"Can others still not see what's going on now? Just forcing Mu Beiyin to toast Director Huang and bribing his assistant—those two things alone make Lin Ru's intentions crystal clear!"
"This stepmother is truly vicious. Just to pave the way for her own daughter, she actually pushed Mu Beiyin to that Director Huang. The daughter of the legitimate wife is so pitiful..."
"Exactly! No one even knows how many women Director Huang has ruined. Her daughter became a mistress and now she wants to completely destroy Miss Mu..."
Song Lingqian hadn't been there long, but he'd already heard most of the story.
Deep down, he believed Mu Beiyin must have tried to curry favor with Director Mu by offering herself, and that it had nothing to do with Lin Ru.
But as more and more evidence surfaced, he began to panic. Could it be that Mu Beiyin wasn't actually drunk last night, but rather...
"I had no other choice!"
Just then, Lin Ru, the woman under fire from all sides, dropped to her knees before Mu Beiyin with a loud thud!
"Beiyin, I was forced into it. You know the Mu family's current situation—every investor has pulled out. Without Director Huang, Mu Corporation is finished... You're part of the Mu family too—could you really bear to see us go bankrupt?"
"Director Huang said if we formed a marriage alliance, he'd invest in the Mu family. That's the only reason I resorted to such a desperate move. Beiyin, I've wronged you, but I did it all for the sake of the family..."
The people around looked at each other in confusion. What Lin Ru said... actually made some sense.
After all, news of the Mu Corporation's lost investments had already spread, and no one besides Director Huang was willing to invest.
Lin Ru's methods might have been wrong, but still...
"What a joke!" Chu Zhi sneered, her words razor-sharp.
"If you want to marry someone off for an alliance, why not send your own daughter?! Is the illegitimate daughter so precious, while the daughter of the legitimate wife counts for nothing?!"
"Your daughter just climbed into her brother-in-law's bed, and now you turn around and send Mu Beiyin to that kind of scumbag? What, trying to get Miss Mu out of the picture so Mu Qianrou can marry cleanly into the Song family?!"
After speaking, Chu Zhi even glanced at Song Lingqian, utterly blunt.
"Aside from Old Master Song, it seems like everyone in the Song family has lost their mind—to accept such a two-faced, scheming illegitimate daughter!"
Song Lingqian's face darkened instantly, but he had no way to refute it!
Mu Beiyin swallowed hard and looked at Chu Zhi in panic.
Wait... that last line insulted everyone in the Song family except Old Master Song!
Didn't that mean even Huo Shiqing got dragged into it?
Mu Beiyin instinctively looked over at Huo Shiqing's expression, only to see him looking indifferent, as if he hadn't heard a word.
...As expected of the Huo Financial Group's leader—utterly composed.
Mu Yaohui was trembling with rage. "Miss Chu, you..."
Chu Zhi spoke even faster:
"The reason our Chu family cut ties with the Mu Corporation was because of that illegitimate daughter offending us! And what does the Mu family do? Instead of punishing the one who caused the trouble, they try to solve it by selling off Mu Beiyin! No wonder she's a mistress who rose to power—no one can match her dirty tricks!"
That one word—"mistress"—insulted two people at once, and the guests at the banquet instinctively took a step away from the Mu family.
"What a loud abacus... the illegitimate daughter causes trouble, and the one whose life gets ruined is Mu Beiyin. I'm starting to think Mu Qianrou did it on purpose."
"Exactly. Even if Mu Qianrou offended everyone, the Mu family wouldn't dare sacrifice her. Instead, they let Mu Beiyin take the fall."
"Mu Yaohui and Song Lingqian—those two men must be blind and heartless. If you ask me, Miss Mu is far superior to Mu Qianrou in both character and looks..."
"Some people just love mistresses and shady affairs, don't they?"
Cold sweat began to drip down Lin Ru's face. Every word of condemnation pierced her ears. Her expression twisted.
