The things I said when I rejected you were harsh. But I just wanted to make you give up on me, which is why I said those hurtful words—you shouldn’t hold a grudge against me for them. But you... you shouldn’t have done what you did!"

She had been searching for Xu Zhiqiang all these years, feeling guilty.

She thought her harsh words had driven Xu Zhiqiang away from the Mu Family, never to return, and with no word.

It wasn’t until Yan Qianyi told her that Xu Zhiqiang had tampered with Doctor Shu’s car that she understood Xu Zhiqiang’s disappearance was flight from guilt.

"Miss, I have never resented you," Xu Zhiqiang said, looking at Mu Huaner with a deep, affectionate gaze.

"Miss was right. I was just an orphan picked up by the old man. The Mu Family took me in and fed me. I should be grateful and never overstep my bounds to think I could have you."

"It was right after you had rejected me that Mrs. Ning saw us."

"Mrs. Ning came to me later and said if I did her a favor, she would give me a large sum of money. I was tempted at the time..."

Mu Huaner looked puzzled, "The Mu Family never treated you unfairly and never shortchanged you on anything. How could you be tempted by her money?"

Xu Zhiqiang gave a bitter smile, "The Mu Family may have provided for me, but in the Mu Family, I was always looked down upon. Everything I had was charity from the old man.

"However, before that, I didn’t realize this problem. I naively thought that since I grew up with Miss from childhood, and we were childhood sweethearts, Miss would accept me."

"It was Miss’s words that made me come to my senses. I was always second-class in the Mu Family, never worthy of your golden body."

"I understood that if I wanted to be with Miss, I had to rely on my ability to become someone truly superior. And that money Mrs. Ning was offering could serve as the startup capital I needed after leaving the Mu Family."

"After getting that money, I went abroad."

"In these three and a half years, I’ve tried hard to build my own business empire, and this year it finally started to take shape, so I came back."

"I was no longer the orphan taken in by the Mu Family. I had created my own business empire, and I thought with my current capacity, I could express my feelings to Miss again. But I never expected..."

I never expected my past deeds to have been exposed.

I never expected my return home in pursuit of love to be walking into a trap.

Mu Huaner laughed coldly, "If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it yourself. Did you think your actions back then were flawless?"

Xu Zhiqiang said ashamedly, "At the time, I was focused solely on getting Mrs. Ning’s money to start a business, to become someone worthy of you. I wasn’t thinking straight and didn’t consider too much..."

Mrs. Ning found him when he was at his most desperate.

Everything he owned was by virtue of the Mu Family, and he thought he would have to rely on the Mu Family for his entire life.

So when Mrs. Ning came to him with an offer, he didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity.

Mu Huaner looked incredulous, "Just to escape dependence on the Mu Family and start your own business, you agreed to commit murder? I really can’t understand it."

Xu Zhiqiang gave a bitter smile, "Maybe it was because I loved you too much, and Mrs. Ning’s offer was the only hope I could see at the time."

Mu Huaner looked at him with pain and urgency, "If you really wanted to start your own business, you could have talked to the old man. Given how much he valued you at the time, he would have supported you and given you money to start a business."

Xu Zhiqiang replied, "But then I’d still be relying on the Mu Family, and I still wouldn’t be able to lift my head in front of you."

Mu Huaner shook her head helplessly, "You were too foolish. When I rejected you that resolutely, it was to make you understand that I didn’t have those feelings for you. I saw you as a playmate I grew up with, as a brother. Even if you have succeeded in business now and built your own business empire overseas, I don’t like you. No matter how excellent you become, it won’t change that fact."

Xu Zhiqiang said with a downcast expression, "I understand now..."

"Mrs. Ning saw your true feelings, which is why she approached you for cooperation," Mu Huaner said. "She was just using you to get rid of her romantic rival."

Mrs. Ning used to bring Ning Nuan to the Mu Family to see the old man, allowing her to realize Xu Zhiqiang’s potential value.