“You little brat, when did I ever say you had to come out with this face? And when did I order anyone to lock you up and let them bully you? Are you just trying to make me angry? Get up, take her away…”
Seeing her fearlessly tugging at Leng Mingye’s sleeve again, Mu Zhenfeng was practically seething with the urge to strangle her. Thinking of the unpredictable and eccentric young master, he angrily spoke while pulling her other arm and ordering the servants nearby.
“No! It was you who made me come out, and you who ordered them to lock me up and teach me a lesson! If not, then you must have some ulterior motive, using me to interrupt Brother Handsome’s investigation. Clearly, you have other intentions…”
Hearing her father’s words, Wanqing stubbornly clung to the man’s sleeve, refusing to let go. Seeing her father hesitate to pull too hard, she cried and complained with an exaggerated look of fear, as if she’d been abused.
“You—you brat! When did I have ulterior motives? You’re just wronging me! How could I be involved in this?”
Seeing her pin the assassination attempt on the young master onto him, Mu Zhenfeng’s face turned pale with shock. Trembling slightly, he glared at her with fiery eyes.
“You did! You did! Brother Handsome, it really was Father who ordered everyone to gather. And just now, he had the servants lock me up to punish me. Even though I’m timid, Brother Handsome is so kind, so I must tell the truth.”
Ignoring her father’s furious but helpless expression, Wanqing didn’t even glance at the man whose face had darkened from her relentless tugging at his sleeve. Instead, she looked at her father with the air of someone who’d found a protector, then turned her pleading gaze up at Leng Mingye.
“Master…” Black Wind, Leng Mingye’s dark-clad subordinate, saw his master’s furious eyes fixed on the reckless girl still clutching his sleeve. He stepped forward with a respectful bow, silently signaling that if she didn’t let go, he would intervene.
“Not your concern. General Mu, how do you explain your daughter’s words? Little one, I promised you, and I’ll keep my word. Lift your head—no one will laugh at you, and no one dares to scold you…”
At Black Wind’s inquiry, Leng Mingye raised a brow dismissively, motioning for him to step back. Patiently, he pried Wanqing’s fingers from his sleeve and turned to Mu Zhenfeng. Seeing the general’s face darken further, he subtly blocked the girl as she tried to cling to him again, speaking calmly.
“Really? Brother Handsome, can you really promise no one will laugh at me or scold me? Just now, when I lifted my head, Father got angry and ordered the servants to take me away and lock me up for discipline.”
Watching her father’s awkward expression, Wanqing smirked inwardly. Noticing the man’s intense gaze on her hand, she reluctantly let go and hid behind him, peeking out with an innocent, timid expression. With teary eyes, she glanced at her father’s furious glare and whimpered pitifully.
“General Mu, even if your daughter exaggerates, how do you explain this incident in your household? And don’t tell me this waist token isn’t from your estate.”
Leng Mingye frowned deeply at Wanqing’s words. Her reminder of the unknown person—possibly a servant—who had taken advantage of him made him feel worse than if he’d eaten something foul. Seeing Mu Zhenfeng at a loss for words, he vented his fury, tossing the waist token onto the ground.
“T-this… Young Master, please calm down! I truly know nothing about this. Who would dare use my household’s token for such evil deeds? How did you even confirm the culprit was from my estate?”
Mu Zhenfeng hadn’t expected the blame to shift to him so quickly. He couldn’t tell if his daughter was doing this deliberately or was genuinely terrified, mistaking Leng Mingye for a kind protector. But now, accused of involvement in the assassination attempt, he paled and cautiously addressed the young master.
“Oh? Are you questioning my judgment, General Mu? Nanny Kong, Sun Changshun—is this the person you saw?”
At Mu Zhenfeng’s bold defiance, Leng Mingye’s hawk-like eyes narrowed. Watching the general lower his head, he turned to the two trembling figures who had stumbled forward.
“Young Master, that girl was fair-skinned and delicate-featured…”
Sun Changshun and Nanny Kong, having been shoved aside earlier, struggled to stand. Examining Wanqing’s pockmarked face and spotted neck, they shook their heads.
“Then go find her. And bring me the other girl who led her there.”
At Leng Mingye’s cold command, they hastily bowed and scurried off to search.
“General Mu, nothing to say? Very well. Since this happened under your roof, it’s your negligence. Men, take him away and give him twenty lashes.”
With that, Leng Mingye turned to Mu Zhenfeng, his smile fading into icy authority. His two subordinates—one in black, one in white—stepped forward without hesitation.
“No! Brother Handsome, please don’t whip my father! If you do, he’ll beat me even worse afterward—maybe even kill me! Please, I beg you, don’t punish him. Whip me instead, okay? Whip Wanqing!”
Seeing her father’s livid face and murderous glare, Wanqing inwardly sneered but outwardly panicked. She rushed forward, arms outstretched to block the two enforcers, then turned to clutch Leng Mingye’s sleeve with tearful desperation.
“You—do you dare disobey me? Little one, I said no one will harm you while I’m here—not even your father. From now on, anyone in General Mu’s household who mocks, ridicules, or bullies her is my enemy. Found anything yet?”
For some reason, Leng Mingye felt a pang of pity at the sight of her tear-streaked, disfigured face. Though irritated by her persistent clinginess—especially the way she kept calling him “Brother Handsome”—he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh.
With a cold glance, he ordered Black Wind and White Feather to proceed. As Mu Zhenfeng was dragged away and the sound of lashes echoed outside, Leng Mingye ignored the man’s pained grunts and focused on the trembling girl before him.
“Remember my words,” he said coolly, sweeping a warning gaze over the crowd. Then, as Nanny Kong and Sun Changshun returned with downcast expressions, he asked calmly, “Well?”
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