C8 Marriage Substitute 9

"Mu Yunhua, have you gone mad, or is there something wrong with your head? Since when does a chicken bone answer to anyone?!" Mu Yuyao was usually prancing around here, full of swagger and in the best of moods. But today, she seemed to be on a mission to make herself miserable.

Mu Yunhua was behaving like she had become a completely different person!

Watching the chicken bone that Mu Yuyao had angrily kicked away, Mu Yunhua nonchalantly cleared her ears, "Right, you call it, and it doesn't answer—what gives you the right to claim it's Wangcai's? I could just as easily say it's Dog Egg's."

Mu Yuyao was so choked up she couldn't find the words to reply. In a fit of rage, she stomped her foot and pointed at Mu Yunhua, letting slip words she should have kept to herself, "Mu Yunhua, you dunce, don't think you're out of the woods just because Big Sister brought you back. Mother said that keeping you in the house will only sully the Mu Family's good name and drag Big Sister and me down with you. Just you wait—by tomorrow, you'll be shipped off to An He Temple to take the veil."

"Do you have any idea what An He Temple is? It's the famous nunnery of the Da Xi Kingdom. Once you're in, you can forget about ever coming out to cause trouble again. Prepare to spend your days in the company of everlasting temple lights!"

Mu Yuyao rattled off her tirade without pause, not even allowing Little Apricot to hold her back, "Miss, we eavesdropped on that... Why did you reveal everything?!"

Suddenly realizing what she had done, Mu Yuyao bit her lip and glared at Mu Yunhua.

If it hadn't been for this exasperating fool, she would never have blurted out the confidential conversation between her mother and Big Sister!

"It's all because of you, you imbecile! Little Apricot, let's go!" Mu Yuyao hurled another insult at Mu Yunhua and started to walk away with Little Apricot. But at that moment, Mu Yunhua, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up.

"Mu Yuyao."

Her voice was light, but it effectively froze Mu Yuyao in her tracks. She turned around with a fierce expression, "What is it?!"

"Mu Yuyao, you keep calling me a 'stupid donkey.' Though I hate to admit it, we are indeed both offspring of the same father. If I'm the 'stupid donkey,' then what does that make you?" Mu Yunhua raised an eyebrow, "A little stupid donkey, maybe?"

"Little idiot donkey?"

Mu Yuyao was taken aback by the insult, her initial shock quickly giving way to rage as she prepared to confront Mu Yunhua and give her a piece of her mind. However, Little Apricot firmly held her back.

"Little Apricot, why are you holding me back? I'm going to throttle her!" Mu Yuyao fumed, unable to swallow the insult. She was accustomed to being the one dishing out the scorn, and being on the receiving end was intolerable.

"Miss, please don't lower yourself to her level. His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving soon. We need to hurry back and change our clothes!" Little Apricot insisted, gripping Mu Yuyao tightly, suggesting there was no need to confront the foolish Second Miss at that moment.

An esteemed guest would be arriving shortly!

Reminded by Little Apricot, Mu Yuyao regained some composure, "Mu Yunhua, you just wait. I'll deal with you later! Little Apricot, let's go!"

After dropping a menacing threat, Mu Yuyao, with Little Apricot in tow, stormed off without a backward glance.

They had barely left when the nursemaid couldn't hold back any longer, "Miss, you mustn't go to the Temple of Peace! That place is bad news! How could Concubine Wan come up with such a vicious plan? She's going to torment you to death!"

Mu Yunhua wasn't concerned about being sent off to keep company with eternal lamps or any other such nonsense. If she didn't want to go, she doubted anyone could make her, and she'd be impressed if they tried. What truly bothered her was the way Mu Yuyao had called her—Mother!

In the Mu Mansion, the only person who could be called 'mother' by Mu Honghai's daughter was her own mother, Chu Die. However, since Chu Die's disappearance, Concubine Wan had taken over the household, slowly amassing power, and the servants, quick to adapt, began to address her as 'Madam.' This title of 'Madam' had become increasingly accepted, even by Mu Honghai himself.

Mu Yuxi and Mu Yuyao had started calling Concubine Wan "Mother" with ease.

But as the saying goes, a chicken will always be a chicken. It may dream of soaring to the treetops to become a phoenix, but to take their mother's place? That would require Mu Yunhua's consent, and she was not one to give in so easily!