Scent Of Time

Chapter 34

On the outside of the Mu Yao courtyard, not surprisingly, I was stopped. I didn’t dwell on it and sneaked to the side wall, then turned around and spoke to Hua Rongzhou behind me, “Do you practice lightness skills?”

“Eh …… yes.” Hua Rongzhou answered, even though his face was puzzled.

“Take me to fly over.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Huh?” Hua Rongzhou could no longer hide his surprise this time, his eyes filled with dismay.

“What ah? Quick!” Without waiting for him to react, I jumped onto his back, and under my urging, he stiffly carried me back a few steps before flying over the wall.

Once I landed on the ground, I rushed towards the main house. The few maids guarding the doorway couldn’t react timely, so Hua Rongzhou pressed them down. That boy is obedient. There is nothing more sweet than having a reliable bodyguard.

Mu Yao frowned at me. She said coldly: “What do you want?”

“Looking for you to talk. I can’t get in, so I can only find a way for myself.” I blatantly walked up to her.

“What do I have to talk to you about?” Mu Yao’s face was still ugly, but she raised her hand to stop the maid who wanted to enter the house.

I put the stack of paper in my arms in front of her and said, “Read this before you say anything.”

Mu Yao reached out her hand and turned over the papers. Her gaze suddenly sharpened, and her fingertips turned pale, “What do you mean by this? Threatening me?”

“No, it’s making a deal,” I replied.

Mu Yao slapped the stack of paper on the table and sneered, “A deal? Making a deal with the deeds of my old family servants?”

That stack of paper was the slave deeds of the Mu family servants before their banishment. I had Hua Xiang use his power to find out the whereabouts of the people one by one, and then I had Hua Rongzhou buy them.

This world was a world where slaves were worthless, especially sinful slaves who had been implicated by their master’s family, thus allowing me to take advantage of the loophole.

“If you let Hua Shen go, I’ll return all the deeds of your family servants to you,” I said unhurriedly.

“What if I’m unwilling to let Hua Shen go?” Mu Yao fixed her gaze on me.

“I didn’t come here to threaten you.” I didn’t pick up on her words, “That’s why I won’t use the lives of your family servants as bargaining chips.”

“Not a threat? Then what does this mean?” Mu Yao’s finger tapped on the deeds.

“A warning,” I spoke, and Mu Yao frowned slightly, seeming to be a bit confused.

I looked at her and spoke, “The fact that I can easily get the deeds of your household servants proves that there is more I can do. I don’t have a problem with Hua Shen needing to pay for his wrongs, but what he hasn’t done, I won’t stand by and watch you inflict your desires on him.”

A few hints of obscurity flashed through Mu Yao’s eyes, but I still spoke without changing my face, “Rights and wrongs are different from person to person. Even if Hua Family has committed heinous crimes, he shouldn’t have to pay for something he hasn’t done. So, since you want to take revenge, come in a dignified manner. I won’t intervene when you tripping over the Hua Family. But I won’t just stand by and watch at your desire to commit a crime either.”

These words seem to be said to me. How Hua Qian was before has nothing to do with me. Even though I transmigrated into her, it doesn’t mean I had to be responsible for what she did. The law also says that people don’t need to take responsibility for actions they haven’t done.

Mu Yao was silent for a long time before she spoke, “It’s Ah Lan who wants to dispose of Hua Shen. Do you think it’s useful to come to me?”
The tone of her voice was relaxed.

“Mu Yao, don’t underestimate your position in Zhong Yelan’s heart, and ……” I spoke. “Do you think Zhong Yelan doesn’t know it was your trick this time?”

Mu Yao’s eyes widened suddenly. I sighed. It’s true that people in love have no intelligence.

“Zhong Yelan didn’t make a move against Hua Shen for over a month. He only locked him up. Do you know the reason? That day, Zhong Yelan was the one who almost killed Hua Shen.” When I said that, Mu Yao’s face turned pale.

At first, Zhong Yelan should have believed Mu Yao’s trick. But the Zhong Yelan I saw in the courtyard a few days ago had a bit of shame when he looked at me. Although it was only a bit, I still caught it. There’s only one reason why he would feel guilty towards me. That’s because he knew the truth yet still chose to ignore and lock up Hua Shen.

After all, as the male lead, his IQ must not be low. At first, the anger would blind him, but after calming down, it wasn’t hard to think of the suspicions. Even if Hua Shen was outrageous, how could he dare to make a move at his wedding banquet?

In the final analysis, it was only because Mu Yao relied on Zhong Yelan’s fondness for her that she could devise such a flawed scheme. If I hadn’t stopped her that day, maybe Hua Shen would have been cut down by Zhong Yelan’s sword. That was the common problem of many novel heroines. They were always too self-centered and felt that their national hatred was more important than their personal feelings. That’s why they would not hesitate to take advantage of the people they love and then torture and scar each other before coming to their senses.

