"Truth?"
No one could say for sure what the future held. Mu Anxiao knew that with her current identity, she was in no position to bring justice to the world. Her main purpose for being in the Mu manor was to uncover who truly caused Mu Xiao's death and, more importantly, to prevent Mai Xia from ever learning that Mu Xiao had died.
However, after going in circles, all her plans were failing one by one.
If she continued to endure humiliation in front of the Madame as she had in the past, her plans would never get back on track. Therefore, at this moment, she decided to face everything with reason, even if it meant paying a heavy price afterward. After all, as long as Ouyang Ye was around, those sins were bound to happen sooner or later.
"Who exactly are you?" Mu Gui asked, surprised.
"Who I am is not important, but I know," Mu Anxiao said, looking at Mu Gui, "how vicious your wife's methods are."
"You..."
"Madame, you killed Xiao Fei and then placed all the blame on Mai Xia," Mu Anxiao said, turning to the Madame and sneering, "Such ruthless tactics."
"Mu Xiao, you are my daughter. Don't be foolish," Mai Xia suddenly cried out.
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. She turned and looked at Mai Xia's face, saying, "I am not."
"You..."
"Mu Xiao is already dead, but..."
"You are my daughter. I know," Mai Xia said, tears streaming down her face.
Mu Anxiao didn't understand what Mai Xia meant. But the moment Mu Anxiao saw her shedding tears, her heart softened.
Just then, the Madame suddenly smiled.
Mu Anxiao slowly withdrew her gaze, looked at the Madame's face, and frowned. "..."
"You are Mu Xiao," the Madame stated firmly, her eyes suddenly losing their brilliance. "You've fabricated this ridiculous lie to push all the blame onto me. Mu Xiao, Mu Xiao, you are truly like your mother, with malicious intentions."
"Who exactly... are you?" Mu Gui became extremely cautious.
Upon hearing this, the Madame shouted fiercely, "She is Mu Xiao! Mu Gui, don't listen to her nonsense. She just wants to harm me." She began to act erratically.
Subsequently, Mu Anxiao's eyes darkened, and just as she was about to explain, Mai Xia spoke first, "Master, she is Mu Xiao. She is my daughter, my daughter." As she spoke, she cried.
Mai Xia's heart-wrenching affirmation truly left Mu Anxiao with no chance to hold onto her resolve. She looked at Mai Xia and paused.
Shen Lü looked at Mu Anxiao, then at the Madame, then at Mai Xia... not knowing what to say.
At this moment, Jia Song breathed a sigh of relief.
Mai Liang watched Mai Xia, who was trying to smooth things over for Mu Anxiao, and the Madame, who was on the verge of madness. He lowered his gaze slightly.
However, after hearing Mai Xia's words, Mu Gui walked directly to Shen Lü. "General," he called out softly.
Shen Lü was surprised that Mu Gui would call him so familiarly. He felt shocked yet tried to remain composed, saying, "Please, speak."
"My wife... foolishly brought the second mistress out of prison. How should we handle this matter now?" Mu Gui asked cautiously.
At the same time, Shen Lü immediately caught another meaning from Mu Gui's words. He curved his lips and said, "You want me to... turn a blind eye."
"Mai Xia is Mu Xiao's mother, and your relationship with Mu Xiao is not shallow. Could you possibly let Mai Xia go? Later... I will report to the financier that this was a misunderstanding, and the young lady in the manor will live."
"The financier is fully aware of this matter. What you are proposing is perhaps too difficult," Shen Lü said calmly. He was aware of the situation.
Mu Gui felt embarrassed.
"Unless you find the real killer," Shen Lü said, intentionally letting his gaze fall upon the Madame's face.
"This... it wasn't her doing either." Mu Gui still did not want to separate from the Madame.
Upon hearing this, the Madame's eyes welled up with tears.
Shen Lü smiled meaningfully. "In that case, I can only take the second mistress with me." As he spoke, he glanced at Mai Xia.
"This..."
"Once the matter is clarified, I will definitely release the second mistress. Rest assured," Shen Lü said, giving Mu Anxiao a meaningful look.
Mu Anxiao understood instantly and quickly walked to Mai Xia's side, saying, "I..."
"Call me Mother," Mai Xia whispered, reminding her.
Mu Anxiao heard this, glanced at the situation there, and said again, "Mother, I apologize for the offense. Please forgive me." As she spoke, she pulled at the chains binding Mai Xia's hands.
Mai Xia's eyes were filled with tears.
Their objective was to bring Mai Xia out and prevent her from being harmed by the Madame. Now that things had ended smoothly, it was a happy conclusion for Mai Liang. "Excellent," Mai Liang mumbled. As he stepped forward, he inadvertently saw Hong Er, who was clenching her fist, her eyes fixed on Mu Anxiao with a red glow. He quickly shouted, "Mu Xiao, be careful!"
Hearing this, Hong Er's expression froze. She quickly stood up, opened her palm, and shot a beam of light towards Mai Liang. Mai Liang swiftly dodged it.
Jia exclaimed, "After all this time, she's the monster!"
Shen Lü's eyes darkened, and he also exclaimed, "It's not them, it's her!" As he spoke, he quickly turned to look at the Madame and Mu Gui, who were showing looks of shock, and shouted, "Retreat quickly!"
Conversely, the moment Mu Gui saw Hong Er's action, he showed no reaction. Instead, he intentionally ignored Shen Lü and walked towards Hong Er, saying, "Hong Er, no." As he spoke, he watched as Hong Er once again fired a beam of light at Mai Liang.
This time, Mai Liang could not dodge it. He was forcefully thrown against a pillar by his back.
"This is the consequence of your meddling," Hong Er said, turning to look at Mu Gui and narrowing her eyes. "I'll give you a choice."
Mu Gui frowned. "Hong Er..."
"You, me, or them," Hong Er interrupted coldly.
Mu Gui's eyes darkened. "Hong Er, you..."
"Mu Gui, you saved me half a year ago. At that time, I didn't ask you to marry me; I only asked for a home. Now that everything is exposed, naturally, I have made a new decision," Hong Er said, her clenched fists emitting a red glow.
Over there, Mu Anxiao shielded Mai Xia with her body and looked at Hong Er.
"Hong Er, I know you are sensible. Stop now, and it's still not too late," Mu Gui said calmly.
"Don't tell me it's not too late... You want me to kill Mai Xia, but why can't you bring yourself to do it? Why?" Hong Er suddenly questioned Mu Gui.
Mu Gui's eyes darkened. He glanced at Mai Liang and said, "I wronged her sister."
"Then you have treated me right," Hong Er said, tears in her eyes, and roared.
Beside them, the Madame watched everything unfolding... her mind went blank. Xiang Er knew she had offended Hong Er and stood rooted to the spot, afraid to move.