"No, it has nothing to do with Qianrou—ah!"
Clutching her chest, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed with a thud.
"Mom!" Mu Qianrou cried out, tears streaming. "Sister, please let us go! Daddy, Mom has a weak heart—sob sob—this is so hard for me..."
Mu Yaohui was filled with anguish. "Beiyin, did you hear that? Lin Ru didn't mean to hurt you. She even fainted—do you want to drive her to death? She's such a kind person..."
Mu Beiyin's smile grew colder and colder.Passed out?Lin Ru and Mu Qianrou always "pass out"!
As long as they fainted, all their faults could be erased. After all, in Mu Yaohui's eyes, they were already so pitiful—if she dared to push further, she'd be seen as heartless for not letting it go.
Just pretending to faint, huh? Who can't do that?
Mu Beiyin said helplessly, "Dad, you always say I wasn't harmed, so I should forgive Ms. Lin. But what if I had been harmed tonight? Would you have tried to convince me to marry Director Huang?"
"No matter what happens, Ms. Lin will never face any consequences… Forget it. I see things clearly now. This is my fault. I never should have returned to this family…"
Before she even finished speaking, Mu Beiyin suddenly clutched her chest. Her complexion turned pale in an instant, and the rosy tint of her lips drained away bit by bit.
Then, her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed backward—
"Miss Mu!" Chu Zhi, noticing Huo Shiqing's expression darken, quickly caught her and exchanged a meaningful glance with Chu Xiao.
Chu Xiao stepped forward with a cold scowl.
"Mu Yaohui! You truly are scum—throwing away your lawful wife for a mistress! All you care about is Lin Ru putting on a show. Your biological daughter nearly had her whole life destroyed and now she has a fever, yet you don't care at all!"
"Fine, since you like mistresses so much, go be with them. Men!"
A team of bodyguards swiftly appeared. Chu Xiao ordered bluntly, "Blacklist all of them!"
This hotel was owned by the Huo Group, and Chu Xiao was a close friend of Huo Shiqing. With his command, the bodyguards followed without question.
In no time, the banquet hall was cleared. The Mu family was thrown out. What was meant to be a grand 50th birthday celebration had turned into a complete joke.
Not only did Mu Yaohui lose all face, even Song Lingqian became a target of public ridicule. He stood dazed and confused.
Last night… Qianrou clearly told him that Mu Beiyin had been willingly involved with Director Huang for a long time.So why did it now seem like Lin Ru had set her up?Where had it all gone wrong?
...
After Lin Ru and the others were dragged out, Mu Beiyin wanted to open her eyes.
—She had only pretended to faint, but why did she suddenly feel so sleepy?
Was it because she didn't sleep well last night? Right… Huo Shiqing had exhausted her so much…
Half-conscious, she vaguely heard someone speaking. It was Chu Xiao's voice.
"Shiqing, she really does have a fever. I'll prescribe something. Take her back and let her rest."
Chu Xiao left the room, and then Chu Zhi spoke up:
"Huo Shiqing, you really are heartless. Mu Beiyin is such a delicate girl, and you were that rough with her? I just took a glance at her waist—those marks…"
Chu Zhi looked at Mu Beiyin sympathetically. "I'll go get you some ointment. Her waist isn't the only place that needs it… cough cough, anyway, you can apply it."
Huo Shiqing replied calmly, "You can leave now."
Chu Zhi muttered, "Beast," and exited the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Though Mu Beiyin couldn't open her eyes, she was still semi-conscious. She heard their exchange, and her face flushed red.
…What were they saying? Could they say something so outrageous out loud?!
And her waist… hiss—no wonder it had been hurting since earlier. So it was from Huo Shiqing gripping her too hard!
The fever made her body extra sensitive. She could feel Huo Shiqing's fingers tracing along her waist and abdomen.
The tingling sensation made her shiver. Mu Beiyin bit her lip, but still let out a soft gasp involuntarily—"Mm…"