Mu Linjing watched the red marks on her mother's hands and her father's pained expression as he rubbed his seized shoulder. Her heart ached as tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry, it's my fault."
Aunt Mu also wept, her eyes blurring with tears. Seeing her daughter threatened, she wished she could bear it all for her.
She turned to Mu Bai, gritted her teeth, and with a plop, knelt down. "Mr. Mu, I'm begging you, please spare my daughter. Her health is poor, she can't take this medicine. If you really insist, I'll take it for her."
"Mom, what are you doing!"
Mu Linjing tried to pull her mother up. How could she bear to see her mother kneel and beg someone for her sake? But Aunt Mu was determined to beg Mu Bai to show mercy.
However, Mu Bai's goal was not merely to threaten Mu Linjing through her parents. He wanted Mu Linjing to willingly stay by his side. Even if the threat no longer worked, Mu Linjing would be dependent on the medicine he held and unable to escape him.
He looked down at Aunt Mu, his tone feigning innocence. "Auntie, what are you saying? Linjing's health isn't good, and the medicine I'm giving her is precisely what she needs. How can you say I'm harming her? As for inviting you two over, it's because I was afraid Linjing would miss you, so I brought you here for a family reunion."
These high-sounding words were obviously a pretense of ignorance. Aunt Mu understood that no matter how much she pleaded, it would be useless. She rose with the strength Mu Linjing provided.
"Mom, you shouldn't have done that. Please stop. I'm begging you."
Mu Linjing's hot tears fell on her mother's hand. Grief, self-reproach, and a tangle of unnamed emotions filled her heart. Her nose felt sore, her eyes were unbearably swollen, and tears surged out like a raging river.
Uncle Mu repeatedly shook his head, signaling his wife not to humiliate herself further. Since the other party had captured them, they would not stop until they had extracted all possible use from them. If they were to die now, their daughter would still be threatened, especially since Wei Yumeng had been captured with them.
Mu Bai did not give the family much time to weep. With a wave of his hand, he had his men drag the uncle and aunt away again.
"Linjing, it's getting late. Uncle and Auntie have traveled a long way and should rest. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to talk properly with your family in the future."
The implication was clear: they would not be released easily.
Mu Linjing could only comfort her parents, urging them to relax, and then watched helplessly as they were taken away.
When only she and Mu Bai were left, she glared at him fiercely and turned away, unwilling to look at his face.
Mu Bai knew she wouldn't look at him favorably, but he still leaned in. "Linjing, don't be too despairing. Weren't we happy when we lived together on the island? Zhan Yichen doesn't love you anymore. He doesn't trust you. Why don't you leave him? We're a good match."
Mu Linjing turned back and spat fiercely in his face. "You're talking nonsense!"
She deliberately used coarse language. In her eyes, Mu Bai deserved nothing but her foulmouthed tirade.
"I'm telling you, even if Yichen doesn't believe me or love me, I will never love you. Give up this idea. Even if you can keep me here with your despicable methods, you can't keep my heart. You and he are worlds apart. I see him as a righteous gentleman, while you're just a stinking rat from a sewer, unable to see the light, and utterly common!"
"Slap!"
A crisp sound echoed as a palm struck her face. Mu Bai, enraged, grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Mu Linjing, don't be foolish. Look clearly. You're in my hands now. Zhan Yichen won't come to save you because I've already told him that the evidence of you murdering his mother is solid. Even if he had any lingering feelings for you, they are gone now."
Hearing his words, Mu Linjing pushed him away with all her might, demanding, "What have you done?"
"Since it's come to this, I don't mind telling you the truth. Your involvement in the death of Zhan Yichen's mother is entirely fabricated. I bribed the staff at the nursing home long ago and deliberately sent you that text message so you'd arrive at that specific time and take the blame."
Mu Bai revealed the entire scheme. "But as you've seen, Zhan Yichen doesn't trust you at all. My small manipulation was enough to shatter your relationship. He doesn't love you; only I truly love you."
Upon hearing the truth, Mu Linjing screamed and covered her ears. "No, it's not true! Yichen won't believe it. He'll investigate and clear my name."
She had always been waiting for the day the truth would come out, for her to be absolved and stand before Zhan Yichen again. But Mu Bai had shattered her hope. What else did she have to hold onto?
Mu Bai was not satisfied with her breakdown. He crouched down and whispered in her ear, "If he trusted you, he wouldn't have suspected you the first moment something happened. You know, it's easy to plant the seed of doubt, but hard to remove it. Besides, you and his mother never got along, and it happened during a sensitive period. You had every motive to kill him, so why wouldn't he believe it?"
"Shut up!"
She slapped him hard. "Get out! Get out of here! Even if Yichen doesn't believe me, it's not your place to have any involvement with me. Mu Bai, don't let me find an opportunity, or I'll take your life."
Mu Linjing's harsh threats held no weight in Mu Bai's eyes. Despite being slapped, he stood up with a smile. "Then I'll wait for you to take my life. Don't worry, the walls of Ji Manor are like bronze and iron; you can't escape. I'll let you rage as much as you want."
"Get out!"
Mu Linjing's heart-wrenching curses echoed in the vast space. Mu Bai smiled and left, ordering his men to guard the door. As long as the person inside didn't die, they didn't need to concern themselves with her antics.
Although this wasn't a dungeon, it was a highly sealed secret room. Calling it bronze and iron walls was an exaggeration, but for a woman to escape from here was nearly impossible, so Mu Bai confidently locked Mu Linjing inside.
He also wanted to see how long it would take him to tame this woman.
Mu Linjing had nowhere to vent her anger. The only things in the room were a bed and a tea set on the table for drinking water. She picked up the tea set and smashed it heavily against the wall, shattering the cup.
Even so, she still felt stifled.