Chapter 42: Rumors Behind the Scenes

  "Master, forgive me for being ignorant, but I really don't understand why you want to do this."

  Mu Siyao played with the jade pendant in her hand, which was the same as the token that Qian Shui had given to Shen Han. The corners of his mouth gradually revealed some curves, and he looked up at Qian Shui, shaking his head and saying: "Is it really not understood or pretended not to understand?"

  Shaking his head in puzzlement, Qian Shui said: "I don't understand! Young Master, since you've already given Miss Shen time, why are you still doing these things..."

  Seeing a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in Qian Shui's eyes, Mu Siyao put down the jade pendant at her waist and slowly smiled to interrupt her words: "Do you think I'm very despicable?"

  Qian Shui's throat moved slightly, but he still didn't say anything. He just hinted with his eyes: Young Master, this approach is indeed not good!

  Mu Ziyao moved her body, got up and walked to the window, looking at the few pedestrians walking silently on the street. The whole room was filled with silence. Qian Shui was a little worried, wondering if she had said something wrong. She thought that every time Young Master did things, he had his own intentions, would he have another move?

  "Do you think... we can wait, can my dad wait?"

  One word awakened the dreamer! Qian Shui looked at Mu Siyao's back, couldn't help but feel a little sigh, and even sympathize with him. In his position and status, many things are inevitable, right?

  "By the way, can those people who came to perform be trusted?"

  "Well, they're all our own people."

  "Now Shen Huan Ding thought those rumors were spread by the Wu family, now... only owed to Dong Feng..."

  "What does the young master plan to do?"

  Mu Si Yao smiled and turned around, when he saw Qian Shui, the corners of his lips twitched uncontrollably for a moment, then said: "Do nothing! You'd better go change your clothes!"

  Looking at Qian Shui, who was usually neat and tidy, she was still wearing that pink long dress. He really wasn't used to it, even when she took him flying onto the roof of the Wu's house later, he didn't have time to change out of it. Mu Siyao also felt a bit guilty in her heart, after all Shen Han could be considered someone with a bitter fate, but happened to know some abilities that he thought were interesting, so had to face these things brought about by Mu Siyao, however... who knew if he was doing it out of helplessness or not?

  "Master, do you really think Miss Shen will give birth?"

  "I believe your hearing should be much better than mine?"

  Without directly answering Qian Shui's words, Mu Si Yao countered with a question that shut her up. Qian Shui also remembered the words Wu Jia's wife had said, and considering Shen Han's expression at the time, she felt it was somewhat improper, but...

  "If there's anything to say, I'll say it; I've never hidden anything from you siblings."

  Mù Sīyáo expressed great dislike for Qiānshuǐ's attitude of wanting to ask but not daring to ask. He simply clarified the matter, as Qiānfàn and Qiānshuǐ had followed him for so long, he was very familiar with their temperaments, and it could be said that they were the people he trusted most at present. Therefore, he also did not want to leave any bad impressions of himself in Qiānshuǐ's heart.

  "I just don't understand, young master, what's the point of doing this?"

  "There's no use, let's just wait and see what happens."

  A thousand waters have no words, isn't this what you asked me? You asked and didn't say anything, still pretending to be profound!

  "I think we can actually continue to push and see what's worth digging up on Shen Han, haha..."

  Qian Shui remained speechless, and Mu Siyao was like this. In front of others, he might be very cold, or perhaps would talk a lot when facing Shen Huan, even being somewhat unorthodox. But... when he let his guard down and put aside his defenses, that's just how he was!

  Is it really frustrating to leave people hanging like that? Qian Shui couldn't help but give him a dirty look when Mu Siyao was being annoying, but unfortunately, he got caught by Mu Siyao. This made him burst out laughing, and for the first time, he saw Qian Shui's expression turn so ugly. He took a step forward, with a mischievous grin on his face, and said: "I think I just saw you showing your discontent towards me?"

  "No... nothing!"

  "So you mean I was wrong?"

