If he dared say yes, Commandery Princess Dongyang would probably really explode.

Seeing this, Ye Haoyang gave Mu Huaen a look.

Mu Huaen stepped forward and tugged Commandery Princess Dongyang’s sleeve. "Mother, if you have something to say, let’s go inside to talk."

Mu Niancheng also spoke from the side. "Father, you can’t hide this anymore. My mother and I think the same, and there’s no need to keep this a secret now."

Mu Shaoling glanced at the two children; they seemed to be of one mind, and as for Commandery Princess Dongyang, that went without saying.

He looked around and saw quite a few servants were still about. After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

Seeing this, Ye Zi’an and his wife said, "Since you’re all fine, we’ll go back first."

Mu Shaoling nodded again. He was indeed grateful that Ye Zi’an and Yang Chuxia had rushed over, but he didn’t want more people hearing the scandals of his own family.

"Alright, it’s getting late, and the residence is in such a mess. You two go back first; I’ll come by another day to thank you properly."

Ye Zi’an waved his hand. "No need for those polite words between us."

"Father, Mother, I’ll see you back."

"No need, we can go back on our own." Yang Chuxia patted his hand. "Look after your wife."

"Mm."

But Ye Haoyang still chose to see them off. Even though he was already the Mu Family’s son-in-law, he didn’t bear the Mu surname. As for the Mu Family’s scandals, his father‑in‑law likely wouldn’t be happy to have him listening in. He could come back to Hua’en’s side afterward.

Seeing he insisted, Yang Chuxia no longer tried to stop him.

The Mu Shaoling family had already entered the main hall by now, while Mu Yubing was being held by two people.

The main hall itself hadn’t been burned, but a heavy smell of smoke and fire had drifted in, making it very uncomfortable to breathe.

Mu Shaoling suddenly thought of the medicinal smell he’d noticed when he first returned to the residence.

His face darkened as he looked at Mu Yubing. "Those medicinal smells in the Mu Residence were your doing?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Haha..." Mu Yubing burst into loud laughter. "Of course they were. It was just to cover up the smell of the oil. At first I was worried you’d sniff it out, but who knew every last one of you would be such idiots. You couldn’t even investigate it properly."

"Aren’t you clever." Mu Niancheng had never liked that arrogant look of hers; he couldn’t help cutting in with a sarcastic remark. "But what good is your cleverness if you can’t even figure out who your own father is?"

That one sentence stabbed right into Mu Yubing’s sore spot. She glared at him at once, as if she wanted to swallow Mu Niancheng alive.

"Hmph!"

"Enough, you say a few words less." Mu Shaoling chided him once, then turned his head to look at Mu Yubing. After a long moment he finally said, "You may not be my daughter, but there is still a blood tie between us, because you were originally supposed to be my younger sister."

"What?" Mu Niancheng almost slipped off his stool.

Mu Huaen was stunned as well; she had never imagined it would turn out like this.

Even Mu Yubing herself nearly bit her own tongue.

"Back then, when Old Prince Qing held his grand birthday banquet and invited the aristocracy of the Capital City to celebrate, because I had long been taking Old Prince Qing’s pulse, there was a room in Prince Qing’s manor that was always kept for me as a place to rest. The room your mother went into was my temporary room in Prince Qing’s residence. Why she appeared there, I’m afraid only your mother knows." He paused, then continued, "But before I entered, my father, who had drunk too much at the last minute, went there to rest for a while. When I went to call him, he had already left, and your mother was still inside, already awake."

So Concubine Tong had mistaken that man for him.

If something like this blew up, it would look terrible, since it was disgraceful to begin with. And if the Tong Family learned that their girl had gotten tangled up with an older man from the Mu Family, they’d probably be willing to pay the price of having Concubine Tong killed, just to flay a layer of skin off the Mu Family.