Chapter 23: Chu Mu’s Niece Who Longed to Soar Like a Phoenix

“Third Uncle!”

Shen Zhao and Chu Mu exchanged a glance, instantly confirming the identity of the young girl before them.

It was Chu Miao, the legitimate daughter of the main branch.

No wonder she found this tearful girl familiar.

Now that the girl had lifted her head, one could see a resemblance to the Old Madam—how could she not look familiar?

But hadn’t the eldest branch always stayed at the ancestral home in Jinzhou? When did they come to the capital?

She hadn’t heard the Old Madam or anyone else mention it.

Judging by Chu Mu’s expression, he was equally clueless and looked utterly bewildered by Chu Miao’s appearance.

Clearly, he too had no idea that Chu Miao had come to the capital.

Chu Miao’s heart was pounding. Her parents had always told her that her third uncle was a man of few words, but surely he couldn’t be this wooden.

She was already crying so piteously, yet her third uncle merely looked at her coolly and said nothing.

In desperation, she pinched her slender waist hard, and the tears poured down her cheeks.

“Third Uncle, it’s me, Miao Miao! You held me in your arms when I was a child. I never thought that on my first visit to the capital to see Grandmother, as soon as I set foot in our own mansion, I would be so insulted. Third Uncle, you must stand up for me!”

She had no intention of staying at the old residence in Jiangnan and marrying the impoverished scholar her father had chosen—a man from a declining family.

Her mother had encouraged her to sneak away, given her enough money for the journey, and sent her to seek shelter with her grandmother in the capital.

Ideally, her grandmother would arrange a marriage for her in the capital, completely putting an end to her father’s plans of marrying her off to a poor scholar.

As soon as she’d set foot in the General’s Mansion, she had overheard the servants gossiping.

Today, distinguished guests had arrived: Young Master Yun Jin, known as the First Gentleman of the Pang family, and Third Young Master Xie from the Duke Protector’s Mansion, called the Little Overlord of the capital, were both here as visitors.

Her heart was immediately stirred. She’d heard the name Pang Yun Jin many times.

Though she didn’t know much about Third Young Master Xie, being from such a noble family and known as the capital’s Overlord, his status must be extraordinary.

If she could attach herself to either of them, she would want for nothing the rest of her life, and could live exalted above others, with all beneath her feet.

So she made up her mind. Under the pretext of coming to greet her third uncle, she had the servants lead her here.

She couldn’t help but feel vexed and regretful when she thought of the strikingly handsome gentleman she had first seen—what a shame she hadn’t aimed better and thrown herself into the right arms.

Still, the other man wasn’t bad either—tall and elegant, brimming with youthful vigor and a bright, cheerful aura.

She would have been content with him as well.

What she hadn’t expected was for that man to push her away, and then, with such venomous words, ruin her reputation.

He had no sense of pity for a delicate young lady.

Chu Miao wept with heart-rending sorrow, but Shen Zhao remained unmoved.

The others kept their silence as well.

The only sound in the entire reception hall was Chu Miao’s desperate sobbing.

Perhaps exhausted from crying, her voice grew hoarse and gradually faded.

“Third Uncle?”

Chu Miao called out tentatively, but Shen Zhao still said nothing, his gaze full of mockery.

Chu Miao was taken aback.

What was that look in Third Uncle’s eyes?

She was Chu Miao, his own niece by blood.

Shen Zhao watched the flicker of unease and dissatisfaction on Chu Miao’s face. Did she take them all for fools?

If she’d come to visit the Old Madam, shouldn’t she have headed straight for her courtyard upon entering the mansion?

And this was the front hall, the place for receiving guests. The servants knew there were distinguished guests present; they would never be so foolish as to bring Chu Miao here.

The mere fact that she was here was suspicious enough.

What Shen Zhao had realized, Chu Mu had realized as well.

He looked at Chu Miao with a complicated expression and was the first to speak. “Miao Miao, weren’t you here to see Grandmother? Why did you end up here? Did you lose your way, or did the servants bring you here?”

Chu Miao was momentarily speechless.