  Even if she appears to be extremely indifferent and expressionless, it's only because she doesn't like interacting with people she's not familiar with. To put it simply, she's just a teenager who still has her own emotions, they're just not easily revealed.

  Never has there been a task as troublesome as this one, not only do I have to climb onto the roof, but also bring my master along; after climbing onto the roof, I still have to eavesdrop, and on top of that, endure his profound and unfinished sentences; occasionally, if I show even the slightest dissatisfaction, I'll be threatened implicitly by his words!

  "It's you, Master, who is mistaken!"

  "Alas......"

  That prolonged tail tone really startled Qian Shui's little heart, but the more she listened, the less it tasted. Qian Shui raised her eyes to look at Mu Siyao, only to find that he seemed to be in a good mood, and just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by Mu Siyao: "You go rest, tomorrow there's something else I need you to take care of."

  Qian Shui was already somewhat disoriented from being drenched, and upon hearing him say this, she didn't react much, only softly responding with an "oh."

  Watching Qian Shui leave with a somewhat wooden expression, Mu Siyao shook his head and walked back to the window, looking at the starry night sky. Some emotion spread in his heart, and Shen Han's words at the Wu family gradually floated into his mind. That woman who was a bit clumsy in front of him, but when someone tried to harm her family, she was like a mother hen spreading her wings to protect her chicks, so fearless!

  It's just that... this time she really wronged Wu Li Shi, thinking of which Mu Si Yao couldn't help but feel some admiration for the good show he had arranged.

  Thinking of the play he had arranged, Mu Siyao couldn't help but let out a faint sigh. He had only asked Qian Shui to find a few people to spread rumors about the Yuan family's "evil deeds" and loudly proclaim that the child was saved by Shen Huan, but unexpectedly, some other rumors also came out.

  Since they wanted to spread the truth, they naturally chose a place with many people. Coincidentally, Wu and Li's family had asked Li's mother-in-law to go out and buy things, and they happened to see a group of women pointing at the distant gate of the Yuan family, chatting idly. Of course... the reason why they were chatting idly was that there were people like Mu Siyao among them, and someone started talking, so others naturally followed along.

  Qian Shui Party No. 1: "I heard that last time when Yuan's wife gave birth to a son, something went wrong."

  Qian Shui Party No. 2: "Who doesn't know that something's gone wrong? Yuan's daughter-in-law isn't... gone, is she? But it's also unknown what kind of virtue they've accumulated, the child actually survived after Yuan's daughter-in-law died!"

  "However, I heard that they even invited the yamen people, right? Logically speaking, if you invite the yamen, shouldn't this matter be made a big deal out of? Why is it so quiet?"

  Qian Shui Party No. 1 and No. 2 exchanged a glance, didn't expect someone to respond so quickly, it seems that women's gossip is always endless. Since there was a response, the two immediately tacitly divided up, with No. 1 launching another attack: "The Yuan family has some moves, after all, they died and saved their grandson, this kind of thing isn't good to spread around, right?"

  With such a hint, it again drew others' echoes, and then there was the second gossip: "Do you mean that this Yuan family sacrificed their daughter-in-law for their grandson?"

  "Hush... You can't say that! I've heard that the Zhao family's entrance is where they smash people's good fortune, don't you think that's a bad omen?"

  Upon hearing the speculation of Party No. 2, No. 1 immediately disagreed and hurriedly revealed the gossip he had heard, but what Mu Siyao asked Qian Shui to arrange was definitely not so confusing, involving Li Shi in it. His purpose was just to let people spread that the child was saved by Shen Han, as for how his wife died, it wasn't that important to Mu Siyao, and of course, he couldn't implicate innocent people either.

  Now, the second member of the Qianshui Party came out to argue: "You can't talk nonsense, and you can't speculate about things that involve human life. Although it was a difficult birth, they still managed to save the grandson of the Yuan family, who is their only descendant. No matter what, shouldn't they thank the Zhao family? But..."

  Even if you don't know the situation at the time, with Mu Ziyu's skills, it's easy to investigate some things. Moreover, even if the master of the Yuan family wants to keep it a secret, money can make ghosts grind mills, and there will always be a few servants in the Yuan family who will reveal their mouths.

