"How do you know?" Mu Gui asked in surprise.
Mu Anxiao lowered her hand and smiled faintly, "My master says, heavenly secrets..." She pointed to the roof beam, "...cannot be revealed."
"You..." Mu Gui was left speechless.
From Mu Anxiao's observations over the past year, she noticed Mu Gui treated boys and girls very differently. It was these subtle details that led Mu Anxiao to conclude that Mu Gui was a typical male chauvinist. In Mu Gui's confident belief, as long as a child had not yet been born, it was assumed to be a boy.
Furthermore, he was a man who believed deeply in celestial beings, so she was confident that her words would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Mu Anxiao acted this way because she was about to leave soon. She wanted to personally witness Mu Gui bestow an identity upon Mai Xia, so that... she could 'depart' with peace of mind.
"Why aren't you speaking?" she asked deliberately.
"Are you sure... it's a girl?" Mu Gui's attitude indeed changed.
Mu Anxiao nodded.
"There isn't..."
"The child has already been dealt with by that heartless woman. What's the use of you saying more? Besides," Mu Anxiao interrupted, sighing softly, "that's a tree demon. Even if she gave birth to the child, it might have just been a wooden post."
"A wooden post?" Mu Gui was startled.
"This is why humans and demons are incompatible. Fortunately, you weren't too deeply involved. If you had been more deeply involved," Mu Anxiao chuckled, "when my master returns, you too would receive the most terrifying punishment in this world along with that female demon."
"What punishment?" Mu Gui felt afraid.
As the servants heard Mu Anxiao speak, they all revealed expressions of curiosity.
Then, Mu Anxiao glanced at the servants, who were eager for drama, and said, "At best, you'll lose your current position. At worst..." She paused, then glanced at the servants again, "...it will implicate your subordinates and relatives, and you'll be banished from Jincheng."
"I've never heard you say any of this before."
"Father," Mu Anxiao smiled faintly, "you certainly haven't. In all the dynasties, where could one find someone as audacious and with such peculiar tastes as you."
"Mu..."
"This is what they call 'courting danger by heading into the tiger's den when you know it's there'," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Mu Gui was once again rendered speechless.
Mu Anxiao wanted precisely this silent response from Mu Gui. She then turned to the servants and said, "Next, I ask you to be my witnesses."
Upon hearing Mu Anxiao, the servants uniformly shifted their gaze to Mu Gui.
Mai Xia stood still, deliberately refraining from speaking, fearing she might disrupt Mu Anxiao's performance.
At the same time, Mu Gui regained his senses, averted his gaze from the servants, and looked at Mu Anxiao, "Mu Xiao, what do you mean by this?" He expressed his incomprehension.
Mu Anxiao: "What do I mean? Hmph, as expected, you never listen to a word I say. Fine," she nodded, "I'll just admit defeat."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Mu Gui asked again.
Mu Anxiao put on a stern face, "Give my mother official status, and we will marry today. Otherwise..." She stopped, then suddenly looked up at the roof beam.
Concurrently, the servants all looked up with curiosity...
Mu Gui frowned, "Otherwise what? Are you going to threaten me?"
"Tearing down this roof beam is a minor matter, but..."
Mid-sentence, the Madam suddenly rushed in, shouting, "I don't agree!" She strode furiously towards Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao clicked her tongue, "You really don't listen to me." With that, she fixed her gaze directly on the Madam.
The Madam was furious, "This is my house, and I am the only one. I will not allow him to take a concubine."
"How much of what I say have you actually listened to?" Mu Anxiao asked coldly.
Evidently, the Madam was intimidated by Mu Anxiao's attitude. "I forgot something here, so I came back and heard you discussing this topic. You..." She recalled Mu Anxiao's threats outside and tensed up. "I can agree to anything, but not this."
"I can tolerate anything you do, but not this," Mu Anxiao said coldly.
The Madam's eyes widened.
Mu Anxiao also widened her eyes. "Madam, if Mu Hua were to suffer the same fate as my mother in the future, what would you do?"
"Our Mu Hua would never have the fate of a lowly woman like your mother."
"Who are you calling lowly?" Mu Anxiao retorted coldly, her eyes already filled with anger.
The Madam flinched, startled. "I'm telling the truth, you..."
"Father, divorce her," Mu Anxiao interrupted, then turned back to Mu Gui.
She knew that Mu Gui had always been afraid of this Madam. If not for her existence, Mai Xia would not have faced such unfair treatment. As the saying goes, 'to catch a thief, first catch their king.' She believed that if she could just extinguish the Madam's arrogance now, Mai Xia's future life might become smoother.
Hearing Mu Anxiao's words, Mu Gui swallowed and then cautiously glanced at the Madam, remaining silent.
The Madam glared at Mu Gui, threatening, "Mu Gui, if you dare agree, I'm not done with you." She pointed her finger at Mu Gui.
As expected, Mu Gui was scared. But he also knew that Mu Anxiao was not to be trifled with. So, for his own sake... he fell into complete silence.
"You're not done with me," Mu Anxiao said deliberately, looking at the Madam, "Madam, you probably have quite a few things on your hands, don't you?"
The Madam froze.
Mu Gui had never interfered with the Madam's affairs, nor had he ever inquired about them. He simply listened to the domestic matters as if they were mere entertainment. Although he knew his wife had some tricks up her sleeve, he never expected Mu Anxiao to know about them.
Previously, he had turned a blind eye because... he believed the Madam acted with discretion, and those who knew these matters were surely people she trusted.
But, hearing Mu Anxiao say this now, he suddenly realized... his Madam was truly quite foolish.
Therefore, he began to try and distance himself, "Mu Xiao, what do you mean by that?"
Hearing Mu Gui's feigned question and then looking at the Madam who was staring at Mu Gui, Mu Anxiao lowered her eyes and chuckled, "Birds of a feather flock together, but when disaster strikes, they fly apart. Father," she shook her head slightly, "you truly act out this saying to perfection."
"Mu Xiao, stop talking nonsense about me. Don't falsely accuse me," the Madam said anxiously.
"Falsely accuse you," Mu Anxiao glanced at the servants staring at the Madam and smiled, "Fine, let's say I'm falsely accusing you. But these people," she continued, "seem to know you better than I do."
Upon hearing this, the Madam's eyes darkened, and she turned to look at them...
Seeing the Madam looking at them, they all lowered their heads, daring not to meet her gaze again.
The Madam, witnessing this, became enraged, "What do you mean by this? Do you also think I wasn't falsely accused by her?"
Mu Anxiao observed the Madam's indignant expression, striving to defend her reputation, and smiled, "Madam, there's no need to put them in a difficult position. What kind of person you are, I think," she said, "you yourself should know best, without them having to say it." She crossed her arms in front of her.