The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 46 - 45

Chapter 45

As the ordeal finally unraveled, the two young misses of the Mu family, who had vanished, were safely returned to their home. The abductors were apprehended and faced their due punishment in Qingyun City, with their execution scheduled three days later. However, during these three days, they endured extreme torture by the authorities, suffering as if they had descended into hell itself!

But while everyone thought that the ordeal was over, no one knew that there was another big rainstorm impending...

Mu Manor.

In the past three days, despite the joyous news of the daughters’ return, the atmosphere within the manor hardly improved.

The wounds of the second young miss and the sixth young miss were profound, and their recovery seemed nearly impossible, particularly the deep emotional scars that required much time to heal.

The best physicians in Qingyun City were summoned to treat the sisters at Mu Manor, but none could fully heal their wounds, especially the wounds on the two sisters’ faces that would potentially become facial scars inevitably in the future.

Moreover, the prognosis for Mu Luofei, who sustained severe leg injuries, was grim. It was highly unlikely she would ever walk normally again; at best, she might hobble, and at worst, be confined to a wheelchair for life!

Hearing the doctors’ grim forecasts, Bai Lijun was heartbroken beyond words. The mere thought of her daughters enduring such atrocious events was agonizing enough.

Yet, the realization that a bleak future awaited them inflicted even more pain, as if her heart was being crushed!

Bai Lijun couldn’t recall how much she had wept over those three days. All she knew was that despite her desire to cry more, not a single tear was left to shed.

Similarly, when Mu Cui Ming received the news, he was at a loss, unsure of what to say or do. He felt numb throughout his body.

One daughter was disfigured, turning into an ugly woman!

The other one, not only disfigured, became disabled to the extent that she might never lead a normal life again!

Mu Cui Ming closed his eyes, trying to suppress the turmoil inside him. Sadness, grief, anger, and disappointment surged relentlessly, leaving his mind in utter chaos.

Unable to bear the internal storm, he abruptly left his beautiful wife’s chamber and retreated to his study, never once returning to visit his daughters...

Inside Mu Furen’s quarters, the scent of medicinal herbs filled the air, originating from two adjacent rooms treating the young misses.

Servants had to regularly apply medicine to their wounds and prepare herbal concoctions thrice daily. Since the young misses were still unconscious, it facilitated a smooth care process.

However, on the morning of the fourth day, an agonizing scream echoed loudly, causing panic among the people inside and near the quarters.

Bai Lijun was startled awake by the noise, and upon listening carefully, she immediately recognized it as the voice of her younger daughter!

She hurriedly donned her robe and rushed to Mu Qin Shuang’s room, only to be greeted by a scene that made her freeze in shock:

"Aaaah! N...No! Take it away! Get it out! I’m scared now! So scared! No! Aaah!"

The little girl on the bed screamed hysterically before curling up in the corner of the headboard, trembling. She buried her face in her knees, mumbling incoherently as if she had lost her mind:

"N...No! No! No more! I’m scared now! Don’t want it anymore!"

"Si...Sixth Young Miss?" The personal maid approached cautiously, calling out softly, but Mu Qin Shuang panicked again, retreating further toward the headboard.

"Don’t come near! Aaah! Get away! Get out! Don’t come near me! Aaah...!"

The girl continued to scream frantically, her face streaked with tears, her once bright eyes now dimmed with fear and panic.

Bai Lijun watched the unfolding scene with a heart shattered into pieces, tears streaming down her face. She covered her mouth tightly with both hands to stifle her own sobs.

From a once cheerful child, her daughter had turned into a distraught, unhinged person!

Without speculating much, it was clear how severe her daughter’s ordeal had been for her to end up in such a state.

At this moment, Bai Lijun’s heart was completely broken.

She stepped forward into the room, her every step heavy, barely finding the strength to move. Reaching her daughter, she extended her arms to embrace the frantic girl.

"My Shuang’er..."

"Aaaah! Let go! Leave me! I’m scared! Waah. I’m so scared! Don’t come near me! Waah..."

Mu Qin Shuang, in her delirium, continued her loud cries, struggling against her mother’s embrace. She hit, bit, and scratched at her mother’s arms in a wild frenzy.

"Shuang’er...don’t be scared, my dear, it’s Mother. Mother is here," Bai Lijun clenched her jaws tightly, enduring her own pain as she comforted her daughter with a trembling voice, tightening her embrace.

"No! Aaaah! Don’t hurt me! Please, don’t! I am scared! No! Aaaah!"

Mu Qin Shuang thrashed, trying to escape, her hands flailing, accidentally scratching over her medicated wounds on her cheeks causing them to bleed again.

Bai Lijun swiftly grabbed her daughter’s hands, holding them firmly while embracing her tightly, her voice breaking through tears, "Mother is here now! Good girl, Shuang’er, Mother is here! Nobody can hurt you now..."

