Chapter 135 Self-Destruction

"Chu Renjie, open your dog eyes wide and take a good look at who this young man resembles!"

Chu Renjie was baffled, but he followed the direction the old lady pointed and looked over.

The longer he looked, the more alarmed he became. For the past two days, his mind had been entirely consumed with clearing his mother's name and restoring his status as the only true legitimate son of the Chu family.

He had not paid attention to when a young man who bore such a striking resemblance to the third brother had appeared in the estate.

Moreover, this young man looked six or seven parts similar to the third brother.

"He... who is he?" Chu Renjie looked at the young man, feeling an inexplicable panic, and even his tone carried a hint of cowardice.

"Ha, haha... Are you scared now? You beast! Why are you asking me? Go on, ask him!"

Seeing Chu Renjie's panic, a flash of malicious glee crossed the old lady's heart.

She wanted to see what heaven-defying abilities this beast had on his own, without her protection as his mother.

For him to blame her for dragging him down was utterly laughable.

All these years of kindness she had shown him, and he hadn't taken a single bit of it to heart.

Even raising a dog would teach it to wag its tail and beg for pity; raising him was worse than raising a dog.

"Who... who are you? Why are you in my Chu family?" Chu Renjie roared at Yu Zihuan, as if only by doing so could he calm the panic raging in his heart.

"It's you... It's you, this bitch, who went out and found this young man, isn't it! You must have gone to great lengths to find someone who looks somewhat like the third brother. What on earth are you trying to do, you bitch!" Chu Renjie pointed at Chu Mu with hatred and said.

This young man had just walked in together with Lady Shen.

Lady Shen must be scheming something while the Chu residence was in chaos.

It had to be that. He had to steady his mind and must not let this bitch Shen ruin his good plans.

Chu Mu couldn't be bothered to entertain Chu Renjie. She said to Yu Zihuan, "Zihuan, tell the Second Master who you are."

Yu Zihuan stepped out from behind Chu Mu, respectful yet neither servile nor overbearing.

"This humble person is Yu Zihuan, hailing from the Yu family of Jinzhou."

That short sentence made Chu Renjie's heart leap to his throat. He stretched his neck and shrieked, "Y-you... who did you say you are?"

"This humble person is Yu Zihuan, hailing from the Yu family of Jinzhou!" Yu Zihuan repeated his identity once more.

"You... you say you are from the Yu family of Jinzhou... then... then who am I? Who am I!" Chu Renjie pointed at Yu Zihuan, his finger trembling slightly.

If this young man was from the Yu family of Jinzhou and looked so much like the third brother—virtually carved from the exact same mold—

What did this imply? It implied that he was not the legitimate mother's offspring, and that the third brother was.

How could this be? How could this be?

If he was not the son of the Yu family, wouldn't everything he had done these past few days be a complete joke?

A joke that had plunged him into a state of irredeemable doom.

"No... impossible. You cannot be from the Yu family of Jinzhou." Chu Renjie shook his head frantically, then turned and spoke viciously to Chu Mu:

"It must be you! It must be you, this bitch, who searched the vast seas for such a youth to impersonate someone of the Yu family and ruin my plans!

You must be harboring deep resentment for what I did to you, which is why you are taking revenge on me like this.

You must be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. It has to be you."

Chu Renjie looked like a madman. Everyone was trying to prevent him from reclaiming his identity!

Everyone was plotting against him!

He was the legitimate mother's child and a descendant of the Yu family; right now, he could only be a son of the Yu family, and he *had* to be a son of the Yu family.

With utter disdain, Chu Mu retorted, "Sins against heaven may be forgiven, but sins of one's own making are inescapable. Chu Renjie, you brought all this upon yourself.

A snake trying to swallow an elephant with boundless greed—no one is trying to harm you; you are destroying yourself."

Gritting his teeth, Chu Renjie argued, "Lady Shen, I won't believe a single word you say. He claims to be from the Yu family of Jinzhou, but does he have proof?"

"I am the proof! I can testify that he is indeed a descendant of the Yu family of Jinzhou, Yu Zihuan." Chu Renqing stepped forward.

"Eldest brother, don't try to ruin me! You are the bastard seed of that vicious woman and Dukang, so of course you'll help outsiders frame me! You're just terrified that once I recover my status, I'll drive you and your mother out of the Chu residence and take back the family property you've usurped, isn't that it!"

Looking at the stubbornly delusional Chu Renjie, Chu Renqing felt his heart harden a fraction. "Chu Renjie, no one is trying to harm you. Haven't you seen the reality yet? You are *her* offspring," Chu Renqing pointed at the old lady, "The third brother is the legitimate mother's true child."

Chu Renjie staggered backward step by step. Impossible.

It was completely impossible.

He was not the offspring of that vicious woman. How could he possibly be the offspring of that vicious woman?

That wicked woman had committed countless unforgivable atrocities; how could he possibly carry her bloodline?

"You're all lying to me, you're all deceiving me! I will find proof to prove that I am the legitimate mother's child.

Don't even dream of usurping my Chu family property and driving me away!" Chu Renjie screamed hysterically.

In truth, his heart had already begun to waver, especially when confronted with Yu Zihuan's face, which bore such a striking resemblance to the third brother.

"Do it. Follow the rules and arrest everyone who needs to be arrested." Chu Mu had no patience left to watch Chu Renjie throw his tantrum here.

Today's events would undoubtedly spread far and wide, and the case of her mother's murder would finally see the light of day.

None of this carried any trace of her direct intervention; it was entirely Chu Renjie's own masterpiece.

The world would only say that the vicious woman was getting her just deserts.

No one would accuse her of lacking filial piety. Even if the wicked woman accused her of unfiliality, before she could even offer a rebuttal, the spittle of the public would drown the old lady.

At Chu Mu's command, the bailiffs immediately moved into action. Judging by what these people had just said, this old lady of the Chu family was not the true mistress of the Grand General's estate.

What else did they have to fear?

"Let go of me! Let go of me! How dare you listen to this little harlot and arrest me!

Do you know who I am? I am the Grand General's mother! Let me go!"

No matter how the old lady struggled, the bailiffs holding her fast did not loosen their grip.

If all the accusations in Second Master Chu's indictment were true, slicing this old lady into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough to appease public indignation.

"You little harlot, make them stop! You unfilial, rebellious wretch, I won't let you off! I will never let you off!"

The old lady's curses grew increasingly vicious. A chill crept into Chu Mu's eyes, and she instructed the bailiffs,

"Shut her mouth."

One of the bailiffs pulled out a sweat-stained handkerchief and shoved it directly into the old lady's mouth.

The pungent, stale odor choked the old lady so severely that her eyes rolled back into her head.

She struggled desperately, glaring at Chu Mu with sinister, venomous eyes while making muffled, whimpering sounds.

As they passed by Chu Renjie and Chu Renqing, the old lady struggled even more violently. Her eyes were like bottomless abysses, making anyone who glanced at them shudder involuntarily.

"Mmph... mmph..." The old lady screamed frantically toward Chu Renjie, all her curses transforming into choked whimpers.

Chu Renjie did not dare meet the old lady's eyes, while Chu Renqing abruptly averted his gaze, refusing to look at her at all.

The old lady's energy instantly deflated. She began to laugh and cry simultaneously, her expression grotesquely twisted.

The bailiffs dragged her out of the courtyard.

"You... did you all know that the third brother was the true child of the Yu family? You knew everything all along, yet you kept it hidden from me,

letting me march to my own destruction just to watch me make a fool of myself, didn't you!

How vicious you all are! How utterly vicious!"