The Shen family truly were baseborn. Her third uncle hadn’t even questioned her, so why was she pretending to be the good person and interrogating her?

“I… I heard from the servants that Third Uncle was in the mansion, so I thought to pay my respects to him first before visiting Grandmother… But as soon as I got here, before I could even greet Third Uncle, my foot slipped and I was pulled into someone’s embrace.”

She spoke with such pitiful sincerity that tears streamed down her cheeks once more.

Xie Yuheng grew anxious at her words.

He immediately retorted, “How could you, a young lady, speak such lies? Chu brother, seeing as she’s your niece, I hadn’t intended to embarrass her.

“But this lady insists on smearing my reputation and throwing mud at me. Just now, she deliberately lunged at Pang Yun Jin, it wasn’t an accident as she claims.”

He pointed to the spot where Chu Miao had entered. “Right here—I remember the look in her eyes when she saw Pang Yun Jin. They practically gleamed, like a dog seeing a pile of dung.”

Shen Zhao noticed Chu Miao’s face grow even more ashen. Xie Yuheng’s description was truly apt.

Xie Yuheng continued to describe what had happened.

“She was nowhere near me, and this is level ground. The floor is clean and dry—no water, no grease. She was walking slowly. There’s no way she slipped. And I swear, she clung shamelessly to me—I never held her. The only time I touched her was to push her away.

“If Miss Chu keeps clinging to this story, then I’ll have no choice but to go to the authorities to clear my name.”

He had never so much as touched a woman before; today was just his rotten luck to be taken advantage of.

He hated the idea of marriage, but not just any woman could catch his eye.

Take this Miss Chu, for example—calculating and unrestrained, with no sense of propriety. He would rather die than marry such a woman.

The reputation of the Duke Protector’s Mansion could not be sullied by a woman like her.

Both his sisters-in-law were exemplary women; he couldn’t be forced to bring such a creature home.

The more Xie Yuheng spoke, the worse Chu Miao’s face became.

She was little more than a young girl, barely past her coming-of-age ceremony, yet she thought everyone else was a fool.

Shen Zhao turned to Chu Mu. “Well, Madam, how do you wish to handle this?”

Chu Miao was Chu Mu’s niece, not hers.

How to deal with it was not her concern.

Moreover, Xie Yuheng wasn’t the only one present; Pang Yun Jin was there as well.

Though Pang Yun Jin had not spoken, the wary look in his eyes as he watched Chu Miao made it clear.

Obviously, everything Xie Yuheng had said was true.

Chu Mu’s mouth twitched. What could he do? Chu Miao was his elder brother’s legitimate eldest daughter.

His brother was honest and upright, his sister-in-law renowned for her grace and gentleness.

He simply couldn’t believe that their daughter would be so shameless as to throw herself at a man in such a brazen fashion.

“In my opinion, this seems to be a misunderstanding. Miao Miao traveled all the way from Jiangnan to the capital—a long and arduous journey. It’s understandable if she tripped on level ground. It’s nothing but a misunderstanding; there’s no need for Third Young Master Xie to frighten a weak girl with talk of the authorities.”

Enough!

Shen Zhao rolled her eyes at Chu Mu in exasperation.

As expected, she couldn’t count on him to say a useful word.

This wooden-headed fool always lost his wits when it came to his own kin.

Wasn’t it obvious that Chu Miao had tried to latch onto either Pang Yun Jin or Xie Yuheng by employing such disgraceful tactics?

Xie Yuheng was left speechless. What nonsense was the Lady of the Chu family talking?

He was the one being slandered!

How could she say he was bullying a weak girl!

He had never suffered such injustice; he blurted out, “Madam Chu, do you have no brains? Didn’t you hear your niece accuse me again and again of taking liberties with her?

“Now that I’ve explained everything, suddenly to you it’s all a misunderstanding!

“If I hadn’t managed to clear my name, would you have forced me to marry her?

“Brother Chu, how could a man as reasonable as you marry such an unreasonable and shrewish woman? Truly, you do yourself an injustice.”

Chu Mu’s face fell instantly.

So now he wasn’t worthy of himself?