  It seems that something is brewing, and the gossipmongers can't let go of this great opportunity. Gossipmonger No. 2 continues to dig: "What is it?"

  "But the Zhao family's wife saved the child, and yet the Yuan family still wants to make things difficult for them, demanding that they pay 20 taels of silver in compensation. You say that the Yuan family isn't short on money, but after the child has been rescued, you're still asking for so much money? The Zhao family is a widow raising children alone, where can she find that kind of money?"

  The Qianshui Party actually only needs to say the first sentence, and the gossipmongers have already started thinking deeply after hearing the first sentence. But as the saying goes, if you want to say something, you should say it all, and if you're going to put on a show, you should do it thoroughly, right?

  The eighth trigram party suddenly appeared: "Isn't the one who gave birth Zhao's wife? How did she become Zhao's daughter-in-law?"

  "You don't know about this, do you? At that time, the Yuan family's daughter-in-law had passed out, which was a big deal. They immediately sent someone to grab both the elder sister-in-law and Zhao Xiucan!"

  The eighth gourd party number three covered his mouth in surprise, but the voice didn't decrease at all: "Does Zhao Xiucan dare to catch? Isn't he afraid that others will fly high and find trouble for him in the future?"

  The Eighth Trigram Party's Number One looked at her with disdain, his eyes slanted as he said: "This family has lost everything, who still cares if you're a scholar or a high-ranking official?"

  The eighth trick party three nodded: "Also..."

  Just as the conversation was getting to the point, Qian Shui's party immediately spoke up: "Speaking of which, Zhao's wife is really a daring person. After Yuan's wife had already died, she dared to take the risk of losing her head and called the yamen runner brought by the Yuan family to the delivery room. The two of them worked together to cut open Yuan's wife's belly..."

  The Eight Trigrams Party's No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 all widened their eyes at the same time, and could only utter a single word: "Ah!"

  Qian Shui Party No. 2 immediately echoed: "It's also thanks to her daring to do it, otherwise if the child in Yuan's wife's belly was really gone, do you think the Yuan family would let the Zhao family off? The Zhao family is just an egg, and the Yuan family is a stone!"

  Several members of the gossip party chimed in unison: "Is it really her?"

  Qian Shui Party Number Two seemed somewhat pleased with himself for bringing the topic back, raising an eyebrow with a confident expression: "What else? You Zhao family women aren't unfamiliar with this, although you've been helping with childbirth all these years, when have you ever heard of her having such great abilities?"

  The Eight Trigrams Party nodded one after another, but Number One suddenly became cautious at this moment, turning his head to look around and beckoning a few people to gather around. He looked as if he had discovered some major secret: "Speaking of the Zhao family, I'll tell you that there's something unspeakable between Madam Zhao and Zhao Xiucan!"

  When the Eight Trigrams Party Number One finished telling the gossip she knew with great fanfare, everyone expressed their doubts. After all, when Zhao's wife first married into the Zhao family, who hadn't heard about her making a big scene? Now even if she wasn't causing trouble anymore, it was only occasionally that people saw her going out on the streets with Li Shi, and no matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would seduce her brother-in-law.

  Qian Shui didn't expect that while completing his task, he would bring about such a situation. He couldn't help but ask: "Who told you?"

  "Isn't it spread from the Yuan family? Otherwise, who would know about what happened between her and Zhao Xiucan in the Yuan family?"

  The Qian Shui Party and the Bagua Party said that their purpose was very clear, they just wanted Wu Li to hear that the capable person who gave birth was Shen Han, not Li. However, it did not occur to them that another hidden situation stirred up by the Bagua Party would make her, as a neighbor and good friend of the Li family, have some sympathy, which is why the incident where her kindness was misunderstood by Shen Han happened in the Wu household.

  The window on the Guanshan Pass is already out of calculation, no matter what. Since God has a mind to make things complicated, he might as well push the waves and watch the changes!