Chapter 30: Distorting Truth and Falsehood

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“My dear Mu, your mother is getting on in years and sometimes fails to consider everything thoroughly. You have wrongly blamed me. All I wanted was harmony in our household, for everything to prosper. I only wished for Shen to remember this punishment and restrain her temper. Never did I intend to ruin her reputation or humiliate you. It is my failing, my fault—I am old and no longer useful.” With that, she lowered her head and wept in silence.

Well, this old woman truly knows when to yield and when to stand firm.

When she admits her fault, she does so completely. She leaves no room even for a proper outburst.

Witnessing this, Chu Mu felt a pang of heartache. He knew his mother was not so muddle-headed as to ruin A Zhao’s name and disgrace him in the process.

Seeing his mother shed silent tears and blame herself, he regretted his earlier suspicions.

His eyes pleaded as he looked at Shen Zhao.

“Husband, Mother did not act with malice. Please don’t let me be the cause of her sorrow. She is old, and it’s only natural she might make mistakes in judgment. Please, don’t be angry with her. Do comfort her.”

On hearing this, Shen Zhao almost fainted from rage.

She glared at Chu Mu, her patience worn thin.

What a dutiful son! He couldn’t bear to see his mother suffer even the slightest grievance.

Ever willfully blind, ever stubbornly loyal.

Now, seeing his mother put on a show of vulnerability, he had already forgotten how domineering she had been only moments ago.

Under Shen Zhao’s glare, Chu Mu swallowed his words and shrank back. His gaze was timid as he looked at A Zhao, nervously twisting the cord of his robe.

Mother has already admitted her mistake; A Zhao would surely not continue to argue with her.

His A Zhao was coveted by those shameless pretty boys.

He must not give A Zhao cause for further displeasure, nor drive her further away.

If someone else were to snatch her away, he’d have nowhere left to cry.

Shen Zhao took a deep breath. If she were to argue with this blockhead, she’d die of frustration.

Knowing full well what sort of man he was, she still found herself enraged by him.

“My lady, you are truly filial! How could I ever bear a grudge against Mother? Just let me ask you one last time—are you sure there is nothing you wish to say? Did you truly strike Second Brother without any cause?”

“My lady, think carefully before you answer. Are you willing to bear the infamy of beating your uncle, to suffer family punishment, or would you rather tell the truth?”

“I care most for my good name. Do not disappoint me.”

Before Chu Mu could reply, the Second Madam could no longer sit still. Was Third Brother really going to defend this little slut Shen?

That would not do!

She immediately interjected, “Third Brother, Shen has already tacitly admitted it—why do you keep questioning her? If she were truly innocent, why didn’t she speak up when first asked? All that evasiveness only proves she was up to something shameful behind your back, and Second Brother caught her at it.”

“Who in this household doesn’t know, Third Brother, that you haven’t visited Shen’s rooms in two years? Who’s to say she hasn’t grown lonely and taken up with another man?”

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The Second Madam grew more and more animated, certain that with her slander, Third Brother would surely give up on Shen.

She did not notice Chu Mu’s astonished gaze and increasingly dark expression.

How could Second Sister-in-law slander A Zhao so cruelly?

Second Madam, seeing no response from Shen Zhao, nudged Chu Renjie under the table, signaling with her eyes. “Husband, was it because you interrupted your sister-in-law’s tryst that she beat you so savagely?”

Chu Renjie dared not answer. The Second Madam, frustrated by his silence, pressed on, “Don’t worry, husband. Mother and Third Brother are here—what could anyone possibly do to you? Third Brother has always respected you most. Now that you’ve been wronged, he will surely speak for you.”

Chu Renjie thought, Well, even if I twist the facts, so what?

Third Brother stopped caring for Shen long ago.

Shen’s standing in the household is so low, what does he have to fear from her?

Even if Shen accused him of impropriety, as long as he denied it to the end, who would believe her?

Third Brother never trusts Shen.

This inquiry is only for the sake of Third Brother’s own reputation.

If today he could make Third Brother utterly despise Shen, her days would be even harder.

Then she’d be entirely at his mercy.

As he imagined Shen beneath him, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Chu Mu, his eyes brimming with excitement and barely suppressed desire—utterly lecherous.

Chu Mu, keen as ever, caught the look. Chu Renjie’s intent was blatant—his eyes all but glued to him.

His hand in his sleeve clenched into a fist.

Second Brother was practically begging him to strike him—how could anyone be this base?

Chu Renjie, steeling himself, first apologized, “Third Brother, I was wrong.”

At those words, Chu Mu relaxed his fist a little.

He had wrongly accused Second Brother. Seeing him admit his wrongdoing and willing to confess his misdeeds, a pang of guilt rose in his heart.

He shouldn’t have thought so poorly of him.

But before he could be moved, Second Brother continued:

“I shouldn’t have kept quiet for the sake of peace at home, covering up for Shen. But now I see the truth. Shen is wanton by nature, keeping a lover behind your back.”

Chu Mu snapped his gaze to his brother, his eyes sharp as blades.

What nonsense! When had he ever kept a lover? And caught in the act, no less!

Second Brother was fabricating everything, turning black into white, slandering with malicious intent.

It was obvious he coveted A Zhao—how could he have the gall to accuse her instead?

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To slander A Zhao so baselessly—what a petty, wretched man Second Brother was.

So much for all those years of studying the classics and learning virtue.

Chu Renjie, still feigning indignation, pressed on, “I didn’t mean to discover Shen’s disgraceful secret. In truth, she didn’t beat me—it was that bastard of a lover who did. Shen begged me on her knees to keep her secret, and I, moved by pity, agreed. But not only is she ungrateful, she even—” He trailed off, but the implication was clear. Being beaten by a man was less shameful than by a woman, after all.

Growing more agitated, Chu Renjie looked at Chu Mu with a face full of disappointment: “Now she’s causing such chaos in the household—I can bear it no longer and had to speak the truth. How you deal with Shen is up to you now—this is, after all, a matter between husband and wife. I will say no more, nor will I hold a grudge for the beating.”

Chu Mu’s anger flared.

Utter nonsense!

Damn it, what a load of rubbish.

So, he was now supposed to be that so-called lover? And Shen begging on her knees? Utter fabrication!

Who was it that had been beaten to a wretched heap, sprawled on the ground, too afraid to utter a word?

Shen Zhao listened to Chu Renjie’s lies with a stony face; not a word from his mouth was believable.

Yet seeing that blockhead’s furious face and look of utter loathing brought her a strange sense of satisfaction—why was that? She was not one to delight in others’ misfortunes.

But when she did, she wasn’t even human!

She said with deliberate ambiguity, “Is what Second Brother says true, Shen? Have you really kept a lover behind my back? Well, no wonder—I understand now!”

She put on an exaggerated air, her gaze toward Chu Mu laced with teasing irony.

Chu Mu whipped his head toward A Zhao.

What was she saying? What did that look mean? And what exactly did she understand?

He had not kept a lover!

Could A Zhao really not see this was Chu Renjie’s slander?

Second Madam, seeing that Third Brother believed every word of Old Second’s, laughed to herself, then looked at Chu Mu with scorn, her tone dripping with sarcasm:

“So that’s the difference with those born to great families—they even dare to keep lovers. Who knows how debauched they are in private? Utterly shameless. To live under the same roof makes me sick. I really wonder what sort of parents could raise such—”

“Silence!”

“Watch your tongue!”

Chu Mu and Shen Zhao turned on Second Madam in unison, their voices cold and sharp.