“People’s hearts are not made of stone. Sooner or later, your temptations to take advantage of them will consume all the goodwill.” My tone contained admonishment and warning, “Because I was guilty toward you before, I tolerated your tactics this time. But if you use these tricks again, I will never show mercy, and these deeds today are a warning.”

Mu Yao looked at me for a long time before she said, “Hua Qian, what exactly are you playing at?”

I showed no weakness and looked back, “Teaching you to be a human being.”

Mu Yao was probably infuriated by me. I saw her clenched her hand tighter. I had no shame in my heart at this time. Her mistake allowed me to come and stand on the moral high ground.

“The matter of impersonating your identity before, I had confessed with Zhong Yelan. I returned Zhong Yelan to you, so Mu Yao, at this time, I don’t owe you anything.”

“Give it back to me?” Mu Yao frowned.

“Qian Zhi should have already sent the divorce letter to Zhong Yelan. Your matter, your feelings, in the future, you will deal with it on your own. I won’t be involved in it.”

“Do you think this makes us clear? Hua Qian, you think too simply, your Hua Family ……” Mu Yao’s eyes flashed, but her mouth was unyielding.

“Correction. I am me. Hua Family is Hua Family. Please don’t be confused.” Without waiting for her to finish, I interrupted, “I’ve wondered why I didn’t come here earlier. Why did I come at the time of the big wedding?”

Greeting Mu Yao’s gaze full of incomprehension, I spoke, “Now I understand. The heavens are not too merciless. Although it put me into a predicament, it also left a silver lining. Your Mu Family’s exile is a court matter, and I can’t say much about it. I’m not you, so I can’t stand in your position to speculate on how much harm this matter has brought to you. However, there is no blood feud separating us. You want Hua Family to have the same ending, coincidentally, so do I.”

Mu Yao looked at me as if I were a foreigner for a long time without saying a word, while her eyes filled with suspicion.

The difference between exile and resignation is that one has no money while the other has. So, Mu Yao and I are trying to pull Hua Xiang down.

The Hua Family has fallen, but Young Master Mingyue is still here, so I don’t have to worry too much. If I didn’t dissuade Prime Minister Hua from changing the Mu family’s punishment from beheading to exile in the first place, then what’s waiting for me now is a dead end that I really can’t crack. In this predicament, one wrong step is another wrong step. Fortunately, I recognized the situation when I transmigrating. After that, I make no other mistakes.

After returning to my courtyard, I saw Zhong Yelan.

“Where have you been?” Zhong Yelan asked when he saw me return.

“Went to settle an old grudge. Why King Jin is here? Didn’t Qian Zhi give you a clear explanation?” I frowned.

Zhong Yelan pursed his lips and picked up a thin piece of paper in his hand, which seemed to have been pinched and deformed by him, “What does this mean?”

Seeing the ugly letter of divorce in an unsightly font, I answered. “Isn’t it good for everyone if I leave King Jin’s Mansion?”

I passed him and walked towards the inner room. He tugged on my arm and said, “Do you think it would be better for you to return to the Hua Family now?”

What do you mean? I frowned and looked at him, only to see him lowering his eyes and speaking, “The Hua Family can’t protect itself. You’re just a woman. How long can the Hua Family protect you?”

These words meant he knew Mu Yao would deal with the Hua Family. He was going to help Mu Yao, and the only charity he would give me would be to let me stay in the King Jin Mansion so that I would not be affected in the future.

I shrugged off his hand and spoke, “I won’t trouble the King.”

“You ……” Zhong Yelan’s voice seemed to have some annoyance in it, “You saved me. I won’t ignore you, so even if you want to leave — you must wait for some time. Only in the King Jin’s Mansion will I be able to protect you.”

Let me wait for the fall of the Hua Family and then leave. This Zhong Yelan is still somewhat humane, not directly throwing me out like the novel and toppling with the Hua Family. But this good intention of his is useless to me.

“Me saving you was an accident. If I can repeat it again, I will only stand and watch. So you don’t need to take it to heart. Think of it as compensation for my faults before. We don’t owe each other, so I don’t need you. I can protect myself.” I walked away without looking back.

Suddenly, I feel like Ne Zha, who cuts flesh to repay his mother and picks bones to repay his father. But I may be a bit more miserable because I am paying for something I didn’t do, blocking the arrow and disclosing the truth to Zhong Yelan, returning Mu Yao’s happiness. What a great and sensible female second lead.

Behind me came the sound of paper shredding. Zhong Yelan threw down a sentence before leaving. He said, “The matter of divorce …… is something you cannot decide.”

Qian Zhi looked at me worriedly and said, “Miss ……”

I smiled, “Tomorrow, we will go to the palace.”
“What for?”
“To ask for the decree.”