"Mo...Mother?"

In a brief moment of clarity, Mu Qin Shuang responded to the soothing whisper. She paused her struggling, her lips quivering as she broke down, "sob...sob...Waah...Mo...Mother...I’m scared...Waah...Mo...Mother"

"Sob...Mother knows, my dear...I’m here now."

Bai Lijun’s face pressed against her daughter’s small head, her tears flowing freely, she pressed her lips together to suppress her crying.

Hearing her daughter’s wails, Bai Lijun’s heart trembled as if a heavy hammer kept pounding inside, constantly reminding her of their pain and suffering.

The continuous heart-wrenching cries of Mu Qin Shuang echoed, affecting every servant in the quarters with a shared sense of sorrow. Despite the young miss’s formerly harsh demeanor, she was, after all, just a ten-year-old girl.

Facing such horrific trauma was quite pitiful...

Imperial Dungeon, Qingyun City.

In the dimly lit prison, only the faint light from lanterns illuminated. The cells and corridors were damp and had foul smells that made people disgusted.

Continuous agonized screams echoed from the innermost parts of the imperial dungeon. The middlemen, handed over discreetly to the chief of the militia, were being tortured for information.

"I...I’ll tell you! I’ll confess! Stop torturing me!"

Said a hoarse voice of one of the captured middlemen who finally succumbed, wanting to confess everything.

The chief of the militia smirked, satisfied, "Had you spoken truthfully from the start, we could have avoided this waste of time! Now, tell me! Who ordered you to kidnap the young misses of the Mu family!?"

"It was..."

The middleman hesitated, fearing the response. Yet, meeting the chief’s stern gaze, he felt compelled,

"I doubt you’ll believe me, but every word I speak is the truth. The employer who ordered us to kidnap the girls and deliver them to the bandits was none other than the Furen of the Mu family!"

Hmm?

The chief raised his eyebrows slightly before laughing, "You expect me to believe such nonsense? Do you even know who the Furen of the Mu family is? She’s the real mother of the two girls you abducted! And you claim she orchestrated her own daughters’ kidnapping?"

"Cough, cough,"

The middleman coughed up a blob of blood, laughing bitterly but full of sneer,

"I told you, I doubted you would believe it. Hahaha."

The chief scrutinized the man, seeking the truth in his eyes. If it was a lie, the eyes must show a hint of deception.

But even after a long stare, he found no signs of deceit—just despair and defiance, yet without a trace of paranoia.

"If what you’re saying is true, why would a mother order the abduction of her own children?"

"Did I say Mu Furen directly ordered the abduction of the two young misses?" The middleman gave a chilling smile.

"What does that imply?"

The chief frowned. Initially, there seemed no need for further investigation, but an anonymous tip had forced his hand.

If he failed to unearth the full truth, his position as the chief was at stake.

Although he was initially skeptical, thinking it was merely a baseless threat, a secret letter reached him in the dead of night three days ago, bearing the unmistakable seal of the third-ranking official.

It seemed this matter might indeed involve the desires of a significant aristocrat from the capital, brewing a storm he could ill afford to entangle himself with. As a minor chief of the militia, how could he dare meddle in the power struggles of the capital’s nobility?

Surviving by going with the flow was enough!

"Originally, Mu Furen herself had contacted us to kidnap the seventh young miss who was supposed to take the last carriage back to the manor. However, things went awry, and instead of the seventh young miss, it was the second and sixth young misses who were in the last carriage. Everything went off plan!"

"The seventh young miss?"

The chief of the militia furrowed his brows deeply, fearing the truth might reveal a nasty scandal involving the Deputy Chancellor Mu’s family affair.

Which noble with so many wives didn’t harbor some dark secrets?

If it was like that, he couldn’t just meddle deeply. It’s best to turn a blind eye and let the Mu family handle these internal affairs first.

"How can I be sure that what you’re claiming is the truth? You could be fabricating this to shift the blame away from yourselves," the chief spoke, his face expressionless.

The middleman smirked slightly and said, "Fourth alley, western district of the city. You can inquire there for witnesses who might have seen them around that area. Both the mistress and her personal servant have contacted us multiple times; it’s impossible they went unnoticed by the local residents!"

"Soldiers, take the portraits of the Mu family’s Furen and her personal servant out and inquire with the locals if anyone has seen them..."

The chief of the militia turned to issue an order before continuing, "If no one can testify, then I will show you no mercy any longer! However, if your claim holds true, there must be additional evidence, don’t you think?"

"Of course, I do have evidence that could trace back to the mastermind. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have confessed like this!" The middleman said with a cold smile, his eyes gleaming icily.

Given his wariness and meticulousness, he would often keep some evidence whenever he undertook a job from anyone, to use against them if ever he found himself in a bind!

Now that he was caught and tortured, let Mu Furen not expect to escape unscathed!

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