Mo Junyang walked out of the prison and happened to meet Duke Shi and his wife who came to denounce him.
Nobody knew what the messenger told the Shi Family. Dong Hui was anxious like a crazy woman, and Duke Shi who was always calm couldn’t conceal the fret and anxiety on his face.
Dong Hui stood in front of Mo Junyang and questioned coldly, “Your Excellency, you detained three ladies of our family. Do you think we are weak and can be bullied easily? You’d better release my daughters right now. Otherwise, I will take them back at the risk of my life.”
Mo Junyang didn’t take the couple seriously, but because they were Shi Qingxue’s parents, he still explained simply, “Qingxue was poisoned and Shen Luo is treating her in my mansion.”
“What?” Dong Hui opened her eyes wide in fear and became more nervous. “Why did it happen? Who poisoned her? Can Doctor Shen cure her?”
A series of questions came from her mouth, like the firecracker. At the end, Dong Hui interrupted herself and said, “No. I am going to see her.”
Mo Junyang found that the concern of the couple was not fake, and the coldness on his face faded, but he didn’t agree with Dong Hui. He said, “Before Qingxue is detoxified, she will stay in my mansion and won’t see any outsiders.”
“Who is an outsider?” Dong Hui retorted Mo Junyang subconsciously and then realized something wrong. She questioned in a hurry, “No. Why do you keep her in your mansion? She is my family!”
Mo Junyang’s eyes were firm with an unassailable determination, and he stressed each word. “Because I will do anything to save her, and I can save her.”
Dong Hui was shocked by this determination at first, but then she got angry. Anybody could say something nice, but how many of them could make it?
Shi Junhe promptly stopped Dong Hui who wanted to confront Mo Junyang and stared at him. Seeing that the young man was unaffected, he gave up the plan to test him.
He said seriously, “You keep Qingxue in your mansion to treat her and don’t let outsiders see her. I can understand that you are worried somebody would harm her, but you lock up Baoning and Baoyou in the prison. What do you mean?”
Mo Junyang didn’t avoid his eyes. “Qingxue was poisoned in the prison.”
“…It has nothing to do with Baoning and Baoyou. You keep the two girls in the prison. Don’t you think you have gone too far?” Shi Junhe looked at Mo Junyang disapprovingly.
But Mo Junyang sneered with a distant expression, mocking. “Anybody who caused Qingxue’s injury must pay for it, no matter if they did it intentionally or not.
You should thank me for my kindness. If I am cruel, you can see their dead bodies now.”
The cold tone made the two people more than forty years old feel a chill down their spines, and they felt scared by instinct.
After that, they were more furious. Dong Hui glared at Mo Junyang and got extremely mad at him, cursing ruthlessly, “Stop joking! Baoning would never hurt her sister. I don’t care what you are thinking about. Anyway, give Qingxue back to us now. Otherwise, I won’t let you get away with it!”
Shi Junhe didn’t say anything but stood behind Dong Hui, supporting her silently.
However, Mo Junyang didn’t show any fear but had a weirdly bright smile. “If Qingxue…”
He refused to speak out the word “die”, so he paused for a short while. His dark eyes seemed to have been attacked by a hurricane, and there was only craziness left. “I will let all of you know who can’t get away with it.”
Dong Hui moved backward instantly to avoid the coming storm.
But it was useless. Even though her husband put his warm hand on her back, trying to give her a secure and comfortable feeling, she felt a chill from head to toe. And the pressure made her unable to breathe.
Her reason told her that even if Mo Junyang looked horrible, he didn’t dare to do anything to her, but she was still terrified.
She couldn’t understand the hidden meaning in Mo Junyang’s words, but she was so scared and defeated.
Shi Junhe interrupted in time, “Have you thought that when you wrong the innocent people, you indulge the murderer? When you look for the chief criminals, they have gone and will be nowhere to be found. Where should you go?”
“Where should I go?” Mo Junyang repeated Shi Junhe’s words in a weird tone, as if he gave full vent to his hatred from the throat.
He stared at his hand and continued in a hoarse voice, “I am where she is. She would never escape from me.”
Mo Junyang said that to himself instead of Duke Shi and his wife.
He didn’t give the couple a chance to come back to reality from his crazy thoughts and expressed decisively, “Shi Qingxue wouldn’t leave my mansion. I will take responsibility for her.”
Then he walked around the two dumbfounded people and left.
Dong Hui prepared to chase him, but Qu Yuebai who came in a rush stopped her.
Qu Yuebai explained gently and politely, “Please relax. His Excellency is nervous for Lady Qingxue’s poison. Hope you can give him some time. He will be sure to save her.”
Dong Hui sniffed at Qu Yuebai’s blind confidence and said crossly, “I can’t relax at all to leave Qingxue to him. Does he think that he can cheat everybody as he always pretends to be gentle and harmless? We won’t be cheated by him. I don’t care. If you refuse to give the ladies from my family back to us today, we will transfer the army.”
She thought she had seen through Mo Junyang’s vicious nature and couldn’t bear to put Qingxue in a tiger’s mouth. Moreover, Mo Junyang threatened her elder daughter’s safety. She could never endure it.
But Shi Junhe was more thoughtful than his wife. He stopped the furious Dong Hui and stared at Qu Yuebai. “Has His Excellency found the murderer?”
Qu Yuebai was amazed and thought, “He deserves to be the most outstanding general in the Mo Country and has a horribly sensitive intuition. He even easily found the hidden meaning in my words, which I didn’t notice.”
But he didn’t deny or admit. He just replied respectfully, “Duke Shi, please don’t worry. His Excellency won’t disappoint you.”
Shi Junhe didn’t give up after Qu Yuebai’s vague answer and asked in a deep voice, “Who on earth hurt Qingxue?”
Qu Yuebai smiled and didn’t say anything.
He showed that he couldn’t tell anyone.
“You don’t even tell us frankly who the murderer is. Why did you tell me to believe that you will save Qingxue and won’t cover up for the murderer…to kill her?” Shi Junhe’s face turned cold all of a sudden. Stateliness was on his face, and he had a fierce look.
Qu Yuebai moved two steps backward and smiled bitterly in secret. He thought, “Only these two people dare to boldly question Mo Junyang’s sincere love for Shi Qingxue. If any of us had said that, we would have been killed earlier.”
But then Qu Yuebai realized that Shi Junhe and Dong Hui, Mo Junyang’s future parents-in-law doubted and were dissatisfied with him and would never marry their daughter to this jerk (Madam Shi’s emotional fluctuations).
It would be pointless if he defended Mo Junyang, so he kept silent.
Anyway, it was a fact.
Seeing that Shi Junhe didn’t win the negotiation, Dong Hui almost went ballistic. She pulled her husband’s sleeve and roared, “Why did you say so much to him? Let’s transfer the Shi Army. I don’t believe that he dares to lock them up.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Although Shi Junhe rebuked her, he looked at Qu Yuebai, with threat in his eyes.
Qu Yuebai pretended not to see the elder’s eyes and lowered his head, looking obedient and innocent, but in the other hand, he feared nothing with somebody at his back.
If they transferred the Shi Army for other purposes than a war to cause trouble, and somebody accused him of being more powerful than the emperor, Shi Junhe would be killed. Moreover, every force kept an eye with hostility on the Shi Family and waited for Shi Junhe to make mistakes.
Qu Yuebai was sure that Shi Junhe wouldn’t take this risk for Shi Qingxue, or anybody.
They were in a dilemma for quite a while. At last, Shi Junhe gave in first. “Since His Excellency bragged that he can save Qingxue, I will believe him for once. If something happens to her…”
Shi Junhe’s eyes darkened. “He can see what I can do for my daughter.”
Then he returned to his mansion with Dong Hui.
After leaving the prison, Mo Junyang rode to the fourth prince’s mansion, followed by Wei Ziye leading other two guards.
When they arrived at the gate of the mansion, one of the guards recognized him and said he would report to the master.
However, Mo Junyang kicked him away and then swaggered in under other servants’ astonished eyes.
When the servants reacted and tried to stop him, Mo Junyang had stridden into the main hall. Mo Junhao and Qin Yanyan were having tea.
Mo Junhao was stunned to see Mo Junyang standing at the door with a killing intent. After a short while, he forced a smile and walked to his cousin, greeting as usual, “Junyang, what a surprise to see you. I am sorry that I didn’t welcome you earlier…”
He suddenly stopped and seemed to finally find his servants in a difficult position behind Mo Junyang. His smile froze and he said with displeasure, “You are a rare visitor, but you indulged your subordinates to hurt my people. Will you give me an explanation?”
Mo Junyang’s three guards who didn’t take action from the beginning to the end were speechless. They were innocent but had to take the blame.
Of course, Mo Junhao said that not to blame several guards, who were insignificant. He wanted to catch a big fish, Mo Junyang.
Mo Junyang had hidden himself deeply these years, and Mo Junhao just indistinctly realized recently that this man was horrible.
He was more frightened after thinking it over. Especially Mo Junyang never made mistakes, so he was more terrifying.
Now Mo Junyang broke into a prince’s mansion without asking, and Mo Junhao got such a great chance to find fault with him. The latter felt excited at this thought.
That was the price of impulsion.
Mo Junhao stood with his head high and chest out, clenching his fists in his sleeves. He looked at Mo Junyang at the door, smiling, and imagined thousands of ways in one breath to deal with him. He watched Mo Junyang walking to him quickly.
He approached Mo Junhao gradually and then…passed by him.
Mo Junhao’s smile froze on his face.
Mo Junyang walked around him and came to Qin Yanyan, looking down at her coldly. “Give me the antidote.”
There was tension in the room and a storm was coming.